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KENTUCKY  STATE  HOUSES. 


KENTUCKY. 


A History  of  the  State, 


EMBRACING 


A CONCISE  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ORIGIN  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  VIRGINIA  COLONY;  ITS 
EXPANSION  ‘WESTWARD,  AND  THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  FRONTIER  BEYOND 
THE  ALLEGHANIES ; THE  ERECTION  OF  KENTUCKY  AS  AN 
INDEPENDENT  STATE,  AND  ITS  SUBSEQUENT 
DEVELOPMENT. 


— BY — 


W.  H.  PERRIN.  J.  H,  BATTLE,  G.  C.  KNIFFiN 


Eia-nTia; 


4 


ILLUSTRATED  WITH  NUMEROUS  ENGRAVINGS- 


BOUISVIBLE,  KY.,  CHICAGO,  ILL.  : 

P.  A.  BATTEY  AND  COMPANY 
1888. 


1 


Entered  according  to  Act  ot  Congress  in  the  year  1885,  by 
F.  A,  Battey  and  W.  H,  Perrin, 
in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington, 


to  include  page  788. 


PREFACE. 


The  purpose  and  design  of  this  volume  have  been  the  presentation  of  the  history  of 
Kentucky  in  narrative  form,  its  adaptation  to  the  tastes  and  demands  of  the  gen- 
eral reader,  and,  as  far  as  consistent,  to  incorporate  statistical  facts  for  the  benefit  of 
those  who  would  seek  in  its  pages  reference  matter. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  work,  the  desire  of  the  publishers  has  been  to  give  to 
their  patrons  a history  conscientiously  prepared,  and  a volume  faithfully  executed  in  all 
its  aspects.  Much  of  the  subject  matter  incorporated  was  submitted,  before  its  publica- 
tion, to  those  who  were  deemed  critics  upon  the  topics  treated,  in  order  to  detect  if 
possible  any  errors  of  statement  that  might  inadvertently  creep  in.  That  perfection  has 
been  attained  in  all  of  our  efforts  we  do  not  claim,  but  we  do  hold  that  a fair  measm-e 
of  accuracy  and  completeness  has  been  reached,  consistent  with  a work  of  this  mag- 
nitude. 

Those  who  are  interested  in  the  very  exciting  events  which  transpired  in  Kentucky 
diu'ing  the  period  of  the  civil  war,  and  in  which  her  troops  took  part  elsewhere,  will 
find  a fund  of  information  between  the  covers  of  this  book  which  has  not  heretofore 
been  accessible  to  the  general  public,  and  much  that  has  never  before  been  published  in 
any  form.  The  difficulties  to  be  overcome  in  collecting  this  material  were  almost  insur- 
mountable, owing  to  the  fragmentary  and  chaotic  condition  of  the  documentary  som'ces 
at  command.  Especially  was  this  the  case  with  that  which  had  reference  to  the  Con- 
federates and  their  service. 

Appendix  B,  which  is  almost  wholly  made  up  of  statistical  matter  pertaining  to 
army  service,  is  taken  largely  from  the  State  Adjutant-General’s  reports,  and  though 
possibly  containing  some  inaccuracies  in  names  and  dates,  has  been  corrected  in  some 
particulars,  and  is  presented  in  as  nearly  a perfect  form  as  possible. 

THE  PUBLISHERS 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I.— 1430-1624.  page. 

Origin  and  Iievelopjient  op  the  First  Colony  in  Vir- 
ginia— The  Fifteenth  Century — Early  Voyages  of  Dis 

' covery — Objects  of  E-Nploration — The  First  Colonial 

Charter — First  Settlement  Made — The  Lost  Colony  of 
Roanoke— Colonial  Interests  Under  James  I — First  Col- 
ony Planted  in  Virginia — Early  Dissensions — \Voes  of 
Capt,  John  Smith — Reorganization  of  the  London  Com- 
pany—.Accessions  to  the  Jamestown  Plantation — Smith’s 
Administration  and  Retirement — Tue  Starving  Time- 
Wreck  of  the  ‘'Sea  Venture” — .Arrival  of  the  “Patience” 
and  “Deliverance” — Lord  De  la  Warre — The  High  Mar- 
shal of  A’irginia — Needs  of  Virginia  Colony — Despotism 
of  .Argali — Importation  of  Maids — Condition  of  Virginia 
—Relations  with  the  Indians — Massacre  of  1622 — Impor- 
tant Changes  in  Colonial  Charter — The  Two  Regimes 
Considered — Property  Rights  Granted  to  Colonists — 
First  Legislative  Body  in 'America — Early  Legislation — 

The  London  Company’s  “Ordinance”— Influence  of  Ed- 
win Sandys — King’s  Hostility  to  Liberal  Measures — 
Company’s  Charter  Sequestered — .A  A’iew  of  the  Colony 
— Condition  of  Trade — Character  of  Colonial  Govern- 
ment, etc 17 


CH.APTER  II.— 1625-1802. 

Virginia  as  a Dependency  op  the  Croiyn. — Stages  of 
Colonial  Development — .Administration  of  Harvey — 
Contest  with  the  Governor— Hostility  to  the  Maryland 
Colony — .Arrival  of  Sir  William  Berkeley — Loyalty  of 
Virginia — Surrender  to  the  Commonwealth — Effect  on 
Virginia  .Affairs  -Political  Reaction  Under  Charles  II — 
Royal  Favoritism — The  Bacon  Uprising — .Attempts  at 
Reconciliation — The  “ Test  or  Recognition  ” — End  of  the 
Rebellion — .Accession  of  James  II — Assembly  Restored 
to  Power— English  .Administration  of  Colonial  .Affairs — 
.Attempts  to  Form  a Union— Situation  at  the  Accession 
of  George  III — Commercial  Tyranny  of  England — Do- 
mestic Industries — Fixed  Revenue  Refused — Virginia’s 
Individuality — Development  of  the  Aristocracy — Influ- 
ence of  the  Cavalier  Element — Character  and  Extent  of 
Immigration — Internal  Growth — Social  Institutions  and 
Characteristics — Fashionable  Dissipations— Results  of 
Democracy— Character  of  the  EstablishedChurch — Grow- 
ing Power  of  Dissenters— Bond-labor — History  of  Sla- 
very— Survival  of  the  Institution — Its  General  Influence, 
etc 38 


CHAPTER  III.— 1670-1782. 

Beyond  the  Alleghanies — Virginia’s  Conquests  in 
THE  AVest. — Early  Bounds  of  A’irginia — Tramontane 
Explorations— Hostility  of  the  Indians — The  French  in 
America — Ch.aracter  of  French  Colonization — Their 
Colonial  Policy  in  the  AVest — Conflict  with  the  Iroquois 
— In  Contact  with  the  English — The  AVar  of  Civdizations 
— Opposing  F'orces  in  the  Ohio  A’alley — English  At- 
tempts at  Colonization — Claims  of  the  English— Descent 
of  the  French — Braddock’s  Campaign — Conquest  of  the 
Valley  by  the  English — Extension  of  English  Settle- 
ments— Land  Company  Enterprises — Forest  Diplo- 
macy— Preparations  for  the  New  Struggle — The  Situation 
in  Kentucky — Clark’s  Arrival  on  the  Border — Recog- 
nition of  the  Kentuckians — Organization  of  the  AVestern 
Expedition — Rendezvous-  on  Corn  Island— Olficial  In- 
structions to  Clark — The  Illinois  Country — Capture  of 
Kaskaskia — Descent  of  the  British  from  Detroit — The 
March  to  A'incennes— Capture  of  the  Post  by  Clark — 
Organization  of  Illinois  County,  etc 67 

CH.APTER  IV. 1818. 

The  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground— Its  Prehistoric  An- 
nals.— Origin  of  Name — .Archaeological  Speculations — 
Theory  of  Prof.  Rafinesque — Peopling  of  the  New  AVorld 
— Changes  in  Chronological  Systems — The  Elder  Man — 
Superficial  Evidence  of  His  Presence — Important  Dis- 
coveries of  Fossils— Remains  of  the  Mound-Builders — 


Typical  Structures— Unclassified  Remains — .Antiquity 
of  These  Relics — Ethnical  Peculiarity  of  the  Race — 
Fate  of  this  Prehistoric  People — A'ast  Indian  Migra- 
tion— Traditionary  Lore  of  the  Tribes — .Aboriginal  In- 
habitants Found  in  Possession — Indian  Titles  Extin- 
guished, etc 91 

CHAPTER  V.— 1754-1775. 

Explorations  and  First  Settlement  op  Kentucky. — 
Fluctuation  of  Frontier  Line — Obscurity  of  the  Coun- 
try Purchased — Sailing’s  Adventure — Exploration  of 
Walker — Visits  of  Gist  and  James  Smith — .Arrival  of 
John  Finley — Efforts  to  Establish  an  Inland  Colony — 
Daniel  Boone  and  Companions — Murder  of  Stewart— 
Adventures  of  the  Boones — The  Long  Hunters— Early 
Land  Surveys — Bullitt  and  the  Shawanese — Adventure 
of  the  McAfees — Simon  Kenton’s  Advent  on  the  Fron- 
tier— .Activity  of  Surveyors  in  1774— The  First  Settle- 
ment Planted — .Attacked  by  the  Indians — Dr.  Connolly 
at  Fort  Pitt — Clark’s  Defense  of  Cresap — The  Dunmore 
AVar — .Action  of  Kentucky  Pioneers — Revival  of  Pioneer 
Interest — Return  of  Prospectors  and  Surveyors— The 
First  Colony  Established — Indian  .Attack  at  Little  Fort 
— Henderson’s  Journal — Benjamin  Logan  .Arrives  in 
Kentucky — Important  Emigrant  Parties — Naming  of 
Lexington — Exodus  of  1775 — Domestic  Circle  First  Com- 
pleted, etc 106 

CHAPTER  AH.— 1775-1777. 

Colonization  op  Kentucky- — The  Border  Struggle. — 

The  Transylvania  Colony — Its  Political  Organization — 
Important  Meeting  of  Proprietors — A Petition  to  Con- 
gress— Regulation  of  Land  Sales— Opposition  to  the 
Project — Conciliatory  Measures  by  Company’s  Agent — 

The  Harrodsburg  Petition— Character  of  the  Company— 

Mr.  Hogg’s  Mission  to  Philadelphia — His  Report  to  the 
Copartners — Erection  of  Kentucky  County — Proprie- 
tors Dispossessed  and  Compensated — Indian  Depreda- 
tions on  New  Settlements— Increase  of  Settlements 
Noted— Girls  Captured  at  Boonesborough — Patterson’s 
Company  .Attacked  by  Savages — The  Virginia  Powder 
Secured— Diary  of  George  Rogei-s  Clark — AA'oodchoppers 
.Attacked — .An  Indian  Stratagem — Boonesborough  Se- 
riously .Assailed — The  Long  Siege  of  St.  .Asaph’s— Heroic 
Conduct  of  Logan — Character  of  Indian  Sieges — Repri- 
sals by  the  Whites,  etc 133 


CHAPTER  AHI.— 1778-1780. 

Kentucky’s  Part  in  the  War  for  Independence. — 
Character  of  the  Frontier  Struggle — Ominous  Opening 
of  1778— Capture  of  the  Salt-makers— Boone's  Escape 
from  His  Captors— Scouting  to  Paint  Creek  Town— Du- 
Quesne’s  Attack  on  Boonesborough — Predatory  Incur- 
sions of  the  Savages — Kenton’s  Unsuccessful  Horse- 
Stealing — Terrible  Experience  as  a Captive — Escape 
from  Detroit— Inerease  of  Kentucky  Stations— Lexing- 
ton, Ruddle’s,  Martin’s,  etc..  Founded — Large  Immigra- 
tion in  1779— Rogers’  Terrible  Defeat — Experience  of 
Capt.  Benham — Bowman’s  Expedition  Across  the  Ohio — 
Unfortunate  Termination  and  Retreat— Responsibility 
for  the  Failure — The  Hard  AVinter,  1779-80 — "iV^onderful 
Immigration  via  the  Ohio  River— Fort  Jefferson  Built- 
Ruddle’s  and  Martin’s  Stations  Captured— Clark's  Ex- 
pedition Against  Miami  Towns— Inconclusive  Results, 
etc 15^ 

CH.APTER  VIII.— 1781-1783. 

The  Price  op  Liberty. — Desperate  Fortune  of  Last  A'ears 
of  the  AVar— New  Attack  on  Detroit  Planned— Activity 
of  Indian  Bands— The  AVhole  Border  Alarmed— Laugh- 
rey’s  Defeat  and  Capture— Fort  Jefferson  Attacked  and 
Abandoned— Fort  Nelson  and  the  .Armed  Galley— Inte- 
rior Stations  Attacked — Estill’s  Memorable  Combats 
The  Disastrous  Termination — Aggressive  Boldness  of 


185434 


VI 


CONTENTS. 


the  Savages— Hoy’s  and  Bryant’s  Stations  Attacked— 

An  I ustance  of  Female  Heroism— Attempt  to  Re-enforce 
the  Station— Savages  Retire  and  are  Pursued— Battle  of 
Blue  Lick— The  Suspected  Ambush— Complete  Over- 
throw ofthe  Whites — The  Fallen  Leaders— Attack  on 
Beargrass  Station — Ettect  of  the  Raid  on  the  Pioneers 
— Invasion  ofthe  Indian  Country —Death  of  Col.  Floyd 
—Peace  Proclaimed  and  Clark  Retired,  etc 174 

CHAPTER  IX.— 1775-1783. 

The  Pioneer  and  Pioneer  Days.— Character  of  the  Pio- 
neers—Imlay’s  Survey  of  Kentucky— Lexington  Region 
— “Theltapids”  and  Contiguous  Country — Kentucky 
Barrens— Character  of  the  Came — Spontaneous  Devel- 
opment of  Society- Order  of  Social  Evolution— Joe 
Logston  and  his  Class— Simon  Kenton— Daniel  Boone — 
Character  and  Dress  of  “ First  Settlers  ’’—James  Harrod 
— Ell'ect  of  Early  Conditions  on  Population— Female 
Heroism— Precocious  Adventurers- Reality  of  Pioneer 
Life — The  Immigration  of  1780 — Kentucky  Boats — 
Planting  a Frontier  Home — Agricultural  Beginnings — 

The  Pioneer’s  Wealth — Woman’s  Worth  and  Work — In- 
side the  Cabin— Duties  ofthe  Housewife — The  Dress  of 
the  People — Constitution  of  Society — Social  Forms  and 
Habits — Courtsliip  and  Marriage — The  use  of  Intoxi- 
cants— Religious  Inliuences — Sunday  on  the  Frontier — 

The  Camp  Sleeting — State  of  Intellectual  Develop- 
ment-Pioneer Industries — The  Public  Lands — Land 
Laws  of  1779 — Virginia’s  Ill-advised  Legislation — Ken- 
tucky Land  Titles,  etc 192 

CHAPTER  X.— 1784-1795. 

The  Era  or  Sociai.  Evolution. — A Remarkable  Period  of 
Development— Ell'ect  of  Great  Immigration — Internal 
Improvement  and  Trade — Money  and  the  Merchants — 

Salt  Manufacture  — Improvements  in  Agriculture  — 
Wagon  and  River  Traffic — Incidents  of  River  Life — Col. 
Plug,  the  Wrecker — Character  of  the  Boatmen — Mike 
Fink— Home  Comforts  of  the  People — .Society’s  New 
Airs — Public  Amusements— The  Other  Side  of  the  Pic- 
ture-Peace Efforts  of  the  Government — Hostilities  Re- 
newed— Reprisals  in  178G — The  Wabash  Campaign- 
Horse  Stealing  by  the  .Savages — Depredations  in  1788 — 
Hostilities  in  1789— Forts  and  Troops  North  of  the  Ohio 
— Kentucky  E.xpeditions — Measures  ofthe  Government 
—Preparations  for  a Federal  Campaign — Story  of  the 
March — Harmar’s  Defeat — The  New  Plans  Adopted — 
Scott's  Successful  Expedition— Wilkinson’s  Campaign — 

St.  Clair’s  Attack  of  the  Indians — His  Terrible  Defeat — 
Causes  and  Effects  of  the  Disaster — Kenton  on  the  Bor- 
der—Pe.ace  Efforts  Renewed — The  Army  on  the  Miami 
—A  Final  Peace  Conference — Gen.  Wayne’s  Prepara- 
tions— Advance  of  His  Army — Battle  of  Fallen  Timbers 
— Victory  of  the  Americans — The  Treaty  of  Green- 
ville, etc 225 

CHAPTER  XI.— 1784-1792. 

Early  Political  Development.- Gradual  Extension  of 
Frontier  Lines — First  Institution  of  Government — The 
District  and  its  Court — Condition  in  1784 — First  Conven- 
tion to  Consider  Separation — Address  to  the  Peo  pie — A 
New  Convention  Assembled — James  Wilkinson  and  His 
Influence — Political  Agitation  of  1785 — Act  of  Separa- 
tion—Character  of  the  Second  Act — The  ' avigation  of 
the  Mississippi — Unauthorized  Action  of  Clark — Wil- 
kinson’s Commercial  Venture — Tiie  Federal  Constitu- 
tion—Kentucky  Thwarted  by  Congress — Vexation  of 
the  People — Spirited  Contest  of  1788— The  Formation 
of  Parties— Proceedings  of  the  Seventh  Convention — 

The  Spanish  “ Conspiracy” — English  Intrigue  by  Con- 
nolly— Final  Act  of  .Separation— Organization  of  the 
.State — Its  Territorial  Limits — Population  and  Growth 
of  Towns — Limestone,  Washington,  Paris — Lexington 
and  its  Manufactories— The  Route  to  Tennessee — Hen- 
derson, Frankfort,  etc. — Louisville,  Its  Early  Features 
— Shippingsport,  etc 2G3 

CHAPTER  XII.— 1792-1812. 

The  New  State  and  its  Procle.ms.— A Constitution 
Adopted— Some  of  its  Provisions — George  Nicholas — 
Jurisdiction  of  the  Supreme  Court — The  Kentucky 
Resolutions — Gen.  Shelby,  the  First  Governor — The 
Spanish  Conspiracy  Aeain — Judges  Sebastian,  Innes 
and  others  Implicated  in  the  Intrigue — Final  Treaty 
with  Spain— Opening  of  the  Mississippi  River  to  Free 
Navig.ation — Peace  and  Prosperity  of  the  Common- 
wealth— Another  Attempt  of  Spain  to  Draw  Kentucky 
from  her  Allegiance  to  the  Federd  Government — Its 
Failure — Gen.  James  Garrard  Elected  Governor — Char- 
acter of  the  Kentucky  Resolutions — The  .Second  Consti- 
tution of  the  State — Wherein  it  Differed  from  its  Pre- 
decessor-Gov. Greenup— Jefferson  Re-elected  to  the 
Presidency — The  Federalist  and  Democratic  Parties— 
Treason  of  Aaron  Burr— His  Designs  on  Kentucky — 
Trial  and  Acquittal  at  Frankfort — Excitement  of  the 
Time— Indian  Depredations — Battle  of  Tippecanoe— 


The  War  of  1812— Some  of  the  Causes  which  Led  to  It 
— Hull’s  Surrender— Fort  Meigs  and  the  Thames — Bat- 
tle of  New  Orleans — Peace,  etc 296 

CHAPTER  XIII.— 1812— 1860. 

Political  Annals  op  the  St.vte. — Organization  of  Par- 
ties— Gov.  Madison — Relief  and  Anti-Relief— Banks 
Chartered— Party  Strife— Gen.  Adair— Bank  of  the 
Commonwe.'ilth — Decision  of  Judge  Clark — Impeached 
by  the  Legislature — Champions  of  the  Old  and  New 
Court  Parties — Political  Peace  and  Tranquility— R.ob- 
ertson  and  Wicklill'e — Triumph  of  the  Old  Court— Na- 
tional Politics — Campaign  of  1824 — Defeat  of  Jackson — 
Henry  Clay — His  Political  Career — Metcalfe  Elected 
Governor — National  and  Democratic  Republicans — 
Election  of  1832 — United  States  Bank — Whig  and  Demo- 
cratic Parties — Gov.  Clark — General  Bankruptcy — The 
" Hard  Cider”  Campaign  of  1840 — Judge  Owsley  Elect- 
ed Governor — Election  of  1844 — Clay  and  the  Slavery 
Question — The  Coming  Storm — Death  of  Clay — John 
J.  Crittenden — Constitution  of  1849 — First  Election 
under  the  New  Regime — A Democratic  Governor — The 
Know-Nothing  Party — Its  Platform  of  Principles — 
Bloody  Riot  in  Louisville — Election  of  18.56 — Demo- 
cratic Triumph — Gov.  Magoffin — Presidential  Election 
of  1860,  etc 311 

CHAPTER  XIV.— 1833-1848. 

Annexation  of  Te.yas  and  War  with  Me.xico — Char- 
acter of  the  Early  Texans — State  of  Coahuila  and  Texas 
—Stephen  Austin — The  Texas  Revolution — Siege  of  the 
Alamo— Battle  of  San  Jacinto — Capture  ot  Santa  Anna 
— Independence  of  Texas — Overtures  to  the  United 
States — Guerrilla  Warfare — President  Tyler — Corre- 
spondence of  the  Mexican  Minister  with  the  Upited 
States  Government — Annexation  of  Texas— Gen.  Tay- 
lor Ordered  to  the  Rio  Grande— War  Declared  Against 
Mexico — Opposition  in  the  United  States — Commence- 
ment of  Hostilities— Call  for  Volunteers— Patriotism  oi 
Kentucky — The  Louisville  Legion— Second  Infantry 
and  First  Cavalry — Capt.  Williams’  Company — Second 
Call  for  Troops — Gens.  Taylor  and  Butler — Field  Officers 
— Opening  Battles  of  the  War — Fall  of  Matamoras — 
Monterey— Kentuckians  Captured— Gen.  Scott  at  Vera 
Cruz — Troops  Withdrawn  from  Gen.  Taylor — March  to 
Saltillo — Personnel  of  the  Contending  Armies — Battle 
of  Buena  A’ista — Fatality  Among  Kentucky  Troops— 

Fall  of  the  City  of  Mexico — Close  of  the  War — Return  ot 
the  Soldiers — Monument  to  Kentucky  Dead,  etc 331 

CHAPTER  XV.— 1860-1862. 

First  Phases  of  the  Civil  War  in  Kentucky.— Slavery, 
the  Primal  Evil— Prominent  Kentuckians — The  State 
Military — Vote  of  I860 — The  First  Call  for  Troops — Gov. 
]\Iagoffin’s  Dispatch  to  thePresident — Kentucky’s  Neu- 
trality— Troops  for  the  Confederacy — Border  State  Con- 
vention— The  Peace  Party — “Southern  Rights”  People 
— Military  District  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee — Gen. 
Anderson— Camp  Dick  Robinson — Lieut.  William  Nel- 
son— First  Kentucky  Regiments — Courage  ofthe  Moun- 
taineers— The  Militia  Reserve— State  Guards  and  Home 
Guards — Gen.  S.  B.  Buckner — State  of  Affairs  in  Ken- 
tucky— Gen.  L.  H.  Rousseau — Correspondence  Between 
Buckner  and  McClellan — Federal  Troops  Enter  Ken- 
tucky— Protest  of  the  Governor — Letters  from  Presi- 
dents Lincoln  and  Davis—  Loyalty  of  East  Tennessee — 
Lieut.  Carter — Cumberland  Gap — Camp  Jo  Holt— Occu- 
pation of  Paducah  and  Smithland — Confederates  at 
Bowling  Green — Federal  Troops  Occupy  Muldraugh’s 
Hill— Gen.  Sherman  Succeeds  to  the  Command  in  Ken- 
tucky— Affairs  in  Southwestern  Kentucky — Arms  for 
the  Kentucky  Troops — Gen.  Thomas  Takes  Command 
at  Camp  Dick  Robinson — A Skilltul  Piece  of  Financier- 
ing— Position  of  the  Knoxville  Whig — Gen.  Zollicoffer’s 
Movements — Great  Need  of  Transportation — Maneuver- 
ing of  Thomas  and  Zollicoffer — Joshua  F.  Speed — An 
Incident  of  his  Intimacy  with  President  Lincoln,  etc....  349 

CHAPTER  XVI.— 1861-1863. 

Military  Operations  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.— 
Visit  of  Secretary  Cameron  and  Adjt.-3en.  Thomas  to 
Louisville — Interview  with  Gen.  Sherman — Demand  for 
More  Men — Sherman  Charged  with  Insanity — Relieved 
from  Command  at  Louisville— Gen.  Johnston’s  Army — 
Discouraging  Outlook  to  the  Confederate  Commander — 
Gen.  Buell  Takes  Command  of  the  Department  of  the 
Ohio,  etc. — Operations  in  West  Virginia — Gen.  Grant 
— Confederate  Troops  Sent  to  Tompkinsville— For- 
rest and  his  Famous  Cavalry — Skirmish  at  Sac- 
ramento— .Southeastern  Kentucky — Battle  of  Mill 
Springs — The  Troops  Engaged — Death  of  Gen.  Zollicoff- 
er — Skirmishing  Between  Marshall  and  Garfield — Fall 
of  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson — Surrender  of  Confeder- 
ates under  Gen.  Buekner — Battle  of  Shiloh — Result  of 
the  First  Day’s  Fighting — Gen.  Buell’s  Timely  Arrival — 
Kentucky  Union  Troops  Engaged — Eastern  Kentucky 


CONTENTS. 


vii 


Again — The  Federal  General  Morgan— Gen.  Kirby 
Smith— Battle  of  Richmond— Recruits  for  the  Confeder- 
ate Army — Battle  of  Perryville— Gen.  Rosecrans’  Ad- 
Tances — Kentucky  Troops  at  Stone  River — Losses  Sus- 
tained in  the  Battle— Operations  Around  Vicksburg — 
Constant  Fighting — Part  Taken  by  Kentuckians — Fall 
of  the  Confederate  Stronghold,  etc 383 


CHAPTER  XVII.— 1862-1865. 


Kentucky  Troops  in  Tennessee  and  Georgia  Campaigns. 

— Middle  Tennessee  Wrested  from  the  Confederates — 

The  Battle  of  Chickamauga — Kentucky’s  Killed  and 
Wounded— Loss  in  Van  Cleve’s  Divisions — Croxton's 
Brigade— Fatality  Among  Kentucky  Officers — The  Fed- 
eral Army  Retires  to  Chattanooga — Capture  of  Moccasin 
Point— Gallantry  of  Hazen’s  Brigade — Longstreet  Sent 
Against  Burnside  at  Knoxville— Battle  of  Lookout 
Mountain— The  Confederates  Take  Position  on  Mission- 
ary Ridge- Kentucky 'Iruops  that  Participated  in  the 
Battle — Gen.  Thomas — Siege  of  Knoxville — Repulse  of 
Longstreet — Joe  Johnston  Succeeds  Bragg  and  Crosses 
Swords  with  Sherman — Battle  of  Resaca — Alatoona 
Pass — Keuesaw  Mountain — The  Fighting  Around  At- 
lanta— Heavy  Losses — Sherman’s  March  to  the  Sea — 
Kentucky  Troops  Accompanying  Him — Gen.  Thomas’ 
Army— Its  Perilous  Position— Engagements  at  Spring 
Hill  and  Franklin — Fall  of  Confederate  Officers — Scho- 
field’s Blunder — Battle  of  Nashville — Retreat  of  Hood’s 
Army — Tribute  to  Confederate  Officers  and  Soldiers.etc.  421 


CHAPTER  XVIII.— 1861-1865. 

Morgan’s  Cavalry  and  the  Kentucky  Confederate 
Brigade. — Lexington  Rifles,  the  Nucleus  of  Morgan’s 
Command— Departure  for  the  Southern  Army — 1 he 
Company  Mounted — At  Shiloh — Morgan  as  a Scout — 

His  Company  Becomes  a Regiment — Designated  the 
Second  Kentucky  Cavalry — First  Raid  into  Kentucky— 
Recruits  Added  and  a Brigade  Formed — Political  Divis- 
ions in  Prominent  Families — Morgan  Captures  Cynthi- 
ana — Bewilderment  of  the  Federal  Forces — Retreat  of 
Morgan  from  the  State — Receives  Orders  from  Bragg  to 
Destroy  the  Railroad — The  Twenty-eighth  Kentucky 
Infantry  Captured — Again  Invades  Kentucky — Joins 
Kirby  Smith  at  Lexington — Duke  Captures  Augusta — 
Retreat  of  the  Confederate  Army — Morgan  Promoted 
and  His  Force  Inci  eased  to  a Division — Capture  of  Harts- 
ville — Again  Raids  Kentucky — Catches  a Tartar  at 
Green  River — Crosses  the  Ohio  into  Indiana — Captured 
at  Buffington  Island — Escapes  from  Prison  and  Reorgan-  • 
izes  His  Force— Death  of  Morgan — The  First  Kentucky 
Brigade — Gen.  Breckinridge  in  Command — Expedition 
to  Baton  Rouge — At  Stone  River — Charge  of  the  Brigade 
at  Chickamauga — Hetivy  Loss— Its  Gallantry  at  Mission- 
ary Ridge — Depleted  Ranks,  etc 450 


CHAPTER  XIX.— 1865-1884. 


CHAPTER  XX.— 1785-1885. 

Intellectual  Development  op  the  State. — Influences 
that  Led  to  Mental  Improvement — The  Press — Revolu- 
tion in  Newspapers  Caused  by  the  Civil  War— Aere- 
tuke  Gazetlf,  the  First  Paper  in  the  West — Why  it  was 
Established — John  Bradford— The  Kentucky  Herald — 
First  Louisville  Paper— The  Paris  Citizen  and  Lexington 
Observer — Louisville  Advertiser^  the  First  Daily  in  Ken- 
tuck  y—Shadrach  Penn- The  Foeua- Albert  G.  Hodges 
— The  Louisville  Journal  and.  George  D.  Prentice— Influ- 
ence of  the  Two  upon  the  Country — Prentice’s  Career  as 
a Journalist — The  Courier — W.  N.  Haldeman — Suppres- 
sion of  the  Courier  in  .1861 — Its  Re-establishment  in 
Louisville — The  Democrat  —John  H.  Harney — Consolida- 
tion of  the  Journal  and  Couriei — A Nine  Days’  Wonder 
—Other  Louisville  Newsp.apers — The  True  American — Its 
Suppression — The  Country  Press — Literary  People — 
Educational— High  Grade  Institutions  of  Learning — 
Transylvania  University— Kentucky  Academy — Centre 
College — Modern  Institutes— The  State  Agricultural 
and  Mechanical  College,  etc 487 

CHAPTER  XXI.— 1880-1886. 

Recent  Growth  and  Promises  for  the  Future- Roads, 
and  Early  Legislation  Concerning  Them — Turnpikes 
and  Toll  Gates — Macadamized  Roads — River  Navigation 
— Improvement  of  Inland  Streams— Canal  from  the 
Ohio  to  the  Atlantic — The  Canal  Around  the  Falls — 
Steamboat  “New  Orleans” — Consternation  Caused  by 
Its  Appearance  on  the  Ohio  River — Other  Steamboats — 
Railroads — Their  Origin — Lexington  & Ohio  Road — Its 
Eventful  History — The  Charleston  & Cincinnati — Louis- 
ville & Nashville — An  Extensive  Corporation — Guthrie, 
Helm  and  Newcomb- Chesapeake  & Ohio,  and  Other 
Kentucky  Roads— Bridges — The  State’s  Charitable  In- 
stitutions— Insane  Asylums — The  Deaf  and  Dumb, 
Blind,  Feeble-Minded  and  Other  Institutes — American 
Printing  House  for  the  Blind — Mammoth  Cave — Mate- 


ria! Resources  of  Kentucky,  etc 510 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Kentucky’s  One  Hundrf.d  and  Eighteen  Counties....  547 


APPENDIX  A. 


1 — Shell  Heaps.  2 — Genealogy  of  the  Boone  Family.  3 — 
Adventures  of  Early  Surveyors.  4— Decker’s  Settle 
ment.  5 — Big  Bone  Lick.  6 — First  Plat  of  Louisville. 

7— Names  of  First  Settlers.  8 — Indian  Grants  to  the 
Whites.  9— Boonesborough  Fort.  10 — The  Girty  Fam- 
ily. 11 — Rogers’  Defeat,  etc.  12— White  Oak  Station. 

13— Estill’s  Defeat.  11 — Attack  on  Bryant’s  Station. 

1.5 — Battle  of  Blue  Lick.  16 — The  Barrens  or  Me.adows 
of  Kentucky.  17 — Grape  Culture.  IS— Simon  Kentoa. 

19 — Daniel  Boone.  20 — James  Harrod.  21— Kentucky 
Boats.  22 — Population.  23— Pioneer  Sports  and  Pas- 
times. 24 — Land  Titles.  25 — Panax  Quinguefolium 
(Ginseng).  26 — Division  of  the  State  into  Counties.  27 
— Gen.  James  Wilkinson.  28— Daniel  Clark’s  Memoir. 

29— Act  Admitting  Kentucky  into  the  Union.  30 — The 
Resolutions  of  1798.  31— Present  Constitution  of  the 
State.  32 — Historical  Sketch  of  Mammoth  Cave,  etc 661' 


Peace  Problems  and  Reconstruction.- Guerrilla  Depre- 
dations— Punishment  of  the  Robber-Bands — Election 
of  1865— Petty  Indignities  and  Military  Interference— 
The  Freedman’s  Bureau— Negro  Testimony  in  the  Courts 
— The  “Peculiar  Institution” — Future  of  the  Negro — 
The  Ku-Klux-Klan— Its  Mysterious  Workings— Ken- 
tucky’s Loss  of  Property  During  the  War — Reorganiza- 
tion of  Political  Parties — Repeal  of  the  Acts  Disfranchis- 
ing Confederate  Soldiers — Vote  of  1867 — John  L.  Helm 
Elected  Governor — Presidential  Contest  of  1868 — State 
Elections — The“  Fraud  ” of  1876 — Campaigns  of  1880  and 
1884 — Public  Education — The  Common  School  System- 
Education  vs.  Lawlessness— General  Interest  in  the  Pub- 
lic Schools — Improvement  of  the  Colored  People  Intel- 
lectually— Their  Advance  in  Education — Berea  College 
—Its  Organization  and  Buildings — A Liberal  Educa- 
tional Institution — Immigration — The  Kentucky  Swiss 
Colonies,  etc 


APPENDIX  B. 

United  States  army  During  the  Civil  War.  1— Al- 
phabetical List  of  General  and  Stall  Officers  from  Ken- 
tucky, Appointed  and  Commissioned  by  the  President. 

2 — Battle  List  of  Kentucky  Troops.  3— Deaths  in  Ken- 
tucky Union  Troops  During  the  Civil  War.  4 — Roll  ot 
Honor;  List  of  Officers  of  Kentucky  Regiments  Who 
were  Killed  in  Action  or  Died  of  Wounds.  5 — Deaths  in 
Kentucky  Union  Troops,  1861-1865.  6 — Deaths  in  the 
Armies  of  the  United  States,  1861-1865 692 

Confederate  States  Army.  1— General  Officers  fr»m 
Kentucky,  Appointed  and  Commissioned  by  the  Con- 
federate Government.  2 — General  and  Staff  Officers  Ap- 
pointed from  Kentucky.  3 — Kentucky  Troops’  Organ- 
ization. 4 — Killed,  Wounded,  etc.  5 — Battle  of  Per- 
ryville   733 


Note.— Chapters  I,  II,  III,  IV,  V,  VI,  VII,  VIII,  IX,  X,  XI,  and  the  greater  part  of  Appendix  A were  written  by  Mr  Battle ; 
Chapters  XII,  XIII,  XIV,  XIX,  XX,  XXI,  XXII,  and  the  remainder  of  Appaadix  A,  were  written  by  Mr.  Perrin , Chapters  AV, 
XYl,  XVII,  XVIII  and  Appendix  B were  written  by  Mr.  Kniffin. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


CHAPTER  I. 


ORIGIN  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  FIRST  COLONY  OF  VIRGINIA. 


At  the  dawn  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  j 
world  groped  in  intellectual  darkness;  | 
the  despotic  policy  of  the  church  and  State 
riveted  its  cruel  fetters  upon  the  conscience 
and  sought  to  smother  that  spark  of  immor- 
tality granted  to  mortals — the  mind,  by  the  se- 
clusion from  the  masses,  the  priceless  archives 
of  human  knowledge.  In  1450  Gutenberg 
invented  typography  and  the  printing  press, 
and  the  human  intellect,  set  free,  emancipated 
the  conscience  and  rocked  the  fabric  of  the 
church  to  its  foundations.  But  this  did  not 
complete  its  mission;  the  enfranchised  soul 
sought  larger  fields  and  grander  achieve- 
ments, and,  taking  up  the  cry  that  came  echo- 
ing down  the  centuries,  made  it  the  watch- 
word of  progress:  “Give  me  where  I may 
stand,  and  I will  move  the  world!” — and  God, 
moving  “in  a mysterious  way  His  wonders  to 
perform,”  granted  a new  world  in  answer  to 
the  universal  prayer. 

Columbus’  discovery  of  Saint  Salvador,  in 
1492,  was  the  confirmation  of  theories  en- 
tertained for  a period  dating  back  three  cen- 
turies before  the  Christian  era,  and  no  sooner 
was  the  demonstration  thus  made  clear  than 
adventurous  sails  in  search  of  new  lands  were 
multiplied  upon  the  sea.  In  June,  1497, 
nearly  fourteen  months  before  Columbus,  on 
his  third  voyage,  sighted  the  mainland,  John 
Cabot,  a native  of  Venice  but  a resident  of 
Bristol,  England,  discovered  North  America, 
probably  in  latitude  56°,  “among  the  dismal 
cliffs  of  Labrador.”  In  the  year  following, 
Cabot’s  second  son,  Sebastian,  set  forth  from 


England.  Columbus  from  Spain,  and  A^asco 
da  Gama  from  Portugal,  each  in  quest  of 
“that  hidden  secret  of  nature,”  the  short 
route  to  India.  In  May,  Vasco  da  Gama 
reached  Hindostan  by  way  of  the  cape  of 
Good  Hope;  in  August,  Columbus  discovered 
the  mainland  of  South  America,  and  in  the 
same  summer  Cabot  explored  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  North  America  from  a northern  lati- 
tude as  far  south  as  the  entrance  to  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay.  Of  these  pioneers  of  the  sea, 
Cabot  alone  failed  to  receive  the  recognition 
which  his  discoveries  deserved.  Vasco  da 
Gama  became  the  hero  of  Portugal’s  national 
epic;  Columbus  found  secure  fame  in  Tasso’s 
lines;  while  Cabot’s  name,  emerging  from 
the  half  century  of  obscurity  that  early  en- 
veloped it,  is  now  scarcely  known  save  to  the 
scholar. 

Of  the  three,  Cabot  alone  failed  of  the  im- 
mediate object  of  his  voyage;  for,  whatever  the 
language  in  which  the  object  of  his  search 
may  have  been  expressed,  Columbus  sought 
something  more  than  a new  commercial  route. 
Early  educated  for  a mariner,  and  entering 
upon  a nautical  life  when  only  fourteen  years 
of  age,  he  came  to  mature  years  learned  in 
the  geographical  investigations  which  marked 
the  age,  and  possessed  with  an  invincible  idea 
that  the  shortest  route  to  Asia  lay  across  the 
Atlantic.  To  demonstrate  the  validity  of  this 
idea,  to  satisfy  the  longings  of  a lofty  ambi- 
tion which  he  believed  inspired  and  led  of 
God,  were  the  great  motives  that  supported 
him  in  his  career  and  approved  his  achieve- 


IS 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


merits.  And  so,  while  he  failed  in  the  demand 
of  spirits  “not  finely  touched,”  he  won  the 
plaudits  ofi  the  learned.  The  uumistakable 
demand  of  the  age,  however,  was  for  the  dis- 
covery of  a way  to  reach  India  without  pay- 
ing commercial  tribute  to  the  Ottoman  em- 
pire. This  Gama  achieved  by  a southeast 
passage,  and  received  the  lavish  praise  of  his 
countrymen.  Cabot,  seeking  a northwest 
passage,  was  turned  back  by  Arctic  obstruc- 
tions, and  fell  upon  a coast  that,  to  the  nar- 
row conceptions  of  the  age,  offered  no  com- 
pensatory advantage  for  the  object  he  sought, 
and  which  was  so  much  desired.  Yet  this 
coast,  barren  of  gold  mines  and  rich  com- 
merce, was  destined  to  exceed  the  wealth  of 
the  Indies  in  valuable  returns.  But  years 
were  to  elapse  and  nations  were  to  be  taught 
in  the  school  of  experience,  before  the  full 
importance  of  his  discoveries  could  be  com- 
prehended. In  the  meantime,  the  shoals  of 
cod,  which  he  first  brought  to  notice,  and  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  that  still  exists  in 
the  Spanish  tongue,  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  world,  and  sustained  the  flagging  in- 
terest in  these  shores  which  offered  no  glitter- 
ing attraction  to  the  commercial  spirit  of  the 
period. 

The  discoveries  of  Cabot  and  Columbus, 
though  not  in  the  direction  of  the  prevailing 
thought  of  the  time,  served  nevertheless  to 
attract  the  curiosity  of  all  Europe;  and  Spain, 
Portugal,  France,  England  and  Holland 
gave  ofificial  countenance  and  aid  to  the  nu- 
merous adventurers  that  came  forward  to 
seek  new  fortunes  and  fame  in  the  new 
world.  These  early  voyages  produced  little 
returns  for  the  considerable  expenditure  in- 
volved, save  interesting  specimens  of  no 
pecuniary  value,  and  the  activity  of  European 
complications  served  to  prevent  a calm  con- 
sideration of  the  real  advantages  to  be  secured 
from  their  results.  Gradually  the  object  of 
these  explorations  underwent  a change:  the 
futility  of  the  search  for  a north we.st  passage, 
and  the  discovery  and  conquest  of  Peru  and 
Mexico,  with  their  fabulous  stores  of  gold, 
gave  new  zest  and  direction  to  the  efforts  of 
later  maritime  adventurers.  Greed  for  gold, 
to  be  secured  by  acts  scarcely  to  be  distin- 


guished from  acts  of  piracy,  enlisted  the  cu- 
pidity of  the  old  world,  and  hundreds  of  the 
most  depraved  as  well  as  bravest  of  the  ad- 
venturers that  swarmed  throughout  Europe, 
descended  upon  the  North  American  conti- 
nent. But  the  dreams  of  Central  and  South 
Americas  found  no  realization  on  these 
northern  shores;  beset  by  obstacles  which  no 
human  device  could  surmount,  a disheartened 
and  destitute  remnant  only  survived  to  tell 
the  story  of  their  failure.  Led  by  the  roman- 
tic superstitions  of  the  age,  other  few  sought 
in  the  new  world  the  spring  of  eternal  youth 
and  another  Eden,  only  to  learn  by  an  expe- 
rience, fraught  with  misery  and  death,  that 
to  wealth  and  happiness  there  is  no  royal 
road.  Yet  years  of  effort  and  hundreds  of 
lives  were  expended  in  these  fruitless  adven- 
tures before  the  grand  project  of  planting 
new  states  in  this  land  dawned  upon  the  in- 
telligence of  the  world. 

Early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  England, 
freed  from  the  entangling  alliance  with 
Spain,  began  to  turn  her  attention  to  the 
commercial  advantages  to  be  found  in  Amer- 
ica, and  in  1541,  by  an  act  of  parliament, 
began  to  foster  the  fisheries  of  Newfoundland. 
These  continued  to  attract  the  attention  of 
the  sober-minded  of  Europe  for  years,  and 
after  1574,  England  alone  sent  from  thirty 
to  fifty  ships  to  this  fishing  ground.  The 
hope  that  some  hidden  treasure  might  still 
be  found  here  was  never  entirely  absent  from 
the  minds  of  the  explorers;  but  while  Eliza- 
beth and  the  majority  of  English  adventurers 
were  still  dazzled  with  the  hopes  of  gold. 
Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  “with  sounder  judg- 
ment and  better  knowledge,  watched  the  prog- 
ress of  the  fisheries,  and  formed  healthy 
plans  for  colonization.”  To  him,  in  June, 
1578,  the  queen  granted  a charter,  “to  be  of 
perpetual  efficacy,  if  a plantation  should  be 
established  within  six  years.”  Associating 
with  himself  his  step-brother.  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh,  he  set  out  at  the  head  of  a goodly 
band  of  followers  to  seek  a site  for  his  plan- 
tation. 

It  was  not  until  the  following  year  that 
the  expedition,  fated  to  fail,  sailed  from 
England.  One  vessel  was  lost  and  the  re- 


HISTORY  OF  IvEYTUCKY. 


19 


mainder  were  forced  to  return  with  the  object 
of  the  voyage  unattained.  In  1583,  another 
fleet  set  forth  under  the  happy  auspices  of 
the  queen,  bearing  practical  men  of  science. 
But  fate  again  proved  unpropitious.  But  one 
vessel  made  the  voyage  and  returned,  the 
others  deserting  at  the  outset  or  going  down 
at  sea,  carrying  with  them  the  men  of  sci- 
ence and  the  brave  admiral.  Undaunted  by 
repeated  failure,  Raleigh  obtained  a patent 
similar  to  the  one  granted  to  Gilbert,  and  in 
1584  projected  a third  expedition,  which 
sailed  by  a circuitous  route,  touching  at  the 
Canaries  and  West  Indies;  thence  the  course 
lay  northward  along  the  coast  of  the  Oaroli- 
nas,  the  July  air  greeting  the  voyagers  with 
“so  sweet  and  strong  a smell,  as  if  they  had 
been  in  the  midst  of  some  delicate  garden.” 
The  islands  inclosing  Pamlico  Sound  were 
touched  and  explored,  and  a colony  planted 
upon  Roanoke. 

The  story  of  this  attempt  to  colonize  Amer- 
ica is  short  and  inconclusive.  Grenville, 
Lane,  Hariot  and  Cavendish,  names  noted  in 
the  annals  of  state,  of  art,  of  history  and  of 
science,  took  part  and  notably  contributed  to 
the  information  respecting  this  newly  dis- 
covered land.  Grenville  commanded  the  ex- 
pedition; Lane  was  appointed  governor  of  the 
colony;  and  Hariot  and  Cavendish  accom- 
panied to  picture  the  natives  and  note  the 
country.  Explorations,  not  unmarked  by 
brutality  and  superstition,  were  made  into  the 
surrounding  region  before  the  retmm  of  the 
fleet.  For  a time,  the  novelty  of  the  situa- 
tion and  the  necessary  activity  involved  in 
preparing  accommodations  for  the  colony 
kept  discontent  in  abeyance,  but  injudicious 
cruelties  practiced  upon  the  natives  soon 
raised  up  a breed  of  threatening  phantoms  to 
vex  the  weak-hearted,  while  the  realization  of 
their  isolated  position  gave  rise  to  general 
despondence. 

At  this  juncture,  the  fleet  of  Sir  Francis 
Drake  unexpectedly  made  its  appearance,  its 
commander  desiring  to  make  a friendly  visit 
to  the  plantation  of  his  friend.  There  was 
at  first  no  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  col- 
onists to  forsake  their  trust;  on  the  contrary, 
a fair  sized  vessel,  with  experienced  naval 


officers,  and  all  needed  supplies  for  a retreat 
to  England  in  case  of  necessity,  was  cheer- 
fully provided  by  Drake  and  joyfully  accepted 
by  the  colonists.  In  the  midst  of  these  nego- 
tiations a violent  storm  arose  which  forced 
the  fleet  to  stand  out  to  sea  for  safety.  When 
it  had  subsided,  the  vessel  set  apart  for  the 
use  of  the  colony  was  not  to  be  found,  and 
nothing  would  satisfy  the  importunities  of 
the  colonists,  save  the  embarking  of  the 
whole  number  and  transporting  them  to  En- 
gland. This  was  accordingly  done,  only  to 
miss,  by  a few  days,  a ship,  laden  with 
every  needed  supply,  dispatched  to  the  set- 
tlement. This  had  been  sent  out  by  the  prov- 
ident care  of  Raleigh,  and  two  weeks  later 
was  followed  by  three  well-furnished  ships, 
under  the  command  of  Sir  Richard  Grenville, 
who  commanded  the  original  expedition.  In 
addition  to  a liberal  and  intelligent  provis- 
ion of  supplies,  Grenville  brought  a rein- 
forcement of  numbers,  and  after  an  unavail- 
ing search  for  the  colony,  and  placing  fifteen 
men  upon  the  island  as  a garrison,  the  fleet 
returned  to  England. 

Notwithstanding  this  “ lame  and  impotent 
conclusion,”  this  first  attempt  at  colonization 
was  not  without  good  results  to  the  general 
cause.  The  description  of  the  country  and 
its  inhabitants  by  the  returned  colonists  was 
of  the  most  favorable  kind.  The  salubrity 
of  the  climate,  the  abundance  and  variety  of 
edible  productions,  the  hospitality  and  tract- 
ability  of  the  natives,  as  well  as  their  tim- 
idity and  small  efficacy  as  enemies,  were  each 
enlarged  upon  to  a credulous  public,  which 
now  eagerly  pressed  forward  to  supply  the  re- 
cruits for  a new  expedition,  which  Raleigh 
immediately  prepared  to  send  out.  Some 
eighty-nine  men  and  seventeen  women  formed 
the  colony,  which  sailed  in  1587,  under  John 
White  as  governor.  On  reaching  Roanoke, 
no  trace  of  the  fifteen  men  landed  by  Gren- 
ville could  be  found,  save  certain  bones  which 
lay  scattered  in  the  abandoned  fields.  All 
the  colonial  buildings  were  found  in  a ruined 
condition,  with  evidence  of  having  been  long 
deserted,  and  no  further  traces  of  these  men 
were  ever  discovered.  In  his  instructions  to 
this  later  expedition,  Raleigh  had  indicated 


20 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay  as  the  site 
for  the  settlement,  but  the  naval  officer,  eager 
to  engage  in  the  West  Indies  trade,  refused 
to  go  further  than  Roanoke  Island,  and  the 
new  colony  began  its  career  amid  the  ruins 
of  its  predecessor.  Unhappily  it  fell  heir  also 
to  the  animosity  of  the  natives  which  the  acts 
of  the  first  colonists  had  engendered,  and 
some  unfortunate  complications  with  the 
Indians  occurred  even  before  the  departure 
of  the  ship  which  brought  these  later  immi- 
grants. 

In  the  departing  vessel  the  governor  took 
passage  for  England,  for  the  assigned  pur- 
pose of  seeking  further  assistance  for  the 
colony.  His  leaving  his  daughter  and 
newly  born  granddaughter  on  the  island  was 
the  pledge  of  his  good  faith  in  leaving  the 
little  band  he  was  selected  to  guide  and 
guard.  He  found  the  kingdom  absorbed  in 
its  contest  with  Spain,  and  it  was  not  until 
after  the  defeat  of  the  “ Invincible  Armada” 
that  the  cause  of  the  less  important  com- 
munity gained  the  ear  of  the  public.  Not 
so  with . Raleigh;  engaging  heartily  in  the 
defense  of  his  country,  he  did  not  on  that 
account  lose  sight  of  the  demands  of  hu- 
manity, and  made  ‘ ‘ five  several  attempts  ” 
to  relieve  them.  Each  time  his  efforts  were 
thwarted,  and  the  colony,  including  the  first 
white  child  born  on  the  soil  of  the  United 
States,  Virginia  Dare,  miserably  perished, 
leaving  no  story  of  their  fate,  save  “that 
such  things  had  been  and  had  perished.” 

In  1589,  after  expending  £40,000  in  pro- 
moting these  various  schemes  of  coloniza- 
tion, Raleigh  found  his  fortunes  so  far 
broken  as  to  prevent  further  efforts  of  his 
own,  and  granted  to  Sir  Thomas  Smythe  and 
others  certain  concessions  under  his  charter. 
No  immediate  advantage  to  American  coloni- 
zation grew  out  of  this  arrangement,  but  a 
number  of  influential  and  wealthy  men  were 
brought  into  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
plans  for  the  new  world,  and  their  interest 
in  the  sirbject  gave  it  a new  impetus. 

For  years,  the  Newfoundland  fisheries 
alone  kept  alive  the  English  interest  in 
America,  and  kept  the  way  open  for  the  oc- 
cupation of  Virginia,  as  the  whole  coast  had 


been  named  by  the  virgin  queen.  Nearly 
every  expedition  to  the  shores  of  Newfound- 
land did  something  incidentally  toward  ex- 
tending the  exploration  of  the  American 
shore,  and  it  was  due  to  these  amateur  dis- 
coveries that  the  first  successful  outcome  of 
these  colonization  efforts  gained  the  interest 
and  support  of  some  of  its  most  eminent 
sustainers.  It  was  through  them  that  Bar- 
tholomew Gosnold,  an  experienced  naval 
officer,  and  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  enlisted 
in  this  kind  of  enterprise;  through  them 
Sir  John  Popham,  lord  chief- justice  of  En- 
gland; Edward  Maria  Wingfield,  amerchaut; 
Robert  Hunt,  a clergyman;  John  Smith,  a 
soldier  of  the  Continental  wars;  George 
Popham,  a relative  of  the  chief-justice,  and 
Raleigh  Gilbert,  whose  name  suggests  his 
relation  to  the  “shepherd  of  the  sea”  and 
the  brave  and  pious  admiral  became  identi- 
fied with  the  American  colonization  plans 
which  eventually  crystallized  into  the  twin 
charters  for  the  planting  of  the  first  and 
second  colonies  of  Virginia. 

In  1606,  the  queen  dead,  Raleigh  im- 
prisoned in  the  Tower,  and  his  patent  for- 
feited by  his  attainder  of  treason,  these 
persons  and  “certain  knights,  gentlemen, 
merchants,  and  other  adventurers  of  the  city 
of  London  and  elsewhere,”  applied  to  James 
I for  “ his  license  to  deduce  a colony  into 
Virginia.”  Catching  something  of  the  spirit 
that  actuated  other  sovereigns  of  Europe, 
the  king  granted  a liberal  charter  under  date 
of  March  9,  1607.  At  the  request  of  the 
company,  on  May  23,  1609,  the  king  by 
letters-patent  superseded  his  former  grant, 
and  incorporated  the  company  under  the 
name  of  “the  treasurer  and  company  of 
adventurers  and  planters  of  the  city  of 
London  for  the  first  colony  in  Virginia.” 
The  members  of  the  original  company  in  the 
west  of  England  had  withdrawn  and  formed 
an  independent  organization,  to  which  was 
assigned  the  privilege  of  founding  the  “sec- 
ond colony  in  Virginia.” 

The  king  selected  from  the  North  American 
continent  a territory  extending  along  the 
Atlantic  coast  from  the  thirty-fourth  to  the 
forty-fifth  parallel  of  latitude,  which,  for 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


21 


the  purpose  of  colonization,  he  divided  i 
equally  between  the  two  companies.  By  the  j 
first  charter,  the.  colony  was  to  be  planted 
anywhere  south  of  the  forty-fii'st  parallel  of 
latitude  in  thedistricfassigned,  and  its  juris- 
diction was  to  extend,  on  either  side  of  the 
site  selected,  to  the  north  fifty  miles;  and  to  ! 
the  south,  the  same  distance;  into  the  land  j 
100  miles,  and  to  include  islands  at  the  | 
same  distance  in  the  sea.  By  the  second  \ 
charter  the  territory  assigned  the  London  | 
Company  included  ‘‘  all  the  lands  in  Virginia  | 
from  Point  Comfort,”  a name  assigned  by 
John  Smith  to  a point  at  the  mouth  of  the 
James  River,  “along  the  sea  coast  to  the 
northward  200  miles,  and  from  the  same 
point  along  the  sea  coast  to  the  southward 
200  miles,  and  all  the  space  from  this  pre- 
cinct on  the  sea  coast  up  into  the  land,  west 
and  northwest,  from  sea  to  sea,  and  the  j 
islands  within  100  miles  of  it,  with  , 
all  the  commodities,  jurisdictions,  royalties, 
privileges,  franchises  and  pre-eminences 
within  the  same,  and  thereto  and  thereabouts, 
by  sea  and  land,  appertaining  in  as  ample 
manner  as  had  before  been  granted  to  any 
adventurer;  to  be  held  of  the  king  and  his 
successor,  in  common  socage,  yielding  one- 
fifth  part  of  the  gold  and  silver  to  be  therein 
found,  for  all  manner  of  service,”  etc.  The 
colony  of  the  London  company  was  planted 
in  the  early  part  of  1607,  under  the  first 
charter,  which  was  not  materially  affected  by 
the  changes  wrought  in  the  terms  of  the  | 
second.  ■ 

The  company  appears  to  have  profited  i 
little  from  the  experience  of  earlier  attempts  i 
at  colonization.  The  site  of  Raleigh’s  un- 
fortunate colony  was  again  selected  for  the 
experiment,  but  a happier  fate  drove  the  | 
fleet  northward  in  a storm,  to  escape  which  ' 
it  took  refuge  in  the  “ Mother  of  Waters  ” 
(Chesapeake),  where  the  safety  of  the  harbor 
and  the  beauty  of  the  country  induced  the  j 
colonists  to  remain.  Of  the  character  of  \ 
colonists  demanded  for  the  success  of  such  ! 
an  enterprise,  the  managers  of  the  company  . 
had  quite  as  little  comprehension  as  of  the 
proper  site  to  be  selected.  An  expectation 
that  gold,  or  other  valuables,  was  to  be  se-  ! 


cured  by  conquest  appears  to  have  been  en- 
tertained by  the  company,  and  England’s 
poet  probably  voiced  the  prevailing  sentiment 
when  he  bade  the  departing  colony  God 
speed,  “to  get  the  pearls  and  gold.”  The 
company,  therefore,  which  set  out  in  the  “Dis- 
covery,” the  “Good  Speed,”  and  the  “Susan 
Constant,”  under  the  command  of  Christopher 
Newport,  consisted  of  105  men,  forty- eight 
of  whom  were  classed  as  “gentlemen,” 
twelve  as  “laborers,”  and  four’  as  “carpen- 
ters,” while  a few  other  mechanics,  with 
“soldiers  and  servants,”  completed  the  num- 
ber. 

Scarcely  had  the  ships  which  brought  them 
departed,  when  this  ill-assorted  company  be- 
gan to  experience  the  misery  which  their 
faulty  organization  entailed.  Dissension 
had  begun  on  the  outward  voyage;  the  other 
leaders  had  insanely  conceived  the  idea  that 
Smith  designed  to  murder  them  and  make 
himself  “ King  of  Virginia.”  He  was  ac- 
cordingly arrested  and  remained  under  arrest 
until  a jury  of  colonists  acquitted  him  and 
mulcted  his  accusers  sometime  after  their 
landing. 

With  this  inauspicious  beginning,  harmony 
was  not  to  be  expected.  The  particular  site* 
for  the  plantation  was  chosen  against  the 
earnest  protest  of  Gosnold;  the  council  was 
distracted  by  factions;  and  the  wide  diversity 
of  social  character  and  position  of  the  colo- 
nists forbade  anything  like  union  of  sympa- 
thies or  purpose.  The  sealed  instructions 
sent  out  with  the  colony,  to  be  opened  on 
arrival  at  their  destination,  revealed  the 
names  of  the  local  council.  To  this  distinc- 
tion the  king  had  named  Bart.  Gosnold,  a 
brave  old  sea  captain;  John  Smith,  the  bold, 
fearless  and  faithful  soldier;  Edward  Wing- 
field, a faint-hearted  merchant;  Christopher 
Newport,  “ an  empty,  idle  man;  ” John  Rat- 
cliffe,  “ not  worth  remembering  but  to  his 
dishonor;”  John  Martin,  incompetent  and 
distrusted,  and  George  Kendall,  traitorous 
and  malicious.  Through  the  jealousies  of 
the  council,  the  weak-hearted  Wingfield,  the 
least  capable  of  the  number  to  sustain  the 
onerous  duties  of  the  position,  was  elected 

*Xamed  Jamestown  in  honor  of  the  king. 


23 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


president,  and  under  his  administration  the 
career  of  the  colony  was  that  of  a ship  with- 
out a helmsman. 

SiuTOunded  by  abundant  material  for  com- 
fortable shelter,  the  men  lived  in  tents  until 
they  I'otted  to  pieces  over  their  heads.  Sur- 
rounded by  hostile  Indians,  the  colonists, 
unprotected  by  palisades  and  unused  to  the 
new  exposure,  were  compelled  to  maintain  a 
constant  guard;  while  incessant  broils  in  the 
council  and  company  heightened  the  general 
confusion  and  distrust.  Added  to  these 
grievances  were  the  dangers  arising  from  the 
unfortunate  location.  Here  the  poisonous 
exhalations  of  the  marshes,  the  impurity  of 
the  water,  and  the  supplies  deteriorated  by 
the  sea-voyage,  combined  to  breed  a terrible 
mortality  that  rapidly  thinned  the  number 
which,  at  the  outset,  was  at  the  minimum 
point  to  insure  the  success  of  the  venture. 
Gosnold  was  among  the  first  to  fall  a victim 
to  the  evils  he  foresaw  from  the  first,  and  by 
fall,  fifty  men  had  perished,  while  despair 
filled  the  hearts  of  the  survivors.  Smith 
alone  rose  equal  to  the  emergency,  and, 
though  sick  with  the  prevailing  disorder  him- 
self, cared  for  the  sick  and  dying,  minister- 
ing to  the  diseased  minds  and  bodies  when 
there  were  scarcely  “ ten  men  could  neither 
go  nor  stand.  ” 

In  September,  the  inefficient  Wingfield 
was  deposed  by  general  consent,  and  replaced 
by  Ratcliffe.  The  council  does  not  seem  to 
have  supplied  the  vacancies  in  its  member- 
ship, as  they  were  empowered  to  do,  and 
their  number  was  now  reduced  to  three  men: 
Gosnold  had  perished;  Newport  had  sailed 
with  the  fleet;  AVingfield  had  been  deposed; 
and  Kendall  had  been  tried  and  shot.  The 
new  president  and  Martin,  unpopular  with 
the  colonists  and  deficient  in  executive  ability, 
left  affairs  to  be  directed  by  the  redoubtable 
John  Smith  alone.  He  had  been  relieved 
from  arrest,  and  under  his  guidance  the  de- 
spaii'ing  colony  took  a new  lease  of  life. 
Setting  a rigorous  example,  he  infused  ac- 
tivity and  resolution  into  the  infant  settle- 
ment; something  of  discipline  was  main- 
tained; buildings  were  constructed;  and,  push- 
ing outside  the  newly  erected  palisades, 


Smith  opened  communication  with  the  sav- 
ages, supplying  the  fort  with  an  abundance 
of  corn,  and  gaining  the  respect  of  the  In- 
dians. Having  thus  quieted  the  discontent  of 
the  colonists,  and  laid  in  an  ample  store  of 
provisions  for  the  winter,  he  set  about  obey- 
ing the  royal  instructions  to  explore  the  sur- 
rounding country.  In  one  of  his  expeditions 
at  this  period  he  was  captured  by  the  natives. 
Undaunted  by  his  peril,  he  wrested  victory 
from  defeat;  spent  his  captivity  in  learning 
the  features  of  the  country,  and  in  the  end 
secured  a valuable  alliance,  which  subse- 
quently led  to  the  marriage  of  the  chieftain’s 
daughter,  Pocahontas,  to  one  of  the  colonists. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  fleet  had  proceeded 
to  England,  but  had  no  sooner  reached  there 
than  the  company,  with  commendable  zeal, 
sent  out  two  vessels  with  fresh  supplies  and 
reinforcements  for  the  colony.  Newport, 
still  in  command,  reached  Jamestown  early 
in  1008,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  colonists; 
j their  number  was  reduced  to  thirty-eight; 
“the  silly  president”  had  not  only  done  much 
to  counteract  the  good  results  of  Smith’s  ener- 
getic direction,  but  in  his  absence  had 
planned  with  Wingfield  to  seize  the  pinnace 
left  with  the  colony,  and  escape  to  England. 
Smith  returned  on  the  day  planned  for  their 
depai’ture,  and  “with  the  hazard  of  his  life, 
with  sabre,  falchion  and  musket-shot,”  foiled 
this  third  attempt  at  desertion.  New 
efforts,  under  the  thin  disguise  of  legal  forms, 
were  made  to  destroy  Smith,  but  seizing  Bat- 
cliffe  and  Wingfield  and  their  new  accom- 
plices, he  placed  them  under  guard  in  the 
pinnace.  Matters  were  in  this  state  of  “com- 
bustion,” when  Newport  reached  Jamestown 
after  an  uninterrupted  voyage. 

The  uninstructed  policy  of  the  company 
made  Newport’s  arrival  contribute  hardly 
more  of  comfort  than  misery  to  the  colony. 
Some  120  emigrants  were  sent,  consisting  of 
“vagabond  gentlemen,  unaccustomed  to  labor 
and  disdainful  of  it,  with  three  or  four 
bankrupt  jewelers,  goldsmiths  and  refiners 
i sent  out  to  seek  for  mines.”  Such  an  impor 
I tation  at  this  time,  was  of  the  nature  of  a 
i disaster  to  the  solid  prosperity  of  the  colony. 

I Newport  remained  fourteen  weeks,  and  by 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


33 


his  concJuct  justified  the  epithet  of  “empty 
man  ” applied  to  him  by  the  early  chroni- 
clers. The  orderly  methods  of  practi- 
cal industry  were  set  aside;  “there  was  now,” 
says  Smith,  “no  talk,  no  hope,  no  work,  but 
dig  gold,  wash  gold,  refine  gold,  load  gold,” 
and  Newport  finally  returned  to  England  with 
a cargo  of  worthless  dirt  and  the  disgraced 
Wingfield.  The  “Phoenix, ” which  sailed 
from  England  in  company  with  Newport, 
had  been  delayed  by  storms  and  arrived  after- 
ward. Her  commander,  “an  honest  man  and 
expert  mariner,”  Francis  Nelson,  was  not 
lured  by  the  “fantastical  gold,”  and  at 
Smith’s  suggestion  took  on  a cargo  of 
cedar,  and  the  first  written  history  of  the 
colony:  Smith’s  “True  Relation  of  Virginia.” 
Ratcliffe  had  been  restored  to  office;  the  old 
soldier,  embarking  with  a crew  of  fourteen 
upon  the  pinnace,  followed  the“PhoeDix”  on 
its  homeward  voyage  as  far  as  the  capes,  and 
then  turned  to  explore  the  rivers  that  find  an 
outlet  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  Returning  to 
Jamestown  in  July,  he  again  set  out  to  com- 
plete his  undertaking,  sailing  in  both  voyages 
some  3,000  miles.  He  returned  again 
in  September,  1608,  and  compiled  the 
results  of  his  labors  in  the  first  intelligent 
map  ever  produced,  which,  in  its  main  fea- 
tures, remains  unimpeached  to  this  day. 

In  Smith’s  absence,  the  president  had 
“riotously  consumed  the  stores,”  and  the  col- 
onists were  about  to  take  vengeance  upon 
him,  when  the  exploring  party  returned. 
Smith  at  once  interfered  to  save  his  old  op- 
ponent, but  the  dissatisfaction  was  not  allayed 
until  Ratcliffe  was  deposed  and  Smith  elected 
in  his  stead.  Order  was  once  more  installed 
in  direction,  when  Newport  again  appeared, 
bringing  supplies  and  colonists.  The  latter 
numbered  seventy,  of  whom  two  were  women, 
but  with  this  exception  were  no  more  suited 
to  the  demands  of  the  settlement  than  the 
previous  shiploads.  A few  natives  of  Ger- 
many and  Poland  were  included  in  the  com- 
pany, who  were  intended  to  engage  in  the 
manufacture  of  pitch,  tar,  soap- ashes  and 
glass  for  exportation.  Had  the  colony  been 
in  condition  to  provide  their  own  support, 
such  industries  were  more  likely  to  prove 


remunerative  to  the  company  than  any  at- 
tempt to  develop  mines  of  the  precious  met- 
als; but  to  a colony  just  emerging  from  a 
period  of  starvation,  the  depleted  numbers 
of  which  were  for  the  most  part  only  rein- 
forced by  “poor  gentlemen,  indolent,  disso- 
lute and  insubordinate,  or  else  broken  trade.s- 
men,  fitter  to  breed  riot  than  to  found  a 
colony,”  this  greediness  for  returns  was  ex- 
asperating. In  relation  to  this  feature  of 
the  company’s  policy,  Smith  wrote:  “When 
you  send  again,  I entreat  you,  rather  send 
but  thirty  carpenters,  husbandmen,  gardeners, 
fishermen,  blacksmiths,  masons  and  diggers- 
up-of-tree-roots,  well  provided,  than  a thou- 
sand such  as  we  have.”  But  the  company 
were  explicit  in  their  requirements.  With 
Newport  it  sent  out  a demand  that  a return 
cargo,  equal  in  value  to  the  cost  of  the  present 
expedition,  should  be  sent,  on  pain  of  being 
left  in  Virginia  as  banished  men.  The  reply 
of  Smith  was  much  better  tempered  than 
the  state  of  the  case  would  warrant. 
“ We  have  not  received,”  he  wrote,  “ the 
value  of  £100.  From  toiling  to  satisfy 
the  desire  of  the  present  profit,  we  can 
scarce  ever  recover  ourselves  from  one  supply 
to  another.  These  causes  stand  in  the  way  of 
laying  in  Virginia  a proper  foundation;  as 
yet  you  must  not  look  for  any  profitable 
returning.”  This  was  considered  a “rude 
answer”  by  the  titled  gentlemen  who  con- 
trolled the  destiny  of  the  colony  in  England. 
The  demand  of  the  company  was  accompa- 
nied by  the  additional  stipulation  for  one  of 
the  lost  colony  of  Roanoke,  a lump  of  gold, 
or  the  discovery  of  the  south  sea  beyond  the 
i mountains.  When  this  was  made  known  by 
Newport,  Smith  was  beside  himself  withi’age 
and  declared  the  demand  preposterous,  and 
did  move  wisely  than  attempt  such  impossi- 
bilities. He  secured  a cargo  of  tar,  pitch, 
lumber  and  ashes  and  sent  it  back.  With 
the  vessel  he  sent  Ratcliffe,  writing  the  home 
council,  “I  have  sent  you  him  home  lest  the 
company  should  cut  his  throat.” 

The  situation  of  the  company  somewhat 
mitigates  the  harshness  of  their  demand. 
The  colony  had  cost  it  a very  considerable 
sum,  and  thus  far  had  made  very  slight 


24 


HISTORY  OP  KENTUCKY. 


return.  This  was  far  from  satisfactory  to  a 
corporation,  the  primary  object  of  which  was 
to  enrich  itself  with  no  great  delay.  Only 
one  or  two  of  the  members  had  ever  visited 
the  American  coast,  and  none  had  a clear 
idea  how  returns  of  a satisfactory  nature 
were  to  be  secured.  The  company  was  also 
without  any  reliable  report  of  colonial  affairs. 
Newport,  it  was  said,  “hath  £100  a year 
for  carrying  news,”  but,  jealous  and  incom- 
petent, he  did  nothing  but  bear  the  malicious 
tattle  of  those  who  rebelled  against  proper 
discipline,  which  the  “poor  counterfeit  im- 
postor,’^ Ratcliffe,  abundantly  confirmed. 
These,  with  the  deposed  Wingfield,  gained 
the  ear  of  the  council  by  their  polished 
manners  and  plausible  tales,  and  prepared  it 
to  resent  the  truth  in  the  rougher  guise  and 
less  palatable  facts  of  Smith’s  answer. 
Could  the  company  have  been  guided  by  his 
judgment,  and  their  affairs  in  the  colony 
have  been  directed,  unhindered,  by  his  hand, 
the  plantation  would  undoubtedly  have 
reached  a greater  prosperity  at  an  early  age. 
As  it  was,  the  colony  owed  its  preservation 
and  chance  of  final  success  to  John  Smith, 
who,  amid  misrepresentations  and  malice 
which  did  not  hesitate  to  instigate  his  as- 
sassination, rose  superior  to  every  obstacle 
and  saved  those  who  were  unwilling  to  save 
themselves. 

At  this  juncture  the  company  took  a mid- 
dle course:  it  did  not  make  good  its  threat 
of  abandoning  the  colony,  nor  clid  it  accept 
Smith’s  advice;  it  reorganized,  increasing 
its  membership,  “ so  that  the  nobility  and 
gentry,  the  army  and  the  bar,  the  industry 
and  commerce  of  England,  were  repre- 
sented.” Among  the  new  members  were 
Robert  Cecil,  earl  of  Salisbury;  the  earls  of 
Southampton,  Lincoln  and  Dorset;  Sirs  Oli- 
ver Cromwell,  uncle  of  the  future  “ Pro- 
tector,” Thomas  Gates  and  George  Somers, 
Lord  Delaware  and  others.  Whatever  value 
the  company  placed  on  Smith’s  “rude  an- 
swer,” the  reorganization  was  undoubtedly 
induced  by  the  conviction  that  “nothing  was 
to  be  expected  from  Virginia  but  by  labor.” 
To  wait  for  returns  by  this  slow  process  de- 
manded ampler  resources  of  influence  and 


money  than  the  old  company  could  command, 
and  it  was  probably  with  a tacit  understand- 
ing of  this  sort,  that  the  new  company  was 
formed. 

At  all  events,  the  reorganized  company  at 
once  took  the  advanced  position  indicated  by 
Smith,  and  prepared  to  strengthen  the  colony. 
The  large  accession  of  wealth  and  nobility 
to  the  membership  of  the  company  gave  it 
great  prestige,  which,  with  the  fuller  reports, 
obtained  of  the  country,  led  to  a wide- 
spread desire  to  join  the  fortunes  of  the 
Virginia  colony.  The  company,  therefore, 
had  no  difficulty  in  dispatching  a fleet  of 
nine  vessels,  bearing  more  than  500  emi- 
grants. On  the  outward  voyage  the  fleet  was 
“caught  in  the  tail  of  a hurricane;”  one 
vessel  sank;  the  “ Sea  Venture,”  bearing  Sir 
Thomas  Gates,  Sir  George  Somers  and 
Christopher  Newport  (who  were  appointed 
commissioners  to  direct  the  colony  until 
Lord  Delaware,  the  newly  appointed  gov- 
ernor, should  arrive  by  a later  vessel),  was 
wrecked  on  the  Bermuda  Islands;  seven  ves- 
sels arrived  at  their  destination  in  safety, 
bringing,  among  others,  the  former  “silly 
president,”  Ratcliffe. 

While  matters  were  thus  going  forward  in 
England,  Smith  was  laboring  in  Jamestown 
to  bring  order  out  of  the  chaos  induced  by 
the  last  addition  to  the  colony.  Three  ad- 
ditional members  for  the  local  council  had 
been  brought  by  Newport,  but  the  people 
would  trust  only  Smith,  and  he  continued 
president.  The  arrival  of  the  seven  ships 
found  the  little  colony  enjoying  a system  of 
order  and  good  rule  to  which  it  had  hitherto 
been  a stranger.  The  cultivation  of  Indian 
corn,  under  the  instruction  of  two  of  the  na- 
tives, had  been  introduced,  and  some  forty  or 
fifty  acres  planted.  The  Scriptural  rule, 
“ that  if  any  would  not  work,  neither  should 
he  eat,”  was  rigorously  applied;  the  soft- 
handed  gentry  had  learned  to  dexterously 
wield  the  ax;  and  six  hours’  daily  labor  was 
the  undeviating  law  for  all  able-bodied  mem- 
bers of  the  colony. 

This  halcyon  period  was  seriously  inter- 
rupted by  the  arrival  of  the  fleet.  Ratcliffe 
lost  no  time  in  lauding  and  proclaiming  the 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


25 


reorganization  of  the  company  and  the  ap- 
proaching retirement  of  Smith;  with  him 
came  his  old  associate,  Martin,  and  a new  ac- 
complice, Archer.  Batcliffe  at  once  assumed 
the  old  straggle,  claiming  authority  under 
the  new  company.  Smith  was  not  a man  to 
be  irregularly  superseded,  and  the  contest  of 
authority  immediately  became  a question 
of  relative  strength.  There  was  no  doubt  as 
to  the  sympathies  of  the  old  colonists,  who 
were  about  to  cut  Ratcliffe’s  throat  when 
Smith  sent  him  to  England.  Of  the  some- 
thing more  than  300  new-comers,  there  was 
more  doubt.  Some  of  them  were  “gentle- 
men of  good  means  and  great  parentage,” 
but  the  larger  number  were  “ unruly  gallants 
packed  thither  by  their  friends  to  escape  ill 
destinies  at  home.”  The  latter  class  sided 
with  Batcliffe,  and  mob  rule  seized  upon  the 
town.  The  ‘ ‘ unruly  gallants  would  dispose 
and  determine  of  the  government  sometimes 
to  one,  sometimes  to  another:  to-day  the  old 
commission  must  rule,  to-morrow  the  new, 
the  next  day  neither;  in  hue,  they  would 
rule  all  or  ruin  all.”  This  was  more  than 
Smith  could  patiently  endure;  he  suddenly 
arrested  Batcliffe  and  other  leaders,  and 
placed  them  in  confinement  to  await  trial. 
To  relieve  the  crowded  state  of  Jamestown, 
and  profitably  employ  the  largely  increased 
numbers,  West,  a relative  of  the  new  gov- 
ernor, was  dispatched  with  120  men  to  estab- 
lish a plantation  at  the  falls  of  the  river;  a 
similar  company,  under  Martin,  was  sent  to 
plant  a colony  at  Nansemond,  near  the  sea. 

The  incompetency  of  these  leaders  led  to 
the  miserable  failure  of  both  projects;  the 
lower  colony,  deserted  by  Martin  and  left 
without  a leader,  was  destroyed  by  the  In- 
dians almost  to  a man;  the  other  fared 
scarcely  better.  On  a trip  to  relieve  the  up- 
per settlement.  Smith  received  the  wound 
which  obliged  him  to  leave  Virginia  before 
the  arrival  of  his  successor.  His  powder- bag, 
exploding  near  him  while  asleep,  terribly 
lacerated  his  side  and  thigh,  making  it  nec- 
essary for  him  to  repair  to  England  for  suc- 
cessful treatment.  His  great  anxiety  at  this 
juncture  was  the  care  of  the  colony.  He 
steadily  refused  to  confer  authority  upon 


Batcliffe,  and  at  the  last  moments,  when 
aboard  ship,  he  persuaded  George  Percy  to 
defer  his  own  departure  and  accept  the  reins 
of  colonial  government  until  relieved  by  the 
arrival  of  the  new  official. 

The  retirement  of  Smith  was  in  no  sense  a 
retreat.  Notwithstanding:  the  antagfonistic 
elements  with  which  he  had  to  deal,  the  in- 
competency  of  his  supporters  and  the  malice 
of  his  opponents,  he  left  “all  things  prepared 
for  peace  or  war.”  Jamestown  contained  two 
or  thi’ee  score  of  hoiises,  some  of  two  stories, 
besides  a church  and  store-house.  The 
whole  was  surrounded  by  a stout  palisade  of 
logs,  fifteen  feet  high;  at  the  neck  of  the  pen- 
insula, the  only  point  left  unguarded  by  the 
river,  was  a fort,  with  cannon  regularly 
mounted.  The  armament  consisted  of  twen- 
ty cannon,  and  300  stand  of  small 
arms — muskets,  swords  and  pikes — with  a 
full  supply  of  ammunition.  In  the  river 
were  three  vessels  and  seven  boats,  with  a 
complete  assortment  of  fishing  nets.  In  the 
store-house  was  an  abundant  supply  of 
provisions,  besides  500  or  600  hogs, 
horses,  sheep  and  goats.  Within  the  inclo- 
sure were  nearly  500  men,  women  and 
children,  of  whom  200  men  had  been 
trained  to  Indian  warfare  under  his 
own  eye.  With  such  an  equipment  failure 
could  come  only  through  misgovernment; 
under  Percy,  this  followed.  The  lawless  el- 
ement again  seized  the  government,  and 
made  short  work  of  ruining  all  that  the 
tient  foresight  of  Smith  had  accomplished. 
The  ample  stores  laid  by  were  squandered, 
the  friendly  relations  with  the  Indians  were 
interrupted,  and  the  colony  was  once  more 
threatened  with  destruction  from  within  and 
without.  The  horrors  of  the  famine  suc- 
ceeded; one  after  another  of  their  resources 
were  exhausted;  “hogs,  hens,  goats,  sheep,  or 
w'hat  lived — all  was  devoured;”  the  savages 
responded  to  entreaties  for  succor  with  “mor- 
tal wounds,  with  clubs  and  arrows;”  and 
when  all  else  had  failed,  they  fed  on  human 
flesh.  An  Indian,  killed  and  buried,  was  ex- 
humed and  eaten,  “and  so  did  divers  one  an- 
other, boiled  and  stewed  with  roots  and 
herbs.”  Thirty  escaped  in  one  of  the  vessels 


26 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY 


to  begin  a career  of  piracy;  but  with  this  ex- 
ception the  whole  number,  save  sixty  persons, 
perished  of  misrule. 

In  May,  1610,  the  occupants  of  the  Sea 
Venture  reached  Jamestown.  They  had  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  shore  after  being  wrecked, 
had  found  abundant  supplies  in  the  natural 
products  of  an  island,  and  in  nine  months 
had  constructed  two  vessels  from  the  cedars  of 
the  island  and  the  bolts  and  rio-miiCT  of  the 

Oo  O 

wrecked  ship.  In  these,  the  “Patience”  and 
“Deliverance,”  the  whole  company,  consisting 
of  more  than  100  persons,  came  with  Gates 
and  Somers  to  the  colony,  bringing  a store  of 
such  supplies  as  were  saved  from  the  wreck 
and  the  island  afforded.  At  Jamestown  they 
found  a shocking  scene  of  misery  and  death; 
only  a feeble,  emaciated  remnant  of  the  once 
prospei’ous  colony  survived,  and  these  de- 
clared “this  in  ten  days  more  would  have 
supplanted  us  with  death.”  Somers  volun- 
teered to  return  for  further  supplies  to  Ber- 
muda, where  he  died,  and  the  crew,  unmind- 
ful of  Virginia,  sailed  direct  for  England. 
With  reviving  strength  the  Virginians  clam- 
ored to  be  removed  from  a place  where  “none 
had  enjoyed  one  day  of  happiness,”  and  so 
strongly  did  the  whole  situation  plead  in 
their  behalf,  that  the  entire  company  em- 
barked to  return  to  England.  Every  feature 
of  the  place  was  hateful  to  the  sufferers, 
and  the  remaining  structures  were  about  to 
be  given  to  the  flames,  but  “God,  who  did 
not  intend  that  this  excellent  country  should 
be  abandoned,  put  it  into  the  heart  of  Sir  T. 
Gates  to  save  it.” 

By  the  charter  under  which  the  company 
was  reorganised,  the  machinery  of  colonial 
government  was  slightly  changed.  A govern- 
or and  council  were  appointed,  besides  a 
gubernatorial  staff,  selected  probably  by  the 
governor.  The  reorganized  company  selected 
Lord  Delaware  governor  for  life  and  captain- 
general  of  the  colony.  He  immediately  as- 
sumed the  state  of  a viceroy,  with  Sir  Thomas 
Gates  as  lieutenant-governor.  Sir  George 
Somers  as  admiral,  Christopher  Newport  as 
vice-admiral,  and  Sir  Ferdinando  Wyman  as 
master-of-horse.  The  lieutenant-governor, 
admiral  and  vice-admiral  were  dispatched 


with  the  fleet  as  noted  above.  Subsequently 
the  governor  set  out  with  three  ships,  stored 
with  a year’s  provisions  for  the  colony,  be- 
sides a number  of  emigrants.  On  reaching 
the  settlement  near  the  mouth  of  the  James 
River,  Delaware  learned  of  the  state  of 
affairs  as  well  as  of  the  contemplated  re- 
moval, and  promptly  sent  forward  one  of  his 
ships  to  stop  the  movement  and  announce 
his  approach  with  relief.  Hardly  had  the 
deserting  squadron  reached  the  lower  quarter 
of  the  river  when  it  met  the  governor’s  mes- 
senger, and,  turning  back,  by  night  they  were 
once  more  in  their  old  quarters,  with  happier 
prospects  in  view.  This  happy  deliverance 
seemed  little  less  than  marvelous  to  the 
sorely  beset  colonists,  and  new  and  old  set- 
tlers united  to  ascribe  the  event  to  the  inter- 
position of  a kind  Providence. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  better  indication  of 
the  improvement  wrought  by  the  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  company  than  in  the  improved 
social  condition  of  those  who  constituted  the 
new  colonial  government.  Smith  possessed 
all  the  requisites  of  a successful  governor, 
save  that  social  prestige  which  plays  so  im- 
portant a part  in  a community  constituted  as 
was  that  of  Jamestown.  Lacking  this,  he 
was  obliged  to  extort,  by  the  forcible  show 
of  power,  that  recognition  of  his  authority 
which  his  position  alone  ought  to  have  in- 
sured. This  prestige  the  new  governor  pos- 
sessed in  an  eminent  degi'ee,  as  well  as  “ ap- 
proved courage,  temper  and  experience.” 
The  “pomp  and  circumstance”  of  the  new 
administration,  therefore,  served  a more  val- 
uable purpose  than  to  tickle  the  vanity  of 
the  gallants.  While  the  silk  and  lace  of  the 
new  government  made  some  of  the  older  col- 
onists complain  that  the  plantation  “was not 
grown  to  that  maturity  to  maintain  such 
state  and  pleasures,”  they  imposed  upon  the 
other  class  a sense  of  power  which  they  were 
prepared  to  respect. 

The  new  governor,  with  great  wisdom,  ad- 
dressed himself  to  repair  the  disaster  that 
had  befallen  the  colony.  Every  mark  of 
that  “ starving  time”  was  I’emoved;  build- 
ings were  repaired,  the  stockade  renewed; 
and  the  church  building,  refitted  and  decked 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


27 


with  flowers,  was  made  the  center  of  instruc- 
tion and  administration.  Under  the  mild 
but  Arm  rule  of  Delaware,  matters  once  more 
assumed  the  air  of  tranquillity  and  prosper- 
ity. Methodical  industry  was  once  more  es- 
tablished; comfort  and  order  were  every- 
where manifested;  and  the  incongruous 
elements  seemed  to  blend  in  one  harmonious 
community.  But  this  happy  state  of  aff’airs 
was  doomed  to  an  early  interruption.  The 
cares  of  the  colony  and  the  insidious  poisons 
of  the  malarial  atmosphere  proved  too  much 
for  his  feeble  constitution,  and  Lord  Dela- 
ware was  forced  to  return  to  England. 

The  administration,  in  the  absence  of  Gates 
and  Somers,  was  placed  again  in  the  hands 
of  Percy.  The  colonists  at  once  took  coun- 
sel of  despair,  and  all  the  horrors  of  his 
former  term  of  office  seemed  to  loom  up  to 
overwhelm  them.  That  experience,  however, 
had  probably  taught  a valuable  lesson  to  the 
survivors  which  might  have  served  to  prevent 
the  full  repetition  of  the  period  of  anarchy 
and  death,  but  fortunately  the  colony  was 
not  called  to  long  test  its  dearly  bought  wis- 
dom. Before  the  departure  of  Delaware  was 
known  in  England,  Sir  Thomas  Dale  was 
despatched  as  “high  marshal  of  Virginia,” 
with  supplies.  Delaware  left  in  March,  1611, 
and  Dale  arrived  in  the  following  May.  The 
colonists  had  begun  to  relapse  into  idleness, 
the  necessary  work  of  the  plantation  was  for- 
saken, and  Dale  found  them  playing  bowls  in 
the  grass  grown  streets  of  Jamestown.  The 
lawless  element  immediately  tested  the  mettle 
of  the  “high  marshal”  by  an  attempt  at  mu- 
tiny, but  the  old  soldier,  armed  with  a “code 
of  martial  law,”  restored  order  with  a “cruel, 
unusual  and  barbarous”  hand.  His  early 
report  to  the  company  sets  forth  the  weakness 
of  the  colony  and  the  great  discontent  of  its 
members,  but  on  the  other  hand  it  gives  great 
encouragement  that  the  ultimate  success  of 
the  enterprise  is  certain  if  only  the  company 
persevere,  adding  his  estimate  of  the  prize  | 
to  be  won  as  follows;  “Take  four  of  the  best 
kingdoms  in  Christendom,  and  put  them  all 
together,  they  may  no  way  compare  with  this 
country,  either  for  commodities  or  goodness 
of  soil.” 


This  report  received  the  confirmation  of 
Delaware  and  Gates,  who  were  competent 
judges  of  the  facts,  and  the  lieutenant- 
governor  was  immediately  dispatched  to 
the  colony  with  a fleet  of  six  ships, 
bearing  300  emigrants  and  abundant  sup- 
plies, among  which  were  100  kine.  The 
arrival  of  Gates  was  hailed  with  a military 
salute;  and  being  the  superior  officer,  he 
assumed  the  control  of  affairs.  Dale  sub- 
sequently, with  the  permission  of  the  lieu- 
tenant-governor, chose  350  men  from  the 
increased  number  at  Jamestown  and  planted 
a settlement  on  a high  plateau,  within  what 
is  now  known  as  Dutch  Gap,  a fertile  and 
picturesque  spot  nearly  surrounded  by  the 
James  River.  Here  he  founded  a town, 
which  he  named  Henrico,  in  honor  of  Prince 
Henry.  Soon  afterward  he  established  an- 
other plantation  a little  further  down  the 
river,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Appomattox, 
called  Bermuda. 

Under  ihe  severe  discipline  established  by 
Dale,  and  the  wisdom  with  which  it  was 
directed  by  Gates,  the  colony  was  placed  up- 
on a secure  and  permanent  basis.  It  was  not 
only  rapidly  approaching  the  point  of  self- 
support,  but  was  showing  a vigorous  vitality 
in  projecting  military  movements  in  support 
of  English  pretentions  to  New  England 
shores.  The  prosperous  condition  of  the 
colony  was  marked  also  in  its  material  im- 
provement. The  buildings  and  palisades 
wantonly  destroyed  tvere  replaced,  and  plan- 
tations began  to  dot  the  banks  of  the  James 
at  intervals  almost  to  the  sea. 

With  all  this  improvement  the  colony  was 
yet  unable  to  make  any  gainful  return  for 
the  vast  outlay  of  the  company;  the  burden 
began  to  be  seriously  felt,  and,  in  1614,  a 
petition  was  presented  to  parliament  pray- 
ing for  the  aid  of  the  government.  The 
petition  was  received  with  marked  tokens  of 
interest  and  favor,  but  home  affairs  of  a 
pressing  nature  intervened  and  no  action  was 
taken  on  the  address  of  the  company.  The 
great  need  of  the  colony,  Lord  Delaware 
declared  in  advocating  the  petition  in  par- 
liament, was  only  “a  few  honest  laborers, 
burdened  with  children.”  The  colony  had 


28 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


been  projected  and  maintained,  thus  far, 
more  as  a military  occupation  of  the  land, 
than  as  the  germ  of  an  independent  state, 
and  colonists,  selected  by  the  criterion  of  the 
garrison,  with  few  exceptions,  had  been 
entirely  men.  The  disintegrating  influence 
of  a society  thus  abnormally  constituted,  and 
unrestrained  by  the  close  organization  of  the 
military  code,  wrought  its  legitimate  results; 
and  at  this  time  *not  one  in  twenty  of  the 
considerable  number  of  emigrants  brought 
to  Virginia  remained  alive.  The  natural 
result  of  this  policy  was  that  the  colony, 
though  planted  with  care  and  cultivated  at 
great  expense,  refused  to  take  root.  The 
adventurous  character  of  the  colonists  could 
be  restrained  by  a firm  government,  but  it 
could  not  supply  home  ties  nor  the  responsi- 
bilities of  a family  to  anchor  the  immigrant. 
Deprived  of  these  moorings, the  whole  colony 
was  in  a chronic  state  of  discontent,  rebellious 
under  a firm  government,  and  riotous  under  a 
weak  one;  in  Jamestown  the  settler  found  no 
“continuing  city,”  and  the  hope  universally 
cherished  was  to  return  with  a competency  to 
England. 

This  state  of  affairs  could  not  fail  to  reach 
the  knowledge  of  the  company  and  challenge 
their  thoughtful  attention.  It  is  probable 
that  the  return  of  Gates  to  England  in  1614, 
followed  by  the  petition  to  parliament,  marks 
the  awakening  of  the  company  to  the  im- 
portance of  a change  of  policy.  The  move- 
ment of  reform  was  not  allowed  to  cease  with 
the  inconclusive  petition.  Sir  Thomas  Smythe, 
who,  as  treasurer  of  the  company,  had  di- 
rected the  destinies  of  the  colony  with  some- 
thing of  autoci'atic  power,  was  succeeded  by 
Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  but  not  until  the  old 
policy  had  furnished  another  example  of 
misrule  and  consequent  distress  to  “point 
the  moral.  ” 

Sir  Thomas  Gates  remained  in  command  in 
the  colony  until  1614,  w'hen  he  received  per- 
mission to  visit  England.  In  his  absence 
the  government  devolved  upon  Dale.  The 
“ high  marshal  ” was  “ a man  of  great  knowl- 
edge in  divinity,  and  of  a good  conscience 
in  all  things,”  according  to  his  chaplain, 
Whittaker,  and  while  stern  in  executing  the 


penalties  of  martial  law  against  offenders,  he 
maintained  a stable  government,  with  peace 
abroad  and  order  at  home.  In  1616,  Dale 
turned  over  the  government  to  George  Yeard- 
ley,  and  returned  to  England.  Since  his  ar- 
rival in  Virginia,  the  plantations  had  in- 
creased from  one  to  eight.  These  were  lo- 
cated along  the  James  River:  Hemlco,  Ber- 
muda, West  and  Shirley  Hundreds,  James- 
town, Kiquotan,  and  Dale’s  Gift — the  last 
on  the  sea-coast,  near  Cape  Charles.  Henrico, 
under  Dale,  had  become  the  residence  of  the 
governor,  and  a college  for  the  education  of 
the  natives  for  the  missionary  work  had  been 
established  here.  At  Jamestown  was  a settle- 
ment of  fifty  men  under  the  control  of  Fran- 
cis West. 

Certain  radical  reforms,  instituted  at  the 
suggestion  of  Dale,  rendered  the  colony  quiet 
and  industrious,  and  Yeardley  seems  to  have 
been  able  to  devote  his  whole  attention  to  in- 
creasing the  prosperity  of  the  people.  To- 
bacco was  found  cultivated  by  the  Indians, 
and  some  experiments  in  its  culture  had  been 
made  by  certain  of  the  colonists.  On  his 
accession  to  the  government,  Yeardley  took 
prompt  measures  to  introduce  the  general 
cultivation  of  the  plant,  and  with  such  suc- 
cess, that,  three  years  later,  Virginia  shipped 
20,000  pounds  to  England,  where  it  was  rap- 
idly becoming  an  article  of  general  use.  His 
official  term  was  short,  however.  Throus:h 
the  intrigue  of  tlie  beneficiary,  Yeardley  was 
succeeded  by  Samuel  Argali,  in  whose  hand 
martial  law  became  the  scourge  of  a demon. 

The  new  appointee  arrived  at  Jamestown 
in  1617,  with  the  authority  of  “ deputy 
governor,  and  admiral  of  Virginia.”  He 
had  been  the  commercial  agent  of  Sir  Thomas 
Smythe,  and  in  1613  had  commanded  an  ex- 
pedition from  the  colony  which  destroyed  a 
peaceful  French  settlement  upon  Mount  Des- 
ert Island,  off  the  coast  of  Maine.  These  seem 
to  have  been  his  only  qualifications  for  the  dis- 
charge of  the  important  duties  of  colonial 
ruler.  The  colonists  had  become  peaceful 
farmers  under  the  wise  administrations  of 
Dale  and  Yeardley,  and  the  new  official  had 
nothing  to  distract  his  attention  from  the 
sole  purpose  of  his  stay — the  securing  of 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


39 


plunder.  He  found  martial  law  a dead  letter; 
this  he  immediately  revived,  and  used  the 
vast  power  of  his  position  to  oppress  the 
colonists  for  the  enrichment  of  himself 
and  accomplices.  Circumstances  combined 
to  retain  him  in  power  even  after  his  mal- 
feasance was  known  in  England,  and  with 
the  gross  perversion  of  arbitrary  power  con- 
tinued for  two  years  “ importing  more  haz- 
ard to  the  plantation  than  ever  did  any  oth  er 
thing  that  befell  that  action  from  the  begin- 
ning.  ' ’ 

“The  condition  of  Virginia,”  says  Ban- 
croft, “became  intolerable;  the  labor  of  the 
settlers  continued  to  be  perverted  to  the 
benefit  of  the  governor;  servitude  for  a lim- 
ited period  was  the  common  penalty  annexed 
to  trifling  offences;  and  in  a colony  where 
martial  law  still  continued  in  force,  life  was 
insecure  against  his  capricious  passions.” 
Notwithstanding  the  clearness  of  his  guilt. 
Argali  found  strong  support  in  the  company, 
and  it  was'  only  “after  a strenuous  contest” 
that  he  was  displaced,  and  the  “ temperate 
and  just”  rule  of  Yeardley  reinstated. 

This  experience  precipitated  the  “ irre- 
pressible conflict  ” between  the  two  factions 
that  had  grown  up  in  the  London  Company. 
The  people  of  England  were,  at  that  time, 
engaged  in  that  struggle  which  arrayed  the 
constitution  against  the  prerogative  and  re- 
sulted in  the  beheading  of  Charles  I in  the 
succeeding  reign.  The  same  principles  were 
involved  in  the  division  of  the  company,  and 
the  struggle  here  was  but  an  eddy 

Of  tlie  mighty  stream 
That  rolls  to  its  appointed  end. 

In  this  case  the  people  succeeded  earlier 
and  without  violence,  and  from  the  election 
of  Sir  Edwin  Sandy s,  as  treasurer  of  the 
company,  dates  the  change  in  the  colonial 
policy  of  the  organization. 

One  of  the  earlier  acts  of  the  new  regime 
was  the  importation  of  “maids”  toVii’ginia. 
Home  ties  were  the  pressing  need  of  the 
colony,  and  at  the  instigation  of  the  new 
treasurer  ninety  young  women,  “ pure  and 
incorrupt,”  were  induced  to  embark  for  the 
new  country.  Their  transportation  was  ef- 


fected at  the  cost  of  the  company,  which  was 
reimbursed  by  colonists  who  took  them  in 
marriage.  This  venture,  undertaken  some- 
what as  a commercial  speculation,  proved  so 
successful  that  a second  company  of  sixty 
were  sent  out.  The  company  desired  ‘ ‘ that 
the  marriage  should  be  free,  according  to 
nature,”  and  that  the  maids  should  not  be 
“ deceived  and  married  to  servants,  but  only 
such  freemen  or  tenants  as  have  means  to 
maintain  them,  * ^ * j^ot  enforcinsf 

them  to  marry  against  their  wills.”  It  was 
further  provided  that  “in  case  they  cannot 
be  presently  married,  ” that  they  should  “ be 
put  with  several  householders  that  have  wives 
until  they  can  be  supplied  with  husbands.” 
“ These  new  companions  were  received  with 
such  fondness,”  however,  as  made  such  pro- 
vision of  temporary  homes  unnecessary. 
They  were  all  “ presently  married,  ” the  price 
of  a wife  rising  from  100  to  150  pounds  of 
tobacco.  This  was  a debt  of  honor  and 
was  first  paid,  the  company  giving  preference, 
in  the  matter  of  employment,  to  maiTied 
men.  The  good  effect  of  the  company’s  fos- 
tering of  domestic  ties  soon  became  strik- 
ingly apparent;  “ the  people  fell  to  building 
houses  and  planting  corn;”  the  restless, 
discontented  settlers  became  “provident 
fathers  of  families,  solicitous  about  the  pros- 
perity of  a country  which  they  now  consid- 
ered their  own.” 

On  the  accession  of  the  new  direction  in 
the  home  council,  the  company,  after  twelve 
years  of  labor  and  the  expenditure  of 
£80,000,  could  only  exhibit,  as  a result,  a 
colony  of  600  inhabitants,  including  men, 
women  and  children.  “ In  James  citty  were 
only  those  houses  that  Sir  Thomas  Gates 
built  in  the  tyme  of  his  government  with 
one  wherein  the  governor  allwayes  dwelt, 
and  a chiu’ch  built  wholly  at  the  charge  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  citye,  of  timber,  being 
fifty  foote  in  length  and  twenty  in  breadth.” 
In  the  town  of  Henrico  were  only  “three 
old  houses,  a poor  ruinated  church,”  “ with 
some  few  poore  buildings  in  the  islande.  ” 
“ For  ministers  to  instruct  the  people,  only 
three  were  authorized;  two  others  had  never 
received  their  orders,”  and  the  affairs  of  the 


30 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


colony  were  declared  to  be  “ in  a poore 
estate.  ” 

The  new  administration  immediately  ad- 
dressed itself  with  energetic  good  sense  to 
reform  old  abuses,  to  enlarge  the  privileges 
and  increase  the  numbers  of  the  colonists. 
In  one  year  as  many  as  1,260  persons  were 
conveyed  to  Virginia,  and  1,100  were  sent 
out  annually.  In  1619,  there  were  eleven 
plantations;  three  years  later  eighty  planta- 
tions extended  140  miles  on  both  sides  of  the 
James  River,  and  toward  the  Potomac, 
wherever  rich  farming  lands  attracted  the 
settler.  The  culture  of  silk,  grapes  and 
cotton  was  invited,  and  seed  and  persons 
skilled  in  their  cultivation  sent  to  the  new 
land.  Nor  was  the  higher  culture  overlooked; 
good  progress  was  made  toward  the  endow- 
ment of  the  Indian  University,  which,  with 
the  several  churches,  received  a liberal  grant 
of  the  public  lands.  So  prosperous  was 
A’’irginia  in  these  years,  that  the  friends  of 
the  enterprise  declared  the  new  State  had  at 
length  been  placed  upon  a secure  foundation, 
and  that  the  “hopeful  country  of  Virginia” 
would  furnish  “ full  employment  for  all 
needy  people;  provide  estates  for  all  younger 
brothers,  gentlemen  of  this  kingdom;  and 
supply  this  nation  with  commodities  we  are 
fain  to  fetch  from  foreign  nations,  from 
doubtful  friends,  nay,  from  heathen  princes.” 
A new  danger,  however,  threatened  to  cloud 
this  bright  picture.  The  new  governor  found 
“ the  natives  upon  doubtful  terms,”  a condi- 
tion of  affairs  that  subsequently  resulted  in 
open  hostilities. 

The  conduct  of  the  early  explorers  toward 
the  Indians,  while  in  perfect  keeping  with 
the  spirit  of  the  age,  was  such  as  to  perma- 
nently alienate  the  savages  from  the  whites 
had  they  been  of  a less  jaeaceable  disposition. 
The  bigotry  of  the  church,  the  dominant 
power  of  the  time,  claimed  the  population  of 
the  newly  discovered  lands  as  subjects,  if 
Christians;  if  heathen,  as  slaves;  and  there 
was  scarcely  an  accessible  harbor  of  North 
America  that  did  not  contribute  to  the  slave- 
marts  of  Europe.  The  English  were  least 
addicted  to  this  form  of  villainy,  and  on  the 
other  hand  they  were  the  least  energetic  in 


converting  them  into  subjects.  The  feeling 
that  the  savages  had  no  rights  which  a civil- 
ized subject  was  bound  to  respect  was  univer- 
sal, and  actuated  all  the  early  dealings  of  the 
English  in  North  America.  The  hrst  colo- 
nists under  Raleigh’s  patent  were  hospitably 
entertained  by  the  natives,  and  yet  in  an 
eight  days’  trip  to  the  interior,  for  trifling  or 
fancied  injuries,  an  Indian  village  with  all 
the  standing  corn  was  destroyed.  Even  then 
the  savages  offered  no  retaliation,  moved  to 
this  course,  probably,  by  fear;  but  the  sug- 
gestion that  the  lost  colony  of  Roanoke  had 
been  adopted  and  protected  by  the  Hatteras 
tribes,  was  not  considered  inconsistent  with 
the  character  of  the  natives. 

The  Jamestown  colony  was  planted  in  a re- 
gion occupied  by  upward  of  forty  different 
tribes.  The  colonists  came  without  diplomat- 
ic introduction;  yet,  in  seventeen  days,  they 
explored  the  river,  smoked  the  calumet  with 
one  tribe,  selected  the  site  of  their  colony, 
and  seized  upon  the  whole  country  with  no 
greater  resistance  than  a single  flight  of  ar- 
rows from  the  startled  natives.  The  more 
powerful  of  the  tribes  in  the  vicinity  of 
Jamestown  were  the  Chickahominies,  who, 
through  the  wise  management  of  Smith, 
early  became  the  steady  friends  of  the  whites. 
The  folly  of  the  colonists  gave  rise  to  occa- 
sional hostilities,  in  which  the  two  races  in- 
flicted mutual  injuries  as  acts  of  war;  but  the 
conversion  and  marriage  of  Pocahontas  to 
Rolfe  restored  amity,  and  cemented  the  I’aces 
in  so  close  a union  that  the  powerful  tribes 
ruled  by  Powhatan  “demanded  to  be  called 
Englishmen.’’  The  rights  of  the  Indians, 
however,  were  little  respected  by  the  whites, 
who  did  not  scruple  at  times  to  appropriate 
the  soil,  cabins  and  grain  of  the  natives, 
without  the  fact  or  form  of  treaty  or  com- 
pensation. The  policy  of  too  many  of  the 
colonial  authorities  seemed  only  directed  “to 
overmaster  the  subtile  Powhatan,”  and  such 
success  followed  their  schemes  that  it  was 
believed  he  must  become  a vassal  of  the  col- 
ony, or  “leave  his  country  to  their  posses- 
sion.” 

So  long  as  Smith  remained  in  Virginia, 
the  Indians  proved  of  the  utmost  advantage 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


31 


to  the  colony,  repeatedly  succoring  the  starv- 
ing colonists  by  timely  gifts  of  corn  and 
game;  and  even  after  the  strong  ties  which 
commanded  their  friendship  were  severed  by 
the  removal  of  Smith  and  the  death  of  the 
Indian  princess,  Powhatan  still  remained  at 
j)eace  with  the  whites.  In  1618  this  chief- 
tain died,  and  the  influence  of  Argali,  care- 
less of,  or  unlearned  in  the  early  traditions 
of  the  colony,  prepared  the  way  for  a serious 
disturbance  of  the  existing  amicable  relations. 
Later  colonists  had  learned  to  despise  the 
power  of  the  savages,  and  the  wise  law  which 
forbade  the  instruction  of  an  Indian  in  the 
use  of  fire-arms  was  ignored.  Savages  were 
freely  employed  as  hunters,  Yeardley  afford- 
ing a conspicuous  example  of  this  folly. 

The  death  of  Powhatan  gave  place  to  less 
peaceful  influences  among  the  natives,  who 
began  to  realize  that  some  check  must  be  put 
upon  the  rapid  encroachments  of  the  whites, 
or  the  Indian  would  be  forced  “to  seek  a 
stranger  countrie.”  These  influences  had 
been  secretly  at  work  for  two  or  three  years, 
when,  on  May  22,  1022,  the  savages  fell 
upon  the  unsuspecting  whites  and  with  relent- 
less fury  slaughtered  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren to  the  number  of  from  300  to  500.  The 
attack  was  planned  to  reach  all  the  planta- 
tions at  once,  and  fell  upon  the  remoter  ones 
without  warning.  At  Berkeley  an  intimation 
of  danger  was  disregarded,  but  the  James- 
town settlement,  notified  through  a colonist 
whom  a friendly  Indian  desired  to  save  from 
the  general  destruction,  was  put  in  a state  of 
defense.  Where  the  natives  found  the  colo- 
nists prepared  to  resist,  they  abandoned  the 
attack;  at  other  points  the  settlers,  though 
surprised,  made  a vigorous  resistance  and 
saved  a remnant  of  their  numbers;  but  in  the 
main,  plans  of  the  savages  were  crowned  with 
cruel  success,  and  many  of  the  plantations 
were  utterly  destroyed.  An  exaggerated  fear 
took  the  place  of  the  former  over- confidence, 
and  the  settlers,  far  and  near,  forsaking 
their  homes,  crowded  into  the  limited  quar- 
ters at  Jamestown,  eager  to  sacrifice  the 
results  of  their  labor  in  the  new  world  for 
the  security  offered  in  the  old.  Some  returned 
to  England;  others,  contracting  disease  in 


the  poorly  provided  quarters  in  which  they 
were  obliged  to  remain,  died;  and  of  eighty 
prosperous  plantations  at  the  time  of  the 
attack,  only  eighteen  remained  tenanted. 

The  report  of  these  affairs  united  all 
classes  of  England  in  sympathy  with  the 
colonists,  and  aroused  a pious  indignation 
against  the  heathen.  The  new  administra- 
tion of  the  company,  strikingly  in  advance  of 
public  sentiment  in  most  things,  was,  in 
respect  to  the  Indians,  quite  as  vindictive. 
In  addressing  the  colonists,  it  “redoubled 
their  courages,”  urged  them  not  to  forsake 
their  plantations,  but  “to  embellish  the  Spar- 
ta upon  which  they  had  lighted.”  It  coun- 
seled the  most  rigorous  reprisal,  declaring 
“the  innocent  blood  of  so  many  Christians 
doth  in  justice  cry  out  for  revenge.”  “We 
must  advise  you,”  continued  the  instructions, 
“to  root  out  a people  so  cursed,  at  the  least 
to  the  removal  of  them  far  from  you.  Where- 
fore, as  they  have  merited,  let  them  have 
perpetual  war  without  peace  or  truce,  and 
without  mercy,  too.  Put  in  execution  all  ways 
and  means  for  their  destruction,  not  omitting 
to  reward  their  neighboring  enemies  upon  the 
bringing  in  of  their  heads.”  The  whole 
public  busied  itself  in  providing  more  sub- 
stantial aid  than  advice.  The  king,  with  a 
parsimonious  attempt  at  liberality,  contrib- 
uted some  cast-off  arms  from  the  Tower; 
corporations  and  private  citizens  of  London 
contributed  money  and  supplies;  and  the 
company,  aided  by  pi’ivate  enterprises, under- 
took to  send  out  large  reinforcements  of 
emigrants. 

The  colonists  did  not  await  instructions 
from  England  to  return  the  attack  of  the 
Indians.  Four  expeditions  carried  destruc- 
tion into  the  Indian  country;  the  savages 
lost  their  villages,  and  in  the  fall  of  1623, 
victimized  by  their  own  system  of  warfare, 
suffered  a cruel  massacre  through  a piece  of 
treachery  on  the  part  of  the  revengeful 
whites.  It  is  doubtful  whether  at  the  end  of 
this  year  the  losses  of  the  whites  were  coun- 
terbalanced by  the  sufferings  of  the  natives, 
but  the  resources  of  the  latter  being  less,  the 
damage  was  more  irreparable.  The  colonial 
statutes  bear  evidence  to  the  fact  that  the 


32 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


policy  of  the  company  in  regard  to  the  Indi- 
ans was  fully  adopted  by  the  Virginians. 
For  nearly  two  years,  it  “lost  the  name  of 
action”  only  through  the  intervention  of 
more  pressing  objects  than  revenge.  The 
whites  learned,  also,  that  they  were  “not  sud- 
denly to  be  destroyed  with  the  sword,  by 
reason  of  their  swiftness  of  foot,  and  advan- 
tages of  the  wood,  to  which  upon  all  assaults 
they  retired.”  Peace  proved  far  more 
destructive  to  the  Indian  dominion  than  war, 
and  receding  before  the  gradual  extensions 
of  the  plantations,  never  again  disputed  the 
sovereignty  of  the  tidewater  valley  of  Vir- 
ginia. From  this  period,  the  stability  of 
the  colony  never  stood  in  doubt;  the  steady, 
healthful  immigration  became  independent 
of  the  company’s  transportation  and  solici- 
tude, and  attention  became  centered  in  the 
political  development  of  the  colony. 

The  charter  under  which  the  settlement  of 
Jamestown  was  planted  placed  the  govern- 
ment in  the  hands  of  a council  of  the  company 
in  England,  with  a resident  council  to  ad- 
minister colonial  affairs.  The  appointment 
of  the  latter  was  retained  by  the  king,  who 
also  reserved  the  right  to  overrule  and  direct 
the  home  council  in  the  most  trivial  affairs. 
The  rights  of  coining  money  and  making  war 
were  granted  to  the  colony;  and  to  the  immi- 
grant were  granted  the  rights  of  English  cit- 
izenship, which  were  to  descend  to  their  chil- 
dren. The  second  charter,  granted  two  years 
later,  transferred  to  the  organized  company 
the  powers  formerly  reserved  to  the  king. 
The  council  of  the  company  was  to  be  consti- 
tuted and  controlled  by  the  voice  of  a major- 
ity of  its  members;  this  body  was  to  have  the 
power  to  appoint  and  displace  the  governor 
and  council  for  the  colony;  to  establish  laws 
and  forms  of  proceedure,  which  should  be  op- 
erative not  only  in  the  colony,  but  also  upon 
the  sea  in  passing  to  and  from  the  colony. 
The  company  was  authorized  to  carry  thither 
any  persons  who  should  consent  to  go,  secur- 
ing to  such  persons  all  the  rights  of  natural 
born  subjects,  and  in  all  doubtful  parts  the 
charter  provided  that  it  should  be  construed 
in  such  manner  as  should  be  most  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  grantees. 


The  governor  was  clothed  with  the  most 
dictatorial  powers;  in  office,  his  authority 
was  unquestionable  in  the  colony;  guided  by 
the  tenor  of  the  company’s  instructions,  he 
was  made  the  sole  judge  of  their  intent,  and 
in  the  absence  of  specific  provisions,  was 
granted  unlimited  discretion,  even  in  capital 
and  criminal  cases.  In  cases  of  mutiny  or 
rebellion  the  governor  was  authorized  to  em- 
ploy martial  law,  of  the  necessity  of  which 
he  was  made  the  sole  judge,  and  the  sole  ex- 
ecutor of  its  mandates.  The  civilization  of 
the  age  and  the  novelty  of  the  experiment 
must  afford  the  only  extenuation  for  such  an 
example  of  despotic  legislation,  and  it  is 
creditable  to  the  early  governors  that  the 
character  of  the  early  colonists  did  not  pro- 
voke a fuller  exercise  of  these  powers.  Until 
the  coming  of  Dale  this  despotic  authority 
lay  dormant;  but  the  “high  marshal  of  Vir- 
ginia” brought  with  him  the  military  code 
as  practiced  in  France  and  the  Lowlands, 
which  Sir  Thomas  Smythe  had  printed  and 
provided  upon  his  own  authority.  Dale  was 
an  old  soldier  of  the  army  in  Flanders,  and 
exercised  his  powers  with  all  the  brutality 
then  in  use  in  the  armies  of  Europe.  In  one 
instance  a bodkin  was  thrust  through  an  of- 
fender’s tongue,  who  was  then  “chained  to  a 
tree  till  he  perished;”  and  others  were  pun- 
ished ‘‘by  hanging,  shooting,  breaking  on 
the  wheel,  and  the  like.”  The  Church  of 
England  had  been  planted  with  the  first  col- 
onists, and  the  sway  of  the  sword  was  ex- 
tended to  its  administration.  Stripes  were 
provided  for  negligences,  and  death  for  infi- 
delity, to  be  administered  at  the  direction  of 
a court  martial.  Saving  the  barbarous  form 
of  punishment.  Dale  seems  to  have  adminis- 
tered the  code  with  justice,  but  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  settlement  was  unfitted  for  the  op- 
eration of  a law,  provided  in  the  charter  only 
for  occasions  of  mutiny  or  rebellion,  and  the 
people  were  greatly  distressed. 

The  severity  of  this  administration  was 
greatly  relieved  by  the  reforms  instituted. 
The  early  custom  of  “bringing  all  things  to 
the  common  store”  encouraged  idleness;  the 
larger  number  “presuming  that,  however  the 
harvest  prospered,  the  general  store  must 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


33 


maintain  them,”  refused  to  work,  and  the  la-  j 
bor  of  a few  only  could  be  brought  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  colony.  The  gross  injus-  [ 
tice  of  this  arrangement,  with  the  lack  of  en- 
terprise to  identify  the  colonists  with  the 
country,  operated  against  the  prosperity  of 
the  community.  Most  of  the  first  colonists 
who  came  to  Virginia  were  maintained  at  the 
cost  of  the  company,  and  were  its  servants. 
To  each  of  these,  Dale  granted  three  acres  of 
land  for  their  own  use,  with  an  allowance  of 
two  bushels  and  a half  of  corn  from  the  pub- 
lic stores ; one  month  of  the  year  was  al  lowed 
each  one  for  the  cultivation  of  this  tract,  the 
other  eleven  being  required  by  the  company. 
To  immigrants  coming  at  their  own  cost,  or 
to  persons  bearing  their  expense,  a bounty  of 
100  acres  was  offered,  which  was  subse- 
quently reduced  to  fifty  acres,  when  the  suc- 
cess of  the  colony  became  assured.  A grant 
for  meritorious  services,  not  to  exceed  2,000 
acres  to  any  one  individual,  was  provided 
for,  and  any  one  by  the  payment  of  £12  lOs.  to 
the  company  could  secure  100  acres,  with 
the  privilege  of  another  100  acres  when 
the  first  was  occupied  and  improved.  Of  the 
later  colonists  many  were  tenants,  who  paid 
two  and  a half  barrels  of  corn  to  the  public 
granary,  and  one  month’s  labor,  which  was 
not  to  be  required  in  seed  time  or  harvest. 
In  1615,  through  the  influence  of  Dale,  the 
company  granted  50  acres  in  fee-simple  to 
each  colonist  who  would  settle  and  clear  them, 
and  pay  a nominal  rent.  Such  was  the 
small  beginning- of  private  property  in  this 
colony;  but  meager  as  was  this  concession,  it 
did  much  to  rescue  the  reputation  of  Dale 
from  the  general  odium  which  his  severity 
had  brought  upon  it. 

The  administration  of  Argali,  which  fol- 
lowed the  short  uueventful  rule  of  Yeardley, 
clearly  indicated  the  fatal  weakness  in  the 
colonial  government,  and  the  election  of 
Sandys  to  the  excutive  office  of  the  company 
was  the  signal  for  the  preparation  of  “ in- 
structions for  the  better  establishment  of  a 
commonwealth”  in  Virginia.  Yeardley,  who 
now  bore  the  title  of  sir  knight,  as  well  as 
governor-general,  was  made  the  bearer  of 
the  good  news.  On  his  arrival  in  Virginia, 


j he  forthwith  proclaimed  the  new  policy — ■ 
I “that  those  cruell  lawes,  by  which  the  ancient 
[ planters  had  soe  longe  been  governed  were  now 
abrogated,  and  that  they  were  to  be  governed 
by  those  free  lawes  which  his  majesties  sub- 
jects lived  under  in  England;”  and,  “that  the 
planters  might  have  a hande  in  the  governing 
of  themselves,  yt  was  graunted  that  a gener- 
all  assemblie  shoulde  be  helde  yearly  once, 
whereat  were  to  be  present  the  governor  and 
couDsell  with  two  biu'gesses  from  each  plan- 
tation, freely  to  be  elected  by  the  inhabitants 
thereof,  this  assemblie  to  have  power  to  make 
and  ordain  whatsoever  lawes  and  orders  should 
by  them  be  thought  good  and  profitable  for 
their  subsistence.” 

The  summons  for  the  election  of  burgesses 
was  issued  by  the  governor  in  June,  and  on 
the  30th  of  July,  1619,  the  first  legislative 
body  of  America  convened  at  Jamestown. 
The  session  was  held  in  the  colonial  church, 
the  members  of  the  body  occupying  the 
choir. 

The  assemblj'  exercised  fully  the  right  of  judging 
the  proper  election  of  its  members;  and  they  would 
not  suffer  any  j)atent,  conceding  manorial  juris- 
' diction,  to  bar  the  obligation  of  obedience  to  their 
decisions.  They  wished  every  grant  of  land  to  be 
made  with  equal  favor,  that  all  complaint  of  par- 
tiality might  be  avoided,  and  the  uuiformitj'  of  laws 
and  orders  never  be  impeached.  The  commission 
of  privileges  sent  by  Sir  George  Yeardley  was  their 
“gi’eat  charter,”  or  organic  act,  which  the}-  claimed  no 
right  “ to  correct  or  control;  ” yet  thej'kept  the  way 
ojaen  for  seeking  redress,  “in  case  thej'  should  find 
aught  not  perfectly  squaring  with  the  state  of  the 
colony.  ” Leave  to  pro^jose  laws  was  given  to  any 
burgess,  or  by  way  of  petition  to  any  member  of  the 
colony;  but,  for  expedition’s  sake,  the  main  business 
of  the  session  was  distributed  between  two  commit- 
tees ; while  a third  bod}q  composed  of  the  governor 
and  such  burgesses  as  were  not  on  those  committees, 
examined  which  of  former  instructions  “ might  con- 
veniently put  on  the  habit  of  laws.  ” 

The  legislature  acted  also  as  a criminal  court. 
The  Church  of  England  was  confirmed  as  the  church 
of  Virginia;  it  was  intended  that  the  first  four  min- 
isters should  each  receive  £300  a year;  all  persons 
whatsoever,  upon  the  Sabbath  days,  were  to  fre- 
quent divine  service  and  sermons  both  forenoon  and 
afternoon;  and  all  such  as  bore  arms,  to  bring  their 
pieces  or  swords.  Grants  of  land  were  asked  not 
for  planters  only,  but  for  their  wives,  “because  in  a 
new  plantation  it  was  not  known  whether  the  man 
or  woman  be  the  most  neccessary.  ” Measures  were 
adopted  “ toward  the  erecting  of  a university  and 


34 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


college.  ” It  was  enacted,  that,  of  the  children  of 
the  Indians,  “ the  most  towardly  boys  in  wit  and 
graces  of  nature  should  be  brought  up  in  the  first 
elements  of  literature,  and  sent  from  the  college  to 
the  work  of  conversion  ” of  the  natives  to  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  Penalties  were  appointed  for  idleness, 
gaming  with  dice  or  cards  and  drunkenness.  E.xcess 
in  apparel  was  restrained  by  a tax.  The  business  of 
planting  corn,  mulberry-trees,  hemp,  and  vines  was 
encouraged.  The  price  of  tobacco  was  fixed  at  3 
shillings  a pound  for  the  best,  and  half  as  much 
“for  the  second  sort.  ” When  the  ciuestion  was 
taken  on  accepting  the  “ great  charter,”  “it  had  the 
general  assent  and  the  applause  of  the  whole  as- 
sembly,” with  thanks  for  it  to  Almighty  God,  and 
of  those  of  the  whole  colony  wdiom  they  represent- 
ed: the  more  so,  as  they  were  promised  the  power 
to  allow  or  disallow  the  order  of  the  court  of  the 
London  company.* 

Thus  the  Virginians  sprang  at  one  bound 
from  a state  of  vassalage  to  the  freedom  of  a 
republic;  and  right  here  was  planted  the 
germ  of  the  next  century  and  a half’s  contest 
in  the  form  of  a petition  to  the  company  that 
the  assembly  might  be  authorized  “ to  allow 
or  disallow  of  their  orders  of  , court,  as  his 
majesty  hath  given  them  power  to  allow  or 
disallow  oar  laws.”  This  the  governor  had 
promised,  and  on  July  24, 1621,  the  company 
added  its  confirmation  by  an  “ ordinance  and 
constitution.”  The  intent  of  this  notable 
instrument  was  “ by  the  divine  assistance  to 
settle  such  a form  of  government  as  may  be 
to  the  greatest  benefit  and  comfort  of  the 
people.”  The  “ constitution  ” provided  for 
the  appointment  of  a governor  as  before;  for 
two  councils — the  one,  called  the  council  of 
state,  to  assist  and  advise  the  governor,  and 
its  members  to  be  placed  and  displaced  by 
the  company;  the  other,  to  be  called  the  gen- 
eral assembly,  to  be  convened  yearly  by  the 
governor,  and  to  consist  of  the  council  of 
state,  the  governor,  and  two  burgesses  out  of 
every  town,  hundred,  or  plantation,  to  be 
chosen  by  the  respective  inhabitants.  In  the 
general  assembly,  which  was  authorized  to 
treat,  consult,  and  conclude  all  “ emergent 
occasions  concerning  the  public  weal,”  the 
greater  number  of  votes  were  to  decide  its 
action,  upon  which  the  governor  had  a nega- 
tive voice.  No  such  law,  however,  was  to  be 
valid  until  ratified  by  the  company;  and  on 

* Bancroft’s  History  of  the  United  States,  Voi.  I,  p.  112,  Edi- 
tion 1884. 


the  other  hand,  it  was  provided  that  when  a 
government  was  “ well  framed  and  settled  ” 
under  this  instrument,  “ no  orders  of  court 
afterward  shall  bind  the  said  colony,  unless 
they  be  ratified  in  like  manner  in  the  general 
assemblies.” 

In  this  radical  measure  was  seen  the  result 
of  Sir  Edwin  Sandys’  influence,  to  whom 
King  James  preferred  the  devil  as  treasurer 
of  the  company.  He  and  his  supporters  in 
the  company  were  not  political  allies  of  the 
king,  who  viewed  their  accession  to  power 
with  a disfavor  which  he  took  no  pains  to 
conceal.  By  the  charter  of  1609,  he  had 
given  the  company  “full  powers  and  author- 
ity” to  confer  upon  the  colony  all  privileges 
not  in  violation  of  “the  laws  and  statutes  of 
this  our  realm  of  England;”  and  by  a third 
charter,  in  1612,  he  had  conferred  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Bermuda  islands  upon  the 
company,  together  with  the  privilege  of  sit- 
ting in  council  as  often  as  it  chose,  and  to 
hold  four  “general  courts”  in  the  year  for 
official  deliberation.  Under  the  administra- 
tion of  his  friends,  the  j ns  clivinum  was  not 
likely  to  suffer  any  infringement,  but  by  the 
election  of  Sandys  the  situation  was  radically 
changed.  “The  Virginia  courts”  became 
the  “seminary  to  a seditious  parliament,” 
and  called  for  the  royal  suppression — but 
how  ? 

The  defeated  minority,  of  which  Argali, 
knighted  by  the  king,  was  a prominent  figure, 
gave  the  dissatisfied  James  an  ill-considered 
pretext  for  interference.  At  the  quarter  ses- 
sion of  the  company,  held  in  May,  1620,  his 
majesty  nominated  four  persons,  one  of  whom 
he  expressed  the  desire  to  have  elected  treas- 
urer in  the  place  of  Sandys.  The  company, 
consisting  of  about  1,000  members,  was  rep- 
resented at  this  meeting  by  upward  of  half 
of  its  membership,  including  twenty  great 
peers,  nearly  a hundred  knights,  and  many 
others  of  renown,  who  were  nearly  unani- 
mous in  their  support  of  the  object  of  the 
king’s  opposition.  The  company  denied  the 
king’s  right  to  such  nomination,  and  ad- 
journed to  the  court  in  course.  In  the  mean- 
time a committee  of  eminent  individuals  con- 
ferred with  the  king  and  made  the  illegality 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


35 


of  his  action  appeal’  so  plainly  that  his  ma- 
jesty covered  his  mistake  by  retiring  behind 
a very  clumsy  explanation  of  his  interfer- 
ence. To  avert  serious  contest  with  the 
crown,  however,  Sandys  withdrew,  and  the 
earl  of  Southampton  was  elected  in  his  place. 
This  was  no  more  satisfactory  to  the  king, 
for  the  new  treasurer  made  it  the  condition 
of  his  accepting  the  trust  that  Sandys  and 
Nicholas  Ferrar,  a celebrated  lawyer,  should 
be  associated  with  him  in  the  direction  of 
the  company’s  affairs. 

“Under  their  harmonious  direction”  the 
new  policy  of  the  company  was  consistently 
carried  forward,  but  not  without  the  inspired 
opposition  of  the  minority.  The  king  had 
determined  to  nullify  the  progressive  ten- 
dency of  the  company,  and  it  is  probable  that 
the  “ordinance  and  constitution”  sent  to  Vir- 
ginia in  the  following  year  was  hastened  by 
their  forecast  of  the  probable  result  of  the 
king’s  hostility.  A petition  of  the  minority 
for  the  redress  of  their  grievances,  together 
with  a libelous  description  of  Virginia  by  a 
court  sycophant,  gave  the  king  the  desired 
opportunity  to  seize  upon  the  company’s 
records,  arrest  the  deputy  treasurer,  Ferrar, 
and  investigate  the  administration  of  the 
colony  for  the  purpose  of  making  up  a 
case. 

A committee  of  royal  tools  were  sent  to 
Virginia,  in  the  fall  of  1623,  to  collect  evi- 
dence to  warrant  the  contemplated  action  of 
the  king  against  the  company.  Upon  the 
general  assembly  the  commissioners  used 
every  artifice  to  obtain  an  expression  in  favor 
of  the  revocation  of  the  company’s  charter, 
but  this  body  was  wise  enough  to  observe  that 
their  political  privileges,  of  no  long  stand- 
ing, derived  their  present  validity  from  that 
instrument  and  the  acts  of  the  company  under 
it,  and  prudently  declined  to  be  intimidated 
or  cajoled  into  conformity  with  the  commis- 
sioners’ designs.  The  assembly  refused  to 
afford  any  aid  or  comfort  to  the  king’s  pur- 
pose, but  expressed  the  utmost  solicitude  lest 
the  governors  should  be  restored  to  absolute 
power,  and  entreated  their  sovereign  that 
“they  might  still  retain  the  liberty  of  popular 
assemblies,  than  which  nothing  could  more 


conduce  to  the  public  satisfaction  and  public 
utility.” 

To  prevent  disorders  arising  “ upon  rumor 
of  supposed  change  and  alteration,”  the  as- 
sembly warned  the  colonists  not  to  “ presume 
to  be  disobedient  to  the  present  government.” 
There  was  little  danger  of  such  an  occur- 
rence, when  the  only  alternative  appeared  to 
be  a return  to  the  former  military  despotism. 
Either  side  had  its  partisans  5 but  the  majority 
of  the  people  were  not  strongly  excited  in 
the  matter;  there  being  three  parties  inter- 
ested in  colonial  affairs,  it  mattered  little 
what  passed  between  the  first  and  second, 
provided  it  did  not  affect  the  third.  If  the 
prerogative  of  the  company  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  king,  the  colonists  held  that  no 
just  cause  of  quarrel  existed  so  long  as  their 
rights  were  not  infringed;  but  in  the 
destruction  of  the  company  their  present 
bulwark  of  defense  would  be  swept  away, 
and  the  far-sighted  planter  might  have  had 
good  cause  to  indulge  the  fear  that  the  very 
citadel  of  their  liberties  might  in  the  same 
way  be  successfully  assailed. 

After  various  attempts  to  evade  the  re- 
sponsibility of  arbitrarily  revoking  the  char- 
ter, the  king,  under  the  disguise  of  the  law, 
robbed  the  company,  and  nullified  its  appeal 
to  parliament  by  the  announcement  to  that 
body  that  he  had  resolved  to  “take  care  of 
the  government  of  the  country.”  The  cats- 
paw  minority  of  the  company  had  little 
cause  to  plume  themselves  upon  the  success 
of  their  royal  accomplice.  Sir  Francis  Wyat, 
who  had  been  the  company’s  appointee  to 
bear  the  ordinance  to  the  colony,  was  con- 
firmed in  office;  and  he  and  his  council  were 
authorized  “ as  fully  and  ainplye  as  any  gov- 
ernor and  council  resident  there,  at  any  time 
within  the  space  of  five  years  now  last  past.” 
This  period  was  that  in  which  a representa- 
tive government  had  existed  in  Virginia,  and 
the  principle,  already  tenaciously  held  by 
the  people,  received  a valuable  sanction  in 
this  limitation.  What  ultimate  changes  the 
king  contemplated,  or  what  the  hidden 
meaning  in  his  statement  to  parliament  that 
“ they  should  all  see  he  would  make  it  one 
of  his  masterpieces,  as  it  well  deserved  to 


3G 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


be,”  cannot  be  accurately  determined;  death 
prevented  the  fulfillment  of  his  engagement. 

The  population  of  the  colony,  at  this  time, 
was  about  2,500  souls.  Since  the  original 
settlement  in  1607,  accessions  had  been 
yearly  received,  but  the  various  exhausting 
experiences  had  tended  seriously  to  reduce 
the  numbers,  so  that  of  some  5,000  settlers 
brought  to  Virginia  less  than  half  remained. 
A large  proportion  of  these  were  actual 
settlers  located  iipon  lands  of  their  own,  and 
engaged  in  agriculture.  Plantations  were 
situated  widely  apart,  and  cabins,  by  law  re- 
(piired  to  be  surrounded  by  stockades,  indi- 
cated the  site  of  planters’  residences.  These 
were  constructed  of  logs,  covered  with  boards 
and  “ matted  on  the  side  after  the  fashion  of 
the  Indian  wigwams.  ” The  interior  was 
ample  and  furnished  with  a curious  blending 
of  the  crude  materials  of  the  new  country 
and  the  higher  civilization  of  the  old.  Sub- 
stantial furniture,  a table  service  approach- 
ing elegance,  and  ponderous,  stoutly  bound 
•volumes  bore  the  marks  of  English  workmen; 
the  high  ruff,  the  small,  high,  wooden  heel,  ! 
and  short,  satin  skirt  of  the  hostess  were  of 
English  exportation;  the  gold  laces  and 
brilliant  buckles,  which  marked  the  dis- 
tinguished position  of  the  planter,  were  of 
the  same  origin.  The  fare  set  before  the 
guest  was  of  the  virgin  soil, — beef,  bacon,  a 
brown  loaf,  Indian  corn  cakes,  with  ale  and 
stronger  drinks  from  across  the  sea.  The 
“unobtrusive  third”  followed  the  meal;  the 
cob  or  wooden  pipe,  filled  with  the  native 
weed  from  a “lily  pot.”  and  lighted  with  a 
splinter  of  juniper  wood,  or  with  more 
elegance  by  a coal  of  fire  held  in  a pair  of 
silver  tongs  made  for  the  purpose,  was  pre- 
sented and  the  guest  requested  to  drink  it. 

A boat,  manned  by  a crew  of  indented  serv- 
ants, carried  the  planter  or  guest  on  the 
river  to  his  destination;  or  else  on  horseback, 
guided  by  a trusted  servant  and  accompanied 
some  miles  by  his  hospitable  host,  the  traveler 
picked  his  way  along  scarcely  distinguishable 
bridle  trails. 

Stock  was  not  abundant,  though  sufficient 
for  the  necessities  of  cultivation;  game, 
hogs  and  wild  fruits,  with  the  vegetables 


that  grew  luxuriantly  in  the  fertile  soil, 
abounded.  Corn  and  tobacco  were  the  great 
staples  produced,  the  first  for  food  for  man 
and  beast  alike;  the  latter  the  principal 
source  of  income  from  exportation.  The 
privilege  of  coining  money  remained  unim- 
proved from  the  fact  that  there  was  nothing 
to  coin.  Tobacco  became  the  circulating 
medium  of  exchange,  and  was  made  a legal 
tender  by  the  general  assembly,  the  rate  of 
exchange  being  fixed  by  a special  enactment. 
No  internal  trade  existed;  and  the  only  vil- 
lage was  the  straggling  hamlet  of  James- 
town, with  its  rude  wooden  government 
buildings  and  score  of  cabins.  One  or  two 
sites  of  possible  villages  rejoiced  “in  that 
strange  spell,  a name,”  but  were  unmarked  or 
only  )-endered  the  more  obscure  by  a cabin  or 
two. 

The  control  of  trade  legislation  was  re- 
served to  the  royal  government  from  the  first. 
By  the  first  charter  it  was  provided  that  a 
“duty  of  five  per  cent  to  be  levied  within 
their  precincts,”  on  the  traffic  of  strangers 
not  owing  obeisance  to  the  British  crown, 
was,  for  one  and  twenty  years,  to  be  wholly 
employed  for  the  benefit  of  the  several  plan- 
tations; at  the  end  of  that  time  was  to  be 
taken  for  the  king.  By  the  second  charter, 
the  colonists  were  forever  freed  from  all 
taxes  and  impositions  on  any  goods  or  mer- 
chandise imported  into  or  exported  out  of 
the  colony,  except  the  five  per  cent  due  for 
customs  on  all  goods  imported  into  the 
British  dominions.  The  payment  of  this 
tariff  gave  the  privilege,  within  thirteen 
months,  to  re-export  the  same  goods  into 
foreign  countries,  without  further  exactions 
for  dues  of  any  kind  whatever.  The  colo- 
nists, at  this  period,  depended  for  all  articles 
of  necessity  upon  the  crude  household  manu- 
factures of  hemp,  wool  and  cotton.  For  arti- 
cles of  luxury,  the  only  sujDply  was  to.  be 
found  in  the  mother  country,  from  whence 
the  well  to-do  imported  their  own  stock,  pay- 
ing the  bill  by  a return  cargo  of  tobacco. 

Before  the  planting  of  this  colony.  King 
James’  hostility  to  the  use  of  the  weed  had 
moved  him  to  write  not  only  a “Counter-blast 
to  Tobacco,”  but  also  to  lay,  by  royal  edict, 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


37 


an  excessive  tax  upon  its  use  in  his  kingdom. 
Subsequently,  when  this  product  became 
Virginia’s  sole  stock  in  trade,  its  sale  in  Eng- 
land was  forbidden  unless  this  tax  was  paid. 
This  unjust  burden  placed  upon  the  feeble 
resources  of  the  colony  was  somewhat  re- 
lieved in  1624,  when,  through  the  exertion 
of  Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  the  Virginian  product 
was  amply  protected  against  the  competition 
of  foreign  tobaccos  in  the  English  market. 

The  local  government  was  made  up  of  a 
strong  mixture  of  civil  and  military  rule,  the 
outgrowth  of  the  “military  code”  and  the 
“new  ordinance.”  The  people  were  grouped 
by  boroughs,  plantations  and  hundreds,  each 
ruled  by  a commander,  whose  rank  was  set 
forth  by  the  bravery  of  gold  lace  forbidden 
to  others.  His  duties  were  to  “see  that  all 
such  orders  as  heretofore  have  been  or  here- 
after shall  be  given  by  the  government  and 
council  be  duly  executed  and  obeyed.”  He 
was  also  “commissioner,”  the  prototype  of  the 
justice  of  the  peace,  with  jurisdiction  of  all 
controversies  under  the  value  of  100  pounds 
of  tobacco;  in  war  he  was  captain  of 
the  contingent  required  from  his  hundred, 
and  in  peace  the  executive  and  judge.  The 
whipping-post  and  pillory  menaced  the  evil- 
doer, to  which  was  sometimes  added  the  ex- 
cision of  a part  or  all  of  one  or  both  ears. 

In  the  transactions  of  the  general  assembly 
there  was  no  trace  of  the  neophyte  or  republi- 
can; in  the  face  of  King  James’  commission- 
ers it  was  declared  that  “the  governor  shall 
not  lay  any  taxes  or  ympositions  upon  the 
colony,  their  lands  or  commodities,  other 
way  than  by  the  authority  of  the  general 
assembly,  to  be  levied  and  ymposed  as  the 
said  assembly  shall  appoynt.  ” To  encourage 


home  industry,  a matter  which  had  vainly 
exhausted  the  devices  of  the  early  governors, 
it  was  enacted  “for  the  encouragement  of 
men  to  plant  a store  of  corn,  the  price  shall 
not  be  stinted,  but  it  shall  be  free  for  every 
man  to  sell  it  as  deare  as  he  can.”  Swearing, 
drunkenness,  and  “scandalous  speech  against 
the  governor  and  council  ” were  threatened 
with  the  pillory,  and  the  planter  was  forbid- 
den to  “dispose  of  any  of  his  tobacco  before 
the  minister  be  satisfied.” 

Such  was  the  colony  planted  by  the  Lon- 
don Company:  seventeen  years  of  labor  and 
more  than  half  a million  dollars  had  been 
expended  in  the  effort,  and  just  as  complete 
success  seemed  about  to  be  attained,  arbitrary 
power  wrested  the  fruit  of  patient  persever- 
ance from  its  hand.  The  promised  success, 
however,  was  of  a character  calculated  to 
satisfy  the  heart  rather  than  the  pocket. 
The  receipts  of  the  company  from  Virginia 
had  not  equaled  the  disbursements  on  its 
account,  and  were  not  likely  to  restore  the 
balance  for  some  years  to  come;  and  the  se- 
questration of  the  charter  therefore  brought 
a relief  from  responsibilities  which  greatly 
mitigated  the  royal  outrage.  At  the 
same  time,  there  must  have  been  present  a 
keen  regret  that  the  growing  state,  whose 
liberty  was  only  half  established,  should  sch 
early  fall  into  the  hands  of  unfriendly  power.. 
But  the  liberal-minded  majority  had  builded 
wiser  than  they  knew;  the  ordinance  of 
1624  constituted  the  magna  charta  of  the 
newly  planted  England ; under  its  benign 
influence,  the  plantation  became  “a  nursery 
of  freemen,”  whose  power  to-day  shapes  the 
destiny  of  continent  and  molds  the  charac- 
ter of  the  wide  earth. 


> 


38 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


CHAPTER  II. 


VIRGINIA  AS  A DEPENDENCY  OF  THE  CROWN. 


AS  a dependency  of  the  crown,  the  his- 
tory of  Virginia  is  marked  by  three 
periods:  from  the  accession  of  Charles  I to 
the  revolution  of  1688;  from  the  revolution 
to  the  accession  of  George  I;  and  under  the 
house  of  Hanover  to  the  American  Revolution. 
During  the  first  period,  legislative  independ 
ence  in  Virginia  fluctuated  between  hope  and 
fear — never  quite  secure  from  the  invasion  of 
the  royal  prerogative,  and  never  entirely  sub- 
jugated to  its  will.  During  the  second  period, 
the  colonists,  more  firmly  settled  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  home  affairs,  began  to  resist 
foreign  encroachments  upon  their  territory 
and  to  develop  those  powers  of  self-reliance 
which  were  destined  to  be  used  with  such 
marked  effect  some  half  century  later.  The 
third  period  covers  the  era  of  resistance  to 
the  parliamentary  prerogative,  which  culmi- 
nated in  armed  resistance  and  revolution. 

Charles  I came  to  the  throne  in  March, 
1625.  He  found  the  royal  exchequer  impov- 
erished and  a rebellious  faction  preparing 
to  resist  the  arbitrary  rule  of  the  crown;  and 
these  immediate  objects  so  engrossed  his 
attention  that  the  Virginia  colony,  recently 
made  the  special  charge  of  the  king’s  care, 
was  largely  ignored.  In  the  beginning  of 
his  reign  the  new  sovereign  did  announce 
that  he  would  adopt  the  policy  of  his  father, 
but  more  pressing  cares  intervened,  or  pecun- 
iary reasons,  _ arising  out  of  his  desire  to 
monopolize  the  sale  of  tobacco,  induced  him 
to  forego  the  prosecution  of  his  expressed 
purpose.  Whatever  the  reason,  it  happened 
that  while  the  king  asserted  the  rights  of  the 
royal  prerogative  to  the  utmost  limit  in 
England,  Virginia  enjoyed  legislative  inde- 
pendence unquestioned,  if  unrecognized;  and 
recognition  came  later.  Through  the  agency 
of  the  general  assembly  the  colonists  “ levied 


and  appropriated  taxes,  secured  the  free 
industry  of  their  citizens,  guarded  the  forts 
with  their  own  soldiery  at  their  own  charge, 
and  gave  publicity  to  their  statutes.”  A 
revised  code,  sanctioned  by  the  royal  lepre 
sentative,  confirmed  their  early  privileges, 
and  Virginia  thus  early  gained  as  large 
liberty  as  was  secured  to  the  English  by  the 
triumph  of  the  commonwealth.  The  period 
was  one  of  immense  prosperity;  immigration 
increased  to  wonderful  proportions;  home 
markets  were  invigorated,  and  the  large 
increase  of  exports  found  unabated  demand 
in  England. 

Wyat  was  continued  as  governor  until  the 
early  part  of  1626,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Yeardley,  an  appointment  that  was  ac- 
cepted by  the  colonists  as  a guarantee  that 
“ the  former  interests  of  Virginia  were  to  be 
kept  inviolate,”  the  king  adding  his  confir- 
mation of  this  impression  by  limiting  the 
powers  of  his  appointee  to  the  use  of  ‘ ‘ the 
same  means  that  were  formerly  thought  fit 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  colony.”  A lit- 
tle less  than  two  years  later,  Yeardley  died, 
eulogised  by  the  general  assembly  and  re- 
gretted by  the  people.  Francis  West,  a 
brother  of  Lord  Delaware,  was  chosen  by  the 
council  as  his  successor,  adding  another 
precedent  in  favor  of  home  government, 
though  acting  in  accordance  with  the  king’s 
commission.  In  the  following  year.  West 
was  succeeded  by  a Dr.  Potts,  who  was  re- 
placed, as  soon  as  the  king  learned  of  Wefet’s 
departure,  by  the  appointment  of  Sir  John 
Harvey. 

The  administration  of  Harvey,  from  1629 
to  1639,  is  a memorable  one  in  colonial  his- 
tory. The  Virginians  remembered  him  as 
one  of  the  over-zealous  commissioners  sent 
to  the  colony  by  James  I to  gather  material 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


39 


for  the  discomfiture  of  the  London  Company; 
and  his  appointment  suggested  that  it  was 
made  by  the  king  in  requital  of  former  serv- 
ices to  his  father.  Such  a governor  could 
hardly  be  looked  upon  as  the  harbinger  of 
good  rule,  or  a desirable  successor  to  Wyat 
and  Yeardley.  Two  features  of  his  commis- 
sion confirmed  the  unfavorable  impression; 
by  this  instrument  he  was  empowered  to  fill 
vacancies  occurring  in  the  council,  and  was 
granted  the  fines  assessed  by  his  court  as 
official  emolument.  Beverly  describes  him 
as  “extortionate,  unjust  and  arbitrary, ” and, 
armed  with  such  dangerous  power  and  privi- 
lege, he  had  sufficient  incentive  to  lead  an 
avaricious  disposition  into  the  most  oppres- 
sive course  of  exactions.  Puffed  up  with  the 
pride  of  power,  “he  was  so  haughty  and 
furious  to  the  council  and  the  best  gentlemen 
of  the  country  that  his  tyranny  grew  at  last 
insupportable.”  The  particular  grievances 
recorded  against  him,  by  a historian  of  the 
time,  are  that  he  “issued  proclamations  in 
derogation  of  the  legislative  powers  of  the 
assembly;  disbursed  the  colonial  revenues 
without  check  or  responsibility,  and  multi- 
plied penalties  and  exactments  and  appro- 
priated fines  to  his  own  use.”  It  may  be 
questioned  if  these  alone  would  have  raised 
up  the  determined  opposition  which  followed; 
to  these  he  added  a supreme  disregard  for 
the  rights  of  property,  and  not  only  granted 
large  tracts  of  land  to  all  comers  for  a j^rivate 
consideration,  but  also  included  in  these 
grants  the  estates  of  certain  planters.  His 
favorable  disposition  toward  the  schemes  for 
the  dismemberment  of  the  colony  intensified 
the  general  feeling,  and  gave  rise  to  a 
determination  to  resist  his  encroachments 
upon  the  rights  of  the  colonists. 

A public  meeting  was  held  and  partici- 
pated in  by  the  chief  men  of  the  colony,  at 
which  was  read  a petition,  numerously  signed, 
denouncing  the  governor  for  the  injustice  of 
his  administration.  For  this,  the  governor 
promptly  arrested  the  important  members  of 
the  indignation  meeting,  and  convened  the 
council  to  suppress  such  mutinous  gatherings. 
Indignant  beyond  measure  at  this  summary 
attempt  to  put  them  down,  the  people,  led 


by  several  counci  Imen  and  a body  of  troops, 
made  a descent  upon  the  governor’s  residence, 
released  the  prisoners,  and  arrested  Harvey 
on  a charge  of  treason.  All  attempts  on  the 
part  of  the  accused  governor  to  effect  a com- 
promise proved  vain,  and  the  brief  record  of 
the  council  relates  only:  “ On  the  28th  of 
April,  1635,  Sir  John  Harvey  thrust  out  of 
his  government,  and  Capt.  John  West  acts 
as  governor  till  the  king’s  pleasure  be  known.” 
The  governor  repaired  to  England,  and  com- 
missioners were  selected  to  present  the  case 
of  the  colony  against  him;  but  the  two  par- 
ties do  not  appear  to  have  confronted  each 
other  there.  The  representatives  of  the 
colony  were  delayed,  Harvey  appeared  before 
the  privy  council,  cleared  himself  of  the  grave 
charges  of  treason  and  smuggling,  and  was 
returned  by  the  indignant  king,  to  whom  the 
sending  of  the  governor  hither  appeared  “an 
assumption  of  regal  power,”  which  should 
be  rebuked  by  the  reinstatement  of  the  ob- 
noxious governor,  “though  to  stay  but  a day.” 
Harvey,  accordingly,  came  back  in  1637, 
shorn,  however,  of  his  power  to  fill  vacancies 
in  the  council,  and  remained  nearly  two  years 
without  provoking  further  antagonism. 

The  Virginians  regarded  any  infringement 
of  their  original  territory  with  no  less  jeal- 
ous eye  than  the  infringement  of  political 
rights,  and  the  founding  of  the  colony  of 
Maryland,  in  this  administration,  aroused  an 
opposition  which  for  over  thirty  years  refused 
to  acquiesce  in  the  inevitable.  The  territory 
granted  the  first  colony  in  Virginia  extended 
from  the  Florida  line  to  the  Hudson  River. 
In  1613,  the  Hollanders  took  possession  of 
this  river,  and  “built  forts  there,  called  Prince 
Maurice  and  New  Netherlands,”  establishing 
a fiourishing  fur  trade  with  the  natives. 
Thus,”  it  was  claimed,  “ are  the  English 
I nosed  and  out-traded  by  the  Dutch.”  Later, 
a colony  of  Swedes  occupied  Delaware;  and 
in  1630,  Sir  Robert  Heath  was  granted  all 
that  portion  of  Virginia  south  of  the  36th 
parallel.  All  these  were  considered  invasions 
of  the  territory  of  Virginia,  and  when,  in 
1632,  Sir  George  Calvert,  Lord  Baltimore, 
was  granted  the  territory  of  Maryland,  the 
Virginians  began  to  fear  that  the  recklessness 


40 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


of  the  king  and  the  greed  of  his  favorites 
woitld  not  stop  short  of  appropriating  the 
lands  already  occupied  by  themselves.  The 
reckless  avarice  of  Harvey  gave  color  to  these 
suspicions,  and  the  general  assembly  earnest- 
ly protested  against  the  grant  as  an  infringe- 
ment of  the  rigfhts  of  Virginia  and  a dis- 

O O 

couragement  to  the  planters  who  had  labored 
to  build  uj)  the  colony. 

The  founder  of  the  new  colony  was  a 
“popish  recusant  of  high  character;”  under 
a royal  charter  he  had  established  a colony 
upon  the  southern  point  of  Newfoundland, 
but  the  climatic  discouragement  of  that  lati- 
tude had  induced  him  to  look  about  for  a more 
favorable  location.  To  this  end  he  visited 
Virginia  in  1630,  where,  the  character  of  his 
mission  being  known,  he  was  received  with 
scant  hospitality.  He  found  the  colonists 
possessed  of  a spirit  of  bigoted  intolerance, 
and  no  sooner  was  his  presence  bruited 
abroad  than  a general  commotion  ensued. 
The  distinguished  visitor  was  given  the  lie 
publicly  and  threatened  with  violence,  and 
the  council,  while  punishing  the  offender 
against  the  peace  and  good  manners,  ten- 
dered Lord  Baltimore  the  oath  of  supremacy 
and  allegiance,  which,  as  a good  Catholic,  he 
declined  to  take.  This  was  equal  to  a dis- 
missal from  the  colony,  and  he  accordingly 
left  for  England,  stopping  long  enough  on 
his  way,  however,  to  explox’e  the  countxy  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  On 
his  x’eturn  he  represented  to  the  king  that 
the  countxy  north  of  the  Potomac  was  in- 
habited only  by  savages;  that  yeax's  must 
elapse  befox’e  the  Virginians  could  occupy  it; 
that  other  nations  were  preparing  to  plant 
settlements  there,  and  that  the  surest  way  to 
fx’ixstrate  them  was  to  foxxnd  an  English  col- 
ony in  the  territory. 

To  such  potent  ai’guments  the  Virginians 
could  reply  only  by  protest.  By  the  can- 
celing of  the  company’s  chartex’,  the  right 
of  the  soil  was  vested  in  the  cx’own;  and, 
aided  by  the  influence  of  home  statesmen  as 
well  as  that  of  Harvey,  Lord  Baltimore  suc- 
ceeded in  his  quest,  though  his  death  in  the 
meanwhile  transferred  the  xxndertaking  to  his 
son.  Circumstances  devolved  the  respon- 


sibility of  further  opposition,  also,  upon 
other  shoulders.  The  king’s  “trusty  and 
well-beloved  William  Clayborne,”  with  a 
considerable  following,  occupied  Kent  Island, 
and  founded  so  vigorous  a settlement  that  in 
1632  it  sent  a member  to  the  general  assembly 
of  Virginia.  This  contestant  engaged  in 
tx’ade  with  the  Indians,  for  which  he  px'ovided 
a well-equipped  vessel,  and  announced  that, 
as  he  occupied  the  soil  of  Vii’ginia  under 
patent  of  the  king,  he  would  resist  any 
attempt  to  rob  him  of  his  x-ights. 

In  1634  the  second  Lord  Baltimore  sent 
his  brother,  Leonard  Calvert,  with  “twenty 
gentlemen”  and  several  hxxndred  laborex's  to 
take  possession  of  the  king’s  grant  to  him. 
Clayborne’s  trading  vessel  was  seized,  and 
the  colony  on  Kent  Island  sux’prised  by  night 
and  driven  out.  The  resolute  defender  of 
Vii’ginian  rights  sent  an  ai’med  pinnace  to- 
rescue  the  captured  boat,  but  in  the  skirmish 
which  followed  the  rescuers  were  defeated 
with  the  loss  of  thx’ee  men.  Beaten  for  the 
time,  Clayborne  waited  until  the  absence  of 
the  govex’nor  of  Virginia  gave  him  an  oppor- 
tunity to  renew  the  struggle.  Accordingly, 
in  1645,  he  seized  the  Maryland  government 
vi  et  armis,  and  forced  the  representative  of 
Lord  Baltimore  to  retreat  to  England.  The 
return  of  Berkeley,  then  governor,  tuxned  the 
tables,  and  the  defender  of  the  ancient  limits, 
deprived  of  home  support,  was  violently  ex- 
pelled by  the  proprietary  forces.  .In  all  the 
px’otracted  struggle,  Clayboxme  was  supported 
by  the  patriotism  of  the  Vix’ginians,  who 
claimed  the  tex’ritory  as  a part  of  the  colony’s 
possession,  and  by  that  religious  bigotry 
which  united  Pxxritan  and  Episcopalian  in 
opposition  to  the  Catholic. 

Other  marks  of  individxxality  appeared  in 
the  administx’ation  of  Harvey;  the  colonists, 
not  only  assxxmed  “regal  power”  and  de- 
veloped a patriotism  that  countenanced  the 
x'ebellious  attempt  to  nullify  the  king’s  patent, 
bixt  the  colony  began  also  to  pxxt  off’  the  forms 
of  its  tixteiage,  and  to  assume  the  garb  of 
maturity.  Early  in  the  administration 
(1628-29)  commissions  wex'e  issued  to  the 
different  plantations  and  huudx’eds  to  hold 
monthly  courts,  and  in  1634  eight  shires, 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


41 


their  form  of  government  copied  from  the 
shires  of  England,  were  erected.  Over  each 
of  these  was  placed  a “lieutenant,  the  same 
as  in  England,  to  take  care  of  the  war  against 
Indians;”  the  sheriff,  sergeant  and  bailiffs 
were  also  constituted  and  elected  “the  same  I 
as  in  England.”  Harvey  was  I’ecalled  in 
1639,  and  Sir  Francis  Wyat  conducted  the 
government  until  Sir  William  Berkeley  ar- 
rived, in  1642. 

The  new  governor  was  a “courtier,”  a mem- 
ber of  an  old  English  family,  deeply  imbued 
with  a profound  belief  in  theyits  divinum  of 
kings,  and  schooled  in  the  graces,  amenities 
and  prejudices  of  the  well-bred  cavalier.  At 
his  country  estate  of  1,000  acres,  near 
Jamestown,  he  surrounded  himself  with 
great  social  state,  and  did  much  to  foster  the 
growing  aristocratic  tendency,  which  gradu- 
ally prevailed  in  the  customs  of  the  wealthier 
classes  of  the  old  Virginians.  The  people 
were  not  averse  to  this  display.  During  the 
administration  of  Harvey,  the  colonists  had 
gained  a broader  comprehension  of  Virgin- 
ia’s future  possibilities  as  an  integral  part  of 
the  British  kingdom,  and  readily  associated 
this  display  with  the  growing  importance  of 
the  colony.  The  exercise  of  governmental 
functions  had  been  a powerful  means  of  edu- 
cating the  people  in  self-confidence,  and  pub- 
lic spirit,  though  less  marked,  had  kept  pace 
with  the  social  tendency  of  the  colony.  Un- 
touched by  the  influences  which  moved  Eng- 
land to  rebellion,  “Virginia  was  whole  for 
the  monarchy,”  though  it  only  needed  simi- 
lar grievances,  thirty-four  years  later,  to 
break  out  in  armed  resistance.  But,  for  the 
time,  the  man  and  the  hour  had  met  in  happy 
conjunction.  The  people,  wearied  and  out- 
raged by  the  coarse  brutality  of  the  retiring 
governor,  were  captivated  by  the  urbanity  of 
Berkeley;  ruffled  by  their  inconclusive  bout 
with  Harvey,  and  excited  over  the  dismember- 
ment of  their  territory,  the  Virginians  were 
surprised  into  good  nature  by  Charles’  ad- 
dress to  “our  trusty  and  well-beloved,  our 
governor,  council  and  burgesses  of  the  grand 
assembly  of  Virginia”  (his  first  recognition 
of  the  colonial  legislature,  July  5,  1642),  and 


j accepted  the  liberally  devised  instructions  to 
Berkeley  as  the  amende  honorable. 

It  was  under  such  happy  auspices  that  the 
long  (1642-1677)  and  eventful  career  of  the 
new  governor  opened  in  Virginia.  His  in- 
structions associated  the  council  with  the 
governor  in  supplying  the  vacancies  in  that 


assembly  with  unabated  privilege,  the  gov- 
ernor to  have  a negative  voice;  for  the  erec- 
tion of  courts  inferior  to  the  quarter  sessions; 
for  the  administration  of  justice  according  to 
the  English  usage;  and  for  the  probate  of 
wills.  To  carry  out  these  instructions  the 
governor  and  assembly  united  in  harmonious 
I action,  and  for  seven  years  the  golden  age  of 
colonial  existence  went  on  without  interrup- 
tion. In  1643,  the  shires  took  the  name  of 
counties,  and  as  immigration  found  its  way 
into  new  regions,  the  number  increased;  stock 
of  all  kinds  multiplied;  the  cattle  were  esti- 
mated at  20,000  head,  with  horses  and  other 
kinds  in  proportion;  the  fertile  soil  yielded 
rich  returns  of  wheat,  tobacco  and  corn,  the 
latter  “five  hundred  fold;”  the  cultivation 
and  manufacture  of  silk  was  encouraged,  and 
the  infant  industry  was  destined  to  supply 
the  coronation  robe  for  the  restored  Stuart, 
if  the  tradition  be  true;  and  trade,  “the  calm 
health  of  nations,”  attracted  ten  vessels  from 
London,  two  from  Bristol,  twelve  from  Hol- 
land, and  seven  from  New  England. 

In  the  meantime,  affairs  in  England  were 
rapidly  approaching  the  revolutionary  climax; 
the  news  found  its  way  to  Virginia,  but 
awakened  no  response  in  the  hearts  of  the 
colonists.  The  Virginians  were  prosperous 
and  happy,  and  good  churchmen  enough  to 
believe  that  “godliness  with  contentment  is 
great  gain.”  In  1643,  the  parliament's 
I board  of  commissioners  could  offer  no  advan- 
tage which  the  colony  did  not  already  possess; 
and  when  the  company,  which  fostered  its 
infancy,  sought  to  revive  its  charter,  the  colo- 
ny promptly  protested  that  “there  is  more 
likelihood  that  such  as  are  aquainted  with  the 
clime  and  its  accidents  may  upon  better  ground 
I prescribe  our  advantages,  than  such  as  shall 
sit  at  the  helm  in  England.”  The  period  of 


42 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


colonial  minority  had  passed  and  the  colony  j 
was  now  able  to  judge  for  itself;  the  legisla- 
ture had  exercised  its  coveted  privileges  un-  f 
hindered,  and  secured  such  sanction  to  the  ^ 
principles  of  home  government  as  removed 
all  doubt  of  their  stability;  the  king’s  jrolicy  j 
in  Virginia  had  been  quite  satisfactory,  and 
the  colonists  had  no  disposition  to  join  the 
cause  of  the  Puritans  in  the  attainment  of 
objects  in  which  they  had  no  interest.  The 
execution  of  Charles  I,  therefore,  awoke  in 
Virginia  a sympathy  for  the  victim  of  the 
English  people’s  rage,  and  the  royalist  ref- 
ugees, who  tied  to  Virginia  in  great  numbers, 
found  every  home  a “hostelry,”  and  had 
“choice  of  hosts  without  money  or  its  value.” 
The  king  was  beheaded  in  January,  1649; 
the  general  assembly,  which  met  in  the  fol- 
lowing October,  took  early  opportunity  to 
denounce  “the  late  traitorous  proceedings” 
against  “the  late  most  excellent  and  now  un- 
doubtedly sainted  king;”  and  provided  that 
all  persons  who  should  “by  word  or  speeches, 
endeavour  to  insinuate  any  doubt,  scruple  or 
question  of,  or  concerning,  the  undoubted 
and  inherent  right  of  his  majesty,  that  now 
is,  to  the  colony  of  Virginia,  and  all  other 
his  majesty’s  dominions,”  should  suffer  pun- 
ishment. In  1650,  the  exiled  monarch  recog- 
nized the  loyalty  of  Virginia  and  sent  his 
commission  to  Sir  "William  Berkeley  from 
Breda,  and  the  colony  prepared  to  be  “the 
last  country,  belonging  to  England,  that  sub- 
mitted to  obedience  of  the  commonwealth.” 
This  rebellious  attitude  toward  the  new  state 
of  things  could  not  long  pass  unnoticed.  In 
the  latter  part  of  this  year  parliament  adopt- 
ed measures  to  reduce  “Barbadoes,  Antigua, 
Bermudas  and  Virginia”  to  obedience.  One 
after  another  made  submission  to  the  new 
authorities  with  slight  resistance  at  the  Ber- 
mudas only,  and  in  1652  a frigate  brought  the 
menace  of  war  to  the  shores  of  Virginia.  The 
brave  old  governor  made  prompt  preparations 
for  resistance;  the  defenses  of  Jamestown 
were  equipped  and  manned ; the  Dutch  ships 
in  the  harbor  were  unloaded  of  goods  and 
mounted  with  cannon,  and  nothing  was  need- 
ed to  precipitate  the  devastation  and  misery 
of  war  but  the  folly  of  the  commonwealth’s 


commissioners.  Fortunately  this  had  been 
guarded  against,  both  in  the  selection  of  the 
officials  and  in  the  terms  of  their  instructions; 
the  demand  of  the  commonwealth  was  for 
parley,  not  surrender.  The  burgesses  of  the 
several  plantations  were  called  to  assist  and 
advise  in  the  matter,  and  “upon  long  and 
serious  debate,  and  in  sad  contemplation  of 
the  great  miseries  and  certain  destruction,” 
surrender  was  agreed  upon. 

This  result  would  seem  to  be  a foregone  con- 
clusion; the  Virginians  differed  with  the  com- 
mons of  England  only  in  personal  sentiment; 
both  claimed  England  as  their  fatherland, 
and  its  settled  ruler  as  the  common  sovereign 
of  both;  Virginia  did  not  aim  at  independ- 
ence, and  the  commonwealth  sought  only  to 
prevent  the  dismemberment  of  the  kingdom; 
there  was,  therefore,  no  cause  for  war.  When 
clearly  formulated,  the  demands  of  each 
party  were  found  entirely  compatible  with 
the  highest  interest  of  both,  and  instead  of  a 
recourse  to  arms,  this  real  union  of  sentiment 
was  set  forth  in  articles  of  agreement  “ for 
the  surrendering  and  settling  of  that  planta- 
tion under  the  obedience  and  government  of 
the  commonwealth  of  England.” 

By  these  articles  it  was  provided  “ that  the 
plantation  of  Virginia,  and  all  the  inhabit- 
ants thereof  * * ^ shall  have 

and  enjoy  such  freedoms  and  privileges  as 
belong  to  the  free-born  people  of  England; 

* * * 41y,  That  Virginia  shall  have 

and  enjoy  the  antient  bounds  and  lymitts 
granted  by  the  charters  of  former  kings; 

* * * Sly,  That  Virginia  shall  be 

free  from  all  taxes,  customs  and  impositions 
whatsoever,  and  none  to  be  imposed  on  them 
without  consent  of  the  grand  assembly,  and 
so  that  neither  fortes  nor  castles  bee  erected 
or  garrisons  maintained  without  their  con- 
sent; ” and  this  agreement  was  therein  ac- 
knowledged “ a voluntary  act,  not  forced  nor 
constrained  by  a conquest  upon  the  couutrey.  ” 
This  convention,  consisting  of  sixteen  articles, 
with  a supplementary  paper  granting  im- 
munity for  acts  done  under  the  commission 
of  the  exiled  king,  was  confirmed  by  the  “ long 
parliament,”  save  the  important  stipulations 
in  regard  to  the  “ antient  bounds  and 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


43 


lymitts,  ” and  those  contained  in  article 
“ Sly,  ” quoted  in  full,  These  were  referred 
to  a committee  and  were  not  acted  upon  be- 
fore the  parliament  was  dissolved;  but  what- 
ever this  grave  omission  might  have  imported, 
subsequent  events  secured  to  the  colony  the 
substantial  results  sought,  with  the  exception 
of  the  original  boundaries. 

Clayborne,  who  was  one  of  the  common- 
wealth commissioners,  the  Virginia  business 
being  settled,  renewed  his  struggle  for  the 
possession  of  “ that  sweete,  that  rich,  that 
large  country”of  Maryland.  Under  the  general 
authorization  of  parliament  to  reduce  “ all 
the  plantations  within  the  bay  of  Chesa- 
peake, ” he  seized  the  governor  of  that  colony 
and  revolutionized  the  government,  but  not 
without  a stubborn  tight,  in  which  the  pro- 
prietary forces  were  defeated.  In  1658  the 
end  appeared;  the  power  of  the  Puritans 
began  to  fail;  the  Catholics  took  courage, 
organized,  and  surrendered  the  colony  to 
Lord  Baltimore;  the  death  of  Cromwell  fol- 
lowed in  the  same  year,  and  the  restoration, 
in  1660,  settled  this  vexed  question  for- 
ever. 

The  revolution  was  effected  in  Virginia 
without  the  slightest  commotion;  the  articles 
for  the  “settling  of  that  plantation”  had 
made  no  provision  for  its  future  government, 
but  the  assembly,  as  “the  representatives  of 
the  people,”  declared  “the  right  of  electing 
all  officers  of  this  colony  should  appertain  to 
the  burgesses,”  and,  “after  long  and  serious 
debate,”  “ unanimously  voted  and  concluded 
that  Mr.  Richard  Bennett,  Esq.,  be  governor 
for  this  ensuing  year  ” (1652).  Bennett  w'as 
one  of  the  commonwealth’s  commissioner's,  and 
Clayborne,  another,  was  made  secretary  of 
state,  the  council  being  composed  of  sympa- 
thizers with  the  exiled  king  and  “round - 
heads.”  The  old  cavalier-governor  disposed 
of  his  “house  in  James  Cittie,  the  western- 
most of  three  brick  houses  I built  there,” 
and  retired  to  his  country  estate  to  vent  his 
petulant  humor  in  criticisms  of  the  existing 
government.  The  new  administration,  with 
no  friends  to  favor  nor  foes  to  punish,  “kept 
the  noiseless  tenor  of  its  way.”  The  “mer- 
cenarie  attorneys”  were  the  common  enemy 


of  all,  and  were  harassed  as  they  were  under 
Berkeley. 

There  was  a “looseness  and  unsettledness” 
in  the  character  of  the  government  under  the 
commonwealth  recognized  by  all,  and  while 
the  protector  had  “come  to  some  resolutions 
for  supplying  that  defect”  death  intervened 
to  prevent  his  carrying  them  into  execution. 
The  assembly  in  the  meanwhile  directed 
affairs;  in  1655,  Edward  Digges  succeeded 
Bennett  as  governor,  and  in  1656,  Samuel 
Matthews  was  elected.  The  latter  was  graced 
with  the  title  of  captain,  and  was  “an  old 
planter  of  nearly  forty  years’  standing,  a 
most  deserving  commonwealth’s  man,  who 
kept  a good  house,  lived  bravely,  and  was  a 
true  lover  of  Virginia.”  In  1658,  the  assem- 
bly excluded  the  governor  and  council  from 
its  session;  the  “old  planter  governor”  re- 
sisted the  innovation  and  dissolved  the  assem- 
bly, but  the  “ representatives  of  the  people  ” 
were  not  thus  to  be  coerced.  Members  were 
forbidden  to  leave  Jamestown,  and  conveninof 
in  secret  session  the  colonial  legislature  de- 
clined to  submit  the  whole  question  to  Crom- 
well, declaring  the  assembly  was  “not  dis- 
solved by  any  power  yet  extant  in  Virginia 
but  our  own.  ” The  burgesses  were  not  with- 
out their  remedy;  they  declared  themselves 
in  possession  of  full  power  to  elect  and  aj^- 
point  all  officers  in  the  colony  until  orders  to 
the  contrary  should  be  received  from  the 
supreme  power  in  England;  “that  all  former 
elections  of  governor  and  council  be  void  and 
null;  that  the  power  of  the  governor  for  the 
future  shall  be  conferred  on  Coll.  Samuel  Mat- 
thews, Esq.,  who  by  us  shall  be  invested  with 
all  the  just  rights  and  privileges  belonging 
to  the  governor  and  captain-general  of  Vir- 
ginia.” This  occurred  on  the  hrst  day  of 
April,  and  on  the  third,  the  old  planter  cap- 
tain accepted  the  promotion  to  colonel,  and 
took  the  oath  in  accordance  with  the  deter- 
mination of  the  burgesses. 

On  the  death  of  Cromwell,  his  son  and 
successor  was  recognized;  the  restoration  was 
in  view,  and  the  resignation  of  Richard  Crom- 
well being  followed  by  the  death  of  Mat- 
thews, the  old  cavalier  was  called  from  his 
retirement  and  placed  at  the  head  of  the 


44 


PIISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


government  once  more.  The  burgesses  took 
care,  however,  to  reafBrm  “that  the  supreme 
power  of  the  government  of  this  country  shall 
be  resident  in  the  assembly,”  and  to  enact 
that  “all  writts  shall  issue”  in  its  name, 
“until  such  a command  or  commission  come 
out  of  England  as  shall  be  by  the  assembly 
adjudged  to  be  lawful.”  In  the  absence  of 
a settled  government  in  England,  this  guarded 
declaration  of  supremacy  was  not  inconsist- 
ent with  the  old  governor’s  political  faith, 
and  acquiescing  in  the  innovations  accom- 
plished by  the  burgesses,  he  declared  himself 
“the  servant  of  the  assembly.” 

The  restoration  of  Charles  II  was  hailed 
with  joy  in  Virginia.  During  the  rule  of  the 
commonwealth  the  people  had  lost  none  of 
their  love  for  the  cause  of  the  deposed  mon- 
arch, and  the  unsettled  state  of  the  govern- 
ment kept  alive  the  expectation  of  a return 
to  the  only  settled  form  known  to  the  people 
— a monarchy.  The  large  accession  of  roy- 
alists, “men  of  the  first  rate,  who  wanted  not 
money  nor  credit,”  whose  singularly  wise 
conduct  had  provoked  no  antagonisms,  rein- 
forced the  natural  sentiment.  Berkeley  was 
re-elected  in  March,  1660;  in  the  following 
May,  the  restored  king  forwarded  to  him  a 
royal  commission,  and  in  1661  a new  assem- 
bly was  convened.  The  old  one,  it  is  said, 

“ was  full  cavalier,’’  but  the  constitution  of 
the  new  one  exhibited  the  change  silently 
wrought  in  Virginia  by  the  restoration.  In 
the  first  general  assembly  convened  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  II,  “ lai’ge  land  holders  and 
cavaliers”  appeared  almost  exclusively;  of  the 
members  of  ' the  preceding  assembly,  only 
eight  were  re-elected,  and  only  five  retained 
their  seats;  of  those  prominent  in  the  exten- 
sion of  colonial  j^rivileges,  but  two  appeared 
in  this  body.  England  was  restored;  Vir- 
ginia was  revolutionized. 

The  colony  was  on  the  high  road  to  rebel- 
lion, but  its  progress  was  only  incidentally 
marked  through  the  course  of  the  sixteen 
years  wEich  followed.  The  restoration  found 
colonial  power  in  the  hands  of  “the  people  of 
Virginia;”  the  governor  placed  and  displaced  [ 
by  the  general  assembly,  and  his  salary  voted  ; 
from  one  session  to  another  ; the  council  de-  | 


pendent  upon  the  same  power  ; the  courts 
conformed  to  English  law  ; taxes  levied 
on  the  poll  and  only  by  the  burgesses  ; the 
assembly  directly  responsible  to  the  people, 
elected  once  in  two  years  and  each  member 
paid  by  his  constituents.  These  privileges 
had  survived  both  monarchy  and  common- 
wealth, and  the  people,  who  sought  an  ex- 
plicit grant  of  security  from  the  successor  of 
Cromwell,  deemed  a charter  from  the  restored 
Stuart  unnecessary;  and  so  Virginia  relied 
upon  the  integrity  of  her  king  and  assembly, 
while  the  less  loyal  colonists  in  the  North 
were  securing  liberal  charters  as  the  price  of 
their  unwearied  importunities.  The  mistake 
of  this  overweening  confidence  was  fatal  ta 
the  peace  of  the  Virginia  colony. 

In  1662,  the  new  assembly,  by  a perma- 
nent imposition  on  tobacco,  provided  an  un- 
questionable emolument  for  the  appointees 
of  the  crown,  and  having  freed  the  governor 
from  his  financial  restraint,  the  same  assem- 
bly prolonged  its  own  existence  by  declaring 
the  law  requiring  the  election  of  burgesses 
once  in  two  years  “utterly  abrogated  and 
repealed.  ” Other  innovations  followed,  all 
tending  in  the  same  direction — the  exclu- 
sion of  the  people  from  the  government. 
New  laws  freed  the  burgess  from  the  finan- 
cial restraint  of  his  constituents  by  provid- 
ing for  his  payment  out  of  a general  levy  ; 
and  in  1670,  the  franchise  was  restricted  to 
“free-holders  and  housekeepers.”  Such  was 
the  progress  in  ten  years  ; the  movement  had 
not  gone  unnoticed  by  the  people,  who  were 
disposed  to  make  “choyce  of  persons  not  fitly 
qualified  for  so  great  a trust,”  in  the  opinion 
of  the  royalist  assembly,  and  hence  the  re- 
striction. This  last  innovation  was  a serious 
one,  and  challenged  the  immediate  attention 
of  the  people.  From  the  first  years  until 
1655,  all  settlers  had  been  heard  in  the 
general  direction  ; until  1619,  in  the  matters 
of  the  plantations  and  hundreds,  and  subse- 
quently in  the  election  of  burgesses.  In 
1655  the  franchise  was  restricted  to  house- 
keepers, but  in  the  following  year  the  privi- 
lege was  restored,  because  it  was  “something 
hard  and  unagreeable  to  reason  that  any  per- 
son shall  pay  equal  taxes,  and  yet  have  no 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


45 


vote  in  elections.”  Fourteen  years  had  not 
antiquated  the  logic  of  this  reasoning,  but 
the  royalists  found  a class  of  “persons,  who, 
having  served  their  time,  are  freemen  of  this 
country.”  Many  of  these  were  their  old 
enemies  who  had  been  brought  to  Virginia 
in  the  restored  times,  as  indented  servants, 
and  now,  restored  to  freedom,  made  “tumults 
at  this  election  it  was  safer,  therefore,  to 
“grant  a voyce  in  such  election  only  to  such 
as  by  their  estates,  real  or  personal,  have  in- 
terest enough  to  tye  them  to  the  endeavor  of 
the  public  good.” 

This  centralization  of  power  reached  the 
courts  also.  The  governor  and  council 
formed  the  superior  and  chancery  courts, 
from  which,  for  a time,  there  was  an  appeal 
to  the  assembly;  the  minor  courts  consisted 
of  eight  unpaid  justices  of  the  peace,  who 
held  monthly  sessions  in  each  county  for  the 
disposition  of  minor  causes  and  county  busi- 
ness. These  magistrates  were  appointed  by 
the  governor  during  his  pleasure,  the  one 
oldest  in  commission  succeeding  to  the  posi- 
tion of  sheriff,  and  others  in  regular  rotation. 
This  court,  without  responsibility  to  the  peo- 
ple, levied  the  taxes  for  county  purposes, 
and  disbursed  them  too  often  for  the  enrich- 
ment of  peculating  officials.  To  this  was 
added  the  exacting  machinery  of  an  estab  - 
lished  church.  The  later  laws,  which  had 
lost  much  of  the  severity  of  bigotry,  were  re- 
pealed, and  the  old  ones  restored ; the  vestry 
was  constituted  a close  corporation  with  per- 
petual charter,  and  endowed  with  powers 
to  assess  taxes  without  regard  to  the  will  of 
the  parishioner’s. 

It  is  impossible  to  conjecture  how  far  this 
irresponsible  tyranny  woirld  have  gone,  had 
not  the  similar  policy  of  the  king  supplied  a 
partial  corrective.  The  oppressive  trade 
measures  of  the  crown  brought  home  to  the 
privileged  class  the  folly  of  alienating  the 
great  body  of  freemen  entirely,  and  subse- 
quent events  were  to  convince  them  that 
where  plunder  was  involved  even  the  touch 
of  aristocracy  did  not  make  kin.  In  1673 
the  king  wantonly  granted  all  the  “ dominion 
of  land  and  water  commonly  called  Virginia” 
to  Lords  Arlington  and  Culpep])er  for  thirty-  | 


I one  years.  Such  a grant  was  portentous  of 
I the  greatest  evils;  these  court  favoi’ites,  for 
[ the  annual  rent  of  40  shillings,  were  en- 
I dowed  with  all  the  privileges  and  powers  of 
j the  Crown  over  40,000  people  for  a genera - 
j tion.  The  outcry  against  the  villainy  was 
spontaneous  and  prolonged,  and  joined  in 
by  freeman,  housekeeper  and  burgess.  The 
cavalier  assembly  protested  to  the  king  in 
language  very  similar  to  that  of  freemen; 
“ they  humbly  requested  not  to  be  subjected 
to  our  fellow-subjects,  but  for  the  future  to 
be  secure  from  our  fears  of  being  enslaved.” 
A commission  was  sent  to  England  to  secure 
a charter  by  which  the  encroachments  of  the 
new  proprietors  might  be  restrained,  but  the 
people,  excited  by  new  grievances,  took  the 
remedy  into  their  own  hands,  and  the  news 
of  “ Bacon’s  rebellion”  stopped  the  charter 
in  the  government  offices. 

In  1674  the  general  exasperation  found 
some  expression,  but  calm  advice  and  counsel 
checked  the  outbreak.  Some  minor  reforms 
were  granted,  but  the  great  burden  of  oppres- 
sion remained;  the  determination  of  the 
people  was  taking  form,  however,  and  want 
of  opportunity  alone  denied  it  expression. 
This  want  was  supplied  at  last;  the  Indians 
were  showing  a disposition  to  renew  hostili- 
ties; a rumor  of  their  approach  was  followed 
by  the  slaughter  of  settlers  on  the  frontier 
plantations.  The  natives  extended  their 
ravages,  and  planters  gathered  to  follow  the 
foe  to  his  retreat  and  inflict  summary  punish- 
ment, but  they  had  no  leader,  and  the 
governor  was  charged  with  caring  more  for 
his  beaver  trade  than  for  the  lives  of  the 
people.  Bacon  visited  the  assembled  planters, 
and  the  general  voice  proclaimed  him  leader; 
but  the  expedition  was  not  to  be  undertaken 
without  the  sanction  and  commission  of  the 
governor,  and  the  young  leader,  assuming 
the  responsibility  thrust  upon  him,  applied 
for  the  necessary  warrant  to  proceed.  The 
governor  replied  in  “ polite  and  complimen- 
tary terms”  and  did  not  send  the  commission; 
but  Bacon,  “ of  a precipitate  disposition.” 
thanked  the  governor  for  the  promised  com- 
mission, and  set  forth  at  the  head  of  a force 
of  “ most  good  housekeepers  ” to  achieve  the 


46 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


signal  discomfiture  of  the  savages  a few 
days  later. 

Bacon  was  a young  man,  not  yet  thirty, 
“ of  quality  and  merit,  brave  and  eloquent, 
* * * master  and  owner  of  those 

inducements  which  constitute  a compleat 
man  (as  to  intrinsecalls),  wisdom  to  appre- 
hend and  discretion  to  chuse.”  The  governor 
had  now  reached  the  age  of  about  seventy 
years,  with  the  political  principles  of  his 
youth  no  less  firmly  held,  but  with  temper 
and  judgment  somewhat  impaired.  The 
temper  of  the  times  in  England  had  not 
escaped  his  attention,  and  something  more 
than  a regard  to  the  Indian  trade  prompted 
his  diplomatic  reply  to  Bacon’s  request.  He 
“ doubted  Bacon’s  temper,  as  he  was 
popularly  inclined,”  and  “ the  peoples’  dis- 
positions.” His  letter  to  Bacon  had  been 
unequivocal  on  the  essential  point  of  the 
commission;,  he  had  not  sent  it  nor  promised 
it,  and  the  “ popularly  inclined  ” young 
cavalier’s  affected  misunderstanding  of  its 
terms  alarmed  the  old  royalist.  This  was  a 
repetition  of  Cromwell’s  rebellion  in  dis- 
guise, and  taking  a “ bond  of  fate,  ” the 
hasty  viceroy  fulminated  a proclamation  de- 
claring Bacon  and  his  followers  rebels,  and 
commanding  them  to  disperse.  A messenger, 
bearing  this  ominous  summons,  overtook  the 
war  party  before  it  had  passed  the  frontier;  a 
large  number  of  the  “ most  good  house- 
keepers ” faltered  at  this  summons  and  turned 
back,  but  the  leader,  with  a few  steadfast 
planters,  went  forward,  achieved  the  victory, 
and  slowly  returned. 

In  issuing  his  proclamation.  Gov.  Berke- 
ley assumed  the  whole  responsibility, 
and  forthwith  raised  a force  of  horsemen  to 
put  down  the  recalcitrant  few.  But  the 
people  had  not  been  uninterested  observers 
of  these  proceedings,  and  no  sooner  was  the 
governor  set  out  than  his  ears  were  assailed 
by  the  mutterings  of  a political  storm  in  his 
rear.  The  lower  counties  had  risen  in  re- 
bellion, and  complained  not  only  of  the 
defenseless  state  of  the  country  against  the 
Indians,  but  demanded  also  that  the  general 
Assembly,  which  had  maintained  its  existence 


for  fifteen  years,  should  be  dissolved,  and 
that  the  forts  should  be  dismantled. 

To  this  higher  demand  the  governor  was 
forced  to  submit.  Turning  about,  he  re- 
turned to  Jamestown,  dissolved  the  obnox- 
ious assembly,  issued  writs  for  a new  elec- 
tion, and  ordered  the  forts  dismantled. 
Bacon,  though  under  ban  as  a rebel,  pre- 
sented himself  as  a candidate  for  burgess 
from  Henrico,  and  was  elected.  Throughout 
the  colony  the  freemen  ignored  the  law  dis- 
franchising them,  and  elected  representatives 
of  the  people,  among  whom  were  some  of 
their  own  class.  The  burgesses  met  in  June, 
1676,  and  Bacon,  accompanied  by  thirty  of 
his  supporters,  went  to  take  his  seat  in  the 
new  assembly.  This  was  an  act  of  contu- 
macy to  which  the  governor  was  not  pre- 
pared to  submit,  and  the  whole  party  was  ar- 
rested; some  were  put  in  irons,  and  others, 
with  Bacon,  released  upon  parole.  Certain 
politic  people  interfered;  Bacon,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  council,  was  persuaded  to  ac- 
knowledge his  error  in  proceeding  against  the 
Indians  without  a commission,  was  restored 
to  his  place  in  the  council,  and  promised  a 
commission  as  “ general  of  the  Indian  wars.” 

The  governor’s  persuasion  partook  too 
much  of  the  nature  of  duress,  against  which 
the  old  cavalier  secretly  rebelled;  Bacon, 
while  ostensibly  reconciled  to  Berkeley,  had 
good  grounds  to  fear  that  the  end  was  not 
yet  reached.  The  commission  was  delayed 
from  day  to  day;  Bacon  assigned  a fictitious 
reason  for  his  desire  to  return  to  his  plan- 
tation, and  permission  to  retire  from  his  duties 
as  councillor  was  given  by  the  governor,  who 
meditated  his  re-arrest  when  thrown  off  his 
guard.  Matters  coirld  not  rest  here;  as  one 
of  his  followers  expressed  the  situation,  “ he 
was  in  overshoes,  and  must  be  over  boots,” 
and  three  or  four  days  later  Bacon  returned 
to  Jamestown  at  the  head  of  some  600  armed 
men  to  demand  the  commission.  Berkeley 
vainly  attempted  to  organize  a force  for  re- 
sistance, but  the  whole  country  rang  with 
the  name  of  Bacon,  and  the  governor  was 
forced  to  submit.  It  was  force  alone,  how- 
ever, that  wrought  his  submission.  The 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCIvY. 


47 


brave  old  man  denounced  the  young  leader 
and  his  followers  as  rebels  to  their  faces; 
challenged  Bacon  to  a single  combat,  and 
opening  his  clothing,  invited  him  to  deliver 
the  fatal  shot.  To  this  indignant  bravado, 
the  “ rebel  ” replied  in  language  that  does 
credit  to  his  cause:  “ Sir,  I came  not,  nor  in- 
tend, to  hurt  a hair  of  your  head,  and,  for 
your  sword,  your  honor  may  please  to  put  it 
up;  it  shall  rust  in  the  scabbard  before  I 
shall  ever  desire  you  to  draw  it.  I come  for 
a commission  against  the  heathen,  who  daily 
inhumanly  murder  us,  and  spill  our  breth- 
ren’s blood,  and  no  care  is  taken  to  prevent 
it.” 

This  forced  conciliation  was  carried  to  the 
extent  of  drafting  a letter  to  the  king,  cor- 
dially endorsing  the  “ rebels  ” and  their  gen- 
eral, which  the  governor  and  council  were 
obliged  to  sign.  .Berkeley  was  not  to  be  so 
easily  over-reached;  he  wrote  the  king  that 
he  was  “encompassed  with  rebellion,”  and 
besought  him  to  send  troops  to  support  the 
government;  he  then  posted  his  proclamation, 
declaring  Bacon,  who  was  then  canying  dev- 
astation among  the  Indians  in  accordance 
with  his  commission,  a traitor.  Following 
the  precedent  of  Charles  I,  the  governor  re- 
paired to  Gloucester  County,  and  planted  his 
banner  to  rally  the  loyal  colonists  in  defense  I 
of  the  colonial  interests  which  his  excited  | 
imagination  declared  in  peril.  But  the  same  j 
fate  followed  his  efforts  here;  Bacon  was  all  i 
the  cry,  and  the  disheartened  old  man  lied  to 
Accomack  as  the  last  resort.  Here  he  gath-  1 
ered  a motley  crew  of  a few  influential  per-  | 
sons,  planters,  seafarers  and  long-shoremen, 
and  descended  upon  Jamestown,  which  he 
occupied. 

Bacon,  astounded  by  the  new  folly  of  the 
governor,  turned  his  back  upon  the  enemy 
of  the  frontier,  vexed  to  the  heart  “ to  think 
that  while  he  was  hunting  wolves,  tygers  and 
foxes,  which  daily  destroyed  our  harmless 
sheep  and  lambs,  that  he  and  those  with  him 
should  be  pursued  with  a full  cry,  as  a more 
savage  or  a no  less  ravenous  beast.”  For 
him  the  situation  had  indeed  grown  critical; 
he  “ was  fallen  like  corn  between  the  stones,” 
as  the  old  historian  puts  it,  “ so  that  if  he 


did  not  look  the  better  about  him,  he  might 
chance  be  ground  to  powder.”  Happily  he 
had  “ wisdom  to  apprehend  and  discretion  to 
chuse;”  he  marched  his  forces  to  the  middle 
plantation,  and  issued  his  proclamation  con- 
vening all  who  had  “ any  regard  for  them- 
selves, or  love  to  their  country,  their  wives, 
children  and  other  relations,”  to  consider  “Sir 
William’s  doting  and  irregular  actings.”  On 
August  3,  1676,  “ most  of  the  prime  gentle- 
men of  those  parts”  appeared;  they  were  for 
the  most  part  in  sympathy  with  Bacon,  but 
hesitated  to  go  the  length  to  which  necessity 
compelled  the  general.  To  him  it  was  death 
or  rebellion,  and  yet  he  asked  only  for  pro- 
tection in  the  performance  of  duties  for  which 
he  was  duly  commissioned,  and  which  the 
state  of  the  country  made  necessary.  A “ test 
or  recognition  ” to  be  subscribed  by  all  was 
agreed  upon.  This  at  first  proposed  that 
none  of  the  subscribers  should  aid  Berkeley 
in  disturbing  the  general  and  his  army.  But 
Bacon  demanded  something  more  than  neu- 
trality; they  must  agree  “to  rise  in  arms 
against  him,  if  he  with  armed  forces  should 
offer  to  resist  the  general;  and  not  only  so  — 
if  any  forces  should  be  sent  out  of  England 
at  the  request  of  Sir  William  or  otherways, 
to  his  aid,  that  they  were  likewise  to  be  op- 
posed ” until  the  whole  affair  should  be  ad- 
judicated by  his  majesty,  the  king.  This  was 
a startling  step  to  the  planters,  not  placed  in 
such  straitened  circumstances  as  the  general, 
but  they  believed  in  the  justice  of  his  cause, 
and  his  impassioned  eloquence  did  the  rest. 
The  whole  obligation  was  assumed,  but  with 
the  express  understanding  that  it  was  not  to 
impair  their  allegiance  to  the  crown. 

His  rear  thus  protected,  the  general  pro- 
ceeded to  the  frontier,  and  attacked  and  rout- 
ed a tribe  of  savages,  and  then  came  to  the 
“verge  of  the  English  plantations,”  where 
his  troops,  save  a small  detachment,  were 
sent  to  their  homes  for  rest.  Here  the  news 
of  Berkeley’s  coming  to  Jamestown,  with 
seventeen  ships  and  1,000  men,  startled 
the  successful  general  from  his  dreams  of 
peace.  This  meant  war,  and  peace  hencefor- 
ward could  be  purchased  only  by  the  submis- 
sion of  Bacon  or  Berkeley.  The  governor 


48 


IIISTOIIY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


had  already  shown  the  fate  in  store 
for  “the  general  and  his  army”  by  the  hang- 
ing of  one  of  his  supporters  on  the  sea-shore, 
and  Bacon  needed  no  urging  to  prompt  ac- 
tion. He  immediately  set  out  with  his  body- 
guard for  Jamestown,  while  couriers  rode  in 
all  directions  to  summon  his  forces.  The 
capital  was  at  once  besieged,  and  the  governor, 
recofirnizincT  that  the  solid  men  of  the 
country  were  arrayed  against  him,  and  find- 
ing the  great  mass  of  the  adventurers  in  his 
ranks  rapidly  deserting,  again  fled  disconso- 
late to  Accomack. 

And  now  the  last  blow  was  about  to  be 
struck;  Accomack  was  to  be  invaded;  the  gov- 
ernor seized,  and  the  whole  matter  to  be  re-  , 
ferred  to  the  king.  But  revolution  was  to 
be  deferred  for  a century.  Bacon,  sick  from 
exposure  and  the  over- exertion  of  the  year, 
died  in  October,  not  without  a well-grounded 
suspicion  of  poisoning  at  the  hands  of  his 
enemies.  His  body  was  buried  by  his  friends 
with  great  secrecy  that  it  might  not  be  dis- 
honored by  his  foes,  a cautionary  proceeding 
which  foreboded  the  end.  Deprived  of  the 
wisdom  and  discretion  of  its  general,  the 
army  rapidly  melted  away  before  the  prestige 
of  the  governor.  One  after  another  of  the 
prominent  supporters  of  the  uprising  were 
seized  by  Berkeley  and  destroyed;  age  had 
not  cooled  his  blood,  and  the  rebellion  had 
made  him  a fury;  it  was  believed  he  “would 
have  hanged  half  the  country  if  they  had  let 
him  alone.” 

The  king  in  the  meanwhile  had  heard  of 
the  uproar,  and  in  January,  1677,  a fleet  with 
a regiment  of  English  soldiers  brought  a 
commission  to  settle  the  trouble.  Even  the 
king  turned  against  the  bloodthirsty  Berke- 
ley, and  his  prejudgment  of  the  case  had 
consigned  Bacon  and  other  prominent  “reb- 
els” to  the  gallows,  and  the  governor  to 
trial.  Berkeley  was  recalled,  summary  pun- 
ishment was  inflicted  upon  prominent  sup- 
porters of  the  general,  and  peace  once  more 
reiofned  in  Yiro-inia. 

All  this  had  passed  in  the  space  of  a year; 
the  new  assembly  held  only  a short  session, 
but  still  accomplished  much.  The  newly 
elected  burgesses  knew  what  was  expected  of 


them,  and  impartially  censuring  both  parties 
to  the  disturbance,  they  proceeded  to  estab- 
lish practical  reforms;  they  broke  up  the  mo- 
nopoly in  the  Indian  trade;  arbitrary  vestries 
were  reorganized;  official  fees  were  regula- 
ted; the  elective  franchise  was  restored  to 
freemen;  and  election  returns  were  guarded 
with  new  restrictions.  The  net  result  of  the 
rebellion,  however,  was  disastrous.  The 
form  of  government  was  seriously  limited  by 
new  instructions  from  the  king;  assemblies 
were  .allowed  to  meet  but  once  in  two  years, 
and  then  to  sit  but  fourteen  days  unless  for 
special  business,  and  care  was  to  be  taken 
that  the  members  “be  elected  only  by  free- 
holders. ” Under  the  new  regime  the  reforms 
instituted  by  the  Bacon  assembly  were  nulli- 
fied and  nearly  every  abuse  restored. 

Sir  Herbert  Jeffries  succeeded  Berkeley; 
in  1678  Sir  Henry  Chicheley  followed;  in 
1679  Lord  Culpepper;  in  1684  Lord  Howard. 
During  this  period  the  “ancient  dominion” 
suffered  the  “malignant  humors  of  a propri- 
etary government.  ” The  burdens  of  the  col- 
onists were  doubled  to  pay  the  perquisites 
demanded,  and  every  department  of  colonial 
activity  was  so  oppressed  by  arbitrary  exac- 
tions that  despair  nearly  gave  rise  to  another 
outbreak.  The  summary  punishment  of  a 
few  malcontents  quieted  the  disturbance,  and 
the  powers  of  the  assembly  were  still  further 
restricted.  In  1684,  the  proprietors  having 
exhausted  the  plunder  to  be  readily  gotten 
out  of  the  colony,  Virginia  became  once  more 
a royal  province,  destined,  however,  to  still 
contribute  to  the  ill-gotten  gains  of  the  court 
favorites.  Howard  was  the  first  of  these,  and 
the  most  exorbitant  fees  were  exacted  of  the 
colonists  to  supply  his  demands.  The  acces- 
sion of  James  II  in  1685  made  no  change  in 
the  monotonous  course  of  despotism.  How- 
ard was  continued  in  office  and  the  sway  of 
the  royal  prerogative  reached  its  climax  in 
Virginia  in  his  administration.  “The  exec- 
utive, the  council,  the  judges,  the  sheriffs, 
the  county  commissioners  and  local  magis- 
trates were  all  appointed  directly  or  indirect- 
ly by  the  crown.  Virginia  had  no  town 
meetings,  no  village  democracies,  no  free 
municipal  institutions.  The  custom  of  a co- 


KENTUCKY  INSTITUTION  FOR  UEAF  MUTES,  DANVILLE.— SEE  PAGE  535 


HISTOUY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


49 


lonial  assembly  remained,  but  it  was  chosen 
under  a restricted  franchise;  its  clerk  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor,  and  its  power  im- 
paired by  the  permanent  grant  of  revenue 
which  it  could  not  recall.”  (Bancroft.) 
Such  was  the  condition  of  the  colonial  gov- 
ernment when  the  revolution  of  1688,  over- 
turning the  tyranny  of  the  royal  prerogative, 
established  the  supremacy  of  law. 

On  the  accession  of  William  and  Mary, 
the  assembly  hastened  to  dispatch  an  agent 
to  England  to  “supplicate  their  majesties  to 
confirm  unto  the  country  the  authority”  of 
government  “as  near  as  may  be  to  the  model 
of  the  parliament  of  England.”  The  specific 
stipulations  of  the  assembly  sought  gen- 
erally the  recovery  of  privileges  enjoyed  at 
the  date  of  the  restoration.  These  “ their 
majesties”  did  not  hesitate  to  grant,  and 
without  defining  the  ultimate  scope  of  the 
colonial  assembly’s  authority,  the  royal  in- 
structions recognized  it  as  an  integral  part  of 
the  Virginian  government,  and  interfered 
little  with  its  particular  functions.  Under 
this  fostering  toleration  the  colonists  found 
themselves  once  more  able  to  achieve  their 
own  destiny  through  a free  assembly.  The 
independent  spirit  of  the  people  began  to 
revive,  and  it  was  observed  that  “pernicious 
notions,  fatal  to  the  royal  prerogative,  were 
improving  daily.”  Little  by  little  affairs 
gravitated  toward  the  golden  age  of  the 
colony  under  the  commonwealth,  and  in  1710, 
Gov.  Spotswood  noted  for  the  informa- 
tion of  the  queen’s  ministers  that  “the 
inclinations  of  the  country  are  rendered 
mysterious  by  a new  and  unaccountable 
humor  (the  Governor  was  born  in  the  year  of 
Bacon’s  rebellion),  which  hath  obtained  in 
several  counties,  of  excluding  gentlemen 
from  being  burgesses,  and  choosing  only 
persons  of  mean  figure  and  character.” 

In  the  meantime  the  elements  of  growth 
came  in  to  restore  the  assembly  to  its  early 
vigor.  The  single  colony  had  increased  to 
twelve,  each  independent  of  the  other,  but 
all  united  in  the  demand  for  the  co-ordinate 
authority  of  the  colonial  assembly.  Thus  a 
spirit  of  emulation  stimulated  each  colony  to 
persevere  by  independent  measures  in  seek- 


ing the  desired  end,  the  achievement  of  one 
proving  indirectly  the  gain  of  every  other. 
The  population  of  Virginia  had  now  reached 
about  50,000  persons,  and  the  permanent 
revenue  granted  by  the  cavalier  assembly,  and 
increased  imder  Culpepper,  was  no  longer 
the  menace  to  colonial  liberties  that  it  once 
was.  The  large  increase  of  expenditures 
demanded  additional  supplies,  which  the  as- 
sembly now  took  care  to  grant  for  limited 
periods,  and  for  specifically  defined  purposes, 
the- disbursements  being  made  by  their  own 
treasurer,  who  acted  independent  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  crown.  Another  fact  contributed 
to  the  same  end;  the  office  of  governor  had 
now  become  a sinecure,  which  was  enjoyed 
by  the  appointee  in  England,  and  his  lieu- 
tenant was  restrained  by  the  beneficiary,  who 
cared  for  nothing  so  much  as  the  perquisites 
of  his  office.  Thus,  under  the  last  days  of 
the  Stuarts,  the  general  assembly  regained 
much  of  its  lost  power,  never  to  lose  it  again. 

"With  the  accession  of  the  house  of  Hano- 
ver, began  a period  of  the  grossest  political 
corruption.  The  supremacy  of  parliament 
gave  new  prominence  to  the  ministry,  and 
the  cabinet  became  gradually  invested  with 
much  of  the  privileges  which  formerly 
accrued  to  the  crown.  Colonial  appointees 
came  to  be  very  generally  selected  from  the 
relations  or  dependents  of  persons  in  power, 
or  from  a class  of  political  pirates  who  en- 
gaged to  surrender  the  larger  part  of  the 
legal  emoluments  of  office  for  the  opportunity 
of  enriching  themselves  by  iiTegular 
methods.  The  grossest  abuse  of  official 
trusts  followed;  but  plunder  being  the  sole 
pursuit,  these  crown  representatives  proved 
less  determined  in  their  opposition  to  the 
aggressive  policy  of  the  assembly. 

Legislative  independence  gained  an  ad- 
vantage also  at  this  time  by  the  change  in 
the  official  management  of  colonial  affairs  in 
England.  In  1696  the  general  supervision 
of  the  colonies  had  been  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  “ board  for  trade  and  the  plantations,” 
consisting  of  certain  of  the  ministry  with 
eight  appointed  commissioners.  Subse- 
quently, the  functions  of  this  board  were  re- 
stricted simply  to  legislative  and  clerical 

3 


50 


IIISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


duties  pertaining  to  the  administration  of 
the  colonies;  in  the  cabinet,  the  American 
colonies  were  represented  by  the  secretary  of 
State  for  the  southern  department;  and  to 
the  privy  council  was  reserved  the  framing 
of  measures  to  enforce  the  instructions  of 
the  boai'd  of  trade.  It  thus  happened  that 
on  one  side  W'as  the  legislative  power  and  on 
the  other  the  executive  power;  between  them 
stood  the  secretary,  necessary  to  connect  the 
cause  and  the  effect  of  the  administration  of 
colonial  affairs,  but  subject  to  neither,  and 
often  busy  with  projects  which  led  him  to 
icrnore  the  colonies  altogether.  Amid  all  this 
official  circumlocution  the  crown  could  not 
maintain  effective  control  of  the  growing  in- 
subordination of  the  colonies,  and  unsatis- 
factory “instructions”  were  easily  evaded  or 
compliance  refused  outright. 

America  was  now  rife  with  the  bickerings 
between  governor  and  assembly;  governors 
came  armed  with  instructions  to  the  assem- 
blies to  provide  “a  permanent  revenue,  solid, 
definite  and  without  limitation.”  This  de- 
mand was  refused,  with  more  or  less  circum- 
locution, in  every  case.  Limited  grants, 
only  in  return  for  the  sanction  of  legislation 
which  gradually  sapped  the  foundation  of 
arbitrary  power,  were  made,  but  even  these 
were  so  completely  guarded  as  to  give  little 
satisfaction  to  the  representatives  of  the 
crown.  The  result  was  a series  of  com- 
plaints from  the  governors,  and  protests  from 
the  assemblies.  “To  preserve  the  dependency 
of  America,”  declared  the  badgered  and 
defeated  officials,  “the  constitution  must  be 
new  modelled.”  To  this  the  assemblies 
calmly  replied,  basing  their  arguments  upon 
the  rights  of  all  Englishmen  gained  through 
Magna  Charta,  and  upon  the  co  ordinate 
authority  of  the  assembly  with  parliament. 
These  premises  were  not  allowed  by  English 
statesmen,  but  there  was  that  in  the  unde- 
monstrative attitude  of  the  colonies  that 
forbade  rash  procedure,  and  the  question  of 
a fixed  revenue  continued  to  vex  the  souls  of 
crown  officers. 

The  struggle  with  France  for  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Ohio  valley  added  its  influence 
to  bring  matters  to  a crisis.  The  “great 


woods”  was  the  indeterminate  title  which 
stood  for  the  vast  expanse  of  field  and  forest 
west  of  the  line  of  the  Alleghanies,  from  the 
lakes  to  the  gulf.  Traders  brought  the 
intelligence  of  the  French  quietly  pushing 
eastward  from  the  Illinois  country,  and 
southward  from  the  lakes  at  Detroit  and 
Niagara  into  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  This 
progress  of  the  French  people  was  viewed 
with  jealousy  both  in  England  and  America, 
but  the  lack  of  harmony  between  the  mother 
country  and  the  colonies  prevented  union  of 
action.  The  French  were  keen  oDservers  of 
all  this,  and  placed  their  dependence  more 
upon  the  division  of  their  opponents  than  in 
their  own  strength;  “the  English,”  said  they, 
“can  raise  two  men  to  our  one;  but  they  are 
too  dilatory  to  prevent  any  enterprise  of 
ours.”  It  was  the  opinion  of  the  leading 
men  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean,  that  the 
colonies  should  unite  to  resist  the  French, 
but  even  a liberal  plan  of  union  for  this 
purpose,  conceived  by  Benjamin  Franklin, 
failed  to  satisfy  the  jealous  demands  of  the 
colonies,  though  its  independence  startled 
the  statesmen  of  England. 

In  1754,  the  board  of  trade  proposed  a 
complicated  scheme  for  the  same  purpose, 
the  chief  feature  of  which  was  “a  certain 
and  permanent  revenue,”  No  determined 
effort  was  made  to  materialize  this  proposi- 
tion, and  resort  was  finally  had  to  the  pre- 
rogative. Gen.  Braddock  was  commissioned 
to  take  command  of  the  American  forces  to 
be  employed  against  the  French,  and  the 
colonial  governors  were  notified  that  it  was 
the  king’s  pleasure  “that  a fund  be  estab- 
lished for  the  benefit  of  all  the  colonies  col- 
lectively in  North  America.” 

The  opposition  which  had  defeated  a plan 
devised  to  meet  the  difficulties  of  the  situa- 
tion by  one  who  sympathised  with  the  colo- 
nial prejudices,  was  not  likely  to  be  dispelled 
by  the  king’s  peremptory  demand.  “The 
assembly  of  this  dominion,”  said  Gov.  Din- 
widdle, “will  not  be  directed  what  supplies 
to  grant,  and  will  always  bo  guided  by  their 
own  free  determinations;  they  would  think 
any  restraint  or  direction  an  insult  on  their 
privileges,  that  they  are  so  fond  of.  ” When 


HI^-TORY  OF  KENTUCKY". 


51 


Braddock  reached  Araerica  in  1755,  he  called 
a convention  of  the  governors,  and  expressed 
his  indignation  “that  no  such  fund  was 
already  established.”  The  governors  could 
only  protest  their  inability  to  accomplish  it, 
and  the  convention,  in  which  Virginia  was 
represented,  united  in  a paper  to  the  king; 
“such  a fund,”  said  the  governors,  “can  never 
be  established  in  the  colonies  without  the  aid 
of  parliament.  Having  found  it  impracticable 
to  obtain  in  their  respective  governments  the 
proportion  expected  by  his  majesty  toward 
defraying  of  his  services  in  North  America, 
they  are  unanimously  of  the  opinion  that  it 
should  be  proposed  to  his  majesty’s  ministers 
to  find  out  some  method  of  compelling  them 
to  do  it,  and  of  assessing  the  several  govern- 
ments in  proportion  of  their  respective  abil- 
ities. ” This  was  fatal  advice;  and  the  initia- 
tory act  of  the  inevitable  conflict  thus  clearly 
deflned  was  reserved  for  the  reckless  ministry 
of  that  royal  bigot  who, 

Like  the  base  Indian  threw  a pearl  away, 
Richer  than  all  his  tribe. 

In  the  end,  while  the  colonies  declined  the 
proposition  of  the  ministry,  they  consented 
to  loan  the  English  government  sufficient  to 
carry  on  that  straggle  which  left  no  barrier  to 
the  English  sway  between  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
and  the  North  Pole. 

Thus  matters  stood  when  George  III 
came  to  the  throne  of  England  in  October, 
1760;  a sovereign  who  soirght  to  revive  theo- 
ries of  government  that  had  practically  been 
laid  aside  for  three-quarters  of  a century; 
and  who  thrust  the  royal  dictum  in  the  face 
of  a defiant  nation,  whose  power  was  but 
vaguely  guessed. 

At  this  time  Virginia  was  the  most  docile 
of  the  English  colonies;  the  governor  and 
council  were  appointees  of  the  crown;  they 
constituted  the  court  of  last  appeal  in  the 
colony,  and  the  lower  courts  were  held  by 
judges  appointed  by  the  governor  and  held 
office  during  his  pleasure.  Admirality  courts, 
a later  invention  of  the  trade  laws,  were  con- 
stituted by  the  lords  of  admirality  in  Eng- 
land, while  the  comptroller  and  collectors 
of  customs,  found  in  every  considerable 
harbor,  were  appointed  by  the  commission- 


ers of  customs;  officers  of  the  militia 
and  magistrates  were  appointed  by  the 
governor.  The  elective  franchise  was  still 
confined  to  freeholders,  and  the  assem- 
bly consisted  of  two  houses  sitting  sepa- 
rately, the  burgesses  and  the  council  of  state. 
There  was  less  of  bickering  between  governor 
and  assembly  than  in  other  colonies,  but  no 
more  subservience  to  the  royal  prerogative. 
The  governor  holding  his  office  as  a sinecure, 
exercised  a wholesome  restraint  upon  his 
lieutenant,  and  the  permanent  grants  to  the 
crown  removed  the  oft  recui’ring  collision 
which  agitated  the  less  loyal  colonies. 

The  cavaliers  were  still  here,  and  the  old 
sentiment  of  loyalty  to  the  mother  country  was 
still  the  prevailing  one,  but  the  royal  policy 
was  rapidly  blending  the  classes  that  had 
been  widely  separated  in  1676,  and  immigra- 
tion was  gradually  reinforcing  the  yeo- 
manry. The  sturdy  emigrants  whom  royal 
oppression  was  driving  out  of  Scotland,  Ire- 
land and  Germany  were  finding  homes  in 
the  valley,  and  settling  on  the  frontier, 
far  from  the  restraints  and  influences  of 
the  older  centers  of  civilization;  were  draw- 
ing in  the  inspiration  of  freedom  from 
the  very  atmosphere  of  woodland  homes. 
The  “man  of  the  people”  had  arisen,  and 
initial  opposition  to  royal  tyranny  was  to  be 
transferred  from  the  representatives  to  the 
constituency. 

In  1763  Patrick  Henry  declared,  in  the 
famous  “parson’s  cause,”  that  the  burgesses 
were  “the  only  authority  which  could  give 
force  to  the  laws  for  the  government  of  this 
colony,”  and  denounced  the  king  as  a tyrant 
amid  the  cries  of  treason  from  the  opposing 
counsel.  In  1765  he  offered  five  resolutions 
in  the  assembly  opposed  to  the  stamp  act  of 
parliament,  the  purport  of  which  was  summed 
up  in  the  conclusion  that  “ the  general 
assembly  of  this  colony  has  the  sole  right  and 
power  to  lay  taxes  and  impositions  on  the 
inhabitants  of  this  colony.”  The  assembly 
still  counseled  delay,  but  the  passionate  elo- 
quence of  Henry,  with  which  he  declared 
amid  cries  of  treason,  “Caesar  had  his  Bratus, 
Charles  the  First  his  Cromwell,  and  George 
the  Third  may  profit  by  their  example,”  pre- 


62 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


cipitated  action.  Gov.  Fauquier  dis- 
solved the  independent  assembly  which  had 
caught  the  sentiment  of  the  people,  but  free- 
dom had  gained  a voice,  never  to  be  stifled. 
Jefferson,  the  “apostle  of  Democracy,”  rein- 
forced Henry,  and  the  people  under  these 
leaders  swept  away  opposition.  But  this 
was  not  a converting  power;  the  cavalier 
element  had  resisted  the  eloquence  of  Bacon, 
and  democracy  had  no  charm  for  the  gentle- 
men in  powdered  wigs  and  ruffles  of  lace  who 
still  exerted  the  dominant  influence  in  colo- 
nial affairs.  The  ruthless  policy  of  the  king 
supplied  the  deficiency;  the  indiscriminating 
■oppression  of  trade  laws  afforded  the  bond  of 
union  which  made  the  colonies  practically 
.unanimous  for  independence. 

On  the  accession  of  Charles  I,  Virginia, 
whose  population  was  less  than  3,000,  had  no 
trade  of  importance  save  to  itself.  Tobacco 
was  the  only  staple  source  of  income,  and 
this  product  was  shut  out  of  the  whole  world 
save  England.  In  the  closing  years  of  the 
preceding  reign,  the  colony  with  the  Somer 
Islands — Bermuda — enjoyed  the  monopoly 
of  this  market,  which  was  confirmed  by 
Charles.  The  increasing  growth  of  the  col- 
ony, together  with  the  stimulated  production, 
soon  glutted  the  restricted  market;  the  price 
of  tobacco  gradually  declined,  and  the  utmost 
distress  afflicted  the  colonists.  Tobacco  was 
then  the  circulating  medium  of  exchange,  the 
money  of  the  country,  and  continued  the 
standard  of  business  exchanges,  with  slight 
exceptions,  until  1656.  The  evil  grew  under 
the  administration  of  Harvey,  and  under  his 
successor  a “stint”  was  resorted  to  for  relief. 
The  whole  product  of  the  colony  was  limited 
to  1,500,000  pounds  of  tobacco;  the  rotten, 
unmerchantable  and  half  the  good  crop  was 
legally  burned.  The  two  years  following,  the 
whole  product  was  limited  to  1,300,000 
pounds,  and  “all  creditors  were  to  take  forty 
pounds  for  a hundred.” 

During  the  rule  of  the  commonwealth  rig- 
orous navigation  laws  were  enacted,  but 
under  the  toleration  which  Cromwell  accorded 
to  all  colonial  affairs,  these  were  evaded,  and 
Virginia  enjoyed  “as  free  trade  as  the  people 
■cf  England.”  Trade  with  the  Indians,  which 


had  been  trammeled  with  license,  was  made 
free,  and  the  traffic  with  the  Dutch  was  con- 
j ducted  under  a slight  cover  of  evasion. 

Under  the  reign  of  Charles  II,  however,  a 
: radical  change  was  effected.  The  “naviga- 
I tion  acts”  restored  the  commercial  restrictions 
I of  the  commonwealth,  and,  under  the  closer 
scrutiny  of  a royal  regime,  became  a mighty 
! engine  of  grinding  oppression. 

By  these  acts  it  was  provided  that  “no  mer- 
j chandise  shall  be  imported  into  the  plantation 
but  in  English  vessels,  navigated  by  English- 
men, under  penalty  of  forfeiture,”  The  greed 
of  the  English  merchant  was  not  yet  satisfied; 
the  carrying  of  trade  was  monopolized,  and 
the  trade  in  supplies  to  the  colonies  prac- 
tically secured,  but  now  the  privilege  of  fix- 
ing the  price  of  colonial  products  was  de- 
manded, and  so  such  American  products  as 
did  not  compete  with  English  industries  were 
j restricted  to  the  market  of  England  under 
penalty  of  forfeiture.  These  products  were 
specifically  named,  others  being  added  as  de- 
veloped, and  included  all  the  staples  of  the 
country.  Again,  in  1663,  lines  were  more 
strictly  drawn;  there  was  danger  that  the 
I trade  in  supplies  might  be  partially  diverted, 
j notwithstanding  the  English  had  command 
I of  the  carrying  trade,  and  supplies  were  re- 
quired to  be  bought  in  England  alone.  This 
left  the  colonies  still  the  privilege  of  supply- 
ing each  other  so  far  as  their  limited  resourc- 
es would  allow,  but  in  1763  this  last  vestige 
of  privilege  was  cut  off;  traffic  between  the 
colonies  was  made  subject  to  a duty  equal  to 
that  placed  upon  the  same  commodities  in 
England, 

Against  these  oppressions  Virginia  could 
make  no  formidable  resistance;  against  them 
and  the  system  of  government  which  made 
them  possible.  Bacon  entered  his  protest  by 
force  of  arms,  and  the  near  success  of  the 
rebellion  showed  how  far  these  measures  had 
united  the  sentiments  of  royalists  and  peo- 
ple. Its  failure  prevented  the  “consumma- 
tion devoutly  to  be  wished;”  the  cavaliers 
returned  to  the  support  of  royal  tyranny, 
and  the  people  to  the  galling  yoke  of  oppres- 
sion. The  royal  favorite  conceived  that  the 
I growth  of  the  colony  would  be  accelerated 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


53 


by  the  establishment  of  towns,  and  certain 
town  sites  were  appointed  from  which  all 
tobacco  should  be  shipped.  The  penalties 
affixed  to  disobedience  of  these  laws  were  so 
severe  as  to  drive  traders  out  of  the  country,  j 
and  small  planters,  unable  to  market  their 
crop,  saw  the  fruit  of  their  labor  rot  on  their 
premises  or  wrested  from  them  by  the  min- 
ions of  the  law.  Complaints  remained  unre- 
dressed, and  despair  drove  the  poor  and 
ignorant  to  destroy  the  growing  plant  wher- 
ever found  when  the  season  was  too  far 
advanced  to  replant.  Then  followed  the 
attacks  upon  the  privileges  of  the  assembly, 
which  united  all  classes  again  in  opposition 
to  the  despotic  measures  of  the  king,  only  to 
again  fall  apart  under  the  seductive  smiles  of  ] 
the  royal  representative.  But  each  time  the 
division  between  the  classes  grew  less. 

The  revolution  of  1688  brought  relief  to 
the  strained  situation,  and  free  trade  once 
more  sprang  into  existence.  This  forestalled 
rebellion,  but  did  not  bring  freedom  from 
oppression.  The  wasted  energies  of  the  peo- 
ple and  country  were  restored,  and  something 
of  prosperity  began  to  dawn,  when,  in  1696, 
commercial  tyranny  was  again  brought  back 
to  power.  New  inventions  added  rigor  to  its 
enforcement.  It  was  provided  that  even  after  | 
the  payment  of  export  duties  products  should  j 
not  be  taken  to  a foreign  market,  and  customs 
officials  were  authorized  to  enter  warehouse 
and  wharf  to  enforce  these  stipulations.  Still 
the  fear  of  evasion  haunted  the  commercial 
oligarchs,  and  courts  of  admiralty  were 
established  “ that  offences  against  these  acts 
of  navigation  might  no  longer  be  decided  by 
judge  and  jurors  who  were  themselves  often 
the  greatest  offenders.” 

But  in  spite  of  these  inventions,  or  rather 
in  direct  result  of  this  tyranny,  the  colonists 
began  to  turn  their  resources  to  domestic 
account.  “ The  people”  it  was  said,  “more 
of  necessity  than  of  inclination,  attempted 
to  clothe  themselves  with  their  own  manufac- 
tures.” In  1699,  therefore,  a blow  was 
aimed  at  domestic  manufactures,  lest  the 
flocks  and  fireside  industries  should  “inevi- 
tably sink  the  value  of  the  lands”  in  Eng- 
land. Hence  it  was  enacted  that  “after  the 


first  day  of  December,  1699,  no  wool,  or  man- 
ufactures made  or  mixed  with  wool,  being  the 
product  or  manufactm’e  of  any  of  the  English 
plantations  in  America,  shall  be  loaden  in 
any  ship  or  vessel,  upon  any  pretext  whatso- 
ever— nor  loaden  upon  any  horse,  cart  or 
other  carriage — to  be  carried  out  of  the  En- 
glish plantations  to  any  other  of  the  said 
j plantations,  or  to  any  other  place  whatsoever.” 

I Still,  in  1719,  it  was  reported  of  the  colonies 
that  “ the  inhabitants  worked  up  their  wool 
j and  flax,  and  made  a coarse  cloth  for  their 
j own  use;  that  they  manufactured  great  part 
i of  their  leather;  that  they  were  hatters  in  the 
maritime  towns;  and  that  six  furnaces  and 
nineteen  forges  were  setup  for  making  iron.” 
This  called  forth  renewed  restrictions,  and 
every  manufacture  was  forbidden,  save  those 
of  bolts  and  nails,  a concession  reluctantly 
granted  to  the  long  and  determined  opposi- 
tion of  the  northern  colonies.  And  thus  the 
monotonous  course  of  commercial  oppression 
was  pursued  until  even  hops  were  allowed  to 
be  shipped  only  to  England. 

The  grievous  burdens  entailed  by  this 
policy  were  rendered  the  more  intolerable 
because  they  resulted  in  no  revenue  to  the 
English  government.  The  colonists  were 
bred  to  support  vampires;  the  ti’ade  enriched 
the  English  merchant,  while  the  system  gave 
origin  to  and  supported  “a  crew  of  villains,” 
who  did  not  hesitate  “to  betray  his  (the 
king’s)  interests  and  break  the  acts  of  trade,” 
provided  they  could  make  greater  gains  from 
bribes  than  from  the  exorbitant  fees  they 
were  authorized  to  exact  and  retain.  This 
state  of  affairs  was  not  unknown  to  the  home 
government,  but  the  system,  it  was  thought, 
served  a purpose  other  than  to  provide  revenue, 
equally  desirable;  it  was  declared  in  a reso- 
lution of  parliament  that  “ the  erecting  of 
manufactories  in  the  colonies  tended  to  les- 
sen their  dependence.” 

There  could  be  no  greater  mistake  either 
in  political  economy  or  in  theory  of  govern 
ment.  As  was  declared  by  a colonial  agent, 
“London”  indeed  “arose  out  of  the  plan- 
tations, and  not  out  of  England,”  but  as  a 
means  of  continuing  the  dependence  of  the 
colonies  the  policy  was  a conspicuous  fail- 


54 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


ure.  The  “most  pernicious  doctrines”  in- 
creased daily  under  this  oppression;  Massa- 
chusetts was  declared  to  be  “a  kind  of  com- 
monwealth, where  the  king  is  hardly  a stad- 
holder,”  and  royal  governors  repeated  the 
same  story  elsewhere.  The  ministry  was 
repeatedly  warned  that  “ the  American  as- 
semblies aimed  at  nothing  less  than  being 
independent  of  Great  Britain  as  fast  as  they 
could.” 

The  colonies  were  in  this  attitude,  when 
England,  burdened  with  the  cost  of  conti- 
nental war’s,  sought  relief  from  the  expense 
of  colonial  maintenance.  The  stupendous 
ti’ade  folly  brought  in  no  revenue;  the  col- 
onists refused  a fixed  and  permanent  fund ; and 
now  a direct  tax  was  proposed.  Independ- 
ence, which  had  disturbed  the  imagination 
of  royal  governors  from  one  end  of  the 
country  to  the  other,  and  which  Franklin 
declared  could  not  be  achieved  ‘ ‘ unless  they 
(the  colonies)  could  first  strengtheir  them- 
selves by  a confederation  of  all  the  parts,” 
was  about  to  be  accomplished  through  the 
agency  of  its  opponents.  The  stamp  act  was 
passed  to  raise  a revenue;  it  was  resisted  and 
repealed.  Then  followed  the  duty  laid  on 
paper,  glass  and  tea,  for  the  same  purpose; 
this  was  resisted,  and  again  England  con- 
ceded all  but  the  principle — the  cause  of 
resistance.  The  duty  on  tea  alone  was  re- 
tained, and  the  English  premier  declared,  “a 
total  repeal  cannot  be  thought  of  till  America 
is  prostrate  at  our  feet.”  The  issue  was  now 
made  up;  freeman  and  cavalier,  Puritan  and 
churchman,  proprietary  and  royal  colony, 
nox’th  and  south — all  united  in  resistance. 
The  war  was  inevitable.  “Virginia  gave  the 
signal  to  the  continent”  in  1765,  and  ten 
years  later  declared,  “the  cause  of  Boston  is 
the  cause  of  all.” 

Virginia  did  not  live  entirely  on  the  sur- 
face of  political  agitation,  however.  The 
old-time  adventurers  amid  many  vicissitudes 
had  taken  a deep  root  in  its  soil,  and  during 
the  nearly  two  centuries  which  had  elapsed 
at  this  time,  had  developed  the  thrifty  State 
which  now  defied  its  king.  In  the  preceding 
pages  have  been  traced  the  causes  which 
transformed  the  English  colonist  into  an 


American  patriot;  similar  causes  in  other 
colonies  wrought  a similar  result.  The  Vir- 
ginian exhibited  no  striking  marks  of  indi- 
viduality in  this  development;  the  people  of 
the  thirteen  colonies  were  of  common  stock, 
and  were  actuated  by  common  motives  to 
seek  the  same  end,  but  here  the  cognate 
development  ended,  and  individuality  began. 
In  the  home  influences,  in  the  limitations  of 
nature,  and  in  social  traditions,  Virginia  had 
a marked  individuality  which  prevailed 
through  all  these  years,  and  which  made 
itself  felt  as  a molding  influence  upon  the 
nation  that  grew  out  of  that  oppression  which 
“effaced  the  boundaries  of  the  several  colo- 
nies. ” 

In  1628,  Virginia  was  a colony  of  3,000 
inhabitants;  it  had  just  passed  from  the 
dominion  of  a proprietary  company  to  that  of 
the  king;  its  people  were  composed  of  in- 
dented servants,  freemen,  tenants,  planters, 
and  a few  lai’ge  landholders.  A large  ma- 
jority of  the  people  came  to  the  New  World 
with  no  capital  but  their  own  industry,  and 
with  no  prestige  save  their  own  achievements. 
The  class  of  indented  servants,  at  times  rein- 
forced by  new  importations,  was  gradually 
changing,  the  laws  tending  to  facilitate  their 
early  enfranchisement,  when  they  became 
eligible  for  any  elective  office.  Planters 
were  generally  settled  upon  lands  held  under 
a not  burdensome  quit-rent,  but  were  grad- 
ually acquiring  freeholds.  The  liberal  land 
laws  allowed  settlers  to  locate  lands  at  their 
own  pleasure;  and  settling  widely  apart, 
without  the  natural  rendezvous  of  towns,  the 
forms  and  restraints  of  society  had  scarcely 
become  established,  and  the  colonists  early 
imbibed  a carelessness  of  government  to 
which  the  adventurous  character  of  a large 
part  of  the  population  naturally  inclined 
them.  The  people  were  not  without  govern- 
mental traditions,  however;  they  were  Eng- 
lishmen by  birth,  and  rendered  willing 
allegiance;  they  had  come  to  the  New  World 
under  the  combined  patronage  of  all  the 
ruling  classes  of  England,  and  brought  with 
them  a matured  prejudice  for  English  insti- 
tutions. They  looked  to  the  mother  country 
as  the  model  after  which  the  institutions  of 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


55 


the  new  State  should  be  fashioned;  a mo- 
narchical form  of  government,  an  established 
church,  and  a privileged  aristocracy  were 
sought  as  advantages. 

During  the  reign  of  Charles  I,  “possessed 
of  security  and  quiet,  abundance  of  land,  a 
free  market  for  their  staples,  and  having 
England  for  their  guardian  against  foreign 
oppression,  rather  than  their  ruler,  the  col- 
onists enjoyed  all  the  prosperity  which  a 
Tirgin  soil,  equal  laws  and  general  uniform- 
ity of  condition  and  industry  could  bestow.” 
(Bancroft).  During  this  halcyon  period  the 
population  rapidly  increased,  until,  in  1650, 
it  was  estimated  at  20,000  souls.  This  re- 
sulted largely  from  immigration,  but  the 
colonial  statute  book  notes  also  that  “among 
other  blessings  God  Almighty  hath  vouchsafed 
increase  of  children  to  this  colony.” 

The  following  decade  proved  equally  pro- 
pitious to  the  happy  development  of  the 
colony,  the  population  increasing  fifty  per 
cent.  The  widespread  story  of  its  prosperity 
challenged  the  attention  of  all  classes;  it  was 
accounted  “the  best  poor  man’s  country  in 
the  world;”  loyalists  of  rank,  education  and 
wealth  found  it  a congenial  asylum;  and 
travelers  from  England,  charmed  with  the 
milder  climate,  the  profusion  of  game,  and 
the  beauty  of  new  birds  and  flowers,  united 
to  confirm  the  opinion  that  “if  a happy  peace 
be  settled  in  poor  England,  then  they  in 
Virginia  shall  be  as  happy  a people  as  any 
under  Heaven.”  Once  settled  in  the  coun- 
try, the  immigrant  thought  no  more  of  return  - 
ing.  Land  was  cheap  and  abundant;  water - 
fowl  thronged  the  sedgy  streams;  fish  swarmed 
in  the  rivers;  thousands  of  quail  and  turkeys 
supplied  a new  delicacy;  and  oysters  “heaped 
together  in  inexhaustible  beds”  cost  only  the 
gathering.  Such  abundance  gave  rise  to  a 
lavish  hospitality  which  became  proverbial, 
and  leisure,  following  the  possession  of 
wealth,  found  no  difficulty  in  transferring  the 
sports  of  the  old  countiy  to  the  new.  The 
prolific  forests  furnished  unstinted  shooting, 
while  the  chase  and  race  track  followed  the 
increase  of  horses,  the  improvement  of  which 
Was  early  fostered  by  legislation. 

The  restoration  found  the  early  planted 


germ  of  aristocracy  well  developed.  Estates 
of  1,000  acres  were  not  infrequent;  the 
colonial  governor  maintained  a brick  house 
at  the  capital,  and  a manor-house  on  his 
large  estate,  provided  with  plate,  servants, 
carriages,  and  orchards,  in  which  he  count- 
ed 1, 500  apple  trees,  besides  aprico  ts,  peach- 
es, pears,  etc.  Silk  and  lace,  fashionable 
attire,  official  trappings,  English  furni- 
ture, wine  and  books  were  the  rule  among 
the  dominant  class.  The  success  of  the  com- 
monwealth had  contributed  large  numbers  of 
cavaliers  to  colonial  society,  as  many  as  330 
coming  in  one  ship.  These  persons  were 
“among  the  nobility,  clergy,  and  gentry,” 
and  brought  with  them  the  prejudices  and 
habits  of  this  class  in  the  mother  country. 
The  loyalty  of  the  colony  and  the  readiness 
with  which  the  conditions  of  the  New  World 
lent  themselves  to  the  disposition  of  the 
cavaliers  made  them  a permanent  acquisi- 
tion to  the  colony,  and  social  forms  as  well 
as  material  prosperity  soon  showed  the  re- 
sult of  their  molding  influence.  The  “gen- 
eral uniformity  of  social  condition”  un- 
derwent a , striking  change.  The  simplic- 
ity of  frontier  life  gave  way  to  the  courtly 
bearing  of  the  aristocracy  and  the  subservi- 
ent politeness  of  peasantry;  the  democratic 
log  home  of  the  wealthy  was  replaced  by  the 
manor-house  or  frame  dwelling  of  the  well- 
to-do  planter;  and  imported  elegancies  vied 
with  the  native  luxuries  in  their  grand  en- 
tertainments. 

With  the  accession  of  the  large  cavalier 
immigration  Virginia  possessed  two  classes 
of  people,  which  had  been  distinct  in  Eng- 
land, and  which  must,  in  the  natural  order 
of  things,  be  distinct  in  the  colony.  The 
great  mass  of  the  colonists  were  drawn  from 
the  middle  and  lower  walks  of  English  life, 
a considerable  number  was  originally  in- 
dented servants,  and  had  become  freemen, 
while  some  had  been  transported  on  criminal 
charges,  though  principally  of  political  offens- 
es. The  more  successful  of  these  original 
colonists  formed  the  middle  class  in  Virginia, 
and  insisted  no  less  upon  their  privileges 
than  the  cavalier  class.  This  system  of 
gradation  was  further  emphasized  by  “the 


56 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


almost  general  want  of  schools.”  “Every 
man  instructs  his  children  according  to  his 
ability,”  wrote  the  governor;  a system  calcu- 
lated to  perpetuate  ignorance  in  a community 
where  few  had  any  education  save  that 
gained  by  daily  experience.  The  wealthy 
fared  better;  their  children  were  sent  to 
England  or  provided  with  tutors,  supplied 
from  the  clergy,  who  gave  instruction  at  their 
homes. 

In  such  a community  only  the  nicest  ad- 
justment of  the  balance  of  power  could 
prevent  the  intelligent  and  privileged  classes 
from  assuming  the  supreme  and  undivided 
control  of  affairs.  The  lower  classes,  however, 
had  gained  something  by  the  change  of  con- 
tinents which  could  not  be  sequestered  by 
the  advent  of  an  aristocracy,  and  the  sterling 
character,  practical  good  sense  and  independ- 
ent spirit  of  the  common  people  were  not 
readily  overawed  by  the  large  domain,  supe- 
rior intelligence,  and  gentle  breeding  of  the 
favored  class.  And  so,  during  the  rule  of  the 
commonwealth, the  equipoise  was  maintained; 
the  commoners  sat  in  the  assembly  and  re- 
sisted the  encroachinents  of  the  governors  in 
right  democratic  fashion,  while  the  aristoc- 
racy molded  the  social  institutions,  in- 
structed themselves  in  the  prestige  of  Old 
World  traditions,  and  awaited  the  expected 
return  of  a royal  administration. 

The  restoration  of  Charles  II  was  the 
signal  for  their  advancement  to  full  power; 
the  commoners  naturally  retired  with  the 
commonwealth,  and  the  royalists  came  in 
with  the  return  of  royalty.  The  first  assembly 
elected  under  the  restored  king’s  reign  was 
composed  almost  solely  of  the  cavalier  ele- 
ment; but  this  portentous  change  did  not 
then  occasion  serious  consideration — it  was 
of  the  eternal,  fitness  of  things,  and  the 
colony  had  not  yet  learned  the  folly  of  trust- 
ing in  princes.  The  legislation  which  fol- 
lowed was  not  the  suggestion  of  revenge,  nor 
a greedy  grasp  at  unwarrantable  power.  The 
cavalier  believed  in  the  cUvinum  of  kings 
not  more  absolutely  than  in  the  jus  divinum 
of  king’s  men;  and  in  freeing  the  governor 
from  incidental  restraint,  in  securing  to  the 
burgess  independence  of  his  obligations  to 


constituents,  in  the  restriction  of  the  elective 
franchise,  and  in  augmenting  the  arbitrary 
power  of  the  church,  the  royalist  only  carried 
out  the  precepts  of  a form  of  government 
which  all  the  people  saw  restored  with  satis- 
faction. It  was  the  only  jJi’oper  thing  in  the 
view  of  the  restored  refugees,  and  the  cavalier 
governor  for  the  same  reason  found  in  the 
absence  of  means  for  popular  education  a 
cause  for  congratulation.  “I  thank  God,” 
said  Berkeley,  “there  are  no  free  schools  or 
printing;  and  I hope  we  shall  not  have  these 
hundred  years;  for  learning  has  brought  dis- 
obedience and  heresy  and  sects  into  the 
world  and  pi’inting  has  divulged  them,  and 
libel  against  the  best  government.  God  keep 
us  from  both.” 

The  people,  however,  did  not  accept  these 
logical  deductions  of  the  restoration;  the 
free  air  of  the  New  World  had  educated  them 
to  a point  which  made  them  refuse  to  accept 
the  position  accorded  to  them  by  the  institu- 
tions of  the  Old  World.  They  complained, 
and  when  fortune  gave  them  a capable  leader, 
they  rebelled.  It  is  true  that  the  disaffec- 
tion caused  by  the  wanton  policy  of  the  king 
reinforced  the  people  by  a goodly  contingent 
of  the  cavalier  element,  but  had  the  charter 
they  sought  been  granted,  had  they,  “for  the 
future”  been  secured  “from  our  fears  of  being 
enslaved,”  it  is  safe  to  say  fewer  cavaliers 
would  have  given  Bacon  moral  support,  as  in 
fact  very  few  were  under  arms.  At  the  death 
of  “the  generall”  the  rebellion  failed,  not  for 
lack  of  victory  nor  of  capable  leaders  among 
the  cavaliers  who  had  given  the  cause  moral 
support,  but  for  the  lack  of  such  a leader 
to  assert  the  rights  of  the  commons.  On 
their  return  to  power  the  cavaliers  systemat- 
ically undid  the  whole  work  of  the  Bacon 
assembly,  and  sat  quietly  by  until  the  out- 
raged representative  of  royalty  disgraced  his 
manhood  as  well  as  his  office  in  his  quasi 
legal  butcheries;  until,  as  the  king  said: 
“That  old  fool  has  hanged  more  men  in  that 
naked  country  then  I have  done  for  the  murder 
of  my  father.”  If  indeed  the  cavalier  element 
did  sympathise  with  the  people  in  their 
rebellion,  they  were  the  most  miserable 
poltroons  recorded  in  history.  The  prepon- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


57 


derating  evidence  is  to  the  contrary;  in  a fit 
of  pique  they  maintained  neutrality;  the 
rebellion  failing,  they  returned  to  their 
natural  vocation  of  ruling  the  people  in  their 
own  way. 

In  1670  the  governor  reported  the  condi- 
tion of  the  colony  to  the  lords  commissioners 
of  foreign  plantations.  There  are  40,000 
people  in  Virginia,  of  whom  6,000  are  white, 
and  2,000  are  black  servants;  the  freemen 
muster  monthly  in  every  county,  and  number 
more  than  “8,000  horse;”  five  forts — two  on 
the  James  River  and  one  each  on  the  York, 
Rappahannock  and  Potomac  Rivers,  are 
armed  with  thirty  cannon;  of  shipping  there 
are  some  eighty  vessels  from  England  and 
Ireland  yearly,  and  a few  “ketches”  from 
New  England;  of  home  shipping  there  is 
none,  as  neither  “small  nor  great  vessels  are 
built  here,  for  we  are  most  obedient  to  all 
laws,  whilst  the  New  England  men  bi’eak 
through  and  trade  to  any  place  that  their  in- 
terest leads  them  to.” 

This  is  the  outline.  Bancroft  writes  in  the 
details  under  date  of  1674,  as  follows:  “the 
paths  were  bridle-ways  rather  than  roads; 
and  highway  surveyors  aimed  at  nothing 
more  than  to  keep  them  clear  of  logs  and 
fallen  trees.  There  was  not  an  engineer  in 
the  country.  I doubt  if  there  existed  what 
we  should  call  a bridge  in  the  whole 
dominion.  Visits  were  made  in  boats  or  on 
horseback;  and  the  Virginian,  traveling  with 
his  pouch  of  tobacco  for  currency,  swam  the 
rivers  when  there  was  neither  ford  nor  ferry. 
Almost  every  planter  was  his  own  mechanic. 
The  houses,  for  the  most  part  of  one  story 
and  made  of  wood,  often  of  logs,  the  windows 
closed  by  shutters  for  want  of  glass,  were 
sprinkled  at  great  distance  on  both  sides  of 
the  Chesapeake.  There  was  hardly  such  a 
sight  as  a cluster  of  three  dwellings.  James- 
town was  but  a place  of  a State  House,  one 
church  and  eighteen  houses,  occupied  by 
about  a dozen  families.  Till  very  recently 
the  legislature  had  assembled  in  the  hall  of 
an  ale  house.  Virginia  had  neither  towns 
nor  lawyers.  A few  of  the  wealthier  planters 
lived  in  braver  state  at  their  large  plantations 
surrounded  by  indented  servants  and  slaves.” 


In  the  period  succeeding  the  English  revo- 
lution the  “ people  ” gradually  came  back  to 
power;  “pernicious  notions”  increased  so 
rapidly  that,  in  1710,  certain  counties  dis- 
carded “gentlemen”  in  their  choice  of 
burgesses  and  sent  “persons  of  mean  charac- 
ter and  figure”  to  represent  them.  Immi- 
gration, which  almost  ceased  during  the 
troubled  times  of  Bacon’s  rebellion,  set  in 
again  with  increased  numbers.  The  dis- 
franchisement of  dissenters  in  England 
stimulated  emigration  by  which  the  colony 
gained  considerable  accessions  of  a kind 
which  strengthened  the  opposition  to  arbi- 
trary or  privileged  power.  The  divine  right 
of  king’s-men  was  no  longer  supported  by 
the  instructions  of  the  crown,  and  the 
grinding  oppression  of  the  “navigation  acts” 
was  gradually  effacing  the  political  lines  of 
colonial  classes.  Settlements  were  pushing 
into  the  interior;  a colony  of  Huguenots  had 
settled,  in  1699,  on  the  upper  James  River;  a 
colony  of  “Germans  of  Palatines,  ” sent  over 
by  Queen  Anne  to  aid  in  the  manufacture  of 
wine  and  iron,  were  settled  on  the  Rapidan; 
and  yet,  with  about  100,000  population,  the 
colony,  “as  to  outward  appearance,  looks  all 
like  a wild  desert.”  In  1680  the  assembly 
sought  to  correct  the  evil  to  commerce  by  this 
dispersion  of  settlements  and  selected  a site 
in  each  of  the  twenty  counties  for  a village, 
and  brought  all  the  power  of  legislation  to 
encourage  their  growth,  but  not  more  than 
three  or  four  of  these  sites  contained  villages 
at  the  time  of  the  Revolution. 

Under  the  house  of  Hanover  the  progress 
of  colonization  received  a powerful  influence 
from  the  disturbed  state  of  Europe;  Germans 
came  in  large  numbers;  in  1728  Ireland  was 
in  a ferment;  “people  every  day  engaging  one 
another  to  go  the  next  year  to  the  West 
Indies,”  i.  e.  the  British  colonies;  and  colonial 
authorities  were  “very  much  surprised  at  the 
vast  crowd  of  people  pouring  in  upon  us 
from  the  north  of  Ireland.”  An  important 
part  of  this  immigration  came  by  way  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  attracted  by  the  fertility 
of  the  Shenandoah  valley,  began  to  make 
settlements  in  the  lower  part  of  it,  extending 
above  the  present  site  of  Winchester.  This 


58 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


tide  came  in  about  1732,  and  consisted 
chiefly  of  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians.  Fol- 
lowing closely  in  their  wake  came  the 
Germans,  settling,  still  further  up  the  valley, 
the  village  of  Strasburg  recalling  in  its  name 
the  nationality  of  its  founders.  These  new 
settlors  were  generally  divided  among  three 
relicrious  sects:  Lutheran,  Mennonists  and 
Calvinists;  and  so  completely  did  they  occupy 
the  countx’y,  that  the  native  language  and 
customs  long  maintained  their  purity  against 
the  innovating  influences  of  the  new  country. 
Winchester  was  the  dividing  line  between 
the  two  nationalities,  and  St.  Patrick’s  day 
and  the  festival  of  “St.  Michael,  the  patron  of 
the  Dutch,”  regularly  occasioned  collisions 
of  ojxposing  partisans.  In  1736,  the  valley 
was  entered  by  Virginians,  who  followed  up 
the  James  River  to  the  fertile  land  beyond 
the  Blue  Ridge.  These  were  almost  entirely 
of  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians  driven  from 
Ulster  by  English  oppression.  Thus  the 
wooded  slopes  of  the  mountain  ridge  and 
the  fertile  valley  beyond  were  settled  by  a 
class  of  sturdy  dissenters,  dissenting  not 
only  to  an  established  church,  but  also  to  a 
political  system  founded  only  on  the  divine 
right  of  kings  and  kings’ -men. 

Thus  the  American  Revolution  found  Vir- 
ginia a thrifty  agricultural  State  in  spite  of 
the  burdens  it  had  borne;  its  population  a 
vigorous  people  but  less  homogeneous  than  in 
New  England,  and  its  social  institutions  a 
type  of  England  in  new  environments.  The 
counties,  in  1652  thirteen  in  number,  and  in 
1680,  twenty,  had  gradually  increased  to 
seventy-four:  thirty-flve  on  the  tide-waters 
or  in  that  parallel;  twenty-three  between  the 
tide-water  counties  and  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains;  eight  between  the  Blue  Ridge 
and  the  Alleghany  Mountains;  and  eight 
west  of  the  latter  range.  There  were  no 
townships,  and  village  growth  was  still  great- 
ly retarded  by  the  character  of  the  country. 
The  lowlands,  intersected  by  numerous 
navigable  streams,  allowed  trade  to  find  its 
way  to  the  vexy  doors  of  the  people,  and 
limited  the  necessity  for  merchants  and  dis- 
tx’ibuting  points.  IVilliamsburg,  the  seat  of 
govex’nment  for  over  eighty  yeax’s,  never  con- 


tained over  1,800  inhabitants;  and  Norfolk, 
the  most  populous  town  the  colony  ever  had, 
numbered  but  6,000  people.  Besides  these 
leading  towns  thex-e  were  some  twenty-four 
more  or  less  vigorous  villages;  on  the  James 
River  and  its  tribxxtaries  were  Portsmouth, 
Hampton,  Sixffolk,  Smithfleld,  Petex’sburg, 
Richmond,  Manchestei',  Charlottesville  and 
New  London;  on  the  York  River  and  tribxx- 
tax’ies,  were  Yox’k,  New  Castle,  Hanover;  on 
the  Rappahannock,  Urbana,  Port  Royal, 
Fredericksbux’g,  Falmouth;  on  the  Potomac 
and  tributaries,  Dumfries,  Colchester,  Alex- 
andria, Winchester,  Staunton;  and  on  the 
Ohio,  Louisville  (1780).  Thex’e  were  other 
places  “ whex’e  the  laws  have  said  there  shall 
be  towns;  but  nature  has  said  there  shall 
not.”  Tobacco  was  still  the  great  staple 
production  of  the  coxintry;  but  the  later  im- 
migration had  not  taken  kindly  to  its  culture, 
and  wheat  and  stock-raising  occupied  the 
attention  of  the  lax’ger  part  of  the  valley 
farmers. 

Of  intexmal  development,  the  keenly  critical 
Jefferson  writes  (Notes  on  Virginia,  1781): 
“ Private  buildings  are  very  x’ax’ely  con- 
structed of  stone  or  brick,  much  the  greatest 
portion  of  scantling  and  boards,  plastered 
with  lime.  It  is  impossible  to  devise  things 
more  ugly,  uncomfox’table  and,  happily,  mox'e 
perishable.  There  are  two  or  three  plans,  on 
one  of  which,  according  to  its  size,  most  of 
the  houses  in  the  State  are  built.  The 
poorest  people  build  huts  of  logs  laid  hori- 
zontally in  pens,  stopping  the  intex’stices  with 
mud.  The  wealthy  are  attentive  to  the  rais- 
ing of  vegetables,  bxxt  very  little  so  to  fruits. 
The  poorer  people  attend  to  neither,  living 
principally  on  milk  and  animal  diet.  The 
only  public  buildings  wox’thy  of  mention  are 
the  capital,  the  palace,  and  the  hospital  for 
lunatics.  % ^ * There  are  no 

other  public  buildings  but  churches  and  coui’t 
hoxxses,  in  which  no  attempts  are  made  at 
elegance.  Indeed,  it  would  not  be  easy  to 
execute  such  an  attempt,  as  workmen  could 
scarcely  be  found  hex’e  capable  of  dx’awing 
an  ordex’.  The  genius  of  architecture  seems 
to  have  shed  its  maledictions  over  this  land. 
Buildings  ax’e  often  erected  by  individuals. 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


59 


of  considerable  expense.  To  give  these 
symmetry  and  taste  would  not  increase  their 
cost,  * * would  often  cost 

less  than  the  burthen  of  barbarous  ornament 
Avith  which  these  buildings  are  sometimes 
charged.” 

The  old  social  regime  was  in  its  prime; 
the  lar'ge  immigration  in  the  second  quarter 
of  the  eighteenth  century  had  given  rise  to 
two  societies,  in  popular  terms : the  “ Oohees  ” 
of  the  mountains  and  valley,  and  the  “ Tuck- 
ahoes  ” of  the  lowlands.  The  former  were 
the  hardy  frontiersmen  who  lived  the  ad- 
venturous life  of  the  pioneer,  pressing  west- 
ward over  the  Alleghanies  into  the  “ great 
woods  ” in  daily  combat  with  wild  men  and 
beasts;  the  latter  made  up  of  ’longshoremen 
of  Accomack  and  the  seaboard,  the  small  I 
landholdei’ — the  yeomen  of  Virginia — the 
merchant  or  factor  of  the  towns  and  the 
planters  on  the  James  and  V^ork.  Social 
forms  had  been  settled  at  the  beginning  of 
the  century,  but  since  then  its  grooves  had 
been  fixed,  and  customs  were  planted  upon 
a foundation  that  promised  perpetuity.  A 
spirit  of  mutual  toleration  had  grown  and 
flourished  under  the  varying  experiences  of 
the  century,  and  in  political  sentiment  there 
was  general  unanimity;  social  classifications 
had  originated  in  the  natural  “ love  of  ease 
and  rule  in  Virginia  character.  ” “ Nabobs,  ” 

a term  of  ridicule  applied  to  the  wealthy 
planters  by  their  opponents,  were  numerous 
in  the  lowlands,  and  lived  in  a luxurious 
and  ostentatious  style.  Many  possessed  im- 
mense estates  held  under  the  rigorous  laws 
of  entail,  while  others  acquired  them  through 
their  own  talents  and  enterprise.  A sumptuous 
six-oared  barge  or  a coach  and  four  were  the 
familiar  means  of  travel;  two- horse  carriages 
were  rare.  At  the  capitol  a ceremonious 
hospitality  was  dispensed  with  lavish  hand; 
liveried  servants  did  the  bidding  of  the  host; 
plate  and  china  decked  the  table;  the  rarest 
wines  of  England  cheered  the  guest;  and  an 
imported  chef  directed  the  cuisine,  which  the 
luxuriance  of  the  country  amply  supplied 
with  every  delicacy.  On  his  own  estate  the 
planter  “ was  a feudal  patriarch  mildly  rul- 
ing everybody;  drank  wholesome  wine,  sherry 


or  canary  of  his  own  importation;  entertained 
every  one;  held  great  festivities  at  Christmas, 
with  huge  log-fires  in  the  great  fii'e-places, 
around  which  the  family  clan  gathered;  and 
everybody,  high  and  low,  seemed  to  be 
happy.”  All  luxuries  were  imported  from 
England  in  exchange  for  tobacco,  which  was 
loaded  from  warehouses  on  the  river  bank 
into  the  ship’s  hold.  Nothing  was  manu- 
factured in  the  colony.  The  passion  for 
country  life  was  universal.  Gov.  Spotswood 
is  pictured  by  the  historian  of  the  period 
(Hon.  William  Byrd  of  Westover)  as  resid- 
ing at  “Temple  Farm;”  the  rooms  of  his 
manor  house  are  “ elegantly  set  off  with  pier 
glasses,”  and  adorned  with  bric-a-brac;  two 
tame  deer  enjoy  the  freedom  of  the  house, 
and  “ one  of  the  handsomest  and  easiest 
chariots  made  in  London  ” provides  a means 
of  conveyance  for  himself,  family  and 
friends. 

During  the  session  of  the  assembly  it  was 
very  much  the  habit  of  planters  to  come  to 
the  capital  with  their  families  to  enjoy  the 
gaiety  of  the  season.  The  original  capital 
was  fixed  at  Jamestown;  the  “city”  was  twice 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  in  1698,  when  the 
capitol  and  prison  were  again  burned,  Lieut. - 
Gov.  Nicholson  removed  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment to  the  middle  plantation,  where  he 
laid  out  the  town  of  Williamsburg.  The 
original  plan  of  the  town  was  a monogram 
composed  of  the  initial  letters  of  the  reigning 
sovereigns — William  and  Mary.  The  plan 
was  not  fully  carried  out,  but  the  village 
became  the  centre  of  political  and  social  in- 
fluences. It  “consisted  of  Gloucester  Street, 
the  main  thoroughfare,  with  the  old  capitol 
at  one  end  and  William  and  Maiw  College  at 
the  other.  Palace  Street  debouching  upon  it, 
and  a few  others,  as  in  undeveloped  towns’,’ 
(Cooke).  The  capitol  was  a two  storied 
building,  “a  light  airy  structure”  according 
to  Jefferson,  “with  a portico  in  front,  of  two 
orders;”  it  was  architecturally  inaccui'ate  in 
its  construction,  yet  on  the  whole  it  was  the 
pleasantest  piece  of  architecture  in  the 
colony.  In  this  building  the  use  of  fire,  can- 
dles and  tobacco  were  forbidden,  lest  it 
I should  share  the  fate  of  its  predecessors. 


60 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


The  college,  established  in  1693,  and  later 
provided  with  a home  at  the  capital,  and  the 
lunatic  asylum  built  here,  were  “rude,  mis- 
shapen piles,  which,  but  that  they  have  roofs 
would  be  taken  for  brick  kilns.  ” Near  Glou- 
cester Street  was  the  palace,  which  the  bur- 
gesses, in  1710,  grateful  for  the  concession 
of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  granted  Spots- 
wood  £2,000  to  build.  The  structure  was 
not  handsome  without,  but  spacious  and 
commodious  within;  was  “prettily  situated” 
in  grounds  embracing  some  300  acres,  set 
with  lindens  and  other  trees.  Among  other 
notable  buildings  of  the  old  capital,  were  the 
“old  magazine”  built  by  the  same  governor 
in  1710,  a stone  octagon  in  which  were  stored 
muskets  and  powder,  and  the  “Raleigh  Tav- 
ern on  Gloucester  Street,  a building  of  wood 
erected  in  1700,  with  entrances  on  both 
fronts,  and  a leaden  bust  of  Sir  W alter  Raleigh 
over  the  main  doorway.”  A large  apartment, 
called  the  “Apollo  Room,  ” is  a historic  feature 
of  this  structure;  this  was  the  favorite  place 
for  dancing;  here  were  given  inaugural  balls, 
and  assembly  receptions;  and  here  the  bur- 
gesses, dissolved  by  the  irate  governor,  delib- 
erated on  revolutionary  topics. 

In  the  fashionable  season,  “Gloucester 
Street  was  an  animated  spectacle  of  coaches 
and  four,  containing  the  ‘Nabobs’  and  their 
dames,  of  maidens  in  silk  and  lace  with  high 
heeled  shoes  and  clocked  stockings;  of  youths 
passing  on  spirited  horses — and  all  these 
people  are  engaged  in  attending  the  assem- 
blies at  the  palace,  in  dancing  in  the  Apollo, 
in  snatching  the  pleasm’e  of  the  moment,  and 
enjoying  life  under  a regime  which  seemed 
made  for  enjoyment.  The  love  of  official  in- 
tercourse had  been  a marked  trait  of  the  Vir- 
ginians in  all  generations,  and  at  the  middle 
of  the  century  the  instinct  had  culminated. 
The  violins  seemed  to  be  ever  playing  for 
the  divertisement  of  the  youths  and  maidens; 
the  good  horses  were  running  for  the  purse 
or  cup;  cocks  were  lighting;  the  college  stu- 
dents were  mingling  with  the  throng  in  their 
‘academic  dress;’  and  his  serene  Excellency, 
in  his  fine  coach,  drawn  by  six  milk  white 
horses,  goes  to  open  the  house  of  burgesses. 


after  which  he  will  sternly  dissolve  them.”* 

Of  this  royalist  “Nabob”  class,  but  few 
were  actual  Tories  during  the  Revolutionary 
struggle.  Some  quite  naturally  were  dis- 
posed to  favor  conciliatory  measures  to  the 
last  moment ; while  others,  among  whom  were 
Washington,  Mason,  the  Lees,  Pendleton, 
Peyton,  Edmund  Randolph,  Cary,  Madison 
and  Monroe,  were  foremost  in  their  opposition 
to  the  royal  prerogative.  But  the  asserted 
equality  of  mankind,  as  applied  to  the  issue 
between  assembly  and  parliament,  was,  to 
many  of  this  class,  only  an  assertion  of  the 
equality  of  the  jus  divinum  of  kings  and 
kiug’s-men.  Democracy  became  an  inevitable 
though  unwelcome  consequence  of  the  revo- 
lutionary spirit  which  they  had  helped  to 
evoke,  and  which  Jefferson  guided  with  inex- 
orable logic.  The  application  of  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Revolution  to  social  institutions, 
therefore,  aroused  the  most  spirited  opposi- 
tion. On  the  fourth  day  of  the  first  legisla- 
ture under  revolutionary  auspices,  Jefferson 
introduced  a bill  for  establishing  a free  judi- 
ciary, and  three  days  later  a bill  to  convert 
estates  in  tail  into  fee  simple.  This  measure 
was  opposed  by  a strong  minority,  and  forced 
to  run  the  gauntlet  of  various  amendments 
calculated  to  preserve  the  principle;  it  finally 
passed  by  a bare  majority.  The  nature  of 
the  contest  is  explained  in  Mr.  Jefferson’s 
reason  for  the  bill;  that  “ instead  of  an  aris- 
tocracy of  wealth,  (of  more  harm  and  danger 
than  benefit  to  society),  to  make  an  opening 
for  the  aristocracy  of  virtue  and  talent  * * 
was  deemed  essential  to  a well  ordered  re- 
public.” This  law  of  entail  had  been  more 
strongly  guarded  in  England  than  in  Virginia, 
and  had  been  a powerful  instrument  in  build- 
ing up  the  aristocratic  class.  The  passage 
of  the  bill  abolishing  this  law,  and  another 
measure  introduced  by  Jefferson  abolishing 
primogeni  tui’e  and  the  Salic  principle  in  the 
laws  of  inheritence,  did  more  to  loosen  the 
hold  of  the  aristocracy  upon  Virginia  society 
than  all  the  liberal  constitutional  changes 
effected. 

The  original  constitution  made  only  slight 

*“  Virginia:  a History  ofthe  People,”  byjohn  Esten  Cooke, 
a work  to  which  the  preceding  pages  are  largely  indebted  for 
the  description  of  Virginia  society. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


61 


changes  in  the  form  of  government;  it  did 
not  extend  the  elective  franchise,  and  men- 
tioned the  church  only  to  exclude  “ all  minis- 
ters of  the  gospel  ” from  membership  in  the 
assembly.  The  established  church,  however, 
was  a matter  which  was  not  to  be  allowed  to 
pass  in  silence.  In  the  last  article  of  the  bill 
of  rights.  Mason  gave  expression  to  the  un- 
doubted sentiments  of  the  “ people;  ” the 
people  believed  “ all  men  are  equally  entitled 
to  the  free  exercise  of  religion,”  and  the  first 
legislature  received  numerous  petitions  for 
relief  from  the  assessments  in  support  of  the 
established  church.  In  this  session  Jefferson 
introduced  a bill  for  the  relief  of  dissenters, 
and  brought  on  a contest  which  lasted  from 
the  11th  of  October,  1776,  to  the  5th  of  De- 
cember following.  No  other  innovation  of 
the  Revolutionary  period  provoked  a contest 
so  obstinate,  or  aroused  so  bitter  feelings — 
for  the  time.  It'was  in  fact,  the  initial  act 
in  a new  movement,  which,  after  a contest  of 
134  years,  sustained  by  the  established  church 
with  unvarying  success,  was  about  to  give 
victory  to  the  large  and  growing  class  of  dis- 
senters. 

The  Church  of  England  came  with  the 
first  colonists  as  a part  of  their  equipment 
provided  by  the  company,  and  was  accepted 
as  a feature  which  no  well  furnished  com- 
munity should  be  without.  The  first  minis- 
ter in  the  colony  was  Robert  Hunt,  “ an 
honest,  religious  and  courageous  divine  ” in 
the  opinion  of  the  rough  old  soldier  writers 
of  the  time.  He  was  succeeded  by  Mr. 
Bucke,  Mr.  Wickham,  Mr.  Whitaker  and 
others.  They  were  men  of  irreproachable 
character,  and  actuated  by  the  true  mission- 
ary spirit.  The  latter  was  especially  unself- 
ish in  his  devotion  to  the  colony,  and  is 
known  as  “ the  apostle  of  Virginia.”  Under 
the  ministry  of  these  men,  the  churches  at 
Jamestown,  Henrico,  Smithfield,  Bruton,  and 
the  Blanford  Churches  at  Williamsburg  and 
Petersburg  were  founded.  For  years  the 
subject  of  dissent  did  not  agitate  the  colonial 
government.  Delaware  set  an  ostentatious 
example  of  church  going,  attending  services 
accompanied  by  his  staff  and  “fifty  halberd- 
bearers  in  red  cloaks.”  In  1611,  Dale  came 


armed  with  “ stripes  for  negligence  and 
death  for  infidelity,”  but  dissent  had  not  yet 
sprung  up. 

The  church  became  a subject  of  legislation 
as  early  as  1624,  when  it  was  decreed  that  the 
whole  colony  should  conform;  “both  in  canons 
and  constitution,  to  the  Church  of  England;” 
parishes  were  laid  off,  to  each  of  which  was 
assigned  a minister  with  a fixed  salary  of 
tobacco.  Up  to  1630,  the  presence  of  dis- 
senters had  not  attracted  hostile  attention;  on 
the  contrary,  the  Puritans  were  invited  to 
leave  their  sterile  country  and  settle  in  the 
more  favored  land  of  Virginia.  The  first  of 
this  sect  came  to  the  colony  as  early  as  1619, 
and  a considerable  company  of  these  people 
was  prevented  from  coming  at  the  same  time 
only  through  the  interposition  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury.  At  the  coming  of 
Berkeley  in  1642,  their  numbers  were  sensi- 
bly felt  by  the  jealous  churchman,  and  were 
considered  almost  as  objectionable  as  papists. 
Against  the  latter  the  commander  of  the  fort 
at  Point  Comfort  was  directed,  in  1632,  to 
administer  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  suprem- 
acy to  all  jrassengers  of  ships  arriving  there 
from  abroad,  and  to  commit  any  refusing  the 
oath  to  prison. 

Berkeley  was  “very  malignant  toward  the 
way  of  the  churches”  and  exercised  his  ample 
powers  freely  to  keep  the  established  church 
pure  and  undefiled  by  dissent.  In  1643,  the 
assembly  pronounced  the  sentence  of  banish- 
ment against  the  “Independents,”  as  they 
called  themselves;  they  were  forbidden  tc 
teach  or  preach  publicly  or  privately  unless 
comformable  to  the  “orders  and  constitution 
of  the  Church  of  England,”  and  directed  to 
“be  compelled  to  depart  out  of  the  colony 
with  all  convenience,”  when  notified.  The 
governor  lost  no  time  in  giving  the  notifica- 
tion by  proclamation,  and  large  numbers 
were  “compelled”  to  leave  Virginia  finding  an 
asylum  in  catholic  Maryland  and  elsewhere. 
Notwithstanding  these  rigorous  measures 
against  the  “Independents,”  dissent  still  con- 
tinued to  be  a subject  of  complaint  by  zealous 
churchmen,  but  there  were  grave  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  persistent  persecution.  As 
time  passed  on  other  matters  engaged  the  at- 


62 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


tention  of  the  governor;  the- zealous  complain- 
ants foixnd  themselves  in  a hopeless  minority; 
and,  for  ministers,  the  governor  reported,  in 
1G70,  “the  worst  are  sent  us,”  who  would  do 
well  to  “pray  oftener  and  jxreach  less.” 

The  criticism  in  regard  to  the  character  of 
the  ministers  was  one  of  long  standing.  In 
1632,  the  assembly  thought  it  neccessary  to 
warn  them  not  to  “give  themselves  to  excess 
in  drinking  or  riot,  playing  at  dice,  cards,  or 
any  unlawful  game,”  and  the  governor  found 
few  to  boast  of  “since  Cromwell’s  tyranny 
drove  divers  men  hither.”  It  seems,  there- 
fore, that  the  successors  of  the  early  eminent 
divines  were  illy  calculated  to  build  up  the 
church;  but  there  was  also  another  difficulty  in 
the  great  extent  of  the  parish.  Some  of  these 
extended  over  more  than  one  of  the  large 
early  counties,  a distance  in  a single  direction 
of  more  than  fifty  miles.  Such  a field  was 
not  inviting  to  those  who  were  qualified  to 
fill  the  better  places  in  England,  and  so  Vir- 
ginia was  principally  dependent  upon  such  as 
could  do  no  better.  Under  such  circumstances 
dissent  flourished,  and  was  ignored,  and 
“neither  surplice  nor  subscription  spoken  of.” 
The  government,  at  times,  aroused  itself 
from  this  course  of  tolerant  inaction  and 
leveled  its  stern  decrees  against  the  obnoxious 
sects,  but  only  eventually  to  stimulate  their 
growth,  as  the  established  church  possessed 
scarcely  vigor  enough  to  keep  dissent  out  of  its 
own  pulpits.  In  1650,  the  loyal  colony,  alarmed 
at  the  progress  of  dissent  in  England,  and 
fearing  the, effect  of  the  development  of  the 
puritan  element  in  Virginia,  again  banished 
the  nonconformists.  The  church  was  too 
weak,  however,  to  lend  any  valuable  assis- 
tance to  these  efforts;  meeting-houses  were 
to  be  found  only  in  the  heart  of  the  colony, 
although  there  were  some  forty-eight  parishes; 
and  ministers.,  though  “well  paid,”  were  so 
few  that  a bounty  was  offered  by  the  assembly 
to  secure  the  immigration  of  more.  After  the 
restoration,  the  most  rigorous  legislation  was 
resorted  to  in  aid  of  the  church;  the  whole 
liturgy  was  required  “to  be  thoroughly  read,” 
and  the  ministry  provided  for  by  granting  the 
vestry  extraordinary  power.  In  the  last 
measure  the  zealous  churchmen  overreached 


themselves;  the  burdens  imposed  by  these 
exacting  vestries  was  an  important  cause 
which  contributed  to  the  armed  dissent  of 
Bacon.  And  so  the  church  fared  for  half  a 
century;  the  colony  in  1684  driven  to  the 
verge  of  treason  in  their  alarm  at  the  papist 
tendencies  of  James  II,  and  in  1710  in  “gen- 
tlemanly conformity  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land.” 

The  great  tide  of  immigration  which 
flowed  into  Virginia  in  1732,  brought  in  a 
powerful  element  of  dissent,  the  old  “Tus- 
corora  Meeting  House”  and  the  “Opequon 
Church”  remaining  for  years  the  enduring 
evidence  that  their  religious  faith  was  not  left 
behind  nor  inactive  in  the  wilderness.  This 
population  was  composed  chiefly  of  Scotch 
and  Irish  Presbyterians  and  German  Luther- 
ans, Mennonists  and  Calvinists.  All  this 
class  of  dissenters,  while  conscientious,  law- 
abiding  people,  were  in  sentiments  and  tastes 
as  much  opposed  as  possible  to  the  easy- 
going gaiety-loving  Episcopalians  of  the  low- 
lands. While  “dancing  and  other  amuse- 
ments,” according  to  the  historian  of  the 
valley  (Kercheval),  “were  common,  and  were 
sometimes  kept  up  for  weeks  together,”  they 
were  deeply  in  earnest,  and  the  solicitous 
churchmen  declared  that  “paganism,  atheism, 
and  sectaries”  threatened  the  solidity  of  the 
church,  and  created  “faction  in  the  civil 
government.”  Various  remedies  were  sug- 
gested; prominent  among  these  was  the 
appointment  of  a resident  prelate,  and  at  one 
time  “all  the  hopes  of  Jonathan  Swift  termi- 
nated in  the  bishopric  of  Virginia.”  Secta- 
rians, however,  continued  to  increase;  the 
Episcopal  clergy,  secure  for  life  in  their 
glebes  and  salaries,  devoted  the  Sabbath  only 
to  the  care  of  their  parishes,  and  gave  the 
balance  of  the  week  to  the  cultivation  of  their 
estates  or  other  remunerative  employment; 
their  character,  also,  was  still  the  subject  of 
grave  and  not  unfounded  suspicion.  In  di- 
rect contrast  with  the  churchmen,  the  zeal  of 
sectarian  missionaries  made  their  untiring 
efforts  to  be  felt  in  all  parts  of  the  upland 
country,  where  it  was  largely  an  open  and 
undisputed  field. 

The  general  deadness  of  the  Church  of 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


63 


England  gave  rise  to  the  IMethodists,  who 
sought  rather  to  infuse  life  into  it  than  to 
overturn  it.  In  1740,  the  “new  light  stir” 
reached  Virginia,  and  under  the  powerful 
preaching  of  Whitfield,  disrupted  dissenting 
sects  as  well  as  the  established  church,  and 
drew  thousands  to  its  ranks.  The  Presbyte- 
rians were  active  in  the  colony  as  early  as  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  a 
presbytery  was  not  established  until  1755; 
the  Baptists  were  quite  as  early  in  Virginia, 
but  the  first  church  was  not  established  until 
1760.  The  latter  were  especially  aggressive 
in  the  propagation  of  their  faith;  this,  with 
the  peculiar  freedom  of  their  church  consti- 
tution, I’endered  them  especially  obnoxious 
to  the  government,  and  the  laws  against  them 
were  rigorously  enforced,  the  wealthy  mem- 
bers being  obliged  to  pay  the  fines  of  the 
poor.  Persecution  incited  the  Baptists  to 
renewed  zeal,  and  united  other  dissenting- 
sects  in  opposition  to  a power  that  tolerated 
none.  In  1 768,  imprisonment  followed  fines; 
three  Baptist  ministers  were  arrested,  and 
marched  through  the  streets  of  Fredericks- 
bui’g,  singing,  to  prison.  The  feeling  be- 
tween the  dissenting  sects,  save  the  Meth- 
odists, and  the  established  church  was  in 
tensified  into  factional  hostilitjq  destined  to 
be  waged  with  bitterness  on  both  sides,  and 
only  to  cease  with  the  complete  overthrow  of 
one  of  the  two  religious  systems.  The  Revo- 
lutionary period  gave  the  dissenters  the  ad- 
ditional support  of  political  sympathy,  and 
without  this  aid  the  established  church  hope- 
lessly failed  in  the  contest. 

The  inevitable  result  hastened  to  its  con- 
clusion; the  bill  for  relief  of  dissenters 
brought  victory  in  sight,  and  incited  the 
sects  in  opposition  to  exact  the  utmost  priv- 
ileges of  religious  freedom.  The  act  of 
1776  left  the  question  of  “a  general  assess- 
ment for  the  support  of  religion,”  to  be  acted 
upon  by  general  vote.  In  1779,  this  was 
rejected;  in  1785,  the  “act  for  religious 
freedom  ” consolidated  all  the  previous  leg- 
islation in  this  matter,  and  effectually 
divorced  the  church  and  State.  In  1802,  the 
sale  of  Episcopal  glebes  was  provided  for; 
this  ended  the  struggle  against  the  estab- 


lished church;  donations,  church  edifices, 
inclosures  and  furniture  were  preserved  by 
this  law  to  the  church,  but  fate  even  de- 
spoiled her  of  these,  and  the  once  dominant 
church  sank  almost  out  of  existence,  to  rise 
only  after  years  of  effort  to  a secondary  place 
of  power  and  infiuence. 

One  relic  of  the  old  aristocratic  regime, 
however,  survived  the  Revolutionary  spirit  of 
the  period  in  the  “peculiar  institution.” 
Conditional  servitude  under  indentures  ex- 
isted in  Virginia  from  the  first  settlement. 
These  servants  were  bound  to  their  masters 
to  discharge  by  their  labor  the  cost  of  trans- 
pox’tation;  under  the  reign  of  James  I,  100 
convicts  were  sent  to  the  colony  at  the  ex- 
press command  of  the  king,  and  sold  to  the 
planters;  subsequently  the  city  of  London 
sent  a similar  number  of  homeless  children, 
who  were  disposed  of  in  the  same  way.  White 
servants  gradually  became  a common  article 
of  commerce;  were  sold  in  England  to  be 
shipped  to  the  colony,  where  they  were  pur- 
chased on  board  ships  of  the  masters  of  the 
vessels.  In  August,  1619,  Dutch  ships  landed 
and  sold  twenty  negroes  as  slaves,  and  from 
this  period  until  the  revolution  of  1688,  white 
and  black  servants  were  found  in  the  colony. 
The  two  classes  differed  in  their  treatment 
only  in  the  term  of  their  service.  The  facil- 
ity with  which  the  white  servant  made  his 
escape  enforced  humane  treatment,  which 
alone,  however,  was  not  found  sufficient  to 
retain  them  in  servitude.  The  law  provided 
severe  punishment  for  runaways;  in  1642, 
such  offenders  were  liable,  for  a second 
offense,  to  be  branded  upon  the  cheek,  a pen- 
alty which  was  subsequently  so  far  mitigated 
as  to  place  the  brand  upon  the  shoulder. 
Twenty  years  later  the  offense  of  running 
away  was  punished  by  increasing  the  term  of 
servitude  at  the  discretion  of  a magistrate, 
while  the  master  was  permitted  to  inflict 
‘ ‘ moderate  corporal  punishment.”  Subse- 
quent importations  of  white  servants  were 
generally  of  those  convicted  of  political 
offenses.  ‘ ‘ Scots  taken  in  the  battle  of 
Dunbar;  Royalists,  prisoners  taken  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Worcester;  and  leaders  of  the  insurrec- 
tion of  Penruddoc.” 


G4 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


The  Oliverian  plot  in  1663,  when  certain 
recently  imported  “roundhead”  servants  insti- 
gated a nearly  successful  insurrection,  awoke 
the  colonists  to  the  danger  of  such  additions 
to  the  population,  and  the  assembly  prohibit- 
ed the  further  importation  of  “jail-birds.” 
Such  legislation  did  not  receive  the  sanction 
of  the  crown,  and  in  1685  the  suppression  of 
the  Monmouth  rebellion  afforded  a new  sup- 
ply of  this  objectionable  class  of  servants. 
In  the  meanwhile,  kidnaping  had  become 
common,  in  Bristol,  at  least;  not  only  felons, 
but  innocent  persons  were  hurried  across  the 
Atlantic  to  enrich  those  engaged  in  the  nefa- 
rious business.  Even  the  mayor  and  aider- 
men  were  found  guilty  of  terrifying  culprits 
charged  with  venial  crimes  until  they  begged 
to  be  transported  and  were  sold  into  servi- 
tude. The  revolution  of  1688  brought  about 
a general  amnesty  for  political  offenses,  and 
thereafter  the  trade  in  servants  was  chiefly 
confined  to  blacks,  who  were  sold  into  perpet- 
ual bondage. 

For  more  than  fifty  years  after  the  intro- 
duction of  slavery  into  Virginia,  the  system 
languished;  the  people  enslaved  as  well  as 
slavery  was  repugnant  to  the  people.  In 
1671,  among  a population  of  40,000,  the 
number  of  white  servants  I’eached  only  6,000, 
and  that  of  slaves  only  2,000;  of  the  latter. 
Gov.  Berkeley  reported  that  only  two  or  three 
cargoes  had  arrived  in  seven  years,  while 
some  1,500  of  white  servants — “most  were 
English,  few  Scotch  and  fewer  Irish” — were 
imported  annually.  By  a system  of  sophis- 
try drawn  from  the  bigotry  of  the  early 
church,  the  scruples  of  conscience  and  of  a 
manly  faith  in  the  freedom  of  mankind  were 
evaded.  In  1670,  it  was  enacted  that  “all 
servants  not  being  Christians,  imported  into 
this  country  by  shipping,  shall  be  slaves;” 
in  the  natural  order  of  evil  progression,  it 
was  declared  by  statute  in  1682 — what  had 
been  practically  affirmed  as  early  as  1667 — 
that  “conversion  to  the  Christian  faith  doth 
not  make  free.” 

Self-interest  came  to  the  support  of  this 
sophistry;  the  system  of  indentured  service 
prepared  the  way  for  bond  labor,  and  made 
it  almost  a social  necessity;  and  even  before 


indentured  service  ceased,  the  condition  of 
perpetual  bondage  found  a willing  convert  in 
the  Virginia  planter’s  love  of  unrestrained 
power.  In  the  purchase  price  the  two  classes 
of  servants  showed  little  difference;  in 
1672,  the  white  servant,  with  five  years  of 
labor  due,  was  worth  about  £10;  the  negro, 
with  the  expectation  of  thirty  years  of  full 
labor,  brought  from  £20  to  £25.  In  cost 
of  maintenance  the  balance  was  largely 
in  favor  of  the  negro,  and  there  was  a 
natural  disinclination  to  hold  in  bondage 
persons  who  differed  from  their  superiors 
only  in  their  misfortune,  and  whom  a few 
years  might  convert  into  equals  with  ability 
to  avenge  any  grudges  born  of  bondage. 
White  servants,  too,  unstamped  by  nature 
with  the  ineffaceable  marks  of  race,  found 
escape  not  difficult;  and  laws  which  gave 
them  the  right  to  complain  to  a magistrate 
of  undue  punishment,  or  neglect  of  care 
in  the  matter  of  food,  clothing  or  shelter, 
constituted  an  irksome  restraint  upon  the 
master.  The  blacks,  on  the  contrary,  placed 
no  such  conditions  upon  the  master;  they 
were  easily  traced  in  attempting  to  escape; 
they  had  no  champion  in  the  law,  and 
enforced  ignorance  made  them  powerless  to 
resist  legal  power. 

Slavery  thus  became  engrafted  upon  the 
social  system,  and  the  general  sentiment 
gradually  emphasized  the  contrast  between  the 
two  classes  of  servants;  the  early  enfranchise- 
ment of  the  whites  was  favored,  while  every 
trace  of  black  blood  carried  with  it  the  stigma 
of  bondage;  and  by  degrees,  all  trace  of  the 
humanity  of  the  slave  was  lost  in  the  laws. 
In  1692,  a statute  made  it  lawful  for  “per- 
sons pursuing  fugitive  colored  slaves  to  wound 
or  even  kill  them;”  and  in  1699,  the  “death 
of  a slave  from  extremity  of  correction  was 
not  accoimted  a felony,  since  it  cannot  be 
presumed  that  prepense  malice,  which  alone 
makes  murder  felony,  should  induce  a man 
to  destroy  his  estate.  ” Thus  the  slave  became 
the  absolute  property  of  his  master,  with  no 
other  protection  from  his  passions  than  that 
accorded  to  the  brute. 

The  large  profit  accruing  from  bond  labor 
employed  in  the  production  of  tobacco,  which 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


65 


then  brought  a price  ten  times  that  realized 
to-day,  was  sufficient  to  give  a marked  impe- 
tus to  the  growth  of  slavery,  but  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  the  actual  number  of  slaves  subse- 
quently imported  would  have  reached  the 
hnal  proportions  without  the  artificial  encour- 
agement of  the  English  government.  Meas- 
ures “for  the  better  supply  of  the  plantation” 
were  considered  by  parliament  in  the  reiga  of 
William  and  Mary;  an  English  statute  of  1695 
declared  “the  trade  is  highly  beneficial  and 
advantageous  to  the  kingdom  and  colonies;” 
in  1708,  a house  of  commons  committee  re- 
ported the  slave-trade,  “ important  and  ought 
to  be  free;”  and  three  years  later  a similar 
committee  thought  “the  plantations  ought 
to  be  supplied  with  negroes  at  reasonable 
rates.  ” During  these  years  the  traffic  in  slaves 
was  encouraged  by  the  English  government 
in  behalf  of  the  interests  of  its  merchants; 
but  slave- tx’ading  soon  became  a royal  monop- 
oly, and  legislative  suggestions  became  laws, 
which  were  enforced  by  all  the  power  and 
influence  in  the  kingdom. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  of  the  Spanish 
succession,  England  demanded  and  secured 
the  monopoly  of  this  horrible  traffic.  In  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht  (1713)  “Her  Brittanic 
Majesty  did  offer  and  undertake,  by  persons 
whom  she  shall  appoint,  to  bring  into  the 
West  Indies  of  America  belonging  to 
bis  Catholic  Majesty,  in  the  space  of 
thirty  years,  144,000  negroes,  at  the  rate 
of  4,800  in  each  of  the  said  thirty 
years.”  In  this  royal  monopoly,  Philip  V 
took  a fourth  share,  and  a similar  proportion 
of  the  common  stock  was  reserved  to  the 
queen  herself;  the  balance  being  distributed 
among  her  subjects.  The  queen’s  individual 
share  was  subsequently  assigned  to  the 
South  Sea  Company,  at  the  earnest  solicita- 
tions of  her  minister.  From  this  time  for- 
ward the  traffic  in  humanity  received  the 
earnest  support  of  the  English  government, 
and  attained  large  and  increasing  proportions, 
great  numbers  of  slaves  finding  their  way  to 
the  colonies  by  way  of  the  West-Indies,  and 
direct  from  the  shores  of  Africa;  the  single 
exception  to  the  iron  rule  of  colonial  com- 
merce being  made  in  1750,  in  favor  of  free 


trade  in  slaves.  Colonial  governors  were 
instructed  to  give  particular  encoui’agement 
to  the  Royal  African  Company  of  England, 
and  to  maintain  “ a constant  and  sufficient 
supply  of  merchantable  negroes.”  These 
instructions  illustrate  the  royal  policy  in 
Virginia,  and  in  1754  slave  marts  were 
maintained  at  every  court  house  “as  far  at 
least  as  the  southwest  mountain.  ” 

Freedom  was  not  without  its  champions 
even  in  this  mercenary  age.  In  England, 
Baxter,  Addison,  Steele,  Ravage,  Hutcheon 
and  others,  united  the  authority  of  religion, 
the  power  of  logic,  the  pathos  of  poetry  and 
romance,  and  the  sanction  of  philosophy  in 
behalf  of  the  brotherhood  of  man;  in  America 
a variety  of  considerations  led  a strong  senti- 
ment in  the  same  direction.  As  early  as 
1701,  the  Boston  colony  sought  “to  encourage 
the  bringing  of  white  servants  and  to  put  a 
period  to  negroes  being  slaves;”  under  the 
influence  of  Keith  in  Pennsylvania,  the 
Quakers  in  considerable  numbers  were  led  to 
emancipate  their  blacks  on  religious  grounds, 
Penn  taking  early  and  prominent  part  in 
the  movement.  In  the  southern  colonies 
opposition  to  the  trade  was  based  upon  the 
“ excessive  production  and  the  consequent 
low  price  of  their  staple;”  the  heavy  debt 
incurred  by  the  pm’chase  of  slaves  on  credit; 
“ and  the  dangerous  increase  of  the  colored 
population,” 

The  subject  of  their  increase  seems  to  have 
claimed  a good  deal  of  consideration;  it  had 
been  gradual,  but  in  later  colonial  times  had 
proportionately  greatly  exceeded  the  white 
population.  In  1619,  the  first  20  came;  in 
1649  there  were,  in  Virginia,  300;  in  1670, 
2,000;  in  1714,  23,000;  in  1756,  120,000;  in 
1790,  293,427.  The  increase  of  slaves  in 
Virginia  from  1670  to  1790,  was  in  the  pro- 
portion of  1 to  146;  while  the  whites  in  the 
same  period,  increased  only  as  1 to  12.  In 
1725  the  Virginia  assembly,  alarmed  at  this 
rapid  increase,  attempted  to  repress  slave  im- 
portation by  tax;  this  was  resorted  to  in 
1732;  in  1740  it  was  increased  to  ten  per 
I cent,  and  in  1761  a prohibitory  duty  was 
! established.  In  each  case  the  royal  govern- 
ment nullified  colonial  restrictions,  whether 

4 


66 


IIISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


in  form  of  taxor  duty;  and  the  incontestable 
charge  of  a Virginia  statesman  stands  unim- 
peached, that  “the  British  government  con- 
stantly checked  the  attempts  of  Virginia  to 
put  a stoj)  to  this  infernal  traffic.” 

Both  English  and  colonial  authorities 
shared  the  opinion  that  the  large  body  of  slaves 
in  Virginia  constituted  a menace  to  the  inde- 
pendent action  of  the  colony.  The  military 
forces  needed  on  the  frontier  were  in  early 
days  robbed  of  considerable  numbers  by  the 
apparent  necessity  of  maintaining  a sufficient 
force  of  planters  in  the  lowlands  to  overawe 
the  large  body  of  blacks,  and  a potent  argu- 
ment with  the  English  ministry  in  behalf  of 
unrestricted  trade  in  slaves  was  that  they 
would  not  “leave  their  employers  the  entire 
security  that  might  prepare  revolt.”  Such 
reasoning  proceeded  upon  very  narrow 
grounds.  Negroes  were  gathered  from  widely 
separated  districts  in  Africa,  and  taken  from 
widely  differing  conditions  in  life;  they  were 
grossly  ignorant  and  stupid,  with  neither 
dialect  nor  traditions  in  common,  and  were 
as  completely  dependent  upon  their  owners 
as  brutes.  There  were  occasional  Hashes  of 
manhood  among  them,  where  the  harshness 
of  the  master  or  the  exceptional  spirit  of 
some  captive  warrior  led  one  to  acts  of  des- 
peration, but  there  never  was  any  good 
cause  for  apprehension  of  serious  insurrec- 
tion save  in  the  imagination  of  the  slave- 
holders. 

Public  sentiment  was  very  generally  divid- 
ed on  the  institution  of  slavery  until  after 
the  Revolution.  By  many  it  was  held:  “Ex- 
cept the  immediate  interest  he  has  in  the 
property  of  his  slaves,  it  would  be  for  every 
man’s  interest  that  there  were  no  slaves, 
because  the  free  labor  of  a free  man  * * * 
is  in  the  end  cheaper  than  the  eye  service  of 
the  slave.”  (Boucher,  1763.)  Others  based 
their  opposition  on  moral  grounds,  and  ques- 
tioned whether  “the  liberties  of  a nation  be 
secure  when  we  have  removed  their  only  firm 
basis,  a conviction  in  the  minds  of  the  peo- 
ple that  these  liberties  are  of  the  gift  of 
God.”  (Jefferson,  1781.)  On  the  other  hand 


an  honest  few  believed  slavery  one  of  the 
means  employed  by  a benevolent  Provi- 
dence to  reach  the  heathen  outcasts  of 
Africa;  but  the  main  prop  of  the  institu- 
tion was  “the  immediate  interest  in  the 
property  of  slaves.”  But,  divided  as  the 
people  were  in  regard  to  the  institution  in 
Virginia,  there  was  practical  unanimity  in 
opposition  to  the  further  importation  of 
blacks,  and  in  1761,  Virginia  found  in  this 
her  chief  cause  of  complaint  to  the  English 
government.  In  this  opposition  Richard 
Henry  Lee  was  one  of  the  foremost  actors, 
declaring  the  further  importation  dangerous 
to  the  political  as  well  as  the  moral  interests 
of  the  colony;  this  was  the  general  senti- 
ment of  the  people,  and  when  the  first  gen- 
eral legislative  assembly  of  the  united  colo- 
nies prohibited  the  traffic,  the  act  received 
the  general  assent  of  every  loyal  citizen. 

In  this  achievement  the  vigorous  opposi- 
tion to  slavery  in  the  State  ended;  the  hope 
expressed  by  Jefferson,  that  the  way  was 
prejaaring  “under  the  auspices  of  Heaven, 
for  a total  emancipation,”  was  disappointed; 
slavery  became  a permanent  institution,  the 
influence  of  which  gave  an  imperishable 
character  to  every  phase  of  society.  The 
abhorrence  of  the  foreign  slave  traffic  was 
transferred  to  the  internal  trade  and  the 
slave-trader  became  an  object  of  contempt, 
though  tolerated  as  a necessary  evil.  Agri- 
culture was  confirmed  as  the  prevailing  in- 
dustry, and  tobacco  as  the  only  profitable 
staple;  the  miserable  bondage  of  credit  was 
continued,  the  factors  of  Baltimore  and 
Charleston  gradually  taking  place  of  the 
English  and  Scotch  merchant;  and  the  same 
improvident  expenditure,  the  same  open- 
handed  hospitality,  with  more  of  republican 
simplicity,  remained. 

Such  was  the  first  colony  in  Virginia; 
and  such  were  the  molding  influences  of 
the  State  that  was  rapidly  extending  its  ter- 
ritorial limits  westward,  destined  to  make 
the  Mississippi  its  western  boundary,  and 
leave  the  birth-mark  of  its  institutions  upon 
four  great  States. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


07 


CHAPTER  III. 

BEYOND  THE  ALLEGHANIES— VIEGINIA’S  CONQUESTS  IN  THE  WEST. 


VIRGINIA,  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth, 
included  all  that  indefinite  region  of 
the  New  World  not  occupied  by  Spain  or 
France.  As  described  by  an  old  writer,  “the 
bounds  thereof  on  the  east  are  the  ocean,  on 
the  south  lieth  Florida,  on  the  north  Nova 
Francia;  as  for  the  west  thereof,  the  limita- 
tions are  unknown.”  In  1600,  James  I 
divided  this  territory  between  the  “first”  and 
“second  colony  to  Virginia,”  and  the  subse- 
quent failure  of  the  “second  colony,”  gradu- 
ally led  to  the  restriction  of  the  original 
name  of  the  territory  assigned  to  the  colony 
settled  at  Jamestown.  This  tendency  was 
emphasized  by  the  explorations  of  John 
Smith  (1614);  the  name  of  New  England 
applied  by  him  to  the  north  Atlantic  coast 
supplanted  the  older  one  of  Virginia,  and 
the  two  parts  became  generally  known  under 
these  respective  names. 

Notwithstanding  their  charter  granted 
them  the  territory  “up  into  the  land  from  sea 
to  sea,”  the  Virginians  seem  to  have  laid  but 
little  stress  upon  this  inland  extension. 
They  were  very  jealous  of  their  rights  along 
the  sea-coast,  and  continued  to  protest  in 
season  and  out  of  season  against  the  infringe- 
ment of  their  ancient  bounds  and  limits  in- 
volved in  the  royal  grants  to  colonies  north 
and  south  of  them.  But  when  these  protests 
proved  unavailing,  they  found  little  incentive 
and  no  necessity  for  pushing  their  explora- 
tions westward.  Practically,  therefore,  Vir- 
ginia for  125  years  was  restricted  to  the 
narrow  scope  of  country  between  the  Potomac 
and  Nottoway,  from  Chesapeake  Bay  to  the 
Blue  Ridge. 

The  first  authenticated  attempt  to  explore 
the  tramontane  country  was  made  by  order 
of  Gov.  Berkeley.  In  1670,  Capt.  Henry 
Batte  commanded  a force  which  penetrated 


into  the  New  River  country;  the  Blue  Ridge 
was  found  high,  rocky  and  well  covered  with 
timber;  and  just  beyond,  the  party  found 
their  progress  obstructed  by  a rapid,  rock- 
strewn  river,  which  they  estimated  to  be  450 
yards  wide.  The  banks  were  high  and 
precipitous,  in  places  estimated  at  a height 
of  1,000  yards;  beyond  they  saw  other 
hills,  bare  of  timber  and  broken  by  white 
cliffs,  but  with  these  meager  results  the 
party  I’eturned.  In  the  fall  of  the  following 
year  the  valley  of  the  Kanawha  was  further 
explored,  but  with  no  recorded  results.  In- 
terest in  this  unknown  region  found  no  other 
public  expression  for  nearly  half  a century. 
In  1716,  Gov.  Spotswood  undertook  a trip 
to  the  mountains,  more  as  a novel  entertain- 
ment than  as  a serious  attempt  to  increase 
the  general  knowledge.  A gay  company  of 
cavaliers  was  gathered  at  Williamsburg,  in 
August  of  this  year;  “rangers,  pioneers  and 
Indians”  were  provided  to  bear  the  toil  of 
the  expedition,  while  pack-horses  and  serv- 
ants supplied  the  comforts  and  luxuries 
demanded  by  the  sumptuous  character  of  the 
explorers.  The  journey  was  made  with 
leisure;  halts  were  made  where  the  abundant 
game  attracted  the  sportsman,  and  the 
nightly  bivouac  under  the  summer  sky  lent 
zest  to  the  revels  which  closed  the  day’s 
sport.  The  Blue  Ridge  at  length  was 
reached;  on  its  summit  the  king’s  health  was 
drank,  and  two  neighboring  peaks  were 
named  “Mt.  George”  and  “Mt.  Alexander,” 
after  the  king  and  governor.  Descending 
into  the  valley,  the  river,  Shenandoah,  was 
named  “Euphrates;”  an  empty  bottle  was 
made  the  depository  of  a document  proclaim- 
ing the  valley  the  territory  of  the  king,  and 
buried,  when  the  merry  party  returned  to  the 
colonial  capital  to  found  the  order  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


m 

“Knights  of  the  Grolden  Horseshoe”  in  com- 
memoration of  the  festive  occasion. 

No  active  emigration  follovred;  the  beauty 
and  fertility  of  the  valley  were  extolled,  but 
the  lowland  planters  were  not  of  pioneer 
stock;  the  rocky  barrier  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
forbade  the  life  of  luxury  and  ease  to  which 
they  had  grown  accustomed,  and  another 
half  century  would  probably  have  elapsed  in 
inaction,  had  not  the  agitation  of  Europe 
supplied  a hardier  race.  In  1732  a vast 
throng  “of  those  whom  bigots  chase  from 
foreign  lands”  found  their  way  to  America. 

The  glowing  tales  of  the  middle  valley 
fell  upon  attentive  ears,  and  following  up  the 
course  of  the  James  one  current  of  this  tide 
of  immigration  flowed  into  the  upper  valley, 
barely  preceded  by  another  which  found  its 
way  through  Pennsylvania  and  across  the 
Potomac  into  the  lower  valley.  These 
pioneers  were  early  followed  by  large  num- 
bers seeking  a refuge  remote  from  European 
intolerance,  and  the  settlements  were  rapidly 
extended  to  the  western  confines  of  the 
valley.  Beyond  the  Alleghanies  lay  “the 
great  woods,”  in  the  hidden  recesses  of  which 
was  to  be  determined  not  only  the  limit  of 
Virginia,  but  the  destiny  of  the  continent 
also. 

East  of  the  Blue  Ridge  the  extension  of 
English  settlements  was  not  seriously  hin- 
dered. The  Indian  race,  apparently  isolated 
by  the  natural  features  of  the  country,  and 
divided  into  unfriendly  tribes,  fell  an  easy 
prey  to  the  diplomacy  and  force  of  the  whites. 
The  colonists  made  little  pretense  of  purchase 
in  the  acquisition  of  territory.  The  Indian 
massacre,  of  1022,  according  to  the  ethical 
system  of  the  time,  placed  the  savages  beyond 
the  pale  of  diplomacy,  and  the  whites  pro- 
ceeded to  demand  the  forfeit  of  their  lands 
as  rapidly  as  the  increasing  population  re- 
quired more  room.  It  was  not  to  be  expected 
that  the  untutored  mind  of  the  savage  would 
grasp  this  theological  subtlety;  and  in  1644 
the  aged  successor  of  Powhatan,  who  had 
always  cherished  a determined  hostility  to 
the  whites,  signalized  his  closing  career  by  a 
repetition  of  the  earlier  attack.  Some  300 
of  the  colonists  perished,  but  the  prompt  and 


vigorous  rally  of  the  whites  inflicted  a crush- 
ing blow  upon  the  savages;  their  aged  chief 
was  captured  and  subsequently  assassinated 
by  his  guard;  and  the  tribe  was  forced  to  sue 
for  peace,  which  was  granted  only  on  terms  that 
made  their  presence  south  of  the  York  River, 
without  the  badge  of  a messenger,  the  signal 
for  their  destruction  by  the  vigilant  whites. 

In  1656  the  presence  of  a mountain  tribe 
near  the  falls  of  the  James  River  was  construed 
into  a menace  to  the  settlements,  and  a colo- 
nial force,  aided  by  friendly  Indians,  was 
sent  against  them.  In  this  engagement  the 
whites  were  repelled,  but  the  foreign  tribe 
did  not  wait  for  further  demonstrations,  and 
retired  to  the  Blue  Ridge.  Again,  in  1676, 
the  Indians,  provoked  by  the  steady  encroach- 
ment of  the  whites,  and  the  unv/arrantable 
slaughter  of  certain  chiefs,  united  to  attack 
the  settlements.  This  last  blow  of  the  sav- 
ages was  delivered  with  less  effect  than  earlier 
ones,  while  the  punishment  returned  by  the 
whites  was  by  far  the  most  effective.  Under 
the  command  of  Bacon,  the  “well-armed 
housekeepers”  of  Virginia  inflicted  frightful 
slaughter  upon  a party  of  savages  that  made 
a stand  near  the  site  of  Richmond,  and  in 
succeeding  expeditions  forever  broke  their 
power  in  the  lowlands.  This  campaign 
transferred  the  irrepressible  conflict  to  the 
region  beyond  the  mountains.  Here  the  two 
contestants  were  less  unevenly  matched;  set- 
tlements less  compactly  made  afforded  less 
facility  for  organization,  while  the  Indians, 
united  in  a common  hostility,  proved  more 
formidable  in  numbers,  and  having  their 
villages  more  remote,  retreated  from  their 
forays  with  greater  security. 

A new  and  formidable  element  added  to 
this  tramontane  struggle  was  the  influence  of 
the  French.  Preceding  the  English  in  these 
western  waters,  and  even  contesting  with 
Spain  the  honors  of  original  discovery,  France 
claimed  the  whole  continent  from  the  Gulf  to 
tl|e  polar  sea,  and  from  Newfoundland  west- 
ward to  the  unknown  limits  of  the  New  World. 
The  discovery  and  exploration  of  America 
found  the  Gallic  nation  eager  to  improve  the 
! advantages  offered  by  a virgin  territory;  the 
) heresy  of  Calvin  had  made  great  inroads  upon 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


69 


the  strongholds  of  the  Roman  Church;  and 
the  Huguenot  party,  a political  as  well  as 
religious  organization,  was  for  the  time  not 
unequally  matched  against  the  Catholic  court. 
But  the  tenure  of  its  power  depended  upon 
the  most  delicate  adjustment  of  social  equi- 
poise, to  the  uncertainty  of  which  none  was 
more  keenly  alive  than  the  “calm,  stern  man 
who  represented  and  led  the  Protestantism  of 
France.”  The  New  World,  therefore,  was 
hailed  by  one  party,  at  least,  as  an  asylum  for 
the  persecuted  sect,  and  half  a century  be- 
fore the  origin  of  the  “First  Colony  of  Vir- 
ginia,” Coligny  cautiously  projected  a city  of 
refuge  in  America,  The  unsuccessful  colony 
on  the  Brazilian  coast,  in  1555,  and  the  un- 
fortunate settlement  on  the  St.John  River  in 
Florida,  in  1564,  mai’ked  the  rise  and  fall  of 
this  project. 

In  the  meanwhile  French  adventurers  were 
pushing  their  explorations  in  the  far  North, 
scanning  the  Atlantic  seaboard  from  the  Car- 
olinas  to  Newfoundland.  In  1518  the  first 
of  a number  of  abortive  attempts  at  coloniza- 
tion was  made  on  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia, 
but  it  was  not  until  1604  that  the  foundation 
of  the  colony  of  Acadia  was  laid.  This  col  - 
ony,  constantly  harassed  by  the  jealous  oppo 
sition  of  Jesuits  and  illicit  fur  traders  during 
its  early  career,  was  brought  to  the  verge  of 


French,  remained  a constant  menace  to  the 
outlying  settlements  of  New  England  until 
the  peace  of  Utrecht  (1713)  gave  it  to  Eng- 
land. 

The  seat  of  French  power  in  America, 
however,  was  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  Here 
Champlain  founded  Quebec,  in  1608,  and 


power  in  the  New  World.  This  adventure 
was  projected  and  supported  by  a private  en- 
terprise of  slender  means,  and  with  little 
recognition  from  the  king.  In  1615,  recog- 
nizing the  precarious  foundation  on  which  he 
was  building,  Champlain  used  his  efforts  to 
secure  such  recognition  for  his  colony  as 
would  protect  it  against  the  jealousy  which 
future  success  would  be  sure  to  awaken.  A 


viceroy  was  appointed,  who  turned  his  sine- 
cm'e  to  account  by  granting  a monopoly  of 
the  fur- trade  to  such  as  would  pay  the  most 
for  the  privilege.  Under  this  regime  no 
attempt  was  made  to  encom’age  immigration; 
Quebec  was  half  mission  and  half  trading 
station;  none  tilled  the  soil,  and,  save  the 
priests,  the  less  than  one  hundred  whites  in 
Canada  were  all  in  the  employ  of  the 
merchants  who  controlled  the  fur-trade.  In 
1627,  Richelieu,  who  had  recently  (1624) 
come  into  power  as  minister  of  finance,  sup- 
pressed this  monopoly  and  organized  the 
company  of  one-hundred  associates.  The 
resources  of  France  were  exhausted,  and  the 
gi’eat  minister  sought  to  build  up  New  France 
from  the  resources  of  her  own  forests  and 
rivers.  To  the  new  company  was  granted  a 
monopoly  of  the  fur-trade  for  fifteen  years, 
and  for  this  concession  it  was  required  to 
send  two  or  three  hundred  mechanics  of  all 
trades  to  Canada  at  once,  and  to  transfer 
thither,  within  the  period  of  its  monopoly, 
4,000  colonists.  This  experiment,  however 
wisely  conceived,  was  fated  to  miserably 
I fail;  the  “ associates ” made  vast  outlays 
and  received  but  meager  returns,  and  in 
face  of  the  multiplied  hindrances  to  carry 
out  their  obligations  would  have  ruined  the 
company. 

The  policy  of  the  home  government  alone 
proved  an  insurmountable  obstacle  to  suc- 
cess; the  only  emigrating  class  in  France  was 
the  Huguenots,  thousands  of  whom  hailed 
the  New  World  as  an  asylum  where  the  reform 
religion  could  find  a secure  retreat  from  per- 
secution; but  Jesuit  bigotry  cut  off  this 
resource,  and  permitted  none  but  Catholics 
to  people  New  France.  Of  the  latter  class 
there  were  no  voluntary  emigrants  save 
monks  and  nuns,  who  added  discord  but  no 
increase  of  population  to  the  feeble  settle- 
ments. The  resources  of  the  company  were 
still  further  crippled  in  another  direction; 
the  implacable  hostility  of  the  Iroquois  de- 
stroyed its  remaining  hope  of  success  by 
practically  suppressing  the  fur-trade.  Pos- 
sessed by  a Satanic  malice  which  braved 
death  in  a thousand  forms,  the  implacable 
savages  canned  their  war  of  extermination  to 


70 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  farthest  bounds  of  human  habitation, 
and  eventually  made  the  populous  region 
north  of  the  St.  Lawrence  a tenantless 
wilderness. 

In  1G40,  therefore,  there  were  not  more 
than  300  whites  in  Canada,  of  whom 
scarcely  ten  were  self-supporting.  Five 
years  later  the  company  surrendered  its 
monopoly  of  the  fur  trade,  with  its  debts 
and  obligations,  to  the  people  of  the  settle- 
ment, retaining  all  its  seigniorial  rights,  and, 
in  1663,  it  surrendered  these  rights,  with  its 
charter,  to  the  hing.  In  accepting  this  sur- 
render, Louis  XIV  expressed  the  hope  that 
“through  the  re-establishment  of  commerce,” 
he  should  secure  “abundance  of  people”  in 
New  France;  but  led  by  Colbeid,  his  prime 
minister,  in  the  following  year  the  king 
granted  a monopoly  of  the  fur- trade  to  the 
“great  company  of  the  West.” 

The  new  grant  aroused  a spirited  remon- 
strance, which  demonstrated  the  fact  that  this 
grant,  if  maintained,  would  be  the  death  of 
the  settlement;  the  company  was  therefore 
forced  to  surrender  a part  of  its  monopoly,  and 
eventually  failed,  as  its  predecessors  had 
done.  At  the  same  time  the  king  seemed  to 
awake  to  the  importance  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
settlement,  and  henceforth  the  French  pos- 
sessions in  the  New  World  became,  notwith- 
standing the  monopoly  granted,  the  especial 
care  of  the  crown.  This  new  dispensation 
was  signalized,  in  1665,  by  the  appointment 
of  a governor  and  intendant  for  Canada,  and 
a lieutenant-general  for  New  France,  which 
included  both  Acadia  and  Canada.  With 
these  officials  came  a regiment  of  regular 
troops,  which  was  employed  in  the  next  two 
or  three  years  against  the  Mohawks  with 
such  effect  as  to  secure  a peace  unbroken  for 
twenty  years. 

With  this  departure  a new  era  opened  in 
Canada:  Sieur  Talon,  the  intendant,  was 
instructed  to  “cause  justice  to  reign,  estab- 
lish a good  police,  protect  the  inhabitants, 
discipline  them  against  their  enemies,  and 
procure  for  them  peace,  repose  and  plenty; 

* * encourage  them  to  trade  and  industry, 

* * and  put  them  in  the  way  of  making 
some  proht.”  The  intendant  entered  with 


vigor  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties;  aided 
by  the  resources  of  the  royal  treasury,  he 
developed  the  manufacture  of  the  common 
necessities  of  the  colonists;  sent  engineers  to 
explore  the  copper  mines  of  Lake  Superior, 
attempted  to  establish  trade  with  the  West 
Indies,  and  laid  the  foundations  for  those 
explorations  which  established  the  French  in 
possession  of  the  great  West  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi  to  Hudson’s  Bay. 

The  new  king,  scarcely  out  of  his  minority, 
heartily  seconded  his  able  representative;  as 
early  as  1659  the  king  had  exerted  his  power 
to  supply  Canada  with  colonists,  and  each 
succeeding  year  shiploads  of  immigrants 
were  landed  at  Quebec  at  the  royal  charge. 
Most  of  these  additions  to  the  colonial  popu- 
lation were  single  men  and  women.  At  first, 
men  alone  constituted  the  bulk  of  the  expor- 
tations from  France,  but  in  1667  the  institu- 
tion of  families  received  attention,  and 
“ eighty-four  girls  from  Dieppe,  and  twenty 
five  from  Rochelle  ” were  sent,  among  whom 
were  “fifteen  or  twenty  of  pretty  good  birth.” 
This  plan  was  continued  for  years;  troops 
were  sent  to  the  colony,  and  at  the  expiration 
of  their  term  of  service  were  disbanded,  and 
every  inducement  made  both  officers  and  men 
to  remain  as  colonists.  Women  suitable  as 
wives  to  officers  were  sent  over’,  and  bounties 
were  offered  for  marriage,  the  common  people 
when  married  being  presented  with  “ an  ox, 
a cow,  a pair  of  fowls,  two  barrels  of  salted 
meat,  and  11  crowns  in  money.”  The 
royal  dowry  was  varied  to  reach  all  classes, 
and  in  some  cases  reached  the  extent  of  a gift 
of  a house,  with  provisions  for  eight  months. 

Nor  did  the  royal  solicitude  stop  here. 
Bounties  were  offered  on  children:  parents 
having  ten  living  children  born  in  wedlock 
were  granted  a pension  of  300  livres  a year; 
while  to  those  having  twelve  children,  the 
pension  was  increased  by  100  livres.  At  the 
same  time  the  royal  power  found  exercise  in 
stimulating  this  artificially  grown  colony  to 
take  root  in  the  new  soil;  a modified  form  of 
feudalism  was  devised,  and  along  both  sides 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Richelieu  Rivers 
were  planted  seigniories,  for  which  the  bene- 
ficiaries gave  only  “ faith  and  homage.  ” 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


71 


Under  such  fostering  care  the  colony  gradu- 
ally attained  considerable  expansion,  if  not 
solidity,  but  everywhere  was  felt  the  limit- 
ing hand  of  French  absolutism,  “ The  new 
settler  was  found  by  the  king,  sent  over  by 
the  king,  and  supplied  by  the  king  with  a 
wife,  a farm,  and  sometimes  with  a house;” 
it  was  the  forcing  and  pruning  process  of  the 
garden,  not  the  vigorous  luxuriance  of  nature. 
In  1672  the  king  was  diverted  by  more  press- 
ing cares  in  Europe,  and  the  artificial  sym- 
metry of  the  Canadian  colony  took  on  some  of 
the  rugged  vigor  of  nature. 

The  colonial  policy  of  France,  inaugurated 
by  Champlain,  made  the  Indian  the  chief 
corner-stone  of  New  France;  while  other 
civilizations  crushed  or  ignored  the  savages, 
the  French  embraced  and  cherished  them. 
Of  this  policy  the  zeal  of  propagandism  and 
the  fur- trade  were  the  vital  forces,  and  “pol- 
icy and  commerce  built  their  hopes  on  the 
priest.”  In  1625,  the  order  of  Jesuits  was 
planted  in  Quebec.  Undaunted  by  the  rigors 
of  the  climate  or  the  malignity  of  their 
savage  foes,  they  bore  the  cross,  the  symbol 
of  French  religion  and  of  French  sovei’eign- 
ity,  to  the  remotest  recesses  of  fur-beariag 
America.  Robbed  of  their  occupation  by 
the  destruction  of  the  Hurons,  the  Jesuits 
turned  to  the  interior,  and  vied  with  hardy 
couriers  de  bois  in  pioneering  the  way  of 
France  in  the  great  West.  Hei'e  their  ex- 
plorations opened  up  a vast  territory  which 
the  plan  of  their  colonial  development  en- 
abled the  French  to  readily  seize  and  hold. 

This  plan  had  its  origin  in  the  geograph- 
ical situation  of  the  parent  colony  and  the 
character  of  the  homo  government.  Vitally 
dependent  upon  the  fur-trade,  the  trapper 
and  trader  constituted  an  important  element 
of  colonial  life,  and  all  recognized  the  ne- 
cessity for  a wide  and  free  range  for  the  pur- 
suit of  their  vocation ; and  the  people,  held 
under  arbitrary  rule,  gave  a military  charac- 
ter to  the  order  of  colonial  development. 
Strategic  points  were  seized  upon,  where 
stations,  half  mission  and  half  trading-post, 
were  established;  diplomacy  with  the  Indians 
was  conducted  under  the  guise  of  the  black 
hat  and  robe  of  the  priest;  and  the  fealty  of 


native  allies  was  confirmed  and  maintained 
by  conversion  to  the  religion  of  the  domi- 
nant race.  Thus  Quebec,  Montreal,  Fort 
Frontenac,  Michillimackinac  and  Fort  St. 
Louis  were  points  d'appui  from  which 
French  influences  dominated  the  whole  in- 
terior. Later  development  multiplied  these 
points,  and  Presque  Isle,  Detroit,  Vinconnes, 
Kaskaskia  and  New  Orleans  completed  the 
chain  which  connected  the  St.  Lawrence  with 
the  Gulf,  and  constituted  a claim  to  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  which  would  have 
been  well  nigh  irresistible,  had  it  been  prop- 
erly and  early  supported  by  the  French  na- 
tion. 

In  the  Indian  confederation  of  New  York, 
the  colonial  policy  of  Canada  sustained  the 
earliest  and  most  serious  check.  Champlain 
found  the  northern  tribes  everywhere  terror- 
ized by  the  incessant  attacks  of  the  Iroquois; 
he  therefore  counseled  a confederation  of 
these  tribes  under  the  protectorate  of  France, 
and  gave  it  an  initial  impulse  by  joining 
them  in  reprisals  upon  the  universal  enemy. 
Previous  to  1616  he,  won  three  signal  victo- 
ries over  these  all- conquering  savages, 
through  the  fatal  power  of  the  arquebuse, 
and  for  thirty  years  the  progress  of  Iroquois 
conquest  was  stayed. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  thrifty  Dutch 
traders  of  New  Netherland  supplied  the 
Mohawks  with  the  enginery  of  civilized 
warfare  and,  thus  equipped,  their  supersti- 
tious fear  of  the  whiteman’s  weapon  gone, 
they  renewed  their  unrelenting  hostility. 
Nation  after  nation  of  the  savage  allies  of 
the  French  were  swept  out  of  existence,  and 
the  whites,  whose  vaunted  prowess  had  so 
imposed  upon  the  simplicity  of  their  allies, 
were  reduced  to  the  pitiable  necessity  of  be- 
holding these  vital  blows  struck  without 
raising  a hand  to  prevent  it.  Emboldened 
by  such  victories  the  Iroquois  conceived  a 
contempt  for  the  French,  and  carried  their 
successful  forays  against  the  Canadian  set- 
tlements until  they  were  brought  to  the 
verge  of  extinction. 

At  this  juncture,  France  awoke  to  the  im- 
portance of  her  trans- Atlantic  possessions:  the 
signal  pucishment  of  the  Mokawks  followed; 


73 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


but  even  this  obtained  peace  for  the  whites 
only;  the  savage  butchery  of  the  faithful 
allies  went  forward,  unchallenged  by  the 
feeble  colony,  until  the  whole  region  was  de- 
populated of  natives. 

Short-lived  cessation  of  hostilities  between 
the  French  and  Iroquois  occui’red,  but  these 
intractable  savages  were  never  really  at  peace 
with  the  power  that  gradually  circumscribed 
their  warlike  enterprise.  Located  between 
the  eastern  and  western  colonies,  they  held 
the  balance  of  power,  and  acknowledged 
fealty  to  neither;  but  notwithstanding  a 
subtlety  that  almost  attained  the  dignity 
of  diplomacy,  they  became  the  cat’s-paw  of 
the  Dutch  and  English.  The  eastern  colo- 
nies, with  nothing  to  demand,  pandered  to 
the  savage  instincts  and  easily  won  them; 
guns,  powder  and  lead  were  freely  given 
them  in  liberal  exchange  for  furs,  and 
secret  aid  was  granted  them  in  their 
warfare  upon  the  French  and  their 
allies.  On  the  other  hand  the  French 
had  little  to  grant  and  everything  to  demand; 
the  war  policy  of  the  Iroquois  was  dictated 
by  the  demands  of  revenge  and  trade  alike; 
their  territory  afforded  few  furs  with  which 
to  carry  on  the  profitable  barter  with  the 
colonists  at  Albany,  and  they  carried  their 
forays  to  the  west  and  north  to  levy  an  in- 
demnity in  furs,  the  staple  of  aboriginal 
trade.  This  the  policy  of  the  French 
hindered;  and  this  alone  under  the  influence 
of  the  seaboard  colonists  afforded  a sufficient 
casus  belli.  At  the  same  time,  the  French 
gave  sufficient  evidence  of  their  power  to 
convince  the  Iroquois  of  their  inability  to 
cope  single-handed  with  this  formidable 
people,  and  the  savages  were  accordingly 
driven  into  closer  relations  with  their  En- 
glish allies. 

New  Netherland  was  the  key  to  the  situa- 
tion, and  even  after  it  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  English  (1604),  Sieur  Talon  persistently 
urged  upon  the  prime  minister,  Colbert,  the 
importance  of  buying  or  seizing  this  territory 
and  thus  bringing  the  Iroquois  to  submission. 
His  successor  continued  to  urge  this  action, 
but,  through  the  short-sighted  policy  of 
Louis  XIV,  the  golden  opportunity  was  al- 


lowed to  pass  unimproved.  Accordingl}  the 
issue  between  the  two  colonial  powers  was 
joined.  The  Iroquois,  pursuing  their  policy 
of  independence,  had  carried  their  forays 
into  the  borders  of  Maryland  and  Virginia 
as  well  as  into  the  Illinois  country.  Barre, 
the  Canadian  governor,  determined  to  chas- 
tise them,  and  desirous  of  disabusing  the 
j English  of  the  erroneous  opinion  that  these 
attacks  had  been  instigated  by  the  Jesuits, 
announced  his  intention  to  the  governor  of 
New  York,  and  suggested  that  he  co-operate, 
at  least  so  far  as  to  suppress  the  traffic  in 
arms  for  the  time.  With  less  frankness  but 
more  diplomacy,  the  governor  of  New  York 
declined  to  accede  to  Barre’s  request,  claimed 
the  Iroquois  as  British  subjects,  and  at  the 
same  time  informed  the  Indians  of  the 
French  governor’s  intentions.  An  angry 
correspondence  ensued,  and  while  the  French 
gained  some  minor  advantages,  the  practical 
result  of  this  diplomatic  collision  was  largely 
in  favor  of  the  English.  Alarmed  by  the 
prospect  of  punishment  by  the  French,  the 
L’oquois  entered  into  a treaty  for  protection 
(1684)  with  Lord  Howard,  the  governor  of 
Virginia,  and  though  denying  any  fealty  to 
the  English,  the  Iroquois  thenceforward 
were  not  often  in  doubtful  relations  to  the 
two  powers. 

The  antagonism  of  the  two  nations  did  not 
rest  alone  upon  colonial  rivalry;  it  found 
a deeper  origin  in  their  repugnant  civiliza- 
j tions.  England  stood,  on  the  one  hand,  for 
the  supremacy  of  the  people  through  law; 
I France,  on  the  other,  stood  for  the  absolutism 
j of  the  jus  divimim,  and  between  these  prin- 
j ciples  there  could  be  no  lasting  peace.  The 
I rising  of  the  English  people,  in  1687,  precipi- 
tated  the  struggle  which  was  destined  to  end 
only  with  the  humiliation  of  absolutism, 
j At  the  end  of  ten  years,  France  gained  ter- 
ritory and  England  gained  the  recognition 
^ of  the  people’s  king.  In  1702,  the  struggle 
was  renewed;  the  issue  was  unchanged  but 
' the  results  were  less  evenly  balanced;  at  the 
close  of  the  war  of  the  Spanish  succession, 
France  was  forced,  in  the  peace  of  Utrecht 
! ( 1 7 1 3) , to  concede  both  pri  nciple  and  territory. 
In  America,  England  gained  by  this  war 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


73 


Hudson’s  Bay  and  its  borders,  Newfoundland, 
Nova  Scotia,  and  the  recognition  of  the 
Iroquois  as  British  subjects. 

Incomparably  the  greatest  of  these  gains 
was  the  recognition  of  the  English  dominion 
over  the  New  York  confederation.  With 
this  concession  was  granted  the  English 
claim  to  the  territory  occupied  by  the  Six 
Nations,  a grant  which  not  only  seriously 
curtailed  French  pretensions,  but  also  cut  off 
all  hope  of  a direct  line  of  communication 
with  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  left  their 
line  by  way  of  the  lakes  and  Niagara  River 
open  to  attack.  This  concession  also  made 
the  English  heirs  to  Iroquois  claims  of  con- 
quest in  the  West,  an  advantage  of  the  high- 
est importance,  and  which  they  ultimately 
improved.  As  yet,  however,  the  English 
seemed  utterly  indifferent  to  the  possession 
of  the  interior.  The  charters  of  the  sea- 
board colonies  granted  the  territory  from  “sea 
to  sea;”  but,  separate  in  organization,  and 
jealous  of  each  other  as  well  as  of  the  king, 
rheir  policy  was  narrowed  and  their  power 
divided.  Living  by  agriculture  and  trade, 
their  expansion,  while  deep-rooted  and  per- 
manent, was  necessarily  slow.  A powerful 
incentive  for  the  rapid  acquisition  of  terri- 
tory was  thus  wanting  during  the  early 
period  of  English  colonial  history,  and  for 
more  than  a century  their  western  horizon 
was  bounded  by  the  mountains. 

In  1739,  the  warring  civilizations  were 
again  arrayed  in  arms.  The  treaty  of  Utrecht 
had  effected  only  a truce,  in  which  the  com- 
batants gained  the  opportunity  for  needed 
recuperation;  it  defined  many  things  but 
settled  nothing,  and  the  “war  with  Spain” 
was  an  inevitable  result  of  this  Machiavellian 
compact.  In  1744,  France  became  involved 
in  the  struggle  which  convulsed  all  Europe, 
but  with  the  exception  of  the  fruitless  con- 
quest in  Acadia,  the  peace  of  the  American 
colonies  was  undisturbed,  and  the  treaty  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle  (1748)  referred  to  the  new 
world  only  to  leave  the  possessions  of  the 
respective  powers  “the  same  as  before  the 
war.”  This  was  but  the  evasion  of  an  issue 
which  sooner  or  later  must  demand  adjudi- 
cation, and  left  a peaceable  adjustment  of 


conflicting  colonial  claims,  raised  by  the 
former  treaty,  out  of  the  question. 

It  is  difficult  to  define  the  geographical 
scope  of  the  early  claim  of  the  French  in 
America.  Generally  stated  it  included  the 
entire  valleys  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the 
Mississippi  Rivers;  but  of  this  broad  claim 
the  detaiL  were  as  illy  defined  in  the  minds 
of  the  claimants  as  in  the  minds  of  the 
English.  Southeast  of  the  Ohio,  the  Alleghany 
range  afforded  a natural  boundary,  which  was 
seized  upon  by  the  French  as  the  western 
limit  of  their  rival;  but  the  projection  of 
this  line  northward  necessitated  the  conquest 
or  purchase  of  New  York.  The  rectification 
of  this  line  was,  therefore,  persistently  urged 
by  the  Canadian  officials,  but  neglected  by 
the  king,  until  the  war  of  the  Spanish  suc- 
cession set  the  matter  at  rest  by  the  extin- 
guishment of  all  French  claims  to  the  north- 
east and  to  central  and  eastern  New  York. 
The  terms  of  the  treaty,  however,  left  the 
dividing  line  between  the  colonies  of  the 
two  nations  as  obscure  as  before.  This  was 
not  an  oversight  but  the  direct  dictate  of 
diplomacy;  might  was  the  only  real  basis  of 
territorial  right  in  the  new  world,  and  each 
nation  was  eager  to  anticipate  the  other  in 
establishing  its  power  within  the  coveted 
limits  before  trying  conclusions;  accordingly 
the  inevitable  collision  was  transferred  to  the 
valley  of  the  Ohio. 

At  the  date  of  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle 
(1748)  the  English  settlement  had  not  yet 
crossed  the  mountains,  but  this  coming  event 
had  long  since  cast  its  shadow  athwart  the 
pathway  of  the  French.  As  early  as  1715, 
Father  Mermet,  at  Kaskaskia,  wrote  the 
governor  of  Canada  that  “the  encroaching 
English  were  building  forts  near  the  Ohio 
and  Mississippi  Rivers,”  and  there  are  certain 
traditions  of  English  explorations  in  the 
valleys  of  these  rivers  as  early  as  the  decade 
ending  with  1664.  In  1678,  it  is  said*  “a 
considerable  number  of  persons  went  from 
New  England  upon  discovery,  and  proceeded 
so  far  as  New  Mexico,  150  leagues  beyond 
the  river  Meschasebe;”  twenty  years  later  an 
expedition  up  the  Mississippi  River  from  the 

*Annals  of  the  West,  p.  44. 


74 


HlfclTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Gulf  is  related,  and  again,  in  1742,  the  voyage 
of  one  John  Howard  down  the  same  river 
by  way  of  the  Ohio,  ending  in  his  capture 
by  the  French.  Whatever  the  truth  may  be 
in  regard  to  these  traditions,  the  French 
found  plenty  of  evidence  to  confirm  their 
api^rehension  that  the  English  were  about  to 
dispute  their  possession  of  the  interior,  and 
in  1749  Gallisoniere,  the  governor  of  Can- 
ada, sent  a party  to  plant  lead  plates,  bear- 
ing the  declaration  of  French  claims  to  the 
territory,  along  the  Ohio  Eiver. 

But  the  adventurous  English  traders  had 
preceded  this  party;  on  the  Big  Miami  they 
built  a trading  house  this  very  year,  and  on 
the  Maumee  they  came  in  contact  with  the 
French,  who  arrested  them  for  their  intru- 
sion. The  French  did  not  rest  with  these 
precautions;  in  1750  a fort  was  built  at  Vin- 
cennes; and  Fort  Chartres,  originally,  built 
of  wood  in  1718,  was  rebuilt  of  cut  stone  and 
garrisoned  by  a regiment  of  grenadiers. 
Nearer  the  scene  of  action  the  greatest 
activity  prevailed;  the  loyalty  of  friendly 
Indians  was  confirmed  by  a judicious  com- 
bination of  threats  and  subsidies;  Presque 
Isle  (Erie)  was  fortified;  a wagon  road  was 
built  from  thence  to  the  Alleghany  River;  a 
second  fort  was  built  at  Venango,  fifteen 
miles  southward  of  Erie,  and  a force  sent  to 
keep  the  Ohio  clear.  In  the  early  part  of 
1752  these  troops  came  upon  the  trading 
house  on  the  Miami,  and  resistance  being 
offered,  attacked  the  place,  capturing  the 
traders,  and  inflicted  considerable  loss  upon 
the  tribe  of  Twigtwees  who  supported  the 
Englishmen.  Thus  was  struck  the  first  blow 
of  the  “old  French  war.” 

In  the  meanwhile  the  English  had  not  been 
inactive.  The  adventm'ous  spirit  of  the  col- 
onists on  the  Atlantic  coast  early  led  to  the 
exploration  of  the  surrounding  wilds;  but,  as 
has  been  noted,  the  character  of  the  English 
settlements  was  such  as  to  prevent  a rapid  or 
widespread  occupation  of  the  land,  and  not- 
withstanding the  explorations  set  on  foot  by 
Virginia,  and  the  somewhat  mythical  voyages 
referred  to,  it  was  the  middle  of  the  eight- 
eenth century  before  the  English  began 
seriously  to  think  of  possessing  the  country  ] 


beyond  the  “great  mountains.  ” Though 
possessed  of  a very  inadequate  knowledge  of 
the  interior,  Gov.  Keith,  of  Pennsylvania, 
as  early  as  1719  urged  upon  the  home  gov- 
ernment the  necessity  of  securing  the  great 
West,  but  the  importance  of  this  acquisition 
did  not  impress  the  ministry  until  some  thirty 
years  later,  when  Lord  Halifax  wrote  to  his 
colleagues  in  the  ministry  that  “the  country 
west  of  the  great  mountains  is  the  centre  of 
the  British  dominions.” 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  settlement  of  the 
Shenandoah  Valley  had  developed  the  trader, 
whose  adventurous  instincts  led  him  to  cross 
the  Alleghanies  and  penetrate  the  pathless 
forests  to  the  Miami  and  Maumee  in  search 
of  trade.  Here  was  carried  on  a profitable 
system  of  barter,  the  I’eports  of  which  stimu- 
lated the  commercial  enterprise  of  the  Vir- 
ginians; and  in  1748,  Conrad  Weiser  was 
sent  to  the  Indians  of  the  Ohio  Valley  with  a 
double  mission;  to  subsidize  the  natives  in 
behalf  of  the  Pennsylvania  government,  and 
to  sound  them  on  the  subject  of  allowing  a 
series  of  trading  posts  to  be  erected  in  their 
country.  The  result  of  this  mission  was 
favorable  to  the  projected  trading  enterprise, 
and  in  the  same  year,  Thomas  Lee,  president 
of  the  Virginia  council,  Lawrence  and  Au- 
gustus Washington  and  ten  other  Virginians, 
j with  a Mr.  Hanbury  of  London,  joined  in  a 
j jjetition  for  a grant  beyond  the  mountains. 
In  the  following  year  the  governor  of  Virginia 
was  instructed  to  grant  to  John  Hanbury  and 
his  associates,  500,000  acres  between  the 
Monongahela  and  the  Kanawha  Rivers,  or  on 
the  northern  margin  of  the  Ohio.  This  or- 
ganization,known  as  the  “Ohio  Company,”  was 
to  pay  no  quit  rent  for  ten  years,  to  select  two- 
fifths  of  their  territory  at  once,  and  at  their 
own  cost  to  construct  and  garrison  a fort. 
Other  companies  of  a similar  character  came 
rapidly  into  existence;  in  1749,  in  addition 
to  the  concession  of  the  Ohio  Company,  a 
grant  of  800,000  acres,  north  and  west  of  the 
line  of  Canada,  was  made  to  the  “Loyal  Com- 
pany,” and  in  1757,  one  of  100,000  acres  to 
the  “Greenbrier  Company,”  which  was  pro- 
jected, however,  about  the  time  of  the 
others. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


75 


Of  these  trading  corporations  the  Ohio 
Company  alone  showed  early  activity.  Proiit- 
ing  by  information  gained  from  Indian 
hunters  and  traders,  this  company  imported 
goods  from  England  and  had  them  trans- 
ported to  Will’s  Creek  (Cumberland,  Md.), 
fi’om  whence  they  were  distributed  to  traders 
who  carried  them  to  the  interior.  At  the 
same  time  (1750)  the  company  summoned 
the  “adventurous  Gist  from  his  frontier 
home  on  the  Yadkin”  to  explore  the  country- 
west  of  the  “great  mountains.”  He  was 
instructed  to  push  his  explorations  as  far  as 
the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  to  search  for  a large 
tract  of  good  level  land,  to  note  the  general 
features  of  the  country,  and  mark  the 
strength  and  number  of  the  tribes. 

“On  the  last  day  of  October,  1750,  the 
bold  envoy  of  civilization  parted  from 
the  Potomac.  He  passed  through  snows  over 
‘ the  stony  and  broken  land  ’ of  the  Alle- 
ghanies;  he  halted  among  the  twenty  Dela- 
ware families  that  composed  Shanoppin’s 
town  on  the  southeast  of  the  Ohio;  swimming 
across  the  river,  he  descended  through  the 
rich  but  narrow  valley  of  Logstown.”  From 
thence  he  proceeded  to  Great  Beaver  Creek, 
and  on  to  the  Muskingum,  where  he  met 
George  Crogan,  the  trader-envoy  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Parting  from  this  point  in  January, 
1751,  he  proceeded  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Scioto,  and  thence  across  the  Little  Miami 
to  the  larger  stream  of  the  same  name. 
From  thence  he  retraced  his  steps,  and  de- 
scending to  the  Ohio  by  way  of  the  Little 
Miami,  proceeded  within  fifteen  miles  of 
the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  when  he  checked  his 
course  and  ascended  the  valley  of  the  Ken- 
tucky; found  a pass  to  the  Bluestone  and 
returned  to  his  principals  by  way  of  the 
Koanoke. 

In  April,  1751,  Crogan  again  visited  the 
Indians  at  Piqua,  and  through  him  Pennsyl- 
vania was  invited  to  build  a fort  at  the  forks 
of  the  Monongahela.  This,  from  motives  of 
economy,  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  declined 
to  do.  In  fact,  each  one  of  the  provinces 
sought  to  evade  the  burden  of  securing  the 
valley  of  the  Ohio.  The  proprietaries  and 
Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  tossed  the  subject 


from  one  to  the  other  in  fruitless  dispute  as 
to  their  responsibility  in  the  matter;  New 
York  would  only  remonstrate  with  the  gov- 
ernor of  Canada,  and  Virginia,  limited  in 
resources,  was  equally  reluctant  to  assume 
the  expense  involved  in  such  an  undertaking. 
The  key  to  the  Ohio  Valley  was  the  forks  of 
the  Monongahela;  the  nearness  of  this  point 
to  Virginia,  and  her  charter  claims  to  this 
i territory,  at  length  devolved  the  initiative 
upon  her. 

The  claims  of  the  English  were  based  upon 
the  discoveries  referred  to  in  the  preceding 
pages,  and  upon  a title  secured  by  purchase. 
The  discoveries  were  of  too  mythical  a char- 
acter to  be  strongly  advanced  against  the 
superior  claim  of  the  French,  and  were  made 
little  account  of;  but  the  pm’chase  of  this 
territory  from  the  Iroquois  was  more  plausi- 
ble, if  not  more  valid. 

In  1744,  with  Conrad  Weiser  as  interpreter, 
the  commissioners  of  Pennsylvania,  Mary- 
land and  Virginia  met  these  Indians  at  “the 
filthy  town”  of  Lancaster.  Twelve  days 
were  consumed  in  ceremonies  that  partook 
more  of  the  character  of  an  orgie  than  a 
diplomatic  conference.  Punch,  wine  and 
“bumbo”  were  freely  distributed,  and  the 
Indians  kept  stupidly  drunk  most  of  the 
twelve  days.  The  history  of  the  whole  pro- 
ceeding as  given  in  the  quaint,  unvarnished 
language  of  the  secretary  of  the  Maryland 
commissioners,  stamps  the  whole  proceeding 
as  a barefaced  fraud,  in  which  either  party 
over-reached  the  other;  the  whites  gaining 
concessions  from  the  incapacitated  natives, 
and  the  Indians  selling  that  to  which  they 
had  no  more  right  than  to  Quebec.  At  each 
conference  the  whites  “put  about  the  glass 
pretty  briskly,”  the  Indians  “fed  lustily, 
drank  heartily,”  and  after  such  preparations 
enormous  concessions  were  hurriedly  made 
for  trilling  considerations. 

It  was  the  negotiations  of  the  Virginians, 
however,  upon  which  the  English  claims  to 
the  Ohio  Valley  were  founded.  To  them  the 
Indians  gave  “a  deed  releasing  their  claim 
to  a large  quantity  of  land  lying  in  that 
colony,”  and  recognized  “the  king’s  right  to 
all  lands  that  are,  or  by  his  majesty’s  ap- 


76 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


pointment  shall  be,  within  the  colony  of 
Virmnia.”  For  this  elastic  concession  the 

O 

natives  received  £200  in  gold,  and  a like 
sum  in  goods,  with  a promise  that,  as  settle- 
ments increased,  more  should  be  paid.  It 
was  under  this  treaty  that  Virginia  subse- 
quently claimed  all  the  lands  westward  to  the 
Mississippi. 

The  settlements  did  increase,  and  the  In- 
dians, those  who  had  as  well  as  those  who 
had  not  been  represented  at  Lancaster,  began 
to  murmur.  In  1752,  Virginia  sent  commis- 
sioners to  Logstown,  a little  village  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Ohio,  seventeen  and  a half 
miles  below  Pittsburg,  to  meet  the  chiefs  of 
these  tribes.  They  declined  to  recognize  the 
Lancaster  treaty,  but  consented  to  have  the 
English  build  a fort  at  the  forks  of  the 
Monongahela.  The  Virginians  were  not  sat- 
isfied with  this  concession,  and  through  the 
white  interpreter  finally  secured  a question- 
able confirmation  of  the  former  treaty,  and 
consent  for  a settlement  southeast  of  the 
Ohio.  The  activity  of  the  French  in  foment- 
ing the  dissatisfaction  of  the  Indians  kept 
the  English  busy  in  allaying  their  aroused 
suspicions  and  confirming  them  in  their  treaty 
relations  with  the  colonies.  In  1753,  there- 
fore, Fairfax  met  the  chiefs  at  Winchester, 
but  such  were  the  feelings  toward  the  Lan- 
caster treaty  that  he  dared  not  refer  to  it.  At 
Carlisle,  a month  later,  the  commissioners 
of  Pennsylvania,  in  a conference  with  the  rep- 
resentatives of  all  the  tribes,  had  more  suc- 
cess. Here  a treaty  was  concluded  with  them 
against  the  French,  but  which,  in  the  end, 
proved  quite  as  empty  of  good  results  as  the 
others. 

In  the  meantime,  the  two  powers  in  Europe 
professed  a state  of  “profound  peace, ” and 
commissioners  were  in  Paris  seeking  to  out- 
wit each  other  in  regard  to  the  disputed 
lands  in  the  Ohio  Valley.  At  the  same  time, 
England  did  not  hesitate  to  instruct  her  colo- 
nial governors  that  France  was  invading  her 
dominions,  and  to  direct  them  at  their  own 
cost  to  build  forts,  and  with  their  own  mili- 
tia to  repress  the  savages  and  repel  the 
French.  Under  these  instructions,  Gov. 
Dinwiddie,  of  Virginia,  sent  “ a person  of 


distinction  ” to  the  commander  of  the  French 
forces  to  ascertain  the  purpose  of  the  war- 
like preparations  on  French  Creek.  The  en- 
voy, a young  surveyor  named  George  Wash- 
ington, found  the  Indians  terrorized  by  the 
threats  of  the  French;  observed  the  enemy 
strongly  fortified  at  Presque  Isle  and  Ve- 
nango; learned  of  a projected  descent  upon 
the  forks  of  the  Monongahela  in  the  spring, 
and  ascertained  that  the  courteous  St.  Pierre 
proposed  to  carry  out  the  orders  of  his  supe- 
riors, regardless  of  consequences. 

Washington  reached  Will’s  Creek  on  his. 
return,  early  in  January,  1754.  In  his  ab- 
sence, the  Ohio  Company  had  taken  steps  to 
fortify  the  location  it  had  chosen,  and  the 
returning  envoy  met  “seventeen  horses  loaded 
with  materials  and  stores  for  a fort  at  the 
forks  of  the  Ohio.” 

The  report  of  Washington  was  followed  by 
immediate  activity.  Expresses  were  sent  to 
the  governors  of  Pennsylvania  and  New 
York,  conveying  the  startling  intelligence, 
and  calling  for  assistance.  Two  companies 
of  volunteers  were  authorized  by  Virginia, 
the  one  to  be  raised  west  of  the  mountains 
by  the  frontiersman  Trent,  and  the  other  to- 
be  raised  in  the  older  part  of  the  colony  by 
Washington.  The  former  consisted  of  sev- 
enty men,  and  was  at  once  employed  in  com- 
pleting the  fort  begun  by  the  Ohio  Company, 
while  Washington’s  command,  consisting  of 
150  men,  was  to  proceed  to  the  fort,  garrison 
it,  and  “to  make  prisoner,  kill  or  destroy  all 
who  interrupted  the  English  settlements.” 
Men  and  munitions  were  gathering  along  the 
Potomac,  as  far  west  as  Will’s  Creek,  but  be- 
fore they  could  reach  the  new  fort  spring 
had  come  and  with  it  the  French. 

On  the  17th  of  April,  1754,  the  ensign  in 
command  of  the  thirty-three  men  at  the  in- 
complete fort,  suddenly  found  himself  beset 
by  sixty  batteaux  and  300  canoes,  laden  with 
men,  cannon  and  stores.  Successful  resist- 
ance to  such  a force  was  impossible,  and  the 
English  capitulated  and  withdrew.  This 
success  on  the  part  of  the  French  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  most  active  measures  in  secur- 
ing its  fruits;  the  fort  was  completed,  armed 
and  named  DuQuesne,  for  the  governor  of 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


77 


Canada.  Troops  from  the  Illinois  country 
were  hurried  up  the  Ohio  to  reinforce  its 
garrison;  spies  were  sent  throughout  the 
Monongahela  Valley  to  win  the  savages  and 
watch  the  force  at  Will’s  Creek;  and  armed 
reconnoitering  parties  hovered  about  the 
English  front  to  give  warning  of  the  first 
military  advance. 

Washington  was  at  Will’s  Creek  pushing 
forward  the  preparations  to  reinforce  the 
frontier  fort,  when  the  news  of  its  capture 
was  brought  in;  scouts  continued  to  bring 
information  of  the  enemy’s  activities,  but 
the  tedious  preparations  for  an  advance  were 
not  allowed  to  cease.  The  line  of  march  lay 
over  a broken  mountainous  country  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Red  Stone  Creek  (Brownsville, 
Penn. ),  where  the  Ohio  Company  had  already 
built  a trading  post,  and  thence  down  the 
valley  to  the  fort;  roads  had  to  be  prepared 
for  the  artillery  and  trains,  and  progress 
was  made  at  the  slow  rate  of  from  two  to 
four  miles  a day.  On  the  27th  of  May,  the 
English  had  reached  a point  known  as  Great 
Meadows;  here  a body  of  French  trooiJS  was 
reported  to  be  in  the  vicinity,  and  Washing- 
ton, fearing  a surprise,  started  out  on  the 
following  morning  to  develop  the  strength 
of  this  enemy.  A collision  occurred  in 
which  the  French  lost  their  commander,  M. 
de  Jumonville,  and  nine  men,  the  Ameri- 
cans losing  but  one.  This  was  the  first  act 
of  open  hostilities  between  the  regular  forces 
of  the  opposing  nations  in  the  Ohio  Valley, 
and  was  held  by  the  French  as  the  com- 
mencement of  war. 

The  march  of  the  American  forces  was 
continued  without  further  incident  until  the 
latter  part  of  June,  when  the  report  coming 
in  that  the  enemy  was  approaching  in  force, 
a council  of  war  determined  on  a retreat  to  a 
more  defensible  point.  Great  Meadows  was 
again  reached  on  the  1st  of  July,  and  at  this 
point  the  exhausted  state  of  the  provincials 
determined  Washington  to  make  a stand. 
Here,  as  Washington  reported,  “with  nature’s 
assistance,  he  made  a good  intrenchmeat  and 
prepared  a charming  field  for  an  encounter,” 
to  which  the  circumstances  of  the  troops  gave 
the  name  of  “Fort  Necessity,”  and  hereon 


the  3d  of  July,  the  Americans  were  assailed 
by  some  900  French.  For  nine  hours  an 
ineffectual  resistance  was  made  against  over- 
whelming odds,  when  a capitulation  was 
agreed  upon,  the  Americans  being  allowed  to 
retire  with  everything  save  the  artillery. 
This  action  was  one  of  the  causes  subse- 
quently assigned  by  George  II  for  a declara- 
tion of  war. 

Thus  matters  stood  at  the  beginning  of 
1755;  both  nations  professed  the  most  peace- 
ful intentions,  while  vigorously  pushing 
preparations  to  continue  the  war  on  a larger 
scale.  Negotiations  in  Europe  continued; 
France  proposed  to  restore  American  lines 
as  they  were  before  the  war  of  the  Spanish 
succession,  and  refer  all  matters  in  dispute 
to  the  commissioners  in  Paris;  England  re- 
fused to  go  back  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht. 

France  rejected  this  basis  of  discussion, 
and  offei’ed  another  compromise — that  both 
nations  should  retire  from  the  country  lying 
between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Ohio;  to 
this  England  agreed,  stipulating,  however, 
that  the  French  should  destroy  all  their  forts 
on  the  Ohio  and  its  branches,  but  this  the 
French  court  refused  to  accept. 

This  decision  was  not  reached  until  the 
latter  part  of  March,  but  in  February,  Brad- 
dock  had  landed  in  Virginia,  and  French 
stores  and  troops  were  embarked  on  a fleet 
which  was  crowding  all  sail  across  the  Atlan- 
tic. War  was  not  yet  declared,  and  Brad- 
dock  planning  a three-fold  campaign  against 
the  French  posts  in  Nova  Scotia,  at  Crown 
Point  and  by  way  of  Fort  Du  Quesne  against 
Niagara,  did  not  meditate  the  conquest  of 
Canada;  he  was  instructed  only  to  resist  en- 
croachment on  English  territoiy.  The  first 
onset  was  disastrous  to  the  English;  Brad- 
dock’s  terrible  defeat  near  Fort  Du  Quesne 
was  scarcely  mitigated  by  the  trifling  suc- 
cesses at  Lake  George  and  at  Louisburg. 

Early  in  1756  France  formed  an  alliance 
with  Austria,  Russia  and  Sweden,  and  Eng- 
land with  Frederick  the  Great.  In  May 
England  declared  war,  and  forthwith  began 
a strug'gle,  the  influence  of  which  w-as  felt 
throughout  the  civilized  world.  At  the  end 
of  seven  years,  England  gained  Canada,  and 


78 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


all  the  territory  claimed  by  the  French  east 
of  the  Mississippi  River,  save  Louisiana.  By 
a secret  convention  in  1762,  the  latter  had 
been  ceded  to  Spain,  and  in  the  treaty  of 
Paris  (1763),  France  surrendered  the  last  of 
her  possessions  in  the  New  World.  With 
these  vast  accessions  came  grave  doubts  as  to 
the  value  of  the  conquest;  statesmen  of  both 
nations  declared  that  with  the  menace  of  a 
foreign  power  removed  from  their  western 
border,  the  colonies  would  grow  more  inde- 
pendent, and  cause  of  rupture  with  the  home 
government  would  not  be  wanting;  and  so 
the  event  proved.  “The  seven  years  war, 
which  doubled  the  debt  of  England,  increas- 
ing it  to  $700,000,000,  was  begun  by  her  for 
the  acquisition  of  the  Ohio  Yalley.  She 
achieved  that  conquest,  but  not  for  herself.  ” 
(Bancroft.) 

While  the  fate  of  nationality  was  thus  being 
decided  amid  the  din  of  arms,  and  the  dire 
conflict  of  armies  on  the  skirmish  lines  of 
opposing  civilizations,  the  solid  English 
phalanxes  were  pushing  their  way  westward 
beyond  the  mountains,  subject  to  many  and 
terrible  vicissitudes.  Immigration  once  di- 
rected to  the  Shenandoah  Yalley,  the  people 
“spread  more  and  more  widely  over  the  mild, 
productive,  and  enchanting  interior,”  and  at 
the  opening  of  the  French  and  Indian  war 
were  ready  to  surmount  the  rocky  barrier  of 
the  Alleghanies.  At  the  same  time  the  atten- 
tion of  statesmen  was  drawn  to  this  scarcely 
known  region,  and  the  necessity  of  planting 
a colony  here,  to  more  effectually  resist  the 
claims  of  the  French,  began  to  be  considered 
in  diplomatic  circles.  One  of  the  professed 
aims  of  the  Ohio  Company  was  to  plant  a col- 
ony beyond  the  mountains  in  order  to  secure 
Ohio  for  the  English,  and  while  the  more 
immediate  object  was  the  building  up  of  a 
profitable  trade  with  the  Indians,  a rapid  set- 
tlement would  certainly  have  followed  its  suc- 
cess. The  first  steps  in  the  prosecution  of 
the  company's  plan  have  been  noted.  Re- 
turning from  his  extended  tour  of  exploration. 
Gist  made  the  necessary  surveys  which  pre- 
ceded the  erection  of  the  posts  on  the  sites  of 
Brownsville  and  Pittsburgh,  and,  in  1752, 
the  Indians  in  the  treaty  of  Logstown,  hav- 


ing agreed  not  to  molest  settlements  on  the 
.lands  granted  the  company,  he  began  laying- 
out  a town,  two  miles  below  the  fort  at  the 
forks;  founded  a colony  of  eleven  families 
beside  himself  near  Laurel  Hill;  and  project- 
ed roads  to  connect  the  whole  together,  and 
with  Will’s  Creek,  the  base  of  supplies.  Two 
years  later,  1754,  in  response  to  action  by  the 
burgesses  of  Yirginia,  the  king  instructed  the 
governor  of  that  province  to  grant  lands  west 
of  the  Alleghanies  to  any  person  desiring  to 
settle  thereon,  not  to  exceed  1,000  acres  to 
one  person,  and  upward  of  3,000,000  of  acres 
are  said  to  have  been  thus  granted. 

At  this  point  the  war  intervened,  and  less 
pacific  measures  became  necessary  to  resist 
foi-eign  encroachments.  The  French,  with 
their  Indian  allies,  descended  upon  the  forks  . 
of  the  Ohio,  and  the  scattering  settlements 
west  of  the  mountains  were  rapidly  destroyed. 
Then  followed  Braddock’s  disastrous  defeat, 
and  the  Indians,  emboldened  by  the  first  show 
of  success,  carried  the  tomahawk  and  fire  brand 
east  of  the  mountains  with  such  terrible  effect 
that  in  April,  1756,  Washington  wrote  from 
Winchester;  “The  Blue  Ridge  is  now  our 
frontier,  no  men  being  left  in  this  county 
(Frederick)  except  a few  who  keep  close  with 
a number  of  women  and  children  in  forts.  ” 
In  the  fall  of  this  year  a powerful  blow  was 
struck  at  these  savage  marauders  by  the  de- 
struction of  their  principal  rendezvous  at 
Kittanning,  about  forty  miles  above  Fort  Du 
Quesne.  This  gave  partial  relief  to  the  bor- 
der, and,  in  the  summer  of  1758,  the  English 
sent  a trusty  messenger  to  the  Indians,  who 
were  beginning  to  waver  in  their  friendsnip 
for  the  French.  An  informal  treaty  was  thus 
effected,  and  a few  months  later  the  fall  of 
Fort  Du  Quesne  transferred  the  seat  of  war 
to  the  north. 

A treaty  with  all  the  tribes  at  Easton, 
Penn.,  followed  this  event,  and  the  frontiers 
of  Pennsylvania  and  Yirginia,  thus  relieved 
from  the  menace  of  these  savage  foes,  were 
rapidly  repeopled;  traders  began  once  more  to 
bear  their  burdens  of  trinkets  to  the  interior 
in  quest  of  Indian  barter;  settlers  began  to 
slowly  push  into  the  “great  woods,”  and  the 
Ohio  Company  prepared  to  push  their  enter- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


79 


prise.  Again  the  Indians  began  to  murmur, 
and,  in  1762,  the  English  commandant  at  Fort 
Du  Quesne,  now  called  Fort  Pitt,  issued  his 
proclamation  declaring  that  the  treaty  at 
Easton  (1758)  secured  all  the  lands  west  of 
the  mountains  to  the  Indians  as  hunting 
grounds,  and  forbidding  all  settlements  or 
intrusion  of  traders  within  this  region.  This 
was  followed  (October,  1763)  by  general  in- 
structions from  the  king  forbidding  any  grants 
of  “lands  beyond  the  bounds  of  their  respect- 
ive governments,  as  described  in  their  com- 
missions,” by  any  colonial  governors. 

These  precautions  came  too  late,  however. 
In  the  northwest  was  heard  the  voice  of 
Pontiac  crying:  “Why,  says  the  Great  Spirit, 
do  you  suffer  these  dogs  in  red  clothing  to 
enter  your  country  and  take  the  lands  I have 
given  you?  Drive  them  from  it!  Drive  them! 
When  you  ai’e  in  disti’sss  I will  help  you;” 
and  the  wide-spread  disaffection  among  the 
tribes  made  them  willing  listeners  to  this 
preacher  of  the  new  crusade.  At  length  the 
blow  fell  without  warning  upon  the  unsus- 
pecting whites;  traders  were  everywhere  des- 
poiled of  their  goods,  and  many  of  them 
murdered;  the  frontier  forts  from  Mackinac 
to  Fort  Pitt  were  everywhere  simultaneously 
assailed,  and  nine  fell  in  one  day.  Along  the 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  frontiers  the 
streams  ran  red  with  blood,  and  more  than 
20,000  settlers  were  driven  from  their  homes 
in  western  Virginia.  But  the  forts  at  De- 
troit, Niagara  and  Pittsburgh  did  not  yield, 
and  the  expeditions  of  Bradstreet  and  Bouquet 
(1764)  once  more  brought  the  Indians  to  sue 
for  peace. 

The  treaty  made  at  Niagara  in  the  fall, 
settled  only  the  status  of  the  frontier  forts, 
and  provided  for  a complete  surrender  of 
prisoners.  Accordingly  in  the  following 
year,  a conference  was  held  with  the  various 
Indian  nations  at  German  Flats.  At  this 
meeting  the  whites  submitted  two  proposi- 
tions; the  one,  to  hx  a satisfactory  line  as  a 
westward  boundary  to  the  white  settlements; 
the  other,  that  the  Indians  should  grant  the 
smwiving  traders,  who  had  suffered  by  the 
conspiracy,  a tract  of  land  as  a compensation 
for  their  losses.*  To  the  latter  proposition 


the  Indians  readily  agreed,  and  offered, 
in  response  to  the  first,  the  line  of  the 
“Ohio  or  the  Alleghany  and  Susquehan- 
nah.  ” The  agent  of  the  English  not 
being  empowered  to  act  upon  this  boun- 
dary question,  the  whole  matter  was  left  un- 
settled until  definite  instructions  could  be 
received  from  England.  Through  thecrimi- 
nal  carelessness  of  the  ministry,  this  impor- 
tant business  did  not  receive  attention  until 
late  in  1767;  and  in  the  meanwhile  settle- 
ments were  rapidly  extending  into  the  dis- 
puted territory  in  open  defiance  of  treaty 
stipulations,  proclamations  and  the  express 
orders  of  Gen.  Gage,  the  commander  of  the 
English  forces. 

The  Indians  began  to  grow  restive  under 
this  state  of  things,  but  in  apparent  indiffer- 
ence to  the  critical  character  of  the  situation, 
the  attention  of  the  English  ministry  was 
absorbed  in  adjusting  the  conflicting  claims 
to  lands  not  yet  secured  from  the  threatening 
savages.  The  Ohio  Company  was  pressing 
for  an  adjustment  of  its  affairs,  which  the 
war  had  greatly  deranged;  two  new  com- 
panies were  asking  consideration  of  projects 
involving  large  grants  of  lands  in  this  region; 
and  in  conflict  with  all  these,  the  Virginia 
troops,  who  had  served  in  the  French  war, 
and  who  had  been  promised  a bounty  in 
western  lands,  were  x’ejrresented  by  an  agent 
who  was  urging  their  claims.  Before  any 
adjustment  of  these  matters  was  reached, 
however,  the  attitude  of  the  savages  gave 
rise  to  a wide-spread  apprehension  of  another 
border  war,  and  urgent  appeals  were  sent  to 
the  ministry  to  have  the  boundary  line  fixed 
at  once.  Instructions  were  accordingly  re- 
ceived; and  in  October,  1768,  a meeting  of  the 
Iroquois  and  certain  of  the  Delawares  and 
Shawanese,  was  held  at  Fort  Stanwix.  At 
this  conference  the  boundary  was  settled  to 
begin  on  the  Ohio  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ten- 
nessee; thence  up  the  Ohio  and  Alleghany 
to  Kittanning;  thence  northward  to  the  Sus- 
quehanna, etc.,  thus  granting  to  the  English 
a title  to  Pennsylvania,  western  Virginia 
and  Kentucky,  so  far  as  the  Indian  represen- 
tatives could  do  so. 


*Appendix  A,  Note  8. 


80 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


The  settlement  of  this  question,  though 
giving  only  a defective  title  to  the  region 
granted,  gave  rise  to  the  greatest  activity  in 
land  speculation.  A new  organization  was 
formed  in  Virginia,  called  the  “Mississippi 
Company,”  which  presented  a petition  for  a 
grant  of  2,500,000  acres.  This  project  was 
referred  to  the  Board  of  Trade  with  the  other 
matters  mentioned,  and  no  more  heard  of  it. 
In  the  case  of  the  others,  a final  issue  was 
not  reached  until  1772;  in  the  meanwhile, 
the  Ohio  Company  being  merged  in  one  of 
the  new  ones,  and  the  soldiers’  claims  being 
recognized  by  the  united  companies  and  the 
government,  all  the  claims  were  adjusted  by 
the  royal  sanction  of  the  “Walpole  Com- 
pany.” 

The  royal  instructions  of  1763  were 
generally  considered  as  a temporary  expedient 
to  quiet  the  natives,  and  during  the  tedious 
negotiations  of  tbe  land  companies,  private 
speculators  were  busy  in  exploring  the 
country  south  of  the  Ohio.  It  is  said,  though 
denied  by  the  governor,  that  Lord  Dunmore 
sent  surveyors  into  this  region,  and  was 
pushing  an  extensive  speculation  in  the  pub- 
lic lands  on  his  own  account.  W^hatever  the 
truth  may  be  in  this  matter,  it  is  well  known 
that  Washington,  to  whom  the  Virginia 
bounty  gave  10,000  acres,  and  others  were 
investigating  and  selecting  lands  through 
their  agents,  when  the  war  of  the  Revolution 
put  a stop  to  both  corporate  and  individual 
speculation.  At  the  same  time  adventurous 
settlers  were  rapidly  over -running  the  hunt- 
ing grounds  of  the  savage,  building  their 
cabins  and  planting  their  fields  where  the 
situation  appeared  the  most  inviting;  and 
surveyors,  the  most  convincing  evidence  to 
the  Indians  of  the  intended  permanent  oc- 
cupation by  the  whites,  were  found  on  the 
Ohio  as  far  down  as  the  falls,  and  on  the 
Kentucky  as  far  up  its  course  as  the  site  of 
Frankfort. 

The  futility  of  the  purchase  made  at  Fort 
Stanwix  daily  grew  more  apparent;  the 
Iroquois,  who  sacrificed  no  substantial 
interest  in  this  transaction,  and  who  alone 
of  the  savages  signed  the  treaty,  were  the 
only  satisfied  ones  to  the  bargain.  The 


Delawares  and  Shawanees,  who  were  only 
feebly  represented  at  the  conference,  and 
who  at  best  only  partially  sanctioned  the 
treaty,  when  removed  from  the  presence  of 
their  conquerors,  or  after  sober  second 
thought,  began  to  view  the  “ settlements 
with  an  uneasy  and  jealous  eye,”  and  de- 
clared “ that  they  must  be  compensated  for 
their  right,  if  the  people  settled  thereon, 
notwithstanding  the  cession  of  the  Six  Na- 
tions.” Occasional  fatal  collisions  between 
the  two  races  intensified  the  hopeless  hatred 
of  the  Indian  toward  the  whites,  and  it  only 
needed  some  new  grievance,  of  importance 
sufficient  to  overcome  the  prudence  of  influen- 
tial chiefs,  to  precipitate  another  bloody 
struggle  upon  the  border. 

This  came  at  last,  and  the  result  is  recorded 
in  history  as  “ Dunmore’s  war.  ” This  in- 
conclusive contest  had  its  origin  in  the  assas- 
sination of  the  family  of  Logan,  the  Cayuga 
chieftain,  and  was  determined  by  a single 
stubborn  passage- at- arms  near  Point  Pleasant. 
The  promptness  of  the  whites  in  anticipating 
the  action  of  the  Indians  prevented  the 
usual  forays  on  the  border,  but  the  fear  of 
the  ordinary  bloody  consequences  drove  most 
of  the  settlers  from  Kentucky.  The  close  of 
the  war  settled  nothing  but  the  armed  con- 
test, and  gave  rise  to  the  suspicion  that  the 
governor  meditated  treachery  to  one  of  his 
subordinate  officers,  and  that  he  was  even 
then  preparing  for  the  Revolutionary  struggle 
which  was  already  foreshadowed  in  the  minds 
of  many. 

In  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  which  so 
closely  followed  these  events  that  the  battle 
of  Point  Pleasant  is  frequently  called  the 
first  engagement  of  that  memorable  struggle, 
the  Indians  bore  a prominent  part.  During 
the  protracted  contest  between  the  French 
and  English,  they  had  been  such  important 
factors  that  many  believed  that  a general 
war  could  not  be  carried  on  free  of  Indian 
alliances,  and  in  this  view  Washington  coin- 
cided, though  congress  for  a time  labored  to 
keep  the  natives  neutral.  The  action  of  the 
British  rendered  such  efforts  fruitless,  and 
civilization  once  more  joined  hands  with  the 
savage  to  deface  the  product  of  its  own  labor. 


AVKSTERN  LUNATIC  ASYLUAI,  IIOPKINSA'ILLK.— SEE  PAGE  535. 


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HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


81 


In  the  diplomacy  of  the  forest,  the  British 
possessed  great  advantages  over  the  Ameri- 
cans. They  were  represented  by  the  same 
persons  who  had  for  thirty  years  exerted  a 
great  personal  as  well  as  official  influence 
over  the  savages,  and  the  natives,  whose 
friendships  were  not  fickle  and  whose  hatred 
was  implacable,  had  great  difficulty  in  under- 
standing the  reasons  or  policy  which  set  one 
part  of  the  English  against  the  other.  There 
was  scarcely  a tribe  in  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley, however,  that  was  not  embittered  by  the 
memory  of  a great  wrong  perpetrated  by  the 
colonists,  and  since  the  removal  of  the 
French,  they  had  sullenly  maintained  a fit- 
ful peace,  induced  thereto  only  by  a prudent 
regard  for  the  power  that  had  inflicted  severe 
punishment  on  various  fields;  but  they  still 
cherished  the  vain  hope  of  keeping  their  re- 
maining lands  free  from  the  aggressive 
advance  of  the  settlements,  and  were  not 
slow  to  believe  that  this  division  in  the  ranks 
of  the  common  enemy  would  bring  them  aid 
against  those  who  were  the  source  of  their 
annoyance.  The  British  agents,  therefore, 
found  their  policy  outlined  for  them,  and 
promptly  confirmed  the  Indians  in  their 
logical  deductions. 

It  is  a fact  highly  creditable  to  the  Indian 
character  that  there  were  individuals  and 
tribes  among  the  natives  who  were  favorable 
to  the  American  side  in  the  beginning  of  the 
war;  and  it  was  upon  these  that  the  Ameri- 
cans mainly  depended  to  reach  those  less 
amicably  disposed.  Through  this  agency, 
the  “ pack-proverb  ” illustrating  the  issue 
between  the  colonists  and  the  home  govern- 
ment was  industriously  circulated  in  the 
west,  and  the  natives  counseled  to  observe 
neutrality  in  the  impending  struggle. 

The  main  dependence  of  the  English,  at 
the  onset,  was  Sir  William  Johnson,  who 
had  resided  in  the  Mohawk  Valley  since  1738, 
and  who,  since  1746,  had  held  in  charge  the 
important  Iroquois  confederation.  In  1774, 
Johnson  suddenly  died,  leaving  his  sou.  Col. 
Guy  Johnson,  to  succeed  him  as  Indian  super- 
intendent, and  another  son,  John,  to  succeed 
to  his  estate  and  honors.  Both  sons  shared 
their  father’s  influence  with  the  natives,  and 


with  them  joined,  at  this  juncture  of  Ameri 
can  affairs,  the  noted  half-breed  and  Mohawk 
chieftain,  Joseph  Brant — all  of  whom  were  in 
sympathy  with  the  royal  cause.  The  colo- 
nists, from  the  first,  entertained  well  grounded 
fears  that  the  influence  of  this  trio  would  be 
exerted  against  the  Americans,  and  caused 
them  to  be  watched  with  so  close  a scrutiny 
that,  notwithstanding  the  moral  and  material 
support  of  the  wealthy  tories  of  the  Mohawk 
Valley,  they  deemed  it  advisable  to  remove 
the  center  of  their  operations  further  west- 
ward. They  first  went  to  Fort  Stanwix, 
and  thence  to  Oswego,  from  whence  they 
directed  their  murderous  assaults,  which  sub- 
sequently fell  with  such  cruel  force  upon  the 
frontiei’s  of  the  central  colonies.  Opposed 
to  the  machinations  of  the  Johnsons,  the 
colonists  had  a faithful  and  judicious  friend 
in  the  Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland,  a missionary 
to  the  Oneidas,  and  through  him,  his  charge 
and  the  Tuscaroras  were  persuaded  to  stand 
neutral. 

Both  parties  to  the  war  were  early  in  ap- 
proaching the  Indians.  The  Massachusetts 
congress  appealed  to  the  Iroquois  to  aid 
them  or  stand  neutral,  as  early  as  April, 
1775;  in  the  following  June,  the  Virginia 
house  of  burgesses  sent  an  agent  to  the  west- 
ern tribes;  in  August  a congress  was  held  at 
Albany  to  confer  with  the  New  York  tribes; 
and  in  October  another  meeting  was  held  at 
Pittsburgh  to  treat  with  the  Delawares,  Sen- 
ecas, and  certain  of  the  Shawanese;  but  in 
each  case  the  Americans  found  the  English 
had  preceded  them,  and  gained  the  hearts  of 
the  tribes.  Accordingly,  less  pacific  measures 
having  failed,  congress  authorized  (June  17, 
1776)  Washington  to  employ  the  natives 
where  and  when  he  could,  and  to  offer  them 
rewards  for  prisoners. 

The  British  were  not  less  practical  than 
prompt  in  securing  Indian  alliances.  Through 
I the  Johnsons,  the  savages  were  employed  in 
piu’suance  of  carefully  prepared  military 
plans  in  conjunction  with  the  movements  of 
[ the  regular  troops,  and  each  of  the  western 
forts  were  made  stations  from  which  the 
i Indians  were  furnished  for,  and  directed,  in 
their  nefarious  work.  To  Detroit,  which 

5 


82 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


early  attained  a bad  eminence  in  this  respect, 
and  the  forts  in  the  Illinois  country,  was 
assigned  the  conduct  of  the  war  in  Kentucky 
and  on  the  Virginia  frontier,  and  the  Indians, 
stimulated  by  a reward  for  scalps,  so  tilled 
the  Kentucky  forests  with  their  straggling- 
parties  that  none  of  the  settlers  felt  safe 
when  outside  of  the  protecting  palisades  of 
their  frontier  forts.  It  should  be  observed, 
however,  that  in  all  this  “troublous  time,” 
when  the  imminent  danger  of  an  Indian  war, 
with  all  its  terrible  barbarities  was  well  un- 
derstood, the  flow  of  immigration  into  Ken- 
tucky was  scarcely  checked.  And  later, 
when  hostilities  had  actually  begun;  when 
each  day  brought  its  tale  of  murder  and 
destruction;  when  the  incoming  pioneer 
found  the  less  stout-hearted  crowding  the 
homeward  trails  to  the  safer  retreat  of  the 
older  colonies — even  then  the  decimated 
ranks  of  the  Kentucky  settlers  were  grad- 
ually reinforced  by  those  whom  all  the  ter- 
rors of  an  Indian  invasion  could  not  daunt. 
The  situation  cannot  be  more  graphically 
portrayed  than  is  done  in  a letter  of  John 
Floyd  to  Col.  William  Preston: 

Boonesboro,  .July  21,  1776. 

My  Bear  Sfr;— The  situation  of  our  country  is 
much  altered  since  I wrote  you  last.  The  Indians 
seem  determined  to  break  up  our  settlement;  and  I 
really  doubt,  unless  it  is  possible  to  give  us  some 
assistance,  thatthegreaterpartof  the  people  may  fall 
a prey  to  them.  They  have,  I am  satisfied,  killed 
several  whom,  at  this  time,  I know  not  how  to  men- 
tion. Many  are  missing,  who  some  time  ago  went 
out  about  their  business,  of  whom  we  can  hear 
nothing.  Fresh  sign  of  Indians  is  seen  almost 
every  day.  I think  I mentioned  to  you  before, 
some  damage  they  had  done  in  Lees’  town.  On 
the  seventh  of  this  month  they  killed  one  Cooper, 
on  Licking  Creek,  and  on  the  fourteenth,  a man 
whose  name  I know  not,  at  your  salt  spring  on  the 
same  creek 

On  the  same  day  they  took  out  of  a canoe  within 
sight  of  this  place.  Miss  Betsey  Callaway,  her  sis- 
ter Frances  and  a daughter  of  Daniel  Boone,  the 
two  last  about  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  old.  and 
the  other  grown.  The  affair  happened  late  in  the 
afternoon.  They  left  the  canoe  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river  from  us,  which  prevented  our  getting 
over  for  some  time  to  pursue  them.  We  could  not 
that  night  follow  more  than  five  miles.  Next  morn- 
ing by  daylight  we  were  on  their  track;  but  they 
had  entirely  prevented  our  following  them  by  walk- 
ing some  distance  apart  through  the  thickest  cane 


they  could  find.  We  observed  their  course,  and  on 
which  side  they  had  left  their  sign,  and  traveled 
upwards  of  thirty  miles.  We  then  supposed  they 
would  be  less  cautious  in  travelling,  and  making  a 
turn  in  order  to  cross  their  traces,  we  had  gone  but 
a few  miles  when  we  foundthelr  tracks  in  a buffalo 
path— pursued  and  overtook  them  in  going  about 
ten  miles,  just  as  they  were  kindling  a fire  to  cook. 
Our  study  had  been  how  to  get  the  prisoners  with- 
out giving  the  Indians  time  to  murder  them  after 
they  discovered  us.  We  saw  each  other  nearly  at 
the  same  time.  Four  of  us  fired  and  all  rushed  on 
them,  by  which  they  were  prevented  from  carrying 
anything  away  except  one  shot-gun  without  any  am- 
munition. Mr.  Boone  and  myself  had  each  a pretty 
fair  shot  as  they  began  to  move  off.  I am  well  con- 
vinced that  I shot  one  through  the  body.  The  one 
he  shot  dropped  his  gun;  mine  had  none.  The  place 
was  covered  with  thick  cane,  and  being  so  much 
elated  on  recovering  the  three  poor  little  heart- 
broken girls,  we  were  prevented  from  making  any 
further  search.  We  sent  the  Indians  off  almost 
naked,  some  without  their  moccasins,  and  none  of 
them  without  so  much  as  a knife  or  tomahawk.  After 
the  girls  came  to  themselves  sufficiently  to  speak 
they  told  us  there  were  only  five  Indians — four 
Shawauese  and  one  Cherokee.  They  could  speak 
good  English  and  said  they  should  go  to  the  Shaw- 
anese  towns.  The  war-club  we  got  was  like  some  I 
have  seen  of  that  nation.  Several  words  of  their 
language  which  the  girls  retained,  were  known  to 
be  Shawanese.  They  also  told  them  that  the 
Cherokees  had  killed  or  driven  all  the  people  from 
Watauga  and  thereabout,  and  that  fourteen  Chero- 
kees were  then  in  Kentucky  waiting  to  do  mis- 
chief. If  the  war  becomes  general,  of  which  there 
is  the  greatest  appearance,  our  situation  is  truly 
alarming.  We  are  about  finishing  a large  fort,  and 
intend  to  keep  possession  of  this  place  as  long  as 
possible.  They  are,  I understand,  doing  the  same 
thing  at  Harrodsburg,  and  also  on  Elkhorn,  at 
the  Royal  Spring.  The  settlement  at  Licking 
Creek,  known  by  the  name  of  Hinkston’s,  has  been 
broken  up;  nineteen  of  the  settlers  are  now  here  on 
their  way  in — Hinkston  among  the  rest.  They  all 
seem  deaf  to  anything  we  can  say  to  dissuade 
them.  Ten,  at  least,  of  our  own  people  are  going  to 
join  them,  which  will  leave  us  with  less  than  thirty 
men  at  this  fort.  I think  more  than  three  hundred 
men  have  left  the  country  since  I came  out,  and 
not  one  has  arrived,  except  a few  cabiners  down  the 
Ohio. 

I want  to  return  as  much  as  any  person  can  do; 
but  if  I leave  the  country  now,  there  is  scarcely 
one  single  man  who  will  not  follow  the  example. 
When  I think  of  the  deplorable  condition  a few 
helpless  families  are  likely  to  be  in,  I conclude  to 
sell  my  life  as  dearly  as  I can  in  their  defense, 

I rather  than  make  an  ignominious  escape.  I am 
j afraid  it  is  in  vain  to  sue  for  any  relief  from  Vir- 
i ginia;  yet  the  convention  encouraged  the  settle- 
ment of  this  country,  and  why  should  not  the  ex- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


83 


treme  parts  of  Fincastle  be  as  justly  entitled  to 
protection  as  any  other  part  of  the  country.  If  an 
expedition  were  carried  on  against  those  nations 
who  are  at  open  war  with  the  people  in  general,  we 
might  he  in  great  measure  relieved,  by  drawing 
them  off  to  defend  their  towns.  If  anything  under 
Heaven  can  be  done  for  us,  I know  of  no  person 
who  would  more  willingly  engage  in  forwarding  us 
assistance  than  yourself.  I do,  at  the  request  and 
in  behalf  of  all  the  distressed  women  and  children 
and  other  inhabitants  of  this  place,  implore  the 
aid  of  every  leading  man  who  may  have  it  in  his 
power  to  give  us  relief.  I cannot  write.  You  can 
better  guess  at  my  ideas  from  what  I have  said  than 
I can  express  them. 

I am,  dear  sir. 

Yours  most  affectionately. 

To  my  last  moments, 

J.  FLOYD. 

To  Col.  Preston. 

Happily,  strength  is  not  only  in  numbers, 
and  assistance  was  nearer  at  hand  than  the 
author  of  the  above  letter  dreamed.  The 
year  1776  brought  several  valuable  accessions 
to  the  sorely  beset  settlement  in  Kentucky, 
and  moat  important  of  all  was  the  arrival  of 
George  Rogers  Clark,  as  a permanent  settler. 
He  was  a native  of  Albemarle  County,  Va., 
where  he  was  born  in  November,  1752;* 
his  early  life  was  spent  as  a surveyor,  a 
service  which,  at  that  day,  demanded  the 
highest  qualifications  of  heart  and  brain. 
He  took  part  in  Dunmore’s  war,  in  which  he 
served  as  commander  of  a company,  and  in 
the  following  year  made  a visit  to  Kentucky. 
Pleased  with  the  prospect,  he  determined  to 
adopt  the  newly  opened  country  as  his  home, 
and  accordingly,  in  1776,  he  made  his  appear- 
ance on  the  frontier.  “ He  fixed  on  no  par- 
ticular residence— was  much  in  the  wood; 
incidentally  visiting  the  forts  and  ostensible 
camps,  cultivated  the  acquaintance  of  the 
people,  and  acquired  an  extensive  knowl- 
edge of  the.  various  objects  presented  to  his 
curiosity  or  to  his  inspection.”  (Marshall.  ) 
His  mind  took  a bolder  flight  than  those  of 
his  contemporaries  on  the  border,  and  look- 
ing beyond  the  present  defense  of  isolated 
forts  his  plans  contemplated  the  organization 
and  protection  of  the  whole  region  purchased 
at  Fort  Stanwix. 

The  immediate  demand,  which  outw'eighed 

* Collius’  Historical  Sketches  of  Kentucky;  the  date  given 
by  Marshall  is  September,  1743. 


all  other  considerations  at  this  period,  was  the 
political  organization  of  this  border  land. 
Fincastle  County,  of  Virginia,  was  supposed 
to  include  the  frontier  posts  of  Kentucky, 
though  of  this,  the  pioneers  had  no  tangible 
evidence,  as  the  scattered  condition  of  the 
settlements  and  their  remoteness  from  the 
seat  of  government  gave  them  neither  a voice 
in  the  constitution  of  the  administration,  nor 
the  benefit  of  its  provisions.  At  the  same 
time,  a great  uncertainty  prevailed,  whether 
the  country  south  of  the  Ohio  River  actually 
fell  within  the  charter  lines  of  North  Caro- 
lina or  Virginia;  the  Henderson  Purchase 
still  further  complicated  the  situation,  and 
the  pioneers,  affected  both  in  their  property 
and  lives  by  these  disintegrating  influences, 
determined  to  settle  their  political  relations 
by  an  appeal  to  Virginia. 

In  this  movement  Clark  was  a prominent 
factor,  and  in  June,  1776,  the  convention  at 
Harrodstown  elected  him  and  Gabriel  John 
Jones  as  members  of  the  Virginia  legislature. 
The  election  obviously  had  no  legal  force, 
and  was  not  what  Clark  contemplated;  but 
he  had  been  absent  from  the  convention,  and 
it  was  evidently  too  late  to  remedy  its  action 
when  he  was  notified  of  his  election.  He 
accordingly  accepted  the  result  as  constitut- 
ing him  an  agent  for  the  border  community, 
and  repaired  at  once  to  Virginia.  Here  he 
found  the  legislature  adjourned,  and  the 
governor,  Patrick  Henry,  lying  sick  at  his 
residence  in  Hanover.  Visiting  the  governor 
at  once,  Clark  laid  before  him  the  necessities 
of  the  frontier  and  his  plan  for  its  relief.  In 
this  the  governor  heartily  joined  and  gave 
him  a letter  to  the  council.  Thus  equipped, 
the  envoy  of  the  frontier  settlements  appeared 
before  that  body,  presented  his  case  and 
asked  for  500  pounds  of  powder  for  the 
use  of  the  various  stations  on  the  border. 
The  legal  status  of  the  petitioners  was  not 
clear,  however,  and  the  council,  rendered  un- 
certain as  to  the  political  relations  of  these 
frontier  settlements,  felt  constrained  to  act 
with  great  caution.  Mith  every  desire  to  aid 
the  distressed  settlers,  the  council  still  felt 
impelled  to  refuse  the  gunpowder  as  a gift  to 
fellow-citizens,  but  offered  to  lend  it  to  them 


84 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


as  friends.  But  Clark  wanted  something 
more  than  gunpowder;  he  wanted  recogni- 
tion, and  with  a boldness  that  characterizes 
his  whole  career,  he  returned  the  order  for 
a loan  of  gunpowder,  with  a letter  setting 
forth  his  reasons  for  not  accepting  it  on  such 
terms,  intimating  that  the  Kentuckians 
would  look  elsewhere  for  assistance,  and 
added  “ that  a country  which  was  not  worth 
defending,  was  not  worth  claiming.”  This 
spirited  course  had  its  intended  effect;  the 
council  re- assembled,  and  without  reservation 
placed  the  required  powder  at  Pittsburgh, 
subject  to  Clark’s  orders  for  the  use  of 
“ Kentucki.” 

This  important  matter  happily  adjusted, 
Clark  wrote  to  his  constituents  of  the  first 
results  of  his  mission  and  prepared  to  pre- 
sent their  interests  before  the  legislature 
when  it  should  meet  in  the  fall.  It  is  suffi- 
cient to  say  in  this  place  that  in  this  part  of 
his  mission  he  was  equally  successful,  and 
the  County  of  Kentucky  was  formed.  He 
now  prepared  to  return  to  the  frontier,  but 
fortunately  at  the  moment  of  departure  he 
learned  that  the  powder  had  not  yet  been 
removed  from  Pittsburgh,  and  he  determined 
to  take  this  route  in  his  return,  to  insure  the 
safe  and  prompt  delivery  of  the  needed  am- 
munition. This  undertaking  was  attended 
with  difficulties  of  no  little  importance,  but 
with  his  usual  happy  fortune,  Clark  succeed- 
ed in  getting  the  needed  supply  to  its  des- 
tination. 

* The  following  year  (1777)  was  character- 
ized by  a more  determined  effort  on  the  part 
of  the  Indians  and  English;  the  number  of 
straggling  parties  of  hostile  savages  was 
greatly  augmented;  determined  attacks  were 
made  upon  the  strongest  posts;  and  all  but, 
the  three  principal  stations  were  broken  up 
and  abandoned.  But  notwithstanding  these 
forbidding  experiences,  the  Kentucky  settle- 
ment received  frequent  accessions,  and  the 
course  of  life  ran  on  not  unmixed  with  mer- 
riment in  the  midst  of  vicissitudes  which 
made  violent  death  a daily  visitor.  The  good 
result  of  Clark’s  mission  was  soon  seen  by 
the  arrival  of  meager  but  acceptable  rein- 
forcements; but  that  hero  had  not  settled 


down  into  inactivity.  His  mind  was  busy 
with  larger  plans,  and  observing  the  advan- 
tage the  British  derived  from  the  possession 
of  the  Illinois  forts  he  conceived  the  plan  of 
striking  a powerful  blow  in  defense  of  Ken- 
tucky by  the  capture  of  these  posts.  The 
necessity  for  some  such  action  had  already 
been  brought  to  the  attention  of  congress, 
and  commissioners  had  been  appointed  to 
confer  with  Gen.  Hand,  commanding  at  Fort 
Pitt,  in  regard  to  the  subject,  but  the  achieve- 
ment of  this  object  was  reserved  for  Clark. 
In  the  summer  of  this  year  (1777),  he  had 
sent  spies  to  reconnoiter  the  forts.  On  their 
return  they  brought  intelligence  of  increased 
activity  in  this  quarter,  and  such  account  of 
the  whole  situation  as  to  convince  Clark  of 
the  practicability  of  the  meditated  enterprise. 
Accordingly  in  August,  he  set  out  for  Will- 
iamsburg to  submit  his  project,  but  with  no 
definite  intention  of  asking  the  command  of 
the  expedition. 

Under  date  of  November  19,  1779,  Clark 
wrote  a letter  from  “ Louisville,  Falls  of 
Ohio,”  to  Hon.  George  Mason,  in  which  he 
gives  a short  sketch  of  his  enterprise  and 
proceeding  in  the  Illinois,  and  from  this  are 
taken  the  following  extracts  descriptive  of 
the  organization  of  the  expedition: 

I had  just  Reasons  known  to  few  but  myself  that 
occationed  me  to  resolve  not  to  have  any  farther 
Command  whatever,  without  I should  find  a very 
great  call  for  Troops  and  my  Country  in  danger,  in 
such  case  I was  determined  to  lose  my  Life  rather 
(than)  we  should  submit.  * * * But  finding 

that  we  were  in  (an)  alarming  situation,  the  Indians 
desperate  on  one  side,  the  Britains  on  the  others,  I 
immediately  resolved  to  encourage  an  Expedition 
to  the  Illinois.  But  to  make  itpublick  was  a certain 
loss  of  it.  I proposed  the  plan  of  it  to  a few  Gen- 
tlemen, they  communicated  it  to  the  Governor,  it 
was  immediately  determined  on,  to  put  inExecution 
as  soon  as  a Bill  could  be  i^assed  to  enable  the  Gov- 
ernour  to  order  it;  it  accordingly  pass’d,  though 
hut  a few  in  the  House  knew  the  real  intent  of  it. 
After  giving  the  Council  all  the  intelligence  I pos- 
sibly could,  I resolv’d  to  pursue  my  other  Plans. 
But  being  desirea  by  the  Governor  to  stay  some- 
time in  town,  I wated  with  impatience  he,  I sup- 
pose, believing  that  I wanted  the  Command,  and 
was  determined  to  give  it  to  me;  But  it  was  far 
from  my  inclination  at  that  time.  I was  summoned 
to  attend  the  Council  Board,  the  instructions  and 
necessary  papers  were  ready  for  puting  in  the  name 
of  the  Person  to  Command;  I believed  they  expected 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


85 


me  to  selicit  for  it,  but  I resolved,  not  to  do  so,  for 
reasons  I hinted  you  before.  However  I excepted  it 
after  being  told  the  Command  of  this  little  Army 
was  designed  for  me.  I then  got  every  request 
granted,  and  (was)  fully  empowered  to  raise  as 
many  Men  as  I could,  not  exceeding  a certain  num- 
ber; after  being  engaged  I was  then  as  Determined 
to  prosecute  it  with  Vigour,  as  I was  before  indif- 
ferent about  the  Command;  I had  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  War  taken  pains  to  make  myself  ac- 
quainted with  the  situation  of  the  British  posts  on 
the  Fronteers,  and  since  find  that  I was  not  mis- 
taken in  my  judgement.  I was  ordered  to  attact 
the  Illinois,  in  case  of  Success  to  carry  my  Arms  to 
any  queirter  I pleased.  I was  certain  that  with  500 
Men  I could  take  the  Illinois,  and  by  my  treating 
the  Inhabitants  as  fellow  Citizens,  and  show  them 
that  I meant  to  protect  them  rather  than  treat  them 
as  a Conquered  People.  Engaging  the  Indians  to 
our  Interests,  etc..  It  might  probably  have  so  gi-eat 
an  effect  on  their  Countrymen  at  Detroyet  (they  al- 
ready disliked  their  Master)  that  it  would  be  an 
easy  prey  for  me.  I should  have  mentioned  my 
design  to  his  Excellency,  but  was  convinced  or 
afraid  that  it  might  lessen  his  esteem  for  me,  as  it 
was  a general  opinion  that  it  would  take  several 
thousand  to  approach  that  Place.  I was  happj^ 
with  the  thoughts  of  a fair  prospect  of  undeceiving 
the  Publick  respecting  their  formidable  Enemies  on 
our  Fronteers.  I left  Williamsburg  January  the 
18th,  made  as  quick  dispatch  as  possible  to  the 
fronteers,  and  by  the  end  of  the  month  had  Recruit- 
ing Parties  disposed  from  Pitsburgh  to  Carolina, 
had  my  little  Army  Recruited  in  half  the  time  I 
expected. 

Elivatcd  with  the  Thoughts  of  the  great  service 
we  should  do  our  Country  in  some  measure  puting 
an  end  to  the  Indian  War  on  our  fronteers,  it  may 
appear  to  you  to  be  raear  presumption  in  me,  but  I 
was  always  too  jealous  of  myself  to  be  far  wrong 
in  the  plans  that  I had  so  long  studied,  and  since 
find  that  I could  have  executed  it  with  the  greatest 
ease  if  it  had  not  been  (the)  following  Conduct  of 
many  leading  Men  in  the  fronteers,  that  had  hke  to 
have  put  an  end  to  the  enterprise,  not  knowing  my 
Destination,  and  through  a spirit  of  obstinacy  they 
combined  and  did  everything  that  lay  in  their  power 
to  stop  the  Men  that  had  Enlisted,  and  set  the  whole 
Fronteers  in  an  uproar,  even  condescended  to  har- 
bor and  protect  those  that  Deserted;  I found  my 
case  desperate,  and  the  longer  I remained  the  wmrse 
it  was— I plainly  saw  that  my  Principal  Design  was 
baffled— I was  resolved  to  push  to  Kentucky  with 
what  Men  I could  gather  in  West  Augusta;  being 
Joined  by  Capts.  Bowman  and  Helms  who  had  each 
raised  a Company  for  the  Expedition,  but  two- thirds 
of  them  was  stopped  by  the  undersigned  Enemies 
to  the  Country  that  I before  mentioned.  In  the 
whole  I had  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  col- 
lected and  set  sail  for  the  Falls.  I had  previous  to  I 
this  received  Letters  from  Capt.  Smith  on  Holdston 


Enforming  me  that  he  intended  to  meet  me  at  that 
place  with  near  two  hundred  Men,  which  encouraged 
me  much  as  I was  enabled  by  that  reinforcement  at 
least  to  attack  the  Illinois  with  a probability  of 
Success,  &c. 

I set  out  from  Redstone  the  12th  day  of  May, 
leaving  the  Country  in  great  confusion,  much  dis- 
tressed by  the  Indians.  General  Hand,  pleased  with 
my  intentions,  furnished  me  with  every  necessary  I 
wanted  and  the  — of  May  I arrived  at  Canoweay 
(Kanawha)  to  the  Joy  of  the  Garrison  as  they  were 
very  weak,  & had  the  day  before  been  attacted  by  a 
large  Body  of  Indians. 

Being  Joined  by  Captain  Oharrard’s  compy.  on 
his  way  to  the  Osark;  after  spending  a day  or  two. 
We  set  out  and  had  a very  pleasant  Voyage  to  the 
falls  of  the  Ohio,  having  sent  Expresses  to  the 
Stations  on  Kentucky  from  the  mouth  of  the  River, 
for  Capt.  Smith  to  join  me  immediately  as  I made 
no  doubt  but  that  he  was  wateing  for  me;  But  you 
may  easily  guess  at  my  mortification  on  being 
informed  that  he  had  not  arrived,  that  all  his  Men 
had  been  stopped  by  the  incessant  labours  of  the 
populace,  except  part  of  a compy. , that  had  arrived 
under  the  Command  of  one  captain  Dellands,  some 
on  their  march  being  threatened  to  be  put  in  Prison 
if  they  did  not  return:  this  information  made  me 
Desperate  as  I was  before  Determined. 

Reflecting  on  the  information  that  I had  of  some 
of  my  greatest  opponents  censuring  the  Governour 
for  his  conduct,  as  they  thought  ordering  me  for  the 
protection  of  Kentuck}'  onlj^;  that  and  other  secret 
impulses  Occationed  me  in  spite  of  all  Counsel  to 
risque  the  Expedition,  to  convince  them  of  their 
error  until  that  moment,  secret  to  the  Principal 
officers  I had.  I was  sensible  of  the  impression  it 
Avould  have  on  man3%  to  be  taken  near  a thousand 
(miles)  from  the  Body  of  their  Country,  to  attack  a 
People  five  times  their  number,  aud  merciless  Tribes 
of  Indians  their  Allies,  and  determined  Enemies  to 
us. 

I knew  that  my  case  was  desperate,  but  the  more 
I reflected  on  my  weakness  the  more  I was  pleased 
with  the  Enterprise.  .Joined  b_y  a few  Kentuckians 
under  Colonel  Montgomery  to  stop  desertion  I knew 
would  ensue  on  the  Troops  knowing  their  Destina- 
tion, I had  encamped  on  a small  Island  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  Falls,  kept  strict  Guard  on  the  Boats,  but 
Lieutenant  Hutchings  of  Dillard’s  Comp3^  contrived 
to  make  his  escape  with  his  party  after  being  re- 
i fused  leave  to  return,  luckeh^  a few  of  his  Men  was 
I taken  the  next  da}'  b}’  a party  sent  after  them:  on 
I this  Island  I first  began  to  discipline mj'  little  Army 
I knowing  that  to  be  the  most  essential  point  toward 
success,  most  of  them  determined  to  follow  me,  the 
rest  seeing  no  probability  of  making  escape  I soon 
got  that  subordination  as  I could  wish  for;  about 
twenty  families  that  had  followed  me  much  against 
my  Inclination  I found  now  to  be  of  service  to  me 
guarding  a Block-house  that  I had  erected  on  the 
Island  to  secure  my  Provisions. 


86 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Ou  the  second  of  January,  1778,  two  sets 
of  instructions  were  issued  to  “Lieut.-Ccl.” 
Clark;  the  one  for  the  public,  authorized  hiru 
“to  enlist  seven  companies  of  men,  officered 
in  the  usual  manner,  to  act  as  militia;*  * * * 
to  proceed  to  Kentucky,  and  there  to  obey  such 
orders  and  directions  as  you  shall  give  them 
for  three  months  after  their  arrival  at  that 
place,'’  etc.;  the  other,  for  the  guidance  of 
the  expedition,  was  secret,  and  designated 
the  number  of  men  for  each  company  as  fifty; 
directed  him  “with  this  force  attack  the 
British  post  at  Kaskasky;”  and  stated  that  it 
was  “in  contemplation  to  establish  a post 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,”  for  which  the 
cannon  captured  atKaskaskia  might  be  avail- 
able, etc. 

The  point  against  which  the  expedition  was 
thus  projected  was  the  center  of  a consider- 
able French  settlement,  and  the  oldest  per- 
manent European  settlement  in  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi.  In  1700,  the  French  and 
Indians  at  old  Kaskaskia  had  removed  to  a 
point  on  Kaskaskia  River,  near  the  Mississippi, 
100  miles  or  more  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio.  In  1702,  Juchereau  had  gone  across 
to  the  Wabash  and  founded  Vincennes,  and 
each  of  these  points  had  been  centers  of  active 
trade  with  the  Indians.  In  1718,  Fort  Char- 
tres was  erected  ou  the  Mississippi,  sixteen 
miles  above  the  village;  about  it  sprang  up 
the  village  of  New  Chartres;  five  miles  away 
the  village  of  Prairie  du  Rocher  was  founded; 
and  some  sixty  miles  above  Kaskaskia  was 
the  village  of  Cahokia.  Dui’ing  the  ascend- 
ency of  the  French  power,  the  fort  was  an 
important  point  d'appui;  it  was  from  this 
point  that  a strong  contingent  went  up  the 
Ohio  to  the  capture  of  George  Washington 
and  his  forces  at  Fort  Necessity;  from  here 
the  detachment  went  out  which  destroyed 
Fort  Granville,  within  sixty  miles  of  Phila- 
delphia; another  body  of  its  troops  aided  in 
the  defeat  of  Maj.  Grant  at  Fort  Du  Quesne; 
and  another  assisted  in  the  vain  attempt  to 
raise  the  British  siege  of  Niagara. 

Though  transferred  by  treaty  to  the  En- 
glish in  1763,  the  fort  was  the  last  place  in 
North  America  to  lower  the  white  ensign  of 
the  Bourbon  king,  and  it  was  not  until  the  lat- 


ter part  of  1765  that  the  British  formally  ac- 
cepted the  sui’render  of  this  most  remote  cita- 
del. Pontiac,  the  unwavering  friend  of  the 
French,  took  upon  himself,  unaided  by  his  for- 
mer allies,  to  hold  back  the  victorious  English. 
Maj.  Lof  tus,  Capts.  Pitman  and  Morris,  Lieut. 
Frazer,  and  George  Crogan,  some  with  force, 
some  in  disguise,  and  others  with  diplomacy, 
sought  to  reach  the  fort  to  accept  its  capitu- 
lation, but  each  one  was  foiled  and  turned 
back  with  his  mission  unaccomplished,  glad 
to  escape  the  fate  of  that  Englishman,  for 
whom  Pontiac  assured  them  he  kept  a “kettle 
boiling  over  a large  fire.” 

The  subsequent  defeat  of  the  Indians  final- 
ly gave  this  forest  fortress  into  the  hands  of 
the  English,  thus  projecting  another  nation- 
ality into  this  “neck  of  the  woods.”  The 
secret  treaty  of  1762  had  brought  the  Span- 
ish to  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  and  it  is 
suggestive  of  the  different  races  and  varying 
sovereignties  of  this  locality  “that  a French 
soldier  from  the  Spanish  city  of  St.  Louis 
should  be  married  to  an  Englishwoman  by  a 
French  priest  in  the  British  colony  of  Illinois.” 
The  English  garrison  occupied  the  old  French 
fort  until  one  day  in  1772,  when  the  river, 
having  overflowed  its  banks,  swept  away  a 
bastion  and  the  river  wall;  at  this,  the  occu- 
pants fled  with  precipitate  haste  to  the  high 
ground  near  Kaskaskia,  where  they  erected  a 
palisade  fort. 

Clark’s  original  plan  contemplated  the 
capture  of  these  outlying  posts  only  as  a step 
towards  the  capture  of  Detroit,  but  the  diffi- 
culties under  which  he  labored,  as  well  as  the 
fact  that  his  “principal  plan  was  baffled,” 
have  been  noted  in  his  letter.  On  reaching 
the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  his  plans  were  forced 
to  undergo  another  change,  which  he  thus 
describes  in  his  journal:  “As  Post  Vincennes 
at  this  time  was  a town  of  considerable  force, 
consisting  of  nearly  400  militia,  with  an  In- 
dian town  adjoining,  and  great  numbers  con- 
tinually in  the  neighborhood,  and  in  the  scale 
of  Indian  affairs  of  moi’e  importance  than  any 
other,  I had  thought  of  attacking  it  first;  but 
now  found  that  I could  by  no  means  venture 
near  it.  I resolved  to  begin  my  career  in  the 
Illinois,  where  there  were  more  inhabitants, 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


87 


but  scattered  in  difterent  villages  and  less 
danger  of  being  immediately  overpowered  by 
the  Indians;  in  case  of  necessity  we  could 
probably  make  our  retreat  to  the  Sj)anish  side 
of  the  Mississippi;  but  if  successful  we  might 
pave  our  way  to  the  possession  of  Post  Vin-. 
cennes.  ” 

Accordingly  on  the  26th*  of  June,  the  ex- 
pedition set  out  from  Corn  Island  with  153 
men,  and  proceeded  day  and  night  until  the 
mouth  of  the  Tennessee  was  reached.  Here 
the  troops  were  disembarked  to  prepare  “for 
a march  by  land;”  a few  hours  later  a compa- 
ny of  hunters,  “but  eight  days  from  Kaskas- 
kias,”  were  taken,  who  on  being  questioned 
were  found  to  be  colonists  favorable  to  the 
American  cause.  The  intelligence  they  gave 
was  not  favorable  to  the  expedition,  but  they 
asked  permission  to  join  its  fortunes  and 
showed  their  loyalty  by  giving  out  to  the  men 
only  such  reports  as  they  had  been  instructed 
by  Clark  to  do.  The  company  was  re-em- 
barked, and  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day 
ran  their  boats  into  a small  creek  about  a 
mile  “above  the  old  Fort  Massac. ” After 
resting  one  night,  the  invaders  struck  out  for 
the  northwest  “and  had  a very  fatiguing 
journey  for  about  hfty  miles,”  until  the  plains 
were  struck. 

Nothing  extraordinary  happened  through 
the  march  except  the  guide’s  losing  his  way, 
which  for  a time  put  the  “troops  in  the  great- 
est confusion,”  and  the  commander  in  a great 
‘ ‘ flow  of  rage.  ” The  guide  recovered  his 
bearings,  however,  and  on  the  evening  of 
July  4,  the  little  army  reached  a point  within 
three  miles  of  Kaskaskia.  Marching  after 
night  to  a farm-house  on  the  same  side  of 
the  river,  about  a mile  above  the  town,  boats 
were  found  to  take  them  to  the  side  on  which 
the  fort  stood;  and,  at  the  same  time,  it  was 
learned  from  the  captured  family  that  some 
suspicion  had  been  entertained  of  an  attack 
a few  days  before,  when  some  preparations 
for  defense  were  made,  but  the  people,  “mak- 
ing no  discoveries,  had  got  off  their  guard.” 
The  force  was  subsequently  divided  into  two 
divisions;  the  one  to  cross  the  river  again, 

*Clark’s  letter  to  Preston.  Butler  places  it  on  June  24,  p.  50, 
note. 


and  surround  the  town,  the  other  to  follow 
the  commander  in  the  attack  on  the  fort. 
Acting  upon  the  information  that  the  French 
had  been  taught  to  hold  the  Americans  in 
deadly  fear,  Clark  provided  that  if  the  attack 
on  the  fort  should  succeed,  persons  who 
could  speak  French  were  to  be  sent  through 
the  streets  of  the  village  to  proclaim  “that 
every  man  of  the  enemy  who  should  appear 
in  them  would  be  shot  down.”  The  attack 
on  the  fort  was  successful,  the  Americans 
entering  it  by  “ a postern  gate  left  open  on 
the  river  side  of  the  f ortihcation,  ” which  was 
revealed  by  a hunting  soldier,  taken  prisoner 
the  evening  before.*  The  programme  in  ref- 
erence to  the  town  was  successfully  carried 
out,  and  in  about  two  hours  the  inhabitants 
were  disarmed;  the  whole  having  been  ac- 
complished without  one  drop  of  bloodshed. 
On  the  6th,  Cahokia  fell  in  like  manner  with- 
out a blow. 

“Post  St.  Vincent,  a town  about  the  size 
of  Williamsburg,”  writes  Clark,  “ was  the 
next  object  in  my  view,”  but  at  this  juncture 
of  affairs  new  difficulties  arose  to  vex  the 
sorely  beset  commander.  The  term  for  which 
the  troops  had  enlisted  had  expired,  and  the 
greater  part  of  them  were  determined  to  re- 
turn to  their  homes.  The  situation  was  most 
disheartening;  by  a happy  stroke  of  diplo- 
macy the  horror  and  detestation  of  the 
French  citizens  had  been  turned  to  tlie  most 
enthusiastic  loyalty,  but  the  peasantry  were 
an  unwarlike  people,  and  still  held  the  power 
of  the  British  in  great  respect.  Nothing, 
therefore,  but  a show  of  power  could  confirm 
them  in  their  new  attitude,  and  secure  their 
hearty  co-operation  in  the  plans  contemplated 
for  the  capture  of  Vincennes  and  the  detach- 
ment of  the  Indians  from  the  British  inter- 
ests. The  retirement  of  the  troops  meant  the 
tame  surrender  of  all  the  valuable  results  of 
the  ably  planned  and  executed  campaign  — 
an  issue  which  the  bold  leader  did  not  con- 
cede possible  for  a moment.  Acting  upon 
implied  powers  bestowed  by  his  instructions, 
Clark  secured  the  re-enlistment  of  about  100 
men  for  eight  months,  though  not  without 

' the  use  of  “great  preasents  and  promises.” 

I 

I 


* Butler’s  Uistorv  of  Kentucky,  p.  53. 


88 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


“To  color  my  staying  with  so  few  troops,” 
writes  Clark,  “ I made  a feint  of  returning 
to  the  falls,  as  though  I had  sufficient  confi- 
dence in  the  people,  hoping  that  the  inhabi- 
tants would  remonstrate  against  my  leaving 
them,  which  they  did  in  the  warmest  terms, 
proving  the  necessitj^  of  the  troops  at  that 
place,  in  that  they  were  afraid,  if  I returned, 
the  English  would  again  possess  the  country. 
Then,  seemingly  by  their  request,  I agreed 
to  stay  with  two  companies  of  troops,  and 
that  I hardly  thought,  as  they  alleged,  that 
so  many  was  necessary;  but  if  more  was 
wanted  I could  get  them  at  any  time  from 
the  falls,  where  they  were  made  to  believe 
was  a considerable  garrison.”  In  the  mean- 
while the  French  had  shown  their  faith  by 
their  works;  some  had  accompanied  the 
troops  to  Cahokia  to  assure  its  citizens  of  the 
hearty  co-operation  of  Kaskaskia;  some  days 
later,  the  priest,  with  others,  proposed  to  carry 
a proclamation  to  Vincennes,  and  by  their 
representations  to  secure  the  voluntary  alle- 
giance of  that  post;  and  now  that  troops  were 
needed,  sufficient  of  the  citizens  volunteered 
to  complete  the  two  companies  which  re- 
mained with  Clark.  These  services  were 
promptly  accepted,  and  on  August  1st,  the  dep- 
utation to  Vincennes  returned  with  the  cheer- 
ing intelligence  that  the  people  of  that  place 
had  publicly  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and 
raised  the  flag  of  the  colonists. 

“Domestic  affairs  being  partly  well  settled, 
the  Indian  department  came  next  the  object” 
of  Col.  Clark’s  attention,  and  of  the  first  im- 
portance, as  his  appearance  in  the  country 
had  put  them  in  the  greatest  consternation. 
“They  were  generally  at  war  against  us,” 
writes  Clark,  “ but  the  French  and  Spaniards, 
appearing  so  fond  of  us,  confused  them;  they 
counseled  with  the  French  traders,  to  know 
what  was  the  best  to  be  done,  and  of  course 
was  advised  to  come  and  solicit  for  peace.” 
Capt.  Helm  was  sent  to  Vincennes  as  com- 
mandant of  that  post  and  superintendent  of 
the  Indians  thereabouts,  and  by  him  were 
“sent  letters  and  speeches  to  the  Kickapoos 
and  Piankeshaws.”  In  September  negotia- 
tions were  opened  with  the  Illinois  tribes  at 
Cahokia,  where  Capt.  Bowman  commanded. 


Here  the  remarkable  diplomatic  talent  of 
Col.  Clark  shone  with  new  luster;  spending 
five  weeks  at  this  point,  he  negotiated  treaties 
with  ten  or  twelve  nations;  sent  agents  to  all 
quarters  and  made  his  influence  felt  among 
the  savages  “even  to  the  borders  of  the 
lakes.”  At  Vincennes  the  wisdom  of  Clark’s 
selection  was  abundantly  confirmed  by  the 
tact  and  prudence  displayed  by  Capt.  Helm; 
the  savages  were  speedily  won,  and  joined, 
with  a small  detachment  of  troops  from  Kas- 
kaskia in  attempting  the  capture  of  a British 
agent  located  near  the  site  of  Lafayette,  Ind. 

Such  success  on  the  part  of  the  Americans 
was  not  likely  to  pass  unnoticed  on  the  part 
of  the  enemy  at  Detroit,  and  no  precaution 
was  omitted  to  guard  against  surprise.  The 
result  of  the  abortive  campaign  by  McIntosh 
against  the  lake  posts  was  learned  by  the 
capture  of  an  English  spy  at  Cahokia,  and  at 
the  same  time  uncertain  information  was 
gained  of  Hamilton’s  intended  descent  upon 
the  Illinois  country.  Supposing  that  Kas- 
kaskia as  the  most  important  post  would  be 
first  attacked,  the  scouts  were  increased  and 
every  approach  guarded  with  increased  vigil- 
ance. Some  of  these  spies  were  captured  by 
the  enemy,  but  the  force  at  Kaskaskia  learned 
nothing  certain  of  the  movements  of  the 
British,  until  news  was  brought  in  the  latter 
part  of  January,  1779,  that  Vincennes  had, 
been  taken.  The  garrison  at  this  place,  con- 
sisting of  Capt.  Helm  and  one  man,  was 
surprised  on  the  17th  of  December,  by  the 
appearance  of  Hamilton  at  the  head  of  800 
French,  Indians  and  regulars,  and  forced  to 
surrender,  but  not  until  the  usual  honors  of 
war  had  been  accorded  by  the  over- anxious 
commander  of  the  besiesfinoj  forces. 

The  British  plan  contemplated  the  reduc- 
tion of  Kaskaskia  also,  to  be  followed  by  a 
vigorous  attack  upon  the  whole  of  Kentucky 
border,  but  the  gallant  behavior  of  Capt. 
Helm  on  this  occasion  gave  the  English  gen- 
eral an  impressive  example  of  the  character 
of  the  enemy  he  must  expect  to  meet,  and  the 
rest  of  the  fall’s  campaign  was  deferred,  the 
season  being  so  far  advanced  as  to  prevent 
any  protracted  movement.  There  was  some 
alarm  at  Kaskaskia,  caused  by  the  approach 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


89 


of  a party  of  Indians  to  waylay  and  capture 
Col.  Clark;  this  attempt  was  soon  discovered 
and  foiled,  but  the  general  situation  was 
none  the  less  critical,  Hamilton,  deciding 
on  no  further  operations  that  season,  dis- 
persed his  Indian  allies  to  attack  various 
points  on  the  borders,  but  with  orders  to  re- 
join him  in  the  spring,  and  sent  messengers 
to  the  southern  tribes,  500  of  whom  he 
expected  to  join  him  in  time  for  the  spring 
campaign. 

Clark  at  once  perceived  the  importance  of 
checking  these  designs,  and  that  the  only 
probability  of  holding  the  country  was  to 
take  advantage  of  the  enemy’s  present  weak- 
ness. He  accordingly  proceeded  to  concen- 
trate his  forces,  which,  all  counted,  numbered 
“only  a little  upwards  of  200  men,”  and 
having  prepared  a large  boat  “ mounting  two 
four-pounders”  and  “four  large  swivels,” 
he  set  out  for  Vincennes  with  an  “ inward 
assurance  of  success.  ” “ But  I had  some 

secret  check,”  wi'ites  Clark;*  “we  had  now  a 
route  before  us  of  240  miles  in  length, 
through,  I suppose,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
countries  in  the  world,  but  at  this  time  in 
many  parts  flowing  with  water  and  exceeding 
bad  marching;  -*  * * the  first  obstruction  of 
any  consequence  that  I met  with  was  on  the 
13th  (February),  arriving  at  the  two  little 
Wabachees;  although  three  miles  asunder, 
they  now  make  but  one,  the  flowed  water  be- 
tween them  being  at  least  three  feet  deep, 
and  in  many  places  four.  * * ^ 

“This  would  have  been  enough  to  have 
stopped  any  set  of  men  that  was  not  in  the 
same  temper  as  we  were.  But  in  three  days 
we  continued  to  cross,  by  building  a large 
canoe,  ferried  across  the  two  channels — the 
rest  of  the  way  we  waded — building  scaffolds 
at  each  to  lodge  our  baggage  until  the  horses 
crossed  to  take  it;  it  rained  nearly  a third  of 
our  march,  but  we  never  halted  for  it;  on  the 
evening  of  the  17th  we  got  to  the  lowlands 
of  the  river  Umbara  (Embarrass),  which  we 
found  deep  in  water,  it  being  nine  miles  to 
St.  Vincent’s,  which  stood  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Wabache,  and  every  foot  of  the  way 
covered  with  deep  water;  we  marched  down 


the  little  river  in  order  to  gain  the  banks  of 
the  main,  which  we  did  in  about  three 
leagues,  made  a small  canoe  and  sent  an 
express  to  meet  the  boat  and  hurry  it  up; 
from  the  spot  we  now  lay  on  (it)  was  about 
ten  miles  to  town,  and  every  foot  of  the  way 
put  together,  that  was  not  three  feet  and  up- 
ward under  water,  would  not  have  made  the 
length  of  two  miles  and  a half,  and  not  a 
mouthful  of  provision.  * * ^ to  our 

inexpressible  joy,  on  the  evening  of  the  23d  we 
got  safe  on  terra  firma  within  half  a league 
of  the  fort,  covered  by  a small  grove  of  trees 
where  we  had  a full  view  of  the  wished-for 
spot.  * * * We  had  already  taken  some 

prisoners  that  was  coming  from  the  town. 
Laying  in  this  grove  some  time  to  dry  our 
clothes  by  the  sun,  we  took  another  prisoner 
known  to  be  a friend,  by  which  we  got  all 
the  intelligence  we  wished  for.” 

At  this  point  Clark  determined  to  act  with 
his  accustomed  boldness.  Writing  a letter 
to  the  inhabitants  that  he  was  before  the 
town,  and  of  his  designs,  he  expressed  the 
wish  that  those  who  intended  to  support  the 
English  would  repair  to  the  fort,  while 
others  should  keep  close  to  their  houses, 
“other  ways  there  should  be  no  mercy  shown 
them.”  He  also  sent  the  “compliments  of 
several  officers  that  was  known  to  be  expected 
to  reinforce  me”;  and  with  this  he  dispatched 
the  prisoner  to  the  beleagured  village.  As  it 
was  an  open  plain  from  his  point  of  cover  to 
the  fort,  Clark  timed  his  approach  so  as  to 
bring  his  lines  in  sight  of  the  place  just  before 
dark,  and  taking  advantage  of  the  undula- 
tions of  the  land,  “dispose  ! the  lines  in  such 
a manner  that  nothing  but  the  pavilions*  could 
be  seen,  having  as  many  of  them  as  would  be 
sufficient  for  a thousand  men.”  The  houses 
so  obstructed  the  view  from  the  fort  that  the 
garrison  was  not  apprised  of  the  presence  of 
the  foe  until  the  Americans  had  full  posses- 
sion of  the  town,  and  a soldier  was  wounded 
while  looking  out  of  a port-hole  to  learn  the 
cause  of  the  disturbance,  supposing  it  to  be 
occasioned  by  drunken  Indians. 

With  this  the  battle  began;  the  artillery  of 
the  fort  “played  briskly  but  did  no  execu- 


*Letter  to  Col.  Preston. 


*Flags. 


90 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


tion;”  the  Americans,  “shielded  by  houses, 
palings  and  ditches,”  got  up  within  eighty  or 
a hundred  yards  of  the  fort,  and  maintained 
a continuous  tire  all  night;  but  “never  was  a 
heavier  fire  kept  up  for  eighteen  hours  with 
so  little  damage  done.”  The  boldness  of  Col. 
Clark  had  not  been  without  its  effect,  how- 
ever, and  notwithstanding  the  “little  damage 
done,”  the  English  commandant  seemed  to 
delay  his  surrender  only  for  a fitting  oppor- 
tunity. About  9 o’clock  on  the  following 
morning  (February  24),  Clark  sent  a flag  to 
the  garrison,  demanding  its  immediate  sur- 
render, warning  the  officer  in  command 
against  the  destruction  of  any  papers  in  his 
possession,  and  adding:  “For  if  I am  obliged 
to  storm,  you  may  depend  on  such  treatment 
as  is  justly  due  to  a murderer.” 

To  this  Hamilton  returned  a dignified  re- 
fusal, whereupon  the  besiegers  began  a hot 
fire  upon  the  fort,  killing  or  wounding  several 
of  the  garrison  through  the  port-holes.  The 
English  commander’s  apprehensions  rapidly 
getting  the  better  of  his  dignity  he  soon  pro 
posed  a truce  for  three  days;  this  Clark  per- 
emptorily declined,  and  reiterated  his  de- 
mand for  an  immediate  and  unconditional 
surrender.  After  a conference  in  which  the 
fears  of  the  Enarlish  lieutenant-ffovernor 
were  raised  to  the  highest  point,  articles  of 
surrender  were  agreed  upon.  About  10 
o’clock  on  the  25th,  the  American  flag  rose 
over  the  fort,  and  the  American  troops  took 
possession.  With  this  surrender  ended  all 
English  pretensions  to  this  region. 


On  the  official  announcement  of  Clark’s 
first  success  in  the  Illinois  country,  the  Vir- 
ginia legislature  took  prompt  action  to  secure 
the  dominion  thus  acquired,  and  in  October, 
1778,  passed  “an  act  for  the  establishing  of 
the  County  of  Illinois,and  for  the  more  effec- 
tual protection  and  defense  thereof.”  This 
act,  after  reciting  the  facts  of  the  expedition, 
projected  and  carried  to  success  by  Virginia 
militia,  provided  that  all  citizens  of  Virginia 
settled  west  of  Ohio  should  be  included  in 
the  new  and  distinct  county,  and  authorized 
the  governor  to  appoint  the  usual  officers  for 
the  administration  of  civil  affairs.  For  the 
important  post  of  county- lieutenant,  Gov. 
Henry  selected  John  Todd,  and  on  the  12th 
of  December  indited  upon  the  opening  pages 
of  a record- book,  his  letter  of  instructions  to 
the  newly  appointed  officer.  This  also  con- 
stituted his  commission  and  reached  him  at 
Vincennes,  shortly  after  its  surrender,  in 
February,  1779,  whither  Col.  Todd  had  ac- 
companied the  expedition  which  had  effected 
its  capture.  The  adjustment  of  private  af- 
fairs engaged  his  attention  for  the  time,  and 
it  was  not  until  the  following  May  that  he 
arrived  at  Kaskaskia,  and  assumed  the  duties 
of  his  new  office,  in  the  discharge  of  which 
he  continued  until  his  death  at  the  battle  of 
Blue  Lick,  in  1782.  No  successor  to  him 
seems  to  have  been  appointed,  the  cession  of 
•the  Northwest  having  been  made  by  the  Vir- 
ginia assembly  in  December  of  the  following 
year. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


91 


CHAPTER  lY. 


KAN-TUCK-KEE,  pronounced,  according 
to  Marshall,  with  “ a strong  emphasis,” 
is  a word  of  Indian  origin,  applied  by  the 
savages  to  a “long  deep-channeled,  andclifty 
river,”  emptying  into  the  Ohio  from  the 
South  about  midway  between  Louisville  and 
Cincinnati,  and  was  very  early  used  by  this 
people  to  designate  a considerable  scope  of 
country  lying  adjacent  to  its  banks.  It  is 
said  to  signify  “river  of  blood,”  and  to  re 
fer  to  that  prehistoric  age  of  which  there 
are  few  scientific  data  save  those  found 
in  certain  mounds  found  here  and  there  in 
the  country — “casual  relics  of  antiquity, 
thus  left  upon  this  distant  shore  of  time, 
telling  no  tale  but  that  such  things  had  been 
and  had  perished  ” Of  these  mementoes  of 
a forgotten  past,  Kentucky  divides  with  Ohio 
and  Illinois  the  distinction  of  possessing  the 
larger  share  of  those  found  in  North  America. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  these  ancient 
monuments  should  long  escape  the  exploring 
eye  of  science,  and  their  discovery,  with  the 
presence  of  the  Indian,  early  gave  rise  to 
numerous  hypotheses  to  account  for  the  peo- 
pling of  the  “New  World.”  In  the  early  his- 
tory of  scientific  investigation,  however, 
these  relics  formed  but  a minor  part  of  the 
evidence  relied  upon  to  support  the  various 
theories  entertained  in  regard  to  the  origin 
of  the  Americans.  Philological  and  ethno- 
logical peculiarities  of  the  various  peoples  on 
the  earth,  with  more  or  less  mythical  tradi- 
tions current  in  every  nation,  supplied  a 
more  tangible  and  accommodating  material 
with  which  to  eke  out  preconceived  theories, 
and  from  such  materials  arose  hypotheses 
that,  while  they  did  not  answer  all  the  condi- 
tions of  the  problem,  yet  possessed  so  many 
half  truths  as  to  make  them  for  years  not 
untenable  in  the  dawn  of  scientific  progress. 


Even  now,  in  the  brighter  light  of  recent 
investigations,  however  much  later  develop- 
I ments  may  disallow  the  authority  of  their 
I data,  or  the  justness  of  their  conclusion, 

' these  early  fancies  still  possess  a fascination 
for  the  speculative  student  that  will  not  let 
them  utterly  die. 

Greologists  have  long  believed  that  there 
was  a time  when  the  “ lands  now  called  Italy 
and  Spain  were  joined  to  Africa,  and  in 
place  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  were  only  a 
j few  land-locked  basins;  when  the  British 
I Islands  as  far  north  as  the  Shetlands  were  a 
part  of  the  continent;  when  the  present  bot- 
tom of  the  North  Sea  was  a low,  wide  plain 
i covered  probably  by  magnificent  forests, 

I through  which  the  Khine,  with  the  Elbe  and 
; the  Thames  as  its  tributaries,  wound  its  way 
to  discharge  its  waters  at  length  into  the 
ocean  north  of  Scandinavia;  and  when  the 
western  boundary  of  Europe  was  far  out  in 
the  Atlantic  beyond  the  present  coasts  of  Ire- 
land and  France, extending  in  an  unbroken  line 
from  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  Africa.”*  Bolder 
theorists,  accepting  the  suggestions  of  Hum- 
boldt that  the  summits  of  the  Madeira  and 
Canary  Islands  may  once  have  been  a part  of 
the  chain  of  the  Atlas  Mountains,  have  ex- 
tended this  hypothetical  range  to  the  West 
Indies,  and  constructed  a continent  which 
once  joined  Africa  with  Central  America. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  note  within 
ordinary  limits  the  philological  and  ethno- 
logical comparisons  which  afford  the  data 
from  which  are  di’awn  the  plausible  argu- 
ments arrayed  in  support  of  these  early 
theories,  or  the  legends  which  form  so  im- 
portant a featui-e  in  the  chain  of  evidence 
relied  upon.  Prominent  among  the  latter, 
however,  is  the  story  of  the  lost  Atlantis, 


THE  DARK  AND  BLOODY  GROUND— ITS  PREHISTORIC  ANNALS. 


*Prehistorie  man ; Bryant’s  History  U.  S. ; vide  Rafinesque,  el  al. 


92 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


which  Plato  records  as  related  to  Solon  by 
an  Egyptian  priest;  some  9,000  years  before 
his  time,  the  priest  said,  a great  insular  con- 
tinent, including  the  Azores,  Madeira,  Canary 
and  Cape  Verde  Islands,  and  reaching  far  out 
into  the  ocean,  was  destroyed  by  an  earth- 
quake and  submerged,  with  all  its  powerful 
and  warlike  race  of  inhabitants. 

Of  these  early  archaeological  speculations, 
one  which  possesses  the  additional  interest 
afforded  by  a local  coloring  is  found  in  the 
introductory  pages  of  Marshall’s  “History  of 
Kentucky,”  published  in  18‘24.  In  this 
article  the  learned  Prof.  Ratinesque*  has 
briefly  noted  the  regular  succession  of  the 
principal  events  which  preceded  the  advent 
of  the  modern  nations  upon  this  continent. 
He  adopts  a theory  which  harmonizes  the 
various  suggestions  as  to  a derivative  origin 
of  the  Americans,  and  makes  the  “Atalan’’ 
and  “Cutan”  nations,  which  found  their 
way  thither  from  the  east,  the  pioneers  of 
human  existence  in  America;  subsequently 
the  “Iztacan”  and  “Oghuzians”  coming 
from  the  west  invaded  the  first  settlements, 
and  eventually  became  masters  of  the  situa- 
tion. The  periods  which  cover  the  evolution 
of  this  prehistoric  society  are,  (1st)  from 
the  dispersion  of  mankind  to  the  first  discov- 
ery of  America,  including  several  centuries; 
(2nd)  from  the  discovery  of  America  to  the 
founding  of  the  western  empires,  including 
some  centuries;  (3d)  from  the  foundation  of 
these  empires  to  the  Pelegian  revolution  of 
nature,  including  several  centuries;  (4th)from 
the  Pelegian  revolution  to  the  invasion  of 
the  Iztacan  nations,  including  about  twelve 
centuries;  (5th)  from  the  Iztacan  invasion  to 
the  decline  and  fall  of  the  Atalan  and  Cutan 
nations  in  North  America,  including  about 
thirty  centuries  to  the  present  time. 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  periods  are 

^Prof.  C.  S.  Eafinesque  was  a gentleman  of  great  and 
very  versatile  talent.  Pie  was  one  of  the  pioneers  in  scientific 
research,  and  much  of  his  work  has  been  superseded  by  more 
recent  investigations.  His  “Annals  of  Kentucky,’’  of  which  ex- 
tended notice  is  made  in  these  pages  is  entitled  to  considera- 
tion only  as  a curious  speculation  which  ihe  vague  ideas  enter- 
tained at  his  time  alone  could  warrant.  He  was  born  at  Galata, 
Turkey,  in  1784;  came  to  America  in  1802;  in  1819  was  made 
Professor  of  Natural  Sciences  in  the  Transylvania  University,  at 
Lexington,  Ky.,  a position  he  held  for  seven  years.  He  died  in 
Philadelphia,  in  1840.  He  published  several  works  on  scientific 
subjects,  none  of  which  survive  save  his  writings  on  '‘Recent 
and  Fossil  Conchology,”  edited  by  W.  G.  Binney  and  G.  W. 
Tryon,  Jr. 


entirely  arbitrary,  good  for  this  theory  and 
theorist  only,  and  begin  with  the  cessation  of 
the  Biblical  flood.  To  the  first  period  is  as- 
signed the  primary  activities  of  the  second 
era  of  human  existence;  the  repeopling  of 
the  earth;  the  dispersion  of  mankind;  the 
expansion  of  patriarchal  families  into  the 
first  colonies  of  primitive  nations;  and  the 
growth  of  these  nations  into  independent 
historical  factors.  Then  followed  those 
social  convulsions  that  find  expression  in 
revolution,  conquest  and  predatory  wars, 
eventually  resulting  in  the  consolidation  of 
many  of  the  national  fragments  into  one 
powerful  empire  by  the  prowess  of  the  war- 
like “Atlantes”  of  Africa.  The  sway  of  this 
empire  which  “lasted  many  ages”  extended 
from  North  Africa  to  the  British  Islands; 
and  to  the  splendor  of  its  power  was  added 
the  glory  of  discovery. 

Of  the  islands  which  now  lie  off  the 
northwestern  coast  of  Africa,  Prof.  Rafin- 
esque  constructs  “one  or  more”  prehistoric 
islands  called  “Atlantic  Islands,  which  have 
given  the  name  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.” 
From  these  certain  bold  navigators  ar’e  sup- 
posed to  have  found  their  way  to  the  West 
Indies,  driven  by  trade  winds;  and  from 
thence  to  have  discovered  the  mainland. 
This  discovery  found  the  people  of  the 
whole  empire  ready  to  seek  new  fortunes  and 
adventure  in  the  new  land,  and  a great 
throng  of  immigrants  soon  spread  over  the 
American  continent,  the  “marshy  plains” 
bordering  the  large  rivers,  and  the  active 
volcanoes  of  South  America,  no  less  than 
the  fertile  spots  of  North  America,  determin- 
ing the  site  of  the  new  settlements.  The 
“Atlantes”  of  America  became  known  as 
“Atalans,”  from  “Atala,”  a name  givento  the 
newly  discovered  land,  while  the  emigrants 
of  many  subject  nations  contributing  to  the 
population  of  the  New  World  were  generic - 
ally  designated  as  “Cutans.”  The  Atlantic 
shore,  it  is  said,  was  then  an  arid  waste  but 
recently  emerged  from  the  sea,  and  the 
“Great  White  Land  (Mahaswe-ta-Bhumi  of 
Hind)”  beyond  the  Alleghanies  “became  the 
seat  of  a great  empire.”  This  wonderful  ex- 
j pansion  does  not  seem  to  have  endangered 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


93 


the  existence  of  the  great  aggregation  of 
empires,  the  limits  of  which  now  touch  the 
Ganges  on  the  south  and  the  Mississippi  and 
Lake  Ontario  on  the  north.  While  the  em- 
pire of  the  western  continent  had  its  own 
rulers,  and  a long  succession  of  them,  the 
African  emperors  were  “acknowledged  gen- 
erally as  lords  paramount.” 

Such  was  the  situation  of  affairs  when  oc- 
curred that  wonderful  cataclysm  in  which 
the  traditional  island  of  Atlantis  was  lost, 
and  the  whole  face  of  the  world  materially 
changed.  This  fearful  convulsion  of  nature 
severed  all  connection  between  the  hemi- 
spheres, each  survivor  among  the  nations  be- 
lieving the  other  destroyed.  Thus  isolated, 
and  the  cohesive  power  of  the  government 
destroyed  by  the  abolition  of  the  object  of 
common  allegiance,  the  empire  became  di- 
vided into  numerous  nations,  of  which  the 
“ Talegans,”  occupying  Kentucky  and  con- 
tiguous States,  and  the  “ Apalans,  south  of 
them,  were  two  of  the  most  powerful  empires 
of  that  period.  ” Then  followed  (5th  period ) 
the  attack  of  the  “Iztacans,”  named  from 
their  ancestor  “ Iztac.”  These  people  corres- 
pond to  those  of  the  “ Mongolian  immigra- 
tion,” to  which  many  theorists  assign  the 
first  peopling  of  America.  Accoi’ding  to 
Prof.  Rafinesque,  they  may  have  crossed  the 
Behring  Strait  before  the  “ Pelegian  ” cata- 
clysm, but  it  was  some  centuries  before  they 
came  in  contact  with  the  older  occupants  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley.  Of  this  race,  the 
“ Olmecas  or  Hulmecs  ” first  came  in  contact 
with  the  “Talegans,”  but,  unable  to  subdue 
them,  passed  into  Tennessee,  and  finally 
went  to  Anahuac.  Other  Iztacan  nations  fol- 
lowed; came  in  collision  with  the  “ Talegans” 
with  no  better  success,  and  followed  in  the 
footsteps  of  their  predecessors,  with  whom 
they  formed  alliances,  and  constituted  the 
great  “Natchez”  confederation  or  empire. 
This  empire  was  found,  more  or  less  firmly  t 
established,  northward  from  Anahuac  to  Ala-  ' 
bama,  Tennessee  and  Missouri,  and  waged 
frequent  wars  with  the  “ Talegans.” 

About  five  centuries  later  occurred  the 
“Oghuzian”  invasion.  The  Natchez  empire 
had  gained  some  success  in  its  wars  with  the 


“ Atalans,”  and  at  this  time  held  the  country 
from  “ the  Ohio  to  Florida,  and  from  the 
Alleghanies  to  the  Mississippi.  * * * 

The  nations  forming  this  empire  or  league, 
were  civilized  and  cultivators;  they  became 
polished  by  their  intercourse  with  the  Ata- 
lans, and  borrowed  many  customs  from  them. 
They  worshiped  the  sun  and  fire,  but  did 
not  build  circular  temples,  erecting  instead 
pyramids  and  high  altars,  generally  of  a 
square  or  angular  form.  * * * * * 

At  the  Oghuzian  invasion,  the  Taencas,  a 
Natchez. tribe,  occupied  West  Kentucky,  the 
Huasiotos  were  in  East  Kentucky,  and  some 
Talegans  still  held  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  etc. 

“ The  Cherokees  or  Zulocans,  an  Atalan 
nation  dwelling  west  of  the  Mississippi,  be- 
ing driven  by  the  Oghuziaus,  came  to  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee,  and  settled  at  last  after 
many  wars  in  the  mountains  of  Carolina, 
where  they  became  a nation  of  hunting 
mountaineers,  and  gradually  destroyed  the 
Huasioto  nation  of  the  Cumberland  Moun- 
tains. The  Shawanees,  an  Oghuzian  tribe, 
came  then  in  contact  with  the  Natchez  and 
expelled  them  from  Kentucky,  which  the  vic- 
tors occupied  for  a long  time.  The  Talegans 
north  of  the  Ohio  were  partly  destroyed  or 
driven  south  through  Kentucky  to  join  the 
Apalachians,  or  down  the  Mississippi  toward 
Louisiana  and  Mexico.”  And  with  these 
peoples,  the  Natchez  (Iztacans)  and  Oghuz- 
ians,  divided  by  various  influences  into  nu- 
merous petty  tribes,  were  waging  their  inter- 
necine wars  when  the  Europeans  came  upon 
the  scene. 

Such  confusions  of  fact  and  fable  are  cer- 
tainly not  history;  but  while  the  result  of 
the  latest  and  most  exhaustive  examination* 
of  these  theories,  that  “ no  man  at  the  pres- 
sent  day  can  tell  the  origin  of  the  American,” 
may  be  accepted  as  the  truth  of  the  matter, 
yet  it  is  considered  not  impossible  by  a well 
informed  essayist  (Bryant’s  Hist.  F.  S.),  that 
“ in  them  may  yet  be  found  some  aid  in  put- 
ting together  the  Ttn written  story  of  the  early 
human  race  on  this  continent.”  But  the  true 
relation  between  these  speculations  and  the 
teachings  of  true  science  does  not  yet  ap- 

=^'Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States.  H.  H.  Bancroft. 


94 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


pear.  The  developments  of  science  during 
the  past  half-century  have  not  been  few  nor 
unimportant,  but  they  have  supplied  little  of 
detail,  and  have  rather  widened  than  re- 
stricted the  field  for  speculation.  Thus  far, 
scientific  deductions  have  been  largely  nega- 
tive in  their  conclusions,  destroying  confi- 
dence in  old  systems  of  chronology,  and  in 
the  value  of  the  various  historical  traditions 
formerly  relied  upon,  without  supplying  any- 
thing definitive  in  their  place.  Here  and 
there  disconnected  discoveries  establish  the 
fact  that  man  existed  in  a period  so  remote, 
that,  in  its  contemplation,  a thousand  years 
are  “ as  a watch  in  the  night,  ” and  in  the 
archaeological  calendar,  his  career  is  marked 
by  the  chipped  flint  (Palaeolithic)  and  the 
polished  stone  periods  (Neolithic)  of  the 
stone  age,  the  bronze  and  iron  ages;  but  of 
the  centuries  involved  in  each  or  any  age 
the  scientist  knows  scarcely  more  of  the 
number  than  the  school -boy. 

If,  however,  the  later  developments  of 
science  have  only  vaguely  outlined  the  great 
problem  of  man’s  antiquity,  they  have  been 
none  the  less  radical  in  their  influence  upon 
the  earlier  deductions,  Little  more  than 
twenty-five  years  ago,  the  Biblical  chronology 
constructed  by  Bishop  IJsher  had  the  sup- 
posed sanction  of  divine  revelation  as  well  as 
of  science,  and  followers  of  this  system  had 
placed  “the  various  migrations  of  men,  the 
confusion  of  tongues,  the  peopling  of  con- 
tinents, the  development  of  types,  the  whole 
evolution  of  human  society,  within  the  nar- 
row compass  of  little  more  than  4,000 
years,’’  and  yet,  upon  this  settled  state  of 
security  the  revelation  of  the  caves  in  Eng- 
land, Germany  and  France,  and  the  lakes  of 
Sv/itzerland,  came  like  an  ominous  lightning: 
flash  from  a clear  sky.  Incredulous  and 
pious  people  saw,  in  the  new  assumption  of 
science,  the  covert  attack  of  infidelity  upon 
the  validity  of  the  Bible,  while  the  scientist 
welcomed  the  new  light,  and  sought  in  geol- 
ogy the  only  safe  basis  of  antiquarian  re- 
search. The  receding  echoes  alone  are  left 
of  this  short-lived  contest  between  dogma  and 
discovery;  attempts  at  constructing  prehis- 
toric chronologies  are  at  least  suspended;  and 


without  surrendering  anything  of  biblical 
confidence,  mankind  is  slowly  acquiring  a 
faint  conception  of  the  stupendous  work  of 
creation. 

Whether  the  “elder  man”  was  a resident 
of  this  continent  is  still  an  open  question 
with  scientists,  but  which  the  general  belief 
expects  to  be  decided  in  the  affirmative.  To 
this  solution  America’s  greatest  geologist  has 
paved  the  way  in  assigning  to  the  Western 
Hemisphere  an  antiquity  which  was  formerly 
believed  not  possible.  “First-born  among 
the  continents,  though  so  much  later  in  cul- 
ture and  civilization  than  some  of  more 
recent  birth,  America,  so  far  as  her  physical 
history  is  concerned,  has  been  falsely  denom- 
inated the  New  World.  Hers  was  the  first 
dry  land  lifted  out  of  the  waters;  hers  the  first 
shore  washed  by  the  ocean  that  enveloped  all 
the  earth  beside;  and  while  Europe  was  repre- 
sented only  by  islands  here  and  there  above 
the  sea,  America  already  stretched  an  un- 
broken line  of  land  from  Nova  Scotia  to  the 
far  West.”  (Agassiz.)  If  this  high  antiquity 
of  the  Western  Hemisphere  be  true,  it  is 
obvious  that  communication  between  the  two 
hemispheres  may  have  been  effected  some 
ages  earlier  than  the  period  heretofore 
assigned;  arid  if  the  suggestion  of  early  geol- 
ogists that  the  continents  once  approached 
nearer  to  each  other  than  now,  or  that  the 
two  worlds  were  once  connected  by  a conti- 
nental causeway,  be  accepted,  speculation  and 
science  may  unite  to  provide  the  primitive 
American  a derivative  origin  in  the  Palseo- 
lithic  age. 

It  is  to  geological  research  that  science  now 
turns  for  a solution  of  this  question,  and  the 
principal  obstacle  in  achieving  unquestioned 
results  is  not  so  much  the  lack  of  evidence  as 
the  difficulty  of  its  verification.  In  the 
absence  of  the  cave  and  lake  testimony,  which 
has  so  authoritatively  established  the  former 
existence  of  the  primitive  man  on  the  Eastern 
Hemisphere,  dependence  is  here  placed  upon 
the  testimony  of  superficial  deposits  and  nat- 
ural or  artificial  exhumation  of  fossil  remains. 
Of  the  superficial  deposits,  the  more  common 
are  the  stone  relics  found  strewn  broad-cast 
over  the  land.  These  are  seriously  invali- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


95 


dated  as  evidence,  however,  by  the  fact  that 
the  Indians  were  discovered  here  in  the  stone 
age  of  development,  and  so  similar  are  the 
implements  of  this  age  in  all  countries  and 
times,  that  in  a confused  collection  of  these 
remains  no  scientist  professes  ability  to  dis- 
tinguish with  certainty  the  modern  product 
from  the  ancient,  save  as  their  original  sit- 
uation and  surroundings  mark  the  probable 
period  of  their  origin.  Other  evidence  of 
this  character  is  supplied  by  the  shell-heaps 
which  are  found  along  the  Atlantic  coast 
from  Nova  Scotia  to  Florida.  These  have 
been  classed  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell  as  identical 
with  the  garbage  heaps  (Kjokken-Moddings) 
of  Denmark,  which  have  given  such  satisfac- 
tory evidence  of  the  presence  of  the  primitive 
man.  The  American  shell-heaps  are  much 
less  positive  in  their  testimony;  they  are 
evidently  the  refuse  of  shell -fish  eaten  by 
some  race  of  men,  and  their  number  and 
frequent  large  size  clearly  indicate  the  pres- 
ence of  a large  population.  These  relics 
have  scarcely  received  merited  attention  from 
scientific  explorers,  though  such  examinations 
as  have  been  made  seem  to  justify  the  emi- 
nent English  geologist’s  classification.  The 
late  Prof.  Jeffries  Wyman  examined  the 
structure  and  contents  of  some  of  these  heaps 
and  found  no  evidence  of  their  having  origi- 
nated with  the  Indians,  while  trees  g-rowing 
upon  them  “showed, by  their  annular  growth, 
an  age  antedating  from  one  to  three  centuries 
the  landing  of  Columbus.  ”* 

In  addition  to  this  evidence,  several  re- 
markable discoveries  of  human  remains  are 
recorded  which,  if  only  well  authenticated, 
would  seem  to  settle  any  doubt  that  may  ex- 
ist as  to  the  presence  of  the  ‘ ‘elder  man”  on 
this  continent.  Of  these  the  earliest  was 
made  by  Dr.  Koch,  of  St.  Louis  (1839),  who 
dug  up  from  the  bottom-land  of  the  Bour- 
beuse  River,  in  Missouri,  the  bones  of  a mas- 
todon, about  which  were  found  weapons  of 
the  stone  age  “in  such  juxtaposition  as  to 
show  that  man  and  beast  had  met  there  in 
deadly  hostility.”  There  is  no  serious  in- 

=^These  shell-heaps,  it  should  he  added,  are  not  confined  to 
the  Atlantic  border.  They  are  also  found  at  various  points 
along  the  more  important  rivers  of  the  country.  P.  14,  Bryant’s 
History  of  the  United  States.  See  Note  1,  Appendix  A. 


congruity  in  the  claims  of  this  discovery, 
which  would  scarcely  be  questioned  if  the 
presence  of  the  “first  inhabitant”  had  been 
settled  before  this  exploration.  But  science 
is  very  jealous  for  the  truth  and  will  accept 
nothing  upon  which  a shadow  of  doubt  can 
rest.  It  is  considered  remarkable  “that  sub- 
sequent deposits  of  earth  should  have  so 
completely  covered  these.frail  remains,  with- 
out disturbing  them,  that  they  could  be  ex- 
humed in  their  original  condition  so  long 
afterward.”  The  discoverer  proved  to  be  an 
unscientific  enthusiast,  and  notwithstanding 
his  integrity  is  vouched  for  by  respectable 
witnesses,  the  “find”  is  robbed  of  much  of 
its  scientific  value  by  the  doubt  in  which  Dr. 
Koch’s  scientific  ability  is  held.  Other  dis- 
coveries by  the  same  explorer,  equally  re- 
markable and  valuable  if  authenticated, 
share  the  fate  of  the  former. 

Some  five  years  after  Dr.  Koch’s  first  dis- 
covery, the  fragment  of  a human  bone  was 
found  at  Natchez,  Miss.,  in  association  with 
the  bones  of  the  extinct  megalonyx  and 
other  extinct  animals.  These  relics  were 
found  in  a fissure  in  the  earth  caused  by  the 
memorable  earthquake  of  1811-12,  and  were 
examined  by  Lyell  in  1816.  There  is  no  ques- 
tion as  to  the  genuineness  of  these  remains, 
but  with  an  excess  of  caution  the  celebrated 
geologist  suggests  that  these  bones  may 
have  been  brought  into  their  discovered  rela- 
tion by  the  human  bone  falling  from  the  siu’- 
face.  This  opinion  is  now  generally  adopted, 
though  Lyell  subsequently  held  that  “had 
the  pelvic  bone  belonged  to  any  recent 
mamifer  other  than  man,  such  a theory  would 
never  have  been  resorted  to.  ” In  1852,  a 
human  skeleton  was  exhumed  from  a depth 
of  sixteen  feet,  in  New  Orleans,  while  work- 
men were  making  an  excavation  for  the  foun- 
dation of  gas  works.  Above  the  remains 
were  found  evidences  of  “four  successive 
buried  forests  of  cypress,”  and  competent 
judges  suggest  that  these  bones  may  have 
rested  there  50,000  years.  On  the  Petit 
Ause  Island  evidences  of  man’s  activities 
have  been  discovered  in  close  association 
with  bones  of  the  mastodon  and  elephant,  but 
the  erratic  cnaracter  of  the  river  makes  this 


96 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


association  of  relics  less  conclusive,  as  it  is 
suggested  that  the  wash  of  the  hills  may  have 
mingled  the  remains  of  various  periods.* 

Similar  testimony  is  to  be  derived  from 
discoveries  made  in  Illinois,  South  Carolina, 
and  especially  in  the  gold  drift  of  California. 
Of  the  contributions  of  the  latter,  the  most 
notable  is  the  “Pliocene  skull,”  the  popular 
conception  of  which  is  derived  more  widely, 
perhaps,  from  a characteristic  poem  by  Bret 
Harte,  than  from  scientific  publications.  A 
reputed  discovery  of  a fragment  of  a human 
cranium  “180  feet  below  the  surface  of 
Table  Mountain,  in  association  with  fos- 
sil bones  of  extinct  animals,”  was  made 
in  1857.  Some  ten  years  later,  “the  Plio- 
cene skull”  was  discovered,  which  the 
state  geologist.  Prof.  Whitney,  as  well  as 
other  scientists,  believes  to  be  an  authen- 
tic discovery.  “The  shaft  in  which  the  bone 
was  buried  is  150  feet  deep,  and  was  sunk 
through  five  beds  of  lava  and  volcanic  tufa, 
and  four  beds  of  gold-bearing  quartz.  In 
this  superincumbent  mass  no  crack  or  crevice 
was  apparent  through  which  the  bone  cotild 
have  fallen  to  so  great  a depth,  and  the  in- 
ference, therefore,  is  that  it  was  deposited 
in  the  place  where  it  lay  when  that  was  on 
the  surface  of  the  earth’s  crust,  and  that  over 
it  in  subsequent  ages  were  piled  up  the  suc- 
cessive beds  of  gravel  and  volcanic  cinders. 
If  this  be  true  of  these  skulls,  then  the  man 
they  represented  lived  before  the  human 
race  appeared  in  Europe,  so  far  as  yet  ascer- 
tained.” (Hist.  U.  S.,  Bryant.)  Such  evi- 
dences raise  a strong  presumption  that  the 
primitive  man  was  once  a resident  of  this 
continent,  but  the  fact  can  be  demonstrated 
only  by  such  a recurrence  of  “finds”  as  will 

*The  recent  discovery  of  pipes  fashioned  in  the  unmistaka- 
ble form  of  the  elephant  seems  to  afford  reasonable  ground  to  be- 
lieve that  the  people  to  whom  they  originally  belonged  had  been 
co-e‘iistent  with  the  elephant  on  this  continent,  and  affords 
strong  confirmation  of  the  judgment  of  scientists,  who  assign 
this  animal  as  the  object  which  is  symbolized  in  the  Wisconsin 
mound.  The  first  of  these  pipes  was  accidentally  discovered 
about  1S7.3,  by  a German  farmer,  in  Louisa  County,  Iowa.  He 
knew  nothing  of  the  importance  of  his  discovery,  and  used  it 
in  his  smoking,  subsequently  presenting  it  to  a relative,  who 
.also  used  it.  It  was  not  until  about  1880  that  it  came  to  the  at- 
tention of  scientists.  The  owner  was  then  loth  to  part  with 
what  he  esteemed  a curious  trinket,  but  it  subsequently  being 
broken  he  sold  it  for  or  $3,  to  be  placed  in  the  State  museum. 
This  pipe  stimulated  the  prosecution  of  explor.ationsin  mounds 
in  the  county  in  hope  of  discovering  others,  and  Mr.  Blumer 
was  so  fortunate  as  to  find  anotherequally  good  specimen  of  this 
rare  relic.  A full  description  of  the  pipes,  with  an  account  of 
their  discovery,  may  be  found  in  the  American  Naturalist  for 
April,  1882,  Vol.  XVI,  No.  4. 


remove  professional  doubt  from  the  scientific 
mind. 

Coming  down  to  a later  time — one  proba- 
bly falling  within  the  historic  period,  ac- 
cording to  Prof.  Foster — are  found  the 
more  tangible  traces  of  an  early  race  of 
men.  Of  this  people,  named  from  the  char- 
acter of  their  remains,  the  Mound-Builders, 
the  evidences  are  found  vastly  multiplied, 
and  of  such  a character  as  to  affora  means 
of  a reasonable  conjecture  as  to  their  mode 
of  life,  their  advancement  in  civilization,  and 
final  destiny.  These  evidences,  though  first 
accepted  with  great  distrust,  have  been  so 
amplified  and  confirmed  by  more  recent  re- 
searches, as  to  leave  no  room  for  intelligent 
dissent  to  the  former  existence  of  this  race. 
The  remains  upon  which  this  conclusion  is 
based  “consists,”  says  Mr.  Foster,*  “of 
tumuli  symmetrically  raised  and  often  in- 
closed in  mathematical  figures,  such  as  the 
square,  the  octagon  and  circle,  with  long 
lines  of  circumvallation;  of  pits  in  the  solid 
rock,  and  rubbish  heaps  formed  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  their  mining  operations,  and  of  a 
variety  of  utensils,  wrought  in  stone,  copper 
or  molded  in  clay.  ” 

In  the  theory  of  Prof.  Eafinesque,  the 
origin  of  these  works  are  assigned  to  two 
different  periods  and  peoples;  those  of 
“ circular,  elliptical  and  conical  shapes  ” are 
referred  to  the  “ Atalans  ” and  kindred  na- 
tions, while  those  of  pyramidal  form  and 
“ high  altars,  generally  of  square  or  angular 
form,  ” are  referred  to  the  succeeding  “ Izta- 
cans,”  who  may  have  been  allied  by  origin 
to  the  Pyramid-Builders  of  other  parts  of  the 
world.  Though  the  professor  claims  that 
the  earlier  structures  “ may  be  easily  dis- 
tinguished from  the  subsequent  Iztacan 
monuments  by  a greater  antiquity,”  and  the 
difference  in  form,  later  investigators  have 
not  accepted  such  a theory  as  supported  by 
the  evidence.  All  these  remains  are  asigned 
to  a single  race,  the  different  forms  of  the 
structure  being  held  to  indicate  only  the 
different  uses  for  which  they  were  designed. 

The  traces  of  the  Mound- Builders’  occupa- 
tion are  found  throughout  the  broad  expanse 

*“  Prehistoric  Races  of  the  United  States,’"  Chicago,  1873. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


97 


of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  reaching  as  far  north 
as  the  lakes,  indicating  the  former  existence  of 
a great  empire,  the  center  of  which,  as  marked 
by  the  more  important  works,  being  located 
on  the  Ohio  Eiver  and  on  the  Mississippi 
near  the  same  latitude.  There  is  a wide 
diversity  of  form  and  character  in  these  re- 
mains, but  a careful  examination  of  all  the 
evidences  justifies  the  belief  that  a fixed 
principle  underlies  their  construction,  and 
that  a different  form  indicates  a different  ob- 
ject to  be  attained  in  its  erection.  Typical 
mounds,  therefore,  have  been  classed  by 
Squier  and  Davis*  with  reference  to  their 
supposed  use  as  follows:  Inclosures — 1, 

for  defense;  2,  sacred;  3,  miscellaneous. 
Mounds — 1,  of  sacrifice;  2,  for  temple  sites; 
3,  sepulture;  4,  observation.  Both  enclosures 
and  mounds  belong  to  the  same  system,  but 
instances  are  not  wanting  where  each  is  found 
without  the  other. 

Inclosures  which  are  generally  referred  to 
the  military  operations  of  the  Mound-Build- 
ers consist  of  simple  earth-works  throwm  up 
to  the  height  of  from  five  to  twenty-five  feet, 
and  upward  of  twenty-five  feet  thick  at  the 
base,  inclosing  an  area  of  from  five  to  about 
150  acres.  At  the  foot  of  these  lines  of  cir- 
cumvallation  is  a moat  or  ditch  of  a width 
varying  from  twenty -five  to  fifty  and  eighty 
feet,  the  relative  location  of  which  is  an  im- 
portant feature  with  many  in  determining 
the  character  of  the  structure.  By  some 
writers  the  ditch  on  the  outside  is  considered 
essential  to  characterize  the  inclosure  as  a 
fortification;  but  to  this  demand  Prof. 
Foster  has  pointed  out  the  fact  that  the  at- 
tack of  savages  and  the  natural  defense  are 
both  quite  different  from  the  military  opera- 
tions of  civilized  people;  and  that  in  the 
fortifications  of  the  Mandans,  the  ditch  is 
constructed  on  the  inside,  an  arrangement 
that  would  facilitate  the  mode  of  defense 
which  certain  circumstances  suggest,  i.  e.,  of 
rolling  stones  from  the  summit  of  the  em- 
bankment upon  the  attacking  party.  Writers 
in  general,  however,  disregard  this  distinc- 
tion, and  works  with  ditches  on  either  side 

*“  Smithsonian  Contribution  to  Knowledge,”  Washington 
D.  C.,  1848,  Vol.  I,  p. : 


are  classed  as  defensive,  the  location  beinar 
the  decisive  feature  in  the  investigation. 
In  this  connection  an  author  remarks:  “ But 
when  in  addition  to  this  (exterior  ditch),  we 
find  a line  of  simple  or  bastioned  works  occu- 
pying a peninsular  terrace  or  a precipitious 
height  ‘covering’  an  important  region  of 
country,  commanding  every  position,  guard- 
ing every  approach,  served  by  protected 
lines  of  communication,  and  convenient  to 
points  of  supply,  there  would  seem  to  be  no 
further  room  to  doubt.”* 

Other  inclosures  do  not  readily  fall  into 
any  strict  classification.  Those  classed  as 
sacred  differ  from  the  defensive  structures 
principally  in  being  located  on  level  plateaux, 
and  including  within  their  walls  mounds  of 
sacrifice,  temple  sites  and  sepulture,  as  all  of 
these  uses  were  undoubtedly  sacred  to  the 
IMound-Builders.  In  the  miscellaneous  class 
are  placed  a large  number  of  inclosures,  the 
purpose  of  which  there  are  no  data  to  ex- 
plain; the  areas  thus  defined  are  irregular  in 
form  and  vary  greatly  in  size;  and  sugges- 
tions as  to  their  use  have  assigned  them  a 
varying  importance,  from  the  demesne  of  a 
primitive  lord  to  the  site  of  a walled  town. 
•‘There  can  be  little  doubt,”  suggests  Prof. 
Foster,  “ that  the  Mound-Builders  had  their 
national  games  which  were  celebrated  within 
these  inclosures.  They  had,  too,  their  relig- 
ious observances,  their  funeral  services,  and 
their  grand  councils;  but  no  clear  line,  I 
think,  can  be  drawn  in  reference  to  the  dif- 
ferent purposes  of  these  structui’es.  ” 

Mounds  of  sacrifice,  or  altars,  as  they  are 
variously  termed,  are  generally  characterized 
by  the  fact  “that  they  occur  only  within  the 
vicinity  of  the  inclosures  or  sacred  places; 
that  they  are  stratified,  and  that  they  contain 
symmetrical  altars  of  burned  clay  or  stone, 
on  which  were  deposited  various  remains, 

*Thom:is  E.  Pickett,  M.  D.,  in  Collins’  Historical  Sketches 
of  Kentuckj-.  A remarkable  stone  fort  situated  on  an  elevated 
narrow  ridge  at  the  mouth  of  Fourteen-mile  Creek,  in  Clarke 
County,  Ind.,  is  referred  to  this  class  of  structures.  The  highest 
part  of  the  ridge  is  280  feet  above  the  level  of  tlie  Ohio,  and  its 
summit  is  guarded  partly  by  an  abrupt  natural  escarpment  of 
rock  and  partly  by  an  artifical  stone  wall.  The  latter  is  con- 
structed of  loose  stones  regularly  laid  up  but  without  mortar, 
and  in  one  place  is  about  150  feet  long.  -‘It  is  built  along  the 
slope  of  the  hill  and  had  an  elevation  of  about  seventy-five  feet 
above  its  base,  the  upper  ten  feet  being  vertical.  The  inside  of 
the  wall  is  protected  by  a ditch.’’  Another  much  longer  inter- 
val unprotected  by  the  natural  escarpment  was  defended  by  a 
similar  artificial  stone  wall,  ‘'but  not  more  than  ten  feet  Itigh.” 
See  Report  of  Geological  Survev  of  Indiana  for  1873,  p.  126. 

6 


98 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


which  in  all  cases  have  been  more  or  less 
subjected  to  the  action  of  fire.”  (Squier 
and  Davis.)  These  characteristics  are  not 
all  uniformly  present,  however.  In  the 
“American  Bottom,”  where  the  mound  sys- 
tem reached  its  highest  development,  the 
mounds  of  this  class  are  not  inclosed;  and 
others  are  found  with  unmistakable  evidences 
of  being  used  for  sacred  purposes,  but  with 
no  symmetrical  structure  answering  to  the 
typical  altar.  The  remains  found  in  these 
mounds  consist  of  the  manufactures  of  the 
people,  beads  of  shell,  pipes,  tubes  of  copper, 
etc.,  etc.  What  the  ceremonies  were  that 
were  performed  before  these  altars,  archaeol- 
ogists are  at  a loss  to  conjecture.  From  cer- 
tain evidences  it  is  believed  that  human  sac- 
rifice found  a place  in  their  worship,  but 
the  data  relied  upon  may  only  prove  that 
the  Mound-Builders  practiced  cremation. 
Fire  was  undoubtedly  used  in  their  worship, 
as  ‘ ‘ the  altars  or  basins  found  are  almost  in- 
variably of  burned  clay,  although  a few  of 
stone  have  been  discovered.”  These  altars 
are  elevated  basins  seldom  exceeding  a height 
of  twenty  inches,  and  are  generally  found 
resting  on  the  surface  level  beneath  a mound 
regularly  heaped  over  it  in  layers  of  different 
materials,  though  in  a few  excejffions  they 
are  found  on  a thin  layer  of  sand.  They 
are  symmetrical  in  their  construction,  but  not 
uniform  in  size  nor  shape,  varying  in  these 
respects  from  a circle  of  a two- foot  diameter 
to  a parallelogram  of  50x15  feet. 

Temple-Mounds  are  described  by  Squier 
and  Davis  as  “ distinguished  by  their  great 
regularity  of  form  and  general  large  dimen- 
sions. They  consist  chiefly  of  pyramidal 
structures  truncated,  and  generally  having 
graded  avenues  to  their  tops.  In  some  in- 
stances they  are  terraced,  or  have  successive 
stages.  But  whatever  their  form,  whether 
round,  oval,  octangular,  square  or  oblong, 
they  have  invariably  flat  or  level  tops,”  upon 
which  the  temples  are  supposed  to  have  been 
erected,  but  being  constructed  of  perishable 
material  they  have  decayed  and  left  no  sign 
of  their  former  existence.  Mounds  of  this 
class  are  found  much  less  numerous  toward 
the  north,  traces  of  them  at  Aztalan,  Wis., 


being  the  northernmost  limits  of  those  dis- 
covered; they  are  not  found  in  the  lake  re- 
gion, nor  on  that  line  which  seems  to  mark 
the  farthest  advance  of  these  people. 

The  principal  of  these  structures  are  found 
at  Oahokia,  111.;  near  Florence  and  Clai- 
borne, Tenn, ; at  Selzartown,  Miss.;  at  Mari- 
etta, Newark  and  Chillicothe,  the  only  places 
where  the  temple-mound  is  found  in  south- 
ern Ohio,  and  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.  Some  very 
remarkable  mounds  of  this  class  occur  in 
Kentucky,  on  the  “Long  Bottom”  of  Cum- 
berland River,  in  Adair  County,  also  near 
Cadiz,  Trigg  County,  near  Mount  Sterling, 
and  in  Hickman  and  McCracken  Counties. 
In  Whitley  County  is  one  360  feet  long,  150 
feet  wide,  and  12  feet  high,  with  graded  as- 
cents, and  at  Hopkinsville,  Christian  County, 
is  one  of  great  size,  upon  which  the  court 
house  is  built.  (See  Squier  and  Davis,  p.  175.) 

The  mound  at  Cahokia,  “the  monarch  of 
all  similar  structures  in  the  United  States,’^ 
may  well  serve  as  a type.  When  unimpaired 
by  decay,  this  mound  formed  a huge  parallel- 
ogram. with  sides  at  the  base  respectively 
500  and  700  feet  in  length,  and  reaching  to 
the  height  of  90  feet.  On  the  southwest 
there  was  a terrace,  160x300  feet,  which  was 
reached  by  a graded  way;  the  summit  was 
truncated,  affording  a level  area  of  200x400 
feet  in  extent.  This  great  mound  covered  an 
area  of  six  acres,  and,  it  is  conjectured,  bore 
up  a great  temple,  perhaps  the  principal  one 
of  the  Mound-Builders’  empire.  In  close 
proximity  to  this  mound  were  four  other  ele- 
vated platforms,  varying  from  250  to  300  feet 
in  diameter.  The  great  mounds  at  St.  Louis 
and  Marietta  reach  a height  of  thirty- five 
feet,  and  the  one  at  Claiborne,  Tenn. , reaches 
nearly  fifty  feet  in  height. 

The  pyramidal  form  of  this  class  of  struct- 
ure has  given  rise  to  a speculation  which  at- 
tempts to  connect  the  Mound-Builders  with 
the  ancient  Egyptians,  but  such  an  attempt 
seems  to  proceed  upon  hasty  generalizations 
to  conclusions  which  are  generally  rejected 
by  archaeologists.  The  relation  of  this  form 
of  the  temple  mound  to  the  Teocallis  of  Cen- 
tral America  appears  to  be  well  defined,  and 
constitutes,  according  to  Prof.  Foster,  “one  of 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


99 


the  strongest  links  in  the  chain  which  con- 
nects the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley  with  those  of  Mexico  and  Cen- 
tral America.” 

“Sephnlchral  mounds,”  says  Mr.  Foster, 
“consist  often  of  a simple  knoll,  or  group  of 
knolls,  of  no  considerable  height,  without 
any  definite  arrangement  Examples  of  this 
character  may  be  seen  at  Dubuque,  Merom, 
Chicago  and  Laporte,  which,  on  exploration,  j 
have  yielded  skulls  differing  widely  from  the 
Indian  type.  * * * The  corpse  was 

almost  invariably  placed  near  the  original 
surface  of  the  soil,  enveloped  in  bark  or 
coarse  matting,  and,  in  a few  instances,  frag- 
ments of  cloth  have  been  observed  in  this 
connection.  Sometimes  a vault  of  timber 
was  built  over  it,  and  in  others  it  was  in- 
closed in  long,  and  broad  flags  of  stone. 
Sometimes  it  was  plac'ed  in  a sitting  posi- 
tion, again  it  was  extended,  and  still  again 
compressed  within  contracted  limits.  Trink- 
ets were  often  strung  about  the  neck,  and 
water  jugs,  drinking  cups,  and  vases,  which 
probably  contained  food,  were  placed  near 
the  head.  Over  the  corpse,  thus  arrayed,  a 
circular  mound  was  often  raised,  but  some- 
times nothing  more  than  a hillock.” 

There  seems  to  have  been  a wide  diversity 
in  the  burial  customs  of  this  people;  a large 
number  of  mounds  are  found  to  be  the  depos- 
itory of  a single  body;  others  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  some  distinguished  person  had  been 
accompanied  in  death  by  his  personal  attend- 
ants, who  were  placed  about  him  in  the 
tomb;  and  still  others  indicate  a miscella- 
neous burial  of  large  numbers  without  partic- 
ular arrangement.  The  use  of  fire  in  the 
disposition  of  the  dead  is  apparent,  though 
not  in  every  case;  nor  is  it  clear  that  when 
used  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  cremation.  A 
thin  coating  of  moist  clay  was  applied  to  the 
body,  nude  or  wrapped  in  a coarse  fabric,  and 
upon  this  a fire  was  maintained  for  a time, 
more  or  less  prolonged,  but  in  most  cases  the 
heat  was  not  sufficient  to  destroy  the  cloth, 
which  has  sometimes  been  found  in  a good 
state  of  preservation.  This,  evidently,  was 
not  the  result  of  inattention,  as  “all  the  cir- 
cumstances seem  to  indicate  that  burial  was 


a solemn  and  deliberate  rite,  regulated  by 
fixed  customs;”  cremation  and  urn  burial 
were  also  practiced. 

“Mounds  of  observation,”  is  rather  a fan- 
ciful classification  intended  to  mark  isolated 
mounds  found  on  elevated  sites,  the  character 
of  which  generally  discourages  the  idea  that 
they  could  have  been  considered  desirable 
places  of  residence.  This  theory  of  special 
purpose,  however,  has  not  been  accepted  as 
supported  by  any  particular  evidence;  the 
Mound- Builders  undoubtedly  had  need  of 
such  signals  as  the  Indians  still  use,  a flame 
by  night  and  a smoke  by  day,  and  certain 
mounds  have  been  found  in  positions  where 
such  a signal  could  be  seen  for  a score  of 
miles  about. 

There  are  also  a large  number  of  mounds 
found  that  do  not  fall  into  any  of  these 
classes.  Of  these,  the  widest  divergence  from 
the  typical  mound  is  found  in  Wisconsin. 
Here,  instead  of  the  circular  or  pyramidal 
structure,  are  found  forms,  for  the  moat  part 
consisting  of  rude,  gigantic  imitations  of 
various  animals  of  the  region,  such  as  the 
buffalo,  bear,  fox,  wolf,  .^tc. ; of  the  eagle, 
and  night-hawk,  the  lizard  and  turtle,  and  in 
some  instances  the  unmistakable  form  of 
man.  These,  though  not  raised  high  above 
the  surface,  and  even  in  some  cases  repre- 
sented in  intaglio,  attain  the  largest  dimen- 
sions; one  representing  a serpent  extending 
700  feet,  and  another  representing  a turtle, 
had  a body  fifty-six,  and  a tail  250  feet  long. 
The  significance  of  these  peculiar  forms  has 
not  been  determined,  but  unmistakable  evi- 
dences have  been  discovered,  which  mark 
them  as  the  work  of  the  same  race  whose 
structures  are  found  elsewhere,  so  numerous 
throughout  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

The  “Garden Beds  of  the  Northwest”  are 
found  in  lower  Wisconsin,  northern  Indiana, 
and  Michigan — all  in  the  region  bordering 
on  Lake  Michigan.  Their  resemblance  to 
the  beds  of  a garden  suggests  the  name  ap- 
plied to  them,,  though  their  lines  are  not 
uniformly  regular.  Some  of  the  plats  form 
a parallelogram,  others  are  variously  curved, 
while  others  are  in  the  form  of  parallel 
ridges  “as  if  corn  had  been  planted  in 


100 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


drills.”  The  beds  in  Wisconsin  suggest  an 
age  more  recent  than  the  mounds,  “ as  they 
sometimes  extend  across  them  in  the  same 
manner  as  over  the  adjoining  grounds.” 
There  is,  in  addition  to  these  mounds,  a 
large  number  which — following  Mr.  F.  W. 
Putnam — whom  Mr.  Foster  quotes  at  length, 
may  be  called  “habitation  mounds.”  A 
large  number  of  these  are  described  as 
located  at  Merom,  Ind.,  and  a group  of  tifty- 
uine  mounds  at  Hutsonville,  111. , a few  miles 
above  the  former  place  and  across  the 
Wabash  River.  These  mounds  were  care- 
fully examined,  to  ascertain  if  they  were 
places  of  burial,  without  discovering  a single 
bone  or  implement  of  any  kind,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  the  excavation  showed  that  the 
mounds  had  been  made  of  the  various  mate- 
rials at  hand,  and  in  one  case  ashes  were 
found,  which  had  probably  been  scraped  up 
with  other  material  and  thrown  upon  a heap. 
In  the  ancient  fort  at  Merom,  in  depressions 
observed  within  the  earth  works,  were  found 
striking  evidences  of  food  having  been  cooked 
and  eaten  there,  and  the  conclusion  drawn 
by  Mr.  Putnam  is  that  these  pits  were  the 
houses  of  the  inhabitants  or  defenders  of 
the  fort,  who  were  probably  further  protected 
from  the  elements  and  the  missiles  of  assail- 
ants by  a roof  of  logs  and  bark,  or  boughs. 
Another  writer,*  in  a paper  read  before  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement 
of  Science,  at  their  Boston  meeting,  August, 
1880,  says:  “There  is  in  this  region  a 
peculiar  class  of  mounds,  that  was  for  a long 
time  a puzzle  to  me.  They  are  usually 
found  in  groups  of  from  two  or  three  to 
twenty  or  thirty,  and  even  more,  and  are  gen- 
erally on  some  knoll  or  rising  ground  in  the 
vicinity  of  a spring  or  water  course,  espe- 
cially in  the  vicinity  of  our  prairies  or  level 
areas  of  land.  These  mounds  are  from  one 
to  three,  and,  in  a few  instances,  even  four 
feet  in  height,  and  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet 
in  diameter.  One  mound  of  the  group  is 
always  larger  than  the  rest,  and  always 
occupies  a commanding  position.  Sometimes 
the  group  is  arranged  in  a circle;  other 
groups  have  no  apparent  design  in  arrange- 


ment. Numbers  of  these  mounds  can  be 
seen  in  the  cultivated  fields.  Although  I 
have  made  excavations  in  them,  and  dug 
trenches  entirely  through  them,  I have  found 
nothing  but  ashes,  charcoal,  decayed  portions 
of  bones  of  fishes  and  animals  partially 
burned,  shells  from  the  adjacent  streams, 
flint  chippings,  and  in  one  or  two  instances 
a flint  implement  of  a rude  character. 

“After  examining  many  of  these  structures 
I am  induced  to  believe  that  they  are  possi- 
bly the  remains  of  ancient  dwellings,  made 
by  placing  in  an  upright  position  the  trunks 
of  young  trees  in  a circle,  or  in  parallel 
rows,  the  tops  of  the  poles  inclining  inward 
and  fastened  together,  the  whole  being 
covered  with  earth  and  sod  to  form  a roof, 
or  in  the  same  manner  as  many  Indian  tribes 
make  their  mud  lodges;  as,  for  instance,  the 
]\Iandans  and  the  Omahas.  Such  a structure, 
after  being  repaired  from  time  to  time  by 
the  addition  of  more  earth  on  top,  would, 
finally,  by  the  decay  of  the  poles,  fall  inward, 
and  the  ruins  would  form  a slight  mound. 
Conant  and  Putnam  describe  such  mounds 
in  Missouri  and  Tennessee,  some  of  the 
largest  of  these  ancient  towns  being  pro- 
vided with  highways  and  streets.  They  are 
also  found  in  southern  Illinois,  Indiana 
and  Ohio.  Putnam  has  described  an  en- 
closed town  in  Tennessee,  in  which  were 
many  low  mounds,  or  rather,  as  he  calls 
them,  earth  circles,  that  he  has  pretty  con- 
clusively shown  to  be  sites  of  the  lodges  or 
houses  of  the  people.” 

The  traces  of  the  Mound-Builders  are  very 
numerous  in  Kentucky,  and  Prof.  Rafinesque 
estimated  that,  of  more  than  1,000  of  their 
towns  on  the  waters  of  the  Ohio,  about  200 
were  found  in  this  State,  with  “ half  a mil- 
lion of  inhabitants  at  least.”  Temple  sites  of 
terraced  mounds,  are  said  to  be  more  nu- 
merous here  than  in  the  States  north  of  the 
Ohio,  and  notable  examples  of  this  class  have 
been  discovered  and  described*  as  located  in 
the  counties  of  Adair,  Trigg,  Montgomery, 
Hickman,  McCracken,  Whitley,  Christian, 
Woodford,  Greenup  and  Mason.  Of  these, 

* Collins  ’ Historical  Sketches,  1882.  Also  Dr.  Pickett’s 
article  in  same  work;  “Memoir  of  the  Kentucky  Geological  Sur- 
vey,’’  Frankfort,  1883;  Vol.  II,  by  L.  Carr,  etc. 


*Hon.  William  McAdams,  Jr.,  Otterville.  111. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


101 


the  structures  found  near  Lovedale,  in  Wood- 
ford County,  and  in  Montgomery  and  Green- 
up Counties,  have  excited  unusual  interest. 

The  latter  Dr.  Pickett  describes  as  a 
‘•part  of  a connected  series  of  works  com- 
municating by  means  of  parallel  embankments 
and  embracing  the  chief  structural  elements 
peculiar  to  this  class  of  works.  On  a com- 
manding river  terrace  stands  one  of  the 
groups  of  this  series — an  exact  rectangle, 
800  feet  square,  with  gateway,  bastion,  ditch 
and  hollow-way,  with  out- works  consisting  of 
parallel  walls  leading  to  the  northeast,  and 
to  the  southwest,  from  opposite  sides  of  the 
rectangular  inclosure.  The  work  has  many 
of  the  salient  features  of  an  extensive  fortifi- 
cation, and  appears  to  have  been  designed 
for  purpose  of  military  defense;  and  yet  there 
is  nothing  to  forbid  the  supposition,  that  its 
sloping  areas  were  also  devoted  to  the  impos- 
ing rites  of  a ceremonial  worship.  There  is 
a corresponding  group  on  the  opposite  bank 
of  the  Ohio  River,  which  is  obviously  sacred 
or  superstitious  in  its  origin  and  design. 

“The  third  group  of  this  series  consists 
of  four  concentric  circles,  intersected  at  right 
angles  by  four  broad  avenues,  conforming 
very  nearly  to  the  cardinal  points  of  the  com- 
pass. In  the  center  is  a large  mound,  trun- 
cated and  terraced,  with' a graded  way  lead- 
ing to  the  summit.  This  group  rests  upon  a 
lofty  terrace  at  the  base  of  the  hills,  which 
border  the  beautiful  river  valley.  About  a 
mile  to  the  west  of  this  is  a small  circular 
work  with  a central  mound,  which  is  ap- 
proached from  the  exterior  by  a narrow  gate- 
way, through  the  parapet,  and  a causeway 
over  the  ditch.  There  seems  to  have  existed 
a connection  originally  by  parallels,  between 
the  several  groups  of  this  unique  and  enig- 
matical series  of  works.  The  total  length  of 
the  embankments  now  (1871)  traceable  is 
about  eight  miles.” 

Structru’es  which  are  clearly  assignable  to 
the  military  operations  of  this  people  are 
also  found  in  great  numbers  in  the  State. 
These  are  invariably  situated  along  the  large 
water- CO m’ses,  and  are  especially  marked  in 
Allen,  Bourbon,  Boone,  Fayette  and  Pendle- 
ton Counties,  and  suggest  a confirmation  of 


Indian  traditions,  that  on  the  borders  of  the 
Ohio  was  waged  the  decisive  battle  for  na- 
tional existence. 

These  monuments  of  the  Mound  Builders 
bear  undoubted  evidence  of  a great  but  in- 
determinate antiquity,  and  in  attempting  to 
form  any  conception  of  the  period  in  which 
they  had  their  origin,  the  student  is  met  with 
obstacles  that  leave  anvlhing:  save  vague 
results  impossible.  Inferences  drawn  from 
the  physical  character  of  the  mounds  and 
their  surroundings,  are  especially  unsatisfac- 
tory as  to  particulars.  It  is  evident  that  these 
structui’es  were  built  long  after  the  country 
resumed  its  present  topographical  features, 
but  the  absence  from  the  last  formed  terrace  of 
those  works  which  were  undoubtedly  designed 
to  occupy  the  margin  of  the  streams,  suggests 
that  the  present  river  limits  have  been 
assumed  since  the  construction  of  such  works, 
if  not  since  their  abandonment. 

Trees  found  gi’owing  upon  these  mounds 
are  another  source  of  indefinite  suggestion. 
An  examination  of  the  concentric  layers  dis- 
played in  the  trunk  of  these  trees,  indicates 
an  age  of  four  or  five  centuries,  but  this 
proves  only  that  the  works  were  not  occupied 
at  the  time  these  trees  took  root.  There  must 
have  been  a long  period  after  the  abandon- 
ment of  these  works  before  the  forest  growth 
sprang  up  in  the  deserted  haunts  of  man,  and 
it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  the  trees  now 
discovered  standing  were  the  first  to  occupy 
these  ancient  sites. 

It  is  estimated  on  good  authority*  that  it 
takes  from  54  to  130  years  for  trees  to 
increase  their  diameter  by  one  foot,  and  that 
few  individuals  of  the  present  standing 
timber  were  in  existence  at  the  time  of  Co- 
lumbus’discovery  of  America.  There  seems  to 
be  a natural  limit  to  the  life  of  a tree,  even 
when  it  is  spared  the  ravages  of  destructive 
tempests  and  fire;  the  forests  everywhere 
exhibit  evidence  of  natural  waste  and  repair. 
But  once  prostrated,  the  trunk  rapidly  dis- 
integrates and  leaves  no  trace  of  its  former 
existence  save  in  the  humus,  which  forms  so 
prominent  a part  of  the  forest  soil.  So  far 

j * Dr.  I.  A.  Lapham : calculation  is  made  for  Wisconsin, 
\ and  would  vary  somewhat  in  more  southern  latitudes.  Quoted 
by  Foster. 


102 


IlISTOliY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


as  this  evidence  goes,  therefore,  the  trees 
found  growing  upon  these  abandoned  works 
may  be  the  second,  third,  or  an  indefinite 
ordinal  in  the  succession  of  ai’borescent  occu- 
pants, and  the  period  thus  indicated  is  one  of 
complete  indefiniteness,  though  undoubtedly 
very  remote. 

Inquiries  into  the  ethnical  peculiarities  of 
the  Mound-Builders  confirm  this  high 
antiquity.  Only  a few  authentic  crania  have 
been  discovered  in  such  a state  of  preserva- 
tion as  to  offer  data  for  scientific  deductions, 
but  so  far  as  these  establish  a typical  charac- 
ter, they  link  these  people  with  the  Autoch- 
thones of  the  Western  Hemisphere,  and  assign 
them  a kinship  with  the  Toltecs,  of  Mexico, 
who,  according  to  the  uncertain  estimate  of 
Clavigero,  arrived  at  Anahuac  in  648  A.  D. 
"Whatever  date  may  be  assigned  to  this  immi- 
gration, the  civilization  indicated  by  the 
ruins  in  Central  America  was  undoubtedly 
the  result  of  the  slow  increment  of  many 
centuries,  “and  yet  these  ruins,”  says  Prof. 
Foster,  “I  am  disposed  to  believe  are  more 
recent  than  the  mounds  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley.” 

If  it  be  accepted  as  science,  and  traditions 
seem  to  agree  in  pointing  out  that  the 
Mound- Builders  and  the  Toltecs  were  of  the 
same  race,  an  almost  incredible  vista  of 
antiquity  is  opened  up  to  conjecture,  when 
the  civilization  of  the  primitive  portion  of 
the  race  is  considered.  “Their  monuments 
indicate  that  they  had  entered  upon  a career 
of  civilization;  they  lived  in  stationary 
communities,  cultivating  the  soil  and  relying 
on  its  generous  yield  as  a means  of  support; 
they  clothed  themselves,  in  part  at  least,  in 
garments  regularly  spun  and  woven;  they 
modeled  clay  and  carved  stone,  even  of  the 
most  obdurate  character,  into  images  repre- 
senting animate  objects,  including  even  the 
human  face  and  form,  with  a close  adherence 
to  nature;  they  mined  and  cast  copper  into 
a variety  of  useful  forms;  they  quai’ried 
mica,  steatite,  chert  and  the  novaculite  | 
slates;  which  they  wrought  into  articles 
adapted  to  personal  ornament,  to  domestic 
use,  or  to  the  chase;  unlike  the  Indians, 
who  were  ignorant  of  the  curative  properties  ! 


of  salt,  they  collected  the  brine  of  the  salines 
into  earthen  vessels  molded  into  baskets, 
which  they  evaporated  into  a form  which 
1 admitted  of  transportation;  they  erected  an 
elaborate  line  of  defense,  stretching  for 
many  hundred  miles,  to  guard  against  the 
sudden  irruption  of  enemies;  they  had  a 
national  religion,  in  which  the  elements  were 
the  objects  of  supreme  adoration;  temples 
were  erected  upon  the  platform  mounds,  and 
watch-fires  lighted  upon  the  highest  summits; 
and  in  the  celebration  of  the  mysteries  of 
their  faith,  human  sacrifices  were  probably 
offered  up.  The  magnitude  of  their  struc- 
tures, involving  an  infinitude  of  labor,  such 
only  as  could  be  expended  except  in  a com- 
munity where  cheap  food  prevailed,  and  the 
great  extent  of  their  commercial  relations 
reaching  to  widely  separated  portions  of  the 
continent,  imply  the  existence  of  a stable 
and  efficient  government,  based  on  the  sub- 
ordination of  the  masses.”  (Foster.)  To 
reach  such  a pitch  of  power  from  an  autoeh- 
thonic  barbarism  implies  a lapse  of  time  for 
which  science  and  experience  afford  no 
chronometric  guide. 

The  question  still  remains  in  regard  to  the 
origin  and  fate  of  this  people, and  to  it  neither 
science  nor  tradition  gives  a satisfactory 
answer.  As  to  their  origin,  speculation  is 
divided  between  an  autochthonic  and  deriva- 
tive beginning,  though  the  latter  obtains  the 
more  general  endorsement.  Upon  this  theory 
are  based  two  general  hypotheses:  the  one 
supposes  that  the  Mound-Builders  reached 
the  South  American  continent  or  Central 
America  from  the  “Atlantic  Islands,”  that, 
moved  by  natural  causes,  they  immigrated 
northward  to  the  Mississippi  Valley,  from 
whence  they  were  subsequently  driven  by  an 
irresistible  foe,  or  a powerful  political  erup- 
tion among  themselves,  and  that  they  found 
refuge  in  the  “more  congenial  climate  of 
Central  America  where  they  developed  those 
germs  of  civilization,  originally  planted  in 
their  northern  homes,  into  a j3erfection 
which  has  elicited  the  admu’ation  of  every 
modern  explorer.” 

The  other  supposition  suggests  that  the 
Indian  is  a degenerate  descendant  of  these 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


103 


ancient  people,  and  that  the  far-famed 
Montezuma,  whose  “halls”  have  furnished  so 
rich  a store  of  romantic  illusion,  was  nothing 
but  a dirty  Indian,  in  a mud  hut.  This 
theory  rests  largely  upon  a comparison  of 
the  physical  character  of  the  remains  found 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  Colorado  and  New 
Mexico;  but  notwithstanding  the  force  of 
the  argument  thus  derived,  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  by  the  great  mass  of  evidence  the 
Indian  still  stands  an  independent  race.  As 
suggested  elsewhere,  the  conformation  of 
such  skulls  as  appear  to  be  the  well  authenti- 
cated remains  of  the  Mound-Builders  closely 
allies  this  people  with  the  Toltecs,  while  the 
distinctive  character  of  their  structures,  as 
well  as  the  mass  of  traditions  presented, 
strongly  confirms  this  relation.  At  the  same 
time  these  evidences,  as  well  as  the  char- 
acter of  their  civil  institutions,  create  a 
“well  marked  line  of  division  from  the 
Indian.” 

The  two  races_  are,  nevertheless,  histori- 
cally closely  connected,  the  ti’aditions  of  both 
peoples  raising  a strong  presumption  that 
the  Indian  was  the  foe  that  dispossessed 
the  Mound-Builders  of  their  ancient  sites  in 
the  Mississippi  Valley.  Writers  generally 
agree  that  the  physical  character  of  their 
remains  indicates  that  the  empire  of  the 
extinct  race  expanded  from  the  South,  and 
that  the  line  of  defenses,  “ extending  from 
the  soiu’ces  of  the  Alleghany  and  Susquehanna 
in  New  York  diagonally  across  the  country, 
through  central  and  northern  Ohio  to  the 
Wabash,”  marks  the  farthest  limit  of  their 
domain.  This  line  seems  also  to  accurately 
indicate  the  region  from  whence  the  attacks 
were  looked  for  and  probably  made.  The 
traditions  of  the  Mexican  tribes  are  less 
definite  than  those  of  the  northern  Indians 
and  relate  only  that  their  ancestors  were 
overwhelmed  in  their  northern  home  by  the 
Chichimecs  (barbarians)  after  a struggle  pro- 
tracted through  some  years;  and  that  to 
escape  annihilation  the  whole  nation  took  1 
flight  southward,  led  by  their  chiefs.  While  I 
these  traditions  are  vague  and  little  trusted 
by  scientists,  there  are  so  many  independent  j 
partial  confirmations  of  their  truth,  that  this 


theory  in  the  absence  of  a better  one,  seems 
to  be  gaining  ground. 

Of  the  Indian  traditions,  the  one  most 
widely  quoted  is  that  current  in  the  Delaware 
nation.  According  to  this,  many  hundi’ed  years 
ago,  when  this  nation  boasted  in  the  title  of 
Lenni-Lenape — original  or  unmixed  men — 
they  occupied  a country  in  the  far  W est.  From 
thence  the  whole  nation  set  forth  toward  the 
rising  sun,  sweeping  through  the  land  in  a 
great  flood  of  migration,  until  their  progess 
was  stayed  on  the  bank  of  a river  by  a race  of 
giants,  whom  they  called  Allegewy,  for 
whom  the  river  was  subsequently  named 
Alleghany,  Whether  the  river  referred  to  be 
the  one  now  bearing  the  name,  or  the  Missis- 
sippi, writers  do  not  agree.  According  to 
Davidson,*  the  starting  point  in  the  wander- 
ings of  the  Algonkin  tribes  on  the  continent 
as  determined  by  tradition  and  the  cultivation 
of  maize,  their  favorite  cereal,  was  in  the 
Southwest.  Passing  up  the  western  side  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  they  turned  eastward 
across  that  river,  the  southern  margin  of 
their  broad  tract  reaching  about  to  the  35th 
parallel,  while  the  center  probably  covered 
the  present  territory  of  Illinois. 

Wherever  the  point  may  be  that  marked 
the  meeting  of  these  races,  the  contact  gave 
rise  to  immediate  hostilities,  Delaware  tradi- 
tions assigning  the  perfldious  conduct  of  the 
Mound-Builders  as  the  casus  belli.  The 
Lenni-Lenape  sought  and  gained  permission 
to  continue  their  journey  eastward,  but  be- 
ing assailed  by  the  treacherous  Allegewy, 
when  in  the  act  of  crossing  the  river,  the 
former  were  severely  handled,  though  not 
destroyed.  The  Iroquois  nation  was  engaged 
in  a similar  migration  eastward  at  the  same 
time,  but  along  a higher  line  of  latitude,  and 
to  them  the  defeated  Delawares  appealed  for 
assistance  against  the  Allegewy.  Thenceforth 
the  two  migrating  nations  made  persistent 
war  upon  the  race  of  giants,  until,  after  a 
struggle  continued  through  many  years,  the 
giants  were  utterly  defeated  and  driven  from 
their  homes. 

The  Delawares  are  not  alone  in  the  posses- 
sion of  traditions  pertaining  to  this  event  in 

* History  of  Illinois ; Davidson  and  Stueve,  1S77. 


104 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  prehistoric  annals  of  their  race.  The  most 


story  is  found  in  the  tales  of  other  tribes, 
some  of  which  Dr.  Pickett  has  compiled  in 
an  article  of  which  mention  has  been  made 
in  the  preceding  pages.  It  is  said  that  an 
old  Indian  told  Col.  James  Moore,  of 
Kentucky,  that  the  original  inhabitants  of 
this  State  were  destroyed  by  the  Indians; 
that  the  decisive  battle  was  fought  near  the 
falls  of  the  Ohio,  where  the  Indians  succeed- 
ed in  driving  their  foes  on  to  a small  island 
in  the  river  and  in  slaughtering  them  to  the 
last  man.  This  the  Indian  declared  was  a 
tradition  of  undoubted  authenticity  in  his 
tribe,  and  that  the  occurrence  to  which  he 
referred  was  accepted  as  an  unquestioned 
fact.  But  farther  than  this,  the  Indian  sage 
declared  that  the  island  afforded  ocular 
proof  of  the  truth  of  the  tradition,  which  a 
low  stage  of  water  would  reveal.  Sub- 
sequently Mr.  Moore  took  occasion  to  examine 
Sandy  Island  and  discovered  a multitude  of 
human  bones. 

The  celebrated  Indian  chief,  Tobacco, 
gave  a similar  confirmation  of  this  tradition 
in  a conversation  with  Gen.  Clark,  and  it  is 
said  that  Cornstalk  told  substantially  the 
same  story  to  Col.  McKee.  The  latter  chief 
said  that  the  country  on  both  sides  of  the 
Ohio  was  originally  possessed  by  a white 
race,  who  were  familiar  with  the  arts  of 
which  the  Indians  were  entirely  ignorant  ; 
that  this  people  had  been  entirely  destroyed 
by  the  Indians,  and  that  the  earth -works 
found  in  the  State  were  the  remains  of  this 
“very  long  ago”  people. 

This  Indian  lore  receives  incidental  cor- 
roboration from  the  character  of  the  Mound- 
Builders’  remains  found  along  the  Ohio  bor- 
der. The  vast  system  of  defensive  works 
found  on  this  line,  admirably  disposed  to 
cover  points  most  exposed  to  a general  at- 
tack, as  well  as  the  evidences  found  in  the 
counties  of  Bracken,  Pendleton  and  Bourbon 
indicating  siege  operations,  and  a deter- 
mined struggle,  suggest  that  the  Ohio  River 
may  have  marked  the  site  of  the  last  obsti- 
nate stand  of  the  doomed  race.  These  clos- 
ing contests  were  evidently  attended  with 


immense  loss  of  life  on  the  part  of  the  van- 
quished people,  and  doubtless,  as  has  been 
suggested,  the  familiar  appellation  of  the 
“dark  and  bloody  ground”  originated  in  the 
gloom  and  hon-or  with  which  the  Indian 
imagination  natm’ally  invested  the  traditional 
scenes  and  events  of  that  strange  and  troubled 
period. 

Another  suggestion  in  reference  to  the 
ominous  name  the  State  bears,  is  that  the 
Kentucky  River  formed  the  natural  route 
taken  by  the  northern  and  southern  tribes  to 
reach  their  enemies  on  either  side  of  this 
neutral  land.  But  whatever  authority  may 
be  assigned  to  the  one  or  the  other  of  these 
suggestions,  the  fact  remains,  that  a wide 
scope  of  country  ‘ ‘ where  every  prospect 
pleases”  was  originally  shunned  as  a place 
of  residence  by  the  Indian  nations.  The 
larger  portion  of  the  State  was  certainly  a 
land  of  ill-repute  to  the  savages  ; to  their 
superstitious  imagination,  the  land  was 
filled  with  the  ghosts  of  its  slaughtered  in- 
habitants, and  they  repeatedly  expressed 
their  surprise  that  the  whites  could  make  it 
their  home. 

This  ineligibility  does  not  seemed  to  have 
extended  to  the  western  confines  of  the  State, 
as  the  lower  valley  of  the  Cumberland  River 
is  marked  by  the  earliest  French  authorities 
as  the  home  of  the  Shawanese  or  Shawanee 
nation.  How  long  they  had  occupied  this 
region  is  unknown,  but  they  were  finally 
overtaken  by  the  all -conquering  rage  of  the 
Iroquois  about  1672,  and  being  defeated  by 
these  redoubtable  warriors,  the  Shawanese 
fled  up  the  valley,  the  principal  bands  find- 
ing new  homes  in  South  Carolina,  on  the 
head-waters  of  the  Santee  River.  In  the 
precipitation  of  their  flight,  the  nation  was 
broken  into  fragments,  and  a portion  number- 
ing some  450  souls  wandered  for  years  in 
the  wilderness  west  of  the  Cherokees,  who 
occupied  the  Tennessee  Valley  as  far  west  as 
Muscle  Shoals.  This  band  subsequently 
found  its  way  to  the  head  of  the  Alabama 
River.  In  1698,  having  obtained  consent  of 
the  Pennsylvania  authorities,  part  of  the 
nation  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Susque- 
hanna, where  they  attracted  other  bands  un- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


105 


til,  in  1732,  their  braves  numbered  fully 
one  half  of  the  fighting  Indians  of  that 
section  of  the  country.  In  1751  this  rest- 
less nation  turned  again  westward,  and  lo- 
cated just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto 
River.  It  was  some  years  before  the  nation 
again  united  within  the  limits  of  the  State 
of  Ohio,  the  great  unoccupied  scope  of 
country  through  which  this  people  wan- 
dered from  the  Cumberland  to  the  Alabama, 
and  from  the  Santee  to  the  Susquehanna, 
affording  the  vai’ious  detachments  a tempo- 
rary home.  A discontented  portion  of  the 
nation,  it  is  said,  breaking  off  from  the  frag- 
ment sojourning  in  Virginia,  came  again  in 
1730  to  Kentucky,  and  made  a town  in  Clark 
County,  near  Winchester,  which  they  called 
Lulbegrud.  This  party  left  about  twenty 
years  later,  and  joined  their  kinsmen  in 
Ohio. 

After  the  expulsion  of  the  Shawanese  the 
greater  part  of  Kentucky  remained  the  hunt- 
ing ground  of  the  Cherokees,  though  the 
Indian  claims  to  this  region  were  various 
and  conflicting.  The  reputed  conquest  of 
the  Shawanese,  Delawares,  Twigtwees  and 
Illinois  nations  by  the  Iroquois,  was  made 
the  basis  of  comprehensive  claims  by  the 
victorious  confederation.  There  is  little 
question  that  this  powerful  nation  carried 
their  successful  forays  as  far  as  the  Tennes- 
see River  about  1672,  but  that  this  gave 
them  any  substantial  claim  to  this  region 
thus  run  over  is  opposed  to  the  subsequent 
actual  status  as  well  as  to  all  theories  of 
conquest  entertained  by  civilized  nations. 
The  Iroquois  did  not  occupy  this  country  and 
did  not  defend  it,  but  it  was  occupied  with- 
out the  payment  of  tribute  or  homage,  and 
tenaciously  defended  by  other  tribes,  during 
upward  of  a century  after  the  foray  which 
is  made  the  basis  of  Iroquois  claims.  That 
such  a claim  ever  received  serious  recogni- 
tion, is  sufficiently  explained  by  the  obvious 
advantage  which  such  a construction  would 
yield  the  English  in  their  diplomatic  dealings 
with  the  French. 

In  1684  the  Iroquois  voluntarily  placed 
themselves  under  the  protection  of  the  En- 
glish; in  1701  this  relation  was  reaffirmed  or 


renewed;  in  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  (1713)  this 
action  was  emphasized  and  recognized  by  the 
French,  and  in  1726  a formal  deed  of  all  the 
Iroquois  lands  conveyed  them  in  trust  to  the 
English,  “ to  be  protected  and  defended  by 
his  majesty,  to  and  for  the  use  of  the  grant- 
ors and  their  heirs.”  In  the  contest  for  the 
Ohio  Valley  it  was  obviously  to  the  interest  of 
the  English  to  cover  as  much  as  possible  of 
the  coveted  territory  by  this  deed  of  trust, 
and  hence  they  placed  the  most  liberal  con- 
struction upon  the  Iroquois  claims.  That 
such  a construction  would  have  stood  the  test 
of  judicial  examination  may  well  be  doubted, 
but  the  question  between  the  rival  powers  was 
finally  arbitrated  not  by  law,  but  by  might. 

In  1768,  when  the  English  sought  to  ac- 
quire lands  in  western  Virginia  and  Ken- 
tucky. they  were  met  by  the  exaggerated 
pretensions  which  they  had  themselves  fos- 
tered and  urged  against  the  French.  In 
quieting  these  claims  by  purchase,  the  au- 
thorities undoubtedly  acted  with  wisdom,  but 
it  was  something  worse  than  folly  to  press  a 
title  thus  acquired  against  the  occupying 
claimants  of  this  region.  It  was  well  under- 
stood that  the  “ Shawanese,  Delawares,  Min- 
goes  of  Ohio,  and  other  dependent  tribes,” 
rejected  these  pretensions  of  the  eastern  con- 
federacy; and  notwithstanding  the  presence 
of  a single  representative  of  the  Shawauese, 
and  two  of  the  Delawares,  at  the  Fort  Stan- 
wix  conference — a fact  upon  which  much 
stress  is  laid  —it  will  be  observed  that  the 
negotiations  were  had  solely  with  the  Iro- 
quois; the  treaty  was  signed  alone  of  the 
Indians  by  their  chieftains,  and  the  whole 
price  of  the  purchase  placed  in  their  hands. 
That  the  “dependent  tribes”  ever  received 
any  part  of  the  consideration  paid  for  the 
ceded  territory  was  subsequently  denied  by 
these  tribes,  and  this  was  accepted  by  the 
whites  as  the  truth  of  the  matter.  Under 
such  circumstances,  to  insist  that  the  purchase 
of  Fort  Stanwix  covered  all  just  claims  to 
this  territory  was  simply  to  invite  the  murder 
of  such  settlers  as  should  occupy  the  land, 
relying  upon  the  validity  of  this  treaty.  As 
a matter  of  fact  something  of  such  a result 
did  follow,  culminating  in  the  “ Dunmore 


106 


HISTORT  OF  KENTUCKY. 


war.  ” This  outbreak  was  summarily  cheeked, 
and  a short-lived  peace  consummated  in  a 
treaty  negotiated  by  Lord  Dunmore  in  1774; 
in  this  it  is  said,  though  not  supported  by  the 
circumstances  attending  the  event,  that  the 
Stanwix  Purchase  was  confirmed  by  the  Ohio 
tribes. 

Beside  the  [claims  thus  recognized  and 
presumably  extinguished,  the  southern  In- 
dians made  pretensions  to  this  region.  The 
justice  of  their  claim  was  of  course  strenu- 
ously denied  by  the  Iroquois,  but  in  1770,  by 
a treaty  with  the  Cherokees,  at  Lochaber, 
S.  O.,  the  whites  recognized  it,  and  the  terri- 
tory east  of  a line  drawn  from  a point  six 
miles  above  Big  Island,  in  the  Holston  River, 
to  the  Kanawha,  was  purchased.  In  running 
this  line,  however,  it  is  said  that  on  reaching 
the  head  of  the  Kentucky,  Little  Carpenter, 
a Cherokee  chief,  observed  that  his  people 
preferred  to  have  their  lands  marked  by 
natural  boundaries,  and  proposed  instead  of 
the  treaty  line  that  the  course  of  this  river 
should  be  followed,  including  a much  larger 
scope  of  country  to  be  ceded.  This  was 
agreed  upon,  and  the  royal  sanction  obtained ; 


the  Virginia  assembly  voted  the  sum  of 
£‘2,500,  and  paid  it  to  the  Cherokees  for  the 
additional  territory  thus  granted.  In  1775 
the  portion  of  Kentucky  lying  between  the 
Cumberland  and  Kentucky  Rivers  was  pur- 
chased of  the  Cherokees  by  Richard  Hender- 
son and  others,  for  the  sum  of  £10,000. 
This  t)-ansaction  was  subsequently  invali- 
dated by  the  Virginia  assembly  as  I’espected. 
the  grantees,  but  not  as  respected  the  grant- 
ors. 

The  Indian  title  to  Kentucky  was  therefore 
extinguished  by  the  treaty  of  1768,  which 
included  all  of  its  territory  east  of  the  Ten- 
nessee River;  the  treaty  of  1770,  which  in- 
cluded the  claims  of  the  Cherokees  to  the 
region  east  of  the  Kentucky  River;  the  treaty 
of  1774,  by  Lord  Dunmore  with  the  Ohio 
tribes,  which,  it  is  said,  sanctioned  the  treaty 
of  1768;  the  treaty  of  1775,  between  Hen- 
derson and  the  Cherokees,  which  included 
their  claims  to  territory  between  the  Cumber- 
land and  Kentucky  Rivers;  and  the  treaty  of 
1818  with  the  Chickasaws  for  that  portion 
of  the  State  west  of  the  Tennessee  River,  and 
known  since  as  the  “Jackson  Purchase.” 


OHAPTEE  T. 


EXPLORATION  AND  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS  OF  KENTUCKY. 


The  year  1763  saw  the  close  of  the 
French  and  English  war,  the  issue  of 
which,  in  America,  had  settled  the  right  of 
possession  to  the  country  lying  east  of  the 
Mississippi  in  the  English.  The  Virginia 
frontier,  however,  was  restricted  by  treaty 
with  the  Indians  to  the  line  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies.  During  the  terrible  vicissitudes  of 
the  preceding  years,  this  line  had  practically 
fluctuated  between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the 
more  western  ranges,  but  as  the  brunt  of 
hostilities  was  removed  to  the  Canadian  bor- 
der, settlers,  emboldened  by  the  comparative 
peace  which  prevailed,  pushed  westward  to 
the  line  of  Fort  Pitt,  and  a few  hardier  ad- 
venturers extended  their  explorations  into 


the  unknown  country  beyond  the  Big  Sandy. 
Though  contrary  to  the  express  stipulations 
of  unquestioned  treaties,  and  against  the 
earnest  protest  of  the  natives,  the  Virginia 
authorities  did  not  hesitate  to  encourage  this 
intrusion,  granting  some  3,000,000  of  acres 
west  of  the  mountains  as  early  as  1754, 
the  Virginia  assembly,  in  1758,  going  so  far 
as  to  enact  a law  to  stimulate  the  growth  of 
these  settlements. 

The  natural  consequences  followed  this 
unwise  action.  The  Indians,  finding  their 
grievances  unredressed,  refused  to  lay  aside 
their  weapons  on  the  defeat  of  their  French 
allies,  and  rekindled  the  flame  of  war  which 
swept  over  the  western  country  with  resist- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


107 


less  fury,  destroying  all  but  the  three  prin- 
cipal ones  of  the  newly-gained  outposts,  and 
visiting  the  border  with  frightful  carnage. 
The  campaigns  of  Bouquet  and  Bradstreet 
succeeded,  and  were  followed  by  the  treaty 
at  Niagara  and  the  subsequent  conference  at 
German  Flats.  While  neither  of  these  con- 
ferences effected  any  change  in  the  frontier 
of  Virginia,  the  latter  was  designed  to  pre- 
pare the  way  for  such  a change,  and  the  too 
eager  settlers,  taking  for  granted  what  had 
only  been  proposed,  rapidly  regained  the 
ground  lost  by  the  onslaught  incident  to  Pon- 
tiac’s conspiracy,  and  were  once  more  en- 
dangering the  general  peace  by  their  un- 
warrantable intrusion  upon  the  Indian  terri- 
tory. 

Accordingly,  on  the  1st  of  May,  1768,  the 
president  of  the  Virginia  council,  acting  as 
governor,  was  found  addressing  the  sessions 
in  a speech,  from  which  the  following  state- 
ment of  the  situation  is  taken:  “ By  letters 
from  his  excellency,  Gen.  Gage,  commander- 
in-chief  of  his  majesty’s  forces,  and  from  Sir 
William  Johnson,  superintendent  of  Indian 
affairs  (which  I shall  cause  to  be  laid  before 
you),  it  will  appear  that  a set  of  men,  regard- 
less of  the  laws  of  natural  justice,  unmindful 
of  the  duties  they  owe  to  society,  and  in  con- 
tempt of  royal  proclamation,  have  dared  to 
settle  themselves  upon  the  land  near  Redstone 
Creek  and  Cheat  River,  which  are  the  prop- 
erty of  the  Indians;  and  notwithstanding  the 
repeated  warnings  of  the  danger  of  such  law- 
less proceedings  and  strict  and  spirited  in- 
junctions to  them  to  desist,  and  quit  their 
unjust  possessions,  they  still  remain  unmoved, 
and  seem  to  defy  the  orders  and  even  powers 
of  government.”  The  gravity  of  the  situa- 
tion was  fortunately  not  unknown  in  Eng- 
land, and  instructions  were  therefox’e  received 
which  led  to  the  purchase  that  made  the  Ten- 
nessee River  the  western  boundary  line. 

The  territory  thus  secured  was  practically, 
at  this  time,  an  undiscovered  country.  The 
Indian  traders,  who  were  the  first  explorers, 
and  who  long  before  had  become  familiar 
with  every  trail  in  the  region  between  the 
Ohio  and  the  Lakes,  knew  nothing  of  it.  But 
this  obscurity,  strange  as  it  appears,  is 


simply  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  long 
before  the  approach  of  the  whites,  the  last 
wigwam-blaze  within  its  limits  had  been  ex- 
tinguished: and  these  adventurous  merchants, 
attracted  by  the  prosj^ect  of  barter,  had  nat- 
urally been  led  northward  to  the  valleys  of 
Scioto  and  Miami  in  quest  of  the  villages  of 
the  savages.  The  country  west  of  the  Big 
Sandy  was  not  entirely  unknown,  however. 
As  early  as  1730,  a white  captive  among  the 
Indians  had  visited  the  southwestern  por- 
tion of  this  newly  acquired  territory.  This 
was  John  Sailing,  “a  bold  weaver,”  of  Will- 
iamsburg, whom  John  Marlin  induced  to  join 
him  in  an  exploring  expedition  to  the  then 
undeveloped  middle  valley  of  Virginia.  Mar- 
lin was  a pack-peddler,  who  drove  a thriving 
trade  in  small  articles  with  the  settlers  on 
the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and 
over  the  mountains  in  the  vicinity  of  Win- 
chester, but,  attracted  by  the  half- disclosed 
beauties  of  the  unsettled  country  beyond,  he 
planned  this  expedition. 

The  two  prosecuted  their  enterprise  with 
safety  until  they  reached  the  waters  of  the 
Roanoke,  where  they  were  met  by  a roving 
party  of  Cherokees.  Marlin  was  so  fortunate 
as  to  escape,  but  Sailing  was  made  captive 
and  carried  to  the  Indian  towns  upon  the 
upper  Tennessee.  He  remained  with  his 
captors,  it  is  said,  some  three  years,  when  he 
proceeded  with  a party  for  the  salt  licks  of 
Kentucky  in  quest  of  buffalo.  Here  his  party, 
falling  in  with  a band  of  savages  from  Illinois, 
was  attacked  and  beaten.  Sailing  being  made 
prisoner  by  the  victors.  Returning  with  his 
new  captors  to  Kaskaskia,  he  was  adopted  by  an 
old  squaw  as  her  son,  a relation  he  sustained 
for  some  two  years.  In  the  meantime  he  be- 
came quite  identified  with  his  adopted  tribe, 
and  accompanied  its  parties  on  various  expe- 
ditions, at  one  time  reaching  the  Gulf  coast 
in  his  wanderings.  Sailing  was  subsequently 
purchased  from  the  squaw  by  an  exploring 
party  of  Spaniards,  who  soon  tired  of  their 
bargain  and  returned  him  to  his  Indian  mas- 
ters. Shortly  afterward,  accompanying  a 
pai’ty  of  his  tribe  to  Canada,  Sailing  was  gen- 
erously redeemed  by  the  French  governor  and 
sent  to  New  York,  from  whence  he  found  his 


108 


HISTORY  or  • KENTUCKY. 


way  back  to  Williamsburg.  Here  the  story 
of  his  adventures  was  listened  to  with  the 
keenest  interest,  and  his  description  of  the 
valley  gave  a new  and  vigorous  impulse  to 
the  settlement  of  that  portion  of  Virginia. 
But  Kentucky  profited  little  by  this  early 
visit;  the  region  was  too  remote  to  excite 
permanent  interest,  even  if  Sailing’s  oppor- 
tunities for  observation  and  description  had 
been  much  better,  and  it  was  destined  to  rest 
in  the  obscurity  of  the  “great  woods”  until 
another  quarter  century  should  bring  it  near- 
er, and  develop  grander  interests  in  this  un- 
explored wilderness. 

The  first  exploration,  and  perhaps  the  next 
visit  of  the  whites  to  this  country,  was  that 
conducted  by  Dr.  Thomas  W alker,  of  Virginia, 
a gentleman  prominently  identified  with 
early  Indian  affairs.  This  excursion  was 
made  in  the  year  1750,  by  a small  party  of 
Virginians  from  Orange  and  Culpeper  Coun- 
ties, of  which,  next  to  the  leader,  Ambrose 
Powell  was  the  most  prominent  member. 
Their  coui’se  led  southward  between  the  Alle- 
ghanies  and  Laurel  Ridge  to  the  valley  which 
lies  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  latter  range, 
where,  on  a beech  tree,  Powell  carved  his 
name,  which  is  still  borne  by  the  river  and 
valley.  Turning  to  the  west,  they  crossed 
the  rocky  ridge  which  forms  the  dividing  line 
between  Kentucky  and  Virginia,  by  a gap,  to 
which  alker*  gave  the  name  of  Cumberland 
for  the  English  duke,  who  was  a favorite 
character  with  the  Doctor — a name  which 
still  adheres  to  the  range  and  a river  as  well. 
Crossing  into  the  confines  of  Kentucky,  the 
party  found  its  way  to  the  “hazel  patch  in 
Laurel  County,”  where  it  divided.  From  this 
point.  Walker,  with  such  of  the  company  as 
followed  him,  struck  northward  for  the  Ohio 
River.  “Under  the  impression  that  the  Ohio 
was  to  be  found  east  of  north”  says  Marshall, 
“he  took  an  erroneous  course  which  kept  him 
in  a rough  and  mountainous  country  until, 
having  passed  the  Kentucky  River — which  he 
named  Louisa — he  came  upon  Big  Sandy.” 
Thence  the  party  took  its  homeward  course 


*J  udge  Haywood,  in  his  history  of  Tennessee,  credits  the  ori- 
gin of  these  names  to  a party  of  hunters,  who  followed  in  1761; 
the  text  follows  the  authority  of  Marshall  and  Butler. 


by  way  of  the  New  River  Valley,  not  pleasant- 
ly impressed  with  the  country  examined. 

The  result  of  this  exploration  did  little  to 
bring  this  region  into  public  favor.  The 
course  traversed  passed  principally  through  a 
broken  country,  forbidding  in  every  practical 
view,  and  exacting  a prodigious  expenditure 
of  resolution  and  endurance  to  accomplish 
the  journey.  Such  an  experience  was  not 
calculated  to  give  rise  to  a report  that  would 
excite  public  interest  sufficient  to  lead  any  to 
brave  the  privations  and  dangers  of  the  wil- 
derness, and  more  than  a decade  passed  before 
another  attempt  was  made  to  penetrate  the 
obscurity  of  this  western  country. 

If  the  tour  of  Gist,  which  has  been  noted 
elsewhere,  be  excepted,  no  further  visits  to 
Kentucky  were  probably  made  by  the  whites 
until  the  expedition  in  1761,  recorded  by 
Judge  Haywood,  in  his  “History  of  Tennes- 
see.” In  this  year  a party  of  nineteen  men 
from  the  northern  part  of  Virginia,  and  the 
adjacent  portions  of  Pennsylvania,  set  out 
for  the  southwest  on  a hunting  excursion. 
Establishing  a station  on  a branch  of  Pow- 
ell’s River,  in  Lee  County,  Va.,  the  company 
remained  in  this  vicinity  hunting  for  eigh- 
teen months.  Subsequently  they  passed 
through  Cumberland  Gap  into  the  country 
beyond,  but  no  record  of  their  exploration 
has  been  preserved.  It  is  to  this  party  that 
Judge  Haywood  assigns  the  distinction  of 
being  the  nomenclators  of  this  region, 
though  probably  this  claim  should  properly 
be  restricted  to  the  name  of  Clinch  River  and 
sundry  “ ridges  ” named  for  members  of  the 
company.  In  1768,  the  same  persons,  save 
two  or  three  who  remained  at  home,  again 
visited  Powell  Valley,  crossed  the  mountains 
at  Cumberland  Gap,  and  spent  the  hunting 
season  on  Cumberland  River.  In  the  follow- 
ing year  they  carried  their  hunting  opera- 
tions to  the  vicinity  of  the  present  site  of 
Crab  Orchard,  Ky.,  where  they  found  such 
profitable  sport  as  induced  them  to  repeat 
their  visit  in  several  successive  years. 

In  1765,occured  the  conference  at  German 
Flats;  and  the  following  year,  stimulated  by 
the  rumor  that  Sir  William  Johnson  had 
purchased  the  lands  west  of  the  Alleghanies, 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


109 


lying  between  tbe  Ohio  and  the  Tennessee,  for 
the  king,  a party  of  four  whites,  accompanied 
by  a young  mulatto  slave  and  led  by  James 
Smith — variously  titled  as  colonel  or  captain 
— set  out  from  North  Carolina  to  examine  the 
new  purchase.  Passing  through  Cumberland 
Gap  they  first  explored  the  country  south  of 
the  Kentucky  line  as  far  as  the  present  site  of 
Nashville;  thence  following  the  course  of  the 
Cumberland  River,  they  explored  the  country 
adjacent  to  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee 
Rivers  to  the  Ohio.  Here  the  company 
divided — Smith  determining  to  return  home, 
while  his  companions  proposed  to  extend 
their  tour  to  the  Illinois  country.  On  separ- 
ating, Smith  sent  his  horse  with  his  com- 
panions, “as  it  was  difficult  to  take  a horse 
through  the  mountain,”  and  they,  providing 
him  with  a generous  supply  of  ammunition, 
left  him  to  pursue  his  homeward  journey  on 
foot,  accompanied  by  the  slave  boy  whom 
his  owner  had  loaned  for  the  purpose. 

Smith  has  left  a record  of  this  adventure, 
in  which  he  relates  its  various  incidents  with 
laborious  minuteness.  He  regained  his 
native  State  after  an  absence  of  eleven 
months,  in  a most  destitute  condition; 
‘ ‘ my  clothes,”  he  writes,  “were  almost  worn 
out,  and  the  boy  had  nothing  on  him  that 
ever  was  spun.  He  had  buckskin  leggins, 
moccasins,  and  breech- clout,  a bear  skin, 
dressed  with  the  hair  on,  which  he  belted 
about  him,  and  a raccoon-skin  cap.  I had 
not  traveled  far  after  I came  in  before  I was 
strictly  examined  by  the  inhabitants.  I told 
them  the  truth,  and  where  I came  from,  etc. ; 
but  my  story  appeared  so  strange  to  them 
that  they  did  not  believe  me.  They  said 
that  they  had  never  heard  of  any  one  coming 
through  the  mountains  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Tennessee,  and  if  any  one  would  under- 
take such  a journey,  surely  no  one  would 
lend  him  his  slave.  They  said  that  they 
thought  all  I had  told  them  were  lies,  and  on 
suspicion  they  took  me  into  custody,  and  set 
a guard  over  me. 

In  1767,  a party  from  South  Carolina — 
Isaac  Lindsey  and  four  others — explored  the 
valley  of  the  Cumberland,  following  its 

*L)rake’s  Captivities;  1839. 


course  nearly  to  the  site  of  Nashville,  where 
they  met  James  Harrod  and  Michael  Stoner 
(men  promi  nent  in  the  early  history  of  Ken- 
tucky), on  a hunting  expedition  from  Illinois, 
having  made  their  way  thither  from  Fort 
Pitt  down  the  Ohio. 

A more  important  arrival  in  Kentucky,  the 
same  year,  was  that  of  the  ubiquitious  Indian 
trader  in  the  person  of  John  Finley,  who 
canre  hither  with  several  companions  for  the 
double  purpose  of  hunting  and  trading  with 
such  wandering  bands  as  he  might  meet. 
Finley  came  from  the  settlements  on  the  Yad- 
kin, and  made  his  way  across  the  Holston 
and  Clinch  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Cum- 
berland; thence  following  the  warrior’s  path, 
“ leading  from  the  Cumberland  ford  along 
the  broken  country  lying  on  the  eastern 
branch  of  the  Kentucky  River,  and  so  across 
the  Licking  to  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,”  he 
reached  the  Red  River,  an  affluent  of  the 
Kentucky,  in  Montgomery  County.  Here 
he  met  a band  of  roving  Indians  with  whom 
he  traded ; but,  save  that  he  was  subsequently 
the  pilot  of  Boone,  nothing  more  is  known 
of  this  hrst  pioneer  of  Kentucky.  “ Were  it 
permitted  to  indulge  the  imagination  in 
drawing  a portrait  for  this  man,”  remarks 
the  historian,  Marshall,  “strength  of  body 
and  vigor  of  intellect,  the  necessary  basis  of 
bold  conceptions  and  successful  enterprise, 
would  form  the  prominent  features  of  its 
foreground.  But  to  the  historian  destitute 
of  facts,  silence  supex’sedes  commentaiy.” 

Notwithstanding  the  extended  explorations 
and  visits  noted,  “the  great  body  of  the 
people  in  the  colony  knew  nothing  about  the 
real  situation  of  the  countiy  now  called  Ken- 
tucky. And  they  heard  it  spoken  of  as 
though  its  existence  were  doubtful,  or  as  a 
tale  told  in  romance  to  amuse  the  fancy, 
rather  than  to  inform  the  judgment,  or  stim- 
ulate the  mind  to  entei’prise. ” (Marshall.) 
But  while  the  net  result  of  these  explorations 
had  done  so  little  to  increase  popular  inform- 
ation, they  had  not  been  lost  upon  the 
leading  minds  in  the  colonies,  and  the  project 
of  foi’ming  an  independent  colony  south  of 
the  Ohio,  long  urged  as  a defense  against 
the  encroachments  of  the  French,  and  since 


no 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  war  supported  by  cupidity  and  ambition, 
seemed  now  likely  to  succeed. 

The  history  of  the  original  colonies  had 
not  passed  unnoted,  and  the  various  compan- 
ies formed  about  this  time  undoubtedly 
originated  in  an  ambition  to  repeat  the  early 
experience  of  the  London  Company,  Lord 
Baltimore  and  others,  under  more  favorable 
circumstances.  Nor  was  this  ambition  con- 
fined to  the  existing  corporations;  certain  of 
the  I’oyal  officials,  apparently  moved  by  per- 
sonal considerations,  were  not  less  interested 
in  this  movement,  though  less  open  in  their 
efforts,  and  among  these,  circumstances  have 
pointed  to  Lord  Dunmore,  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia and  Sir  William  Johnson,  Indian 
agent  for  the  Northern  District,  as  most 
prominent.  W’^ith  the  latter  this  inland 
colony  was  a dearly  cherished  object,  and  to 
his  ambition  may  be  assigned  the  responsi- 
bility for  much  of  the  bloodshed  which 
characterized  the  early  settlement  of  Ken- 
tucky. How  early  he  conceived  such  a 
design  is  uncertain,  but  as  early  as  1766  he 
secured  the  endorsement  of  Gov.  Franklin,  of 
New  Jersey — son  of  Benjamin  Franklin — for 
his  scheme.  The  plan  contemplated  was  the 
purchase  of  the  desired  territory  from  the 
Iroquois,  for  which  a grant  was  then  to  be 
procured  from  the  king,  and  a colony,  of 
which  Johnson  was  to  be  governor,  planted 
thereon.  Through  Gov.  Franklin  the  proj- 
ect was  brought  to  the  favorable  attention 
of  his  father,  then  colonial  agent  at  the  court, 
and  through  Johnson  to  the  notice  of  the 
ministry.  Nothing  could  have  been  more 
ill-advised  at  this  time,  as  the  Indians  were 
already  in  a vacillating  temper,  prepared  to 
attack  the  border  at  the  first  fresh  grievance. 

The  attitude  of  the  savages  hastened  mat- 
ters somewhat  out  of  the  proposed  order; 
the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix  followed,  and  in 
fixing  upon  the  boundary  line,  Sir  William 
was  influenced  more  by  the  necessities  of  his 
project  than  by  the  equities  of  the  case. 
“ Had  it  stopped  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kana- 
wha, the  Indian  frontier  would  have  been 
marked  all  the  way  from  northern  New  York 
to  Florida.  But  instead  of  following  his 
instructions,  Sir  William  Johnson,  assuming 


groundlessly  aright  of  the  Six  Nations  to  the 
largest  part  of  Kentucky,  continued  the  line 
down  the  Ohio  to  the  Tennessee  River,  which 
was  thus  constituted  the  boundary  of  Vir- 
ginia.” (Bancroft.)  “The  fact  that  such  a 
country  was  ceded  voluntarily,  not  after  a 
war,  not  by  hard  persuasion,  but  at  once  and 
willingly,”*  affords  striking  evidence  that 
the  cession  was  previously  arranged  for  by 
Johnson  in  view  of  another  contingency,  and 
that  the  Iroquois  were  alone  consulted  and 
won  by  such  blandishments  as  the  experienced 
Indian  agent  knew  well  how  to  employ. 
However,  the  territory  was  thiis  secured;  but 
the  royal  government  gi’avely  suspected  the 
wisdom  of  adding  to  the  number  of  the 
colonies,  the  growing  insubordination  of 
which  was  already  giving  it  no  little  cause 
for  uneasiness,  and  there  were  enough  prior 
demands  for  grants  before  the  cabinet  to  de- 
lay any  examination  of  this  new  one,  until 
the  opening  difficulties  of  the  revolutionary 
rupture  forced  every  other  consideration  out 
of  mind,  and  rendered  all  such  planning 
vain.  But  the  wind  had  been  sown  in  John- 
son’s unauthorized  action,  and  the  frontiers- 
men of  Kentucky  were  to  reap  the  whirlwind. 

In  the  meantime,  while  royal  officials 
schemed,  and  the  royal  ministry  wearily  sift- 
ed the  numerous  and  conflicting  propositions 
to  colonize  this  newly  purchased  region,  si- 
lent forces  were  preparing  to  solve  the  ques- 
tion of  its  settlement  without  the  sanction  of 
charter  or  the  tinsel  of  government.  The 
return  of  Finley  to  the  North  Carolina  set- 
tlements was  fraught  with  the  most  impor- 
tant influences  for  good  or  ill  to  the  new 
country  he  left  behind  him,  and  it  is  difficult 
to  conjectui’e  when  its  settlement  would  have 
been  effected  had  not  this  visit  happily  end- 
ed in  enlisting  the  interest  of  the  hardy  set- 
tlers on  the  Yadkin.  The  story  of  his  adven- 
tures and  the  tidings  of  the  land  fell  with 
various  effects  upon  his  different  auditors; 
curiosity  struggled  with  doubt  and  a prudent 
regard  for  the  difficulties  of  the  enterprise, 
and  for  two  years  none  appeared  disposed  to 
undertake  the  arduous  journey.  In  the  mean- 
while, the  description  of  Kentucky,  with  its 

*“  Annals  of  the  West,”  by  J.  H.  Perkins,  1846. 


DANIEL  BOONE. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Ill 


noble  stretch  of  untouched  forest,  its  beauti- 
ful rivers  swarming  with  their  finny  tribes, 
its  picturesque  landscapes,  its  fertile  valleys, 
and  more  than  all  the  exhaustless  throng  of 
“beasts  of  every  American  kind”  came  to  the 
appreciative  notice  of  Daniel  Boone,  a resi- 
dent of  one  of  the  valleys  of  South  Yadkin. 

But  little  is  known  of  the  previous  history 
of  this  remarkable  man.  He  was  now  about 
thirty-eight  years  of  age;  “his  manners  were 
simple  and  unobtrusive — exempt  from  the 
rudeness  characteristic  of  the  backwoods- 
man, In  his  person  there  was  nothing  re- 
markably striking.  He  was  five  feet,  ten 
inches  in  height,  and  of  robust  and  powerful 
proportions.  His  countenance  was  mild  and 
contemplative,  indicating  a frame  of  mind 
altogether  different  from  the  restlessness  and 
activity  that  distinguished  him. 

Possessed  of  an  inordinate  passion  for 
hunting  and  adventure,  the  story  of  this  dis- 
tant country  acted  on  him  like  carnage  upon 
the  charger,  that  “smelleth  the  battle  afar 
off;”  and  on  Finley’s  proposing  to  revisit  it, 
he  promptly  determined  to  accompany 
him. 

Accordingly,  on  the  1st  of  May,  176.9,  a 
party  consisting  of  Boone,  John  Stewart, 
Joseph  Holden,  James  Mooney  and  William 
Cook,  under  the  guidance  of  I'inley,  set  out 
fi’om  the  “peaceful  settlements”  on  the  Yad- 
kin for  Kentucky.  The  season  proved  ex- 
ceedingly wet,  a circumstance  that  caused  the 
travelers  extreme  discomfort,  and  added  to 
the  tedious  character  of  the  laborious  journey. 
Their  route  lay  across  the  broad  Appalachian 
Bange,  which  defines  the  tributary  valley  of 
the  Atlantic  on  the  west,  across  the  valleys 
of  the  Holston,  Clinch  and  Powell  Elvers  to 
the  head-waters  of  the  Cumberland,  and 
thence  toward  the  north  by  the  warrior’s 
path.  On  the  7th  of  June  they  reached  the 
Red  River,  where  Finley  had  met  the  natives 
in  his  former  visit,  and  here,  at  the  end  of  a 
fatiguing  journey  of  thirty-eight  days,  pur- 
sued through  a perfect  wilderness — “a  land 
of  precipices,  of  ragged  hill-sides,  of  deep, 
narrow  valleys,  of  tangled  wood  and  impen- 

*Gov.  James  T.  Jlorehead’s  address,  1S40.  See  Appendix 
A,  Note  2. 


etrable  thickets” — they  ceased  their  inarch 
and  prepared  a pei’manent  camp  to  shelter 
them  fi’om  the  storms. 

Hunting  and  the  examination  of  the  coun- 
try next  occupied  their  time,  which  was  thus 
passed,  without  recorded  incident,  until  the 
latter  part  of  December.  In  making  this 
visit  Finley  doubtless  intended  to  renew  his 
trading  relations  with  the  savages,  and  the 
others  joined  him  for  the  sport  and  profit  of 
hunting.  None  were  yet  adepts  in  Indian 
warfare,  and  it  is  certain  that  they  had  no 
reason  to  expect  hostilities.  The  natives  had 
treated  Finley  with  kindness  on  the  occasion 
of  his  first  visit;  the  present  company  had 
made  their  entrance  to  this  region  and  their 
more  than  six  months’  stay,  without  thought 
of  disguise  or  concealment,  unmolested;  and 
whatever  danger  was  to  be  apprehended  from 
the  discontent  of  the  Indians  previous  to  the 
Fort  Stanwix  treaty,  that  compact,  they  were 
certainly  authorized  to  suppose,  had  removed 
all  such  fear.  Whether  any  of  the  party  had 
any  conference  with  the  Indians  or  early 
knowledge  of  their  presence  is  unknown,  but 
it  is  manifestly  improbable  that  six  hunt- 
ers could  unreservedly  ply  their  vocation  for 
so  long  a period  in  the  favorite  Indian  hunt- 
ing-ground of  the  continent,  and  escape  the 
lynx-eyed  observation  of  the  savages.  This 
the  event  proved;  but  how  long  the  party  had 
been  a subject  of  suiweillance,  or  what  the 
cause  of  the  attack  to  be  recorded  was,  can 
only  be  conjectm'ed. 

The  author  of  “Annals  of  the  West”  suo- 
gests  the  probable  explanation:  “the  Indians 
were  always  extremely  jealous  of  any  white 
man  that  showed  the  faintest  intention  of 
residence  on  or  near  their  hunting-grounds; 
if,  therefore,  the  observation  of  several 
months  satisfied  them  that  the  new-comers 
meant  to  lay  equal  claims  with  themselves 
to  the  game  of  their  choicest  forests,  instead 
of  being  mere  transient  traders,  we  need  not 
be  surprised  that  they  seized  the  first  oppor- 
tunity of  making  any  of  them  prisoners.” 
Whatever  the  reason,  on  the  22d  of  Decem- 
ber, as  Boone  and  Stewart  were  returnincr 
from  a hunting  expedition  near  the  Kentucky 
River,  they  were  seized  by  a party  of  In- 


112 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


dians,  who  had  concealed  themselves  in  a 
cane-break. 

In  this  emergency  the  captives  displayed  j 
the  ready  tact  that  seems  instinctive  in  the  ; 
frontiersman.  The  savages  offered  them  no  [ 
violence,  and  affecting  to  accept  the  situation 
as  hnal,  they  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  ob- 
serving that  they  had  disarmed  the  watchful- 
ness of  their  captors.  Encamping  by  a tire 
one  night,  at  the  end  of  a week’s  captivity, 
Boone  discovered  that  the  Indians  had  all 
fallen  asleep,  and  carefully  arousing  his  com- 
panion they  made  their  escape  unobserved. 
Repairing  at  once  to  their  camp  on  Red 
River,  they  found  it  deserted  and  dismantled, 
their  companions  having  I’eturned  to  the  set- 
tlements in  alarm.  But  Boone  and  Stewart 
were  not  so  easily  disheartened;  changing 
their  camp,  it  is  said,  to  a cave,  now  in  Mer- 
cer County,  they  determined  to  brave  the  in- 
creased dangers  and  continue  their  hunting. 

A few  days  later  they  were  unexpectedly 
joined  by  Squire  Boone,  a younger  brother  of 
Daniel,  who,  with  a single  companion,  had 
followed  the  same  route  from  Carolina,  and 
fortunately  chanced  upon  the  site  of  their 
camp.  But  this  auspicious  reinforcement 
was  closely  followed  by  disaster;  a little 
later,  in  another  excursion,  the  elder  Boone 
and  Stewart  were  again  attacked  by  Indians, 
the  latter  being  shot  and  scalped.  This  oc- 
currence so  alarmed  the  companion  of  Squire 
Boone  that  he  started  forthwith  and  alone  for 
the  Carolina  settlements. 

The  two  brothers  were  now  alone  in  a wil- 
derness where  danger  lurked  in  every  shadow. 
Surrounded  by  a vigilant  and  savage  foe,  of 
whose  prowess  they  had  had  fresh  and  terri- 
ble evidence,  separated  by  hundreds  of  miles 
of  difficult  travel  from  the  nearest  settlement, 
they  found  themselves  destitute  of  every  re- 
source but  their  rifles  and  woodcraft.  Un- 
daunted by  the  terrors  of  the  situation,  these 
men  determined  to  stay,  but  soon  the  small 
supply  of  ammunition  warned  them  that  the 
country  must  be  abandoned  or  measures  tak- 
en to  increase  the  supply.  The  first  alter- 
native was  not  to  be  seriously  thought  of, 
and  it  was  decided  that  the  younger  brother 
should  return  to  the  settlement  and  bring 


back  the  necessary  supplies,  while  Daniel  re- 
mained and  extended  his  explorations. 

To  be  thus  absolutely  alone  in  such  a wil- 
derness, might  well  shake  the  resolution  of 
the  stoutest  heart,  and  Boone  records  that  the 
departure  of  his  brother  left  him  for  a time 
dejected  and  lonesome,  but  the  situation 
afforded  him  too  many  distractions  for  this 
state  of  mind  long  to  continue.  He  soon  re- 
gained his  usual  buoyant  confidence  and 
roved  far  and  near,  hunting  without  concern 
and  with  great  success.  During  the  interval 
of  his  brother’s  absence,  Boone  seems  to  have 
abandoned  his  former  camp,  and  to  have 
j rested  no  two  successive  nights  in  the  same 
I locality.  Wandering  wherever  his  fancy  led 
him  he  explored  the  whole  central  portion  o'f 
the  territory  which  now  forms  the  State  of 
Kentucky,  reaching  the  hills  which  overlook 
the  “beautiful  river”  Ohio.  His  experi- 
ence in  Kentucky  appears  to  have  been  his 
first  intimate  relation  with  hostile  Indians, 
but,  ‘ ‘ uniting  in  an  eminent  degree  the 
qualities  of  shrewdness,  caution  and  cour- 
age, with  great  muscular  strength,”  he  suc- 
ceeded in  escaping  the  vigilance  of  his  sav- 
age foes,  though  he  must  have  been  in  con- 
stant proximity  with  one  or  another  of  the 
numerous  Indian  parties  that  frequented  this 
region.  That  he  should  have  been  preserved 
untouched  for  three  months,  beset  by  such 
dangers,  is  little  short  of  a miraculous  inter- 
position of  Providence,  and  goes  far  to  con- 
firm the  old  pioneer’s  belief  in  his  divine  ap- 
pointment “ as  an  instrument  ordained  to 
settle  the  wilderness.” 

It  is  pointed  out  by  the  author  of  “Annals 
of  the  West,”  however,  that  “the  woods  of 
Kentucky  were  at  that  period  filled  with  a 
species  of  nettle,  of  such  a character  that  be- 
ing once  bent  down  it  did  not  recover  itself, 
but  remained  prostrate,  thus  retaining  the 
impression  of  a foot,  almost  like  snow;  even 
a turkey  might  be  tracked  in  it  with  perfect 
ease.  This  weed  Boone  would  carefully 
avoid,  but  the  natives,  numerous  and  fear- 
j less,  would  commonly  pay  no  regard  to  it,  so 
' that  the  white  hunter  was  sure  to  have  palpa- 
ble signs  of  the  presence  of  his  enemies,  and 
the  direction  thev  had  taken.”  But  to  avail 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


113 


himself  of  such  an  advantage  required  a con- 
summate woodcraft,  which  was  the  outgrowth 
of  natural  gifts,  rather  than  instruction,  and 
one  is  at  a loss  whether  most  to  admire  the 
courage  and  capacity  of  Boone  amid  the  per- 
ils of  the  wilderness,  or  that  of  his  brother 
in  his  scarcely  less  hazardous  exploit  of  ob- 
taining supplies. 

But  the  time  approached  when  the  return 
of  Squire  Boone  was  to  be  expected;  he  had 
been  gone  since  the  1st  of  May,  and  as 
July  came  on,  Daniel  directed  his  way  toward 
the  old  rendezvous,  where  he  was  joined  on 
the  27th  of  the  same  month  by  his  brother, 
who  brought  horses  and  a full  line  of  neces- 
sary articles.  The  brothers  thenceforward 
remained  together,  hunting  and  exploring 
without  remarkable  incident  until  the  follow- 
ing March  (1771),  when  they  returned  to  the 
settlements  on  the  Yadkin,  the  elder  with 
the  intention  of  removing  his  family  to  the 
country,  with  the  natural  attractions  of  which 
he  had  become  enamored. 

It  was  September,  1773,  before  the  com- 
pletion of  his  arrangements  permitted  him 
to  set  out,  but  on  the  25th  of  this  month  “he 
and  his  household  left  his  Eastern  home  for- 
ever,’’ and,  accompanied  by  five  other  families, 
took  the  route  to  Kentucky.  On  reaching 
Powell  Valley  the  party  was  happily  rein- 
foi'ced  by  forty  well-armed  men  who  were 
seeking  the  same  destination.  Pressing  for- 
ward without  anticipation  of  trouble  they 
had  just  reached  the  threshold  of  the  State 
when  they  were  surprised  by  a sudden  attack 
on  their  rear  by  the  savages.  The  whites 
soon  recovered  from  their  surprise,  and 
responded  with  a spirited  resistance,  quickly 
beating  off"  the  enemy,  but  not  without  the 
loss  of  six  men  killed  and  wounded,  the  eld- 
est son  of  Boone  being  numbered  with  the 
dead.  This  ominous  introduction  to  the 
“dark  and  bloody  ground”  checked  the  buoy- 
ant spirits  of  the  company;  the  women,  not 
yet  inured  to  the  bloody  scenes  of  border 
warfare,  were  panic-stricken;  and  the  men, 
seriously  impressed  with  the  unexpected 
strength  and  determination  of  the  Indian 
opposition,  did  not  feel  prepared  to  face  such 
perils  with  their  families.  It  was  without 


much  dissent,  therefore,  that  the  party  re- 
traced its  steps,  the  emigrants  taking  up 
their  residence  in  the  valley  of  the  Clinch, 
where  they  remained  until  1775,  separated 
from  their  future  home  by  a double  moun- 
tain range. 

But  the  Boones  were  not  alone  in  their 
knowledge  of  and  desire  to  enjoy  this  region. 
As  early  as  June,  1769,*  a party  of  hunters, 
variously  estimated  from  twenty  to  forty  in 
number,  and  organized  in  Rockbridge  County 
aod  New  River  Valley,  Va.,  and  Holston 
Valley,  in  North  Carolina,  set  out  by  way  of 
Powell  Valley  and  Cumberland  Gap,  for  the 
hunting  grounds  along  the  line  of  the  Cum- 
berland  River.  The  company  was  thoroughly 
equipped  for  a long  stay,  each  man  taking, 
besides  “rifles,  traps,  dogs,  blankets,”  etc., 
one  or  more  horses.  Reaching  the  meadows 
near  the  site  of  Monticello,  Wayne  County, 
they  made  a camp  and  depot  in  v/hich  to  store 
the  peltry  and  game.  From  this  point  they 
ranged  “to  the  west  and  southwest  through  a 
country  covered  with  high  grass,”  until  the 
following  summer,  when  the  sport  was  aban- 
doned. Here  the  company  divided;  ten  of 
the  hunters,  constructing  means  of  conveying 
tbeir  booty  and  themselves  by  water,  went 
down  the  Cumberland  and  Mississippi  Rivers 
to  the  French  fort  at  Natchez,  and  thence 
home;  the  remaining  members  of  the  party 
returned  by  the  outward  route. 

In  the  preceding  fall  (1769)  several  hunt- 
ers, under  the  lead  of  Col.  James  Knox,  sepa- 
rated from  the  main  party,  then  hunting  on 
the  Laurel  River,  and  following  up  the  course 
of  one  of  its  western  branches,  Skegg’s 
Creek,  the  little  party  met  a band  of  Chero- 
kees,  under  the  lead  of  a chief  known  as 
“Captain  Dick.”  A mutual  recognition  fol- 
lowed between  some  of  the  hunters  and  the 
chief,  and  the  latter,  learning  the  whites  were 
in  search  of  meat,  directed  them  to  follow 
the  direction  of  the  creek  across  the  dividing 
ridge,  when  “they  could  come  on  his  river,f 
where  they  would  find  meat  plenty;  to  kill 
and  go  home.”  It  is  not  recorded  whether 
they  obeyed  the  latter  part  of  the  chief’s  in- 

*Marshall  and  Butler  say  1770;  Haywood  and  Collins,  1769. 
i jHence,  since  called  Dick’s  River. 


7 


114 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


junction;  it  is  probable  that  they  did  not,  and 
that  in  1771  they  were  joined  by  some  of  the 
earlier  party  and  a few  recruits,  raising  the 
number  to  a total  of  twenty-two  persons. 
The  hunting  in  this  season  (1771)  was  excel- 
lent, and,  extending  their  excursions  to  the 
barrens  of  Green  River,  they  found  them- 
selves embarrassed  by  their  success.  Secur- 
ing more  skins  than  they  could  carry  away, 
they  constructed  a “skin  house”  on  Caney 
Creek,  in  Green  County,  where  they  stored 
their  surplus  booty.  The  Indians  subse- 
quently capturing  two  of  the  party,  the  re- 
maining members  temporarily  abandoned  the 
locality;  on  their  return  after  a two  months’ 
absence,  they  found  their  dogs,  which  had 
“stayed  by  the  stuff,”  gone  wild,  and  their 
dejiot  despoiled,  a loss  that  one  of  the  party 
expressed  in  a laconic  inscription  on  a tree 
near  by,  “2,300  deer  skins  lost;  ruination,  by 
God.”  A station,  subsequently  made  by  this 
party  on  a creek,  which  takes  its  name  from 
the  occurrence  (Station- Camp  Creek),  was 
also  rifled  by  a band  of  Cherokees,  the  hunt- 
ers losing  all  their  pots  and  kettles,  surplus 
clothing,  and  500  deer  skins.  ■ 

At  length  the  Thought  of  returning  began 
to  suggest  itself.  The  Indians  were  becom- 
ing serious  obstacles  in  the  wav  of  securing 
the  results  of  their  hunting,  and  some  of  the 
party  had  been  absent  from  home  for  upward 
of  three  years.  Accordingly,  late  in  1772, 
they  set  their  faces  toward  the  settlements, 
where  they  arrived  in  safety,  to  the  joy  of 
their  families  who  were  prepared  to  give 
them  up  as  lost,  and  where  the  story  of 
their  adventure  gained  for  them  the  sobriquet 
of  “The  Long  Hunters,”  and  gave  the  new 
land  a more  widespread  celebrity  than  it 
had  hitherto  enjoyed. 

Another  force  now  added  its  jjowerful  in- 
fluence to  develop  the  “distant  land  beyond 
the  mountains.”  The  purchase  of  1768,  fol- 
lowed by  that  of  1770,  had  prepared  the  way 
for  the  sale  of  lands,  and  notwithstanding 
the  inhibitory  proclamation  of  1763  had  not 
been  revoked,  the  keenest  activity  in  land 
speculation  ensued,  surveyors  pushing  their 
lines  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha  as  early 


as  1770,*  The  soldiers  of  Virginia  in  the 
French  war,  to  whom  a land  bounty  had  been 
promised  by  Gov.  Dunmore,  and  whose  title 
had  been  recognized  by  the  crown  and  land 
companies,  were  also  clamorous  for  the  sat- 
isfaction of  their  claims.  It  was  provided 
j that  the  bounty  lands  should  be  located  on 
the  waters  of  the  Ohio,  and  in  1772  the  settle- 
ments having  reached  the  New  River  Valley, 
considerable  surveys  of  these  lands  were 
made  on  this  affluent  of  the  Ohio.  But  the 
fame  of  Kentucky  becoming  rapidly  noised 
abroad  and  the  selection  of  bounty  lands 
being  confided  to  the  beneficiaries,  the  de- 
mand for  locations  in  Kentucky  became  gen- 
eral. 

In  1773,  therefore,  a number  of  surveyors 
were  appointed  to  make  selections  in  Ken 
tucky  for  such  claimants.  Of  these  ap- 
pointees, Thomas  Bullitt,  whose  gallantry 
saved  the  remnant  of  Maj.  Grant’s  troops 
from  that  officer’s  unauthorized  and  disas- 
trous attack  on  Fort  Du  Quesne  in  1758,  was 
the  more  prominent.  Accompanied  by  James 
Harrod  and  others,  f he  set  out  from  Fort  Pitt 
for  the  falls  of  the  Ohio.  On  reaching  the 
mouth  of  tlie  Kanawha,  he  was  joined  by  the 
McAfee  company  intent  upon  a similar  mis- 
sion for  themselves.  The  McAfees  had  left 
Sinking  Creek,  in  Botetourt  County,  on  May 
10,  and  striking  across  the  country  had 
reached  ihe  Kanawha  about  four  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  Elk  River.  Here  they  had  sent 
their  horses  back,  and  constructing  two  canoes 
had  descended  the  river,  by  previous  arrange- 
ment meeting  Hancock  Taylor,  a surveyor, 
and  his  company,  on  their  way  down.  Reach- 
ing the  Ohio,  they  met  Bullitt’s  party,  and 
the  three  parties  thus  united  elected  Bullitt 
captain. 

Deeming  it  prudent,  in  consideration  of  the 

*The  first  authorized  survey  made  in  Kentucky  is  placed  at 
a somewhat  earlier  date  than  the  above  would  indicate.  Collins 
(Vol.  II,  p.  460)  speaking  of  “one  of  the  oldest  patents  probably 
now  in  Kentucky,”  says;  •*  It  was  issued  by  the  crown  of  Great 
Britain  in  1772,  to  John  Fry,  for  2,084  acres  of  land,  embracing 
the  town  of  Louisa  in  Lawrence  County.  Nearly  one-third  of  the 
land  lies  on  the  Virginia  side  of  Big  Sandy  River.  The  survey 
upon  which  the  patent  issued  was  made  by  Gen.  Washington 
between  1767  and  1770,  inclusive,  and  upon  the  beginning  cor- 
ner he  cut  the  initials  of  his  name.  Another  survey  was  made 
by  him  for  John  Fry,  on  Little  Sandy  River,  eleven  miles  from 
its  mouth,  and  in  the  present  county  of  Greenup.”  The  fact 
that  none  of  his  papers  so  far  as  published  mention  these  sur- 
veys, has  given  rise  to  a doubt  whether  Washington  did  the 
work  in  person. 

t Appendix  A,  Note  3. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


115 


hostility  manifested  by  the  Indians,  to  nego- 
tiate with  the  most  troublesome  of  the  Ohio 
tribes,  Bullitt  left  the  company  here  and  set 
out  alone  to  visit  the  Shawanese  town  of 
“Old  Chillicothe.”  He  reached  his  destina- 
tion undiscovered  by  the  Indians,  whose  lirst 
intimation  of  his  presence  was  the  sight  of 
his  white  hag  waving  in  token  of  peace. 
They  were  at  once  eager  to  learn  the  cause  of 
his  presence;  was  he  from  the  Long  Knife?* 
and  if  on  a peaceful  errand,  why  had  he  not 
sent  a runner?  Bullitt,  undaunted  by  the 
situation,  replied  that  he  had  no  bad  news, 
that  he  was  from  the  Long  Knife,  that  he 
had  no  one  swifter  than  himself,  and  being 
in  haste  could  not  wait  the  return  of  a run- 
ner. “Would  you”  said  he,  “if  you  were 
very  hungry  and  had  killed  a deer,  send  your 
squaw  to  town  to  tell  the  news  and  wait  her 
return  before  you  ate  ? ” Such  adroitness 
soon  put  the  savages  in  good  humor,  and 
with  the  deliberate  custom  of  the  Indians, 
deferred  further  conference  until  the  follow- 
ing day.  The  surveyor  then  told  the  Shaw- 
anese that  he  wished  to  settle  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Ohio;  made  the  strongest  assur- 
ances of  friendship  on  the  part  of  the 
whites,  and  acknowledged  that  neither  they 
nor  the  Delawares  got  “ any  ok  the  money 
or  blankets  given  for  the  land  which  I and 
my  xjeople  are  going  to  settle.  But  it  is 
agreed  by  the  great  men,  who  own  the  land, 
that  they  will  make  a present  to  both  the 
Delawares  and  Shawanese  the  next  year,  and 
the  year  following,  that  shall  be  as  good.” 
A delay  of  another  day  was  made  before  they 
would  reply,  when  they  made  answer  to  the 
effect  that  “he  seemed  kind  and  friendly, 
and  that  it  pleased  them  well;”  that  as  to 
“settling  the  country  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Ohio  with  your  people,  we  are  particu- 
larly pleased  that  they  are  not  to  disturb  us 
in  our  hunting.  For  we  must  hunt  to  kill 
meat  for  our  women  and  children  and  to  get 
something  to  buy  our  powder  and  lead  with, 
and  to  get  us  blankets  and  clothing.” 

Parting  thus,  Bullitt  rejoined  his  com- 
panions, who  had  in  the  meantime  reached 
the  mouth  of  Limestone  Creek,  where  Mays- 


ville  now  stands.  Putting  out  from  here  in 
one  boat  and  four  canoes,  the  company  pro- 
ceeded to  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  River, 
where  the  McAfee  party  turned  aside  to 
ascend  this  stream;  the  rest  went  forward  to 
the  falls,  where  they  arrived  on  the  8th  of 
July.  On  their  way  down  the  river  the 
united  party  stopped  occasionally  and  made 
surveys  here  and  there;  several  small  plats 
were  made  in  Lewis  County,  and  on  July  5, 
“a  tract  of  very  good  land  on  Big  Bone 
Creek”*  was  marked  out.  Arriving  at  their 
destination  and  pitching  camp  above  the  old 
mouth  of  Beargrass  Creek,  the  party  under 
Bullitt  began  their  appointed  work  and  con- 
tinued for  about  six  weeks  exploring  and  sur- 
veying lands  in  what  is  now  Jeffei’son  and 
Bullitt  Counties.  In  August,  Bullitt  made 
the  first  plat  of  Louisville, f probably  on 
lands  surveyed  for  John  Connolly,  but  no 
record  was  made  of  this  allotment,  and  it 
was  subsequently  supplanted  by  legislative 
action. 

On  parting  from  Bullitt,  the  McAfee  com- 
pany ascended  the  Kentucky  River  as  far  as 
Drennon’s  Creek;  here  they  found  one  of 
their  party — his  name  is  perpetuated  in  that 
of  the  creek — who,  crossing  the  country  from 
Bone  Lick,  had  preceded  them  one  day.  At 
this  point  the  party  abandoned  their  canoes, 
and  following  a buffalo  trail  along  the  west 
bank  to  a point  opposite  the  site  of  Lee.stown, 
they  forded  the  river  and  on  the  I6th  of  July 
made  their  first  survey  in  the  bottom-lands 
where  Frankfort  has  since  been  built. 
“They  then  went  up  the  ridge  along  the 
present  Lexington  Road,  until  10  or  11  o’clock 
of  the  17th,  when  'they  again  crossed  the 
Kentucky  River  seven  miles  above  Frankfort, 
passed  a little  east  of  the  present  Lawrence- 
burg,  and  camped  near  the  remarkable  spring 
which  is  situated  under  a rock,  on  the  road 
between  Frankfort  and  Harrodsburg — then 
called  the  Cave  spring,  and  now  known  as 
Lillard’s.  After  surveying  some  land,  the 
party  hunted  westwardly,  until  they  dis- 
covered Salt  River,  but  which  they  called 
Crooked  Creek;  they  then  went  down  this 

*Appendix  A,  Note  5. 

tibid;  Note  6. 


*Appendix  A,  Note  4. 


116 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


creuk  to  the  moath  of  Hammond’s  Creek,  sur- 
veying from  this  point  to  the  mouth  of  the 
branch,  on  which  Harrodsburg  now  stands.  ” 
(Butler.) 

This  party  now  broke  up,  Taylor  and  his 
two  assistants  going  to  the  falls  to  join  Bul- 
litt, and  the  McAfees  proceeding  across  the 
country  for  their  homes.  They  started  on 
the  31st  of  July;  rains  were  frequent  and 
game  unusually  scarce;  and  reaching  the 
broken  country  at  the  forks  of  the  Kentucky 
about  the  5th  of  August,  they  found  their 
stock  of  provisions  exhausted,  and  not  a 
livinsr  animal  in  sight  save  themselves. 
Bruised  by  the  stony  paths,  torn  by  the 
briers  and  underbrush  that  thickly  beset  their 
way,  and  famished  for  the  want  of  water 
Avhich  could  nowhere  be  found,  they  pushed 
on  until  the  12th,  when,  as  some  of  them 
laid  themselves  down  to  die,  a more  resolute 
member  of  the  party  fortunately  succeeded 
in  killing  an  elk.  This  timely  supply  of 
food,  happily  supplemented  by  the  discovery 
of  water,  revived  their  drooping  spirits,  and 
the  party,  once  more  refreshed,  pushed  on 
until  they  reached  the  warrior’s  path,  and 
following  this  regained  their  home  byway  of 
Powell  Valley.  Taylor  reached  Bullitt  about 
the  3d  of  August,  and  soon  after,  James 
Douglas,  deputy  surveyor  for  Fincastle 
County,  joined  them  from  Virginia. 

There  were  several  surveying  parties  in 
the  northeastern  part  of  Kentucky  this  year. 
Of  these,  a party  of  ten  under  Capt.  John 
Hedges,  with  Capt.  Thomas  Voung  and 
Lawrence  Darnall  as  chain -carriers,  was 
earliest.  They  came  from  Virginia  by  way 
of  Fort  Pitt  and  the  Ohio  River,  landing  on 
the  site  of  Maysville;  they  gave  the  name 
of  Limestone  to  the  stream  which  empties 
into  the  Ohio  at  this  point,  and  linked  the 
name  of  Darnall  with  the  first  large  creek 
below,  calling  it  Lawrence.  This  party 
made  several  surveys  in  what  is  now  Bracken 
County;  built  an  improver’s  cabin  and  cleared 
a small  piece  of  land  on  the  Ohio  River, 
about  five  miles  below  Augusta.  Gen.  Will- 
iam Thompson,  of  Pennsylvania,  at  the  head 
of  another  party,  landed  at  the  mouth  of 
Cabin  Creek  in  July,  and  made  extensive 


surveys  on  Licking  River  and  its  tributaries, 
remaining  as  late  as  the  20th  of  November. 

The  year  1773  was  further  signalized  by 
the  advent  of  Simon  Kenton  in  Kentucky. 
He  was  a native  of  Fauquier  County,  Va. ; 
born  April  3.  1755,  of  mixed  Irish  and 
Scotch  parentage.  He  grew  to  the  age  of  six- 
teen entirely  without  the  education  of  books 
or  teachers,  living  a careless,  uneventful  life 
until  an  unfortunate  love  affair  turned  him 
into  the  wilderness,  a heart  broken  outlaw. 
He  loved  a maiden  who  did  not  reciprocate 
his  passion,  but  bestowed  her  affection  upon 
his  friend  and  companion.  Attending  their 
wedding  uninvited,  in  his  utter  despair  and 
recklessness,  Kenton  thrust  himself  between 
the  happy  pair  whom  he  found  sitting 
together,  whereupon  their  friends  set  upon 
him  and  gave  him  a good  drubbing.  Soon 
after,  meeting  his  successful  rival  alone  in  a 
retired  spot,  he  attacked  him  and  was  so  far 
carried  away  in  his  rage  as  to  beat  him  unmer- 
cifully. Kenton  was  finally  brought  to  his 
senses  by  observing  the  apparent  fatal  result 
of  his  attack,  and  leaving  his  antagonist  for 
dead,  he  fled  beyond  the  frontier,  his  only 
refuge  from  personal  and  legal  vengeance. 
Traveling  by  night  and  lying  concealed 
by  day,  he  reached  the  Cheat  River  settle- 
ment some  time  in  April,  1771,  and  assumed 
the  name  of  Simon  Butler.  Remaining  here 
long  enough  to  earn  a good  rifle  by  his  labor, 
he  joined  a party  destined  for  Fort  Pitt. 
Here  he  was  engaged  to  hunt  for  the 
garrison,  and  while  thus  employed  formed 
a friendship  with  Simon  Girty,  who  as  a 
renegade  subsequently  ran  such  an  infamous 
career. 

While  at  Fort  Pitt  he  also  met  George 
Yeager,  who,  when  a boy  and  prisoner  among 
the  Indians,  had  visited  Kentucky.  Kenton’s 
enthusiasm  being  kindled  and  fed  by  Yeager’s 
description  of  the  scenery,  fertility  and  game 
of  this  “cane-land,”  he  determined  to  explore 
it  for  himself,  and  in  the  autumn,  1771, 
accompanied  by  Yeager  and  John  Strader,  he 
went  down  the  Ohio,  exploring  the  southern 
bank  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  for 
cane.  Disappointed  in  not  finding  this 
growth  as  described  by  Yeager,  the  party 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


117 


retraced  their  journey  to  the  Kanawha,  where 
they  continued  their  search  without  success. 
They  remained  in  this  region,  however,, 
engaging  in  hunting  and  trapping  during 
this  winter  and  the  one  following,  until  the 
spi’ing  of  1773. 

Hitherto  they  seem  to  have  escaped  the 
observation  of  the  Indians,  at  least  of  such 
as  were  inclined  to  hostilities,  but  one  night 
in  March,  while  sleeping  in  their  rude  camp 
unguarded  and  unsuspecting  of  danger,  they 
were  rudely  awakened  by  a party  of  savages 
who  had  crept  near  enough  to  tire  upon  them 
with  considerable  accuracy.  Yeager  was 
killed,  but  Kenton  and  Strader  escaped  to 
the  woods  unhurt,  but  without  clothing,  save 
the  shirts  they  had  on.  The  survivors  made 
good  their  escape  from  the  Indians,  but 
in  their  pitiable  plight,  without  food  or 
the  means  of  procuring  it,  their  unpro- 
tected bodies  lacerated  by  the  briers  and 
underbrush  that  filled  the  forests,  death  only 
seemed  deferred.  Their  camp  was  on  one  of 
the  upper  western  branches  of  the  Kanawha, 
and  for  six  days  they  toiled  on  their  painful 
journey  with  a scarcely  defined  destination, 
and  living  one  can  hardly  conjecture  how. 
On  the  last  day,  the  two  unfortunate  trappers 
could  only  travel  six  miles,  and  this  progress 
was  made  between  the  vacillations  of  hope 
and  despair,  the  exhausted  men  repeatedly  ly- 
ing down  to  die.  Their  determined  exertions, 
however,  were  happily  rewarded;  at  the  close 
of  the  sixth  day  they  reached  a hunter’s  camp 
on  the  Ohio,  where  they  were  considerately 
fed  and  clothed.  With  this  party  they 
ascended  the  river  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Kanawha,  where  Kenton  engaged  with  one 
of  the  settlers  until  he  had  earned  enough 
to  procure  another  rifle  and  outfit. 

In  the  summer,  he  joined  a party  going 
down  the  Ohio  in  search  of  Bullitt’s  party, 
and  on  their  way,  some  time  in  July,  Keaton 
“with  Michael  Tyger  and  others”  made  some 
surveys  and  “tomahawk  improvements”  along 
and  near  the  river  in  what  are  now  Boyd  and 
Greenup  Counties.  Not  finding  Bullitt,  and 
alarmed  by  the  attitude  of  the  Indians,  the 
party  abandoned  their  canoes  and  under  the 
guidance  of  Kenton  returned  to  Virginia 


through  the  country.  On  reaching  the  mouth 
of  the  Big  Sandy,  Kenton’s  services  as  guide 
being  no  longer  necessary,  he  decided  to 
make  this  his  huntingj- ground  for  the  season, 
and,  in  company  with  William  Grills,  Jacob 
Greathouse,  Samuel  Cartwright  and  Joseph 
Lock,  remained  here  during  the  winter 
of  1773-74  trapping  and  hunting.  In  the 
spring,  selling  their  peltries  to  a Frenchman 
and  general  Indian  hostilities  appearing 
inevitable,  Kenton  and  his  comrades  returned 
to  Port  Pitt,  and  eventually  took  part  in 
the  campaign  of  Lord  Dunmore  against  the 
Shawanese. 

In  1774,  Col.  William  Preston,  the  sur- 
veyor of  Fincastle  County — in  which  was 
included  all  this  new  addition  to  Virginia — 
sent  out  three  deputies,  with  their  assistants, 
to  continue  the  locating  of  military  lands. 
Col.  John  Floyd  was  the  first  to  arrive  in  the 
field,  and  on  May  2,  made  his  first  survey  in 
what  is  now  Lewis  County,  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Scioto,  for  Patrick  Henry — ■ 
200  acres,  binding  one  and  one-eighth  miles 
on  the  Ohio.  On  the  same  day  he  m:ide 
another  survey  four  miles  below  the  first,  and 
continued  until  July,  so  far  as  ascertained,* 
as  follows:  May  7,  in  Mason  County,  below 
where  Dover  now  is;  May  11,  in  Kenton 
County,  about  nine  miles  below  Covington; 
May  12,  in  Boone  County,  including  Big 
Bone  Lick  and  vicinity;  May  16,  in  Carroll 
County,  three  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Kentucky  River;  May  24,  in  Trimble  County, 
about  eleven  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Kentucky;  May  27,  in  Jefferson  County, 
nineteen  miles  above  the  falls  of  the  Ohio; 
June  2,  in  same  county,  five  miles  below  the 
falls;  June  6,  in  same  county,  at  the  mouth 
of  Beargrass  Creek;  and  going  thence  to  the 
Elkhorn  River,  he  made  surveys  in  the  coun- 
ties of  Scott,  Fayette  and  Woodford. 

Floyd’s  colleagues,  James  Douglass  and 
Hancock  Taylor,  were  not  much  later  in 
reaching  Kentucky.  Douglass  probably 
began  his  work  on  the  waters  of  the  Licking; 
on  June  14,  he  is  recorded  as  making  a sur 
vey  of  1,000  acres  for  James  McDowell  on  a 
“south  fork  of  Licking  Creek,”  probably  in 

*See  Collins,  Vol.  II,  p.  23S. 


118 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


Montgomery  County;  subsequently  he  pro- 
ceeded westward  to  what  is  now  Jessamine 
County,  where  he  executed  numerous  surveys 
on  Jessamine  and  Hickman  Creeks;  and 
then  turning  northward  met  Taylor  on  the 
head  waters  of  the  south  fork  of  Elkhorn, 
where  the  latter  had  made  extensive  surveys. 
Obtaining  notes  of  the  distances  and  courses 

O 

he  had  run,  Douglass  surveyed  here  3,000 
acres  for  Edward  Ward;  a similar  tract,  July 
8,  “for  Henry  Collins,  Esq.,  as  a lieutenant 
in  his  majesty’s  navy  in  the  late  war;”  and, 
July  11,  2,000  acres  for  Alexander  McKee. 
Following  the  course  of  this  stream  into 
Scott  County,  he  located  several  thousand 
acres  in  the  vicinity  of  where  Floyd  was 
operating. 

Taylor  seems  to  have  wandered  over  less 
country  than  his  colleagues;  he  began  his 
surveys,  probably,  in  Fayette  County,  where 
he  located  thousands  of  acres  and  remained 
until  July.  He  then  proceeded  to  the  lower 
part  of  the  Kentucky  River,  to  survey  a 
tract  of  land  for  Col.  William  Christian  not 
far  from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  while 
thus  employed  was  attacked  and  seriously 
wounded  by  the  Indians.  Two  of  his  assist- 
ants attempted  to  extract  the  bullet  with  a 
pen-knife,  but  wez’e  unsuccessful;  the  wound 
proved  fatal  on  the  way  to  the  settlement, 
and  Taylor  was  buried  in  Madison  County 
on  a fork  of  Silver  Creek,  which  bears  his 
name. 

In  the  meantime,  a notable  event  was  occur- 
ring near  the  vicinity  of  these  surveys.  In 
Maj^  James  Harrod,  who  had  been  in  one  of 
the  surveying  parti  es  of  the  preceding  year,  led 
a company  of  thirty-one*  men  into  what  is 
now  Mercer  County,  and  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  first  settlement  and  village  in  Ken- 
tucky. The  party  came  from  the  Monon- 
gahela  Valley,  by  way  of  the  Ohio,  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky,  and  ascend- 
ed the  sti'eam  “ to  the  mouth  of  a 
creek  called  (from  that  fact)  Landing 
Run  (now  Oregon),  in  the  lower  end  of  the- 
present  county  of  Mercer,  and  east  of  the 
village  of  Salvisa;  thence  across  the  Salt 
River,  and  up  to  Fountain  Blue,  and  to  the 


place  where  Harrodsburg  now  stands.  In 
two  or  three  weeks  this  was  followed  by 
Isaac  Hite’s  company  of  adventurers  of 
eleven  men.  Capt.  Harrod  and  his  company 
encamped  at  the  Big  Spring,  on  the  east  of 
the  place  where  it  was  agreed  to  lay  off  a 
town.  Thence  the  men  scattered  in  small 
companies  to  select  locations,  improve  lands 
and  build  cabins,  which  they  divided  among 
themselves  by  lot — and  as, ‘the  lottery  cabins’ 
they  were  known  as  long  as  they  lasted. 
John  Crow’s  lottery  cabin  was  near  the  town 
spring  of  Danville.  James  Brown’s,  on 
Clark’s  Run  three-foui’ths  of  a mile  south- 
east of  said  spring,  and  James  Blair’s,  a 
mile  and  a quarter  southwest;  William 
Field’s  a mile  and  a third  west  of  Dan- 
ville; John  Crawford’s,  four  miles  south  of 
Danville;  and  James  Wiley’s,  three  miles 
east  of  Harrodsburg.  There  is  good  reason 
to  believe  that  cabins  wei’e  not  built  for  all 
of  the  company,  and  therefore  those  built 
were  apportioned  by  lot.  The  men  of  Hite’s 
company  ‘improved,’  but  generally  without 
building  cabins.  James  Harrod  found  what 
he  called  the  Boiling  Spring,  which  subse- 
quently became  the  site  of  ‘Boiling  Spring 
settlement,’  six  miles  south  of  Harrodstown; 
here  he  cut  down  brush  and  made  his  improve- 
ment.” (Collins.) 

On  the  16th  of  June,  the  company  united 
to  lay  off  a town,  in  which  was  assigned  to 
each  man  a half- acre  lot,  and  a ten -acre  out- 
lot.  While  this  work  was  in  progress,  Boone 
having  been  sent  to  Kentucky  on  a special 
mission,  reached  this  place  and  assisted  in 
laying  out  the  lots,  one  of  which  was  as- 
signed him.  This  lot  adjoined  one  laid  off 
for  one  Hinton,  upon  which  a double  log- 
house  was  built,  which  was  known  indiscrim- 
inately so  long  as  it  existed  as  Boone’s  or 
Hinton’s  cabin.  Several  other  cabins  were 
built  here,  which  afforded  quarters  for  the 
party  until  July  10th,  when  a band  of  In- 
dians attacked  five  of  the  settlers,  who  were 
attending  a piece  of  corn,  planted  about 
three  miles  from  Harrodsbui’g.  One  of  the 
number,  Jared  Cowan,  was  engaged  in  dry- 
ing some  papers  in  the  sun,  and  was  instant- 
ly killed.  This  sudden  and  fatal  attack  dis- 


*Appendix  A,  Note  7. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


119 


persed  the  squad;  Jacob  Sandusky,  with  two 
others,  supposing  the  main  party  destroyed, 
struck  out  for  the  Cumberland  River,  which 
they  reached  in  safety,  and  thence  by  canoe 
to  New  Orleans.  The  other  survivor  hastened 
to  Harrodsburg,  from  whence  a strong  party 
was  sent  out,  and  the  murdered  man’s  papers 
recovered.  This  confirmation  of  the  report 
of  general  Indian  hostilities,  which  Boone 
had  brought,  quickly  determined  their  action; 
the  scattered  men  were  recalled  at  once,  and 
the  whole  company  speedily  conducted  by 
way  of  Cumberland  Gap  to  Virginia. 

Until  the  middle  of  1774,  the  dissatisfac- 
tion of  the  Ohio  Indians  with  the  Fort  Stan- 
wix  treaty  found  expression  in  open  hostil- 
ities only  within  the  precincts  of  the  dis- 
puted territory.  The  existence  of  this  dis- 
satisfaction, and  the  reasons  therefor,  were 
well  known,  and  as  early  as  1770,  the  fact 
found  record  in  Washington’s  journal.  In 
1773,  Bullitt  probably  expressed  the  calm 
judgment  of  the  leading  rninds,  when  he  rec- 
ognized the  justice  of  these  Indian  com- 
plaints, and  promised  that  their  claims 
should  be  satisfied;  but  it  did  not  require  a 
revelation  to  teach  these  untutored  savages 
that  “ fine  words  butter  no  parsnips.”  The 
blankets  and  presents  were  not  forthcoming, 
but  it  did  not  escape  their  attention,  mean- 
while, that  thousands  of  deer  and  buffalo 
were  falling  a prey  to  the  white  hunter’s 
rifle,  and  that  over  thousands  of  the  choicest 
acres  in  their  hunting-grounds  could  be  seen 
the  surveyor’s  fatal  trail.  Accordingly,  irre- 
sponsible bands  of  the  Ohio  tribes  gave 
deadly  expression  to  the  general  feeling,  and 
"there  were  few  who  ventured  into  this  for- 
bidden ground  but  experienced  the  weight  of 
Indian  resentment.  This  feeling  was  un- 
doubtedly encouraged  by  the  French  traders, 
who  were  still  welcome  among  the  natives, 
and  who  had  not  yet  recovered  from  the 
smart  occasioned  by  the  discomfiture  of  their 
nation;  for  some  little  time  longer,  however, 
a prudent  regard  for  the  power  of  the  English 
delayed  a general  war,  but  with  the  opening 
of  the  year  1774  events  occurred  which  pre- 
cipitated the  Shawanese,  “ the  very  head  and 
front  of  the  offending,”  into  open  war. 


The  earlier  settlements  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies  were  planted  along  the  Cheat  River 
in  1754,  and  along  the  Monongahela  two 
years  later.  Here  their  extension  was  checked 
for  a time  by  the  hostile  activity  of  the  In- 
dians, but  directly  this  was  ended  the  pro- 
gress of  the  settlements  led  toward  the  Ohio. 
The  Zanes  settled  on  the  site  of  Wheeling, 
in  1770,  considerably  in  advance  of  others, 
but  in  1772  settlements  began  to  be  marked 
in  the  country  between  the  Monongahela  and 
the  Laurel  Ridge,  and  in  the  succeeding  year 
the  main  line  had  reached  the  Ohio.  The 
rallying  point  for  all  this  region  was  at  Fort 
Pitt,  at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  whei’e  a vig- 
orous settlement  had  sprung  up  under  the 
name  of  Pittsburgh. 

During  the  French  war  there  was  consider- 
able doubt  as  to  the  jurisdiction  within  which 
the  forks  of  the  Ohio  came,  neither  Pennsyl- 
vania or  Virginia  caring  to  incur  the  respon- 
sibility and  expense  of  defending  it  against 
the  French.  Circumstances,  however,  de- 
volved the  task  principally  upon  Virginia, 
though  both  provinces  contributed  to  its  final 
capture  and  defense.  When  the  geography 
of  this  country  became  better  known,  it  was 
found  that  Pennsylvania  had  profited  most 
by  the  exertions  of  their  joint  efforts — a re- 
sult by  no  means  pleasing  to  the  Virginians. 
As  early  as  1763,  therefore,  a growing  feel- 
ing existed  in  Virginia  that  the  possession 
of  this  point  rightfully  belonged  to  that  prov- 
ince, and  in  the  course  of  the  succeeding 
ten  years,  this  feeling  matured  into  a demand. 

Accordingly,  early  in  1774,  Lord  Dunmore, 
governor  of  Virginia,  sent  his  nephew.  Dr. 
John  Connolly,  to  Pittsburgh  to  assert  the 
claims  of  the  province.  Connolly’s  first  act, 
under  this  authority,  was  to  issue  a procla- 
mation to  the  settlers  in  this  region  to  as- 
semble on  the  25th  of  January,  to  be  enrolled 
and  mustered  as  Virginia  militia.  The  pro- 
prietors of  Pennsylvania  were  I'epresented  in 
the  West  by  Arthur  St.  Clair,  and  he  promptly 
caused  the  Virginian  representative  to  be  ar- 
rested before  the  date  of  the  meeting.  Not- 
withstanding this  marked  challenge  of  Vir- 
ginia’s  authority,  the  people  assembled  ac- 
cording to  the  call,  only  to  be  peaceably  dis- 


120 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


persed  by  the  dominant  authority.  Soon 
after  this,  upon  his  own  authority  and  the 
promise  of  Connolly  to  return  to  his  bond, 
the  sheriff  released  his  prisoner,  who 
straightway  collected  a band  of  followers, 
and  in  March  returned  to  Pittsburgh  to  re- 
assert the  claim  of  Virginia.  Too  strong  to 
be  re-arrested,  the  usurper  repaired  the  fort 
which  had  been  dismantled,  named  it  Fort 
Dunmore,  and  garrisoned  it,  remaining  for 
the  time  master  of  the  situation. 

His  proceedings  thus  far  had  been  carried 
forward  upon  the  sanction  of  the  governor, 
but  it  became  a serious  question  with  Con- 
nolly whether  the  assembly  would  grant  the 
means  of  paying  the  large  expense  involved, 
and  it  is  gravely  charged  that  he  sought 
secretly  to  provoke  a rupture  with  the  In- 
dians to  give  the  color  of  necessity  to  his 
profuse  expenditure.  However  this  may  be, 
in  the  latter  part  of  April,  Connolly  dis- 
patched a letter  to  the  settlers  along  the  Ohio 
warning  them  that  the  Shawanese  were  not 
to  be  trusted,  and  that  the  whites  should  be 
prepared  to  revenge  any  outrages  perpetrated 
by  the  savages. 

On  June  17,  1798,  Gen.  Clark  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  Louisville  Literary  News  Letter, 
discussing  the  responsibility  for  what 
followed  the  events  mentioned  above,  and 
from  it  is  taken  the  following  account  of  the 
situation;  “This  country*  was  explored  in 
1773.  A resolution  was  formed  to  make  a 
settlement  the  spring  following,  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Little  Kanawha  appointed  as 
the  place  of  general  rendezvous,  in  order  to 
descend  the  river  from  thence  in  a body 
Early  in  the  spring  the  Indians  had  done 
some  mischief.  Reports  from  their  towns 
were  alarming,  which  deterred  many.  About 
eighty  or  ninety  men  arrived  at  the  ap- 
]5ointed  rendezvous,  where  we  lay  some  days. 

“ A small  party  of  hunters,  that  lay  about 
ten  miles  below,  were  tired  upon  by  the 
Indians,  whom  the  hunters  beat  back,  and 
returned  to  camp.  This  and  many  other 
circumstances  led  us  to  believe  that  the 
Indians  were  determined  on  war.  The 
whole  party  was  enrolled  and  determined  to 


execute  their  project  for  forming  a settle- 
ment in  Kentucky,  as  we  had  every  necessary 
store  that  could  be  thought  of.  An  Indian 
town  called  the  Horsehead  Bottom,  on  the 
Scioto  and  near  its  mouth,  lay  nearly  in  our 
way.  The  determination  was  to  cross  the 
country  and  surprise  it.  Who  was  to  com- 
mand? was  the  question.  There  were  but 
few  among  us  that  had  experience  in  Indian 
warfare,  and  they  were  such  that  we  did  not 
choose  to  be  commanded  by.  We  knew 
of  Capt.  Cresap  being  on  the  river  about 
fifteen  miles  above  us,  with  some  hands, 
settling  a plantation;  and  that  he  had  con- 
cluded to  follow  us  to  Kentucky  as  soon  as 
he  had  fixed  there  his  people.  We  also  knew 
that  he  had  been  experienced  in  a former 
war.  He  was  proposed;  and  it  was  unani- 
mously agreed  to  send  for  him  to  command, 
the  party.  Messengers  were  dispatched  and 
in  half  an  hour  returned  with  Cresap.  He 
had  heard  of  our  resolution  from  some  of 
his  hunters,  that  had  fallen  in  with  ours, 
and  had  set  out  to  come  to  us. 

“We  now  thought  our  army,  as  we  called 
it,  complete,  and  the  destruction  of  the  In- 
dians sure.  A council  was  called,  and  to 
our  astonishment  our  intended  commander- 
in-cnief  was  the  person  that  dissuaded  us 
from  the  enterprise.  He  said  that  appear- 
ances were  very  suspicious,  but  there  was  no 
certainty  of  a war;  that  if  we  made  the  at- 
tempt proposed,he  had  no  doubt  of  our  success; 
but  a war  would,  at  any  rate,  be  the  result, 
and  that  we  should  be  blamed  for  it,  and  per- 
haps justly;  but  if  we  were  determined  to 
proceed,  he  would  lay  aside  all  considera- 
tions, send  to  his  camp  for  his  i^eople,  and 
share  our  fortunes. 

‘ ‘He  was  then  asked  what  he  would  advise. 
His  answer  was,  that  we  should  return  to 
Wheeling,  as  a convenient  port, 'to  hear  what 
was  going  forwai’d.  That  a few  weeks 
would  determine.  As  it  was  early  in  the 
spring,  if  we  found  the  Indiana  were  not 
disposed  for  war,  we  should  have  fulltime  to 
return  and  make  our  establishment  in  Ken- 
tucky. This  was  adopted,  and  two  hours 
later  the  whole  were  under  way.  As  we  as- 
cended the  river  we  met  Kill-buck,  an  Indian 


"^Kentucky. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


121 


chief,  with  a small  party.  AVe  had  a long 
conference  with  him  bnt  received  little  satis- 
faction as  to  the  disposition  of  the  Indians. 
* * * * * On  our  arrival  at 

Wheeling  (the  country  being  pretty  well 
settled  thereabouts),  the  whole  of  the  in- 
habitants appeared  to  be  alarmed.  They 
flocked  to  our  camp  from  every  direction; 
and  all  that  we  could  say  could  not  keep 
them  from  under  our  wings.  We  oflered  to 
cover  their  neighborhood  with  scouts,  until 
further  information,  if  they  would  return 
to  their  plantations;  but  nothing  would 
prevail.  By  this  time  we  had  got  to  be  a 
formidable  party.  All  the  hunters,  men 
without  families,  etc.,  in  that  quarter,  had 
joined  our  party. 

“ Our  arrival  at  Wheeling  was  soon  known 
at  Pittsburgh.  The  whole  of  that  country 
at  that  time  being  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
Virginia,  Dr.  Connolly  had  been  appointed 
by  Dunmore  captain-commandant  of  the 
district,  which  was  called  West  Augusta.*  He 
learningf  of  us,  sent  a message  addressed  to 
the  party,  letting  us  know  that  a war  was  to 
be  apprehended,  and  requesting  that  we 
should  keep  our  position  for  a few  days,  as 
messages  had  been  sent  to  the  Indians,  and  a 
few  days  would  determine  the  doubt.  The 
answer  he  got  was  that  he  had  no  inclination 
to  quit  our  quarters  for  some  time;  that  dur- 
ing our  stay  we  should  be  careful  that  the 
enemy  did  not  harass  the  neighborhood  that 
we  lay  in.  But  before  this  answer  could 
reach  Pittsburgh,  he  sent  a second  express, 
addressed  to  Capt.  Cresap,  as  the  most  influ- 
ential man  amongst  us,  informing  him  that 
the  messengers  had  returned  from  the  Indi- 
ans; that  war  was  inevitable,  and  begging 
him  to  use  his  influence  with  the  party  to  get 
them  to  cover  the  country  by  scouts  until  the 
inhabitants  could  fortify  themselves.  The 
reception  of  this  letter  was  the  epoch  of  open 
hostilities  with  the  Indians.  A new  postf  was 
planted,  a council  was  called,  and  the  letter 
read  by  Cresap,  all  the  Indian  traders  being 
summoned  on  so  important  an  occasion.  Ac- 
tion was  had,  and  war  declared  in  the  most  sol- 

♦West  Augusta,  t.e.,  western  part  of  Augusta  County. 

fFort  Henry. 


emn  manner;  and  the  same  evening  two  scalps 
were  brought  into  camp.* 

“ The  next  day  some  canoes  of  Indiaus  were 
discovered  on  the  river,  keeping  the  advan- 
tage of  an  island  to  cover  themselves  from  our 
view.  They  were  chased  fifteen  miles  down 
the  river,  and  di'iven  ashore. f A battle  en- 
sued; a few  were  wounded  on  both  sides; 
j one  Indian  only  taken  prisoner.  On  examin- 
ing their  canoes,  we  found  a considerable 
j quantity  of  ammunition  and  other  warlike 
stores.  On  our  return  to  camp,  a resolution 
was  adopted  to  march  the  next  day  and  at- 
tack Logan’s  camp  on  the  Ohio,  about  thirty 
miles  above  us.  We  did  march  about  five 
miles,  and  then  halted  to  take  some  refresh- 
ment. Here  the  impropriety  of  executing 
the  projected  enterprise  was  argued.  The 
conversation  was  brought  forward  by  Cresap 
himself.  It  was  generally  agreed  that  those 
Indians  had  no  hostile  intentions,  as  they 
were  hunting,  and  their  party  was  composed 
of  men,  women  and  children,  with  all  their 
stuff  with  them.  This  we  knew,  as  I myself 
and  others  present  had  been  in  their  camp 
about  four  weeks  past,  on  our  descending  the 
river  from  Pittsburgh.  In  short,  every  jjer- 
son  seemed  to  detest  the  resolution  we  had 
set  out  with.  We  returned  in  the  evening, 
decamped,  and  took  the  road  to  Redstone.’’^ 

Connolly’s  ill-advised  letter  was  destined  to 
bear  still  further  bitter  fruit.  The  settlers 
everywhere  in  this  region  seemed  to  have 
been  put  on  the  alert  by  this  warning,  and 
with  a “zeal  not  according  to  knowledge,’’ 
were  betrayed  into  acts  which  warranted  the 
bloodiest  reprisal.  Two  days  later  than  the 
events  narrated  by  Gen.  Clark,  a company  of 
thirty- two  men  under  the  command  of  Daniel 
Greathouse,  hastily  assuming  that  the  action 
of  Cresap  would  inevitably  precipitate  a war, 

*The  Indians,  whose  murder  is  thus  noted,  proved  to  be 
friendly  natives  in  the  employ  of  a Pittsburgh  trader,  and  sent 
on  a special  mission.  Notwithstanding  the  favorable  character 
Clark  assigns  to  Cresap,  the  great  mass  of  evidence  shows  him  to 
have  been  an  “ Indian  hater,”  and  the  special  evidence  relating 
to  this  murder,  makes  it  clear  that  he  attacked  the  unsuspecting 
Indians  against  the  earnest  protest  of  the  Zanes,  who  clearly 
showed  him  that  his  premeditated  attack  was  unjustifiable,  and 
j ominous  of  wide-spread  evils. 

+At  Captina  Creek. 

JBrownsville,  Penn.  Clark  was  the  apologist  of  Connolly 
and  Cresap;  the  latter  was,  through  a natural  misapprehension, 
charged  with  the  additional  dastardly  murder  at  Yellow  Creek, 
but  fortunately  his  reputation  is  saved  this  additional  reproach 
by  abundant  sworn  testimony. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


U'2 


proceeded  up  the  Ohio  to  a point  forty  miles 
above  Wheeling.  The  avowed  object  of  this 
movement  was  the  protection  of  a family 
(Baker’s)  whose  cabin  stood  opposite  the 
mouth  of  Big  Yellow  Creek,  where  Logan’s 
hunting  party  was  then  encamped. 

Arriving  at  their  destination,  “ the  party 
was  concealed  in  ambuscade,  while  their 
commander  went  over  the  river,  under  the 
mask  of  friendship,  to  the  Indian  camp,  to 
ascertain  their  number;  while  there  an  In- 
dian woman  advised  him  to  return  home 
speedily,  saying  that  the  Indians  were  drink- 
ing and  angry  on  account  of  the  murder  of 
their  people  down  the  river,  and  might  do 
him  some  mischief.  On  his  return  to  his 
party,  he  reported  that  the  Indians  were  too 
strong  for  an  open  attack.  He  returned  to 
Baker’s  and  requested  him  to  give  any  In- 
dians who  might  come  over,  in  the  course  of 
the  day,  as  much  rum  as  they  might  call  for, 
and  get  as  many  of  them  drunk  as  he  possi- 
bly could.  The  plan  succeeded.  Several 
Indian  men,  with  two  women,  came  over  the 
river  to  Baker’s,  who  had  previously  been  in 
the  habit  of  selling  rum  to  Indians.  The 
men  drank  freely  and  became  intoxicated. 
In  this  State  they  were  all  killed  by  Great- 
house  and  a few  of  his  party,  for  it  is  but 
justice  to  state,  that  not  more  than  live  or  six 
of  the  whole  number  had  any  participation 
in  the  slaughter  at  the  house.  The  rest  pro- 
tested against  it,  as  an  atrocious  murder. 
From  their  numbers  being  by  far  the  major- 
ity, they  might  have  prevented  the  deed;  but 
alas!  they  did  not.  A little  Indian  girl 
alone  was  saved  from  the  slaughter,  by  the 
humanity  of  some  one  of  the  party,  whose 
name  is  not  now  known. 

“ The  Indians  in  the  camp,  hearing  the 
tiring  at  the  house,  sent  a canoe  with  two 
men  in  it  to  enquire  what  had  happened. 
These  two  Indians  Avere  both  shot  down  as 
soon  as  they  landed  on  the  beach.  A second 
and  larger  canoe  was  then  manned  by  a 
number  of  Indians  in  arms;  but,  in  attempt- 
ing to  reach  the  shore  some  distance  below 
the , house,  were  I’eceived  by  a well-directed 
tire  from  the  party,  which  killed  the  greater 
number  of  them,  and  compelled  the  survivors 


to  return.  A great  number  of  shots  were 
exchanged  across  the  river,  but  without 
damage  to  the  white  party,  not  one  of  whom 
was  even  wounded.  The  Indian  men  who 
were  murdered  were  all  scalped.  The 
woman  who  gave  the  friendly  advice  to  the 
commander  of  the  party,  when  in  the  Indian 
camp,  was  amongst  the  slain  at  Baker’s 
house.  ”* 

Comment  upon  these  atrocious  crimes  is 
unnecessary;  and  they  have  been  thus  specif- 
ically pointed  oirt  because  the  massacres  at 
Captina  and  Yellow  Creeks  were  the  un- 
doubted cause  of  the  outbreak  which  ensued. 
None  on  the  frontier  doubted  that  war  would 
follow.  The  settlers  were  hastily  notified 
and  gathered  at  places  best  suited  for 
defense,  and  an  express  was  sent  to  Williams- 
burg with  tidings  of  affairs  on  the  border. 
Lord  Dun  more  quickly  took  measures  to  meet 
the  emergency;  the  organization  of  an  armed 
force  to  rendezvous  at  Wheeling  was  expedi- 
tiously undertaken,  and  Boone  was  summoned 
from  his  retirement  to  proceed  to  Kentucky 
and  warn  the  several  surveying  parties  en- 
gaged there.  In  company  with  Michael 
Stoner  he  set  out  in  June,  and  it  was  on  this 
trip  that  he  visited  Harrodsburg  and  assist- 
ed in  laying  out  the  lots.  He  found  the  sur- 
veyors already  alarmed,  and  conducted  them 
in  with  complete  success  and  safety,  making 
the  tour  of  800  miles  in  sixty-eight  days. 

The  Indians,  however,  had  not  generally 
determined  upon  war.  The  friends  of  the 
murdered  savages  took  vengeance  on  the 
whites  within  their  reach,  and  several  traders 
were  sacrificed  to  their  fury  in  a terrible 
manner,  but  the  tribes  were  still  reluctant  to 
take  up  the  bloody  gauntlet  thrown  down  by 
the  whites.  In  this  unsettled  state  of  affairs 
the  force  rendezvoused  at  Wheeling,  deter- 
mined to  march  against  the  Indian  town, 
Wappatomica,  on  the  Muskingum.  The  In- 
dians frustrated  in  their  attempt  to  surprise 
this  invading  army,  sued  for  peace,  and  gave 
five  of  their  chiefs  as  hostages.  Two  of 
these  were  subsequently  released  to  collect 
the  head  tribesmen  to  ratify  a peace,  but  the 

*Notes  on  early  settlement  of  western  Virginia.  Rev- 
Joseph  Doddridge,  1824. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


123 


whites,  after  waiting  until  it  seemed  evident 
that  the  only  object  of  the  savages  was  to 
gain  time  for  organization,  laid  waste  the 
town  and  crops,  and  retired  with  their  pris- 
oners. The  Delawares,  still  anxious  for 
peace,  and  the  Shawanese,  influenced  by 
their  sagacious  leader,  Cornstalk,  went  so 
far  in  their  efforts  to  avert  the  threatened 
conflict  as  to  secure  some  wandering  traders 
from  the  wrath  of  the  Mingoes  whose  friends 
had  been  murdered.  And  Logan,  who  had 
taken  ready  vengeance  upon  the  scattered 
settlers,  while  the  rest  of  his  race  hesitated, 
now  that  he  had  secured  a scalp  for  each  of 
his  thirteen  relatives  murdered,  expressed 
himself  satisfied,  and  ready  to  treat  with  the 
Long  Knives.  But  Connolly,  who  had  been 
the  prime  instrument  in  embroiling  the 
races,  was  possessed  of  a spirit  scarcely  less 
than  fiendish,  and  seemed  determined  that 
war  should  follow.  He  accordingly  attempt- 
ed to  seize  the  Shawanese  whose  errand  of 
friendship  had  brought  them  within  his 
reach,  and  when  foiled  in  this  attempt,  sent 
his  base  emissaries  to  waylay  them. 

Under  such  cii'cumstances  it  would  have 
scarcely  been  in  accord  with  civilized  human 
nature,  and  certainly  not  with  Indian  nature, 
if  no  border  attacks  had  succeeded;  and  so 
from  June  to  September  the  frontier  was 
harried  by  numerous  independent  incursions, 
which  were  especially  directed  against  the 
Virginians.  These  devastations  called  out 
the  renewed  efforts  of  Gov.  Dunmore,  and  a 
larfje  force  was  raised,  consistingf  of  two 
wings,  one  under  Dunmore  from  the  north- 
ern and  eastern  counties  of  Virginia,  and 
the  other  from  the  southern  and  western 
counties  under  Gen.  Lewis.  These  were  to 
unite  at  Point  Pleasant,  and  together  proceed 
to  the  Indian  country  in  Ohio.  Lewis 
reached  the  appointed  place  on  the  6th  of 
October,  and  while  waiting  for  the  other 
wing  was  attacked  by  about  an  equal  number 
of  Indian  warriors,  drawn  from  the  Shawa- 
nese, Delaware,  Mingo,  Wyandotte  and 
Cayuga  tribes.  The  battle  began  about  sun- 
rise on  the  10th,  and  continued  until  near 
sunset  with  unabated  fury  and  determination. 

The  savages  were  under  the  leadership  of 


the  famous  Cornstalk,  who  inclosed  the 
troops  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  Kanawha 
and  the  Ohio,  resolved  to  annihilate  them  if 
fortune  favored  his  efforts.  “Never,”  says 
Withers,  “did  men  exhibit  more  conclusive 
evidence  of  bravery  in  making  a charge,  and 
fortitude  in  withstanding  an  onset,  than  did 
these  undisciplined  soldiers  of  the  forest  in 
the  field  at  Point  Pleasant.  ” The  V irginians 
were  not  less  valiant;  here  Greek  met  Greek, 
but  the  “ anointed  children  of  education  were 
too  powerful  for  the  tribes  of  the  ignorant.” 
Taking  advantage  of  the  sheltering  banks  of 
Crooked  Creek,  which  flows  in  a course  par- 
allel with  the  Ohio  into  the  Kanawha,  a 
detachment  of  the  troops  gained  the  rear  of  the 
savages,  who  disconcerted  by  this  unexpected 
attack  gave  way  and  retreated  to  their  homes. 
The  whites  remained  victors,  but  at  a fearful 
cost.  About  one-fifth*  of  their  number  lay 
dead  or  bleeding  upon  the  ground,  among 
whom  were  ten  of  the  leading  officers. 

As  early  as  practical  the  command  pro- 
ceeded across  the  Ohio  to  secure  the  fruit  of 
this  hard -won  victory,  but  before  much  prog- 
ress had  been  made,  a message  from  Dunmore 
brought  the  intelligence  that  the  governor 
had  proceeded  direct  from  Pittsburgh,  that 
he  was  then  engaged  in  negotiating  a treaty, 
and  that  the  advancing  troops  were  ordered 
to  return  to  Point  Pleasant.  Gen.  Lewis, 
entertaining  grave  suspicions  of  Dunmore’s 
fidelity,  declined  to  obey  the  orders  thus 
received,  and  only  stayed  his  march  when 
ordered  by  the  governor  in  person,  in  presence 
of  an  Indian  town.  The  treaty  agreed  upon 
by  Lord  Dunmore  has  never  been  published, 
and  it  rests  only  upon  that  officer’s  word  that 
the  Shawanese  agreed  to  forego  their  hunting 
in  Kentucky;  it  is  certain  that  the  treaty 
effected  no  lasting  settlement  of  the  vexed 
question  of  the  time,  aud  gave  assurance  to 
existing  suspicions  that  that  officer  desired  to 
placate  the  savages  in  the  interests  of  the 
part  that  the  British  were  to  play  in  the  con- 
flict which  he  dimly  saw  impending. 

“The  Dunmore  war,”  though  conducted 
outside  of  Kentucky  limits,  was  none  the  less 
a marked  event  in  its  history,  and  was  ear- 

* Seveuty-five  killed  aud  14u  wounded. 


124 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


nestly  engaged  in  by  most  of  those  who  have 
been  noted  as  its  earlier  pioneers.  Harrod, 
with  thirty  of  his  company,  served  under 
Gen.  Lewis;  Kenton  acted  as  spy  in  both 
wings  of  the  army;  and  Boone,  after  his 
return  from  the  mission  to  Kentucky,  com- 
manded three  frontier  posts  under  appoint- 
ment from  the  governor. 

The  retreat  of  the  explorers  and  surveyors 
from  Kentucky,  in  1774,  and  the  warlike 
activities  which  followed,  served  to  spread 
the  report  of  the  new  country’s  attractions  in 
ever  widening  circles,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
brief  struggle,  public  attention  immediately 
reverted  with  increased  interest  to  the  dis- 
puted territory.  The  succeeding  year,  there- 
fore, witnessed  not  only  the  return  of  former 
explorers  to  their  improvements,  but  also 
the  advent  of  many  new  adventurers. 

Of  the  previous  year’s  explorers,  Kenton 
was  probably  the  first  to  return.  Discharged 
from  the  army  in  the  fall,  he  repaired  with  a 
single  comi’ade,  Thomas  Williams,  to  his  old 
hunting-ground  on  the  Big  Sandy;  here  they 
spent  the  winter,  and  in  the  spring,  having 
disposed  of  their  peltries,  Kenton  led  the  way 
in  quest  of  the  “cane-laud”  which  had  been 
the  object  of  his  former  fruitless  search. 
They  accordingly  set  out  down  the  river,  but 
night  overtaking  them  they  were  obliged  to 
put  in  to  the  shore.  They  landed  at  the 
mouth  of  Cabin  Creek,  about  six  miles  above 
Maysville,  and  next  moiming,  while  hunting 
some  miles  back  in  the  country,  Kenton  dis- 
covered the  object  of  his  persistent  pursuit. 
From  a little  eminence  his  gaze  took  in  a 
wide  stretch  of  country,  containing  a large 
cane-brake  and  presenting  a landscape  that 
enraptured  the  young  hunter  Rejoining  his 
companion,  he  related  the  glad  tidings,  and, 
sinking  their  canoe,  the  two  started  inland 
on  a tour  of  discovery. 

In  the  month  of  May,  177.5,  within  a mile  of  the 
present  town  of  Washington,  in  Mason  County, 
having  built  their  camp  and  finished  a small  clear- 
ing, they  planted  about  an  acre  of  land  with  the  re- 
mains of  the  corn  bought  for  food.  The  spot 
chosen  by  them  for  their  agricultural  attempt,  was 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  fertile  in  the  State  of 
Kentucky.  Here,  in  due  season,  they  ate  the  first 
roasting  ears  that  ever  grew,  by  the  care  of  a white 
man.  on  the  north  side  of  the  Kentucky  River. 


Before  this  they  had  discovered  the  upper  and 
lower  Blue  Lick  and  the  immense  herds  of  buffalo, 
elk,  etc.,  that  frequented  these  places,  covering  the 
hills  and  valleys  of  the  Licking.  The  land  was  a 
hunter’s  paradise,  and  our  adventurers  were  com- 
pletely happy  in  their  new, undisputed  home.  They 
soon  had  cause,  however,  to  apprehend  that  others 
would  contend  with  them  for  the  mastership  of  the 
soil. 

Happening  one  day  at  the  lower  Blue  Lick,  they 
discovered  two  white  men.  Approaching  them 
with  due  caution,  they  found  them  friendly,  and 
learned  that  they  had  wandered  without  guns  or 
food  far  into  the  country,  their  canoe  having  upset 
in  a squall  on  the  Ohio.  Fitzpatrick  and  Hendricks 
(so  these  strangers  were  named)  were  invited  by 
Kenton  to  join  his  station  near  Washington.  Hen- 
dricks acceded  to  the  proposal,  but  Fitzpatrick  in- 
sisted on  returning  to  Virginia.  Accordingly,  Ken- 
ton and  Williams  (having  left  Hendricks  at  the 
Lick)  accompanied  Fitzpatrick  to  the  Ohio,  gave 
him  a gun  and  took  leave  of  him  on  the  other  side 
from  where  Maysville  now  stands.  Returning 
quickly  as  possible,  they  were  surprised  and  not  a 
little  alarmed  to  find  the  camp  where  they  had  left 
Hendricks  abandoned  and  in  disorder.  Looking 
around  they  observed  a smoke  in  a low  ravine, and  at 
once  comprehended  the  whole  affair.  They  were 
satisfied  that  a party  of  Indians  had  captured  their 
friend,  and  they  at  once  fled  to  the  woods. 

Next  morning,  cautiously  approaching  the  still 
smoking  fire,  they  discovered  that  the  savages  had 
departed,  and  with  feelings  that  may  be  easily 
imagined,  they  found  what  they  did  not  doubt  were 
the  skull  and  bones  of  the  unfortunate  Hendricks. 
He  had  been  burned  to  death  while  they  were  so 
cowardly  flying.  Filled  with  shame  and  remorse 
that  they  had  so  basely  abandoned  him  to  his  fate 
without  an  effort  to  rescue  him,  they  went  back  to 
their  camp  near  Washington.  They  had  the  good 
fortune  themselves  to  escape  the  notice  of  the  In- 
dians who  prowled  through  the  country.  In  the 
fall  Kenton,  leaving  Williams  at  the  camp,  took  a 
ramble  through  his  rich  domain.  Everywhere  he 
saw  abundance  of  game,  and  the  richest  and  most 
beautiful  land.  At  the  lower  Blue  Lick  he  met 
with  Michael  Stoner,  who  had  come  to  Kentucky 
with  Boone  the  year  before.  He  now  learned  that 
himself  and  Williams  were  not  the  only  whites  in- 
habiting the  cane-land.  Taking  Stoner  to  his  camp 
and  gathering  up  his  property,  he  and  Williams 
accompanied  him  to  the  settlements  already  formed 
in  the  interior.  Kenton  passed  the  winter  of  1775- 
76  at  Ilinkston’s  Station,  in  the  present  county  of 
Bourborn,  about  forty  miles  from  his  corn  patch.*" 

There  was  less  activity  in  the  location  and 
survey  of  military  lands  in  this  year,  but 
Floyd  and  Douglass  were  both  early  in  re- 
turning to  Kentucky.  The  latter  came  back 

*Sketeh  of  Simon  Kenton,  in  Collins,  Vol.  II,  p.  442. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


125 


to  the  scene  of  his  former  labors,  with  a 
“party  of  about  ten  or  twelve,”  and  spent 
the  summer  in  this  work.  Under  date  of 
July  12, 1775,  Henderson  writes  from  Boones- 
boro,  to  his  colleagues  in  the  Transyl- 
vania Colony  scheme,  that  this  party,  “ em- 
ployed in  searching  through  that  country, 
and  laying  off  officers’  lands,  have  been  for 
more  than  three  weeks  within  ten  miles  of 
us,  and  will  be  for  several  weeks  longer, 
ranging  up  and  down  the  country.  ” 

Floyd  came  to  Kentucky  in  April,  with 
thirty- one  men  from  Virginia,  and  pitched 
his  camp  on  Dick’s  River,  engaging  in  survey- 
ing, dui’ing  most  of  the  year,  all  through 
central  Kentucky.  In  May,  he  visited 
Boonosboro  on  behalf  of  his  company 
to  learn  on  what  terms  they  might  settle 
colonial  lands;  upon  which  Henderson  re- 
marks in  his  journal:  “Was  much  at  a loss 
on  account  of  this  gentleman’s  arrival  and 
message,  as  he  was  surveyor  of  Fincastle 
County  under  Col.  Preston.  ” Later  in  the 
month,  Floyd  was  a delegate  to  the  Boones- 
boro  Legislature  from  St.  Asaph,  and 
subseqiiently  so  far  identified  himself  with 
the  colonial  enterprises  as  to  become  Hender- 
son’s principal  surveyor. 

In  this  year,  Beniamin  Ashley  also  made 
some  surveys  in  Nicholas  County  for  the  Ohio 
Company — a part  its  first  200,000  acres; 
and  in  May,  ten  young  men  came  from  Vir- 
ginia to  what  is  Mason  County,  who,  after 
exploring,  surveyed  upward  of  20,000  acres. 
They  also  made  improvements  for  each  one, 
but  their  visit  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  a 
bout  of  fisticuffs  in  which  two  of  them  en- 
gaged with  such  bitterness  as  for  some  time 
to  give  the  name  of  “ Battle  Creek  ” to  a 
stream  now  known  as  Well’s  Creek. 

There  was  in  this  year,  however,  a marked 
activity  among  settlers,  new  explorers  vying 
with  older  ones  in  their  preparations  to 
reach  Kentucky  early  in  the  spring.  March 
or  April  was  as  soon  as  it  was  practicable  for 
the  members  of  the  older  settlements  to 
reach  this  destination,  but  in  May,  1775, 
a close  estimate  places  the  number  of  pros- 
pective citizens  then  in  Kentucky  at  300, 
who  already  had  230  acres  under  cultivation. 


Save  Kenton,  the  McAfees  were  probably  the 
first  settlers  to  reach  Kentucky  in  the  spring, 
preceding  Harrod  by  four,  and  Boone  by 
twenty  days.  The  Indian  hostilities,  which 
followed  their  return  to  Virginia  in  the 
previous  year,  prevented  them  from  carry- 
ing out  their  intention  of  returning  to  make 
a settlement  that  year,  but  early  in  the  suc- 
ceeding spring  they  were  once  more  in  the 
cane-brake.  They  reached  their  claim  on 
Salt  River  on  March  11th,  cleared  two  acres 
of  ground,  planted  peach  stones  and  apple 
seeds  for  an  orchard,  and  in  April  started 
back  to  Virginia,  leaving  two  of  their  num- 
ber with  Harrod  to  protect  their  improve- 
ment from  the  intrusion  of  other  settlers. 
On  their  homeward  journey  they  met  Hender- 
son and  his  company,  when,  persuaded  by 
the  leader  of  the  party  contrary  to  the  ad- 
vice of  their  elder  brother  James,  Robert, 
Samuel  and  William  McAfee  turned  back 
and  united  their  fortunes  with  the  colony. 
The  family  pai’ty  accordingly  divided,  the 
three  brothers  returning  to  Boonesboro, 
where  they  entered  land  with  Henderson, 
and  put  it  in  cultivation.  That  fall,  when 
the  colonial  scheme  proved  abortive,  the 
family  party  was  I'eunited,  and  under  the 
protection  of  the  newly  erected  Harrod  Sta- 
tion, cleared  and  cultivated  some  fifteen 
acres  near’  the  mouth  of  Armstrong  Branch, 
in  Mercer  County. 

On  March  15th,  James  Harrod  returned  to 
the  village  which  had  been  laid  out  on  Salt 
Creek  under  his  auspices  in  the  previous 
year,  and  which  was  now  called  Harrods- 
town.  He  brought  with  him  about  fifty  men, 
most  of  them  young  and  without  families, 
whom  he  had  enlisted  in  the  enterprise  in 
the  Monongahela  Valley.  The  company  at 
once  occupied  the  cabins  previously  erected, 
and. set  about  “improving”  various  sites  for 
future  settlements,  sixteen  fields  of  corn 
being  planted  in  the  neighborhood.  In 
April,  however,  the  alarm  created  by  the 
Indian  depredations  in  the  preceding  month 
robbed  this  settlement  of  more  than  half  of 
its  numbers,  who  set  off  for  the  protection  of 
the  older  settlements.  Harrod  remained 
and  pushed  his  improvements  at  Boiling 


12G 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Spring,  while  a sufficient  number  remained 
in  the  village  to  give  it  a busy  air;  in  fact 
it  was  never  subsequently  entirely  deserted, 
and  in  September  gained  an  accession  of 
several  families  to  its  population.  In  the 
succeeding  winter  a fort  was  begun  here, 
though  not  completed  until  the  next  year, 
and  was  one  of  the  noted  outposts  during 
the  unsettled  period,  from  the  beginning  of 
the  Revolutionary  war  to  the  general  pacifi- 
cation at  Greenville. 

The  next  and  by  far  the  most  important 
accession  to  the  frontier  forces,  in  this  year, 
was  Boone  and  his  company.  The  close  of 
the  “ Dunmore  war  ” had  no  sooner  placed 
him  at  his  own  disposal,  than  he  was  solic- 
ited to  lend  his  experience  and  efforts  in  be- 
half of  an  enterprise  which  sought  to  plant  a 
colony  in  Kentucky.  Little  is  known  of  the 
early  growth  of  this  project,  but  Richard 
Henderson  seems  to  have  been  the  leading 
spirit.  He  was  a man  of  marked  ability,  and 
had  occupied  the  position  of  associate 
sui^reme  judge  of  North  Carolina.  Led  by 
ambition  and  a spirit  of  speculation  to  emu- 
late the  early  colonial  enterprises,  he  pri- 
vately sought  the  Cherokees  under  the  pre- 
tense of  viewing  some  back  lands,  and  hav- 
ing ascertained  their  readiness  to  'negotiate 
for  the  sale  of  a large  portion  of  Kentucky, 
returned  to  his  home  to  organize  a company 
to  effect  the  purchase.* 

Accordingly,  Thomas  Hart,  Nathaniel  Hart, 
David  Hart,  John  Luttrell,  William  Johnston 
and  James  Hogg,  of  Orange  County,  and 
John  Williams,  Leonard  Hendly  Bullock  and 
Judge  Richard  Henderson,  of  Granville 
County,  N.  C. , associated  themselves  for  that 
purpose,  and  in  a conference  on  the  Watauga 
branch  of  the  Holston  River,  between  certain 
of  the  newly  formed  company,  assisted  by 
Boone,  and  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  Chero- 
kees, the  natives,  on  March  17,  1775,  sold  to 
the  company  the  fairest  portion  of  Kentucky, 
as  well  as  a large  tract  in  North  Carolina,  for 
£10,000  sterling. 

The  boundaries  of  the  tract  in  Kentucky 
were  as  follows:  “Beginning  on  the  Ohio 

* Gov.  Morehead  is  authority  for  the  assertion  that  Col. 
Nathaniel  Hart  took  these  preliminary  steps. 


River  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cantuckey  Chenoee, 
or  what,  by  the  English,  is  called  Louisa 
River:  from  thence  running  up  the  said  river, 
and  the  most  northwardly  fork  of  the  same, 
to  the  head  spring  thereof;  thence  a south- 
east course  to  the  top  of  the  ridge  of  Powell’s 
Mountain;  thence  westwardly,  along  the 
ridge  of  the  said  mountain,  unto  a point 
from  which  a northwest  course  will  hit  or 
strike  the  head  spring  of  the  most  south- 
wardly branch  of  Cumberland  River;  thence 
down  the  said  river,  including  all  its  waters, 
to  the  Ohio  River,  and  up  the  said  river  as  it 
meanders  to  the  begin n ins:.” 

Boone  had  been  engaged  to  cut  a road  to 
the  territory  thus  purchased,  and  prepare  for 
the  colony  to  be  transferred  thither;  and  be- 
fore the  consummation  of  the  treaty,  which 
was  delayed  by  tedious  Indian  ceremonials 
for  twenty  days,  he  was  on  his  way  marking 
the  route  which  has  since  been  known  as 
Boone’s  Trace.  Boone  had  a party  of  twenty- 
one  men,  which  included  Squire  Boone,  Rich- 
ard Calloway,  John  Kennedy,  and  others,  and 
at  Long  Island,  in  the  Holston,  he  was  joined 
by  Capt,  Twetty  with  seven  men.  They  be- 
gan at  this  point  to  mark  the  trace,  blazing 
their  way  with  hatchets  until  they  reached 
Rockcastle  River.  Thence  their  course  lay 
for  twenty  miles  through  a country  covered 
with  dead  brush;  the  next  thirty  miles  lay 
“through  thick  cane  and  reed;  and  as  the 
the  cane  ceased,  they  began  to  discover  the 
pleasing  and  rapturous  appearance  of  the 
plains  of  Kentucky.  A new  sky  and  strange 
earth  seemed  to  be  presented  to  their  view; 
so  rich  a soil  they  had  never  seen  before — 
covered  with  a clover  in  full  bloom;  the 
woods  abounding  with  wild  game — turkeys  so 
numerous  that  it  might  be  said  they  appeared 
but  one  flock,  universally  scattered  in  the 
woods.  It  appeared  that  nature,  in  the  pro- 
fusion of  her  bounty,  had  spread  a feast  for 
all  that  lived,  both  for  the  animal  and 
rational  world.”* 

This  bold  approach  to  the  favorite  hunt- 
ing grounds  of  the  savages  was  not  to  be 
made  with  impunity.  No  evidence  of  the 
presence  of  Indians  had  been  observed,  how- 

* Narrative  of  Hon.  Felix  Walker  in  Collins,  Vol.  II,  p.  497. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


127 


ever,  during  their  progress;  the  company  had 
reached  a point  in  Madison  County  v?ithin 
fifteen  miles  of  the  Kentucky  Kiver,  and  they 
went  into  camp  on  March  24th,  therefore, 
without  any  of  those  precautions  which  would 
otherwise  have  been  considered  necessary. 
The  pioneers  had  not  been  unobserved,  as  they 
thought;  about  daybreak  the  next  morning 
the  sleeping  whites  were  aroused  by  a sudden 
volley  of  rifles,  but  fortunately  the  attacking 
band  of  savages  was  too  weak  to  follow  up 
the  advantage  afforded  by  the  surprise,  and 
retreated.  This  assault,  brief  as  it  was,  en- 
tailed serious  consequences  upon  the  pioneers. 
Capt.  Twetty  received  wounds  in  both  knees, 
from  which  he  died  three  days  later;  his  black 
servant  was  killed  outright,  and  Felix  Walker 
was  dangerously  wounded.  Some  of  the  party 
refusing:  to  brave  further  danger  in  advancing, 
followed  the  newly  made  trace  homeward, 
while  the  rest  of  the  company,  erecting  a 
slight  fort*  on  a little  eminence,  about  100 
yards  from  the  road,  remained  here  until 
April  1st.  In  the  meantime  the  same  Indians 
discovered  a party  of  six  whites  encamped 
near  the  Kentucky  River,  and  only  a few 
miles  from  Boone’s  company,  though  un- 
known to  them.  These  the  savages  attacked, 
killing  and  scalping  two  of  their  number; 
the  rest  escaped,  a son  of  Samuel  Tate  being 
discovered  by  some  of  Boone’s  hunters. 
Having  buried  Twetty’s  remains  in  the  fort, 
and  leaving  a small  party  with  Walker,  who 
was  too  seriously  wounded  to  be  moved  at 
once,  the  main  party  proceeded  to  the  mouth 
of  Otter  Creek,  where  Boone  had  sent  a 
messenger  to  invite  the  members  of  the  lower 
settlements  to  meet  him.  Arriving  at  their 
destination,  selection  was  made  of  “a  plain 
on  the  south  side,  wherein  was  a lick  with 
two  sulphui’  springs  strongly  impregnated,” 
and  here  the  company  built  a couple  of 
cabins,  “ having  some  of  the  advantages  of  a 
stockade  fort,”  which  was  subsequently 
named  Fort  Boone. 

Before  leaving  “ Little  Fort.”  Boone  had 
dispatched  a letter  to  Col.  Henderson,  in- 

*This structure,  formed  of  logs  six  or  seven  feet  high,  and 
probably  not  roofed,  was  known  in  the  early  annals  of  Ken- 
tucky as  Little  or  Twetty’s  Fort,  and  was  the  firs>.  ever  con- 
structed in  the  State. 


forming  him  of  their  progress  and  experi- 
ence, and  added:  “My  advice  to  you,  sir,  is 
to  come  or  send  as  soon  as  possible.  Your 
company  is  desired  greatly,  for  the  people 
are  very  uneasy,  but  are  willing  to  stay  and 
venture  their  lives  with  you,  and  mow  is  the 
time  to  frustrate  the  intentions  of  the  In- 
dians, and  keep  the  country,  whilst  we  are  in 
it.  If  we  give  way  to  them  now,  it  will  ever 
be  the  case.”  This  letter  found  Henderson 
already  on  the  road  for  Louisa,  as  the  Ken- 
tucky River  and  Valley  were  sometimes  called. 
He  had  taken  prompt  and  practical  measures 
to  plant  the  proposed  colony,  the  details  of 
which  will  appear  in  the  following  extract 
taken  from  his  “Journal  of  an  Expedition  to 
Cantuckey  in  1775.” 

Monday,  March  '20th, — Having  finished  my  treaty 
with  the  Indians  atlYataiiga,  set  out  for  Louisa. 
Thursday,  30iA, — Arrived  at  Capt.  Martin’s  in 
Powell  Valley.  Friday,  31.sf. — Employed  in  mak- 
ing a house  to  secure  our  wagons,  as  we  could  not 
possibly  clear  the  way  au3"  farther. 

Saturday,  April  1st, — Employed  in  making  ready 
for  packing  \i.  e.,  loading  horses  with  the  baggage]. 
Sunday,  2d, — Mr.  Hart  came  up  [this  was  Capt. 
Nathaniel  Hart,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  Transyl- 
vania, who  had  made  the  treaty  at  Watauga.  In 
1779,  he  brought  his  famil}"  to  Boonesborough.  In 
August,  1782,  while  carelessly  riding  out  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  fort,  he  was  killed  and  scalped  bj^  a 
small  party  of  Indians].  Wednesday,  April  oth, 
— Started  with  our  pack  horses.  Friday.  1th, — 
About  break  of  day,  it  began  to  snow.  About  11 
o’clock  received  a letter  from  Mr.  John  Luttrell's 
camp,  that  there  were  five  persons  killed  by  the 
Indians  on  the  road  to  Cantuckey.  Same  daj^  re- 
ceived a letter  from  Daniel  Boone,  that  his  company 
was  fired  upon  by  Indians,  who  killed  two  of  his 
men,  though  he  kept  the  grouud  and  saved  the  bag- 
gage, etc.  Saturday,  Sth, — Started  about  10  o’clock, 
crossed  Cumberland  Gap.  About  four  miles  from 
it,  met  about  forty  persons  returning  from  the  Can- 
tuckey on  account  of  the  late  murders  by  the  In- 
dians. Could  prevail  on  only  one  to  return.  Sev- 
eral Virginians  who  were  with  us  turned  back  from 
here.  Monday,  10th, — Dispatched  Capt.  William 
Cocke  to  the  Cantuckey,  to  inform  Capt.  Boone 
that  we  were  on  the  road.  Sunday,  10th, — About 
12  o’clock,  met  James  McAfee  with  eighteen  other 
persons  returning  from  Cantuckey.  Thursday, 
April  '20th.  177.5, — Arrived  at  Fort  Boone,  on  the 
mouth  of  Otter  Creek,  Cantuckey  River,  where  we 
were  saluted  by  a running  fire  of  about  twenty-five 
guns,  all  that  were  at  the  fort.  The  meu  appeared 
in  high  spirits  and  much  rejoiced  at  our  arrival. 
Friday,  April  21st, — On  viewing  the  fort,  finding 


128 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  plan  not  sufficient  to  admit  of  buildings  for  the 
reception  of  our  company,  and  a scarcity  of  ground 
suitable  for  clearing  at  that  advanced  season,  was  at 
a loss  to  proceed.  Capt.  Boone’s  company  having 
laid  out  most  of  the  adjacent  good  land  into  lots  of 
two  acres  each,  and  taking  as  it  fell  to  each  indi- 
vidual by  lot,  was  in  actual  possession  and  occupy- 
ing them.  After  some  perplexity,  resolved  to  erect 
a fort  on  the  opposite  side  of  a large  lick,  near  the 
river  bank,  which  would  place  us  at  the  distance  of  | 
300  yards  from  the  other  fort— the  only  place  where 
we  could  be  of  any  service  to  Capt.  Boone’s  men, 
or  vice  versa.  SiUurdai/,  22(-Z,— Finished  running 
off  all  the  lots  we  could  conveniently  get,  fifty-four 
in  number.  Gave  notice  of  our  intention  of  having 
them  drawn  for  in  the  evening,  but  Mr.  Robert 
McAfee,  his  brother  Samuel,  and  some  more,  were 
not  well  satisfied  whether  they  would  draw  or  not. 
They  wanted  to  go  down  the  River  Cantuckey, 
about  fifty  miles,  near  Capt.  Harrod’s  settlement, 
where  they  had  begun  improvements  and  left  them 
on  the  late  alarm.  I informed  them  myself,  in  the 
hearing  of  all  attending,  that  such  settlements 
should  not  entitle  them  to  land  from  us.  They  ap- 
pearing much  concerned,  and  at  a loss  what  to  do, 
the  lottery  was  put  off  till  next  morning,  at  sun- 
rise, thereby  giving  them  time  to  come  to  a reso- 
lution. Sunday,  April  23d,  1775, — Drew  lots  and 
spent  the  day  without  public  worship.  The  inter- 
val was  employed  in  building  a magazine,  sowing 
seeds,  etc. 

Sunday,  May  1th, — Went  into  the  woods  after  a 
stray  horse,  stayed  all  night,  and  on  our  return 
found  Capt.  Harrod  and  Col.  Thomas  Slaughter, 
from  IIarrod.stown,  on  Dick’s  River.  It  is  in  fact  on 
the  head  of  Salt  River  and  not  on  Dick's  River.  Col. 
Slaughter  and  Capt.  Harrod  seemed  very  jocose  and 
in  gTeat  good  humor.  Monday,  May  — Was  very 

much  embarrassed  by  a dispute  between  the  above. 

* -X-  After  much  dispute  about  the  respective 

claims  of  Slaughter  and  Harrod,  for  land  to  be  ap- 
portioned to  their  respective  companies,  in  order  to 
divert  the  debate  on  this  irritating  subject,  a plan 
of  government  by  popular  representation  was  pro- 
posed. The  reception  this  plan  met  with  from 
these  gentlemen,  as  well  as  Capt.  John  Floyd,  a 
leading  man  on  Dick’s  River,  gave  us  great  pleas- 
ure, and  therefore  we  immediately  set  out  about 
the  business.  iVppointed  Tuesday,  May  23d  inst., 
at  Boonesborougb,  for  the  meeting  of  delegates,  and 
accordingly  made  out  writings  for  the  different 
towns  to  sign.  For  want  of  a little  obligatory  law, 
or  some  restraining  authority,  our  game — nay,  as 
soon  as  we  got  here,  if  not  before— was  driven  off 
very  much.  As  short  a distance  as  good  hunters 
thought  of  getting  meat  was  fifteen,  nay,  some- 
times they  were  obliged  to  go  thirty  miles;  though 
by  chance,  once  or  twice  a v/eek,  buffalo  were 
killed  within  five  or  six  miles  of  the  camp.  The 
wanton  destruction  of  game  gives  great  uneasiness. 
Saturday.  May  13th.— l^o  scouring  of  floors,  sweep- 
ing of  yards,  or  scalding  bedsteads  here.  About  fifty 


' yards  from  the  river,  behind  my  camp,  and  a fine 
I spring  a little  to  the  west, stands  one  of  the  finest  elms 
I that  perhaps  nature  has  overproduced.  The  tree  is 
' produced  on  a beautiful  plain, surrounded  by  a turf  of 
fine  white  clover,  forming  a green  to  the  very  stock. 
The  trunk  is  about  four  feet  through  to  the  first 
branches,  which  are  about  nine  feet  from  the  ground. 

! Prom  thence  it  regularly  extends  its  large  branches 
on  every  side,  at  such  equal  distances  as  to  form 
the  most  beautiful  tree  the  imagination  can  suggest. 
The  diameter  of  the  branches  from  the  extreme  end 
is  100  feet,  and  every  fair  day  it  describes  a semi- 
circle on  the  heavenly  green  around  it  of  upward  of 
400  feet  in  circuit.  At  any  time  between  the  hours 
of  ten  and  two  100  persons  may  commodiously  seat 
themselves  under  the  branches.  This  divine  tree, 
or  i-ather  one  of  the  many  proofs  of  the  existence 
from  all  eternity  of  its  divine  author,  is  to  be  our 
church,  council-chamber,  etc.  Having  many  things 
on  our  hands,  we  have  not  had  time  to  erect  a pul- 
pit, seats,  etc.,  but  hope  bj^  Sunday  seven-night  to 
perform  divine  service  in  a public  manner,  and 
that  to  a set  of  scoundrels,  who  scarcely  believe  in 
God  or  fear  a devil,  if  we  may  judge  from  most  of 
their  looks,  words  or  actions.  Tuesday,  May  23d, 
1775, — Delegates  met  from  every  town,  pleased 
with  their  stations,  and  in  great  good  humor. 
Wednesday.  May  2Uh, — Convention  met  (under  di- 
vine elm)  for  the  colonj^  of  Transylvania;  sent  a 
message  acquainting  me  that  they  had  chosen  Cbl. 
Thomas  Slaughter  as  chairman,  and  Matthew  Jou- 
ett,  clerk,  of  which  I approved,  and  went  and 
opened  business  by  a short  speech,  etc.  Thursday, 
May  2Hth, — Three  of  the  members  waited  on  the 
proprietors  with  a very  sensible  address,  which  they 
asked  leave  to  read;  read  it,  and  delivered  an  an- 
swer in  return.  Business  went  on.  This  day  four 
bills  were  fabricated : (1)  for  establishing  tribu- 

nals of  justice  and  for  recovery  of  debts;  (2)  for 
establishing  a militia;  (3)  for  preventing  the  de- 
struction of  game,  etc.;  (4)  a law  concerning 
fees.  The  delegates  are  very  good  men,  and  much 
di.sposed  to  serve  their  country.  Saturday,  May 
21th. — Finished  the  convention  in  good  order;  every- 
body pleased.  Sunday,  May  23th. — Divine  service, 
for  the  first  time  in  Kentucky,  was  performed  by 
Rev.  John  Lythe,  of  the  Church  of  England.  Most 
of  the  delegates  returned  home. 

Monday,  June  5th, — Made  out  commissions  for 
Harrodsburg,  Boiling  Springs  settlement,  and  St. 
Asaph’s,  both  military  and  civil.  Friday,  June 
l%th,  — Continued  eating  meat  without  bread. 
Sunday,  June  13th, — Michael  Stoner,  our  hunter, 
not  returned;  was  expected  yesterday ; no  meat. 

Wednesday,  July  12, — Horses  being  almost  worn 
out,  went  up  the  river  (Kentucky)  in  a canoe  to  get 
meat,  if  possible.  Our  salt  quite  out,  except  about 
a quart  w'hich  I brought  from  Harrodsburg.  Times 
a little  melancholy,  provisions  very  scarce;  no  salt 
to  enable  us  to  save  meat  at  any  distance  from  us. 
No  accounts  or  arrivals  from  within ; weather  very 
dry;  the  springs  being  scarce,  water  was  rarely  to  be 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


129 


gotten.  We  were  not  able  to  raise  above  fourteen 
or  fifteen  fighting  men  at  one  time,  unless  they  | 
were  all  summoned,  which  could  not  easily  be  done 
without  long  notice,  they  being  much  dispersed 
hunting,*  etc. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  cane-brakes,  else- 
where in  Kentucky,  were  rife  with  the  busy 
activity  of  settlers.  Benjamin  Logan  had 
heard  of  the  rich  lands  to  be  secured  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  starting  out  from  his  farm  on  the 
Holston,  unaccompanied,  save  by  three  of  his 
bondsmen,  he  made  his  way  as  far  as  the 
Powell  Yalley,  intent  upon  exploring  the 
newly  opened  country  for  himself.  Here  he 
fell  in  with  Henderson’s  company,  with  which 
he  proceeded  to  his  destination.  In  journey- 
ing thither,  he  learned  of  Henderson’s  plans, 
which  ill  suited  his  independent  spirit,  and 
gaining  the  interior,  he  parted  company  with 
his  fellow-  travelers,  and  struck  out  for  himself. 
He  selected  a site  about  a mile  west  of  the 
present  town  of  Stanford,  in  Lincoln  County, 
and  there,  with  one  Michael  Galaspy,  raised  a 
crop  of  corn  and  built  a small  defensive  clus- 
ter of  cabins.  He  did  not  remain  long  alone; 
his  many  excellent  qualities  of  head  and 
heart  attracted  others,  and  the  settlement  thus 
formed  single-handed  was  of  such  import- 
ance, in  May,  as  to  be  represented  in  the  co- 
lonial assembly  on  an  equal  footing  with  the 
more  pretentious  one  at  Harrodstown. 

At  the  same  time,  some  seventy- hve  miles 
northeast  of  Logan,  the  Hinkston  company 
of  fifteen  explorers  were  making  improve- 
ments on  the  Licking.  Coming  down  the  Ohio 
in  March  and  April,  they  ascended  the  Lick- 
ing to  the  mouth  of  Willow  Creek,  four  miles 
above  Falmouth,  and  landed;  here  they 
remained  two  nights  and  a day  on  account  of 
high  water  and  continued  rains,  and  then 
proceeded  to  a spot  near  the  lower  Blue 
Lick.  At  this  place  they  fell  in  with  the 
Miller  company  of  fourteen  persons,  which 
had  followed  the  same  course,  but  had  passed 
them  unobserved  in  the  journey.  Each  party 
sent  explorers  to  spy  out  the  land,  who 
brought  in  their  reports  to  the  united  com- 
pany. The  two  parties  traveled  together 

*These  extracts  have  been  taken  from  the  portion  quoted 
by  Mr.  Collins  in  his  excellent  sketches.  Reference  is  made  to 
another  “ stitched  book,”  bnt  this,  that  indefatigable  compiler, 
after  a long  and  pains-taking  search,  was  unable  to  find. 


until  the  buffalo  trace  leading  toward  the 
site  of  Lexington  was  reached,  when  they 
separated.  Hinkston  and  his  company  took 
[ this  trace  to  the  region  lying  between  Cyn- 
thiana  and  Paris,  where  they  made  several 
j small  clearings  and  built  a cabin  for  each 
member  of  the  company.  From  members  of 
this  company,  Hinkston  and  Townsend’s 
Creeks,  and  Cooper’s  Run  take  their  names, 
and  on  the  last  two,  corn  was  raised  in  this 
year.  The  Miller  party  encamped  on  a creek 
bearing  the  same  name,  and  selected  sites  for 
improvement  for  each  one  of  the  company, 
one  of  the  members  planting  a patch  of  pota- 
toes. In  June,  however,  the  whole  company 
returned  home. 

Contemporaneous  with  these  were  the  par- 
ties of  McConnell  and  Lindsay,  which  arrived 
on  the  Elkhorn  from  the  Monongahela  Val- 
ley in  April.  The  first  named  party,  under 
the  lead  of  William  McConnell,  who  had 
been  in  Kentucky  the  year  before,  remained 
here  until  June,  making  various  “improve- 
ments ” in  what  is  now  Fayette  County. 
Some  of  these  persons  returned  by  water,  the 
others  going  by  land  to  the  mouth  of  Law- 
rence Creek  on  the  Ohio,  six  miles  below 
Maysville,  where  the  company  was  reunited. 
Reaching  their  destination  before  the  arrival 
of  the  canoes,  the  laud  party  busied  them- 
selves in  making  “improvements”  and  build- 
ing cabins  on  that  stream.  In  the  succeed- 
ing November,  John  McClellan,  with  his 
family  and  six  young  men,  returned,  bring- 
ing their  movable  goods  in  canoes  and  driv- 
ing their  stock,  nine  horses  and  fourteen 
head  cattle,  overland.  The  site  of  Leestown 
was  the  appointed  place  of  rendezvous,  where 
the  land  party  arrived  first;  on  the  arrival  of 
the  canoes,  the  party  proceeded  to  the  Royal 
Spring,  where  Georgetown  has  since  been 
founded,  and  erected  a cabin,  where  the  com- 
pany resided  until  April  of  the  next  year. 
This  done,  the  young  men  went  within  two 
miles  of  the  site  of  Lexington,  and  built  a 
cabin. 

“In  April,  1775,  Joseph  Lindsay,  William 
Lindsay,  Patrick  Jordan,  Garrett  Jordan, 
John  Vance  and  others,  met  at  Drennon’s 
Lick  and  came  up  together  to  Elkhorn, 


130 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


wliei’e  John  Lee  and  Hugh  Shannon  joined 
them,  thence  up  Elkhorn  to  the  forks;  from 
the  forks  to  the  place  now  called  Georgetown, 
and  thence  to,  or  near,  the  place  where  Lex- 
ington now  stands — their  business,  to  explore 
the  country  and  make  improvements.  The 
morning  after  they  encamped  here,  the  com- 
pany remained  in  camp  on  account  of  the 
rainy  weather.  Patrick  Jordan  went  alone 
down  the  fork  on  which  they  were  encamped, 
and  discovered  a large  spring  of  water  on  the 
north  side  of  and  a short  distance  from  the 
fork.  When  he  returned  to  camp  and  told 
of  the  spring,  Joseph  Lindsay,  the  only  one 
of  the  company  who  had  not  made  choice  of 
an  improvement  said  he  would  have  it,  and 
jjromptly  offered  Jordan  two  guineas  to  go 
with  him  and  show  it.  They  went  together, 
taking  axes,  and  made  an  ‘ improvement,’ 
cut  poles  and  built  a cabin,  three  or  four  logs 
high  and  about  ten  feet  square,  girdled  some 
trees,  and  made  a brush  heap  or  two,  and  cut 
the  initials  J.  L.  on  a tree  at  the  head  of  the 
spring.  After  that,  several  of  the  company 
went  over  to  Harrodsburg,  and  the  others  down 
to  the  forks  of  the  Elkhorn  after  their  provis- 
ions, working  tools,  etc.,  which  had  been  left 
there  with  the  canoes.  In  a few  days,  the 
brothers  Jordan  returned  with  Joseph  Lind- 
say to  his  spring,  assisted  him  to  plant  be- 
tween a quarter  and  a half  acre  of  land  in 
corn,  and  then  left  him,  Lindsay  declaring 
he  meant  to  live  there.  In  September,  1775, 
Patrick  Jordan  went  by  and  found  Lindsay 
living  there,  in  a camp  he  had  built;  besides 
the  plow- irons,  wedges,  hoes,  axes,  etc,  which 
he  had  gotten  from  Elkhorn,  Lindsay  had 
roasting  ears  of  corn  and  snap  beans,  the  first 
Jordan  had  seen  in  the  country.  In  July,  1770, 
he  called  there  again,  and  saw  two  acres  of 
corn,  and  some  fruit  trees  growing,  and  about 
a quarter  of  an  acre  of  land  inclosed  with  a 
fence.  Lindsay  was  not  there;  ‘it  was  grow- 
ing troublesome  times  on  account  of  the  In- 
dians, the  people  were  scary,  and  had  gener- 
ally left  their  improvements  and  gone  into 
the  stations  for  security.’  Lindsay  had  gone 
to  Harrodsburg.”  (Collins.) 

In  his  historical  address,  Governor  More- 
head  states  that  “in  the  year  1775,  intelli- 


gence was  received  by  a party  of  hunters, 
while  accidentally  encamped  on  one  of  the 
branches  of  the  Elkhorn,  that  the  first  battle 
of  the  Revolution  had  been  fought  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Boston,  between  the  British  and  pro- 
vincial forces;  and  in  commemoration  of  the 
event  they  called  the  spot  of  their  encamp- 
ment Lexington.”  There  are  some  consider- 
ations which  lead  one  to  believe  this  sugges- 
tion as  to  the  origin  of  the  town’s  name  a 
romance,  but  the  evidences  are  strongly  in 
favor  of  its  probability;  and  it  appears  quite 
as  evident  that  one  of  these  parties — McCon- 
nell’s or  Lindsay’s — was  its  author,  though 
the  town  was  not  founded  until  four  years 
later. 

Such  were  the  notable  explorations  made 
and  settlements  effected  prior  to  1776;  others 
of  a less  important  character,  and  many,  of 
which  there  is  no  record,  contributed  to  the 
pioneer  activities  of  this  period,  but  of  all  the 
eager  throng  that  hastened  to  pre-empt  the 
choicest  glades  and  meadows  in  this  fertile 
land,  few  cared  to  brave  the  dangers  of  the 
“dark  and  bloody  ground”  in  their  defense. 
On  June  12,  when,  as  his  journal  informs  us, 
the  supplies  were  nearly  exhausted,  Hender- 
son writes  from  Boonesborough,  as  the  settle- 
ment was  called,  to  his  colleagues: 

* * * No  doubt  but  you  have  felt  great  anxiety 
since  the  receipt  of  my  letter  from  Powell’s  Valley.* 
Ai  that  time  things  wore  a gloomy  aspect ; indeed 
it  was  a serious  matter,  and  became  a little  more  so, 
after  the  date  of  the  letter  than  before.  That  after- 
noon I wrote  the  letter  in  Powell’s  Valley,  in  our 
march  this  way  we  met  about  forty  people  return- 
ing, and  in  about  four  days  the  number  was  little 
short  of  a hundred.  Arguments  and  persuasions 
were  needless  ; they  seemed  resolved  on  returning, 
and  traveled  with  a precipitation  that  truly  bespoke 
their  fears.  Eight  or  ten  were  all  that  we  could 
prevail  on  to  proceed  with  us,  or  follow  after  ; and 
thus,  what  wm  before  had,  counting  every  boy  and 
lad,  amounted  to  about  forty,  with  wdiich  number 
we  pursued  our  journey  %vith  the  utmost  diligence, 
for  my  own  part,  never  under  more  real  anxiety. 
-»  * * Every  group  of  travelers  we  saw,  or  strange 
bells  which  were  heard  in  front,  was  a fresh  alarm  ; 
afraid  to  look  or  inquire,  lest  Capt.  Boone  or  his 
companions  were  amongst  them,  or  some  disastrous 
account  of  their  defeat.  The  slow  progress  we 
made  with  our  packs,  made  it  absolutely  necessary 
for  some  person  to  go  and  give  assurance  of  our 
coming,  especially  as  they  had  no  certainty  of  our 
April  8.  See  Journal,  ante. 


HISTORY  OF  IvENTUCKY. 


131 


being  on  the  road  at  all ; or  bad  even  beard  wbetber 
the  Indians  bad  sold  to  us  or  not.  It  was  owing  to 
Boone’s  confidence  in  us,  and  tbe  people’s  in  bim, 
that  a stand  was  ever  attempted  in  order  to  wait 
for  our  coming.  * « * * * ^^  * 

Tbe  general  panic  that  bad  siezed  tbe  men  we 
were  continually  meeting,  was  contagious  ; it  ran 
like  wild-fire  ; and,  notbwitbstanding  every  effort 
against  its  progress,  it  was  presently  discovered  in 
our  own  camp  ; some  hesitated  and  stole  back, 
privately  ; others  saw  tbe  necessity  of  returning  to 
convince  their  friends  that  they  were  still  alive,  in  too 
strong  a light  to  be  resisted  ; whilst  many,  in  truth, 
who  have  nothing  to  thank  but  the  fear  of  shame, 
for  the  credit  of  intrepidity,  came  on,  though  their 
hearts  for  some  hours  made  part  of  the  deserting 
company.  In  this  situation  of  affairs,  some  few,  of 
genuine  courage  and  undaunted  resolution,  served 
to  inspire  the  rest ; by  help  of  whose  example,  as- 
sisted by  a little  pride  and  some  ostentation,  we  made 
a shift  to  march  on  with  the  appearance  of  gallantry, 
and,  cavalier-like,  treated  every  insinuation  of 
danger  with  the  utmost  contempt.  It  soon  became 
habitual  ; and  those  who  started  in  the  morning 
with  pale  faces  and  apparent  trepidation,  could  lie 
down  and  sleep  at  night  in  great  quiet,  not  even 
possessed  of  fear  enougii  to  get  the  better  of  indo- 
lence. * * * To  give  you  a small  specimen  of 
the  disposition  of  the  people  it  may  be  sufficient  to 
assure  you  that  when  we  arrived  at  this  place,  we 
found  Capt.  Boone’s  men  as  inattentive  on  the 
score  of  fear  (to  all  appearances),  as  if  they  had 
been  in  Hillsborough.  A small  fort,  which  onl}" 
wanted  two  or  three  days’  work  to  make  it  tolerably 
safe,  was  totally  neglected  on  Mr.  Cocke’s  arrival;* 
and  unto  this  day  remains  unfinished,  nothwith- 
standing  the  repeated  applications  of  Capt.  Boone, 
and  every  representation  of  danger  from  ourselves. 

* * * Our  plantations  extend  nearly  two  miles 
in  length,  on  the  river,  and  up  the  creek.  Here 
people  work  in  their  different  lots  ; some  without 
their  guns,  and  others  without  care  or  caution.  It 
is  in  vain  for  us  to  say  anything  more  about  the 
matter  ; it  cannot  be  done  by  words.  * * * Our 
company  has  dwindled  from  about  eighty  in  num- 
ber to  about  fifty  odd,  and  I believe  in  a few  days 
will  be  considerably  less.  Among  these  I have  not 
heard  one  person  dissatisfied  with  the  country  or 
terms  ; but  go,  as  they  say,  merely  because  their 
business  will  not  admit  of  longer  delay.  The  fact 
is  that  many  of  them  are  single,  worthless  fellows, 
and  vrant  to  get  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains, 
for  the  sake  of  saying  they  have  been  out  and  re- 
turned safe,  together  with  the  probability  of  getting 
a mouthful  of  bread  in  exchange  for  their  news. 

* * * We  are  seated  at  the  mouth  of  Otter  Creek, 
on  the  Kentucky,  about  150  miles  from  the  Ohio. 
To  the  west,  about  fifty  miles  from  us,  are  two  set- 
tlements, within  six  or  seven  miles  one  of  the  other. 

See  journal  entry,  Monday,  April  10.  The  messenger  dis- 
patched. 


There  were,  some  time  ago,  about  100  at  the  two 
places  ; though  now,  perhaps  not  more  than  sixty 
or  seventy,  as  many  of  them  are  gone  up  the  Ohio 
for  their  families,  and  some  returned,  by  the  way  we 
came,  to  Virginia  and  elsewhere.  * * » Col. 
Harrod,  who  governs  the  first  two  mentioned  settle- 
ments (and  is  a verj'  good  man  for  our  pm-pose). 
Col.  Floyd  (the  surveyor)  and  myself,  are  under 
solemn  engagements  to  communicate  with  the  ut- 
most dispatch  every  piece  of  intelligence  respecting 
danger  or  sign  of  Indians,  to  each  other.  In  case 
of  invasion  of  Indians,  both  the  other  parties  are 
instantly  to  march  and  relieve  the  distressed  if  pos- 
sible. ******** 

The  plea  of  going  back  to  the  older  settle- 
ments for  their  families  was  in  most  cases 
without  foundation  in  fact.  None  returned; 
and  prior  to  September  there  were  no  white 
women  in  Kentucky.  Some  time  before  this 
date,  Boone  had  returned  to  the  Holston.River 
settlements  to  bring  on  his  family;  he  found 
the  families  which  had  made  the  unsuccess- 
ful attempt  to  reach  this  . region,  in  1773, 
ready  to  try  again,  and  accordingly,  having 
secm’ed  a number  of  recruits  for  the  frontier 
post,  he  set  out  with  them  and  his  family  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  summer.  On  reaching 
Powell  Valley,  he  was  joined  by  Hugh 
McGary,  Richard  Hogan  and  Thomas  Den- 
ton, with  their  families,  who  had  been  wait- 
ing three  months  for  his  return.  United, 
the  company  mustered  “twenty- seven  guns,” 
which,  with  their  stock  and  luggage,  made  a 
somewhat  imposing  cavalcade.  They  reached 
the  head  of  Dick’s  River  without  special  inci- 
dent, and  here  the  other  families,  having 
some  months  before  sent  Jacob  Harman  for- 
ward to  prepare  for  their  coming,  separated 
from  Boone,  and  made  their  way,  as  best 
they  could  by  Boone’s  directions,  to  Harrods- 
burg.  Opposite  Gilbert’s  Creek  these 
families,  becoming  bewildered,  left  their 
stock  with  the  young  men  of  the  party, 
James  Ray,  John  Denton  and  John  Hays, 
and  went  forward  unencumbered  to  seek  their 
destination.  McGary  succeeded  in  reaching 
the  village  by  a happy  accident,  and  sent 
back  a guide  to  bring  tbe  rest  of  the  com- 
pany, where  they  arrived  on  September  8. 
The  boys  on  being  left  behind  were  promised 
relief  in  three  days,  but  these  days  were 
i extended  to  weeks  before  they  were  found 


132 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


and  conducted  in.  Boone,  with  his  family 
and  twenty-one  men,  proceeded  to  Boones- 
borough,  where  they  arrived  on  September 
8,  also,  Mrs.  Boone  and  her  daughter, 
being  “the  first  white  women  who  ever  stood 
upon  the  banks  of  the  Kentucky  River.” 
Thus  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1775,  the 
domestic  circle  was  completed  for  the_first 
time  in  the  State,  at  Harrodsburg,  Boones- 
borough,  and  on  the  site  of  Georgetown.* 

Another  arrival,  which  proved  of  the  first 
importance  in  the  early  history  of  Kentucky, 
was  that  of  George  Rogers  Clark.  The  com- 
pany formed  in  1774,  to  plant  a settlement 
in  the  new  country,  of  which  Clark  was  a 
member,  seems  to  have  been  permanently 
diverted  from  its  purpose  by  the  events 
which  culminated  in  the  war  against  the 

*John  McClellan  and  his  family  in  November;  ante. 


Ohio  Indians,  and  Clark,  not  to  be  prevented 
from  at  least  visiting  this  country, came  alone 
in  the  spring  of  this  year,  finding  his  way  to 
Harrodsburg.  His  presence  became  known 
throughout  the  frontier;  he  had  served  in  the 
late  war  as  captain,  and  in  recognition  of 
his  military  ability  he  was  placed  in  com- 
mand of  the  irregular  forces  of  the  settle- 
ments, though  probably  not  commissioned. 
Fortunately  circumstances  gave  him  no 
opportunity  to  display  the  high  qualities 
of  military  leadership  which  he  possessed, 
and  which  the  future  was  to  amply  develop. 
After  the  hostilities  of  the  spring,  the  In- 
dians seemed  to  have  abandoned  the  field; 
and  the  settlements,  after  the  early  part  of 
April,  rested  in  a general  feeling  of  security. 
This,  however,  was  only  the  ominous  lull 
before  the  tempest. 


CHIMNEY  ROCK,  ON  KENTUCKY  RIVER. 


HISTORT  OF  KENTUCKY. 


133 


CHAPTER  YI. 


COLONIZATION  OF  KENTUCKY -THE  BORDER  STRUGGLE. 


A MOST  important  feature  of  the  settle- 
ment of  Kentucky,  in  1775,  was  the 
planting  of  the  Transylvania  colony,  the  ini- 
tial steps  of  which  have  been  noted  in  the 
preceding  chapter.  The  project  certainly 
was  without  precedent,  and  yet  novel  only  in 
its  order  of  procedure.  Hitherto  such  enter- 
prises had  first  sought  the  sanction  of  the 
king  in  a charter,  but  the  innovation  involved 
in  the  action  of  Henderson  and  his  associates 
was  such  as  would  not  probably  have  aroused 
serious  opposition  at  any  other  juncture  of 
affairs.  But  at  this  time,  the  disputes  of  the 
colonies  with  the  crown  had  made  the  royal 
governors  particularly  suspicious  and  watch- 
ful, and  this  unusual  course  was  construed 
as  another  evidence  of  the  people’s  growing 
disloyalty  to  the  king.  Accordingly,  the 
treaty  with  the  Cherokees  had  scarcely  been 
consummated  before  the  governors  of  Vir- 
ginia and  North  Carolina,  incited  by  a jeal- 
ous regard  for  the  royal  prerogative  and  the 
charter  limits  of  their  respective  colonies, 
fulminated  their  proclamations  against  the 
new  colony,  characterizing  it  as  a design  to 
form  “an  asylum  for  debtors  and  other  per- 
sons of  desperate  circumstances.” 

Such  factious  hostility  gave  this  enterprise 
a wide-spread  notoriety,  and  raised  up  for  it 
an  unexpected  support.  The  subject  of 
planting  this  colony  incidentally  came  up  in 
the  Virginia  revolutionary  convention,  where 
it  was  vigorously  defended  by  the  champions 
of  the  people,  Henry  and  Jefferson.  Learn- 
ing of  this,  the  proprietors  united  in  a letter 
of  thanks  to  these  gentlemen,  in  which  they 
took  occasion  to  say: 

* * * The  copartners  in  the  purchase  of  lands,  in 
Louisa,  from  the  Indians,  neither  intending  by  their 
distant  and  hazardous  enterprise  to  revolt  from  their  j 
allegiance  to  their  sovereign  nor  yet  to  desert  the 


grand  and  common  cause  of  their  American  breth- 
ren and  fellow  subjects  m their  manly  and  glorious 
struggle  for  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  natural  rights 
of  mankind,  and  the  inestimable  liberties  and  priv- 
ileges of  our  happy  constitution,  were  anxious  to 
know  the  result  of  the  wise  and  mature  delibera- 
tions of  the  convention,  and  particularly  in  the  in- 
quiries concerning  the  several  matters  which  be- 
came the  subject  of  .consideration  in  that  august 
assembly.  It  was  not  long  before  we  learned  the 
particulars  from  some  of  the  members,  and  that 
the  minute  circumstances  of  our  contract  with  the 
Cherokee  Indians  had  occasionally  been  moved  and 
debated.  The  true  point  of  view  in  which  you, 
with  several  other  gentlemen,  conceived  the  nature 
of  our  contract,  and  the  eloquence  and  good  sense 
with  which  you  defended,  and  the  liberal  principles 
on  which  }'Ou  supported  our  claims  to  the  benefit  of 
our  engagement  with  the  Indians,  in  addition  to  the 
universal  applause  of  the  whole  continent  for  your 
noble  and  patriotick  exertions,  give  you  an  especial 
claim  to  our  particular  acknowledgements,  of  which 
we  take  this  earliest  opportunity  of  begging  your 
acceptance.  ******* 

Convinced  that  our  purchase  is  neither  against 
the  laws  of  our  country,  nor  the  principles  of  nat- 
ural justice  and  equity,  and  conscious  to  ourselves 
of  the  uprightness  of  our  intentions,  we  totally  dis- 
regard the  reproaches  thrown  out  against  us  by  illy- 
informed  or  envious  and  interested  persons;  and 
now,  encouraged  by  the  approbation  of  the  respect- 
able Provincial  Congress  of  Virginia,  we  shall  here- 
after pursue  with  eagerness  what  we  at  first  adopted 
with  caution.* 

Such  were  the  auspices  under  which  the 
Transylvania  colony  began  its  career.  It  is 
not  probable  that  the  details  of  this  colonial 
' scheme  were  previously  elaborated  beyond 
1 such  as  were  necessary  for  the  purchase  and 
occupation  of  the  land,  and  Henderson’s 
I journal  suggests  (see  entry  May  8,  ante) 
that  the  plan  for  a representative  government 
originated  in  the  unforeseen  difficulties  which 
arose  after  the  planting  of  the  settlement 
at  Boonesborough.  Harrodsburg,  Boiling 

’^The  entire  letter  ruav  be  found  in  the  “Romance  of  West- 
ern History,”  by  James  Hall;  1857. 


134 


IIISTOKY  OF  XFYTUCKY. 


Spring  and  St.  Asaph’s  had  been  independ- 
ently established,  and  involved  interests 
which,  while  not  entirely  harmonious  among 
themselves,  the  proprietors  could  not  afford 
to  antagonize.  It  would  be  unjust  to  the  lib- 
eral and  far-sighted  policy  entertained  by 
Judo-e  Henderson,  however,  to  describe  the 
form  of  government  as  extorted  by  inexorable 
circumstances.  His  whole  career  shows  him 
to  have  been  a man  of  great  intelligence  and 
advanced  political  principles,  and  while  the 
situation  undoubtedly  suggested  the  easiest 
way  to  secure  general  harmony,  representa- 
tive government  was  thereby  placed  only  a 
little  earlier  in  the  order  of  colonial  develop- 
ment as  forecasted  in  the  mind  of  the  leading 
proprietor.  But  whatever  its  origin,  the 
suggestion  met  with  the  approval  of  the  lead- 
ing men  then  in  Kentucky,  and  prompt  steps 
.were  taken  to  realize  upon  it  at  as  early  a 
date  as  possible. 

Accordingly,  on  May  23,  1775,  the  dele- 
gates apportioned  to  the  various  settlements 
met  at  Boonesborough.  The  brief  journal  of 
this  first  legislature  in  Kentucky,  ]Dublished 
in  full  by  Mr.  Collins,,  notes  the  presence  of 
Squire  Boone,  Daniel  Boone,  Samuel  Hen- 
derson, William  Moore,  Richard  Callaway, 
Thomas  Slaughter,  John  Lythe,  Valentine 
Harmon,  James  Douglass,  James  Harrod, 
Nathan  Hammond,  Isaac  Hite,  Azariah  Davis, 
John  Todd,  Alexander  SpottswoodDandridge, 
John  Floyd  and  Samuel  Wood  as  members. 
The  session  was  opened,  on  the  part  of  the 
proprietors,  by  Judge  Henderson,  who,  in  a 
dignified  address,  emphasized  the  importance 
of  the  work  to  be  done,  and  pointed  out  the 
legislation  necessary  to  protect  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  colony  from  reproach,  and  to  se- 
ciu’e  the  welfare  of  the  colonists.  He  said, 
in  part: 

You  are  called  and  assembled  at  this  time  for  a 
noble  and  honorable  purpose — a purpose,  however 
ridiculous  or  idle  it  may  appear  at  first  view  to 
superficial  minds,  yet  it  is  of  the  most  solid  conse- 
quence. ******** 

You  are  perhaps  fi.xing  the  palladium,  or  placing 
the  first  corner-stone  of  an  edifice,  the  height  and 
magnificence  of  whose  superstructure  is  now  in  the 
womb  of  futurity,  and  can  only  become  great  and 
glorious  in  proportion  to  the  excellence  of  its  foun- 
dation. These  considerations,  gentlemen,  will  no 


doubt  animate  and  inspire  you  with  sentiments 
worthy  of  the  grandeur  of  the  subject. 

Our  peculiar  circumstances  in  this  remote  coun- 
try, surrounded  on  all  sides  with  difficulties,  and 
equally  subject  to  one  common  danger,  which 
threatens  our  common  overthrow,  must,  I think,  in 
their  effect  secure  to  us  a union  of  interests,  and 
consequently,  that  harmony  in  opinion  so  essential 
to  the  forming  of  good,  wise  and  wholesome  laws. 
If  any  doubt  remain  among  you  with  respect  to  the 
force  or  efficacy  of  whatever  laws  you  now,  or  here- 
after make,  be  pleased  to  consider  that  all  power  is 
originally  in  the  people;  therefore,  make  it  their 
interest  by  impartial  and  beneficial  laws,  and  you 
may  be  sure  of  their  inclination  to  see  them  en- 
forced. 

To  this  address,  the  spirit  of  which  is 
fairly  illustrated  by  the  brief  extracts  quoted, 
the  convention  made  a suitable  reply  in  a 
single  notable  paragraph,  of  which  they 
affirm  “that  we  have  an  absolute  right,  as  a 
political  body,  without  giving  umbrage  to 
Great  Britain,  or  any  of  the  colonies,  to 
frame  rules  for  the  government  of  our  little 
society,  cannot  be  doubted  by  any  sensible, 
unbiased  mind,”  etc.  The  first  two  days 
were  occupied  with  the  ordinary  organization 
and  the  exchange  of  these  official  courtesies, 
but  on  the  twenty-fifth  the  convention  settled 
down  to  its  appointed  work,  framed  four 
ordinances,  and  on  the  twenty- seventh  con- 
cluded its  sitting.  The  closing  entries  in  its 
journal  summarizes  the  work  of  the  session  as 
follows: 

The  following  bills  passed  and  signed  this  day  by 
the  proprietors,  on  behalf  of  themselves  and  partners, 
and  the  chairman  of  the  convention,  on  behalf  of 
himself  and  the  other  delegates. 

1st. — An  act  for  establishing  courts  of  judication, 
and  regulating  the  practice  therein. 

2d.— An  act  for  regulating  a militia. 

3d. — An  act  for  the  punishment  of  criminals. 

4th. — An  act  to  prevent  profane  swearing  and 
Sabbath  breaking. 

5th. — An  act  for  writs  of  attachment. 

6th.— An  act  for  ascertaining  clerks’  and  sheriffs’ 
fees. 

7th. — An  act  to  preserve  the  range. 

8th. — An  act  for  improving  the  breed  of  horses. 

9th. — An  act  for  preserving  game. 

All  the  above  mentioned  acts  were  signed  by  the 
chairman  and  proprietors,  except  the  act  of  ascer- 
taining the  clerks’  and  sheriffs’  fees,  which  was 
omitted  by  the  clerk  not  giving  it  in  with  the  rest. 
Ordered,  that  at  the  next  meeting  of  delegates,  if 
any  member  be  absent,  and  doth  not  attend,  that 
the  people  choose  one  to  serve  in  room  of  such  ab- 


HTSTOKY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


135 


sent  member.  Ordered,  that  the  convention  be  ad- 
journed until  the  first  Thursday  in  September  next, 
then  to  meet  at  Boonesborough. 

Matthew  Jouett,  Clerk. 

The  result  of  the  convention  was  generally 
acceptable  to  the  settlers  then  on  the  frontier. 

In  addition  to  the  salutary  laws  ordained,  a 
compact  had  been  entered  into  by  the  dele- 
gates of  the  people  and  the  proprietors,  the 
provisions  of  which  guarded  every  interest, 
and  granted  every  privilege  for  which  the 
older  colonies  were  then  contending.  No 
sooner,  therefore,  was  the  colonial  land  office 
opened  than  purchasers  hastened  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  company’s  terms,  and  by 
the  1st  of  December,  1775,  560,000  acres 
were  entered.  Thus  far  the  colonial  venture 
seemed  to  be  on  the  high  road  to  success,  but 
its  political  status  was  still  unsettled,  and  to 
this  feature  of  the  problem  the  proprietors 
were  giving  earnest  consideration.  Silas 
Deane,  of  Connecticut,  had  been  applied  to  for 
such  suggestions  in  regard  to  internal  affairs 
as  the  experience  of  that  colony  might  afford, 
and  accompanying  a copy  of  its  laws,  Mr. 
Deane  wrote  to  James  Hogg,  in  November, 
commenting  upon  them  and  the  general 
topic.  In  regard  to  the  practice  of  Con- 
necticut, he  said:  “They  were  never  fond 

of  making  many  laws;  nor  is  it  good  policy 
in  any  State,  but  worst  of  all  in  a new  one.” 
In  this  the  Transylvania  convention  had 
been  singularly  happy,  and  in  most  respects 
had  anticipated  the  admirable  suggestions 
of  the  writer.* 

In  pursuance  of  a call  for  a general  meet- 
ing of  the  company,  the  proprietors  con- 
vened at  Oxford,  N.  C.,  on  September  25, 
1775,  Henderson,  Luttrell  and  Thomas  Hart 
returning  from  Kenfucky  for  the  purpose. 
Nathaniel  and  David  Hart  were  not  present; 
having  become  disaffected  toward  their  col- 
leagues, they  chose  to  remain  on  the  frontier. 
At  this  meeting  the  proprietors  “took  into 
their  consideration  the  present  state  of  said 
colony,”  and  recorded  their  action  in  a series  I 
of  resolutions,  the  more  important  of  which 
are  here  given  in  full.  The  first  six  appoint 
Col.  John  Williams  resident  agent  for  the 
company  “until  the  12th  of  April  next;”  fix 


his  salary  for  this  time  at  “£150  proclama- 
tion money  of  North  Carolina;”  provide  for 
his  successor  “ in  case  of  death  or  removal  of 
Mr.  Williams;”  for  the  reservation  of  lands 
known  to  admin  salt  springs  or  mineral  de- 
posits, and  one- half  of  all  mineral  products 
in  any  other  lands;  and  for  the  recording 
of  deeds  granted.  Then  follows: 

Baolved,  That  all  survey's  shall  be  made  by  the 
four  cardinal  points,  except  where  rivers  or  moun- 
tains so  intervene  as  to  render  it  too  inconvenient; 
and  that  in  all  cases  where  one  survey  comes  within 
the  distance  of  eighty  poles  from  another,  their  lines 
shall  join  without  exception;  and  that  every  survey 
on  navigable  rivers  shall  extend  two  poles  out  for 
one  pole  along  the  river;  and  that  each  survey  not 
on  navigable  rivers  shall  not  be  above  one-third 
longer  than  Us  width. 

Resolved,  A present  of  2,000  acres  of  land  be  made 
to  Col.  Daniel  Boone,  with  the  thanks  of  the  propri- 
etors for  the  signal  service  he  has  rendered  to  the 
company. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  company  be  pre- 
sented to  Col.  Richard  Callaway,  for  his  spirited 
and  manly  behaviour  in  behalf  of  said  colony;  and 
that  a present  of  640  acres  be  made  to  his  youngest 
son. 

Resolved,  That  James  Hogg,  Esq.,  be  appointed 
delegate  to  represent  the  said  colony  in  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  now  sitting  at  Philadelphia;  and 
that  the  following  memorial  be  presented  by  him  to 
that  august  body: 

To  the  Honorable  the  Continental  Congress  now 
sitting  at  Philadelphia — The  memorial  of  Richard 
Henderson,  Thomas  Hart,  John  Williams,  Nathan- 
iel Hart,  John  Luttrell,  William  Johnston.  .James 
Hogg,  David  Hart  and  Leonard  Henly  Bullock, 
proprietors  of  Transjdvauia,  Sheweth, 

That  on  the  seventh  day  of  March  last,  for  a large 
and  valuable  consideration,  3"Our  memorialists  ob- 
tained from  the  Cherokee  Indians,  assembled  at 
W atauga,  a grant  of  a considerable  territorjc  now 
called  Transylvania,  lying  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river  Ohio. 

They  will  not  trouble  the  honorable  Congress 
with  a detail  of  the  risks  and  dangers  to  which 
they  have  been  exposed,  arising  from  the  nature  of 
the  enterprise  itself,  as  well  as  from  the  wicked  at- 
tempts of  certain  governors  and  their  emissaries; 
thej^  beg  leave  only  to  acquaint  them,  that  through 
difficulties  and  dangers,  at  a great  expense,  and 
with  the  blood  of  several  of  their  followers,  the}' 
have  laid  the  foundation  of  a colony,  which,  how- 
ever mean  in  its  origin,  will,  if  one  may  guess  from 
the  present  appearances,  be  one  day  considerable  in 
' America. 

The  memorialists  having  made  this  purchase 
from  the  aborigines  and  immemorial  possessors,  the 
sole  and  uncoutested  owners  of  the  country,  in  fair 
: and  open  treaty,  and  without  the  violation  of  any 


*Hall  quotes  the  letter  in  full;  p.  373. 


136 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKYR 


British  or  American  law  whatever,  are  determined 
to  give  it  up  only  with  their  lives.  And  though 
their  country  be  far  removed  from  the  reach  of 
ministerial  usurpation,  yet  they  cannot  look  with 
indifference  on  the  late  arbitrary  proceedings  of  the 
British  Parliament.  If  the  united  colonies  are  re- 
duced, or  will  tamely  submit  to  be  slaves,  Transyl- 
vania will  have  reason  to  fear. 

The  memorialists  by  no  means  forget  their  allegi- 
ance to  their  sovereign,  whose  constitutional  rights 
and  pre-eminences  they  will  support  at  the  risk 
of  their  lives.  They  flatter  themselves  that  the 
addition  of  a new  colony,  in  so  fair  and  equitable  a 
way,  and  without  any  expense  to  the  crown,  will  be 
acceptable  to  his  most  gracious  majesty,  and  that 
Transylvania  will  soon  be  worthy  of  his  royal  regard 
and  protection. 

At  the  same  time,  having  their  hearts  warmed 
with  the  same  noble  spirit  that  animates  the  united 
colonies,  and  moved  with  indignation  at  the  late 
ministerial  and  parliamentary  usurpations,  it  is  the 
earnest  wish  of  the  proprietors  of  Transylvania  to 
be  considered  by  the  colonies  as  brethren,  engaged 
in  the  same  great  cause  of  liberty  and  of  mankind. 
And  as  by  reason  of  several  circumstances,  needless 
to  be  here  mentioned,  it  was  impossible  for  the  pro- 
prietors to  call  a convention  of  the  settlers  in  such 
time  as  to  have  their  concurrence  laid  before  this 
congress,  they  here  pledge  themselves  for  them, 
that  they  will  concur  in  the  measures  now  adopted 
b}’  the  proprietors. 

From  the  generous  plan  of  liberty  adopted  by  the 
congress  and  that  noble  love  of  mankind  which  ap- 
pears in  all  their  proceedings,  the  memorialistsplea.se 
themselves  that  tlie  united  colonies  will  take  the  in- 
fant colony  of  Transylvania  into  their  protection; 
and  they,  in  return,  will  do  everything  in  their 
power,  and  give  such  assistance  in  tlie  general 
cause  of  America  as  the  congress  shall  judge  to  be 
suitable  to  their  abilities. 

Therefore,  the  memorialists  hope  and  earnestly 
request,  that  Transylvania  may  be  added  to  the 
number  of  the  united  colonies,  and  that  James 
Hogg,  Esq.,  be  received  as  their  delegate,  and  ad- 
mitted to  a seat  in  the  honorable  the  Continental 
Congress. 

By  order  of  the  proprietors, 

[Signed],  Richabd  IIexderson,  President. 

The  remaining  action  of  the  proprietors 
was  unimportant,  save  that  in  relation  to  the 
disposition  of  public  lands,  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  from  this  time  to  the  first  day  of 
June,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-six, 
the  lands  in  the  said  colony  shall  be  sold  on  the 
following  terms:  No  survey  of  land  shall  contain 
more  than  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  (except  in 
particular  cases)  and  the  purchaser  shall  pay  for 
entry  and  w'arrant  of  survey  two  dollars;  for  sur- 
veying the  same  and  a plot  thereof,  four  dollars; 
and  for  the  deed  and  plot  annexed,  two  dollars. 


And  also  shall  pay  to  the  said  proprietors,  their 
agent,  or  receiver  for  the  time  being,  at  the  time  of 
receiving  a deed,  two  pounds,  ten  shillings  sterling 
for  each  hundred  acres  contained  in  such  deed;  also, 
an  annual  quit-rent  of  two  shillings,  like  money, 
for  every  hundred  acres,  commencing  in  the  year 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty.  And  that 
any  person  that  settles  on  the  said  lands  before  the 
first  day  of  June,  oue  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
seventy-six,  shall  have  the  privileges,  on  the  afore- 
said conditions,  of  taking  up  for  himself  any 
quantity  not  above  six  hundred  and  forty  acres; 
and  for  each  taxable  person  he  may  take  with  him, 
and  settle  there,  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  and 
no  more. 

Resolved,  That  Col.  Richard  Henderson  survey 
and  lay  off  within  the  said  colony,  in  such  places 
and  in  such  quantities  as  he  shall  think  proper,  not 
less  than  two  thousand  acres,  hereafter  to  be  equally 
divided  amongst  the  copartners,  and  that  each  co- 
partner be  permitted,  by  himself  or  his  deputy,  to 
make  choice  of,  and  survey  in  one  or  more  places, 
any  quantity  of  vacant  land  in  the  aforesaid  colony, 
for  his  or  their  particular  use;  but  not  above  two 
thousand  acres,  and  that  agreeable  to  the  aforesaid 
rateable  proportions,  unless  on  the  same  terms,  and 
under  the  same  regulations  and  restrictions,  as  laid 
down  for  other  purchasers. 

Resolved,  That  not  more  than  five  thousand  acres 
shall  be  sold  to  any  one  person  who  does  not  im- 
mediately settle  on  the  said  lands;  and  that  at  three 
pounds,  ten  shillings  sterling  per  hundred,  and  not 
more  than  one  hundred  thousand  acres  in  the  whole 
on  these  terms. 

The  action  of  the  proprietors  thus  recorded 
was  fraught  with  the  most  serious  conse- 
quences to  the  venture  in  which  they  were 
embarked;  and  while  their  decisions  were  in 
a large  measure  actuated  by  wisdom  and 
worthy  motives,  the  change  in  the  terms  of 
the  sale  of  land  proved  the  bar  on  which  the 
commercial  bark  grounded  and  rendered  its 
total  wreck  more  easy.  Col.  Williams  did 
not  reach  the  frontier  until  the  early  part  of 
December,  but  he  at  once  set  about  carrying 
out  the  company’s  instructions,  and  on  Jan- 
uary 3,  1776,  wrote  his  principals  from 
Boonesborough,  “some  account  of  what  I have 
been  after  since  my  arrival  at  this  place.” 
This  letter  is  so  much  to  the  point,  and  pre- 
sents the  situation  so  much  more  clearly  than 
any  abstract  could,  that  its  essential  features 
are  here  given  in  the  language  of  the  writer. 

As  the  primitive  intention  of  sending  me  to 
Transylvania  was  to  establish  aland  office,  appoint 
the  necessary  officers  to  the  said  office,  surveyor, 
etc.,  upon  the  best  footing  in  my  power,  and  to 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


137 


make  sale  of  the  lands  within  the  said  colony,  upon 
such  terms  as  might  be  most  advantageous  to  the 
proprietors  and  satisfactory  to  the  inhabitants 
thereof;  my  first  step  was  to  fall  upon  some  method 
of  appointing  a person  to  the  oflice  of  surveyor, 
who  should  give  general  satisfaction  to  the  people. 
I thought  none  more  likely  to  do  so  than  calling  a 
convention  and  taking  their  recommendation  for 
the  person  whom  I would  appoint.  From  the  dis- 
•persed  situation  of  the  people,  and  the  extreme 
badness  of  the  weather,  we  failed  in  convening  a 
majority;  however,  I took  the  sense  of  those  who 
appeared,  and  who  unanimously  recommended  Col. 
John  Floyd,  a gentleman  generally  esteemed,  and  I 
am  persuaded  truly  worthy,  and  him  I have  com- 
missioned surveyor  of  the  colony  at  present,  though 
perhaps  it  may  be  advisable,  at  a future  day,  to 
divide  the  colony  into  two  districts  and  to  appoint 
another  surveyor  to  one  of  the  districts. 

The  entering  office  I have  disposed  to  Mr.  Na- 
thaniel Henderson,  and  the  secretary’s  to  Mr.  Rich- 
ard Harrison;  though,  upon  consideration,  I have 
thought  that  the  numerous  incidental  expenses  were 
so  great  that  some  way  ought  to  be  fallen  upon  to 
defray  them  without  breaking  in  upon  the  monies 
arising  from  the  sale  of  the  lands,  and  that  the  ?3 
for  entering,  etc.,  and  the  other  two  for  filling  up 
the  deeds,  counterparts,  annexing  seals  and  plots, 
etc,,  was  more  money  than  the  services  of  these 
officers  absolutely  required;  I,  therefore,  have  re- 
served out  of  each  office,  §1,  to  answer  the  purpose 
of  defraying  those  extraordinary  expenses,  and  the 
office  is  left  well  worth  the  acceptance  of  persons 
capable  of  filling  them  with  credit. 

The  number  of  entries  on  our  book  is  now 
upward  of  900,  a great  part  of  which  was 
made  before  I came  to  this  place,  when  people 
could  make  entries  without  money,  and  without 
price;  the  country  abounded  with  landmongers; 
since  there  is  .§3.00  exacted  on  the  entry 
made,  people  are  not  so  keen,  though  I make  no 
doubt  but  all  who  can  comply  with  the  terms  will 
endeavor  to  save  their  lands,  and  a«  many  people 
who  have  got  entry  on  the  book  are  now  out  of  the 
country,  and  cannot  possibly  pay  up  the  entry 
money  immediatel3^  I have  thought  proper  to 
advertise,  that  every  jaerson  who  had  made  entry 
on  the  book,  and  paid  no  money,  that  they  come 
in  and  pay  up  the  entrance  money  by  the  first  of 
April,  and  take  out  their  warrants  of  survey,  or 
their  several  entries  will,  after  that  time,  be  con- 
sidered as  vacated,  and  liable  to  be  entered  by  any 
person  whatever. 

The  surveyors  have  now  begun  to  survey,  and 
some  few  people  have  been  desirous  of  getting  out 
their  deeds  immediately;  but  they  generally  com- 
plain of  a great  scarcity  of  money;  and  doubt  their 
being  able  to  take  their  deeds  before  next  June,  or 
even  before  next  fall;  though,  in  a general  way, 
people  seem  to  be  well  reconciled  to  the  terms,  and 
desirous  to  take  upon  them,  except  some  few,  whom 
I have  been  obliged  to  tamper  with,  and  a small 


party  about  Ilarrodsburg,  who  it  seems  have  been 
entering  into  a confederacy  not  to  hold  lands  on 
any  other  terms  than  those  of  the  first  year.  As 
this  party  is  composed  of  people  in  general  of 
small  consequence,  and  I have  taken  some  steps  to 
remove  some  of  their  principal  objections,  I make 
no  doubt  but  to  do  all  that  way;  and  for  that  pur- 
pose have  formed  a design  fur  removing  myself, 
with  the  office,  to  Harrodsburg,  some  time  in  Feb- 
ruary next,  unless  I should  find  from  a trip  I pro- 
pose immediately  taking  there,  that  I cannot  do  it 
with  safety.  The  principal  man,  I am  told,  at  the 
head  of  this  confederact’  is  one  Hite,  and  him  I 
make  no  doubt  but  to  convince  he  is  in  an  error. 

Among  other  things  one  of  the  great  complaints 
was,  that  the  proprietors  and  a few  gentlemen  had 
engrossed  all  the  land  at  or  near  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio,  which  circumstance  I found  roused  the  at- 
tention of  a number  of  people  of  note;  I therefore 
found  mj^self  under  the  necessity  of  putting  a stop 
to  all  clamors  of  that  kind,  by  declaring  that  I 
would  grant  no  large  bodies  of  land  to  any  person 
whatever,  which  lay  contiguous  to  the  Falls;  which 
I have  done  in  a solemn  manner.  This,  I am  far 
from  thinking  will  be  injurious  to  the  proprietors, 
but  quite  the  reverse;  and  circumstances  which 
will  render  more  general  satisfaction,  and  be  of  as 
much  utility  to  the  Colony,  as  any  step  heretofore 
taken. 

You  will  observe  that  I am  going  on  to  justify 
the  measure,  before  I inform  you  what  it  is.  But 
to  be  brief,  it  is  this;  the  Falls,  it  is  certain,  is  a 
place,  which  from  its  situation,  must  be  the  most 
considerable  mart  in  this  part  of  the  world;  the 
lands  around  are  generally  rich  and  fertile,  and 
most  agreeably  situated;  which  had  occasioned 
many  people  to  fix  their  affections  on  that  place. 
Many  applications  have  been  made  for  large  grants, 
at  and  about  that  place,  and  refused.  Since  which 

30.000  acres,  and  upwards,  have  been  entered  there 
for  the  company;  40,000  or  50,000  more  in  large 
tracts  by  a few  other  gentlemen;  a partiality  was 
complained  of;  a general  murmuring  ensued. 

Upon  considering  the  matter  I thought  it  unjust; 
I thought  it  a disadvantage  to  the  partners  in  gen- 
eral; and  that  some  step  ought  to  be  taken  to  pacify 
the  minds  of  the  people.  I therefore  entered  into  a 
resolution  that  I would  grant  to  no  one  man  living, 
within  a certain  distance  of  the  Falls,  more  than 

1.000  acres  of  land,  and  that  it  be  settled  and 
improved  in  a certain  space  of  time,  under  the  pen- 
alty of  forfeiture;  that  every  person  who  had  entered 
more  than  1,000  acres  might  retain  his  1,000  out 
of  which  spot  he  pleased;  that  the  several  officers, 
who  have  claims  there  may  each,  on  application 
and  complying  with  our  terms,  be  entitled  to 

1,000  within  his  survey.  That  a town  be  immediate- 
ly laid  out  and  a lot  reserved  to  each  proprietor 
and  then  the  first  settlers  to  take  the  lots  the}'  may 
choose,  enter  and  improve;  which  improvement 
must  be  done  in  a certain  limited  time,  or  the  lot 
forfeited,  and  again  to  he  sold,  etc.  These  proposals 


138 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


seem  to  have  given  general  satisfaction,  and  every- 
one who  had  entered  large  quantities,  within  these 
limits,  gives  it  up  with  the  greatest  alacrity;  and  I 
am  in  hopes  it  will  meet  the  general  approbation  of 
the  company;  if  so,  I shall  be  happy;  if  not,  I shall  be 
very  sorry,  though  the  necessity  must  justify  the 
measure. 

The  Falls  of  the  Ohio  is  a place  of  all  others 
within  the  colony  which  will  admit  of  a town,  which, 
from  its  particular  situation,  will  immediately  be- 
come populous  and  flourishing;  the  land  contiguous 
thereto  rich  and  fertile,  and  where  a great  number 
of  gentlemen  will  most  certainly  settle,  and  be  the 
support  and  protection  of  a town  at  that  place;  a 
place  which  should  meet  with  every  encourage- 
ment, to  settle  and  strengthen,  inasmuch  as  it  will 
most  certainly  be  the  terror  of  our  savage  enemies, 
the  Kickepoos  Indians,  who  border  more  nearly  on 
that  place  than  any  other  part  of  the  colony;  and 
as  I tliink  it  absolutely  necessary  that  the  aforesaid 
proposed  town,  at  the  falls,  to  be  laid  off  the  ensu- 
ing spring,  if  I find  it  practicable  to  raise  a party 
about  the  1st  of  March  and  go  down  and  lay  out  a 
town  and  stake  it  off;  though  this  will,  in  a great 
measure,  depend  upon  the  future  tranquillity  of 
our  situation,  between  tliis  anct  then,  for  I assure 
you  the  little  attack  made  upon  us  by  the  Indians 
the  23d  of  last  month,  has  made  many 
people  who  are  ashamed  to  confess  themselves 
afraid,  find  outtliat  the-ir  affairs  on  your  side  of  the 
mountains  will  not  dispense  wfith  their  staying  here 
anj^  longer  at  present;  and  I am  well  convinced 
once  tliey  get  there,  that  every  alarm,  instead  of 
precipitating,  will  procrastinate  their  return. 

The  sanguine  expectations  of  Col.  Will- 
iams in  regard  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the 
settlers  were  not  entirely  realized.  The 
“small  party  at  Harrodsburg”  was  not  to  be 
so  easily  placated;  the  “Confederacy”  seems 
to  have  been  based  upon  something  more 
than  a determination  “not  to  hold  lands  on 
any  other  than  those  of  the  first  year,” 
though  this  was  the  burden  of  the  complaint. 
There  was  evidently  an  element  of  envy  in 
the  movement  which  manifested  itself  in  an 
ill-tempered  insinuation  in  regard  not  only 
to  the  character  of  the  proprietors,  but  also 
to  the  character  of  the  eminent  men  who  [ 
composed  the  Boonesborough  convention.  A 
petition  to  the  Vii’ginia  convention  originated  j 
among  these  malcontents,  though  inasmuch 
as  the  date  is  not  found  in  the  document,  the 
period*  of  its  origin  can  only  be  determined 
by  internal  and  collateral  evidence. 

In  this  paper  the  petitioners  represent  that 

^Butler  and  Hall  state  that  it  originated  in  the  Harrods- 
burg convention,  June  (5, 177G. 


they  were  attracted  to  Kentucky  “by  the 
advantageous  reports  of  their  friends  who 
first  explored  it;”  that  they  have  beengi’eatly 
alarmed  by  the  conduct  of  the  proprietors, 
“in  advancing  the  price  of  the  purchase 
money  from  20s.  to  50s.  sterling,  per  100 
acres,  and  at  the  same  time  have  increased 
the  fees  of  entry  and  surveying  to  a most 
exorbitant  rate,  and,  by  the  short  period 
prefixed  for  taking  up  the  lands  even  on 
those  extravagant  terms,  they  plainly  evince 
their  intention  of  rising  in  their  demands  as 
the  settlers  increase,  or  their  insatiable 
avarice  shall  dictate;”  that  they  “have  been 
more  justly  alarmed  at  such  unaccountable 
and  arbitrary  proceedings,  as  they  have  lately 
learned”  of  the  general  purchase  at  Fort 
Stanwix,  and  have  “the  greatest  reason  to 
presume  that  his  majesty  * * * will 

vindicate  his  title;”  that  they  would  have 
cheerfully  paid  the  consideration  at  first 
stipulated  by  the  company,  whenever  this 
grant  had  been  properly  authenticated;  and 
therefore  “humbly  expect  and  implore  to  be 
taken  under  the  pi’otection  of  the  honorable 
convention  of  the  colony  of  Virginia,  of 
which  we  cannot  help  thinking  ourselves 
still  a part,  and  request  your  kind  interposi  - 
tion  in  our  behalf,  that  we  may  not  suffer 
under  the  rigorous  demands  and  impositions 
of  the  gentlemen  stiling  themselves  pro- 
prietors, who,  the  better  to  effect  their 
oppressive  designs,  have  given  them  the 
color  of  a law,  enacted  by  a score  of  men, 
artfully  picked  from  the  few  adventurers 
who  went  to  see  the  country  last  summer, 
overawed  by  the  presence  of  Mr.  Henderson.” 
It  may  seriously  be  doubted  whether  this 
petition  originated  in  Kentucky,  but  be  that 
as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  of  the  eighty- 
four  names  appended  as  signers,  but  one 
representative  name — that  of  James  Harrod. 
a member  of  the  Boonesborough  convention— 
appears,  and  that  is  greatly  invalidated  by 
the  self-stultification  involved  in  the  last 
sentence  quoted.  Not  one  of  the  signers, 
with  the  exception  noted,  ever  became  other- 
wise conspicuous  in  Virginia  or  Kentucky, 
while  of  those  against  whom  the  envious 
shaft  was  aimed,  scarcely  one  has  failed  to 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


139 


secure  an  honored  place  on  some  of  the 
brightest  pages  of  the  history  of  that  time. 

The  attempt  to  found  the  colony  of  Tran- 
sylvania gave  rise  to  a sharp  conflict  of 
interests;  the  increased  cost  of  land,  which, 
though  it  only  raised  the  price  to  about  14 
cents  per  acre,  including  all  charges,  was,  in 
the  scale  of  values  at  that  time,  an  oppres- 
sive price,  and. the  change  was  without  doubt 
unwisely  made,  but  the  history  of  the  whole 
enterprise  reveals  no  avaricious  tendency  on 
the  part  of  the  company.  The  proprietors 
had  made  a large  outlay  in  the  original  pur- 
chase; the  expense  of  locating  and  maijitain- 
ing  the  first  settlement  was  considerable, 
and  the  first  sales  of  lands  did  little  more 
than  cover  the  expense  of  doing  the  business. 
And  yet,  the  company  exhibited  no  parsi- 
mony in  dealing  with  settlers.  They  hired 
between  200  and  300  men  in  founding  the 
settlement,  and  it  is  said,  upon  the  authority 
of  the  deposition  of  Benjamin  Logan,  that 
Henderson  offered  a gratuity  of  640  acres  to 
such  as  would  raise  a crop  of  corn  the  first 
year. 

“In  justice  to  this  great  company,”  says 
Butler,  “it  must  be  observed  that  it  fuimished, 
although  for  sale,  all  the  supplies  of  gun- 
powder and  lead  with  which  the  inhabitants 
defended  themselves  and  their  families.  In- 
deed the  books  of  Henderson  & Company 
exhibit  accounts  for  these  articles  with  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  in  the  years 
1775-76;  while  they  are  credited  with  various 
items,  as  cutting  the  road  to  Cantuckey, 
hunting  and  ranging.  * * * These  ac- 

counts  remained  unclosed  upon  the  books  in 
every  instance,  shewing  a condition  of  no 
little  indebtedness  for  the  colonists  of  Tran- 
sylvania to  the  great  proprietors.”  Yet 
when  the  ruling  wage  per  day  was  about 
33  cents.  Col.  7Yilliams  states  in  a letter  to 
the  company  that  materials  for  the  manu- 
facture of  powder  stored  in  Powell  Valley 
could  not  be  brought  forward,  because  col- 
onists demanded  $1  a day  for  their  services. 
Had  the  colony  received  the  political  recog- 
nition the  proprietors  sought,  the  mutual 
interests  of  proprietors  and  colonists  would 
have  led  to  an  equitable  arrangement  of  land 


difiiculties,  as  the  influences  for  a liberal 
government  were  numerous  and  influential; 
but  this  was  not  to  be.  The  projected 
colony  had  fallen  upon  Bevolutionary  times; 
old  things  were  passing  away  and  newer 
modes  were  being  ushered  in. 

The  mission  of  James  Hogg  was  produc- 
tive of  no  positive  results.  Soon  after  the 
meeting  at  Oxford,  he  set  out  for  Philadel- 
phia and  reached  his  destination  on  the  22d 
of  October.  On  the  2d  of  December  he 
returned,  and  some  time  in  January,  1776, 
wrote  a letter’,  probably  to  Henderson,*  giving 
“an  account  of  my  embassy,  which  you  will 
please  to  communicate  to  the  other  gentle- 
men, our  copartners,  when  you  have  oppor- 
tunity.” This  account  is  so  attractive  in  its 
original  form  that  it  is  here  given  entire — 
with  the  exception  of  certain  non-essential 
paragraphs — as  the  fullest  and  most  accurate 
information  to  be  secured  upon  the  subject. 
The  journey  was  partly  made  in  company 
with  “Messrs.  Hooper  and  Hewes,”  who 
were  valued  and  influential  friends  of  the 
Transylvania  Colony,  and  who  rendered 
important  services  in  aid  of  its  representa- 
tive as  indicated  in  the  letter. 

It  was  October  22  when  we  arrived  at  Phila- 
i delphia.  In  a few  days  thej’  introduced  me  to 
several  of  the  congress  gentlemen,  among  the  first 
of  whom  were,  accidental!}',  the  famous  Samuel  and 
John  Adams;  and  as  I found  their  opinion  friendly 
to  our  new  colony,  I .shewed  them  our  map,  ex- 
plained to  them  the  advantage  of  our  situation,  etc. 
They  entered  seriously  into  the  matter,  and  seemed 
to  think  favorably  of  the  whole,  but  the  difficulty 
that  occurred  to  us  soon  appeared  to  them.  “TTe 
have  petitioned  and  addressed  the  king,”  said  they, 
“ and  have  entreated  him  to  point  out  some  mode  of 
accommodation.  There  seems  to  be  an  impropriety 
in  embarrassing  our  reconciliation  with  anything 
new,  and  the  taking  under  our  protection  a body  of 
people  who  have  acted  in  defiance  of  the  king's 
proclamation  will  be  looked  on  as  a confirmation  of 
that  independent  spirit  with  which  we  are  daily  re- 
proached.” I then  showed  them  our  memorial,  to 
convince  them  that  we  did  not  intend  to  throw  off 
our  allegiance  to  the  king,  but  intended  to  acknowl- 
edge his  sovereignty  whenever  he  should  think  us 
worthy  of  his  regard.  They  were  pleased  with  our 
memorial,  and  thought  it  very  proper,  but  another 

sThe  address  of  this  letter,  its  exact  date,  and  the  name 
ofthe  place  where  it  was  written  are  not  recorded,  and  areproba- 
blr  lost.  The  bod}' of  the  communication  is  preserved  entire, 
winch,  with  the  other  papers  quoted  in  this  review  of  the 
Transylvania  Colony,  are  to  he  found  complete  in  the  appendix 
to  Mr.  Hall's  woik,  edition  of  1S.57. 


140 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


difficulty  occurred;  by  looking  on  the  map  they  ob- 
served that  we  were  within  the  Virginia  charter.  I 
then  told  them  of  the  fixing  their  boundaries,  what 
had  passed  at  Richmond  in  March  last,  and  that  I 
had  reason  to  believe  the  Virginians  would  not 
oppose  us;  however,  they  advised  me  to  sound  the 
Virginians,  as  they  would  not  choose  to  do  any- 
thing in  it  without  their  consent. 

All  the  delegates  were,  at  that  time,  so  much  en- 
gaged in  the  congress,  from  morning  to  night,  that 
it  was  some  days  before  I got  introduced  to  the 
Virginians,  and  before  then  I was  informed  that 
some  of  them  had  said,  whatever  was  their  own 
opinion  of  the  matter,  they  would  not  consent  that 
Transylvania  should  be  admitted  as  a colony,  and 
represented  in  congress,  until  it  originated  in  their 
conventions,  and  should  be  approved  by  their  con- 
stituents. Some  days  after  this  I was  told  that 
Messrs.  .Tefferson,  Wythe  and  Richard  Henry  Lee 
were  desirous  of  meeting  with  me,  which  was  ac- 
cordingly brought  about,  but  unfortunately  Mr.  Lee 
was,  by  some  business,  prevented  from  being  with 
us,  though  I had  some  conversation  with  him  after- 
ward. I told  them  that  the  Transylvania  Company, 
suspecting  that  they  might  be  misrepresented,  had 
sent  me  to  make  known  to  the  gentlemen  of  the 
congress  our  friendl}'^  intentions  toward  the  cause  of 
liberty,  etc.,  but  said  nothing  of  our  memorial,  or 
of  my  pretensions  to  a seat  in  congress.  They  said 
nothing  in  return  to  me,  but  seriously  examined  our 
map,  and  asked  many  questions.  They  observed 
that  our  purchase  was  within  their  charter,  and 
gently  hinted  that,  by  virtue  of  it,  they  might  claim 
the  whole.  This  led  me  to  take  notice  that  a few 
years  ago,*  as  I had  been  informed,  their  assembly 
had  petitioned  the  crown  for  leave  to  purchase  from 
the  Cherokees,  and  to  fix  their  boundaries  with 
them,  which  was  accordingly  done  by  a line  running 
from  six  miles  east  of  the  long  island  in  Ilolston  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Great  Khanaway,  for  which  they 
had  actually  paid  £3, .500  to  the  Cherokees,  by  which 
purchase  both  the  crown  and  the  assembly  had  ac- 
knowledged the  property  of  those  lands  to  be  in  the 
Cherokees.  Besides,  said  I,  our  settlement  of 
Transylvania  will  be  a great  service  to  the  Virgin- 
ians. 

They  seemed  to  waive  the  argument  concerning 
the  right  of  property;  but  Mr.  Jefferson  acknowl- 
edged that,  in  his  opinion,  our  colony  could  be  no 
loss  to  the  Virginians,  if  properly  united  to  them, 
and  said,  that  if  his  advice  was  followed,  all  the  use 
they  should  make  of  their  charter  would  be  to  pre- 
vent any  arbitrary  or  oppressive  government  to  be 
established  within  the  boundaries  of  it,  and  that  it 
was  his  wish  to  see  a free  government  established  at 
the  back  of  theirs,  properly  united  with  them,  and 
that  it  should  extend  westward  to  the  Mississippi, 
and  on  each  side  of  the  Ohio  to  their  charter  line. 
But  he  would  not  consent  that  we  should  be  ac- 
knowledged by  the  congress  until  it  had  the  appro- 


bation of  their  constituents  in  convention,  which  he 
thought  might  be  obtained,  and  that  for  that  pur- 
pose we  should  send  one  of  our  company  to  tlie  next 
convention.  Against  this  proposal  several  objec- 
tions occurred  to  me,  but  I made  none. 

This  was  the  substance  of  our  conference,  with 
which  I acquainted  our  good  friends,  Messrs.  Hooper 
& Hewes,who  joined  me  in  the  opinion  that  I should 
not  push  the  matter  further.  * * * I was  fre- 
quently with  parties  of  the  delegates,  who  in  gen- 
eral think  favorably  of  our  enterprise.  All  the 
wise  ones  of  them,  with  whom  I conversed  on  the 
subject,  are  clear  in  opinion  that  the  property  of 
the  lands  are  vested  in  us  by  the  Indian  grant;  but 
some  of  them  think  that  by  the  common  law  of 
England  and  by  common  usage  in  America,  the 
sovereignty  is  in  the  king,  agreeably  to  a famous 
law  opinion,  of  which  I was  so  fortunate  as  to  pro- 
cure a copy.  The  suffering  traders  and  others,  at 
the  end  of  last  year,  obtained  a large  tract  of  laud 
from  the  Six  Nations  and  other  Indians.*  They 
formed  themselves  into  a company  and  petitioned 
the  king  for  a patent,  and  deserved  to  be  erected 
into  a government.  His  majesty  laid  their  petition 
before  Lord  Chancellor  Camden,  and  Mr.  Charles 
York, then  attorney-general,  and  afterward  chancel- 
lor. Their  opinion  follows:  “In  respect  to  such 
places  as  have  been  or  shall  be  required  by  treaty 
or  grant  from  any  of  the  Indian  princes  or  govern- 
ments, your  majesty’s  letters-patent  are  not  neces- 
sary. The  property  of  the  soil  resting  in  the 
grantee  by  the  Indian  grants,  subject  only  to  your 
majesty’s  right  of  sovereignty  over  the  settlements, 
as  English  settlements,  and  over  the  inhabitants  as 
English  subjects,  who  carry  with  them  your  majesty's 
laws  wherever  they  form  colonies,  and  receive  your 
majesty’s  protection  by  virtue  of  your  royal  char- 
ters.” After  an  opinion  so  favorable  for  them  it 
is  amazing  that  this  company  never  attempted  to 
form  a settlement,  unless  they  could  have  procured 
a charter,  with  the  hopes  of  which,  it  seems,  they 
were  flattered,  from  time  to  time.  However,  our 
example  has  aroused  them,  I am  told,  and  they  are 
now  setting  up  for  our  rivals.  ***->:■** 

I was  several  times  with  Mr.  Deane,  of  Connect- 
icut, the  gentleman  of  whom  Mr.  Hooper  told  you 
when  here.  He  says  he  will  send  some  people  to 
see  our  country;  and  if  their  report  be  favorable, 
he  thinks  many  Connecticut  people  will  join  us. 
This  gentleman  is  a scholar,  and  a man  of  sense 
and  enterprise,  and  rich;  and  I am  apt  to  believe 
has  some  thoughts  of  leading  a party  of  Connecti- 
cut adventurers,  providing  things  can  be  made 
agreeable  to  him.  He  is  reckoned  a good  man  and 
much  esteemed  in  congress;  but  he  is  an  enthusiast 
in  liberty,  and  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  us 
unless  he  is  pleased  with  our  form  of  government. 
* * * You  would  be  amazed  to  see  how  much  in 
earnest  these  speculative  gentlemen  are  about  the 
plan  to  be  adopted  liy  the  Trans3'lvanians.  They 


*1770  ; treaty  at  Lochaber,  S.  C. 


'^Aniey  page  79,  and  Appendix  A,  Note  8. 


HTSTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


141 


entreat,  they  pray  that  we  make  it  a free  govern- 
ment, and  beg  that  no  mercenary  or  ambitious  views 
in  the  proprietors  may  prevent  it.  Quit-rents,  they 
say,  are  a mark  of  vassalage,  and  hope  they  shall 
not  be  established  in  Transylvania.  They  even 
threaten  us  with  their  opposition  if  we  do  not  act 
on  liberal  principles,  when  we  have  it  so  much  in 
our  power  to  render  ourselves  immortal.  Many  of 
them  advise  a law  against  negroes.  Inclosed,  I 
send  you  a copy  of  a sketch  by  J.  Adams,  which  I 
had  from  Richard  Henry  Lee. 

The  situation  was  undoubtedly  promising 
for  the  tinal  political  and  material  success  of 
the  colony,  but  public  affairs  were  so  compli- 
cated by  the  disturbed  relations  of  the  older 
colonies  with  the  mother  country,  that  it  was 
manifestly  impolitic,  if  not  impossible,  to 
urge  matters  further,  and  recognition  was 
thereforenecessarily  held  in  abeyance.  Such 
a necessity,  however,  proved  fatal  to  the 
ambitions  of  the  proprietors;  the  frontier 
settlements  could  not  suspend  existence  until 
the  political  heavens  cleared;  the  uncertain- 
ties and  ravages  of  a desperate  war  were  not 
calculated  to  encourage  the  enterprise  of 
“speculative  gentlemen;”  and  the  “small 
party  about  Harrodsburg”  were  not  slow  to 
perceive  the  advantage  which  these  circum- 
stances placed  in  their  lands. 

The  return  of  George  Rogers  Clark  to 
Kentucky  in  1776,  after  a short  visit  to 
Virginia,  has  been  noted;*  he  had  no 
special  interest  to  serve,  save  to  “lend 
a helping  hand,”  and  was  not  long  in 
discovering  the  necessities  of  the  situation. 
The  disaffection  at  Harrodsburg  had  in- 
creased the  meanwhile;  the  Virginia  conven- 
tion in  the  early  part  of  1776,  while  not  prej- 
udicing the  question  of  recognizing  the 
new  colony,  had  encouraged  the  settlement 


*Anie,  page  83  . In  reference  to  Clark’s  second  visit 
to  Kentucky,  Butler  notes  the  following  incident,  narrated 
by  Gen.  Ray:  “ I had  come  down,”  said  the  General,  “to 
where  I now'  live”  (about  four  miles  north  of  Harrodsburg),  “to 
turn  some  horses  out  to  range;  1 had  killed  a small  blue-wing 
duck,  that  was  feeding  in  my  spring,  and  had  roasted  it  nicely, 
on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  about  twenty  steps  east  of  my  house. 
After  takingit  offtocool,  Iwasmuch surprisedon  being  sudden- 
ly accosted  by  a fine,  soldierly  lookingman,  who  exclaimed,  ‘How- 
do  you  do,  my  little  fellow?  What  is  your  name?  A'nt  you 
afraid  of  being  in  the  woods  by  yourself?’  On  satisfying  his 
inquiries,  I invited  the  traveler  to  partake  of  my  duck,  which 
he  did  without  leaving  me  a bone  to  pick,  his  appetite  wasso 
keen;  though  he  should  have  been  welcome  to  all  the  game  I 
could  have  killed  when  I afterwards  became  acquainted  with 
his  noble  and  gallant  soul.”  In  return  Ray  inquired  of  the 
stranger  his  name  and  business  in  that  remote  region;  to  which 
he  replied,  “My  name  is  Clark,  and  I have  come  out  to  see  what 
you  brave  fellows  are  doing  in  Kentucky,  and  to  lend  a helping 
hand  if  necessary.”  Ray, then  ahoy  of  sixteen,  conducted  Clark 
to  Harrodsburg,  where  hesoon  identified  himself  with  theinter- 
ests  of  the  frontier  settlements. 


of  Kentucky;  and  the  portentous  shadows 
of  the  coming  tempest  of  war  were  already 
darkening  the  frontier.  The  measures  to  be 
adopted  in  such  a case  were  apparent  to  him; 
and  it  was  largely  due  to  his  influence  and 
direction  that  a convention  was  held  at  Har- 
rodsburg June  6,  to  seek  the  protection 
and  aid  of  Virginia.  Though  not  present 
at  its  deliberations,  he  and  Gabriel  John 
Jones  were  chosen  members  of  the  Virginia 
assembly,  and  forthwith  proceeded  on  their 
mission.  The  energetic  action  of  Clark 
resulted  in  the  recognition  of  the  settlers 
as  citizens  of  Virginia,  and  in  the  fall  the 
county  of  Kentucky  was  erected. 

This  action  on  the  part  of  Virginia,  while 
not  conclusive,  was  an  important  indication 
of  the  growing  opinion  which  prevailed  in 
that  colony.  Whatever  the  rights  of  the 
proprietors  of  Transylvania  were  under  the 
royal  regime,  they  underwent  a serious 
change  when  Virginia  set  up  her  pretensions 
to  independence.  The  erection  of  Kentucky 
County  was  opposed  by  Henderson  and  his 
friends  with  every  available  argument,  but 
when  effected  the  proprietors  gave  up  the 
unequal  contest.  They  still  urged  their 
claim  to  the  property  purchased,  but  this  also 
was  denied,  and  final  action  was  taken  by 
the  house  of  delegates  on  November  4,  1778, 
as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  all  purchases  of  land,  made  or  to 
be  made,  of  the  Indians  within  the  chartered 
bounds  of  this  commonwealth  as  described  by  the 
constitution  or  form  of  government,  by  any  private 
persons  not  authorized  by  public  authority,  are  void. 

Resolved,  That  the  purchase  heretofore  made  by 
Richard  Henderson  & Co.,  of  the  tract  of  land 
called  Transylvania,  within  this  commonwealtli,  of 
the  Cherokee  Indians,  is  void.  But  as  the  said 
Richard  Henderson  & Co.  have  been  at  verj"  great 
expense  in  making  the  said  purchase,  and  in  set- 
tling the  said  lands,  by  which  this  commonwealth 
is  likely  to  receive  great  advantage,  by  increasing 
its  inhabitants  and  establishing  a barrier  against 
the  Indians,  it  is  just  and  reasonable  to  allow  said 
Richard  Henderson  & Co.  a compensation  for  their 
trouble  and  expense. 

In  this  action  the  senate  concurred  on 
the  17th.  Some  fruitless  effort  was  ex- 
pended by  the  proprietors  to  secure  a revers- 
al of  this  act  so  far  as  it  declared  their  pur- 
chase void,  but  reluctantly  becoming  con- 


142 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


vmced  of  t.lie  futility  of  their  efforts,  they 
acquiesced  in  the  decision  of  the  assembly, 
and  applned  for  the  compensation  to  which 
the  act  adjudged  them  reasonably  entitled. 
The  assembly  accordingly  granted  some  200,- 
000  acres,  lying  on  the  Ohio,  and  extending 
twelve  miles  and  a half  up  both  sides  of  the 
Green  River,  “in  full  compensation  to  the 
said  Richard  Henderson  & Co.  and  their 
heirs,”  etc.  Thus  ended  the  Transylvania 
colony. 

But  this  contest,  which  decided  the  fate  of 
a State,  scarcely  made  a ripple  on  the  surface 
of  frontier  life,  and  save  the  dissatisfaction 
which  culminated  in  the  convention  at  Har- 
rodsburg,  no  note  of  it  is  found  in  the  annals 
of  the  border.  Its  result,  however,  may  be 
traced  in  the  history  of  the  Kentucky  settle- 
ments. An  unrecognized  rivalry  existed  be- 
tween the  two  leading  towns  from  the  first, 
and  probably  had  much  to  do  with  the  an- 
tagonism to  the  proprietors’  project  devel- 
oped at  Harrodsburg.  It  was  evident  that 
if  the  Transylvania  colony  was  recognized, 
Boonesborough  would  become  the  chief  place 
on  the  frontier;  immigration  would  naturally 
be  directed  to  it,  and  the  value  of  the  property 
in  its  vicinity  be  enhanced.  Such,  for  a 
time,  was  the  result.  But  the  success  of  the 
Harrodsburg  petitioners  wrought  a marked 
change;  the  latter  town  became  the  center  of 
frontier  influence,  and  some  of  the  families 
earliest  to  settle  in  Boonesborough  removed, 
in  the  fall  of  1776,  to  Harrodsburg,  which  be 
came  the  seat  of  justice  for  the  county  of 
Kentucky.  Yet,  notwithstanding  this  loss 
of  prestige  and  numbers,  Boonesborough  con- 
tinued, throughout  the  unsettled  period  of 
Indian  hostilities,  of  the  first  importance  in 
the  history  of  the  border. 

The  opening  days  of  1776  found  the  ad- 
vance line  of  civilization  in  the  Ohio  Valley, 
held  by  the  settlements  of  Hinkston,  near 
Lars  Station  in  Harrison  County,  of  McClel- 
lan at  Georgetown,  of  Logan  in  Lincoln,  at 
Boiling  Springs  and  Harrodsburg  in  Mercer, 
and  Boonesborough  in  Madison  County.  Dur- 
ing the  preceding  summer  and  fall  the  set- 
tlements had  not  been  seriously  disturbed  by 
Indian  depredations.  Indeed,  such  was  the 


security  felt  by  the  people,  that  Henderson 
wrote  to  the  company  under  the  date  of  June 
12th,  1775:  “It  will  no  doubt  be  a surprise 

to  you,  but  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  we 
are  in  no  posture  of  defense  or  security  at 
this  time;  and  for  my  own  part,  do  not  much 
expect  it  will  ever  be  effected,  unless  the 
Indians  should  do  us  the  favor  of  annoying 
us,  and  regularly  scalping  a man  every  week 
until  it  is  performed.”  It  does  not  appear 
that  the  Indians  were  so  accommodating  as 
to  make  any  attack  at  all  until  the  23d  of 
December,  when,  it  would  seem  by  the  fol- 
lowing letter  of  Col.  Williams,  its  salutary 
influence  was  entirely  explained  away.  “The 
blockhouse” — “Fort  Boone” — was  destined  to 
remain,  for  some  months  longer,  their  only 
dependence. 

On  Saturday,  about  noon,  being  the  23d,  Col. 
Campbell,  with  a couple  of  lads  (Sanders  and 
M’Quinney)  went  across  the  river.  On  the  oppo- 
site bank  they  parted.  Campbell  went  up  the  river 
about  200  yards,  and  took  up  a bottom.  The  two 
lads,  without  a gun,  went  straightway  up  the  hill. 
About  ten  minutes  after  they  parted,  a gun  and  cry 
of  distress  was  heard,  and  the  alarm  given  that  the 
Indians  had  shot  Col.  Campbell.  We  made  to  his 
assistance.  He  came  running  to  the  landing  with 
one  shoe  off,  and  said  he  was  fired  on  by  a couple 
of  Indians.  A party  of  men  was  immediately  dis- 
patched, under  the  command  of  Col.  Boone,  who 
went  out,  but  could  make  no  other  discovery  than 
two  moccasin  tracks,  whether  Indians  or  not  could 
not  be  determined.  We  had  at  that  time,  over  the 
river  hunting,  etc.,  ten  or  a dozen  men,  in  different 
parties,  part  or  all  of  whom  we  expected  to  be 
killed,  if  what  Col.  Campbell  said  was  true,  but 
that  by  many  was  doubted.  Night  came  on,  several 
of  the  hunters  had  returned,  but  had  neither  seen 
nor  heard  of  Indians,  nor  yet  of  the  two  lads.  We 
continued  in  this  state  of  suspense  till  Wednesday, 
when  a party  of  men  sent  out  to  search  for  them 
found  M’Quinney,  killed  and  scalped,  in  a cornfield, 
at  about  three  miles  distant  from  the  town,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river.  Sanders  could*  not  be 
found,  nor  has  he  yet  been  heard  of.  On  Thursday 
a ranging  party  of  fifteen  men,  under  the  command 
of  Jesse  Benton,  was  dispatched  to  scour  the  "woods 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  round,  and  see  if  any  further 
discovery  could  be  made.  To  these  men  we  gave 
2 shillings  per  day,  and  £5  for  every  scalp  they 
should  produce.  After  they  went  out  our  hunters 
returned,  one  at  a time,  till  they  all  came  in  safe, 
Sanders  excepted,  who  no  doubt  has  shared 
M’Quinney’s  fate. 

On  Sunday,  the  31st  day  of  the  month,  our  rang- 
ers returned,  without  doing  any  more  than  con 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


143 


vincing  themselves  that  the  Indians  had  immediate- 
ly. on  doing  the  mm-der,  ran  oil  northward,  as  they 
discovered  their  tracks  thirty  or  forty  miles  toward 
the  Ohio,  making  that  way. 

On  the  above  massacre  being  committed  we  be- 
g.an  to  doubt  that  there  was  a body  of  Indians 
about,  who  intended  committing  outrage  on  our 
inhabitants.  However,  we  are  perfectly  satisfied 
since  that  their  number  was  only  six  or  seven  men, 
who  set  off  from  the  Shawnee  town  before  the  treaty 
at  Fort  Pitt,*  with  an  intent,  as  they  termed  it,  to 
take  a look  at  the  white  people  on  Kentucky,  and 
King  Cornstalk,  at  the  treaty,  informed  the  com- 
missioners of  this,  and  said,  for  the  conduct  of  these 
men,  before  they  returned,  he  could  not  be  respon- 
sible, for  that  he  did  not  know  but  that  they  might 
do  some  mischief,  and  that  if  any  of  them  should 
get  killed  by  the  whites  he  should  take  no  notice  at 
all  of  it.  For  this  we  have  undoubted  authority,  and 
don’t  at  present  think  onrselves  in  any  greater 
danger  here  than  if  the  above  massacre  had  not  been 
committed. 

Another  circumstance  is  that  our  ammunition 
grows  scant.  I don’t  think  there  is  enough  to  supply 
this  place  till  the  last  of  March,  supposing  we 
should  have  no  occasion  of  any  to  repulse  an  enemy; 
if  we  should,  God  only  knows  how  long  it  will  last. 
If  any  powder  can  possibly  be  procured,  it  would 
certainly  be  advisable  to  do  it,  if  not,  some  person 
who  can  manufacture  the  materials  we  have  bn  the 
way  for  the  purpose  of  making  powder.  Most  part 
of  those  are  at  the  block-house,  or  at  least  within 
two  or  three  miles  of  that,  the  rest  in  Powell’s 
Valley. 

One  would  reasonably  suppose  that  the 
pioneers  would  find  in  the  occurrence  above 
related,  a sufficient  incentive  to  begin  this 
work,  but  it  was  not  until  the  latter  part  of 
July,  1776,  that  a commodious  inclosure  for 
defense  was  built  on  the  plan  drawn  by  Mr. 
Henderson  in  the  preceding  April. y Har- 
rodsburg  was  similarly  provided  about  the 
same  time,  but  Logan’s,  McClellan’s,  and 
Hinkston’s  settlements  were  not  so  defended; 
the  first  two  were  subsequently  fortified,,  and 
the  other  for  a time  was  abandoned  to  be 
repossessed  later,  and  fortified  as  Huddle’s 
Station. 

^October,  1775 ; with  congressional  commissioners. 

fSee  diary:  entry  of  April  21.  The  larger  fort  at  Boones- 
borough  was  a typical  frontier  defense;  and  as  the  plan  of  it  has 
been  preserved  with  a very  good  description  of  its  surroundings, 
theengraving  in  the  text  maybe  considered  fairly  accurate. 
The  plan,  foundin  Henderson’s  writing,  is  copied  from  the  en- 
graving in  Hall’s  work  (p.  164)  and  may  be  seen  in  Appendix; 
note  9.  The  date  commonly  assigned  for  the  completion  ot 
this  fort,  June  14, 1775,  is  erroneous.  This  date,  derived  from 
Filson’s  History,  refers  to  the  completion  of  the  “small  fort,” 
mentioned  by  Henderson  as  “only  wanting  two  or  three  days’ 
work  to  make  it  tolerable  safe,”  but  which,  on  June  12,  “re- 
mains unfinished.”  In  his  letter  of  July  21,  1776,  Col.  Floyd 
writes;  “We  are  about  finishing  a large  fort,  and  intend  to 
keep  possession  of  this  place  as  long  as  jiossible.” 


The  continued  quiet  which  prevailed  on 
the  frontier  reassured  those  who  had  fled 
from  Kentucky  on  account  of  the  Indian 
depredations  committed  in  the  spring  of 
1775,  and  early  in  the  next  spring  these  timid 
adventurers  returned,  bringing  with  them 
large  numbers  of  others,  who  were  eager  to 
share  in  the  bounty  offered  by  the  Virginia 
assembly.  They  naturally  sought  the  scenes 
of  their  former  explorations,  and  the  valley 
of  the  Kentucky  was  once  more  alive  with 
the  busy  activity  of  improvers.  Many  did 
not  go  further  than  the  region  iirst  entered, 
and  the  territory  now  within  the  limits  of  Ma- 
son County  was  fairly  thronged  with  these  ad- 
venturers, the  names  of  some  sixty  different 
persons  being  preserved.  In  the  country 
now  comprised  in  the  counties  of  Scott, 
Harrison,  Bourbon,  Mercer,  Madison  and 
about  Logan’s  fort  in  Lincoln,  the  number 
was  scarcely  less  in  proportion.  In  all,  the 
number  of  new  arrivals  reached  upward  of 
200,  but  the  permanent  increase  of  the  set- 
tlements was  very  small.  About  April,  Capt. 
John  Haggin  brought  his  family — the  first  to 
find  a home  north  of  Georgetown — and  settled 
on  Paddy’s  Hun  in  Hari’ison  County.  In  this 
season,  also,  Logan  moved  the  members  of 
his  family  to  St.  Asaph’s,  but  realizing  the 
insecurity  of  his  station,  he  subsequently 
placed  them  in  Harrodsburg.  A few  families 
settled  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky,  and 
others  on  Di’ennon’s  Creek,  and  these,  with 
possible  additions  at  Boonesborough  and 
Harrodsburg,  were  the  chief  part  of  the  per- 
manent accessions  to  society  on  the  frontier. 

With  the  exception  of  the  murder  near 
Boonesborough  in  December,  the  Indians 
committed  no  depredations  upon  the  Ken- 
tucky settlements  from  April  4,  1775,  until 
April  of  the  succeeding  year.  The  savages 
had  not  abandoned  their  favorite  hunting- 
grounds,  however;  their  attention  had  only 
been  temporarily  diverted.  At  the  close  of 
the  abortive  congress  with  the  commissioners 
at  Pittsburgh,  the  warlike  party  of  the  Shaw- 
anese  had  withdrawn  from  the  peaceably 
disposed  portion  of  the  tribe,  and  retiring 
toward  what  is  now  the  northwestern  part 
of  the  State  of  Ohio,  sent  their  chief  men 


144 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


to  concert  measures  with  the  British  agents 
at  Oswego.  The  war  for  independence  had 
not  yet  begun,  but  it  was  felt  in  the  older 
portions  of  the  country  to  be  inevitable, 
though  such  apprehensions  had  not  yet  be- 
come generally  accepted  in  Kentucky,  a de- 
lusion that  was  strengthened  by  the  peace 
which  ruled  on  the  border.  The  English 
agents  were  not  so  short  sighted;  they  ex- 
pected war  to  ensue,  and  while  no  campaign 
was  decided  upon  with  the  Indians,  they  were 
instructed  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to 
join  the  British  in  their  contemplated  attacks 
upon  the  American  settlements  in  the  spring 
of  1776,  and  in  April,  the  long  truce  was 
broken  by  the  murder  of  Willis  Lee  at  his 
station,  called  Lee’s  Town,  the  name  of  which 
has  been  perpetuated.  From  that  period  to 
the  end  of  the  year  the  settlements  were  kept 
in  a constant  state  of  alarm  by  the  numerous 
bands  of  Indians,  who  “came  to  take  a look 
at  the  people  on  the  Kentucky.”  A letter  of 
Colonel  Floyd,  which  is  elsewhere*  quoted 
in  full,  gives  a graphic  picture  of  the  ex- 
periences in  Kentucky  at  that  time:  “The 

Indians  seem  determined  to  break  up  our  set- 
tlement. * * * * They 

have,  I am  satisfied,  killed  several  whom,  at 
this  time,  I know  not  how  to  mention.  Many 
are  missing,  who  some  time  ago  went  out 
about  their  business,  of  whom  we  hear  noth- 
ing. Fresh  sign  of  Indians  is  seen  every 
day.  * * * Qjj  the  seventh 

of  this  month  (July)  they  killed  one  Cooper 
on  Licking  Creek,  and  on  the  fourteenth,  a 
man  whose  name  I know  not,  at  your  salt 
spring  on  the  same  creek.  * * * 

We  are  about  finishing  a large  fort,  and  in- 
tend to  keep  possession  of  this  place  as  long 
as  possible.  They  are,  I understand,  doing 
the  same  thing  at  Harrodsburg.  and  also  on 
Elkhorn,  at  the  Royal  Spring.’’ 

This  renewal  of  savage  hostilities  had  the 
usual  effect  of  clearing  the  country  of  the 
timid,  and  most  of  those  who  had  no  perma- 
nent interest  planted  here.  The  bolder  peo- 
ple at  once  busied  themselves  in  building 
defenses.  Hinkston’s  settlement,  exposed 
by  its  location  so  far  northward  and  its  want 


of  a stockade,  was  abandoned  in  July,  and 
its  leader,  with  eighteen  followers,  retired  to 
; Boonesborough,  where,  deaf  to  all  persua- 
sion, they  excited  a number  of  others  with 
their  fears,  and  the  whole  company  departed 
I for  the  older  settlements,  leaving  less  than 
! thirty  persons  to  defend  the  “ large  fort  ” 

: just  completed.  A few  less  timid  members 
of  the  Hinkston  settlement,  with  several 
families  from  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky 
and  Drennon’s  Creek,  united  with  the  set- 
tlers at  the  Royal  Spring  (site  of  George- 
town) in  building  a stout  stockade,  which 
became  known  as  McClellan’s  Fort — the  first* 
of  its  kind  north  of  the  Kentucky  River 
The  general  state  of  insecurity  was  further 
emphasized  on  July  14  by  an  act  which 
showed  the  ubiquity  and  cruel  adroitness  of 
the  savage  foe.  This  was  the  capture  of 
Elizabeth  and  Fanny  Callaway  and  Jemima 
Boone  from  a canoe  in  sight  of  the  fort  at 
j Boonesborough.  The  girls,  the  first  aged 
sixteen  years  and  the  others  fourteen,  made 
such  defense  as  they  could,  screamed  and 
struggled,  the  eldest  striking  one  of  the 
assailants  upon  the  head,  gashing  it  to  the 
bone,  with  a paddle — but  in  vain.  They 
were  carried  off,  but  not  without  giving  the 
alarm.  Cols.  Boone  and  Callaway  were 
absent  at  the  time,  but  soon  returned  and 
organized  a rescuing  party,  which  forthwith 
set  out.  Callaway,  at  the  head  of  several  on 
horseback,  proceeded  rapidly  forward  to  cut 
off  the  retreat  of  the  savages  across  the  Ohio, 
whilst  Boone,  accompanied  by  Samuel  Hen- 
j derson,  Capt.  John  Holder,  Flanders  Calla- 
way and  four  others,  followed  the  trail  on 
foot.  The  girls  took  every  possible  precau- 
tion to  leave  evidences  of  their  course  for  the 
guidance  of  the  party  which  they  were  as- 
sured would  follow  for  their  rescue.  The 
girls  were  captured  late  on  Sunday  afternoon, 
and  early  on  Tuesday  morning  they  were 
rescued,  the  pursuers  making  a sudden  attack 
upon  the  Indian  camp  while  the  savages 
were  preparing  their  breakfast.  There  were 
five  of  the  savages,  only  one  of  whom  got 

*This  pre-emiuenee  maybe  disputed  in  favor  of  McGee's 
Station,  built  three  miles  north  of  Boonesboro,  about  the 
same  time.  It  is  not  possible  to  determine  between  these  rival 
! claims there  is  less  than  a month’s  interval  between  the  dates 
! of  their  construction. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


145 


back  to  tell  the  story,  the  others  dying  from 
wounds  or  famine.* 

Other  depredations  followed  to  keep  alive 
the  general  alarm,  and  in  all  this  danger  the 
settlers  found  themselves  principally  depend- 
ent, for  ammunition  and  many  other  things, 
upon  the  older  settlements,  from  which  they 
were  separated  by  hundreds  of  miles  of  j 
almost  impassable  forests,  in  the  shadows  of 
which  lurked  a numerous  and  desperate  foe. 

In  June,  Clark  and  Jones  had  gone  to  Vir- 
ginia on  the  double  mission  of  procuring 
powder  and  securing  recognition  of  the  set- 
tlements as  part  of  that  colony;  but  early  in 
October,  before  Clark’s  supjrly  came  to  hand, 
the  ammunition  getting  low  at  McClellan’s 
Fort,  Robert  Patterson — subsequently  one  of 
the  founders  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  and  Cincin- 
nati and  Dayton,  Ohio — with  six  other  men 
from  the  fort,  started  to  Pittsburgh  to  pro- 
cure the  required  powder  and  other  necessa- 
ries. On  their  way  the  party  spent  several 
days  at  the  Blue  Lick,  curing  buffalo  meat 
and  making  other  preparations  for  their 
journey.  Proceeding  thence  to  the  present 
vicinity  of  Maysville,  they  secured  a canoe 
and  went  up  the  Ohio  River.  Until  they 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha,  they 
observed  no  particular  caution  in  their 
movements,  but  from  this  point  forward, 
realizing  they  were  in  a dangerous  region, 
they  traveled  from  day-break  till  dark,  and 
at  night,  cautiously  landing,  slept  without  a 
fire. 

Late  in  the  evening  of  the  12th  of  October 
they  landed  a few  miles  below  the  mouth  of 
Hockhocking,  in  the  present  State  of  Ohio, 
and  contrary  to  their  usual  practice  made  a 
fire,  having  become  less  cautious  in  conse- 
quence of  their  near  approach  to  the  settle- 
ments. They  laid  upon  their  arms  around  i 
the  fire,  and  in  the  night  were  attacked  by  a j 
party  of  eleven  Indians,  who  gave  them  a 1 

*This  account  is  supplementary  to  that  given  in  Floyd’s 
letter  referred  to  above.  A touch  of  romance  is  given  to  the 
painful  atfair  by  the  fact  that  those  named  of  Bonne’s  party 
■were  the  recognized  lovers  of  the  girls,  in  the  order  named. 
Two  of  the  number — Samuel  Henderson,  youngest  brother  of 
Col.  Henderson,  and  Elizabeth  Callaway — were  the  principals 
in  the  first  marriage  celebrated  in  Kentucky.  The  ceremony 
•was  performed  by  Squire  Boone,  at  Boonesboro.  August  7, 
1776.  Their  first  child,  Fanny,  born  May  29,  1777,  was  the  first 
■white  child  of  parents  married  in  Kentucky,  and  the  fifth  white 
child  born  in  the  State  The  others  were  subsequently  mar- 
ried. See  Collins,  Vol.  II,  p.  521. 


volley,  and  then  fell  upon  them  with  their 
tomahawks.  Col.  Patterson  received  two 
balls  in  his  right  arm,  by  which  it  was 
broken,  and  a tomahawk  was  struck  into  his 
side,  between  two  of  his  ribs,  penetrating 
into  the  cavity  of  the  body.  He  sprang  out 
into  the  darkness,  and  got  clear,  supposing 
all  of  his  companions  were  killed.  He  made 
for  the  river  in  hopes  of  getting  into  the 
canoe  and  floating  down  to  Point  Pleasant, 
but  as  he  approached  it  he  discovered  that 
there  was  an  Indian  in  it.  In  a short  time 
the  whole  party  of  Indians  went  on  board, 
and  floated  down  the  river.  Col.  Patterson 
then  made  an  attempt  to  get  to  the  fire,  in 
which  he  succeeded.  He  found  a companion, 
named  Templeton,  wounded  in  a manner 
very  similar  to  his  own  case;  another,  named 
"Wernock,  wounded  dangerously,  and  another, 
named  Perry,  slightly.  Of  the  other  three 
one  was  killed,  one  was  missing,  and  the 
other,  named  Mitchell,  was  unhurt.  They 
had  saved  one  gun  and  some  ammunition. 
They  remained  on  the  ground  until  morning, 
when  they  attempted  to  proceed  up  the  river 
on  foot,  but  Wernock  was  unable  to  move, 
and  they  were  forced  to  leave  him.  They 
found  themselves  unable  to  proceed  farther 
than  a quarter  of  a mile  from  the  camp,  and 
it  was  then  agreed  that  Perry  should  en- 
I deavor  to  reach  Grave  Creek,  and  bring  them 
aid,  while  Mitchell  was  to  remain  and  take 
care  of  the  others.  Wernock,  who  was  left  be- 
hind, died  in  the  evening,  and  Mitchell, 
who  had  gone  back  to  assist  him,  lost  his  way 
j in  returning  to  Patterson  and  Templeton, 

! and  did  not  find  them  until  the  next  morning, 
j They  then  moved  a couple  of  hundred  yards 
from  the  river,  and  the  next  day  got  under  a 
cliff,  which  sheltered  them  from  the  rain, 
where  they  remained  until  Peri’y  returned 
from  Grave  Creek  with  assistance.  They 
were  removed  to  that  place  after  lying  eight 
days  in  their  suffering  condition.  Patterson 
laid  twelve  months  under  the  surgeon’s  care.* 
This  incident  is  but  one  of  the  many  that 
serve  to  illustrate  the  watchful  scrutiny  of 
the  savages,  and  the  terrible  exactions  which 
the  settlement  of  Kentucky  made  upon  the 

*Americau  Pioneer,  Vol.  II,  pp.  344-5. 


9 


146 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


hai’dy  pioneers  who  braved  the  dangers  of 
the  border  in  this  heroic  period.  The  char- 
acter of  Indian  operations  was  well  calcu- 
lated to  inflict  the  greatest  distress  upon  the 
scattered  stations.  These  forest  fortresses 
were  cut  off  from  the  support  of  the  older 
communities  by  long  and  greatly  exposed 
routes  of  travel;  their  defenders  were 
harassed  in  their  attempts  to  raise  the  crops 
necessary  for  their  existence,  and  all  attempts 
to  secure  powder,  or  other  supplies,  were 
closely  watched,  and,  so  far  as  possible, 
cruelly  defeated.  Such  a plan,  if  success- 
fully carried  out,  must  have  inevitably  forced 
the  little  garrisons  to  retreat  from  their  bold 
positions,  or  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  over- 
whelming force  which  might  be  brought 
against  them  when  thus  brought  to  the  last 
extremity.  Kentucky  was  thus  practically  in 
a state  of  siege,  though  at  long  range,  and 
without  the  regularity  of  details  which  a 
well-conducted  investment  would  have  af- 
forded. 

It  was  under  such  circumstances  that  Clark 
and  Jones  reached  Pittsburgh  in  December, 
1776,  to  secure  the  transportation  of  the  500 
pounds  of  powder,  granted  by  Virginia,  “for 
the  use  of  the  inhabitants  of  Kentucke,”  to 
its  destination.  The  watchfulness  of  the 
Indians,  and  their  hostile  intentions  were 
well  known,  and  their  spies  were  to  be  seen 
lurking  about  the  very  settlement.  But  the 
case  was  urgent,  and  Clark  was  not  one  to 
calculate  dangers  if  success  seemed  possible. 
Accordingly  the  precious  consignment  was 
embarked,  and  the  delegates,  with  seven 
boatmen,  launched  out  upon  the  river,  pur- 
suing their  course  in  safety  to  the  Three 
Islands  (within  the  present  county  of  Lewis). 
Here  they  seci’eted  the  powder,  and  after 
setting  their  boat  adrift  that  it  might  not 
attract  the  attention  of  the  Indians,  the 
whole  party  began  their  march  for  Harrods- 
burg,  by  way  of  McClellan’s  Fort.  On  reach- 
ing the  latter  place  they  learned  that  Col. 
John  Todd  was  in  the  vicinity,  and  would 
soon  come  in.  Clark  determined,  therefore, 
to  leave  his  colleague  with  flve  of  the  boat- 
men to  await  Todd’s  arrival,  while  he  pushed 
on  to  Harrodsburg  to  report  the  result  of  his 


mission.  A few  days  later  Todd  came,  and 
on  December  25,  at  the  head  of  nine  mounted 
men,  piloted  by  Jones,  set  out  in  quest  of  the 
powder.  On  reaching  a point  near  the 
Lower  Blue  Lick,  the  party  was  fiercely  as- 
sailed by  a band  of  forty  or  fifty  savages, 
who  were  following  the  recent  trail  of  the 
powder  escort.  Jones  and  another  of  the 
whites  were  instantly  killed,  two  others  were 
captured,  and  the  rest  put  in  rapid  flight  for 
the  fort.  Four  days  later  the  Indians,  who 
were  under  the  command  of  a noted  Mingo 
chief  called  Pluggy,  boldly  assailed  Mc- 
Clellan’s Station,  in  which  there  were  only 
twenty  defenders.  The  attack  was  fiercely 
maintained  for  several  hours,  when  the  death 
of  the  chief  put  a sudden  end  to  the  fight, 
and  caused  his  followers  to  retreat  to  their 
towns.  Of  the  settlers  two  were  mortally 
wounded,  and  two  others  less  seriously  hurt. 
The  alarm  inspired  by  this  event  effected  the 
purpose  of  the  savages  much  better  than  the 
direct  assault;  the  fort  was  at  once  abandoned, 
its  occupants  retiring  to  Harrodsburg. 

Thus,  at  the  beginning  of  1777,  but  two 
fortified  posts  remained,  and  in  these  were 
gathered  all  the  settlers  in  Kentucky.  Logan 
still  continued  to  cultivate  his  improvement 
at  St.  Asaph’s  only  assisted  by  his  slaves,  his 
family  finding  shelter  in  Harrodsburg. 
Early  in  this  year,  having  been  joined  by 
several  others,  he  determined  to  fortify  his 
station,  and  soon  afterward  was  joined  by 
his  own  and  other  families.  Thenceforward 
Logan’s  was  one  of  the  prominent  strong- 
holds on  this  frontier.  Early  in  January,  a 
force  from  Harrodsburg  had  safely  brought 
the  powder  from  Three  Islands  ; a mili- 
tia organization  had  been  effected,*  in  which 
Clark  probably  held  commission  as  major, 
and  thus  equipped  the  pioneers  prepared  to 
rely  upon  their  own  resources  and  fight  it 
out.  These  crude  defenses  seem  but  a slight 
barrier  to  withstand  the  shock  of  war  which 
dashed  its  angry  waves  against  their  frail 
strength,  but  they  were  held  by  determined 
men  and  women,  who  bravely  kept  the  mur- 
derous hordes  of  savages  at  bay. 

*A  battalion  had  been  formed  of  the  inhabitants  north  ef 
the  Kentucky  River  in  1775.  On  the  5th  of  March,  1776,  are- 
organization  was  ettected,  which  included  ali  the  settlers. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


147 


Although  the  fell  bargain  between  tyranny  j 
and  barbarism  had  not  yet  been  consum- 
mated, the  Indians  this  year  appeared  in 
Kentucky  in  greater  numbers,  and  displayed 
greater  activity  than  ever  before.  An  extract  ! 
from  the  diary  of  George  Rogers  Clark 
briefly  tells  the  story: 

March  %th, — Thomas  Shores  and  William  Ray 
killed  at  the  Shawanese  Spring.  March  Wi, — The 
Indians  attempted  to  cut  off  from  the  fort  (Har- 
rodsburg)  a small  party  of  our  men;  a skirmish  en- 
sued. We  had  four  men  wounded  and  some  cattle 
killed.  We  killed  and  scalped  one  Indian  and 
wounded  several.  March  %th, — Brought  in  corn 
from  the  different  cribs  until  the  18th  day.  March  \ 
^th, — Express  sent  to  the  settlement.  Ebeuezer  j 
Corn  and  company  arrived  from  Capt.  Linn  on  the 
Mississippi.  March  \%th, — A small  party  of  Indians 
killed  and  scalped  Hugh  WUson  about  a half  mile 
from  the  fort,  near  night  and  escaped.  March  IQth, 
— Archibald  McNeal  died  of  his  wounds  received  on 
the  7th  inst.  March  28<A — A large  party  of  Indians 
attacked  the  stragglers  about  the  fort;  killed  and 
scalped  Garret  Pandergrest;  killed  or  took  prisoner 
Peter  Flin. 

April  1th, — Indians  killed  one  man  at  Boones- 
horough  and  wounded  one.  April  %th, — Stoner  ar- 
rived with  news  from  the  settlement.  April 
— Forty  or  fifty  Indians  attacked  Boonesborough, 
killed  and  scalped  Daniel  Goodman,  wounded  Capt. 
Boone,  Capt.  Todd,  Mr.  Hite  and  Mr.  Stoner.  In- 
dians, ’tis  thought,  sustained  much  damage.  April 
29<A, — Indians  attacked  the  fort  and  killed  Ensign 
McConnell.  i 

May  &th, — Indians  discovered  placing  themselves  ^ 
near  the  fort.  A few  shots  exchanged;  no  harm  \ 
done.  May  12th, — John  Cowan  and  Squire  Boone  i 
arrived  from  the  settlement.  May  l8^A, — McGary  [ 
and  Haggin  sent  express  to  Fort  Pitt.  May  23f?, — j 
John  Todd  and  company  set  off  for  the  settlement.  ' 
May  23tZ, — A.  large  party  of  Indians  attacked 
Boonesborough  Fort  ; kept  a warm  fire  until  11 
o’clock  at  night;  began  it  next  morning,  and  kept  a i 
warm  fire  until  midnight,  attempting  several 
times  to  burn  the  fort;  three  of  our  men  wounded, 
not  mortally;  the  enemy  suffered  considerably. 
May  2<3th, — A party  went  out  to  hunt  Indians;  one 
wounded  Squire  Boone,  and  escaped.  May  2,Qth, — 
Indians  attacked  Logan’s  Fort,  killed  and  scalped  | 
William  Hudson,  wounded  Burr  Harrison  and  ; 
John  Kennedy. 

June  5tA,  Harrod  and  Elliot  went  to  meet  Col. 
Bowman  and  company ; Glen  and  Laird  arrived  from  ! 
Cumberland;  Daniel  Lyons,  who  parted  with  them 
on  Green  River,  we  supposed  was  killed  going 
into  Logan’s  Fort.  John  Peters  and  Elisha  Bathey 
we  expect  were  killed  coming  home  from  Cumber- 
land. JunelMh, — Burr  Harrison  died  of  his  wounds 
received  May  30.  June22d, — Barney  Staguer,  Sr., 


killed  and  beheaded  half  a mile  from  the  fort.  A 
few  guns  fired  at  Boone’s. 

July  Qth, — Lieut.  Linn  married;  great  merri- 
ment. July  11th, — Harrod  returned.  Express  re- 
turned from  Pittsburgh. 

August  1st, — Col.  Bowman  arrived  at  Boones- 
borough. August  oth, — Surrounded  ten  or  twelve 
Indians  near  the  fort,  killed  three  and  wounded 
others;  the  plunder  was  sold  for  upward  of  £70. 
August  11th, — John  Higgins  died  of  a lingering 
disorder.  August  21th, — Ambrose  Grayson  killed 
near  Logan’s  Fort,  and  two  others  wounded;  Indians 
escaped. 

September  Sth, — Twenty-seven  men  set  out  for  the 
settlement.  September  %th, — Indians  discovered;  a 
shot  exchanged;  nothing  done.  September  11th,— 
Thirty-seven  went  to  Joseph  Bowman's  for  corn; 
while  shelling  they  were  fired  on ; a skirmish  ensued ; 
Indians  drew  off,  leaving  two  dead  on  the  spot,  and 
much  blood;  Eli  Gerrard  was  killed  on  the  spot, 
and  six  others  wounded.  September  12th, — Daniel 
Bryan  died  of  his  wounds  received  yesterday.* 

Such  was  the  record  made  at  Harrodsbtu’g 
of  passing  events.  Each  of  the  other  sta- 
tions could  have  added  a similar  story,  had 
there  been  “a  chiel  amang  them  takin’  notes,” 
but  the  terrible  struggle  has  not  been  passed 
unrecorded  by  other  hands.  Hostilities  be- 
gan very  early  in  the  spring  ; hardly  time 
enough  to  organize  another  force  had  elapsed 
after  the  retreat  of  Pluggy’s  band  in  Decem- 
ber, before  a party  of  seventy  warriors  under 
Blackhsh  took  the  war-path  leading  to  Ken- 
tucky, where  they  arrived  sometime  in  Feb- 
ruary, and  Clark’s  first  entry,  in  the  extract 
quoted,  marks  the  first  act  of  the  new  year’s 
campaign. 

James  and  William  Ray,  Thomas  Shores 
and  William  Coomes  were  engaged  in  making 
a clearing  at  the  Shawanese  Spring,  about 
four  miles  from  the  Harrodsburg  Fort,  for 
Hugh  McGary,  the  step-father  of  the  two 
Rays.  On  March  6th,  Shores,  with  the  two 
brothers,  went  to  a sugar-camp  in  the  vicin- 
ity to  regale  themselves  with  syrup  or  sap. 
Here  they  fell  in  with  a party  of  Indians, 
who  instantly  followed  a murderous  volley 
by  a rush  upon  the  startled  whites.  William 
Ray  was  killed  by  the  first  fire;  Shores  was 
captured,  but  James  Ray,  with  surprising 
agility  and  unequaled  speed,  escaped  un- 
hurt to  give  the  alarm. 

Coomes  was  unconscious  of  his  danger, 

*JIoreheart’s  address,  p.  1G2. 


148 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCIvF. 


but,  alarmed  by  the  protracted  delay  of  his 
companions,  had  ceased  his  work  and  was 
about  to  go  to  the  camp  when  he  caught 
sight  of  fifteen  Indians  approaching.  For- 
tunately the  heavy  undergrowth  and  cane- 
brake  shielded  him  from  their  observation, 
and  sinking  down  behind  the  trunk  of  a tree 
he  had  just  felled,  the  Indians  passed  him 
unnoticed  to  the  temporary  hut  errected  by 
the  choppers  for  their  camp. 

So  soon  as  tliey  were  out  of  sight,  Coomes 
escaped  toward  the  sugar-camp,  to  find  out  what 
had  become  of  his  companions.  Discovering  no 
trace  of  tliem,  he  concealed  himself  amidst  the 
boughs  of  a fallen  hickory  tree,  the  yellow  leaves 
of  which  were  of  nearly  the  same  color  as  his  gar- 
ments. Prom  his  hiding  place  he  had  a full  view  of 
the  sugar-camp;  and  after  a short  time  he  olrserved 
a party  of  forty  Indians  halt  there,  where  they 
were  soon  rejoined  by  the  fifteen  whom  he  had  pre- 
viously seen.  They  tarried  there  for  a long  time, 
drinking  the  syrup,  singing  their  war-songs,  and 
dancing  their  war-dance.  Coomes  was  a breathless 
spectator  of  this  scene  of  revelry,  from  the  distance 
only  of  fifty  or  sixty  yards.  Other  straggling  par- 
ties of  savages  also  came  in,  and  the  whole  number 
amounted  to  about  sevent3%  instead  of  forty-seven, 
as  stated  by  Butler  and  Marshall. 

Meantime,  James  Ray  had  communicated  the 
alarm  to  the  people  of  Harrodsburg.  Great  was 
the  terror  and  confusion  which  ensued  there.  The 
hot-headed  McGary  openb’  charged  James  Harrod 
with  having  been  wanting  in  the  precautions  and 
necessary  courage  for  the  defense  of  the  fort. 
These  two  men,  who  had  a personal  enmity  toward 
each  other,  quarreled  and  leveled  their  fatal  rifles  at 
each  other’s  bosoms.  In  this  conjuncture  the  wife 
of  iilcGary  rushed  in  and  turned  aside  the  rifle  of 
her  husband,  when  Harrod  immediatel}^  withdrew 
his.  and  the  difficulty  was  temporarikv  adjusted. 

McGaiy  insisted  that  a party  of  thirty  should  be 
immediately  dispatched,  with  him,  in  search  of 
Coomes,  Shores  and  his  step-son.  MJlliam  Rat’. 
Harrod,  the  commandant  of  the  station,  and  George 
Rogers  Clark  thought  this  measure  rash  and  im- 
prudent, as  all  these  men  were  necessary  for  the 
defense  of  the  place,  which  might  be  attacked  by 
the  Indians  at  any  moment.  At  length,  however, 
the  request  of  McGary  was  granted,  and  thii’ty 
mounted  men  were  placed  under  his  command  for 
the  expedition. 

The  detachment  moved  with  great  rapidity,  and 
soon  reached  the  neighborhood  of  the  sugar-camp, 
which  the  Indians  had  already  abandoned.  Near  it 
they  discovered  the  mangled  remains  of  William 
Ray,  at  the  sight  of  which  McGary  turned  pale, 
and  was  near  falling  from  his  horse,  in  a fainting 
fit.  As  soon  as  the  body  was  discovered,  one  of  the 
men  shouted  out.  “See  there!  they  have  killed  poor 


Coomes.”  Coomes,  who  had  hitherto  lurked  in  his 
hiding  place,  now  sallied  forth,  and  ran  toward  the 
men,  exclaiming;  “ No,  they  haven’t  killed  me,  by 
Job!  I’m  safe.”  The  party  having  buried  Ray  and 
rescued  Coomes,  returned  in  safety  to  Harrodstown, 
which  they  reached  about  sunset.* 

This  war-party  of  the  Indians  was  bent  on 
more  serious  mischief  than  the  waylaying  of 
such  settlers  as  chance  threw  in  their  way; 
but  true  to  their  theory  of  warfare  they  re- 
frained for  a time  from  further  aggressive 
movements,  after  the  escape  of  young  Ray, 
and,  in  the  interval  thus  afforded,  the  garri- 
son hurried  to  place  the  fort  in  as  good  a 
state  of  defense  as  possible.  Early  in  the 
succeeding  morning,  March  7,  the  people  in 
the  stockade  discovered  a cabin,  situated  on 
the  eastern  edge  of  the  town,  in  flames. 
Thinking  it  the  result  of  accident,  a party 
sallied  forth  to  extinguish  the  fire,  when  the 
Indians,  observing  the  success  of  their  ruse, 
attempted  to  cut  off  the  rescuers  from  the 
fort.  The  whites  were  too  quick  for  their 
assailants;  hastily  retreating  they  escaped 
the  toils  of  the  savages,  and  though  obliged 
for  a time  to  take  refuge  behind  trees  to 
beat  back  the  enemy,  they  eventually  reached 
the  fort  with  four  men  wounded,  having 
killed  one  of  the  attacking  band  and  wounded 
several  others.  This  ended  the  present 
attack,  the  Indians  probably  intending  only 
to  develop  the  strength  of  the  garrison,  and 
perhaps  strike  an  effective  blow  toward  crip- 
pling the  defense,  by  capturing  or  killing 
a number.  Though  foiled  in  the  achieve- 
ment of  this  object,  the  field  was  not 
abandoned;  a close  watch  was  maintained 
upon  the  place  and  such  injury  inflicted  as 
occasion  offered. 

Boonesborough  was  similarly  scrutinized, 
and  frequent  shots  exchanged  which  inflicted 
casualties  on  either  side.  Concerted  attacks 
were  made  upon  the  fort  on  the  15th  and  24th 
of  April,  on  the  23d  of  May,  and  4th  of 
July.  Of  these,  the  attacks  of  the  15th  of 
April  and  4th  of  July  are  more  particularly 
mentioned  by  the  earlier  historians,  though 
Clark  mentions  the  wounding  of  Boone, 
Todd,  Hite  and  Stoner  in  the  attack  made 

* From  “ Sketches  of  the  Early  Catholic  Missions  of  Ken- 
tucky,” by  Rev.  Dr.  Spalding,  1844.  His  information  was  de- 
rived from  a son  of  Coomes.  (See  Collins,  Vol.  II,  p.  611.) 


HISTORY  OF  KEYTUOKY. 


149 


by  forty  or  fifty  savages  on  the  24th  of 
April.*  The  first  attack  was  a fierce  assault, 
evidently  made  with  the  hope  of  suddenly 
breaking  into  the  fort  while  deprived  of  any 
hope  of  assistance  from  the  other  stations, 
which  were  threatened  at  the  same  time. 
The  defenses  proved  impregnable  to  such 
weapons  as  the  Indians  could  command,  and 
the  garrison,  suffering  some  in  wounds,  and 
much  in  the  destruction  of  corn  and  cattle, 
inflicted  such  punishment  upon  the  exposed 
savages  as  to  force  them  to  retire  with  pre- 
cipitation. On  May  23,  a more  determined 
attack  was  made,  in  which  the  Indians  made 
several  desperate  attempts  to  set  the  cabins 
on  fire,  but  without  success.  Again  in  July, 
bent  on  the  destruction  of  this  most  formid- 
able stronghold,  the  savages  returned  to  the 
attack  with  redoubled  fury,  continuing  the 
fire  of  their  muskets  until  midnight.  The 
number  of  the  assailants  was  estimated  at 
200,  but  after  pi’otracting  the  siege  for  “ two 
days  and  nights,”  they  lost  all  hope  of 
success,  and  “ tumultuously  and  with  clamor 
departed.  ” 

The  Indian  campaign  of  this  year  bears  a 
strong  resemblance  to  the  grand  tactics  of 


*To  watch  the  Indians  and  give  timely  notice  of  their 
approach  six  spies  were  appointed,  for  the  payment  of  whom 
Maj.  Clark  pledged  the  faith  of  Virginia.  Boone  appointed 
Kenton  and  Thomas  Brooks,  Harrod,  Samuel  Moore  and  Bates 
Collier  and  Logan,  John  Conrad  and  John  Martin,  These 
spies  performed  good  service.  It  was  the  custom  for  two  each 
week,  by  turns,  to  range  up  and  down  the  Ohio,  and  about  the 
deserted  stations  looking  for  Indian  signs,  etc.  By  this  means 
the  settlers  bad  timely  notice  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy 
during  the  year,  save  once. 

On  this  occasion,  Kenton  and  two  others,  early  one  morn- 
ing, having  loaded  their  guns  for  a hunt,  were  standing  in  the 
gate  of  Boonesborough,when  two  men  in  the  field  were  fired  on 
by  the  Indians,  They  immediately  fled,  not  being  hurt.  The 
Indians  pursued  them,  a warrior  overtook  and  tomahawked 
one  of  the  men  within  seventy  yards  of  the  fort,  and  proceeded 
leisurely  to  scalp  him.  Kenton  shot  the  daring  savage  dead, 
and  immediately  with  his  hunting  companions  gave  chase  to 
the  others.  Boone,  hearing  the  noise  with  ten  men  hastened 
out  to  the  assistance  of  the  spies.  Kenton  turned  and  observed 
an  Indian  taking  aim  at  the  party  of  Boone;  quick  as  thought 
he  brought  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder,  pulled  the  trigger  first,  and 
the  red-man  bit  the  dust.  Boone,  having  advanced  some  dis- 
tance, now  discovered  that  his  small  party,  consisting  of  four- 
teen men.  was  cut  off  from  the  fort  by  a large  body  of  the  foe, 
which  had  got  between  him  and  the'gate.  There  was  no  time 
to  be  lost;  Boone  gave  the  word — “rightabout — fire — charge!" 
and  the  intrepid  hunters  dashed  in  among  their  adversaries, 
in  a desperate  endeavor  to  reach  the  fort. 

At  the  first  fire  from  the  Indians,  seven  of  the  fourteen 
whites  were  wounded,  among  the  number  the  gallant  Boone, 
whose  leg  was  broken,  which  stretched  him  out  on  the  ground. 
An  Indian  sprang  on  him  with  an  uplifted  tomahawk,  but  be- 
fore the  blow  descended,  Kenton,  everywhere  present,  rushed 
on  the  warrior,  discharged  his  gun  into  his  breast,  and  bore  his 
leader  into  the  fort.  AVhen  the  gate  was  closed  and  all  things 
secure,  Boone  sent  for  Kenton;  "Well  Simon,  ” said  the  old 
pioneer,  “you  have  behaved  yourself  like  a man  to-day — in- 
deed, you  are  a fine  fellow.”  This  was  great  praise  from  Boone, 
who  was  a silent  man,  little  given  to  compliment.  Kenton 
had  deserved  the  eulogium;  he  had  saved  the  life  of  his  captain 
and  killed  three  Indians  without  having  time  to  scalp  any  of 
them.  There  was  little  time  to  spare,  we  may  well  believe,  when 
Kenton  could  not  stop  to  take  a scalp.  (McDonald's  Biograph- 
ical Sketches,  p.  215.) 


modern  warfare.  The  left  of  the  line,  held 
by  the  three  outposts,  was  first  developed 
and  “ felt,”  and  then,  while  a show  of  attack 
was  continued  here,  and  the  center  threatened, 
the  main  assault  was  hurled  at  Boonesboro, 
on  the  right,  and  repeated  again  and  again 
with  a desperation  that  indicated  the  value 
they  set  upon  success  at  this  point.  Defeated 
here,  the  brunt  of  the  attack  was  aimed  at 
the  center,  where  Logan’s  Fort,  weak  in 
numbers  and  less  elaborate  in  its  defenses, 
promised  a better  chance  of  success,  but  not 
so  great  results  if  achieved. 

This  change  of  attack  was  accomplished 
with  unusual  secrecy.  One  morning*  in  the 
latter  part  of  May,  while  some  of  the  women 
were  outside  of  the  inclosure,  engaged  in 
milking  the  cows,  guarded  by  the  usual  senti- 
nels, they  were  startled  by  a sudden  volley 
from  a party  of  Indians,  who,  to  the  number 
of  100,  had  gathered  about  the  station 
entirely  unobserved  by  the  whites.  Of  the 
sentinels,  one  was  killed  outright,  another 
was  mortally  wounded,  and  a third.  Burr  Har- 
rison, was  disabled;  the  rest  of  the  men,  with 
the  women,  escaped  unhurt  to  the  protection 
of  the  palisades.  Harrison  ran  a few  paces 
and  fell  to  the  ground  within  plain  view  of 
the  garrison,  too  near  to  be  approached  with 
safety  by  the  Indians,  and  too  far  off  to  per- 
mit any  attempt  for  his  rescue  with  hope  of 
success. 

The  situation  was  one  of  the  most  trying 
that  the  pioneers  of  that  day  were  called  upon 
to  face.  The  agony  of  the  unfortunate  man’s 
family  in  this  helpless  plight,  the  forlorn 
character  of  any  attempt  to  effect  his  rescue, 
and  the  common  danger  involved  in  any  fur- 
ther loss  to  a garrison  which  at  first  consisted 
of  only  fifteen  men,  three  of  whom  were  already 
hors  de  combat,  all  appealed  with  a powerful 
but  conflicting  force  to  the  brave  generosity 
of  the  garrison.  It  was  plainly  the  part  of 
wisdom  to  forego  any  attempt  to  reach  the 
suffering  man.  Courage  could  afford  no  pro- 
tection against  the  pitiless  bullets  of  the  sav- 
age marksmen,  who  commanded  every  foot  of 
the  ground,  and  left  the  wounded  man  un- 

*Butler  and  ilarshall  place  the  occurrence  on  the  20th, 
Clark  on  the  30th  of  May. 


150 


• HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


touched  by  further  shots  only  to  lure  other 
victims  within  their  reach.  But  neither  pru- 
dence nor  personal  danger  could  steel  the 
heart  against  the  frantic  pleading  of  his  wife, 
and  the  piteous  cries  of  the  man,  as  he  strug- 
gled to  move  toward  the  fort,  or  lay  welter- 
ingf  in  his  blood.  Logman  could  withstand  the 
promptings  of  his  heart  no  longer;  he  deter- 
mined to  risk  his  life  to  bring  in  his  comrade, 
but  he  beojored  in  vain  for  volunteers  to  assist 
him.  The  hazard  was  too  forlorn  even  for 
those  nurtured  amid  danger. 

At  length,  inspired  by  the  noble  I’esolve  of 
his  leader,  one  with  no  interests  to  compro- 
mise but  his  own,  announced  his  willingness 
to  anticipate  the  natural  end  of  life,  and  pro- 
posed to  accompany  him.  Together  they  ran 
to  the  gate;  and  outside,  Logan,  regardless 
of  his  follower,  rushed  with  mad  speed 
through  the  terrible  storm  of  bullets  that 
greeted  him  to  the  spot  where  the  wounded 
man  lay,  but  Martin,  the  volunteer,  appalled 
by  the  fury  of  the  attack,  shrank  back  within 
the  gate.  To  grasp  the  wounded  man  and 
bear  him  on  his  shoulders  to  the  fort,  was  for 
Logan  the  work  of  a moment.  The  intrepid 
frontiersman  was  equally  fortunate,  but 
every  portion  of  his  clothing  bore  significant 
evidence  that  the  risk  had  not  been  over-esti- 
mated, and  that  ho  owed  his  life,  a hundred 
times,  to  the  rapidity  as  well  as  the  audacit}'^ 
of  his  movements. 

The  attack  upon  the  fort  was  now  begun 
with  vigor,  but  the  friendly  palisades  turned 
death  harmlessly  aside,  while  the  garrison 
with  unerring  rifles  inflicted  death  or  wounds 
wherever  the  savages  exposed  themselves. 
Every  adult  occupant  of  the  fort  was  engaged 
in  its  defense,  the  men  in  their  places  at  the 
port-holes,  and  the  women  running  bullets, 
loading  guns,  standing  guard,  or  preparing 
food.  But  the  scarcity  of  powder  and  lead 
foreshadowed  a graver  danger  tiian  did  the 
paucity  of  numbers.  Approach  to  the  other 
forts  was  closely  guarded,  and  it  is  doubtful 
if  they  had  sufficient  ammunition  to  spare  any 
could  it  have  been  brought  away.  The  only 
other  practical  source  of  supply  was  the  Hol- 
ston  settlements,  200  miles  away.  To  reach 
this  point,  the  vigilance  of  the  investing  force 


must  be  eluded,  and  the  long  journey  pursued 
through  forests  infested  with  a numerous 
savage  foe,  watchful  for  any  such  attempt. 
Difficult  as  the  outward  trip  might  be,  the 
return  was  rendered  doubly  so  by  the  burden 
which  the  messengers  must  carry.  There  was 
no  immediate  prospect  of  a termination  of 
the  siege,  which  in  the  end  proved  the  most 
determined  and  best  sustained  in  the  history 
of  the  Kentucky  frontier,  and  the  daily  expend- 
iture of  ammunition  only  brought  the  obvi- 
ous necessity  nearer. 

Again  Logan  proved  himself  an  ideal  com- 
mander, ready  to  lead  where  danger  threat- 
ened most.  Selecting  two  comrades,  he 
cautiously  left  the  fort,  and  avoiding  the 
beaten  paths,  guided  only  by  his  woodcraft, 
he  escaped  the  nearer  foe.  Avoiding  Cum- 
berland Gap,  which  was  likely  to  be  guarded 
by  the  Indians,  he  explored  his  passage 
“ where  no  man  ever  traveled  before,  nor 
probably  since,  over  the  Cumberland  Moun- 
tain, through  clifts,  and  brush,  and  cane; 
clambering  rocks  and  precipices  to  be 
encountered  only  by  the  strong,  the  bold 
and  the  determined.”  Having  secured  the 
required  ammunition  and  given  his  comrades 
directions  how  to  proceed  homeward,  he  flew 
back  to  the  endangered  post  with  the  speed 
of  the  chamois,  making  the  400  miles  in  ten 
{ days.  The  powder  soon  afterward  arrived, 
was  successfully  introduced  into  the  fort,  and 
I the  little  garrison  continued  the  contest  with 
renewed  zeal. 

The  siege  thus  begun  was  protracted 
through  three  weary  months  with  scarcely 
any  interruption,  iintil  even  terror  grew 
monotonous.  But,  fortunately  for  the  sorely 
beset  pioneers,  the  Indians  did  not  possess 
j that  firmness  derived  from  discipline,  nor  the 
j organization  which  leads  to  a division  of 
I military  duties. 

Tlie  Indians,  in  besieging  a place,  are  hence  but 
seldom  seen  in  force  upon  any  quarter;  but  dis- 
persed and  acting  individually,  or  in  small  parties. 
The}’'  conceal  themselves  in  bushes,  or  weeds,  or 
j behind  trees,  or  stumps  of  trees;  or  waylay  the  path 
or  field,  and  other  places  to  which  their  enemies 
resort;  and  when  one  or  more  can  be  taken  down, 
in  their  opinion,  they  fire  a gun  or  let  fly  the  arrow, 
aimed  at  the  mai’k.  If  necessary  they  retreat;  if 
the}"  dare  they  advance  upon  their  killed  or  crippled 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


151 


adversary;  and  they  watch  the  watering  place  for 
those  who  go  for  that  article  of  primary  necessity,  i 
that  they  may  by  these  means  reduce  the  place  to 
their  possession,  or  destroy  its  inhabitants  in  detail. 

In  the  night  they  will  place  themselves  near  the  j 
fort  gate,  ready  to  sacrifice  the  first  person  who  ! 
shall  appear  in  the  morning;  in  the  day,  if  there  be  ! 
any  cover,  such  as  grass,  a bush,  a large  clod  of  ; 
earth,  or  a stone  as  big  as  a bushel,  they  will  avail  ' 
themselves  of  it  to  approach  the  fort,  by  slipping  | 
forward  on  their  bellies  within  gun-shot;  and  then 
whosoever  appears  first  gets  the  fire,  while  the  as- 
sailant makes  his  retreat  behind  the  smoke  from  the  1 
gun.  At  other  times  they  approach  the  walls,  or 
palisades,  with  the  utmost  audacity,  and  attempt  to 
fire  them,  or  beat  down  the  gate.  They  often  make 
feints  to  draw  out  the  garrison  on  one  side  of  the 
fort,  and  if  practicable  enter  it,  by  surprise,  on  the 
other.  And  when  their  stock  of  provisions  is  ex- 
hausted, this  being  an  individual  affair,  they  supply 
themselves  bj^  hunting;  and  again,  frequently  retmm 
to  the  siege,  if  by  any  means  they  hope  to  get  a 
scalp.  (Marshall.) 

None  of  the  stations,  therefore,  were  close- 
ly environed  for  a long  period.  During  the 
spring  and  summer  of  this  year  (1777)  the 
enemy  was  never  very  remote  from  any  of 
the  posts,  but  the  necessity  for  hunting  and 
their  inaptitude  for  laborious  watching,  when 
the  results  of  it  were  generally  unprofitable 
to  themselves,  led  the  Indians  temporarily  to 
relax  their  efforts  on  the  forts.  The  whites, 
accustomed  to  the  freedom  of  the  forests  and 
the  energetic  life  of  pioneers,  chafed  under 
the  restraint  imposed  by  the  presence  of  the 
savages,  and  at  the  first  intermission  of  at- 
tack sought  the  woods.  They  considered 
themselves,  as  Marshall  remarks,  “rather 
the  best  marksmen,  and  as  likely  to  see  the 
Indian  first  as  to  be  seen  by  him,  while  the 
first  sight  was  equivalent  to  the  first  fire,  and 
the  most  expert  shooter  held  the  best  secur- 
ity for  his  life.”  But  this  exposure  was  so 
far  impelled  by  duty  as  to  preserve  it  from 
any  appearance  of  idle  bravado;  game  was 
scarcely  less  necessary  to  the  whites  than  to 
the  savages,  and  the  product  of  their  fields  ^ 
was  a very  important  feature  in  the  pioneers’ 
plans  “to  tlusterate  the  intentions  of  the 
Indians  and  keep  the  country.” 

With  the  exceptions  noted,  there  were  few 
days  on  which  the  hardy  frontiersman  could 
not  evade  the  vigilance  of  the  enemy  to 
secure  game  or  other  supplies  at  a distance, 


and  thus  it  happened  that,  notwithstanding 
the  whole  region  was  in  a “ state  of  siege,” 
the  garrisons  were  kept  supplied  with  meat, 
and  the  fields  adjacent  to  the  forts  were  cul- 
tivated. Such  exploits,  however,  were  at- 
tended by  great  hazard,  and  while  such  a 
consideration  weighed  lightly  with  men 
iniu'ed  to  daily  danger,  they  paid  a severe 
penalty  for  any  indiscretion. 

In  this  summer,  Butler  relates  that  while 
young  Ray  was  one  day  shooting  at  a mark 
within  150  yards  of  the  fort  at  Harrodsburg, 
his  single  companion  was  suddenly  killed  by 
a shot  from  an  Indian  in  the  woods  beyond. 
A quick  glance  revealed  the  perpetrator  of 
the  deed,  and  Ray  was  about  to  inflict  in- 
stant vengeance  upon  the  murderer  of  his 
comrade,  when  he  found  himself  assailed  by 
a number  of  savages  who  had  taken  advan- 
tage of  his  action  to  steal  upon  him  unawares. 

I Apprised  of  his  danger,  the  young  marksman 
bounded  toward  the  fort  with  the  speed  and 
agility  of  a deer.  A storm  of  bullets  followed 
his  flight,  and  so  close  upon  him  were  the 
savages  that  the  garrison  feared  to  open  the 
gate  sufficient  to  admit  the  fugitive.  In  this 
fearful  dilemma,  Ray  threw  himself  down 
behind  a small  stump  within  seven  steps  of 
the  palisades,  where  he  lay  momently  ex- 
pecting death.  The  savages  redoubled  their 
! efforts  to  strike  their  victim,  or  to  prevent 
his  rescue,  and  for  four  hours  he  lay  in  this 
predicament,  the  rifle  balls  of  the  enemy 
striking  all  about  him  in  dangerous  proxim- 
ity. At  length,  seeing  no  other  chance  for 
escape,  he  cried  out  to  his  friends:  “For 
God’s  sake,  dig  a hole  under  the  cabin  wall 
and  take  mein.”  This  was  at  once  done, 
and  the  lad  rescued  from  his  perilous  posi- 
tion. 

At  times,  when  the  dispersion  of  the  In- 
dians gave  the  whites  opportunity  to  attack 
a party  not  too  greatly  their  superior  in  num- 
bers, the  garrisons  assumed  the  offensive, 
and  gave  the  savages  an  impressive  idea  of 
their  prowess.  Some  time  in  June,  a party 
of  seventeen  men,  under  command  of  Maj. 
Smith,  pursued  a body  of  Indians  from 
Boonesborough  to  the  Ohio,  where  they  arrived 
only  to  find  the  savages  well  over  the  river. 


152 


HTSTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


They  succeeded  in  killing  one  who  lingered 
behind  the  others,  however,  and  turned  back 
to  retrace  their  steps.  In  their  homeward 
mai’ch  they  discovered  a band  of  about 
thirty  Indians  idly  resting  upon  the  grass, 
unconscious  of  danger.  Dismounting  quietly, 
and  leaving  nine  of  their  party  with  the 
horses,  the  rest  crept  silently  forward  to  the 
attack.  When  near  the  Indians,  one  of  them 
passed  near  the  whites  in  the  direction  of 
the  horses;  he  was  instantly  shot,  and  with 
a loud  yell  fell  to  the  ground.  The  single 
report  did  not  alarm  his  companions,  who, 
thinking  he  had  shot  a wild  animal,  laughed 
boisterously,  but  gave  the  incident  no  further 
attention.  In  another  instant  the  whites 
poured  a full  volley  into  their  midst,  and 
charged  upon  them  with  loud  shouts.  The 
startled  savages  returned  a scattering  tire  and 
fled,  when  the  whites  proceeded  on  their 
journey,  having  but  one  man  wounded. 

On  the  25th  of  July,  a party  of  forty-five 
men  from  North  Carolina  reached  Boones- 
borough,and  not  long  afterward  Col. Bowman, 
at  the  head  of  100  of  the  Virginia  militia, 
arrived  at  the  same  place.*  The  latter  force 
was  Virginia’s  contribution  to  the  defense  of 
her  citizens  in  “that  remote  country”  now 
known  as  Kentucky  County,  the  leader  of 
which  bore  her  commission  as  county-lieuten- 
ant of  the  new  political  division.  Such  re- 
inforcements, more  than  doubling  the  former 
numbers  of  the  garrisons,  were  very  welcome 
to  these  anxious  people,  for  while  Boones- 
boro  and  Harrodsburg  were  relieved  of  the 
immediate  presence  of  a hostile  force,  the 
enemy  was  still  in  the  country  in  strong  num- 
bers, and  held  a close  watch,  with  frequent 
attacks  upon  St.  Asaph’s.  Bowman’s  atten- 
tion was  at  once  directed  to  the  relief  of 
Logan’s  devoted  little  garrison,  and  the  van 
of  the  relieving  force,  which  reached  his 
station  in  September,  brought  the  first  inti- 
mation that  the  beleagured  pioneers  had  of 
the  arrival  of  reinforcements  in  the  country. 
A detachment,  considerably  in  advance  of 
the  main  body,  found  the  Indians  in  force 
about  the  fort  and  drew  their  fire,  from  which 

*Thedate  of  Col.  Bowman’s  arriyal  is  placed  “about  Septem- 
ber.” by  Marshall  (Vol.  I,p.  53),  whom  Mr.  Butier  follows  with- 
out question.  Clark  makes  the  date  August  1st.  See  diary,  ante. 


several  were  killed,  but  the  savages  were  dis- 
persed, and  the  long  siege  was  at  last  ended. 

The  Indians  still  kept  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  forts  in  considerable  numbers  until  a final 
engagement  at  Harrodsburg  closed  this  year’s 
active  campaign.  To  somewhat  repair  the 
loss  inflicted  by  their  inability  to  raise  a crop 
of  corn,  the  settlers  of  this  place  determined, 
in  the  fall,  to  sow  a patch  of  turnips  about 
200  yai'ds  northwest  of  the  station.  While 
clearing  the  ground  for  this  purpose,  one  of 
the  guards  discovered  an  Indian  and  fired  on 
him  without  effect.  On  the  next  day  the 
cattle  were  observed  to  give  unmistakable 
evidence  of  the  presence  of  the  enemy — 
“snuffing  the  air  about  a small  field  in  the 
farthest  corner,  which  had  been  allowed  to 
grow  up  in  very  high  weeds.”  Clark  at 
once  proposed  to  turn  the  ambuscade  upon 
the  plotters.  Instructing  the  workmen  to 
continue  their  labor  in  that  portion  of  the 
field  nearest  the  fort,  he  proceeded  with  a 
party  of  men  to  gain  the  rear  of  the  ambush, 
by  a circuitous  route,  the  workmen  in  the 
meantime  calling  to  their  comrades  in  the 
fort  to  come  out  and  work. 

The  maneuver  was  entirely  successful;  a 
sudden  volley  killed  four  of  the  startled 
savages,  the  remainder  of  whom  immediately 
gave  way  in  hasty  retreat,  rapidly  pursued  by 
the  exultant  whites.  Pushing  down  the  creek 
some  400  yards,  the  pursuers  came  upon  the 
remains  of  a deserted  Indian  encampment, 
which  gave  indications  of  having  been  oc- 
cupied at  some  time  by  a force  of  400  or 
500  savages.  This  camp  had  been  deserted 
before  the  discovery,  but  it  was  undoubtedly 
the  point  from  which  the  Indians  had  di- 
rected the  activity  of  the  hostile  bands  dur- 
ing the  year,  and  the  party  so  successfully 
routed  was  probably  the  last  remnant  of  the 
savage  host  who  had  lingered  to  take  a last 
“look”  at  the  pioneers  of  this  station.  In 
this  skirmish,  James  Ray  took  the  last  de- 
gree in  the  novitiate  of  the  frontier;  he  killed 
his  first  Indian,  was  complimented  by  Clark, 
and  presented  with  his  victim’s  rifle. 

The  frontier  derived  but  little  permanent 
strength  from  the  large  show  of  reinforce- 
ment noted;  the  militia  was  enlisted  only 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTLTCKY. 


103 


for  a short  term  of  service,  a large  part  of 
which  was  spent  on  the  journey  to  [Kentucky, 
and  their  subsequent  discharge  was  followed 
by  their  early  return  homeward,  Logan’s 
Station  received  a welcome  accession  in  “the 
arrival  of  Montgomery’s  party,”*  and  the 
other  forts  were  similarly  strengthened,  but 
these  additions  were  probably  entirely  offset 
by  the  return  of  some  who,  very  naturally, 
found  an  irresistible  attraction  in  the  security 
of  “the  settlements,”  after  the  yeai’’s  experi- 
ence on  the  frontier.  As  winter  approached, 
therefore,  few  remained  save  those  who  had 
“borne  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day.”  On 
the  2d  of  September,  an  accurate  census  of 
the  inhabitants  was  taken,  of  which  the 
report  of  Harrodsburg  alone  has  been  pre- 
served as  follows;  men  in  service,  81;  do. 

*This  indefiaite  allusion  is  found  in  Marshall’s  History, 
Vol-  I,  p.  n4.  It  probably  refers  to  William  3Iontgoniery,  the 
father  of  Mrs.  Logan  who  came  about  this  time  Tvith  several 

>• 


not  in  service,  4;  women,  24;  children  over 
ten  years,  12;  do.  under  ten  years,  58;  slaves 
above  ten  years,  12;  do.  under  ten  years,  7, 
total,  198.  This  number  was  probably 
greater  than  the  other  two  combined,  but  of 
the  permanent  lighting  force  that  remained 
through  the  winter,  Marshall  estimates  the 
number  at  102  men;  at  Boonesboro,  22; 
at  Harrodsburg,  65;  and  at  St.  Asaph’s,  15. 
Truly,  “the  battle  is  not  to  the  strong.” 
[Note.  — In  reference  to  the  number  of  re- 
maining whites,  it  should  be  said,  that  it  is 
by  no  means  clear  whether  this  estimate 
should  be  referred  to  the  period  when  the 
active  hostilities  of  1777  began  or  to  the 
close  of  the  campaign,  after  the  balance  had 
been  struck  between  the  casualties  and  the 
permanent  accessions.  In  the  latter  case,  it 
will  be  observed  that  Logan’s  Station  just 
“held  its  own.”— See  Marshall,  Vol.  I,  p.  55; 
Butler,  p.  95.] 


154 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


CHAPTER  YII. 


KENTUCKY’S  PART  IN  THE 

WHILE  Kentucky  was  thus  engaged  in 
an  unequal  contest  with  her  savage 
foes,  affairs  on  the  sea-board  were  making 
momentous  progress.  The  second  colonial  con- 
gress had  met,  with  authority  to  declare  war; 
echoes  from  the  fields  of  Lexington  and  Bun- 
ker Hill  had  summoned  patriots  everywhere 
to  arms;  the  United  Colonies  had  declared 
their  independence  amid  the  wild  acclaim  of 
the  people;  the  disastrous  battle  of  Long  Island 
bad  been  succeeded  by  the  masterly  retreat 
across  the  Delaware;  the  victory  on  the  Still- 
water had  been  followed  by  the  defeat  on  the 
Brandywine;  and  the  dreary  winter  at  Valley 
Forge  was,  even  now,  adding  new  luster  to 
the  patriots’  devotion;  the  colonial  bark  was 
irrevocably  launched  upon  the  flood-tide  of 
revolution. 

This  changed  relation  of  the  older  colonies 
to  the  crown  had  not  yet  affected  the  charac- 
ter of  the  conflict  in  Kentucky.  It  was  still 
a contest  between  the  adventurous  pioneer 
and  the  im^^lacable  savage,  waged  on  either 
side  for  the  possession  of  the  fair  lands  be-* 
yond  the  Big  Sandy.  Though  neither  an- 
tagonist could  claim  a victory,  the  whites  had 
gained  a foot  hold  that  was  destined  to  be 
more  firmly  planted,  and  the  red  men  were 
beginning  to  read  their  fate  in  the  quiet  de- 
termination of  the  heroic  band  that  defied 
their  fiercest  assaults.  To  an  unscrupulous 
foe,  no  field  could  be  more  inviting,  and  this 
‘ ‘ remote  country  ” was  not  destined  longer 
to  escape  the  ruthless  ravages  of  an  enemy, 
who,  deaf  to  every  demand  of  civilization, 
incited  the  savages  to  bloodier  deeds,  and 
armed  them  with  the  more  effective  enginery 
of  war. 

A startling  evidence  of  the  industry  and 
far-reaching  plans  of  the  new  foe  had  already 


WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 

made  its  way  through  the  forests  to  the  fron- 
tier. On  the  person  of  one  of  Bowman’s 
militia  men,  killed  in  the  first  approach  to 
St.  Asaph’s,  was  found  a proclamation  issued 
by  the  British  commander- in-chief,  Lord 
Howe,  offering  protection  to  such  as  would 
abjure  the  colonies  and  denouncing  such  as 
refused.  The  paper  came  directly  to  Logan’s 
possession  through  the  faithful  fellow  who 
discovered  it,  and  this  insidious  attack,  so 
prolific  of  evil  in  the  old  communities,  was 
here  turned  harmlessly  aside. 

But  a more  substantial  attack  was  prepar- 
ing. Rumors  of  an  impending  blow,  aimed 
by  the  allied  British  and  Indians  at  the  fron- 
tier forts,  had  long  been  rife  in  the  region 
beyond  the  Ohio,  but  it  had  been  deferred,- 
and  by  an  unfortunate  fatality  did  not  fall 
until  the  passions  of  the  frontiersmen,  not 
less  barbarous  than  the  Indians,  and  far 
more  culpable,  violently  removed  the  last 
feeble  barrier  to  its  consummation. 

The  British  agents  at  Oswego  were  busy 
concerting  a general  attack,  when,  in  the 
early  summer  of  1777,  Cornstalk,  the  great 
chief  of  the  Shawanese,  went  to  the  frontier 
fort  at  Point  Pleasant  to  talk  over  the  situa- 
tion with  his  friend,  Capt.  Arbuckle,  the 
commandant.  The  chief  was  earnest  in  his 
desire  for  peace,  but  found  himself  surround- 
ed by  those  of  his  race,  of  his  own  tribe  and 
others,  bitter  in  their  hatred  of  the  frontiers- 
men, and  eager  to  join  the  British.  He  de- 
clared his  inability  to  stem  the  tide  that  was 
setting  toward  the  English,  unless  the  Long 
Knives  would  help  him. 

With  a fool’s  caution  and  the  basest 
treachery,  the  whites  determined  to  prevent 
war  by  removing  its  only  barrier.  They  de- 
tained Cornstalk  and  Red  Hawk,  who  had 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


155 


accompanied  the  chief,  and  thus  these 
savages  found  themselves  entrapped  by 
trusting  to  a white  man’s  honor.  On  the 
succeeding  day,  the  chief’s  son,  alarmed  at 
his  father’s  delay,  approached  the  farther 
shore  and  gave  a halloo.  The  whites  met 
him  with  friendly  smiles,  and  inveigled  him 
into  their  snare. 

On  the  third  day,  a hunter  for  the  fort 
was  killed  by  two  unknown  Indians.  When 
this  fact  became  known,  the  murdered  hun- 
ter’s friends  demanded  vengeance  upon  the 
innocent  prisoners.  Arbuckle  showed  an 
expiring  spark  of  manhood  in  attempting  to 
save  the  victims  of  his  treachery,  but  threat- 
ened with  the  rifles  of  his  men,  if  he  further 
interfered,  he  stepped  aside  and  the  ruffians 
did  their  bloody  work.  Cornstalk  met  his 
fate  calmly,  and  fell  dead  where  he  had  risen 
to  meet  his  foes,  pierced  by  seven  bullets. 
The  others  died  less  easily,  and  with  less 
composure,  but  without  resistance.  This 
was  an  atrocious  deed,  and  while  it  did  not 
precipitate  the  meditated  attack  upon  the 
frontier,  it  confirmed  the  whole  Shawanese 
nation  in  their  hostility  to  the  Americans, 
and  gave  a certain  sanction  to  the  reprisals 
that  followed. 

Early  in  the  autumn  the  blow  fell;  400 
savages,  led  by  Simon  Girty,*  descended  upon 
Fort  Henry  at  Wheeling,  on  the  26th  of 
September,  f Though  garrisoned  by  only 
twelve  men  and  boys,  besides  the  women,  the 
fort  made  a stout  resistance,  each  member  of 
both  sexes  vying  with  the  other  in  deeds  of 
heroism.  After  several  days  of  vigorous  but 
unavailing  attack,  in  which  they  lost  about 
100  of  their  number,  the  allies  suddenly 
withdi’ew,  burning  the  fences,  and  slaughter- 
ing the  cattle  of  the  settlers  as  they  departed. 
Enraged,  but  not  discouraged,  by  this  unsuc- 
cessful termination  of  the  first  campaign  of 
the  combined  forces,  the  enemy  organized  a 
new  expedition,  destined  for  Kentucky,  but 
in  the  interval  the  new  year  dawned. 

It  was  under  such  auspices  that  the  event- 
ful year  of  1778  was  ushered  in.  South  of 
the  Ohio,  the  quiet  which  succeeded  the  close 

*Appendix  A,  note  10. 

tThe  date  usually  assigned  is  September  1.  See  American 
Pioneer,  Vol.  il,  pp.  302,  314,  339. 


of  the  fall’s  campaign  was  yet  unbroken,  and 
the  settlers  improved  the  opportunity,  thus  af- 
forded, in  effecting  such  repair  of  the 
damages  they  had  received,  as  was  possible. 
In  the  winter,  the  stock  of  salt  in  the  com- 
munity was  found  greatly  reduced,  and  on 
New  Year’s  day,  a company  of  thirty  men, 
recruited  from  the  several  stations,  set  out 
under  the  direction  of  Boone  to  manufacture 
a new  supply.  While  the  rest  labored  at  the 
lick,  the  leader  acted  as  scout  and  hunter. 
For  more  than  a month  the  work  progressed 
without  interruption  or  incident,  and  three 
men  had  been  sent  back  with  the  product  of 
their  labors,  when  the  enterprise  was  sud- 
denly brought  to  an  unfortunate  conclusion. 
On  the  7th  of  February,  while  engaged  in 
his  duties  as  scout  and  hunter,  Boone  fell  in 
with  a detachment  of  Indians,  led  by  two 
Canadians.  The  discovery  was  mutual ; Boone 
sought  to  escape  by  instant  flight,  but  the 
enemy,  anxious  to  secure  a prisoner  from 
whom  they  could  learn  the  condition  of  the 
forts,  reserved  their  fire  and  dispatched  sev- 
eral of  their  swiftest  runners  in  pursuit  of 
the  fugitive.  The  hunter  was  soon  captured, 
but,  for  some  reason,  the  savages  delayed 
further  movements  for  eight  days.  Then 
they  proceeded  to  the  Blue  Lick,  where  they 
captured  the  remaining  twenty-seven  salt- 
makers.  Unable  to  give  his  comrades  warn- 
ing of  their  danger,  Boone  had  arranged 
favorable  terms  of  capitulation,  and  as  the 
Indians  came  upon  them,  signified  to  his 
friends  that  they  should  surrender  without 
resistance.  This  was  accordingly  done,  and 
the  savages,  too  much  elated  to  prosecute  their 
enterprise  further,  turned  back  with  their 
prisoners  to  Chillicothe,  on  the  Little  Miami. 

The  first  obvious  result  of  the  introduction 
of  the  English  into  Kentucky  campaigns  was 
a great  amelioration  of  the  conditions  of  war. 
The  salt-makers  surrendered  on  conditions  of 
life  and  good  treatment,  which  were  scru- 
pulously observed  by  the  enemy.  On  their 
return  journey  of  three  days,  the  party  en- 
countered very  severe  weather,  but  the  cap- 
tors  seem  to  have  generously  snared  every 
privilege  of  fire  and  food  with  their  prisoners. 
On  the  10th  of  March,  Boone,  with  ten  of  his 


156 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


companions,  was  conducted  by  a band  of 
forty  Indians  to  Detroit,  where  the  prisoners 
were  turned  over  to  Gov.  Hamilton,  for  the 
offered  reward.  Boone,  however,  was  re- 
served by  his  captors,  for  whom  they  had  con- 
ceived so  high  a regard,  that  they  refused  an 
offer  of  £100,  made  by  the  governor  for  the 
great  hunter’s  ransom.  The  disappointment 
of  Boone  was  extreme  and  excited  the  sym- 
pathy of  several  English  gentlemen,  who 
were  cognizant  of  the  affair.  They  gener- 
ously offered  to  supply  him  with  such  things 
as  he  could  use  for  his  comfort,  all  of  which 
he  steadily  declined,  as  he  was  unwilling  to 
accept  courtesies  which  he  saw  no  immediate 
prospect  of  his  being  able  to  repay. 

Accordingly,  on  the  10th  of  April  he  parted 
from  his  comrades,  and  returned  with  his  ob- 
trusive admirers  to  Chillicothe.  Here  Boone 
was  adopted  as  a son  by  “one  of  the  principal 
families,”  a relation  to  which,  however  little 
it  may  have  flattered  his  vanity,  he  adapted 
himself  with  the  ready  tact  of  one  who  was 
scarcely  less  a child  of  nature  than  his 
adopted  relatives.  Recognizing  him  as  fa- 
cile princeps  of  the  whites  on  the  border,  the 
Indians  let  slip  no  opportunity  of  contesting 
with  him  in  marksmanship  and  athletic  ex- 
ploits. In  all  these  contests  the  captive, 
with  a shrewd  insight  of  the  savage  charac- 
ter, fell  just  far  enough  short  of  the  first 
place  to  command  their  respect  without 
awakening  their  jealousy.  He  became  an  act- 
ive member  of  the  tribe  for  the  time,  and 
by  his  skill  won  the  plaudits  of  the  braves, 
while  his  well-conceived  courtesies  to  the 
chief  men  gained  their  respectful  regard. 

Thus  time  wore  on,  and  could  Boone  have 
divested  himself  of  his  love  for  kindi’ed  and 
country,  he  could  not  have  found  more  con- 
genial employment,  nor  more  admiring 
friends.  The  hunter’s  stoical  acceptance  of 
the  situation  not  only  won  the  admiration  of 
the  natives,  but  served  to  lull  to  sleejD  any 
lingering  apprehension  of  his  desire  to  es- 
cape, which  they  may  have  entertained.  He 
was  therefore  largely  freed  from  restraint, 
and  in  June  accompanied  a party  to  the 
Scioto  salt  lick  to  procure  a quantity  of  that 
necessary  condiment. 


On  learning  of  the  capture  of  Boone  and 
his  companions,  their  friends  found  it  useless 
to  attempt  to  effect  their  rescue,  but,  with 
eminently  practical  sense,  they  sent  out  a 
party  to  bury  the  kettles  until  it  should  be 
safe  to  bring  them  in,  which  was  subsequently 
done.  The  portentous  character  of  this  event 
was  well  understood.  The  loss  of  so  many 
experienced  men  greatly  weakened  the  slen- 
der garrison,  and  the  calamity  could  only  be 
mitigated  by  an  increase  of  caution.  But  so 
inured  to  the  strange  vicissitudes  of  their 
eventful  life  were  these  hardy  people,  that,  no 
Indian  demonstrations  following,  and  none 
of  the  captured  comrades  returning,  the  inci- 
dent was  allowed  to  recede  in  the  background 
of  present  duties,  and  the  flow  of  life  soon 
returned  to  its  wonted  channels.  Boone  and 
his  companions  were  given  up  as  dead;  tho 
stricken  wife  of  the  leader,  accompanied  by 
her  unmarried  children,  returned  to  the  sol- 
ace of  her  father’s  home  and  the  security  of 
the  North  Carolina  settlements;  and  the  gar- 
rison, no  longer  apprehensive  of  immediate 
attack,  grew  careless  in  their  false  assump- 
tion of  security,  remitted  their  caution,  and 
allowed  their  defenses  to  fall  into  decay. 

Another  event  at  this  time  contributed  to 
this  result.  In  the  frontier  station  at  Har- 
rodsburg,  Clark  had  fathomed  the  strategy  of 
the  British  in  the  west,  and  had  discerned 
their  points  of  vantage.  He  quietly  drew 
his  own  conclusions,  and  early  in  1777  had 
sent  two  scouts  to  explore  the  Illinois  country, 
who  had  been  absent  from  April  until  June. 
With  information  thus  derived  he  set  out  for 
Virginia  in  the  fall,  reaching  Williamsburg 
on  the  5th  of  November.  On  the  2d  of  Jan- 
uary, 1778,  he  received  his  instructions  and 
commission  as  lieutenant-colonel;  on  the  4th 
of  February  he  proceeded  to  Pittsburgh  to 
raise  troops  for  his  enterprise,  while  his 
subordinates  were  active  in  the  same  service 
in  the  settlements  on  the  Holston  and  in 
western  Virginia. 

In  this  expedition  the  pioneers  of  Ken- 
tucky took  a lively  interest,  although  igno- 
rant of  its  destination.  Clark’s  hopes  of 
large  re-enforcements  from  North  Carolina 
were  grievously  disappointed,  and  he  there- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


157 


fore  called  on  Col.  Bowman  to  repair  to 
Corn  Island  with  as  many  of  the  Kentucky 
militia  as  could  be  safely  spared  from  the 
exposed  stations.  It  is  not  recorded  how 
many  men  these  stations  furnished,  but  more 
were  offered  than  it  was  deemed  prudent  to 
accept,  and  only  William  Harrod’s  company, 
and  a part  of  another  from  Kentucky,  accom- 
panied the  expedition.  Besides  these,  Cols. 
John  Todd  and  William  Linn  and  Simon 
Kenton  joined  the  enterprise  as  volunteers. 

Thus  constituted,  in  the  latter  part  of  June 
the  little  army  set  forth  from  the  rendezvous, 
leaving  a number  of  families,  who  had  accom- 
panied Clark  against  his  wish,  as  garrison  of 
a block-house,  which  he  had  caused  to  be 
erected  for  the  protection  of  the  army  stores 
left  behind,  and  Clark  having  caused  a spot 
to  be  cleared  for  the  purpose,  the  impromptu 
garrison  planted  and  succeeded  in  raising  a 
crop  of  corn,  which  gave  name  to  an  insig- 
nificant spot  which  has  long  since  been 
washed  bare  of  soil  by  the  current  of  the 
river. 

W’hile  the  thoughts  of  the  frontiersmen  of 
Kentucky  were  thus  drawn  out  to  foreign 
conquest,  events  beyond  the  Ohio  were  con- 
spiring to  bring  war’s  alarms  to  their  very 
doors.  Even  before  Clark  left  his  depot  at 
Corn  Island,  Boone  had  returned  to  Boones- 
borough,  as  one  from  the  dead,  bringing  the 
most  disturbing  intelligence.  He  had  been 
eogaged  with  his  Indian  companions  at  the 
salt  lick  but  eight  or  ten  days,  when  a return- 
ing war-party  passed  near  the  spring.  This 
party  consisted  of  450  Indians,  who  had  made 
an  unsuccessful  raid  on  a fort  in  Greenbrier 
County,  Va. , and  were  now  on  their  way 
to  the  general  rendezvous  to  concert  a new 
foray.  The  salt-makers  immediately  joined 
the  returning  warriors,  and  with  them  pro- 
ceeded toward  the  towns  on  the  Maumee. 
Boone  was  not  long  in  ascertaining  that  an 
attack  on  Boonesborough  was  meditated,  and, 
stimulated  by  this  alarming  discovery,  soon 
found  means  to  evade  the  renewed  watchful- 
ness of  the  savages.  When  near  the  present 
site  of  Washington,  in  Fayette  County,  Ohio, 
the  anxious  captive  set  out  one  morning  be- 
fore sunrise  as  if  to  hunt;  once  clear  of  his 


comrades,  h e shaped  his  course  for  the  threat- 
ened station,  and  did  not  cease  his  rapid  jour- 
ney* until  he  I’eached  his  destination  on  the 
20th  of  June. 

Under  the  inspiration  of  Boone’s  presence 
and  the  news  he  brought,  the  garrison  hastily 
set  about  repairing  the  fort,  “to  repair  its 
planks,  strengthen  its  gates  and  posterns,  and 
to  form  double  bastions;  all  of  which  was 
completed  in  ten  days.  ” In  the  latter  part 
of  July  one  of  Boone’s  fellow- prisoner's  escaped 
from  the  Indians,  and  brought  the  informa- 
tion “that  the  Indians  had,  on  account  of 
Boone’s  elopement,  postponed  their  march  for 
three  weeks.” 

In  the  meantime  the  enemy  guarded  the 
secret  of  their  movements  by  a strong  force  of 
runners,  who  kept  a close  watch  upon  the 
station.  These  scouts  were  observed  lurking 
in  the  forest  near  the  fort,  and  Boone,  under- 
standing their  mission,  determined  to  unmask 
the  enemy’s  designs  by  an  expedition  across  the 
Ohio.  Accordingly,  on  the  18th  of  August,  he 
left  Boonesborough  with  a party  of  nineteen 
men,  proceeding  rapidly  to  a point  within  four 
miles  of  Paint  Creek  Town,  near  the  Scioto. 
Kenton  had  returned  from  Illinois  in  time  to 
join  the  expedition,  and  was  at  this  time 
somewhat  in  advance  of  the  main  party,  act- 
ing as  scout.  While  cautiously  making  his 
way  through  the  thick  underbrush,  he  was 
startlM  by  a loud  laugh  in  his  immediate 
vicinity,  and  had  scarcely  time  to  gain  the 
shelter  of  a tree,  when  its  origin  was  ex- 
plained by  the  approach  of  two  Indians  rid- 
ing on  the  same  horse.  Permitting  them  to 
ride  within  short  range,  Kenton  sent  a sure 
shot  through  the  bi’east  of  the  foremost  rider. 
Both  fell  instantly  to  the  ground,  one  dead 
and  the  other  severely  wounded,  while  the 
startled  pony,  wheeling  suddenly  to  the  rear, 
carried  the  alarm  to  a body  of  thirty  savages 
who  were  approaching. 

The  scout  now  found  himself  assailed  by 
an  enemy  of  superior  numbers,  who  ap- 

*The  distance,  estimated  at  one  160  miles,  was  accomplished 
on  foot  in  four  days,  during  which  Boone  had  but  one  meal. 
For  this  he  had  provided  by  secreting  a small  supply  of  food  in 
his  blanket.  This  meal,  according  to  certain  depositions  made 
seventeen  and  nineteen  years  later,  washadon  the  19th  of  June, 
1778,  when  he  “roasted  some  meat  and  got  some  drink  at  the 
forks  of  three  branches  of  Flat  fork  of  Johnston’s  f’rk  of  Lick- 
ing River,”  a spot  now  included  within  the  limits  of  Robertson 
or  "Fleming  County.  (See  Collins,  Yol.  II,  p.  656.) 


158 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


proached  with  such  skill  as  to  baffle  all  his  | 
attempts  to  get  a shot.  In  this  perilous  posi-  ! 
tion  he  was  soon  joined  by  his  comrades,  who 
had  hurried  forward  at  the  report  of  his  rifle, 
and  a smart  skirmish  ensued.  The  Indians 
were  Anally  forced  to  give  way  with  one  killed 
and  two  wounded,  the  whites  escaping  any 
casualty. 

Kenton  and  Montgomery  were  at  once  sent 
forward  to  reconnoitre  the  village,  which 
they  found  entirely  deserted.  Correctly  di- 
vining that  its  inhabitants  bad  left  to  join 
the  war-party  forming  at  Chillicothe,  Boone 
made  haste  to  retrace  his  steps  in  order  to 
gain  the  fort  in  advance  of  the  enemy,  who, 
he  was  assured,  was  about  to  carry  out  their 
meditated  attack.  Marching  night  and  day, 
the  little  party  of  whites  soon  struck  the  ene- 
my’s trail,  which  they  cautiously  followed 
until  the  6th  of  August;  making  a wide  de- 
tour, they  then  passed  the  savages,  and  on  the 
next  day  reached  their  destination  in  safety. 

The  garrison  now  looked  forward  to  the' 
advance  of  the  enemy  with  anxiety;  nor  had 
it  long  to  await  the  denouement.  On  the 
8th,  the  Indians  appeared,  flaunting  the  flags 
of  France  and  England  above  them.  The 
whole  body  drew  up  in  plain  sight  of  the 
fort.  Their  numbers  were  imposing,  even 
to  the  pioneers  who  were  accustomed  to  give 
large  odds  to  the  enemy,  and  the  commander, 
Du  Quesne,  evidently  counted  much  upon 
the  effect  which  this  display  was  calculated 
to  have  upon  the  garrison.  Four  hundred 
and  thirty-two “ frightfully  painted”  savages 
constituted  the  body  of  the  besieging  force, 
while  the  presence  of  the  commander,  and 
eleven  other  Canadians,  bespoke  discipline 
and  trained  resources,  which  were  to  be 
feared  more  than  the  great  disparity  of  num- 
bers. 

The  border  struggle  had  indeed  assumed 
a portentous  shape;  a new  enemy,  possess- 
ing the  powerful  accessories  of  civilized  war- 
fare, was  now  in  the  field,  and  even  Boone 
felt  that  it  was  a “ critical  time.  ” That  the 
issue  must  be  fought  out  was  a foregone 
conclusion  with  the  pioneers,  but  when  the 
garrison  was  summoned  to  surrender  in  the 
name  of  his  British  majesty,  the  king  of 


England,  Boone  took  advantage  of  this  touch 
of  civilization  introduced  in  the  enemy’s 
procedure,  and  requested  two  days  for  con- 
sideration, which  were  readily  granted. 

The  frontier  militia  was  a very  democratic 
organization,  and  though  there  was  little 
doubt  of  the  result  of  a conference  the  leader 
summoned  the  garrison  and  placed  the  whole 
case  before  them,  clearly  pointing  out  the 
alternatives  involved.  The  decision  was 
prompt  and  unanimous  to  fight,  but  desirous 
of  gaining  all  the  advantage  possible  out  of 
the  parleying  mood  of  the  enemy,  Boone 
withheld  this  determination  for  a time,  and 
dispatched  some  of  the  men  to  bring  in  the 
stock  while  the  truce  lasted.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  the  two  days,  from  one  of  the  bastions 
of  the  fort,  Boone  gave  his  reply  to  the 
summons  of  Du  Quesne,  to  the  effect  that 
they  were  detei’mined  to  defend  their  fort 
while  a man  was  living. 

The  Canadian  found  it  impossible  to  con- 
ceal the  disappointment  which  this  reply 
occasioned,  and  to  the  astonishment  of  the 
garrison,  declared  that  “ it  was  the  orders  of 
Gov.  Hamilton  (the  British  officer  at 
Detroit)  to  take  them  captive,  and  not  to 
destroy  them ; ” and  that  if  nine  of  their 
number  would  come  out  and  treat  with  him, 
he  would  immediately  withdraw  his  forces, 
and  return  home  peaceably. 

The  meditated  treachery  in  this  proposal 
is  very  thinly  veiled,  and  that  Boone  should 
have  entertained  the  invitation  for  a moment 
has  occasioned  an  often  expressed  surprise. 
The  experienced  pioneer,  as  it  will  appear, 
was  not  deceived  by  so  unusual  a proposition, 
but,  as  he  narrates,  it  “ sounded  grateful  in 
our  ears,  and  we  agreed  to  treat.  ” The 
fidelity  with  which  the  savage  had  observed 
the  conditions  of  capitulation  in  the  case  of 
the  salt- makers,  certainly  afforded  some 
reason  to  trust  this  strange  proposition,  at 
least  within  discreet  limits;  the  favorable 
impression  he  had  gained  of  Hamilton’s 
humanity  rendered  the  character  of  the  offer 
far  more  plausible  than  would  appear  at 
first  glance;  and  the  formidable  array  of 
enemies,  in  plain  view,  seemed  to  make  it 
expedient  to  avoid  a conflict,  if  it  could  be 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


159 


done  at  no  great  sacrifice.  The  issue  has 
somewhat  modified  the  bearing  of  these  con- 
siderations, but  it  does  not  appear,  even 
now,  that  Boone  was  actuated  by  a short- 
sighted policy.  That  the  attack  failed,  was 
simply  due  to  the  lack  of  determination  in 
the  leaders,  and  hardiness  in  the  savages; 
and  the  confirmed  treachery  of  white  Indian 
leaders  had  not  then  been  so  clearly  demon- 
strated as  at  a later  period. 

At  all  events,  Boone  was  careful  to  guard 
against  treachery;  the  conference  was  held 
within  fifty  yards  of  the  palisade  and  the 
keenest  marksmen  were  placed  so  as  to  best 
cover  the  retreat  of  the  whites  in  case  of 
necessity.  A brief  treaty  was  accordingly 
concluded,  when  the  Indian  negotiators  came 
forward,  saying  that  it  was  customary  with 
them,  on  such  occasions,  for  two  Indians  to 
shake  hands  with  every  white  man  in  the 
treaty,  as  an  evidence  of  entire  friendship. 
“ They  immediately  grappled  us,”  says 
Boone,  “ but,  although  surrounded  by  hun- 
dreds of  savages,  we  extricated  oui’selves 
from  them,  and  escaped  all  safe  into  the  gar- 
rison, except  one  that  was  wounded.”  On 
the  first  appearance  of  hostility,  the  garrison 
opened  fire,  doing  considerable  execution; 
the  Indians  were  equally  ready,  and  the  re- 
treating whites  were  exceedingly  fortunate 
to  escape  from  the  shower  of  bullets  that 
followed  them,  with  only  a single  wound. 

With  this,  the  battle  opened;  the  Indians, 
seeking  shelter,  began  a brisk  attack  on  every 
side,  and,  as  Boone  relates,  “ a constant  fire 
ensued  between  us  day  and  night,  for  the 
space  of  nine  days.”  Every  artifice  familiar 
to  the  savage  was  employed  in  vain.  At  one 
time  the  garrison  discovered,  by  the  muddy 
character  of  the  river,  that  the  enemy  was 
digging  a mine,  entering  through  the  face  of 
the  high  river  bank.  A countermine  was 
immediately  sunk  within  the  fort,  and  the 
dirt  thrown  over  the  palisades  as  an  intima- 
tion to  the  hostle  miners  that  their  work  was 
discovered.  The  Indians  were  not  disposed 
to  prosecute  a laborious  enterprise  in  the  face 
of  probable  failure,  and  this  intimation 
proved  sufficient  to  put  an  end  to  all  further 
subterranean  operations  in  this  siege.  The 


whole  attack  was  marked  more  by  vehemence 
than  by  valor;  a rapid  discharge  of  rifles  was 
maintained  throughout  the  siege,  but  at  a 
pretty  safe  distance,  and  many  of  the  bullets 
fell  short  of  the  fort  and  sank  harmlessly 
upon  the  ground.* 

The  garrison,  on  the  other  hand,  fired  with 
deliberation,  and  generally  only  when  a sure 
mark  presented  itself.  The  consequent  dis- 
proportion of  cause  and  effect  on  the  part  of 
the  garrison,  as  compared  with  their  own 
efforts,  deeply  impressed  the  Indians,  and 
may  account  for  the  absence  of  any  attempt 
to  storm  the  stockade.  The  garrison  num- 
bered nearly  fifty  men,  and  an  assault  could 
scarcely  have  been  made  without  the  sacrifice 
of  an  equal  number  of  the  assailants.  At 
sirch  a cost  even  victory  would  have  been 
purchased  too  dear,  in  the  estimation  of  the 
Indian,  and  so  the  attack  was  continued  at 
long  range. 

To  such  an  attack,  the  fort  was  impregna- 
ble, and  the  improvident  savages,  finding 
their  provisions  running  short,  abruptly 
terminated  the  siege  on  August  20.  In  all 
this  protracted  engagement,  the  most  formid- 
able thus  far  in  the  history  of  Kentucky,  the 
whites  “ had  but  two  men  killed,  and  four 
wounded;  besides  a number  of  cattle”  de- 
stroyed. Tbe  Indians  suffered  more,  having 
thirty-seven  killed  and  a great  number 
wounded. 

On  retiring  from  Boonesborough,the  savages 
did  not  stay  their  retreat  until  they  had 
reached  their  towns  beyond  the  Ohio,  where 
they  found  a nearer  foe  to  engage  their 
attention.  This  ended  the  regular  campaign, 
but  straggling  bands  of  Indians  continued 
to  infest  the  forests  of  Kentucky,  and  the 
fall  was  not  suffered  to  pass  without  such 
incidents  as  served  to  challenge  the  settlers’ 
right  of  possession.  Harrodsl)urg  was  at- 
tacked by  one  of  these  bands,  but  a sudden 
sally  of  the  garrison  easily  beat  off  the 
assailants.  In  this  skirmish  one  of  the 
whites  received  a flesh  wound  in  the  face, 
which  knocked  him  down.  His  antagonist, 
supposing  him  dead,  r.^n  up  to  secure  his 

*It  is  said  that  125  pounds  of  lead  were  picked  up  about  the 
fort,  besides  the  bullets  imbedded  in  the  palisade.  (See  “Boone’s 
Narrative.”! 


160 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCI^". 


scalp,  when  the  prostrate  pioneer,  having 
regained  his  senses  in  time,  shot  the  savage 
dead  and  escaped  to  the  fort.  I 

Indians  were  found  frequenting  the  vicin- 
ity of  St.  Asaph’s,  and  on  one  occasion, 
while  ranging  for  “signs,”  Logan  discovered 
a party  at  the  Big  I'lat  Lick,  about  two  miles 
from  his  station.  He  immediately  returned, 
raised  a squad  of  men,  and  proceeding  to  the 
spring  routed  the  savages  with  heavy  loss. 
Not  long  after  this  event,  Logan  was  again 
out  in  search  of  game  and  Indians,  when,  as 
he  approached  this  lick  he  received  a volley 
from  a band  secreted  near  by.  This  tire 
broke  his  arm,  and  slightly  wounded  him  in 
the  breast.  The  Indians  immediately  rushed 
upon  him  to  take  him  captive,  but,  being 
mounted,  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  escape, 
after  one  of  his  assailants  got  near  enough  to 
grasp  his  horse’s  tail.  But  such  incidents 
were  too  common  to  excite  serious  aiarm,  and 
while  settlers  found  in  them  sufficient  cause 
to  use  caution  in  their  movements,  the  gen- 
eral course  of  frontier  life  went  on  without 
marked  interruption.  The  Indian  invasion 
repelled,  Boone  sought  his  family  in  North 
Carolina,  and  did  not  return  until  1780,  and 
Kenton,  less  domestic  in  his  tastes,  sought 
adventure  beyond  the  Ohio. 

Kenton  had  joined  Col.  Clark  in  his  Illi- 
nois expedition,  and  after  the  fall  of  Kas- 
kaskia,  returned  to  Harrodsburg  with  dis- 
patches. Notwithstanding  the  importance 
of  his  mission,  Kenton's  love  of  adventure 
led  him  to  indulge  in  exploits,  the  success  of 
which  alone  saved  him  from  rebuke.  A 
little  way  from  his  starting  point,  Kenton 
and  his  companions  fell  in  with  a camp  of 
Indians  with  a number  of  horses.  The  sav- 
ages were  attacked  and  dispersed,  and  the 
horses  sent  back  to  Kaskaskia.  Pursuing 
their  journey  by  way  of  Vincennes,  the  party 
stealthily  traversed  the  village,  secured  two 
horses  for  each  man,  and  pushed  on.  Reach- 
ing tue  White  River,  a raft  was  constructed 
on  which  to  transport  the  guns  and  luggage, 
while  the  horses  were  driven  into  the  water 
to  swim  across.  On  the  opposite  shore  a 
party  of  Indians  lay  encamped,  who  seized 
the  horses  as  they  emerged,  but  failed  to  dis- 


cover the  Kentuckians.  Hastily  concealing 
themselves,  the  whites  permitted  the  raft  to 
float  down  the  stream,  and  at  niatht  con- 
structed  a second  one,  and  crossed  at  another 
point.  Completing  his  journey  without  fur- 
ther incident,  Kenton  reached  his  destination 
just  in  time  to  take  part  in  Boone’s  expedi- 
tion to  Paint  Creek. 

On  the  determination  of  the  leader  to  re- 
turn to  Boonesborough,  Kenton  and  Mont- 
gomery resolved  to  remain  to  “ get  a shot  ” 
and  steal  some  horses.  After  waiting  two 
days  and  a night  in  vain  for  a “ shot,”  they 
solaced  themselves  with  a fine  horse  apiece, 
on  which  they  safely  rode  into  the  fort  on 
the  day  after  the  Indians  had  raised  the  siege. 

In  the  ‘ ‘ piping  times  of  peace  ” which 
followed,  these  adventurous  spirits,  joined 
by  one  named  Clark,  projected  an  expedition 
into  the  Indian  country  to  procure  more 
horses,  and  accordingly  set  out  for  Chilli- 
cothe  in  September.  Reaching  their  desti- 
nation in  the  night,  they  found  a lot  of  ani- 
mals in  a corral,  and  succeeded  in  securing 
seven  of  them,  but  not  without  raising  an 
alarm.  Clinging  to  their  booty,  they  rapidly 
made  their  way  to  the  river,  hotly  pursued  by 
the  pillaged  savages.  On  reaching  the  Ohio, 
they  found  it  fretted  up  by  the  wind  into  a 
tumultuous  state,  and  so  boisterous  that  all 
their  efforts  failed  to  make  the  horses  enter  the 
water.  With  a foolhardy  contempt  for  their 
danger,  they  resolved  to  wait  one  day,  in  the 
hope  that  the  river  would  become  smooth  en- 
ough to  afford  a passage.  In  this  they  were  not 
disappointed;  but  they  now  found  an  obstacle 
in  the  disposition  of  the  horses,  which  had 
not  yet  recovered  from  their  fright  of  the 
preceding  day.  Recognizing  that  further 
delay  would  bring  the  savages  upon  their 
heels,  they  turned  loose  the  led  horses,  in- 
tending to  escape  with  the  ones  they  rode, 
but  in  an  unfortunate  moment  of  indecision, 
they  reconsidered  this  wise  conclusion,  and 
determined  to  gain  or  lose  all. 

Turning  about  to  recapture  the  horses  just 
set  free,  the  party  had  ridden  but  a short 
distance,  when  their  ears  were  assailed  by 
the  loud  whoop  of  an  Indian.  Utterly  be- 
reft of  prudence,  Kenton  dismounted  and 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


161 


cautiously  went  forward  to  reconnoiter.  On 
reaching  a commmanding  ridge,  he  discovered 
two  of  the  enemy  mounted  and  in  such  close 
proximity  that  retreat  was  vain.  He  instant- 
ly presented  his  weapon,  and  pulled  the 
trigger,  but  the  gun  hashed.  The  Indians 
were  down  upon  the  audacious  horse-thief  in 
an  instant,  but  by  rapid  hight  he  gained 
some  fallen  timber  in  safety,  and  had  eluded 
his  pursuers,  when,  on  emerging  into  an 
opening,  he  was  espied  by  another  member 
of  the  general  party  and  taken  captive.  The 
savages,  transported  with  rage  at  the  daring 
attempt  to  steal  their  horses,  gathered  ai'ound 
him,  upbraiding  and  beating  him  with  theii 
ramrods,  when  Montgomery,  who  had  thus 
far  escaped  detection,  chivalrously,  but  fool- 
ishly approached,  fired  an  ineffectual  shot 
and  fied,  only  to  yield  his  life  and  scalp  to 
the  savages  that  instantly  pursued  him. 
Clark,  with  the  best  judgment,  hastily  re- 
treated at  the  first  alarm,  and  reached  the 
fort  in  safety. 

Kenton  was  now  to  pay  a severe  penalty 
for  his  temerity.  His  captors  spent  the 
night  near  the  river,  and  taxed  their  ingenu- 
ity to  devise  means  to  secure  their  prisoner 
from  any  chance  of  escape.  Laying  him  flat 
upon  his  back,  his  legs  were  spi-ead  apart, 
and  each  foot  stoutly  fastened  to  a stake 
driven  firmly  in  the  ground;  a pole  was  then 
laid  across  his  breast,  to  which  his  extended 
arms  were  securely  lashed,  the  thongs  pass- 
ing under  his  body  from  end  to  end  of  the 
pole,  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  his  “work 
ing”  loose;  and  a lariat,  noosed  about  his 
neck,  was  drawn  taut  and  attached  to  a sap- 
ling. It  is  needless  to  add  that  the  savages 
found  their  victim  safe  in  their  toils  in  the 
morning. 

Rapid  preparations  were  then  made  to  con- 
vey their  prize  to  Chillicothe,  during  which 
the  Indians  seemed  to  find  their  native 
language  inadequate  to  express  their  emo- 
tion, and  assailed  him  with  cuffs  and  epi- 
thets couched  in  broken  English,  the  latter 
ranging  from  “ateef,”  “a  hoss-steal,”  “a 
I’ascal,”  to  a “d — d white  man.”  Among 
the  animals,  for  which  Kenton  dared  so  much, 
was  an  untamed  colt,  which  the  fiendish 


malice  of  the  savages  suggested  as  the  proper 
means  to  carry  him  to  their  destination.  The 
prisoner  was  accordingly  placed  upon  the 
colt’s  back,  his  hands  tied  behind  him,  and 
his  feet  fastened  by  thongs  passing  under 
the  animal’s  belly.  This  done,  the  horse 
was  turned  loose  with  blows  and  shouts,  car- 
rying his  helpless  rider  through  brush  and 
briers  to  the  great  danger  and  suffering  of 
Kenton,  and  the  intense  satisfaction  of  his 
foes.  But  fate,  more  kind  than  his  savage 
tormentors,  interposed,  and  after  a few  exhi- 
bitions of  alarm  and  astonishment,  the  beast 
quietly  submitted  to  its  strange  burden,  and 
sedately  joined  the  caravan. 

On  the  third  day  the  party  reached  Chilli- 
cothe, where  Kenton  was  stripjaed  of  his 
clothing  and  tied  to  a stake.  Here  he  was 
surrounded  by  a hooting  mob  of  men,  women 
and  chilch’en,  who  scarified  his  back  with  re- 
peated blows,  and  assailed  his  ears  with 
every  opprobrious  epithet  that  their  malig- 
nity could  invent  until  midnight,  when  he 
was  released  and  placed  under  guard  until 
morning.  Contrary  to  his  expectations,  in- 
stead of  being  I’emanded  to  the  stake,  he  was 
ordered  to  run  the  gauntlet;  in  this  trial  his 
agile  strength  enabled  him  to  disappoint  the 
vengeance  of  his  enemies  by  reaching  the 
goal  with  but  few  serious  blows.  A council 
was  then  held,  and  Kenton  learned  from  a 
brutal  renegade  white  that  his  final  fate  had 
been  deferred — that  he  was  to  be  conducted 
to  Wappatomica,  and  there  burned. 

Such  intelligence  was  calculated  to  stimu- 
late every  sense  of  the  captive  to  devise  some 
way  of  escape,  but  it  was  not  until  the  report 
of  guns,  and  the  shrill  scalp  halloo  of  his 
escort  signaled  their  near  approach  to  a 
town,  that  Kenton  was  emboldened  to  make 
such  an  attempt.  With  a startling  cry  he 
shook  off  his  guards,  and  bounded  into  the 
thick  under-brush.  The  character  of  the 
country  favored  his  flight,  and  he  soon  left  his 
astonished  foes  far  in  the  rear,  but  forgetting 
his  close  proximity  to  the  village,  he  rushed 
headlong  into  a group  of  the  new  enemy, 
called  out  by  the  signals,  and  was  speedily 
returned  to  captivity. 

The  village  was  Pickaway,  and  after  spend 

10 


1G3 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


ing  the  night  tied  to  a stake  and  attended  by 
despair,  he  was  led  on  the  following  day  to 
his  destination.  Here  he  was  again  forced 
to  run  the  gauntlet,  and  was  severely  hurt. 
Soon  after,  he  was  taken  to  the  council  which 
had  been  convened  to  decide  his  fate,  and 
where  he  met  Simon  Girty,  to  whom  he  made 
himself  known.  The  situation  of  his  friend 
deeply  touched  the  renegade’s  heart,  and  thus 
prompted  he  exerted  his  influence  with  the 
Indians  with  such  effect  as  to  secure  Ken- 
ton’s release.  Taking  him  to  his  own  wig- 
wam, Girty  supplied  his  old  comrade  with  a 
complete  suit  of  Indian  clothing,  and  for 
three  weeks  was  his  constant  companion. 

Though  free,  Kenton  was  not  unobserved 
by  the  savages,  and  escape  was  impossible. 
In  the  meantime  a steady  reaction  set  in,  and 
he  was  one  day  suddenly  summoned  with 
Girty  to  attend  a council;  here,  notwithstand- 
ing the  renegade  used  his  best  endeavors, 
Kenton  was  bound  and  delivered  to  be  burned 
at  Sandusky.  He  was  securely  pinioned  and 
led  by  a halter  between  mounted  guards,  and 
while  thus  marching  through  an  Indian  vil- 
lage, he  was  suddenly  assaulted  by  a savage, 
who  nearly  severed  his  arm  from  the  shoulder 
with  an  ax.  The  demoniacal  savage  would 
have  inevitably  ended  Keuton’s  sufferings 
with  another  blow,  had  not  his  guards  quickly 
interposed  to  save  him  for  the  torture  of  the 
stake.  At  another  town  he  met  the  cele- 
brated Mingo  chief,  Logan,  whose  noble 
spirit  moved  him  to  intercede  for  the  young 
captive.  After  unusual  exertions  he  failed 
to  alter  the  determination  of  the  warriors, 
but  effected  his  object  through  an  English 
Indian  agent  stationed  at  Sandusky. 

Thus  Kenton  approached  his  fate;  running 
the  gauntlet  thirteen  times,  narrowly  escap- 
inar  death  on  several  occasions,  his  bodv 
emaciated  and  gaping  with  terrible  wounds, 
he  reached  his  destination  with  the  assurance 
that  on  the  morrow  he  should  be  burned. 
Here,  the  agent,  Drewyer,  begged  possession 
of  the  captive  that  he  might  gain  information 
of  him  concerning  the  frontier,  and  to  this 
end  wished  to  take  him  to  Deh’oit.  Permis- 
sion was  at  last  reluctantly  granted,  on  condi- 
tion that  the  prisoner  should  then  be  returned 


to  his  captors,  and  on  this  pretense  Kenton  was 
allowed  to  accompany  the  agent  to  the  En- 
glish headquarters.  Once  within  the  protec- 
tion of  the  garrison,  all  fear  of  the  stake  was 
removed.  Here  Kenton  rapidly  recovered 
from  the  effects  of  the  ill-usage,  and  being 
placed  under  little  restraint,  began  to  con- 
sider plans  for  a return  to  Kentucky.  He 
was  at  this  time  only  twenty-four  years  of 
age;  “was  line  looking,  with  a dignified  and 
manly  deportment  and  a soft,  pleasing  voice, 
and  was,  wherever  he  went,  a favorite  with  the 
ladies.”  These  attractions  he  turned  to  a 
good  account  in  providing  for  his  escape. 

There  was  no  difficulty  in  leaving  the  post, 
but  the  200  miles  of  wilderness,  which 
must  be  traversed,  was  tenanted  with 
hostile  savages,  and  the  fate  he  had  so  nar- 
rowly escaped  was  too  vivid  in  his  mind  to 
be  lightly  incurred  again.  However,  his 
enforced  stay  gradually  became  more  irksome, 
and  having  found  two  fellow-prisoners  will- 
ing to  accompany  him,  he  set  about  procuring 
arms  and  supplies  for  the  journey.  A trader’s 
wife  had  become  greatly  interested  in  his 
history,  and  through  her  assistance,  he  pro- 
cured whatever  was  needed.  On  June  3,  1779, 
Kenton,  Bullitt  and  Gofer  set  out  on  their 
perilous  journey,  which  they  ventured  only 
to  pursue  at  night,  and  thus  after  thirty-thi’ee 
days  of  alternate  hiding  and  traveling,  they 
reached  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  in  safety. 

The  success  of  the  Illinois  campaign  and 
the  enactment  of  the  celebrated  land-law, 
passed  in  May,  1779,  gave  a remarkable  im- 
pulse to  the  settlement  of  Kentucky.  A gen- 
eral spirit  of  confidence  was  infused  through- 
out the  Territory  of  Virginia,  and  not  only 
were  large  numbers  encouraged  to  emigrate 
from  the  eastern  settlements,  but  many  of 
the  settlers  on  the  frontier,  tired  of  the  re- 
straint imposed  by  the  ci’owded  character  of 
the  older  stations,  ventured  out  to  form  new 
ones.  These,  obedient  to  the  same  necessi- 
ties, followed  the  form  and  character  of  the 
older  ones,  and  consisted  of  a cluster  of  cab- 
ins, which,  connected  by  a wall  of  palisades, 
enclosed  a space  that  served  the  various  pur- 
poses of  park,  parade-ground  and  corral. 
“Their  original  population,  consisting  of 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


163 


small  numbers  in  general,  was  various,  and 
depended  on  the  party  that  could  be  col- 
lected— often  upon  the  popularity  of  the 
leader.  They  were  sometimes  colonies  from 
older  stations,  sometimes  composed  of  recent 
immigrants.  They  were  always  receptacles  for 
new-comers,  and  many  of  them  by  the  acces- 
sion of  numbers,  and  additional  cabins, 
swelled  into  villages  in  the  course  of  a year 
or  two,  and  were  as  suddenly  depopulated 
when  no  longer  influenced  by  surrounding 
danger.  ” (Marshall. ) 

Among  the  earliest  movements  which  mark 
this  development,  was  that  which  resulted  in 
the  settlement  formed  near  the  falls  of  the 
Ohio.  The  families,*  left  by  Clark  on  the 
island,  waited  only  to  learn  the  successful 
issue  of  the  expedition  before  planting  them- 
selves on  the  main  land.  This  was  probably 
done  in  the  fall  of  1778,  when,  re-enforced 
by  certain  of  the  returning  militia,  under 
Col.  Linn,  they  erected  a stockade,  “on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  large  ravine,  which  for- 
merly entered  the  river  at  the  present  (1838) 
termination  of  Twelfth  Street.”  In  the  suc- 
ceeding spring  this  station  felt  the  quicken- 
ing influence  of  the  time,  and  sent  out  sev- 
eral colonies.  Prominently  among  these  was 
one  which  established  Linn’s  Station  on 
Beargrass  Creek,  in  Jefferson  County,  about 
ten  miles  from  the  falls;  another  planted 
Brashear’s  Station,  at  the  mouth  of  Floyd’s 
Fork,  in  Bullitt  County;  a third  founded 
Sullivan’s  Station,  on  the  Bardstown  road, 
about  five  miles  southeast  of  the  falls,  in  Jef- 
ferson County;  a fourth  established  itself  in 
the  near  vicinity  of  the  old  stockade,  and 
these  became  known  as  the  Middle  and  Spring 
Stations. 

A similar  activity  manifested  itself  in  the 
interior.  Early  in  the  spring,  Robert  Pat- 
terson organized  a company  at  Harrodsburg, 
and  on  April  1st,  founded  Lexington.  It  is 

* Marshall  (Vol.  I,p.  67)  gives  the  number  of  these  families 
as  thirteen;  Clark,  in  his  letter  to  the  Hon.  George  Mason,  re- 
ferred to  in  a preceding  part  of  this  work,  gives  the  number  at 
“about  twenty  families.”  McMurtrie  in  his  “Sketches  of  Louis- 
ville” 1S191,  places  the  number  of  families  at  sis,  but  names 
only  five,  the  record  of  the  other  having  been  lost.  Casseday 
(History  of  Louisville,  18.52),  following  the  latter  author,  men  ■ 
lions  these  pioneers  in  the  following  strain;  “Let  this  frail 
record,  at  least,  lend  its  quota  toward  1 he  honorable  preservation 
of  the  names  of  Capt.  James  Patton,  who  piloted  the  first  boat 
over  the  falls;  Richard  Chenoweth,  .John  Tuel,  William  Faith 
and  John  McManus,  the  only  names  that  history  or  tradition 
has  given  of  those  earliest  settlers  of  our  native  city  ” 


probable  that  a single  cabin  alone  marked  the 
site  of  the  proposed  station  until  the  14th  in- 
stant, when  fourteen  persons  left  Harrodsburg 
to  make  the  new  settlement  their  permanent 
home.  This  outpost  gained  considerable  ac- 
cessions during  the  year,  and  subsequently 
became  one  of  the  foremost  stations  on  the 
frontier. 

About  the  same  time,  Isaac  Ruddle,  of  St. 
Asaph,  accompanied  by  John  Burger,  pene- 
trated still  further  north  and  erected  a sta- 
tion, including  Hi  nkston’s  old  cabin  on  the 
south  fork  of  the  Licking,  where  he  was 
soon  afterward  joined  by  his  brother,  James, 
and  other  families.  Somewhat  later,  probably 
in  the  fall,  Bryan’s  Station  was  established 
on  the  south  bank  of  the  north  fork  of  the  Elk- 
horn,  about  five  miles  northeast  of  Lexing- 
ton. This  colony  consisted  principally  of 
immigrants  from  North  Carolina,  of  whom 
the  Bryans  were  the  most  conspicuous. 
There  were  four  brothers  of  this  family: 
Morgan,  James,  William  and  Joseph,  all 
men  in  easy  circumstances,  with  large  fami- 
lies of  children  approaching  maturity.  Will- 
iam, though  not  the  eldest,  was  the  natural 
leader  of  the  party.  His  wife  was  the  sister 
of  Boone,  as  was  also  the  wife  of  William 
Grant,  another  member  of  this  settlement. 
The  station  early  fell  a victim  to  the  hostil- 
ity of  the  savages.  In  the  following  May, 
while  out  hunting  with  a considerable  party 
near  the  mouth  of  Cane  Run,  William  Bryan 
and  Grant  were  both  seriously  wounded  by 
the  Indians.  Being  mounted  on  the  same 
horse  and  able  to  retain  their  seat,  they 
escaped  to  the  fort,  where  Bryan’s  wound 
proved  fatal.  The  rest  of  the  family,  sad- 
dened and  discouraged  by  this  event,  aban- 
doned the  station,  and  returned  to  North 
Carolina.  The  garrison,  thus  weakened, 
must  have  been  obliged  to  resort  to  some  other 
settlement,  had  not  a considerable  accession 
of  Virginians,  at  this  juncture,  repaired  this 
serious  loss.  The  station  continued  to  bear 
its  founders’  name,  and  became  prominent  in 
the  subsequent  “troublous  time.” 

Less  prominent  settlements  planted  in  this 
region,  in  1779,  were  known  as  Martin’s, 
Grant’s  and  Todd’s  Stations.  The  first  was 


1G4 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


located  where  John  Martin  had  built  a cabin 
in  1775 — about  five  miles  south  of  Ruddle’s 
Station  and  three  miles  below  the  site  of 
Paris.  Grant’s  was  planted  by  a colony,  of 
which  Col.  John  Grant,  of  North  Carolina, 
and  Capt.  William  Ellis,  of  Virginia,  were 
leaders,  and  was  situated  between  Biyan’s 
and  the  present  site  of  Paris,  about  live  miles 
northeast  of  the  first-named  place.  It  was 
greatly  harrassed  by  the  Indians,  and  in  1780 
was  abandoned  by  its  founders,  who  returned 
to  the  East.  Todd’s  was  planted  on  the 
Hickman,  near  the  site  of  Keene,  in  Jessa- 
mine County,  by  John  and  Levi  Todd.  They 
soon  afterward  abandoned  it,  and  retired  to 
Lexington. 

Save  the  exceptions  noted,  these  stations 
northwest  of  the  KentuckyRiver  were  off-shoots 
of  Harrodsbui’g;  but  while  the  frontier  capi- 
tal was  thus  contributing  to  the  settlement 
of  that  exposed  region,  other  of  its  people 
Avere  planting  settlements  within  the  shadow 
■of  its  protection  in  Mercer  County.  Of  these, 
the  strongest  was  known  as  Bowman’s  Sta- 
tion, located  six  miles  east  of  Harrodsburg, 
which  was  settled  in  1779  by  thirty  fami- 
lies under  the  lead  of  Col.  Abram  Bowman. 
Of  another,  Gordon’s  Station,  only  its  name 
has  been  preserved;  while  a third  was  estab- 
lished by  the  McAfees.  The  early  adven- 
tures of  this  family  in  Kentucky  have  been 
elsewhere  noted,  and  the  rise  of  their  station 
on  the  Salt  River,  six  or  seven  miles  below 
Harrodsburg,  marks  their  return  after  an 
absence  of  some  four  years. 

They  made  a clearing  and  some  other  im- 
provements at  this  point  in  1775,  but  in  the 
fall  they  had  returned  to  Virginia,  leaving 
their  crops  and  forty  head  of  cattle  in  the  care 
of  the  settlers,  who  had  joined  them  and  pro- 
posed to  remain.  In  May  of  the  following 
year  they  provided  an  ample  stock  of  neces- 
sary supplies  and  attempted  to  bring  them 
forward  in  canoes,  by  way  of  the  Gauley  and 
Kanawha  Rivers,  but  finding  this  imprac- 
ticable, they  stored  them  in  a cache  and 
returned  for  pack-horses.  The  disturbing 
events  which  preceded  the  Revolutionary  war 
frustrated  their  plans,  and  September  had 
arrived  befere  they  could  return  to  their 


depot.  This  they  found  broken  open,  and 
the  supplies  wantonly  wasted,  or  from  long 
exposure  to  the  elements  rendered  entirely 
worthless.  This  necessitated  a second  return 
to  Virginia,  where  they  found  the  war  actu- 
ally begun,  and  giving  up  their  plans  for 
emigration,  they  joined  the  American  army. 
Two  years  elapsed  before  they  were  free  to 
renew  their  plans,  when  they  were  found 
once  more  on  the  frontier,  established  in  a 
quadrangular  inclosure  of  cabins  and  stock- 
ades. 

Similar  signs  of  development  were  to  be 
found  about  Logan’s  Station.  William 
Whitley,  who  came  from  Virginia  in  1775 
and  joined  Logan  in  1779,  established  a 
settlement  not  far  from  St.  Asaph,  within 
the  present  limits  of  Lincoln  County.  Here 
he  was  joined  by  the  family  of  Samuel 
Daviess  and  others  in  the  same  year.  About 
the  same  time,  William  Worthington,  one  of 
the  “Long  Hunters,”  erected  a station  near 
the  present  northern  line  of  Lincoln  County; 
others  went  farther  north  to  the  vicinity  of 
Danville,  where  “ Field’s  lottery  cabin  ” was 
erected  in  1774;  and  in  the  fall,  Pittman 
erected  a station  on  the  Green  River,  near 
the  mouth  of  Pittman’s  Creek,  about  five 
miles  west  of  Greensburg. 

From  Boonesborough,  Col.  John  Floyd  went 
out  in  the  early  spring,  and  planted  a station 
at  the  mouth  of  Beargrass.  This  he  soon 
afterward  abandoned,  and  settled  on  the 
middle  fork  of  this  creek,  about  six  miles 
from  the  falls.  In  the  succeeding  summer 
or  fall,  he  was  followed  by  Squire  Boone, 
who  fixed  his  settlement  at  “Painted  Stone,” 
on  Clear  Creek,  near  the  site  of  Shelbyville. 
This  station  greAV  rapidly  in  size  and  num- 
bers, and  for  upward  of  two  years  was  the 
only  fort  between  the  posts  on  the  Beargrass 
and  Harrodsburg.  Strode  made  a station 
two  miles  from  Winchester  in  Clarke  County, 
in  this  year,  and  aoout  a mile  above  Boones- 
borough. Nathaniel  Hart,  in  company  with  a 
party  from  Pennsylvania,  established  another 
station  on  the  bottom  lands  of  the  Kentucky. 

Of  the  large  accessions  received  from  the 
east,  some  emigrated  in  parties  of  consider 
able  numbers,  under  the  direction  of  com- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


165 


petent  leaders,  and  effected  a settlement  in 
safety.  Others  came  singly,  or  in  companies  ^ 
of  two  or  three,  simply  to  “spy  out  the  land,  ” 
while  many  came  hampered  by  their  families, 
and  encumbered  with  household  effects,  pre- 
pared to  settle  on  “bare  creation.”  These 
adventurers,  inexperienced  in  the  dangers  of 
a land  beset  by  lurking  bands  of  savage  foes, 
fell  easy  victims  to  the  ambush  by  day  and 
the  assault  by  night.  Murders  followed  in 
rapid  succession;  and  the  savages,  commit- 
ting their  depredations  with  comparative 
impunity,  threatened  to  entirely  stop  the  in- 
flowing tide  of  settlers.  Not  only  humanity, 
therefore,  but  the  very  permanence  of  the 
settlements  also,  demanded  that  this  life- 
giving  current  be  protected.  But  with  this 
necessity  clearly  apparent,  it  is  quite  proba- 
ble that  the  bold  remedy  of  an  invasion 
of  the  Indian  country  would  have  been 
indefinitely  deferred,  had  not  a terrible 
victory  of  the  savages  incited  the  frontiers- 
men to  immediate  action.* 

In  1778,  Col.  David  Rogers  had  been  dis- 
patched to  New  Orleans  by  the  governor  of 
Virginia,  to  procure  munitions  for  the  mili- 
tary operations  in  the  West.  Spain  had  not 
yet  declared  war,  and  the  Spanish  authorities 
were  obliged  to  observe  caution  in  granting 
such  contraband  supplies  to  the  Americans. 
Concealing  his  large  boats  and  most  of  his 
command  in  the  Ozark  River,  Rogers  pro-  j 
ceeded  to  his  destination,  accompanied  by 
Capt.  Benham  and  a boat’s  crew.  On  ar- 
riving at  New  Orleans,  he  found  an  English  j 
sloop-of-war  in  port,  the  captain  of  which 
observed  the  arrival  of  the  Americans  with 
suspicion,  and  maintained  so  close  a scrutiny 
upon  their  movements  that  their  mission 
seemed  likely  to  end  in  failure. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Capt.  Benham  was 
sent  overland  to  Clark,  at  Kaskaskia,  proba- 
bly with  dispatches.  The  captain  accom- 
plished his  task  and  safely  reached  the  falls 
of  the  Ohio,  in  the  spring  of  1779.  Soon 
after  his  arrival,  the  two  keel- boats  of  Col. 
Rogers,  who  had  succeeded  in  evading  the 
watchfulness  of  the  British  officers,  came  up 
and  took  Benham  on  board.  The  boats  then 

*Appenclix  A,  Note  11. 


proceeded  up  the  river  for  Pittsburgh,  the 
captain  in  command  of  one  of  them. 

On  reaching  the  sand-bar  above  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Cincinnati,  it  was  discovered  to 
be  bare  half  the  way  across  the  river,  and  at 
the  same  time  a number  of  savages  on  rafts 
and  in  canoes  were  observed  coming  down 
the  Little  Miami,  its  flood-tide  carrying  the 
Indian  flotilla  across  to  the  Kentucky  side. 
Confident  in  the  superior  strength  of  his 
force,  Rogers  ordered  the  boats  to  di-aw  up 
to  the  Kentucky  shore,  and  the  troops  to  land 
for  the  purpose  of  surprising  these  warriors. 
Impressed  with  the  idea  that  he  had  only  a 
small  party  to  deal  with,  the  commander  pro- 
ceeded with  too  little  caution,  and  just  as  his 
movements  promised  the  fullest  success  of 
the  maneuver,  he  found  himself  completely 
environed  by  an  overwhelming  number  of  the 
enemy.  The  first  intimation  of  his  perilous 
situation  was  followed  by  a murderous  volley 
from  every  side,  which  was  instantly  succeeded 
by  an  irresistible  assault  with  the  tomahawk. 
The  whites  could  make  no  successful  resist- 
ance, and  of  the  forty  or  fifty  engaged,  not 
more  than  ten  ever  returned  to  their  families. 
One  boat,  left  in  charge  of  five  men,  escaped 
capture  by  putting  ofi"  into  the  river  and 
floating  down  to  the  falls;  others  of  the  crew 
escaped  by  a determined  effort  to  break  through 
the  enemy’s  lines,  though  most  were  killed  in 
this  attempt. 

Two  of  those  who  joined  in  this  desperate 
charge,  were  Capt.  Robert  Benham  and  John 
Watson,  the  story  of  whose  sufi’erings  and 
rescue  is  one  of  the  most  thrilling  of  the 
authentic  tales  of  the  border.  In  escaping 
the  toils  of  the  enemy,  Benham  was  dis- 
abled by  a wound  through  both  his  hips. 
He  instantly  fell  to  the  ground,  but  for- 
tunately near  a prostrate  tree,  which  af- 
forded him  a convenient  place  of  conceal- 
ment. Here  he  lay  undiscovered  through 
the  next  day,  while  the  Indians  near  by  were 
scalping  and  plundering  his  slain  comrades. 
On  the  evening  of  the  second  day,  having  re- 
tained his  rifle  and  ammunition,  and  the 
savages  having  abandoned  the  field,  he  shot 
a raccoon,  which  he  discovered  descending  a 
tree  near  him.  Scarcely  had  the  report  of 


160 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


big  gun  been  heard,  when  he  was  startled  by 
a human  cry  in  the  near  vicinity.  Hastily 
reloading  his  gun  in  the  expectation  of  dis- 
covering an  enemy,  he  awaited  further  de- 
velopments in  silence.  The  cry  was  soon  re- 
peated, butBeuham,  maintaining  his  silence, 
cocked  his  gun,  and  prepared  to  tire  at  the 
first  sight  of  an  approaching  foe.  The  cry 
came  a third  time  from  a nearer  point,  and 
the  wounded  officer  could  distinguish  the 
words:  “Whoever  you  are,  for  God’s  sake, 
answer  me.” 

The  cry  proved  to  come  from  Watson,  who 
had  been  disabled  by  wounds  in  both  arms, 
and  had  escaped  death  by  hiding.  The  two 
wounded  men  were  soon  together,  and  each 
supplying  the  other's  defect,  they  supported 
themselves  in  their  crippled  condition  for 
several  weeks.  In  this  division  of  labor, 
Benham  killed  and  cooked  the  game,  and 
dressed  the  wounds  of  both,  tearing  off  their 
shirts  for  bandages;  AVatson  in  the  mean- 
while made  his  legs  useful  in  kicking  the 
slaughtered  game  within  the  reach  of  his 
companion,  and  in  raking  and  rolling  brush 
and  small  wood  where  he  could  use  it  for 
fuel.  The  greatest  difficulty  was  experienced 
in  getting  water,  but  Benham  finally  con- 
trived to  put  the  brim  of  his  hat  between  his 
companion’s  teeth,  who  then  waded  into  the 
water  until  it  reached  his  neck,  when  he  could 
manage  to  fill  the  hat  and  return  with  it  to 
the  captain. 

In  a few  days  the  small  game  within  the 
reach  of  Benham’s  rifle  was  all  destroyed  or 
driven  off;  when  AVatson,  going  out  and  mak- 
ing a wide  detour,  would  drive  the  game 
within  the  reach  of  his  companion.  AVild 
turkeys  were  fortunately  abundant,  and  they 
had  no  difficulty  in  securing  all  the  food  they 
needed.  In  this  way  they  sustained  them- 
selves until  their  wounds  so  far  healed  as  to 
permit  Benham  to  travel,  and  AA^atson  to 
afford  slight  assistance  with  one  hand.  They 
then  changed  their  location,  erected  a small 
shed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Licking,  where  they 
kept  watch  for  some  passing  boat  to  effect 
their  escape. 

After  maintaining  this  crippled  existence 
for  some  six  weeks,  they  discovered  a flat- 


1 boat  floating  down  the  sti’eam.  Benham 
made  signals  to  the  crew,  but  fearing  an  am- 
: bush  into  which  they  suspected  these  efforts 
j were  intended  to  decoy  them,  the  occupants 
of  the  boat  gave  no  heed,  and  the  poor 
wretches,  with  feelings  of  despair,  saw  their 
first  chance  of  rescue  slipping  from  their 
grasp.  After  passing  them  half  a mile,  how- 
ever, a crew  put  off  from  the  boat  and 
i cautiously  approached  the  point  where  they 
were.  Nearly  naked,  and  their  countenances 
rendered  repulsive  by  their  unkempt  hair  and 
beard,  the  unfortunate  men  were  objects  more 
j calculated  to  give  rise  to  suspicion  than  pity; 
but  their  true  plight  was  soon  revealed,  and 
they  were  taken  to  the  falls,  where  they  fully 
recovered. 

Early  in  1779,  AVashington  projected  a 
movement  against  the  Indians  all  along  the 
border.  Gen.  Sullivan  was  directed  against 
the  Six  Nations  in  New  York,  and  with  him. 
Col.  Brodhead  was  ordered  to  co-operate  by 
an  attack  on  the  tribes  on  the  Pennsylvania 
frontier,  from  Fort  Pitt.  On  April  21, 
these  plans  were  so  far  modified  as  to  change 
the  direction  of  Brodhead’s  attack  from  the 
tribes  on  that  border  to  the  western  Indians, 
and  to  make  the  capture  of  Detroit  his  ulti- 
mate object.  It  is  probable  that  it  was 
arranged,  through  the  governor  of  Virginia, 
that  the  frontier  militia  of  Kentucky,  should 
co-operate  with  Brodhead  in  his  western 
movements,  and  Bowman  accordingly  issued 
instructions,  in  April,  that  the  settlers  should 
plant  their  corn  as  early  as  possible,  and  pre- 
pare for  an  expedition  in  Alay.  For  some 
unrecorded  reason,  the  western  campaign  was 
abandoned;  Brodhead  proceeded  up  the  Alle- 
ghany, inflicted  severe  chastisement  upon 
the  tribes  in  this  region,  and  the  Kentucky 
expedition  did  not  move. 

Public  affairs  were  in  this  posture  when 
the  few  of  Rogers’  command  who  escaped 
found  their  way  to  Harrodsburg,  and  brought 
the  fearful  tidings  of  that  massacre.  Samuel 
Frazee,  a member  of  Mr.  Harrod’s  company 
at  the  falls,  also  came  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Licking,  bringing  the  alarm  to  the  frontier 
capital.  The  abandoned  expedition  was 
hastily  revived,  and  so  much  of  the  fighting 


HISTOliY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


167 


strength  of  the  interior  settlements  as  could 
prudently  be  spared,  was  ordered  to  rendez- 
vous at  Lexington,  from  whence  the  whole 
should  proceed  to  the  mouth  of  the  Licking, 
where  the  contingent  from  the  falls  was 
directed  to  join  them  with  batteaux,  on  which 
to  cross  the  river. 

The  force  thus  brought  together  con- 
sisted of  five  companies.  Of  those  from  the 
interior,  one,  under  Benjamin  Logan,  was 
drawn  from  Logan’s,  Whitley’s  and  Clark’s 
stations:  another  from  Boonesborough  was  ' 
commanded  by  John  Holder;  a third  recruited 
from  Bryan’s  and  Lexington  Stations,  with  | 
additions  from  Harrodsburg,  was  led  by  Levi 
Todd;  and  the  fourth, under  the  command  of 
Josiah  Harlan,  was  made  up  of  recruits  from 
Wilson’s  and  McAffee’s  Stations,  besides  a 
contingent  from  Harrodsburg,  and  a body  of 
men,  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  John 
Haggin,  from  Ruddle’s  and  Martin’s  Stations. 
The  men  were  all  volunteers  and  “ found 
themselves.”  Each  man  carried  his  muni- 
tions and  subsistence,  the  latter  being  re- 
stricted to  a “ peck  of  parched  corn,”  though 
“some  public  beef”  was  issued  at  the  ren- 
dezvous. 

The  expedition  set  forth  in  July.  The  line 
of  march  led  from  Lexington  down  the  west 
bank  of  the  Licking;  reaching  the  head- 
waters of  the  Bank  Lick  Creek,  the  little  army 
encamped  for  the  night,  and  on  the  next  day 
reached  the  Ohio.  Meeting  the  company  of 
William  Harrod  here,  the  organization  of  the 
expedition  was  completed  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  Maj.  George  Michael  Bedinger,  as 
adjutant.  On  crossing  the  river,  the  order  of 
March  divided  the  force  into  three  divisions, 
commanded  respectively  by  Bowman,  Logan 
and  Frazee.  * The  trail  of  the  red  men  was 
struck  near  the  present  site  of  Cincinnati ; and 
followed  to  old  Chillicothe,  with  such  success 

*The  narrative  of  Samuel  Frazee,  which  assigns  himself  the 
command  of  one  of  the  divisions,  differs  materially  from  other 
generally  accepted  accounts  of  the  expedition,  but  the  fact  of 
his  participation  in  the  movement,  and  the  fortuitous  publica- 
tion of  his  story,  give  it  a certain  sanction,  which  may  render 
it  worth  considering.  However,  while  the  evidence  at  hand  does 
not  authoritatively  controvert  his  statements,  a reasonable  ques- 
tion may  arise,  whether  the  prominent  part  he  assumed  in  his 
narrative  would  have  entirely  escaped  the  notice  even  of  a 
somewhat  inaccurate  record  of  that  event.  The  order  of  March 
as  represented  in  the  narrative  is  confirmed  by  an  independent 
deposition  quoted  by  Mr.  Collins  (Vol.  II,  p.  425),  though  the 
leaders  are  not  named.  The  number  of  men  in  the  expedition 
is  estimated  from  135  to  300. 


as  to  come  upon  the  town  without  betraying 
their  presence.  Scouts  were  sent  forward, 
who  reported,  on  their  return,  a large  number 
of  savages  present,  but  that  they  were  entirely 
unconscious  of  the  near  approach  of  an 
enemy. 

The  whites  had  reached  a point  about  a 
i mile  distant  from  the  Indian  town,  when  the 
spies  Avere  sent  forward.  It  was  in  the  early 
part  of  the  night,  and  when  their  report  was 
received,  some  hours  later,  it  was  arranged 
that  Logan  should  lead  his  force  to  the  left, 
while  Bowman  should  turn  to  the  right,  and 
together  they  should  encircle  the  town,  the 
attack  to  begin  when  their  forces  joined  in 
the  rear  of  the  village.  Logan  quickly  ac- 
complished his  part  of  the  maneuver,  and 
impatiently  awaited  the  arrival  of  the 
other  wing  to  begin  the  attack.  The  hours 
slowly  passed  and  daylight  began  to  dawn, 
but  still  Bowman’s  party  did  not  make  its 
appearance.  Anxious  to  avoid  jeopardizing 
j the  success  of  the  expedition  by  premature 
action,  Logan  ordered  his  men  to  secrete 
themselves  in  the  tall  grass  and  wait  for  the 
; expected  signal  to  attack.  In  gaining  cover, 

: however,  some  of  the  men  attracted  the 
! attention  of  one  of  the  dogs  in  the  town, 
which  instantly  set  up  a furious  barking. 
Soon  a single  warrior  was  observed  to  emerge 
from  a cabin  and  peer  carefully  about  to  dis- 
cover the  cause  of  the  dog’s  disturbance, 
cautiously  advancing  at  the  same  time  toward 
where  the  whites  lay  concealed.  Logan  im- 
posed the  utmost  silence  upon  his  men,  hop- 
ing to  capture  the  savage  without  alarming 
the  rest  of  the  inhabitants,  but  just  as  this 
design  seemed  in  a fair  way  to  be  realized,  a 
gun  was  discharged  from  the  other  side  of 
the  town  by  one  of  Bowman’s  men. 

The  town  Avas  instantly  alive;  the  inhabi- 
tants shouting  and  hurrying  to  a strong 
central  cabin,  intent  upon  making  a stubborn 
defense.  Recognizing  the  uselessness  of 
further  disguise  Logan  led  his  men  close 
upon  the  retreating  savages,  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  deserted  cabins  to  get  close  to  the 
Indian  stronghold.  Here  he  found  himself 
in  a critical  position;  the  savages,  having  re- 
covered from  tlieir  panic,  were  maintaining 


168 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


a rapid  and  well-directed  lire  upon  their  as- 
sailants. The  enemy  greatly  nut-numbered 
the  whites  in  Logan’s  party,  which  Avas  in 
such  a position  that  neither  an  advance  nor 
a retreat  could  be  made  without  great  expos- 
ure. It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  intrepid 
leader  looked  in  vain  for  some  evidence  of 
sup2:>ort  from  the  other  division.  Observing 
that  the  Indians  had  become  aware  of  their 
superiority  in  numbers,  and  were  showing 
an  intention  of  turning  his  flanks,  he  began 
to  prepare  a movable  breast-work  of  doors 
and  puncheons  taken  from  the  deserted 
cabins,  under  cover  of  which  he  proposed  to 
storm  the  enemy’s  position. 

Before  the  necessary  preparations  were 
completed,  a messenger  from  Bowman  reached 
Logan  with  orders  to  retreat.  Beside  him- 
self with  astonishment  and  indignation, 
Logan  had  no  recourse  save  to  obey,  but  such 
a movement  to  the  undisciplined  militia  was 
a difficult  one  to  perform  with  success, 
“ Each  man  selected  the  time,  manner  and 
route  of  his  retreat  for  himself.  Here,  a 
solitary  Kentuckian  would  start  up  from  be- 
hind a stump  and  scud  away  through  the 
grass,  dodging  and  turning  to  avoid  the  balls 
which  whistled  around  him.  There,  a dozen 
men  would  run  from  a cabin  and  scatter  in 
every  direction,  each  anxious  to  save  himself 
and  none  having  leisure  to  attend  to  his 
neighbors.”  In  this  way,  Logan’s  men  soon 
rejoined  the  party  under  Bowman,  which  for 
some  unaccountable  reason  had  remained 
where  they  had  halted  the  night  before.* 
Here  confusion  became  Avorse  confounded. 
“ Some  cursed  their  colonel,  some  reproached 
other  officers,  one  shouted  one  thing,  one 
bellowed  another,  but  all  seemed  to  agree 
that  they  ought  to  make  the  best  of  their 
way  home  Avithout  the  loss  of  a moment’s 
time.” 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  disorder  the  com- 

*“Sketches  of  AVestern  Adventure,”  by  Rev.  John  A.  Mc- 
Clung,  1832,  p.  113,  et.  seq.  Frazee,  in  the  narrative  quoted 
by -Mr.  Collins  (A^ol.  II,  p.  426),  says:  ” About  midnight  we  at- 

tempted to  move  on  three  sides  of  the  Indian  camp  and  were  to 
remain  stationary,  within  good  gun-shot  of  the  Indians,  until 
dayliglit,  when  we  were  to  make  .a  simultaneous  attack  upon 
the  camp.  .lust  as  we  had  gotten  up  within  a short  range,  .an 
Indian  dog  gave  the  alarm.  A tall  Indian  raised  up  from  the 
center  of  their  camp  and  I shot  him  down,  and  immediately 
gave  word  to  my  men  to  fire.  The  Indians  shot  from  the  cracks 
of  their  huts,  and  after  we  had  fired  three  rounds  I gave  word 
to  retreat.  I saw  that  we  were  fighting  to  a great  disadvan- 
tage.” 


mander  of  the  expedition  seemed  paralyzed, 
and  Logan,  ably  seconded  by  other  officers, 
restored  something  like  discipline  among 
their  followers.  The  sharp  crack  of  the  In- 
dians’ rifles  aided  these  efforts  in  no  small 
degree,  for  nothing  cleared  the  mental  vision 
of  the  pioneers  more  readily  than  a sense  of 
danger.  The  Indians,  astonished  to  see  their 
foes  rout  themselves  in  this  unceremonious 
manner,  hesitated  for  a few  moments  to 
make  a close  pursuit,  but  recognizing  the 
sincerity  of  the  retreat,  they  were  soon  down 
upon  the  disordered  whites.  The  Kentuck- 
ians quickly  formed  a square,  and  taking 
shelter  behind  trees,  readily  repelled  the  at- 
tack. The  retreat  was  then  begun  in  an 
orderly  manner,  but  the  column  had  pro- 
ceeded no  great  distance,*  when  the  sav- 
ages renewed  their  attack,  this  time  on  all 
sides. 

Matters  now  assumed  a serious  aspect;  the 
men  began  to  grow  unsteady,  th  e colonel  con- . 
tinned  incompetent,  and  the  savages  seemed 
likely  to  succeed  in  their  design  of  retarding 
the  retreat  until  re-enforcements  could  be 
hurried  forward  to  aid  in  the  attack.  At 
this  critical  juncture,  Capts.  Logan  and  Har- 
rod,  Maj.  Bedinger  and  'others,  leading  some 
of  the  best  mounted  of  their  followers,  charged 
the  savages,  forcing  them  to  leave  their  cov- 
erts, and  cutting  many  of  them  down,  while 
the  main  body  made  good  use  of  their  rifles 
upon  such  of  the  enemy  as  were  forced  to 
expose  themselves.  This  spirited  action  dis- 
persed the  enemy,  and  the  discouraged  and 
weary  troops  Avere  allowed  to  continue  their 
march  without  disturbance.  The  retreat 
followed  the  line  of  the  outward  march,  cross- 
ing to  Kentucky;  the  plunder  was  disposed  of 
by  auction,  and  the  men  discharged  to  take 
such  paths  as  Avould  the  most  easily  bring 
them  to  their  several  homes. 

Of  the  result  of  this  expedition,  the  most 
conflicting  opinions  were  entertained.  The 
whites,  at  a cost  of  eight  or  nine  killed,  had 
captured  163  horses,  had  burned  the  greater 
part  of  the  village,  and  inflicted  a loss  of 
fifteen  or  twenty  slain  (the  noted  chief, 

*McClung  says : “But  scarcely  bad  they  advanced  half  a 
mile.”  Bradford  (notes  on  Kentucky  in  the  Kentucky  Gazette) 
says : “ had  not  marched  more  than  eight  or  ten  miles.” 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


169 


Blacklish,  was  among  them)  upon  the  savages, 
yet  the  expedition  had  evidently  miscarried. 
While,  under  the  circumstances,  the  result 
was  far  less  than  a disaster,  still  it  could  not 
be  disguised  that  the  object  of  the  campaign, 
in  which  the  whole  strength  of  Kentucky  had 
been  enlisted,  had  proved  sadly  inconclusive, 
and  that,  too,  without  any  satisfactory  rea- 
son. Gen.  Kay  and  others,  competent  to 
judge  intelligently  of  the  matter,  did  not  dis- 
credit the  commander  of  the  expedition,  but 
the  general  disappointment  made  Col. 
Bowman  the  object  of  its  resentment.  Pub- 
lic sentiment,  therefore,  gradually  retired 
Bowman  and  preferred  Logan,  whose  serv- 
ices had  certainly  been  marked  by  gallantry 
and  efficiency. 

Unsatisfactory  as  the  result  of  this  expedi- 
tion proved,  it  served,  with  the  more  efficient 
one  conducted  from  Pittsburgh  by  Col.  Brod- 
head,  to  temporarily  relieve  the  border  of  the 
presence  of  any  formidable  array  of  savages. 
Predatory  attacks  were  still  made,  but  with 
less  frequency  and  success,  and  the  tide  of 
immigration  continued  unabated.  Even  the 
rigor  of  winter  failed  to  oppose  a sufficient 
barrier  to  the  ardor  of  the  immigrants,  and 
many  families,  traveling  to  Kentucky,  were 
forced  to  camp  on  the  way,  where  they  suf- 
fered great  privations. 

The  winter  of  1779-80  was  unusually 
severe,  and  is  noted  in  the  annals  of  the  State 
as  ‘The  hard  winter.”  The  water  in  the 
rivers  was  frozen  to  an  extraordinary  depth, 
while  that  in  the  shallow  streams  was  con- 
verted into  ice  to  the  very  bottom.  The 
frequent  fall  of  snow,  which  the  regularity 
of  the  temperature  preserved  Rom  wasting, 
early  covered  the  ground  to  a great  depth, 
and  remained  so  long  as  to  threaten  the  ex- 
termination of  brute  life.  Thousands  of 
large  and  small  animals  of  the  forest  per- 
ished, while  the  domestic  animals  of  the  set- 
tlers, despite  their  care,  fell  victims  to  ex- 
posure and  starvation  by  hundreds.  Families 
on  the  road,  their  progress  impeded  by  the 
snow,  soon  exhausted  their  slender  stock  of 
provisions,  and  in  many  cases  were  obliged 
to  feed  on  the  wasted  carcasses  of  their  per- 
ished animals.  The  spring  brought  its 


share  of  evils,  but  it  was  none  the  less  hailed 
with  lively  satisfaction.  Much  of  the  stock 
which  had  survived  cold  and  hunger  was 
swept  away  by  hoods,  and  travel  was  greatly 
impeded,  but  these  were  temporary  ills. 

Privations  did  not  end  with  the  vernal  sea- 
son, however.  The  game,  invigorated  with 
the  fresh  verdure,  supplied  the  people  with 
wholesome  meat,  but  the  supply  of  corn 
proved  inadequate  to  the  demand  occasioned 
by  the  large  accession  to  the  population  on 
the  fi’ontier.  Before  the  end  of  winter  the 
people  were  forced  to  practice  the  closest  econ- 
omy in  the  use  of  bread,  and  long  before  a 
new  crop  became  available  there  was  no  corn 
to  be  had.  During  this  period  the  nominal 
price  of  the  cereal  at  the  falls  varied  from 
$50  per  bushel  in  December,  1779,  to  §165 
in  January,  1780,  and  $30  in  May, 
These  prices  were  based  on  the  value  of  de- 
preciated continental  currency,  but  they  rep- 
resent a wonderful  exaggeration  of  value, 
even  when  expressed  in  coin. 

These  facts,  unknown  or  unheeded  in  the 
older  settlements,  did  not  deter  others  from 
seeking  new  homes  in  the  "West,  and  the 
spring  of  1780  witnessed  an  unprecedented 
immigration.  Beside  those  who  followed  the 
early  routes  by  tedious  overland  journeys, 
large  numbers  came  down  the  Ohio  to  the 
falls,  and  thence  proceeded  inland  by  wagon. 

I In  the  preceding  fall  and  in  this  spring, 
j Floyd  notes,  in  his  correspondence  with  Col. 
j Preston,  the  arrival  of  300  large  family  boats 
at 'the  falls,  and  that  as  many  as  ten  or  fifteen 
wagons  could  be  seen  daily  setting  off  for  the 
interior.  New  stations  continued  to  spring- 
up  in  all  directions,  generally  in  the  vicinity 
of  those  already  established,  though  a few 
more  adventm’ous  souls  settled  in  the  isolated 
regions  now  embraced  in  the  counties  of  Nel- 
son, Hardin,  Green  and  Logan.  Many  of 
the  new-comers,  however,  remained  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  falls,  and  the  cluster  of  six 
stations,  planted  here,  soon  numbered  as 
many  hundred  inhabitants. 

The  settlement  at  this  point  was  rapidly 
growing  in  importance.  Clark,  on  turning 
over  the  civil  government  of  the  Illinois 
country  to  Col.  Todd,  had  fixed  his  head- 


170 


HISTORT  OF  KENTUCKY. 


quarters  at  the  falls,  and  here  in  the  spring 
of  1780,  he  was  joined  by  Col.  Greorge 
Slaughter  with  150  State  troops  from  Vir- 
ginia. This  promise  of  security,  with  the 
natural  advantages  which  the  river  naviga- 
tion gave  it,  confirmed  the  general  opinion 
that  “the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  is  a place,  of  all 
others  within  the  colony,  will  admit  of  a 
town.”  Accordingly  in  May  (1780),  the 
Virginia  legislature  passed  “an  act  for  estab- 
lishing the  town  of  Louisville.”  This  act, 
made  John  Todd,  Jr.,  Stephen  Trigg,  George 
Slaughter,  John  Floyd,  William  Pope,  Geox’ge 
Merriweather,  Andrew  Hines,  James  Sullivan 
and  Marshall  Brashiers,  trustees,  provided 
for  the  platting  of  certain  lands,  and  for  fhe 
sale  of  lots  “at  the  court  houses  of  adjacent 
counties,”  and  required  the  purchasers  “to 
hold  their  said  lots  subject  to  the  condition  of 
building  on  each  a dwelling-house  sixteen 
feet  by  twenty  at  least,  with  a brick  or  stone 
chimney,  to  be  finished  within  two  years 
from  date  of  sale.”  This  period  was  subse- 
quently extended,  on  account  of  Indian  dis- 
turbances, but  thenceforth  the  town  of  Louis- 
ville, wliich  received  its  name  in  grateful 
recognition  of  the  French  monarch’s  assist- 
ance in  the  Revolutionary  war,  had  a perma- 
nent place  in  the  annals  of  Kentucky. 

On  the  10th  of  May  a land  office  was  opened 
at  Harrodsburg  for  the  reception  of  warrants 
issued  by  the  treasurer  of  Virginia,  and  the 
holders  of  these  claims,  or  their  agents, 
thronged  the  office.  The  object  was  to 
secure  the  location  of  lands,  to  which  these 
warrants  entitled  the  owners,  and  a majority 
of  the  men  present  in  Kentucky  were  inter- 
ested in  this  business.  In  the  presence  of 
this  overshadowing  interest,  the  danger  to  be 
apprehended  from  the  enemy  was  forgotten. 
The  report  of  “ fresh  signs,”  that  some  one 
was  fired  on,  or  even  that  a settler  had 
been  killed  or  captured,  created  but  a mo- 
mentary bustle;  a scouting  party  might  be 
induced  by  the  circumstance  to  go  out,  but 
its  duties  were  quickly  dispatched,  and  its 
members  were  soon  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of 
the  hour — the  acquisition  of  land. 

There  were  others,  however,  who  were  so 
situated  as  to  give  more  attention  to  public 


affairs,  and  Clark  about  this  time  was  en- 
gaged in  an  enterprise,  which,  though  of  the 
first  importance  and  conceived  in  wise  states- 
manship, foreboded  no  good  to  Kentucky. 
The  design  of  erecting  a fort  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio  was  intimated  in  Gov.  Patrick 
Henry’s  instructions  to  Col.  Clark  in  1778, 
and  in  the  succeeding  June,  Henry’s  succes- 
sor gave  express  orders  to  carry  it  out.  The 
object,  though  not  yet  accomplished,  had  not 
been  forgotten,  and  Gov.  Thomas  Jefferson 
in  January  and  April,  1780,  reiterated  his 
orders  for  the  fulfillment  of  this  design.  The 
question  of  the  western  boundary  of  the  unit- 
ed colonies  had  already  been  broached  at  the 
Spanish  court — a question,  which  Jefferson 
had  foreseen  must  arise  with  England,  in  case 
of  a victorious  issue  of  the  colonial  struggle. 
In  such  an  event,  Jefferson  was  determined 
to  be  in  actual  possession  of  the  Northwest, 
by  means  of  a chain  of  fortified  posts,  of 
which  the  one  on  the  Mississippi,  and  those  in 
the  Illinois  country,  indicated  a direction 
which  must  make  Detroit  the  northern  ter- 
minus. 

This  was  indeed  the  plan  which  received 
the  sanction  of  Jefferson’s  State  policy  as 
well  as  of  Clark’s  ambition,  and  accordingly, 
in  the  spring  of  1780,  Clark  set  out  from 
Louisville  with  200  troops  to  accomplish  the 
first  part  of  the  grand  design.  Going  down 
the  river  to  a point  on  the  Mississippi,  five 
miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  he  erected 
a stout  stockade,  which  he  called  Fort  Jeffer- 
son, in  honor  of  the  governor.  Beside  a 
small  garrison  left  in  the  fort,  a number  of 
families,  persuaded  by  the  unusual  induce- 
ments offered,  located  near  by  and  took  f orci  ■ 
ble  possession  of  a region  where  the  Chick- 
asaws  had  long  held  undisputed  sway.  This 
nation  had  been  on  friendly  terms  with  the 
whites,  and  it  was  a grave  oversight  that 
their  permission  was  not  sought,  before  the 
fort  was  erected.  As  it  was,  however,  this 
unprovoked  invasion  of  their  territory  aroused 
their  resentful  patriotism,  and  these  hitherto 
peaceful  tribes  harried  the  western  and 
southern  boundaries  of  Kentucky,  until  the 
evacuation  of  the  fort  in  the  next  year  re- 
moved the  cause  of  their  hostilities. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


171 


Clark’s  designs  were  not  greatly  misinter-  j 
preted  by  the  successor  of  Hamilton  at  De- 
troit, and  the  new  base  of  operations  estab-  I 
lished  on  the  Ohio  incited  him  to  fresh  ac- 
tivity in  the  attempt  to  cripple  the  settlements 
of  Kentucky,  which  thus  menaced  the  British 
power  in  the  Northwest.  Fort  Pitt  was  less 
feared,  not  simply  because  more  remote,  but 
also  because  its  expeditions  westward  had 
generally  proved  abortive,  and  the  contest 
was  therefore  accepted  as  lying  between 
Clark,  with  his  fearless  frontiersmen,  and  the 
British  at  Detroit,  aided  by  the  hostile  tribes 
north  of  the  Ohio.  On  recovering  from  the 
effect  of  Clark’s  audacious  campaign  in  the 
Illinois  country,  the  English  commandant  at 
Detroit,  descending  upon  Vincennes,  had 
gained  a cheap  victory,  and  planned  for  the 
next  year  an  expedition  which  was  to  set  out 
from  the  captured  post  and  fall  upon  the  sta- 
tions in  Kentucky,  while  another  should  at 
the  same  time  strike  from  the  region  farther 
east.  The  subsequent  recapture  of  Vin- 
cennes, and  with  it  the  commandant,  seriously 
interrupted  this  programme,  and  it  was  not 
until  1780  that  his  successor  could  prepare 
a counter-stroke  to  Clark’s  gallant  victory ; 
but  this,  he  determined,  should  be  overwhelm- 
ing. 

The  expedition  consisted  of  about  1,000 
Canadians  and  Indians,  with  six  pieces  of 
artillery,  under  the  command  of  Col.  Byrd. 
These  forces  were  rendezvoused  on  the  1st  of 
-Tune,  and  immediately  set  out  for  Kentucky. 
Such  formidable  preparations  could  scarcely 
be  hidden  even  in  the  recesses  of  the  Ohio 
forests.  Rumors  of  the  organization  of  an 
expedition  with  artillery,  destined  to  attack 
Louisville,  were  noted  by  Floyd  in  his  corre- 
spondence as  early  as  May,  and  yet  such  was 
the  overweening  confidence  or  general  dis- 
traction of  the  people  in  securing  their  lands, 
that  no  reasonable  precaution  was  taken  to 
ascertain  the  truth  of  the  rumor  or  to  guard 
against  surprise.  Byrd  was  accordingly  al- 
lowed to  approach  at  his  convenience  with- 
out opposition  or  observation. 

In  the  absence  of  any  wheel -ways,  the  ar- 
tillery was  brought  down  the  Big  Miami; 
thence  to  the  Licking,  which  was  ascended 


as  far  as  the  present  town  of  Falmouth, 
Here  the  ordnance  was  landed,  and  the  line 
of  march  slowly  pursued  up  one  branch  of 
the  river  to  Ruddle’s  Station.  The  invading 
force  had  been  twelve  days  in  making  the 
distance  from  the  Ohio  River,  having 
chopped  out  a wagon  road  most  of  the  way, 
and  yet,  on  the  22d  of  June,  the  first  inti- 
mation that  the  garrison  of  Ruddle’s  Station 
had  of  the  approach  of  the  overwhelming 
army  was  the  discharge  of  a piece  of  artil- 
lery, in  their  immediate  vicinity.  This  por- 
tentous sound  was  quickly  followed  by  the 
appearance  of  the  hostile  host  and  a sum- 
mons to  surrender  to  the  forces  of  his  Brit- 
tanic  majesty’s  representative.  Resistance 
was  out  of  the  question,  and  Capt.  Ruddle 
stipulated  only  that  the  garrison  should  be- 
come prisoners  solely  of  the  English.  This 
was  agreed  upon,  but  no  sooner  were  the 
gates  unbarred,  than  the  savages  rushed  in 
and  seized  on  the  whites,  each  claiming  the 
victim  in  his  clutches  as  his  individual  prop- 
erty. 

The  most  heart-rending  scenes  were  enacted. 
Several  reluctant  prisoners  were  instantly 
dispatched  with  the  tomahawk.  Little  chil- 
dren, convulsed  with  grief  and  fright,  were 
torn  from  the  arms  of  their  mothers;  wives 
were  separated  from  their  husbands,  and 
scarcely  two  of  any  family  were  destined  to 
be  near  each  other  in  captivity.  In  vain  did 
Ruddle  remonstrate  with  Col.  Byrd.  While 
anxious  to  fulfill  his  j^art  of  the  engagement, 
the  commander  found  himself  helpless  in  the 
hands  of  the  insatiable  savages.  The  pris- 
oners were  stripped  of  their  property,  and 
divided  among  their  Indian  captors,  who, 
having  thoroughly  rifled  the  station,  now  de- 
manded to  be  led  against  Martin’s  Station, 
only  five  miles  away.  This,  the  British  offi- 
cer refused  to  do  until  he  had  exacted  a sol- 
emn promise  of  the  chiefs  that  their  follow- 
ers should  be  satisfied  with  the  plunder  alone. 

Martin’s  Station  was  found  carelessly  rest- 
ing in  the  same  foolish  security  with  the  rest 
of  the  border,  utterly  unconscious  of  the 
[ tragedy,  which  had  just  been  enacted  a few 
miles  distant.  The  demand  for  the  surrender 
of  the  station  was  quickly  acceded  to  by  the 


173 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


garrison,  who,  profiting  by  the  fate  of  Rud- 
dle’s  party,  were  recognized  as  the  prisoners 
of  the  English.  After  plundering  this  sta- 
tion, the  Indians  clamored  to  be  led  against 
Lexington,  but  this  Byrd  refused  to  do,  as- 
signing the  difficulty  of  moving  his  artillery, 
the  probability  of  failure  in  the  attack,  and 
the  necessity  of  taking  advantage  of  the 
present  high  water  to  effect  a retreat,  as  his 
reasons.  While  these  suggestions  had  suffi- 
cient plausibility  to  satisfy  the  savages  and 
still  occasion  some  doubt  as  to  his  real  senti- 
ments, the  reader  will  not  greatly  err  if  he 
credit  the  commanding  officer  with  the  pos- 
session of  such  humanity  as  led  him  to  refuse 
to  become  accessory  to  further  horrors,  such 
as  he  had  witnessed  at  the  captured  stations. 

The  retreat  decided  upon,  the  whole  force 
returned  to  the  point  of  debarkation,  where, 
the  ordnance  and  stores  being  reloaded,  the 
Canadians  retraced  their  outward  route,  while 
the  Indians,  separating  from  their  allies, 
took  a shorter  road  for  their  towns,  carrying 
the  prisoners  taken  at  Ruddle's  Station  with 
them.  Among  the  captives  was  John  Hink- 
ston,  who  had  returned  to  his  “ improvement” 
when  the  advent  of  Ruddle’s  party  had  ren- 
dered it  reasonably  safe.  He  was  a brave 
and  experienced  woodsman,  and  managed  to 
make  his  escape  on  the  first  night  of  the  re- 
treat. Taking  advantage  of  the  guard’s  at- 
tempting to  start  a fire,  he  leaped  into  the 
darkness,  where  the  friendly  undergrowth 
enabled  him  to  elude  the  swift  pursuit  of  the 
savages.  After  many  narrow  escapes  from 
recapture,  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the  fort 
at  Lexington  on  the  next  day,  where  his  story 
was  the  first  information  the  garrison  had  of 
the  disaster  which  had  befallen  the  more  ad- 
vanced stations. 

On  the  heel  of  these  events,  Clark  returned 
from  Fort  Jefferson  to  find  a letter  from  the 
governor,  urging  an  expedition  against  the 
Indians  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Miami, 
and  especially  with  a view  to  destroy  the 
trading  post  known  as  Loramie’s  Store, 
w'hich  served  the  English  as  a depot  of  sup- 
plies for  the  neighboring  tribes.  The  events 
just  narrated  added  a more  powerful  incen- 
tive, and  Clark  immediately  proceeded  to 


Harrodsburg  to  enlist  the  borderers  in  the 
new  crusade.  Here  he  found  the  settlers  ob- 
livious of  every  other  interest,  eagerly  press- 
ing their  claims,  and  deaf  to  any  appeal 
which  was  calculated  to  lead  them  away  from 
the  absorbing  pursuit.  With  the  cordial  co- 
operation of  the  surveyors,  Clark  issued  an 
order  temporarily  closing  the  land  office,  and 
sent  his  proclamation  through  the  settlements, 
setting  forth  the  urgent  reason  for  his  action, 
and  calling  for  volunteers  to  aid  him  in  chas- 
tising the  savages.  Thus  brought  to  their 
senses,  the  people  quickly  rallied  to  his 
standard.  Clark  had  a body  of  State  troops 
at  Louisville,  which  was  dignified  with  the 
title  of  “regiment,”  though  scarcely  number- 
ing more  than  300  men.  With  these,  and 
the  volunteers  from  the  various  stations,  the 
force  assembled  at  the  mouth  of  Licking  in 
July,  numbered  about  1,000*  men,  besides 
some  artillery  conveyed  up  the  river  from 
Louisville. 

The  expedition  was  conducted  with  skill 
and  good  fortune,  and  the  invaders  succeeded 
in  reaching  Piqua  unannounced.  A stub- 
born skirmish  ensued  when  each  of  the  bel- 
ligerent forces  lost  seventeen  killed.  The 
Indians  finally  gave  way,  and  after  destroy- 
ing the  town  and  growing  crops,  Logan  was 
dispatched  with  his  regiment  to  destroy  the 
trading  post  at  Pickaway.  By  this  time  the 
savages  had  learned  of  the  presence  of  a hos- 
tile force  in  their  midst,  and  Logan  found 
only  a deserted  town  and  store.  These  he 
burned,  and  cutting  the  corn,  returned  to  the 
main  body,  when,  the  whole  expedition  retir- 
insr  to  the  Licking,  the  volunteers  were  dis- 
charged. 

This  campaign,  though  scarcely  more  con- 
clusive in  its  results  than  the  one  it  was  de- 
signed to  retaliate,  had  the  good  result  of 
relieving  Kentucky  of  further  formidable  in- 
roads during  the  remaining  part  of  the  year. 
The  usual  predatory  bands  of  savages  contin- 
ued to  infest  the  border,  however,  and  way- 
laying the  unwary  hunter  at  the  various 
licks,  or  on  the  frequented  trails,  infiicted 
considerable  damage.  It  was  in  an  adven- 

*The  papers  of  Capt.  James  Patton,  of  Louisville,  placed 
the  number  at  998,  divided  into  two  regiments  under  the  im- 
mediate commands  of  Cols.  Linn  and  Logan.  See  Butler,  p.  117. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


173 


tui’e  with  one  of  these  bands  that  Daniel 
Boone  signalized  his  rekirn  to  the  fi'ontier. 
He  had  brought  his  family  from  North  Car- 
olina to  Boonesborough  in  the  summer,  and 
had  been  closely  engaged  on  his  “improve- 
ment” until  October,  when,  with  his  brother 
Edward,  he  went  to  the  lower  Blue  Lick  to 
secure  a supply  of  salt.  On  their  homeward 
journey  they  were  tired  on  by  a party  of  In- 
dians; Edward  was  killed  and  scalped,  and 
Daniel  compelled  to  seek  safety  in  instant 
flight.  His  start  and  superior  skill  soon  en- 
abled him  to  place  a safe  distance  between 
himself  and  his  pursuers,  but,  with  the  aid  of 
a dog,  the  savages  found  no  ditficulty  in  fol- 
lowing his  trail,  and  pressed  him  so  closely 
that  concealment  was  impossible.  The  situ- 
ation was  becoming  critical,  but  observing 
that  his  only  chance  of  escape  was  in  de- 
stroying the  dog,  Boone  halted  until  the  bay- 
ing animal  came  within  range  of  his  gun, 
when  he  shot  the  troublesome  brute,  and  es- 
caped in  safety  to  the  fort. 

Such  attacks  were  not  submitted  to  by  the 
settlers  without  some  attempt  at  reprisal,  but 
these  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  whites  were 
attended  with  very  meager  results.  In- 
deed it  was  the  opinion  of  leading  men  in 
the  colonies  that  the  western  border  could 
only  be  rendered  reasonably  secure  by  the 
capture  of  Detroit.  After  the  failure  of  Mc- 


Intosh in  1778,  Washington  renewed  the  pro- 
ject, but  after  vainly  making  repeated  efforts 
to  put  the  movement  on  foot  he  felt  obliged 
to  forego  this  undertaking,  as  it  involved  too 
great  an  expense  for  the  limited  continental 
resources. 

Jefferson  could  not  so  readily  yield  this 
object.  The  constant  demand  upon  Virgin- 
ia for  several  hundi’ed  men  and  their  neces- 
sary supplies,  all  seriously  needed  on  the 
Atlantic  border,  urged  the  Virginia  execu 
tive  to  devise  some  means  to  rid  the  com- 
monwealth of  this  menacing  post  in  the 
West,  and  by  one  grand  expenditure  of  men 
and  money  to  stop  the  continual  drain 
upon  the  resources  of  the  State.  The  esti- 
mated cost  of  the  movement  was  placed  at 
£2,000,000,  a sum  which  even  made  this  res- 
olute patriot  hesitate.  In  September,  1780, 
however,  Jefferson  wrote  the  American  com- 
mander-in-chief that  the  commonwealth  had 
determined  to  undertake  the  enterprise,  pro- 
vided he  would  grant  the  State  such  milita- 
ry supplies  as  were  necessary,  Virginia  fur- 
nishing the  men  and  subsistence  and  con- 
ducting the  expedition.  This  was  agreed 
upon,  and  the  New  Year  opened  with  the 
prospect  that  this  troublesome  post  of  the 
enemy  would  soon  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
Americans. 


174 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


OHAPTEE  VIII. 


THE  PRICE  OF  LIBERTY. 


The  early  years  of  Kentucky’s  struggle 
with  the  united  forces  of  the  English 
and  Indians,  while  marked  by  cruel  reverses 
and  discouraging  casualties,  were  neverthe- 
less relieved  by  such  evidences  of  general 
success  as  to  encourage  the  settlers  to  expect 
victory  in  the  end.  The  later  years,  on  the 
contrary,  proved  more  exacting  upon  the 
fortitude  of  those  who  still  dared  to  brave 
the  perils  of  the  frontier.  The  long-con- 
tinued strain,  which  the  war  imposed  upon 
the  older  communities,  greatly  reduced  their 
resources  for  their  own  defense,  and  left  none 
to  be  lightly  expended  in  the  defense  of  the 
frontier,  which  the  prevailing  sentiment  be- 
gan to  regard  as  maintained  largely  in  a 
spirit  of  fool-hardiness.  The  enemy  was  not 
similarly  affected.  Hitherto  the  allies  seemed 
to  have  carried  on  their  attacks  with  more 
determination,  and,  though  rather  by  good 
fortune  than  by  good  strategy,  secured  their 
most  effective  victories  in  these  trying  years. 
Happily  the  end  of  the  war  brought  relief, 
just  when  the  frontier  forts  were  about  to 
fail,  and  the  darkest  hour  of  the  struggle  was 
thus  made  to  give  way  to  the  dawn  of  peace. 
But  the  opening  days  of  1781  revealed  noth- 
ing of  this.  A deceptive  lull  in  hostilities 
reassured  the  settlers,  while  the  leaders, 
planning  a new  expedition  against  Detroit, 
hoped  the  event  was  preparing  that  should 
bring  speedy  relief  to  the  border. 

Clark  had  gone  to  Richmond  to  aid  in 
concerting  these  measures,  and  under  date  of 
December  28,  1780,  Washington  inclosed  to 
Jefferson  an  order  on  Brodhead,  the  officer 
in  command  at  Fort  Pitt,  to  Rirnish  the  rep- 
resentative of  Virginia  with  a company  of 
artillery,  ammunition,  intrenching  tools,  and 
a force  of  men  sufficient  for  a captain’s  or 


major’s  command.  It  was  provided  that  be- 
side such  regular  troops  as  Clark  had  at 
Louisville,  and  those  to  be  secured  at  F(n’t 
Pitt,  the  2,000  troops  to  form  the  attacking 
force  should  be  drawn  from  the  militia  of 
the  western  counties  of  Virginia  proper,  and 
from  Kentucky.  Accordingly,  on  the  22d  of 
January,  1781,  Clark  was  commissioned 
“brigadier-general  of  the  forces  to  be  em- 
bodied in  an  expedition  westward  of  the 
Ohio,”  which  was  to  rendezvous  at  Louisville 
by  the  15th  of  March. 

In  the  meantime  an  obstacle  had  arisen  to 
delay  the  enterprise.  Benedict  Arnold,  eager 
to  prove  the  sincerity  of  his  treason,  had 
secured  a commission  to  lead  a raid  into 
Virginia,  and  Clark  took  temporary  command 
under  Baron  Steuben,  who  covered  Petersburg 
from  the  attack  of  the  enemy.  Relieved 
from  this  duty,  the  general  energetically  set 
about  recruiting  the  force  destined  for  the 
western  expedition.  In  the  preceding  fall, 
Kentucky  had  been  divided  into  three  coun- 
ties, with  Floyd,  Logan  and  Todd  as  county - 
lieutenants,  and  the  respective  regiments  of 
militia  placed  under  their  command  as  colo- 
nels, with  William  Pope,  Stephen  Trigg  and 
Daniel  Boone  as  lieutenant-colonels.  With 
such  names  it  was  not  difficult  to  conjure  up 
a formidable  body  of  militia,  especially  for 
an  expedition  led  by  Clark,  but  to  raise  an 
available  force  of  2,000  men  was  a large 
undertaking  under  the  most  favorable  cir- 
cumstances. It  was  designed  to  make  the 
attack  after  the  Wabash  had  become  clear  of 
ice,  and  before  the  lakes  opened,  but  the 
most  vexatious  delay  was  experienced,  and  it 
was  not  until  the  middle  of  summer  that 
Clark  reached  Louisville.  By  this  time  the 
golden  opportunity  had  passed,  and  the  ac- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


175 


tivity  of  the  enemy  on  the  border  finally  put 
an  end  to  the  general’s  long  cherished  plan 
of  reducing:  the  Enarlish  stronghold  at  Detroit. 

O O O 

It  is  not  probable  that  the  enemy  fathomed 
the  plans  of  the  Kentucky  general,  but  the 
operations  of  the  savages  were  well  calculated 
to  afford  the  greatest  obstacle  to  their  suc- 
cessful execution.  With  the  opening  of 
spring,  marauding  bands  spread  through  the 
region  south  of  the  Ohio,  attacking  the  less 
protected  settlements,  waylaying  the  unwary 
by  the  principal  trails  and  springs,  and  creat- 
ing so  great  a concern  for  the  safety  of  the 
stations  that  it  is  probable  only  a compara- 
tively small  number  of  the  militia  could  have 
prudently  been  spared  for  the  expedition, 
had  it  prospered  so  far  as  to  set  forth.  In 
March  the  several  stations  on  the  Beargrass 
were  attacked,  and  Col.  Linn  and  Capts. 
Tipton  and  Chapman  killed.  Pursuing  one 
of  these  bands,  Capt.  Aquilla  Whittaker,  with 
fifteen  men,  followed  the  trail  of  the  retreat- 
ing enemy  to  the  foot  of  the  rapids  where, 
supposing  the  Indians  had  crossed  the  river, 
the  whites  took  canoes  to  continue  the  pur- 
suit. They  were  scarcely  embarked  when 
they  were  assailed  from  the  shore  by  a volley 
which  killed  or  wounded  nine  of  their  num- 
ber. The  rest,  undaunted  by  this  disaster, 
returned  to  the  shore  and  boldly  faced  the 
foe,  but  the  Indians  did  not  remain  to  contest 
the  field. 

About  the  same  time  another  tragedy  was 
being  enacted  about  seventy-five  miles  to  the 
southeast.  Here,  on  the  head- waters  of  the 
Green  River,  the  father  and  brother  of  Mrs. 
Benjamin  Logan  had  built  four  cabins,  mark- 
ing a large,  irregular,  square  area,  but  un- 
pi’otected  by  palisades.  These  families  had 
been  residents  of  Logan’s  Fort  until  this 
spring,  when,  thinking  that  little  danger 
from  the  Indians  was  to  be  apprehended  in  a 
locality  so  remote  from  the  Ohio,  they  took 
possession  of  their  new  homes.  They  did 
not  long  remain  undiscovered.  One  night  in 
March  a small  party  of  Indians  concealed 
themselves  near  enough  to  command  the  doors 
of  the  cabins,  and  in  the  morning,  as  William 
Montgomery,  Sr.,  stepped  out  of  his  cabin  in 
the  gray  of  the  early  dawn,  he  was  imme- 


diately shot  dead,  as  was  a slave  boy  who 
closely  followed  him.  Montgomery’s  daugh- 
ter, Jane,  then  a young  woman,  promptly 
closed  and  barred  the  door,  calling  for  a 
rifle.  Betsey,  her  twelve-year-old  sister, 
clambered  ixp  the  chimney,  and  gaining  the 
ground  from  its  top,  set  out  at  the  top  of  her 
speed  for  Pettit’s  Station,  about  two  and  a 
half  miles  away.  Her  escape  was  observed, 
and  an  Indian  pursued  her  some  distance, 
but  she  out-ran  the  savage  and  safely  reached 
the  station,  from  whence  a messenger  was  at 
once  dispatched  to  St.  Asaph’s  for  succor. 
The  bold  bearing  of  the  older  girl  prevented 
the  Indians  from  trying  to  force  the  cabin, 
though  she  and  a little  brother  were  the  only 
occupants. 

William  Montgomery,  Jr.,  with  his  wife 
and  one  child  and  a bound  boy,  occupied  an- 
other cabin.  The  first  crack  of  the  rifle 
alarmed  him,  and  directing  the  servant  to 
guard  the  door  with  a heavy  sap-trough,  he 
discharged  his  rifle  through  a crevice  in  rapid 
succession,  killing  one  and  seriously  wound- 
ing another  of  the  savages  before  they  with- 
drew out  of  his  range.  John  Montgomery, 
but  lately  married,  occupied  a third  cabin; 
he  was  shot  while  in  the  act  of  rising  from 
his  bed,  his  cabin  door  forced  open  and  his 
wife  made  captive.  Joseph  Russell,  who 
with  his  wife  and  three  children  occupied  the 
fourth  cabin,  succeeded  in  making  his  escape, 
leaving  his  family  and  a mulatto  slave  girl 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  savages.  The 
escape  of  Betsey  Montgomery  probably  in- 
duced the  Indians  to  beat  a hurried  retreat, 
and  the  pursuer  of  the  little  girl  found  his 
companions  gone  on  his  return.  Mounting 
a log  in  front  of  the  cabin  of  William  Mont- 
gomery, Jr.,  he  began  signaling  his  com- 
rades by  a loud  halloo,  when  Montgomery, 
who  had  not  yet  ventured  to  open  his  door, 
sent  a fatal  shot  through  the  unsuspecting 
savage. 

The  arrival  of  the  messenger  from  Pettit’s 
Station  was  scarcely  announced  at  St. 
Asaph’s,  when  a blast  of  Logan’s  horn  spread 
the  alarm — a magical  note,  which  almost 
instamly  conjured  up  a company  of  twelve 
or  fifteen  fully  armed  frontiersmen.  The 


17G 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


ten  or  twelve  miles’  distance  to  the  scene  of 
the  attack  was  quickly  traversed,  and  taking 
the  trail,  which  was  rendered  plain  by  Mrs. 
Russell’s  shrewdness  in  breaking  twigs  and 
dropping  shreds  of  her  handkerchief  as  she 
Aveut,  the  Indians  were  soon  overtaken.  The 
whites  at  once  made  a tierce  onset,  the  In- 
dians leaving  their  prisoners  and  a wounded 
comrade  in  their  hasty  flight.  All  the  pris- 
oners were  I’ecovered  save  a little  daughter 
of  Mrs.  Russell;  on  hearing  the  voice  of  Lo- 
gan she  cried,  ‘‘There’s  Uncle  Ben,”  Avhere- 
upon  the  cruel  savage  that  had  her  in  charge 
struck  her  dead  with  his  tomahawk.  On  the 
march  the  rescuers  found  the  yellow  girl 
tomahawked,  scalped,  and  left  for  dead,  but 
on  hearing  friendly  voices,  she  sprang  to  her 
feet  and  eventirally  recovered. 

In  Apr.il,*  the  depredations  and  continued 
presence  of  the  Indians  created  a good  deal 
of  alarm  among  the  occupants  of  Squire 
Boone’s  Station  on  Clear  Ci’eek.  After  de- 
liberation it  was  decided  that  prudence 
demanded  the  removal  of  the  occupants  of 
that  station  to  the  protection  of  the  stronger 
forts  on  the  Beargrass.  Such  a movement, 
in  the  presence  of  an  enemy,  was  a hazard- 
ous undertaking,  and  the  event  proved  that 
the  lighting  force,  encumbered  with  the  care 
of  the  women  and  children,  beside  house- 
hold effects  and  cattle,  could  not  offer  the 
most  effective  resistance  to  the  savages. 
The  action  of  the  pioneers  did  not  escape 
the  observation  of  the  Indians,  who  allowed 
the  emigrants  to  reach  Long  Run,  when  they 
attacked  the  retreating  whites  with  an  over- 
whelming force,  dispersing  the  company 
Avith  great  loss  of  life  and  damage  of  proper- 
ty, Boone  being  among  the  severely  Avounded. 
Col.  Floyd,  gaining  intelligence  of  this 

^ See  Marshall,  Yol.  I.  p.  115.  Butler,  p.  115,  places  this  oc- 
currence in  Sejitemher,  and  refers  to  “Col. Floyd’s  letters,”  which 
were  in  manuscript.  In  ihe  absence  of  these  or  other  decid- 
ing data,  the  text  follows  Marshall  for  the  reasons  that  the  first 
historianof  Kentucky,  on  the  whole,  may  be  deemed  the  more 
reliable  in  the  matter  of  dates,  and  that  the  earlier  date  is 
better  supported  by  the  natural  presumption  in  the  case.  The 
presence  of  Clark  at  Louisville,  with  considerable  re-enforce- 
ments, and  the  means  adopted  by  him  to  guard  the  passage  of 
the  river,  as  well  as  the  absence  of  numerous  depred'a 
tioiis  or  any  other  spirited  attack  in  the  fail  of  ITSHsee  Mar- 
shall, Vol.  I,,  pp- 118-121)  discourage  the  belief  that  so  large  a 
body  of  savages  was  in  Kentucky  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year, 
while  the  events  which  occurred  in  the  spring,  not  only  warrant 
the  belief  in  the  presence  of  such  a body  of  the  enemy,  but  in- 
dependently suggest  it  The  savages  were  especially  bold  in  their 
attacks  m t he  region  of  the  fulls  at  this  time,  and  the  frequency 
of  their  cruel  exploits  would  naturally  give  rise  to  the  appre- 
hensions which  caused  the  removal  of  Boone. 


disaster,  hastily  summoned  a company  of 
twenty-flve  men  for  the  purpose  of  rescuing 
the  party  and  chastising  the  enemy,  but  he 
seems  to  have  greatly  under-estimated  the 
character  of  the  foe.  Although  approach- 
ing Avith  the  greatest  caution,  his  party  fell 
into  an  ambush,  and  though,  after  suffering 
fearful  losses,  he  made  a stubborn  stand,  he 
Avas  utterly  routed  by  the  savages,  whose 
overwhelming  numbers  emboldened  them  to 
charge  Avith  their  tomahawks.  Sixteen  of 
the  whites  fell  dead  or  mortally  Avounded, 
and  Col.  Floyd  himself,  dismounted  and 
worn  out  with  exertion,  only  escaped  from  a 
vigorous  pursuit  through  the  magnanimous 
gallantry  of  Capt.  Samuel  Wells,  with  whom 
Floyd  was  not  then  on  friendly  tei’ms. 
Henceforth,  “ they  lived  and  died  friends.” 

The  number  of  the  Indians  was  estimated 
at  200,  and  this  band  was  probably  the  cen- 
ter from  which  the  numberless  depredations 
of  this  period  were  directed.  After  the  en- 
gagement with  Floyd,  the  band  seems  to 
have  drifted  inland,  and  in  the  following 
month  Avith  a part  of  its  numbers  assailed 
McAfee’s  Station.  The  first  notice  that  the 
garrison  had  of  their  presence  was  on  the 
morning  of  the  9th  instant.  Samuel  McAfee 
and  a single  companion  set  out  from  the  station 
to  go  to  a held  lying  in  the  vicinity,  and  had 
gone  about  a fourth  of  a mile,-  when  they  were 
fired  on  by  a concealed  enemy.  His  compan- 
ion was  instantly  killed,  but  McAfee,  unin- 
jured, turned  quickly  about  and  ran  for  the 
fort.  A single  Indian  had  managed  to  get 
betAveeu  him  and  the  stockade,  and  now 
barred  his  progress  ; both  instinctively  raised 
their  guns,  and  both  pulled  the  trigger,  but 
the  Indian’s  weapon  “flashed”  scarcely  an  ~\ 
instant  before  McAfee’s  bullet  reached  his  j 
brain,  and,  springing  over  his  prostrate  foe,  | 
the  frontiersman  gained  the  fort.  j 

On  hearing  the  report  of  the  guns,  McAfee’s  i 
brothers  hurried  out  to  the  rescue,  but  met  | 
Samuel  just  as  he  had  cleared  his  foe. 
Robert  determined  to  take  a look  at  the  dead 
Indian,  though  warned  of  his  danger  and 
urgently  pressed  not  to  do  it.  On  satisfying 
his  curiosity,  he  turned  toward  the  station, 
only  to  find  himself  beset  by  five  or  six  of 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


177 


the  enemy,  who  had  gained  his  rear.  Rapid- 
ly dodging  from  one  tree  to  another,  he 
sought  to  flank  his  enemies  and  gain  the 
station,  and  did  succeed  by  his  maneuvers  in 
shaking  off  all  but  one  of  his  pursuers. 
Finding  himself  closely  px’essed  by  this  one, 
he  hastily  threw  himself  over  a fence  and 
turned  at  bay.  The  Indian  took  shelter 
behind  a tree,  but  presently  exposed  himself 
enough  for  McAfee  to  lodge  a bullet  in  his 
brain.  This  delay  had  given  time  for  others 
of  the  enemy  to  approach,  and,  turning  to 
continue  his  flight,  he  found  himself  con- 
fronted by  several  of  the  Indians.  Taking 
to  a tree,  he  prepared  to  try  conclusions  with 
the  new  foe,  when  bullets  from  another 
quarter  made  the  bark  fly  in  dangerous  prox- 
imity to  his  person.  He  therefore  dashed  out 
from  his  cover,  and  made  his  way  to  the 
the  stockade  gate,  followed  by  a dozen  bullets, 
none  of  which  touched  him. 

The  savages  now  regularly  invested  the 
station  and  for  two  hours  kept  up  a rapid 
fire  without  doing  any  damage.  The  garri- 
son replied  in  a spirited  manner,  the  women 
molding  the  bullets  which  the  men  dis- 
charged. After  killing  all  the  cattle  in  their 
reach  the  Indians  suddenly  retired,  probably 
warned  of  the  approach  of  re- enforcements 
from  Harrodsburg,  which  the  tiring  had 
called  out,  and  a little  later,  Maj.  McCrary, 
with  a strong  party,  came  up  at  a rapid  gal- 
lop. All  united  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy, 
who  was  swiftly  overtaken  and  a brisk  skir- 
mish had,  in  which  the  savages  were  routed 
with  considerable  loss.  The  whites  lost  in 
the  whole  series  of  encounters  two  killed  and 
one  mortally  wounded. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  which  chal- 
lenged Clark’s  attention  on  his  retm-n  to 
Louisville.  A formidable  foe  had  entered 
Kentucky,  and  for  months  had  committed 
numberless  depredations  with  comparative 
impunity.  Settlements  had  been  depopulated, 
a large  amount  of  property  had  been  de- 
stroyed, and  more  than  a hundred  persons 
killed  or  captured,  but  the  crowning  stroke 
of  the  campaign  was  yet  to  be  added. 

In  providing  for  his  western  expedition, 
Clark  used  every  effort  to  recruit  as  large  a 


part  of  his  force  in  the  east  as  possible,  and 
among  others  enlisted  the  influence  of  Col. 
Archibald  Laughrey,  the  county-lieutenant 
of  Westmoreland  County,  in  Pennsylvania. 
It  was  arranged  that  the  western  division 
should  rendezvous  at  Wheeling,  and  from 
thence  descend  to  Louisville.  Clark  reached 
this  point  with  a portion  of  his  force  in  July, 
but,  alarmed  by  the  wholesale  desertion  which 
began  to  deplete  his  ranks  in  spite  of  his 
watchfulness,  he  found  it  necessary  to  pro- 
ceed down  the  river  without  further  delay. 

The  Pennsylvania  contingent,  consisting  of 
something  more  than  100  men,  set  out  for 
Wheeling  under  the  command  of  Laughrey 
on  the  25th  of  July.  On  reaching  the  ap- 
pointed place  of  rendezvous,  it  was  learned 
that  the  main  body  had  only  recently  gone 
forward,  and  Capt.  Shannon,  with  four  men, 
was  hastened  after  the  army  with  a letter  to 
the  general,  conveying  the  information  that 
the  belated  detachment  was  on  the  way  and 
seriously  in  need  of  supplies.  This  mes- 
senger failed  to  overtake  Clark,  fell  into  an 
ambuscade,  and  was  captured  with  his  men. 
From  the  letter  Shannon  carried,  and  desert- 
ers, the  captors  learned  of  Laughrey’ s com- 
ing and  of  the  weakness  of  his  command,  and 
determined  to  overwhelm  it.  The  five  pris- 
oners were  conspicuously  placed  on  island 
No.  54,  since  known  as  Laughrey’s  Island, 
and  promised  their  lives  if  they  would  hail 
their  comrades  on  their  approach  and  induce 
them  to  surrender.  Fortunately  this  supreme 
test  of  their  heroism  was  spared  them.  Be- 
fore reaching  the  island,  the  boats  bearing 
the  detachment  were  landed  on  the  Kentucky 
shore,  and  arrangements  made  to  prepare  a 
meal  for  the  men,  while  the  horses  were 
landed  to  graze  sufficient  to  sustain  them 
until  Louisville  could  be  reached. 

The  point  chosen  for  this  purpose  was  an 
unhappy  selection.  A little  below,  a small 
creek  (Laughrey’s)  entered  the  Ohio  from  the 
right  side,  and  nearly  opposite  the  creek  a 
large  sand-bar,  which  the  low  stage  of  the 
water  left  bare,  stretched  itself  from  the 
Kentucky  shore  nearly  across  the  river.  At 
the  landing  the  boats  were  commanded  by 
overhanging  banks,  which  clothed  with  tim- 


178 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


ber  and  heavy  under-brush  afforded  the  great 
est  advantage  to  the  enemy.  The  Indians 
had  been  warned  by  their  scouts  of  the  ap- 
proach and  landing  of  the  whites,  and  in  the 
midst  of  their  preparations  the  volunteers 
were  assailed  by  a sudden  storm  of  bullets. 
Surprised,  but  not  demoralized,  the  militia 
made  a stout  resistance,  until  their  supply  of 
ammunition  was  exhausted,  when  they  re- 
treated to  their  boats.  Here  they  found  them- 
selves completely  entrapped;  the  sluggish  cur- 
rent moved  them  but  slowly,  and  a large  body 
of  savages,  rushing  out  upon  the  bar,  poured  a 
murderous  fire  into  their  crowded  and  unpro- 
tected ranks.  Caught  thus  between  the  fire 
from  bank  and  bar,  escape  was  out  of  the 
question,  and  the  survivors  were  compelled 
to  surrender.  The  savage  victors,  mad  with 
success,  fell  upon  their  defenseless  prisoners 
and  bid  fair  to  exterminate  the  whites,  when 
a more  sagacious  chief  put  a stop  to  the  mas- 
sacre. Forty- two  of  the  whites  were  killed 
and  sixty- four  were  taken  prisoners,  the 
greater  number  of  whom  were  ransomed  by 
the  British  and  exchanged  two  years  later. 

On  the  heels  of  this  disaster  came  an  urgent 
appeal  for  help  from  Fort  Jefferson.  The 
Chickasaws,  dissatisfied  with  the  result  of 
their  predatory  attacks,  determined  by  one 
overwhelming  assault  to  abate  this  menacing 
fortress.  A force  of  1,200  warriors  was  as- 
sembled under  the  command  of  a Scotchman, 
named  Colbert,  whose  half-breed  descendants 
succeeded  to  the  chieftaincy  of  the  nation. 
Small  bands  anticipated  the  approach  of 
the  main  body,  and  ravaged  the  region  about 
the  post  with  fire-brand  and  tomahawk,  until 
nothing  was  left  upon  which  the  occupants  of 
the  fort  could  draw  for  their  support.  The 
garrison  was  in  a perilous  condition ; sickness 
and  absences  had  reduced  the  number  of  de- 
fenders to  about  thirty  men,  of  whom  two- 
thirds  were  ill  with  the  ague.  Ammunition 
was  scarce,  and  all  supplies  outside  of  the 
fort  being  destroyed,  the  people  were  re- 
duced to  the  verge  of  starvation.  In  this 
predicament,  messengers  were  dispatched  to 
Louisville  for  help,  and  preparations  were 
made  to  hold  out  until  assistance  should 
come. 


In  their  raids  about  the  fort,  the  Indians 
had  captured  one  of  the  settlers,  upon  whose 
fears  they  had  wrought  so  well  as  to  draw 
from  him  a true  account  of  the  garrison’s  sit- 
uation. The  main  body  thereupon  advanced 
upon  the  post  and  demanded  its  immediate 
surrender.  A parley  ensued  in  which  Col- 
bert declared  that  the  weakness  of  the  garri- 
son was  well  known,  that  the  hope  of  succor 
was  vain,  as  a large  force  had  been  sent  to 
intercept  its  approach;  that  the  whites  could 
not  hope  to  withstand  the  overwhelming  force 
ready  to  be  brought  against  them,  and  that 
he  would  protect  the  lives  of  the  prisoners, 
save  certain  ones  whom  the  savages  had  de- 
termined to  butcher.  Without  discussing  his 
statements,  the  whites  only  agreed  that  if 
the  Indians  would  retire,  they  would  soon 
abandon  the  fort  and  leave  the  country.  This 
proposition  Colbert  agreed  to  submit  to  the 
chiefs,  but  when  in  the  act  of  retiring  from 
the  conference  he  was  fired  on  and  wounded 
by  an  occupant  of  the  fort,  whose  entire  fami- 
ly had  recently  been  murdered  by  the  savage 
marauders. 

This  put  an  end  to  treaty  making,  and  a 
fierce  attack  was  begun.  For  three  days  and 
nights,  the  assailants  exhausted  every  device 
to  gain  possession  of  the  stockade.  Fortun- 
ately it  was  well  armed  with  cannon,  which, 
loaded  with  bullets,  and  discharged  at  close 
range,  made  terrible  havoc  among  the  sav- 
ages. Several  attempts  to  surprise  or  fire  the 
fort  nearly  succeeded,  and  several  bold  as- 
saults were  with  dilBulty  repelled  with  the 
aid  of  the  cannon.  There  was  no  food  and 
even  the  water  in  the  wells  began  to  fail, 
when  the  welcome  succor  arrived.  The  band 
sent  to  waylay  it  had  struck  the  river  too 
high  up,  and  thus  the  despairing  garrison  was 
permitted  once  more  to  hope.  The  whites, 
thus  relieved  and  re-enforced,  easily  repulsed 
their  assailants,  who  were  finally  forced  to 
retire  with  great  loss.  The  garrison  only 
suffered  a few  wounds,  but  the  isolated  loca- 
tion of  the  fort  made  it  difficult  to  support, 
and  it  was  speedily  abandoned,  most  of  its 
occupants  going  to  Kaskaskia,  and  forming 
some  of  the  earliest  American  settlements  in 
Illinois. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


179 


This  series  of  untoward  events  constituted 
a sum  of  discouragement  which  might  well 
have  checked  the  ambition  of  a far  more  de- 
termined man  than  Clark.  A foreign  expedi- 
tion was  obviously  out  of  the  question,  and 
the  newly  commissioned  general  found  him- 
self compelled  to  act  upon  the  defensive. 
That  he  performed  this  duty  with  his  usual 
success  reflects  no  less  credit  upon  his  genius 
than  the  prosecution  of  the  far-reaching  plans 
which  prompted  his  preparations  in  the  early 
part  of  the  year  would  have  done.  The  lat- 
ter achievement  would  have  doubtless  yielded 
him  greater  renown,  but  the  result  of  his 
efforts  in  the  more  restricted  field  demon- 
strated that  his  success  depended  less  upon 
happy  strokes  of  fortune  than  upon  the  solid 
resources  of  his  own  ability. 

Under  his  direction  a stronger  stockade  was 
built  at  Louisville,  spies  and  scouting  par- 
ties, who  reported  directly  to  him,  were  scat- 
tered all  along  the  border,  and  a galley,  well 
armed  with  cannon,  patrolled  the  river  from 
the  falls  to  the  mouth  of  the  Licking.  The 
latter  device  proved  a most  effective  means 
of  protection,  and  Clark  had  the  satisfaction  of 
the  general  belief  that  it  was  instrumental  in 
averting,  at  least,  one  formidable  raid.  Other 
precautions  were  maintained  so  long  as  Clark 
remained  in  command,  but  the  great  aversion 
of  the  militia  to  performing  the  labor  of  row- 
ing this  galley,  and  the  gradual  decrease  of  the 
Z’egular  troops,  obliged  him  to  give  up  this 
river  defense  before  the  end  of  the  year. 
However,  so  effective  had  been  his  measui’es 
that  after  the  siege  of  Fort  Jefferson,  “the 
Indians  were  but  seldom  heard  of,”  and  the 
settlers,  blessed  with  abundant  crops  and 
freedom  from  warlike  pursuits,  began  to  com- 
plain because  the  absence  of  the  surveyors  of 
two  of  the  counties  prevented  their  locating 
lands. 

The  savages  having  glutted  their  ven- 
geance for  the  time,  and  finding  their  adver- 
sary on  the  alert  and  prepared  to  inflict  swift 
punishment  upon  such  as  should  venture 
across  the  river,  gave  up  further  hostilities 
for  this  year’,  but  neither  party  counted  the 
victory  won.  Encouraged  by  their  successes, 
the  Shawanese  sent  their  runners  far  and 


near  to  invoke  the  aid  of  the  other  tribes  in 
a contest  which  involved  the  fate  of  all. 
Clark,  in  the  meantime,  was  not  less  active; 
he  did  not  rest  on  the  precautions  already 
taken,  and  it  is  probable  that,  even  in  the 
face  of  discouragements  he  had  hitherto  met, 
he  still  cherished  the  hope  that  the  way 
would  be  opened  to  the  achievement  of  his 
darling  enterprise.  The  first  step  toward 
such  a consummation  was  evidently  to  place 
his  base  of  operations  beyond  the  danger  of 
successful  attack,  and  to  this  end  he  planned, 
and  had  erected  at  Louisville,  the  most  for- 
midable fortification  in  Kentucky. 

This  structure,  named  Fort  Nelson,  in 
honor  of  the  third  governor  of  Virginia,  was 
probably  begun  in  the  fall  of  1781,  and  in- 
closed about  an  acre  of  ground.  It  was  con- 
structed on  the  “second  bank”  of  the  river, 
between  the  lines  now  marked  by  Sixth  and 
Eighth  Streets.  The  work  consisted  of  con- 
tinuous log  pens,  filled  with  earth  thrown 
out  of  an  exterior  ditch,  and  upon  this  foun- 
dation palisades,  ten  feet  high,  were  erected. 
At  the  foot  of  this  barrier,  a ditch,  eight  feet 
wide  and  ten  feet  deep,  with  a row  of  blunt 
pickets  along  its  middle  line,  was  constructed 
on  three  sides,  the  pickets,  with  the  slope  of 
the  bank,  being  considered  sufficient  protec- 
tion on  the  side  of  the  river.  The  gate  was 
placed  opposite  Clark’s  headquarters,  about 
on  the  line  where  Seventh  Street  approaches 
the  river.  The  armament  consisted  of  several 
small  cannon  placed  in  the  bastions,  and  “a 
double  fortified  six  pounder,”  which  had 
been  captured  at  Vincennes,  and  which  con- 
stituted the  field  artillery  employed  by  the 
general  on  several  of  his  expeditions.  Thus 
prepared,  he  awaited  the  opening  of  the 
new  campaign. 

The  winter  passed  with  such  absence  of 
hostilities  as  to  encourage  the  more  sanguine 
of  the  settlers  to  hope  that  the  Indians  had 
yielded  the  struggle,  but  such  hopes  were 
destined  to  be  rudely  dispelled.  The  usual 
predatory  bands  of  savages  were  again  seen 
or  heard  of  among  the  settlements  early  in 
the  spring.  Frequent  reports  of  cattle  killed, 
hunters  waylaid,  travelers  attacked,  and 
horses  stolen,  came  from  all  directions. 


180 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Early  in  March  a band  fired  on  Strode’s  Sta- 
tion, killing  two  men,  and  immediately  re- 
tired; soon  after  this  attack,  the  Indians  fell 
upon  the  occupants  of  a new  station*  west 
of  the  Kentucky  River,  and  about  the  same 
time  killed  and  scalped  a young  woman  in 
sight  of  Estill’s  Fortf  a little  farther  west. 
At  the  last  named  station  the  savages  cap 
tured  a negro,  whose  plausible  but  exagger- 
ated story  of  the  strength  of  the  garrison 
caused  the  marauders  to  beat  a hasty  retreat. 

Warning  of  this  raid  was  conveyed  to  the 
garrison  at  Boonesborough  on  March  19, 
1782,  when  an  abandoned  Indian  raft  was 
observed  floating  down  the  river.  This  was 
a pretty  sure  indication  that  the  enemy  had 
crossed  the  Kentucky  farther  up  the  stream 
and  that  they  might  be  expected  to  commit 
depredations  in  the  rear  of  the  settlements. 
This  intelligence  was  immediately  sent  to 
Estill’s  "^Station,  and  to  Col.  Logan,  who  bore 
command  in  this  region.  The  latter  took 
prompt  measures  to  avert  the  threatened 
danger.  Sending  fifteen  mentoCapt.  Estill, 
he  directed  that  officer  to  increase  the  force 
to  forty  men,  and  with  this  company  to  dis- 
cover and  drive  out  the  enemy.  It  was  when 
this  duty  had  stripped  the  station  of  every 
2nan,  except  one  who  was  sick,  that  the  In- 
dians made  their  attack,  and  were  induced 
to  retreat  by  the  loyal  sagacity  of  the  cap- 
tured negro.  On  the  departure  of  the  sav- 
ages, the  women  sent  two  boys  to  bear  the 
information  to  the  scouting  party,  which  was 
found  by  the  messengers  on  the  morning  of 
the  21st  instant,  in  what  is  now  the  north- 
east corner  of  the  limits  of  Madison  County. 

The  intelligence  brought  by  the  boys  de- 
termined the  party  to  proceed  in  immediate 
pursuit,  though  five  of  the  number,  who  had 
families  in  the  station,  becoming  alarmed  for 
their  safety  in  their  defenseless  condition, 
turned  back.  Crossing  the  river,  the  rest 
soon  struck  the  trail  of  the  retreating 
savages,  and  on  the  22d,  after  leaving  be- 
hind ten  of  their  number,  whose  jaded 
animals  prevented  their  making  a rapid 

*Appendix  A,  Note  12. 

fTliis  station  was  founded  by  Capt.  .Tames  Estill,  probably 
about  17S0.  It  was  situated  nearly  four  miles  southwest  from 
the  present  site  of  Eichmond,  in  Madison  County. 


march,  the  pursuers  came  upon  the  enemy 
two  miles  below  Little  Mountain,  the  jrresent 
site  of  Mount  Sterling.  The  whites  by  suc- 
cessive detachments  had  been  reduced  in 
numbers  to  twenty-five  men,  but  each  one 
was  a thorough  woodsman  and  skillful 
marksman.  Marching  in  four  lines  they  at 
length  discovered  six  Indians  at  a little  dis- 
tance, “preparing  rations  from  the  body  of  a 
buffalo,”  at  whom  Capt.  Estill  discharged 
his  rifle  with  such  effect  as  to  put  them  to 
flight.  Another  of  the  pursuing  party, 
pressing  forward  some  distance  in  advance, 
fired  at  a warrior,  who  halted  for  a moment, 
and  just  as  he  discharged  his  weapon,  an- 
other Indian,  passing  between  him  and  the 
object  of  his  aim,  received  the  bullet,  which, 
passing  through  him,  proved  fatal  to  them 
both.  This  effective  shot,  witnessed  by  the 
whole  company,  was  accepted  as  a happy 
omen  of  success,  and  raised  the  spirits  of 
the  whites  to  a point  of  enthusiasm. 

“The  battle  began  at  a buffalo  crossing  on 
Small  Mountain  Creek,  a branch  of  Hink- 
ston,  in  a bend  of  the  creek,  where  a small 
branch  put  in  on  the  east  side,  and  was 
fought  principally  between  that  and  the 
branoh  next  below.”  The  Indians  had  just 
crossed  the  creek,  and  were  ascending  the 
farther  slope  as  the  whites  descended  the 
other.  The  locality  was  well  adapted  to 
the  usual  form  of  Indian  warfare,  the 
stream  having  formed  a pleasant  glade, 
flanked  on  both  sides  by  a heavy  growth  of 
timber,  free  from  the  ordinary  dense  under- 
brush. But  the  savages  were  still  disposed 
to  retreat,  when  their  leader,  disabled  by  a 
chance  shot,  called  on  his  followers  to  dis- 
pute the  passage  of  the  creek.  The  casual- 
ties suffered  by  the  Indians  had  reduced 
their  effective  number  to  twenty-five,  and 
now,  “every  man  to  his  man,  and  each  to  his 
tree,”  the  terrible  contest  began,  with  the 
combatants  not  over  sixty  yards  apart. 

“Never  was  a battle  moj-e  like  single  com- 
bat, since  the  use  of  firearms;  each  man 
sought  his  man,  and  fired  only  when  he  saw 
his  mark;  wounds  and  death  were  inflicted 
on  either  side,  neither  advancing  nor  retreat- 
ing. The  firing  was  deliberate;  with  caution 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


181 


they  looked,  but  look  they  would  for  the  foe, 
although  life  itself  was  often  the  forfeit. 
And  thus  both  sides  firmly  stood,  or  bravely 
fell,  for  more  than  one  hour;  upward  of  one- 
fourth  of  the  combatants  had  fallen,  never 
more  to  rise,  and  several  others  were 
wounded.  Never,  probably,  was  the  native 
bravery  or  collected  fortitude  of  men  put  to 
a test  more  severe.  In  the  clangor  of  an 
ardent  battle,  when  death  is  forgotten,  it  is 
nothiner  for  the  brave  to  die — when  even 
cowards  die  like  brave  men — but  in  the  cool 
and  lingering  expectation  of  death,  none  but 
the  man  of  true  courage  can  stand.  Such 
were  those  engaged  in  this  conflict.” 
(Marshall.) 

Thus  far  the  results  of  the  combat  had 
left  the  situation  practically  unchanged. 
Neither  party  could  advance  or  retreat  with- 
out fatal  peril,  but  in  this  form  of  combat 
the  advantage  was  likely  to  turn  in  favor  of 
the  Indians,  for,  though  less  expert  as  marks- 
men, they  were  more  skillful  than  the  whites 
in  sheltering  their  persons  behind  a tree. 
This  was  a theory  generally  accepted  by  the 
frontiersman,  and  success  in  a pitched  battle 
with  the  savages  was  gained  by  the  whites 
generally  by  a successful  turning  of  their 
adversaries’  flank.  Comprehending,  there- 
fore, that  a long  continuance  of  the  contest 
must  insure  his  defeat  or  at  best  give  him  a 
victory  too  dearly  purchased,  Estill  sought 
an  opportunity  to  effect  the  usual  maneuver. 
A little  valley,  flanking  and  extending  to  the 
rear  of  the  Indians’  position,  suggested  the 
feasibility  of  such  a movement,  though  only 
at  great  hazard,  as  by  weakening  the  force  in 
front  the  enemy  might  gain  the  advantage 
which  the  whites  sought.  However,  the 
commander  determined  upon  the  attempt. 
Detaching  Lieut.  William  Miller  with  six 
men,  he  directed  him  to  gain  the  rear  of  the 
savages,  while  their  absence  from  the  line 
was  disguised  by  an  extension  of  the  dimin- 
ished force  which  remained. 

This  movement  was  the  beginning  of  the 
end.  Miller,  no  longer  supported  by  the 
calm  confidence  of  his  superior  officer,  be- 
came panic-stricken  and  deserted  the  field. 
The  savages  were  not  Jong  deceived  by  the 


show  of  strength  in  their  front  and  soon  com- 
pelled a portion  of  the  opposing  line  to  re- 
treat to  a more  advantageous  position.  In 
effecting  this  retrograde  movement,  the 
whites  unfortunately  exposed  themselves,  and 
several  fell  victims  to  the  unerring  rifles  of 
their  foes.  At  this  juncture  one  of  Estill’s 
warm  personal  friends  received  a wound  in 
the  head,  which,  instead  of  prostrating  him, 
crazed  his  brain,  and,  unconscious  of  his 
danger,  he  began  to  stagger  in  the  space 
which  still  separated  the  two  lines.  A power- 
ful savage,  whose  gun  had  just  been  dis- 
charged, sprang  forward  with  his  tomahawk 
to  dispatch  the  unfortunate  man,  when  Estill, 
observing  the  danger  of  his  friend,  and  his 
gun  also  being  unloaded,  rushed  forward 
knife  in  hand  to  defend  or  avenge  him.  The 
able-bodied  combatants  immediately  grappled, 
and  were  so  evenly  matched  that  neither  for 
a time  could  use  his  weapon.  Their  rapid 
movements  in  the  meanwhile  protected  both 
from  the  ready  rifles  on  either  side,  until  Es- 
till’s arm,  which  had  been  shattered  by  a 
wound  four  months  before,  suddenly  gave 
way,  and  the  savage  sealed  his  victory  with  a 
fatal  plunge  of  his  knife  into  his  antagonist’s 
breast.  Scarcely  had  his  yell  of  triumph 
told  the  result  of  the  struggle,  when  a bullet 
from  one  of  the  whites  stretched  him  dead 
upon  the  body  of  his  victim. 

The  death  of  one  more  of  the  whites  closed 
the  battle.  Both  leaders  were  now  dead. 
The  voice  of  the  Indian  chief  which  had  an- 
imated his  followers  was  no  longer  heard, 
and  the  whites,  weakened  by  wounds  and  de- 
sertion, withdrew  from  the  contest,  leavinar 
the  savages  too  severely  punished  to  pursue. 
Seven  whites  were  left  dead  upon  the  field, 
and  three  were  carried  off  severely  wounded. 
The  contest,  in  fact,  was  a drawn  battle,  Imt 
the  fact  that  the  whites  left  their  dead  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy  has  given  it  the  name  of 
“Estill’s  defeat,”  * and  such  was  the  charac- 
ter of  the  depressing  effect  which  it  produced 
upon  the  frontiersmen.  In  this  contest  the 
savage  displayed  a determined  courage  and 
fortitude  which  were  new  to  the  borderers, 
and  the  even  balance  in  which  the  battle 

* Appendix  A,  Note  I3 


182 


IILSTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


hung  so  long  as  the  forces  remained  equal 
threatened  to  dispel  forever  the  bold  assump- 
tion of  superiority  of  the  white  man.  If  the 
settlers  could  no  longer  successfully  contend 
against  th<^  numerical  superiority  of  the  In- 
dians, then  the  final  extinction  of  the  fron- 
tier settlements  was  a foregone  conclusion. 
The  frontiersmen,  however,  were  not  of  a 
character  to  yield  to  such  an  abstract  conclu- 
sion unaided  by  the  logic  of  events,  but  it  is 
unquestionably  true  that  the  uncertain  future 
was  faced  with  silent  forebodings  that 
greatly  modified  the  audacious  courage  of  the 
pioneers. 

Events  which  closely  followed  the  “ defeat” 
only  confirmed  the  general  impression.  The 
savages  seemed  inspired  with  a new  boldness; 
creeping  into  the  very  shadows  of  the  sta- 
tions, they  would  suddenly  assault  the  unsus- 
pecting pioneer,  kill  and  scalp  him  before 
the  surprised  gaze  of  his  companions,  and, 
escaping  with  the  bloody  trophy,  would  in- 
stantly be  lost  in  the  mazes  of  the  surround- 
ing wood.  The  next  attack  would  fall  upon 
some  distant  point,  and  often,  while  commis- 
erating the  misfortunes  of  some  remote  sta- 
tion, the  startled  jtioneer  would  be  confronted 
with  death  at  bis  own  door.  Occasionally 
the  savage  paid  the  penalty  of  his  temerity 
with  his  own  life,  but  this  was  too  infrequent 
to  relieve  the  fear  of  the  settlers  or  discour- 
age the  Indians.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
summer,  these  depredations  suddenly  ceased 
and  the  months  of  June  and  July  were 
passed  in  such  quietude  that  the  people  be- 
gan to  hope  the  worst  was  passed.  But  this 
was  only  the  final  precursor  of  the  storm  of 
war  that  was  about  to  fall  upon  the  border. 

The  Shawanese  had  been  unusually  active 
in  preparing  for  the  new  campaign.  Their 
runners  had  visited  all  the  western  tribes  be- 
tween the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  and  Cher- 
okees,  Wyandottes,  Tawas  and  Pottawatomies, 
besides  a detachment  of  Canadians  and  the 
Shawanese,  were z’epresented  in  the  grand  as- 
semblage of  warriors  which  had  been  con- 
vened at  old  Chillicothe  to  take  part  in  the 
gi’and  expedition  that  was  designed  to  break 
the  power  of  the  whites  in  Kentucky.  To 
this  gathering,  even  the  outlying  scouts  were 


i called,  and  thus  the  stations  experienced  the 
lull  of  battle  which  precedes  the  furious 
I charge.  The  assembled  savages,  already 
j eager  for  the  fray,  were  excited  to  the  pitch 
I of  madness  by  the  artful  harangue  of  the  no- 
torious Girty,  when  the  chiefs  led  out  their 
followers  to  the  number  of  about  500  men, 
with  the  renegade  as  commander-in-chief. 
Of  all  this  preparation  the  settlers  seemed 
profoundly  ignorant,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
hostile  horde-  was  at  their  doors  that  the 
Kentuckians  became  aware  of  the  terrible 
danger  that  threatened. 

The  first  renewal  of  hostilities  occurred  on 
the  10th  of  August,  when  an  advance  party 
committed  depredations  at  Hoy’s  Station,* 
and  retired,  taking  with  them  two  boys  as 
prisoners.  The  alarm  was  given  out,  and 
Capt.  John  Holder,  from  his  station  on  the 
Kentucky,  two  miles  below  Boonesboro,  set 
forth  in  pursuit  of  the  marauders,  recruiting 
his  party,  as  he  passed  McGee’s  and  Strode’ s 
Stations,  to  the  number  of  seventeen.  The 
Indians  were  overtaken  near  the  Upper  Blue 
Lick,  and  though  greatly  superior  in  num- 
bers, the  whites  boldly  attacked  them.  There 
was  little  hope  of  success,  and  after  a short 
engagement,  finding  the  enemy  was  about  to 
! overpower  his  little  company.  Holder  gave 
orders  for  a retreat,  which  was  successfully 
accomplished  after  losing  four  men  killed  or 
wounded. 

After  the  destruction  of  Ruddle’s  and 
Martin’s  Stations  in  1780,  Bryan’s  occupied 
the  advance  line  on  the  frontier,  and  it  was 
asrainst  this  station  that  the  Indian  host  was 
led.  Intelligence  of  Holder’s  discomfiture 
was  brought  hither  late  on  the  16th  instant, 
and  the  rest  of  the  day,  with  the  greater 
part  of  the  night,  was  spent  by  the  garrison 
in  fitting  out  the  fighting  force  to  go  to  the 
relief  of  the  endangered  settlement.  Amid 
the  bustle  of  this  preparation,!  the  savages  si- 
lently surrounded  the  fort  with  the  intention 
of  assaulting  it  when  the  inhabitants  were 
asleep,  but  disconcerted  by  the  unwonted  ac- 
tivity of  the  settlers,  which  was  manifest  at 

*This  statiou  was  erected  in  Madison  County,  about  400 
yards  southwest  of  Foxtown,  in  the  spring  of  1781,  by  William 
Hoy. 

fAppendix  A,  Note  14. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


183 


a distance,  the  enemy  changed  his  plans  and 
decided  to  make  a regular  attack  in  the  morn- 
ing. Their  preparations  completed,  the 
whites  took  advantage  of  the  few  remaining 
hours  to  gain  some  refreshment  in  sleep,  but 
at  early  dawn  the  whole  force  was  under  arms, 
and  the  gates  thrown  open  to  permit  their 
egress.  The  Indians,  utterly  misapprehend- 
ing the  movement,  greeted  the  first  advance  of 
the  troops  with  a storm  of  bullets  and  war- 
cries,  which  revealed  to  the  astonished  whites 
that  the  enemy  they  sought  was  before  their 
wails.  The  gates  were  quickly  closed,  and, 
rushing  to  the  port-holes,  the  garrison  ob- 
served about  100  of  the  savages  plainly  ex- 
posed to  view,  firing  and  yelling,  and  ex- 
pressing their  defiance  in  violent  gestures. 

The  fort  consisted  of  some  forty  cabins  dis- 
posed in  parallel  lines  and  joined  at  the  ends 
by  palisades.  It  was  situated  on  a gently 
rising  bank  on  the  south  side  of  the  Elkhorn, 
a few  yards  to  the  right  of  the  Maysville  and 
Lexington  road.  The  station  was  ill-prepared 
to  withstand  a siege;  the  palisades  had  been 
allowed  to  get  out  of  repair,  and  the  small 
supply  of  water  within  threatened  a greater 
danger  than  the  foe  without.  The  walls  were 
readily  patched,  but  the  lack  of  water,  which 
was  obtained  from  a spring  situated  some  dis- 
tance from  the  fort,  was  more  difficult  to  rem- 
edy. The  more  experienced  of  the  garrison 
were  not  deceived  by  the  antics  of  the  savages. 
They  correctly  divined  that  the  object  of  the 
Indians  was  to  draw  the  main  body  of  the 
whites  in  pursuit  of  those  who  were  feigning 
an  attack,  when  the  principal  force  of  the 
assailants,  concealed  on  the  other  side,  would 
master  the  walls  thus  left  undefended.  The 
gan’ison  was  not  at  a loss  how  to  deal  with 
this  attack,  but  the  first  duty  was  to  place  the 
fort,  so  far  as  possible,  in  condition  to  success- 
fully sustain  a siege,  and  to  that  end  secure 
a supply  of  water  before  active  hostilities 
made  it  impossible. 

The  spring  was  near  a large  thicket,  in 
which  it  was  certain  the  main  body  of  the 
enemy  was  concealed.  Nevertheless,  it  was 
believed  that  if  the  women  were  to  go  with 
their  pails  and  bring  the  water  as  was  their 
custom,  they  would  be  allowed  to  do  so  un- 


molested, as  the  Indians  would  believe  from 
this  bold  adherence  to  the  ordinary  procedure 
that  their  ambush  was  undiscovered,  and 
therefore  would  not  hazard  the  complete  suc- 
cess of  their  plans  by  reveal  i ng  their  presence 
in  a premature  attack.  This  was  sound  rea- 
soning, but  it  required  a bold  resolution  and 
most  determined  courage  on  the  part  of  the 
women  to  effect  the  movement  with  success. 

The  women  of  the  station  were  summoned 
and  the  proposition  stated.  There  was  some 
natural  demur  in  acceding  to  a plan  which 
necessitated  such  reckless  exposure  of  non- 
combatants  to  the  mercy  of  an  enemy  who 
regarded  neither  age  nor  sex  in  his  warfare, 
but  the  matrons  of  the  settlement,  confirming 
the  judgment  of  their  husbands,  the  whole 
body  determined  to  dare  much  in  a cause 
which  involved  the  fate  of  all.  The  fancy 
can  scarcely  picture  a more  heroic  scene  in  the 
whole  range  of  border  experience  than  this 
utterly  defenseless  company  of  women,  led  by 
those  whose  lives  on  the  frontier  had  taught 
them  rightly  to  appreciate  the  barbarities  of 
savage  warfare,  marching  out  of  the  stockade 
gates;  and  one  is  at  a loss  which  to  pity  most 
in  this  trying  ordeal,  the  brave  women  with 
a show  of  equanimity  facing  the  lurking  hor- 
rors of  an  uncertain  fate,  or  the  equally  brave 
men,  as  from  the  port  holes  they  watched  the 
progress  of  those  whose  every  forward  step 
strained  the  cracking  heart-strings  to  an 
anguish  that,  however  intense,  must  make  no 
sign.  The  whole  journey  to  and  from  the 
spring  was  made  with  the  most  decorous  de- 
liberation, the  young  and  timid  gaining  con- 
fidence from  the  steadiness  of  their  elders. 
Fortunately  the  event  justified  the  judgment 
which  planned  the  undertaking,  and  the  sup- 
ply of  water  thus  secured,  the  men  at  once 
turned  to  their  part  of  the  work.* 

Thirteen  young  men  were  then  sent  out  to 
attack  the  savages,  who  had  kept  Tip  their 
noisy  demonstrations  in  the  meantime.  The 
sallying  party  was  directed  to  fire  rapidly  in 
order  to  convey  to  the  ambushed  enemy  an 

*It  may  rob  this  incident  of  some  of  its  heroism  to  allo^ 
that  the  danger  of  the  exploit  has  been  exaggerated  in  the  gen- 
erally accepted  accounts,  but  the  author  of  ‘•Annals  of  the 
West,”  in  a f^oot  note,  says:  “We  have  it  on  the  best  authority, 
however,  that  Simon  Kenton  said  this  was  all  romance;  by  his 
account  there  was  a covered  way  to  the  spring.”  Annals  of  the 
West,  p.  250. 


184 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


exaggerated  impression  of  the  number  of  the 
whites  engaged,  but  to  discontinue  the  pur- 
suit as  soon  as  the  main  body  of  the  Indians 
attacked  the  fort.  On  hearing  the  heavy  fir- 
ing of  the  gandson’s  detachment  recede  in  the 
distance,  confident  that  their  ruse  had  suc- 
ceeded, some  300  or  400  savages,  with  fero- 
cious yells,  rushed  from  their  cover  to  assault 
what  appeared  the  abandoned  walls.  Some 
reached  the  cabins  and  fired  them  with  their 
lighted  torches,  others  reached  the  pickets 
with  the  intention  of  hewing  their  way  into 
the  inclosure,  but  the  great  mass  of  the  as- 
sailants fell  back  in  utter  astonishment 
before  the  deadly  volley  that  did  frightful 
execution  on  the  crowd  of  unprotected 
warriors.  In  two  minutes,  not  an  Indian 
was  to  be  seen.  The  wind  being  favorable  to 
the  whites,  the  flames  did  but  little  damage, 
and  were  soon  extinguished,  and  the  young 
men  returning  in  safety  to  the  fort,  both  as- 
sailants and  assailed  settled  to  the  duties  in- 
volved in  a regular  attack.  Thus  matters 
progressed  until  about  2 o’clock  in  the  after- 
noon, when  re- enforcements  arrived. 

On  the  first  intimation  of  danger,  two  of 
the  garrison,  well  mounted,  had  broken 
through  the  Indian  line  and  hastened  to 
Lexington  to  secure  assistance.  Arriving  at 
this  station  aboiit  sunrise,  they  found  it  oc- 
cupied only  by  women  and  children,  the  rest 
having  gone  to  the  aid  of  Hoy’s  Station, 
which  was  supposed  to  be  in  danger.  The 
messengers  pushed  on  and  overtook  this 
party,  which  had  been  joined  by  some  volun- 
teers from  Boonesborough.  The  situation  of 
Bryan’s  Station  was  soon  told,  when  the 
whole  force,  consisting  of  sixteen  horsemen 
and  about  twice  as  many  footmen,  turned 
back  and  marched  to  the  relief  of  the  beleag- 
ured  fort.  The  messengers  had  left  before 
the  full  strength  of  the  enemy  was  known, 
and  the  firing  having  temporarily  ceased  the 
re-enforcing  party  boldly  approached  the  sta- 
tion. The  horsemen,  taking  the  usual  route, 
rode  rapidly  along  a narrow  lane,  on  both 
sides  of  which  the  Indians  had  disposed 
themselves  to  receive  them.  The  horsemen 
were  within  a few  feet  of  the  enemy,  until 
then  undiscovered,  when  they  received  a ter- 


rific fire  from  both  sides.  Fortunately  the 
motion  of  the  riders  as  well  as  the  clouds  of 
dust  raised  by  the  horses  so  protected  man 
and  beast  that  neither  received  a wound. 

The  footmen  did  not  fare  so  well;  they 
were  approaching  the  fort  through  a corn- 
field some  distance  from  the  position  of  the 
savages  when  the  firing  began.  Anxious  to 
aid  their  comrades,  and  heedless  of  the  indica- 
tions which  pointed  out  the  greatly  superior 
numbers  of  the  enemy,  the  footmen  rushed 
to  the  attack  only  to  find  themselves  sud- 
denly cut  off  from  the  fort,  and  in  the  midst 
of  an  overwhelming  force.  The  savages  had 
not  had  opportunity  to  reload  their  guns,  and 
turned  upon  the  footmen  with  the  tomahawk. 
The  whites  were  still  in  the  corn,  which  with 
their  loaded  rifles  alone  saved  them  from  an- 
nihilation. Reserving  their  fire  the  foot- 
men retreated  toward  Lexington  as  oppor- 
tunity offered,  while  the  savages,  careful  not 
to  precipitate  themselves  upon  the  threaten- 
ing rifles  of  their  enemy,  were  greatly  ham- 
pered in  their  pursuit  by  the  tall  corn.  Al- 
though this  outside  skirmish  continued  for 
an  houi’  or  more  before  the  Indians  gave  up 
the  chase,  the  whites  lost  only  six  men  killed 
or  wounded. 

The  attack  upon  the  fort  was  renewed,  but 
the  events  of  the  day  had  not  been  such 
as  to  assure  the  assailants  of  final  success. 
The  chiefs  were  manifesting  a disposition  to 
abandon  the  enterprise,  and  about  sunset, 
the  fire  slackening  on  both  sides,  Grirty  de- 
termined to  try  the  effect  of  negotiation. 
Approaching  the  station  in  the  shelter  of  a 
stump,  he  hailed  the  garrison  and  demanded 
the  surrender  of  the  place  under  the  pretense 
of  a desire  to  prevent  the  further  effusion  of 
blood.  He  declared  resistance  was  useless; 
that  he  expected  soon  to  be  in  possession  of 
cannon,  when  the  destruction  of  the  defenses 
and  the  massacre  of  the  defenders  would 
inevitably  follow.  While  the  settlers  knew 
Girty  and  the  general  unreliability  of  all  he 
said,  the  fate  of  Ruddle’s  and  Martin’s  Sta- 
tions was  fresh  in  their  minds,  and  the  effect 
of  Girty’s  address  was  such  as  to  make  many 
falter.  Before  there  was  any  opportunity 
to  make  any  expression  of  faint-hearted  senti- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


185 


merits,  if  any  wish  to  do  so  existed,  Aaron 
Reynolds  returned  a taunting  defiance,  which 
so  exasperated  the  renegade  that  he  summar- 
ily closed  the  parley.  It  was  apparent  to 
the  savages  that  there  was  no  hope  of  success. 
The  fort  could  not  be  taken  by  assault,  and 
the  whole  country  was  rising.  To  linger 
much  longer  was  to  invite  destruction,  and, 
killing  such  stock  as  they  did  not  take  away, 
the  Indian  host  quietly  withdrew  just  before 
daylight. 

In  the  meantime  the  interior  settlements 
had  not  been  inactive.  From  Lexington, 
Col.  Todd  had  sent  the  alarm  to  Boones- 
borough  and  Harrodsburg,  leaving  Lieut. 
Col.  Trigg  of  the  latter  place  to  notify 
his  superior.  Col.  Logan,  of  the  situation. 
There  was  neither  time  nor  disposition  to 
indulge  in  “red  tape”  formalities,  and  Trigg 
hurried  to  the  appointed  rendezvous  with  his 
hastily  raised  force,  not  less  promptly  than 
Lieut.-Col.  Boone.  By  noon,  therefore, 
on  the  18th  instant.  Col.  Todd,  at  the  head 
of  182*  men,  reached  the  imperiled  station. 
The  Indians  were  found  gone  with  evidences 
of  precipitation  in  their  movements,  though 
these  were  probably  intended  to  deceive  the 
whites,  whom  the  enemy  evidently  wished  to 
draw  into  rapid  pursuit.  The  question  of 
following  the  enemy  was  discussed,  and  con- 
flicting suggestions  urged  with  some  persist- 
ence. On  the  one  hand  it  was  represented 
that  Logan  was  undoubtedly  raising  a con- 
siderable force,  which  would  arrive  within 
twenty-four  hours,  and  that  the  large  force  of 
Indians  suggested  the  necessity  of  observing 
every  precaution  to  guard  against  disaster. 
On  the  other  hand  it  was  urged  that  the  pur- 
suit of  the  savages,  if  not  undertaken 
promptly,  would  find  them  across  the  Ohio 
and  disbanded,  when  it  would  be  impossible 
to  inflict  any  salutary  punishment.  As  to 
the  authors  of  these  opposing  arguments, 
writers  are  not  agreed,  but  the  latter  opinion 
prevailed,  and  late  in  the  afternoon  the 

*Marshall  (Vol.  I,  p.  141)  gives  the  number  at  166;  Butler  (p. 
125),  on  the  authority  of  Gen.  Clark,  gives  the  number  at  182. 
This  is  confirmed  by  Bradford.  The  two  may  perhaps  be  rec- 
onciled by  taking  the  latter  estimate  as  the  number  which  set 
out  from  Bryan's  Station,  where  the  party  must  have  received 
some  accessions,  as  there  were  some  sixty  men  in  the  fort  after 
accounting  for  the  losses  and  re-enforcements.  If  the  latter 
number  be  correct,  the  whites  must  have  engaged  in  the  battle 
of  Blue  Lick  with  upward  of  200  men. 


whites  moved  forward  in  pursuit  of  the  re- 
treating enemy. 

The  trail  of  the  savages  was  plain,  and  the 
whites  had  not  proceeded  many  miles  when 
Boone’s  observant  eyes  discovered  evidence 
which  clearly  indicated  the  wish  of  the 
savages  to  be  followed.  The  trees  along 
their  course  were  marked,  and  instead  of 
concealing  their  route  everything  indicated 
their  intention  to  leave  a broad  trail,  but  at 
the  same  time  pains  had  been  taken  to  con- 
ceal their  numbers.  For  this  purpose,  they 
had  marched  in  single  file,  each  one  stepping 
in  the  footsteps  of  his  leader,  and  at  their 
camps  the  limited  number  of  fires  and  other 
indications  showed  a studied  care  to  dis- 
guise their  strength.  The  irresistible  in- 
ference to  be  drawn  was  that  an  ambush  was 
to  be  expected,  and  Boone’s  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  country  and  hunter’s  instinct  at 
once  suggested  the  Lower  Blue  Lick  as  the 
probable  site  where  a surprise  would  be 
attempted.  This  lick  is  situated  about 
thirty-five  miles  from  Bryan’s  Station.  “ The 
Licking  River  at  this  place  is  about  300  feet 
wide  at  common  water,  and  forms  a semi- 
ellipsis,  which  embraces  on  its  northeast  side, 
toward  Limestone,  a great  ridge  of  rocks 
which  had  been  made  bare  by  the  stamping 
of  buffaloes  and  other  game,  drawn  together 
from  time  immemorial  to  drink  the  water  and 
lick  the  clay.  Two  deep  ravines,  heading 
in  this  ridge  near  each  other,  and  extending 
in  opposite  directions,  formed  the  longest 
diameter  of  this  ellipsis.  This  ridge  had 
very  little  timber  on  it,  and  what  it  had  was 
very  indifferent  and  exhibited  a very  dreary 
appearance;  but  the  ravines  were  furnished, 
not  only  plentifully  with  timber,  but  with  a 
thick  brushwood  also.”* 

The  whites  encamped  that  night  within 
about  five  miles  of  this  point,  and  on  the 
following  morning  cautiously  proceeded  for- 
ward. On  reaching  the  southern  bank  of 
the  Licking,  they,  for  the  first  time  in  their 
march,  saw  a number  of  Indians  leisurely 
ascending  the  rocky  ridge  on  the  other  side. 
Here  the  pursuers  came  to  a halt.  Col.  Todd 
was  the  senior  officer  and  in  command; 

*Notes  on  Kentucky  by  John  Bradford. 


18G 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Trigg  was  next  in  point  of  seniority,  and 
Boone  third.  Other  officers  were  Majs. 
Harlan,  McBride,  McGary  and  Levi  Todd, 
and  Capts.  Bulger  and  Gordon,  most  of  whom 
were  volunteers  without  command.  These, 
with  other  officers,  to  the  number  of  a dozen 
or  twenty,  met  in  front  of  the  ranks  and 
joined  in  consultation.  That  the  situation 
was  undoubtedly  critical  was  apparent  to  the 
least  observant  of  the  company.  The  action 
of  the  retreating  savages  afforded  a strong 
presumption  that  an  ambuscade  was  formed 
just  where  Boone  had  suggested  it  would  be. 
At  this  juncture  the  officers  all  turned  to  the 
veteran  woodsman,  and,  in  response  to  Col. 
Todd’s  request,  he  said  that  it  would  be 
proper  to  do  one  of  two  things:  “ Either  to 

await  the  arrival  of  Logan,*  who  was  un- 
doubtedly on  his  march  to  join  them,  or,  if 
it  was  determined  to  attack  without  delay, 
that  one-half  of  their  number  should  march 
up  the  river,  which  there  bends  in  an  ellip- 
tical form, cross  at  the  rapids  and  fall  upon  the 
rear  of  the  enemy,  while  the  other  divisions 
attacked  in  front.  At  any  rate,  he  strongly 
iirged  the  necessity  of  reconnoitering  the 
ground  carefully  before  the  main  body 
crossed  the  river.”  (McClung.) 

Scarcely  bad  Boone  submitted  his  opinions  when 
Maj.  McGary  “raised  the  war-whoop,”  and,  spur- 
ring his  horse  into  the  river,  called  vehemently  on 
all  who  were  not  cowards  to  follow  him  and  he 
would  show  them  the  enemy.  Presently  the  army 
was  in  motion.  The  greater  part  suffered  them- 
selves to  be  led  by  McGary:  the  remainder,  perhaps 
a third  of  the  whole  number,  lingered  awhile  with 
Todd  and  Boone  in  council.  All  at  length  passed 
over,  and,  at  Boone’s  suggestion,  the  commanding 
officer  ordered  another  halt.  The  pioneer  then  pro- 
posed, for  a second  time,  that  the  army  should  re- 
main where  it  was  until  an  opportunity  was  afforded 
to  reconnoiter  the  suspected  region.  So  reasonable 
a proposal  was  acceded  to,  and  two  bold  but  expe- 
rienced men  were  selected  to  proceed  from  the  lick 
along  the  buffalo  trace  to  a point  half  a mile  beyond 
the  ravines,  where  the  road  branched  off  in  differ- 
ent directions.  They  were  instructed  to  examine 
the  country  with  the  utmost  care  on  each  side  of  the 
road,  especially  the  spot  where  it  passed  between 
the  ravines,  and  upon  the  first  appearance  of  the 
enemy  to  repair  in  haste  to  the  army.  The  spies 

*A  statement,  m<ade  by  Benjamin  A.  Cooper,  who  took  part 
in  the  battle,  was  furnished  liy  Mann  Butler,  the  liistorian,  to 
the  Si.  Louis  Eni.innw  which  it  was  copied  in  the  Frankjort 
Commonwealth  of  January  15,  1846.  In  this  statement  he  con- 
tradicts the  common  account  that  Todd’s  party  expected  Logan 
to  bring  re-enforcements. 


discharged  the  dangerous  and  responsible  task. 
Thej'  crossed  over  the  ridge,  proceeded  to  the  place 
beyond  it,  and  returned  in  safety  without  having 
made  any  discovery.  No  trace  of  the  enemy  was  to 
be  seen. 

The  little  army  of  182  men  now  marched  forward. 
Col.  Trigg  was  in  command  of  the  right  wing, 
Boone  of  the  left,  McGary  in  the  center,  and  Maj. 
Harlan  with  the  party  in  front.  Such  is  Boone’s 
account  of  the  positions  of  the  several  officers.  He 
does  not  define  Col.  Todd’s.  The  historians  have 
assigned  him  to  the  right  with  Col.  Trigg.  The 
better  opinion  seems  to  be  that  he  commanded  the 
center. 

As  they  approached  the  ravines,  it  became  appar- 
ent that  Boone’s  anticipations  were  well  founded, 
and  that  the  vigilance  of  the  spies  had  been  com- 
pletely eluded.  The  enemy  lay  concealed  in  both 
ravines  in  great  numbers.  The  columns  marched 
up  within  forty  yards  of  the  Indian  line  before  a 
gun  was  fired.  The  battle  immediately  commenced 
with  great  fury  and  most  destructive  effect  on  both 
sides.  The  advantage  of  position  and  overwhelm- 
ing numbers  soon  determined  it  in  favor  of  the  sav- 
ages. The  tire  was  peculiarly  severe  upon  the  right. 
Col.  Trigg  fell,  and  with  him  nearly  the  whole  of 
the  Harrodsburg  troops.  Boone  manfully  sustained 
himself  on  the  left.  Maj.  Harlan  defended  the 
front  until  only  three  of  his  men  remained.  He 
also  fell,  covered  with  wounds.  The  Indians  now 
rushed  upon  them  with  their  tomahawks,  spreading 
confusion  and  dismay  through  their  broken  and  disa- 
bled ranks.  The  whole  right,  left  and  center  gave  way 
and  a mingled  and  precipitate  retreat  commenced. 
Some  regained  their  horses;  others  fled  on  foot. 
Col.  Todd  was  shot  through  the  body,  and  when  he 
was  last  seen  was  reeling  in  his  saddle,  while 
the  blood  gushed  in  profusion  from  his  wound. 
The  Indians  were  then  in  close  pursuit. — Morehead’ s 
Address,  p.  99. 

The  obvious  line  of  retreat  was  by  way  of 
the  ford  where  the  army  had  passed  over, 
and  from  the  battlh  ground  to  the  river  pur- 
suer and  pursued  mingled  in  confused  flight. 
Sauve  qiii  pent  was  the  sentiment  of  the  dis- 
tressed whites,  while  the  exultant  savages 
plied  their  murderous  tomahawks  upon  the 
unresisting  fugitives.  The  mounted  men 
generally  escaped,  but  the  footmen,  cut  off 
from  the  ford,  threw  themselves  into  the 
river,  where  they  were  shot  by  the  remorse- 
less foe,  or  drowned  through  their  inability 
to  swim.  One,  Netherland,  who  had  pre- 
viously been  suspected  of  cowardice,  being 
mounted,  had  gained  the  farther  bank  in 
safety,  but,  seeing  the  terrible  danger  to 
which  his  dismounted  comrades  were  exposed 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


187 


in  the  water,  called  upon  others  who  had 
escaped  with  him  to  turn  and  defend  their 
friends  in  the  river.  A temporary  rally  was 
thus  effected  and  a few  volleys  drove  the 
savages  back  to  a less  resisting  foe,  and  many 
were  thus  saved  from  destruction.  This 
check  to  the  enemy  was  very  brief.  The 
Indians  were  discovered  crossing  the  river 
farther  up  the  stream,  and  the  stampede  was 
renewed. 

Boone  bravely  sustained  his  position  on 
the  left,  until  the  crumbling  of  the  right  and 
center  left  him  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  at- 
tack unsupported.  He  still  manfully  dis- 
puted the  progress  of  the  Indians,  until  his 
idolized  son  and  many  of  his  friends  were 
stricken  down,  and  himself  surrounded  by 
some  200  infuriated  savages,  when  he  sought 
to  escape.  Intimately  acquainted  with  the 
ground,  accompanied  by  a few  friends,  and 
bearing  the  body  of  his  wounded  son,  he 
plunged  into  the  ravine  abandoned  by  the 
Indians.  Escaping  the  immediate  attack  of 
the  enemy,  and  baffling  one  or  two  small 
parties  that  pursued  him  a short  distance,  he 
swam  across  the  river  to  a point  where  he 
was  unobserved.  Here,  in  a well-noted  place, 
he  laid  the  body  of  his  son,  who  had  died  in 
his  arms,  and  made  his  way  in  safety  to  Bry- 
an’s Station. 

Another  instance  of  that  heroism  which 
everywhere  embellishes  the  pages  of  frontier 
history,  was  exhibited  by  Reynolds,  whose 
reply  to  Girty  before  Bryan’s  Station  consti- 
tuted one  of  the  closing  features  of  that 
memorable  siege.  With  one  or  two  others 
he  was  among  the  last  to  turn  toward  the  river, 
but  being  well  mounted  soon  overtook  the  fly- 
ing crowd  and  among  them  discovered  Capt. 
Robert  Patterson  slowly  making  his  way  on 
foot.  This  offlcer  was  in  the  rear  of  the 
throng,  exhausted  by  his  exertions,  and  im- 
peded in  his  progress  by  the  effects  of  in- 
juries received  from  the  savages  in  previous 
encounters.  The  Indians  were  rapidly  ap- 
proaching and  escape  was  impossible.  At 
this  moment  Reynolds  rode  up,  hastily  dis- 
mounted, and,  assisting  Patterson  to  take  his 
place,  the  gallant  young  fellow  pushed  rap- 
idly forward  and  crossed  the  river  on  foot. 


In  effecting  this  passage,  his  leathern  breech- 
es became  so  heavy  with  the  water  they  had 
absorbed  that  he  sat  down  on  a log  to  remove 
them,  in  order  to  facilitate  his  movements. 
In  this  position  he  was  captured  by  the 
enemy.  Being  in  a sound  condition  he  was 
not  dispatched,  but  hurried  forward  under 
heavy  guard  to  be  reserved  to  grace  the  tri- 
umph of  the  returning  victors.  A small  party 
of  Kentuckians  soon  attracting  the  attention 
of  his  captors,  he  was  left  in  charge  of  three 
warriors,  two  of  whom,  eager  to  join  in  the 
active  pursuit,  left  him  in  care  of  their  com- 
rade. In  this  way  the  two  proceeded  some 
distance,  when,  the  savage  stooping  to  tie 
his  moccasin,  Reynolds  assaulted  his  guard 
with  his  fist,  and  quickly  disappeared  in  the 
thicket.  The  young  pioneer  eventually  es- 
caped and  received  from  Patterson  as  a 
token  of  his  appreciation  “200  acres  of  first- 
rate  land.” 

The  Kentuckians  sustained  few  losses  after 
crossing  the  river,  notwithstanding  the  vic- 
torious enemy  urged  the  pursuit  for  twenty 
miles.  The  nearest  point  of  safety  was  Bry- 
an’s Station,  and  thither  the  demoralized 
force  made  its  way,  each  man  after  his  own 
fashion.  The  horsemen  followed  the  buffalo 
trail  and  reached  their  destination  in  about 
six  hours;  the  footmen,  abandoning  the 
beaten  path,  reached  the  station  by  circuitous 
routes,  most  of  the  sm’vivors  gaining  the 
station  by  nightfall. 

In  the  meantime,  Logan  had  reached  a 
point  some  miles  beyond  Bryan’s,  when  he 
met  fugitives  from  the  scene  of  disastrous 
battle,  and  returned.  Halting  here  until  the 
rear  came  up,  late  in  the  afternoon,  the 
troops  again  set  out,  marching  most  of  the 
night.  About  noon  on  the  following  day  the 
battle-ground  was  reached.  Here  the  bodies 
of  their  slain  countrymen  were  found  strewn 
about  the  ground,  mangled  by  wounds,  torn 
by  birds  and  beasts  of  prey,  and  some  floating 
in  the  river,  partly  eaten  by  the  fish ; al  1 were  so 
swollen  and  disfigured  as  to  defy  recognition. 
Diligent  search  was  made  for  evidence  of  the 
Indians,  but  no  fresh  “sign”  being  discovered, 
Logan  concluded  that  they  had  gone  beyond 
his  i-each,  and  having  carefully  collected  and 


188 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


buried  the  remains  left  upon  the  held,  he  re- 
turned to  Bryan’s  Station,  where  his  force  was 
dismissed. 

The  battle  of  Blue  Lick  was  the  crowning 
event  of  a season  which  had  brought  only  a 
succession  of  disasters  to  the  distressed  set- 
tlements. The  hardy  society  which  had 
grown  up  amid  the  perils  of  savage  warfare 
was  not  unaccustomed  to  endure  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  such  a life  with  rare  fortitude  and 
uncomplaining  resignation,  but  the  shadows 
of  this  disaster  spread  over  the  interior  set- 
tlements like  a pall.  Of  the  sixty  men  killed 
in  the  vigor  of  manhood,  there  was  scarcely 
one  who  did  not  leave  wife  and  children  to 
mourn  his  death.  Nearly  one-half  of  this 
terrible  loss  fell  upon  Harrodsburg;  in  Lex- 
ington, “many  widows  were  made;”*  and 
Bryan’s  Station  and  Boonesborough  suffered  in 
proportion.  In  the  loss  of  the  leading  men 
the  whole  community  shared,  and  to  the  mem- 
ory of  those  whose  gentler  virtues  shone  with 
peculiar  luster  in  the  crude  civilization  of  the 
border,  rude  strength  paid  the  sad  tribute  of 
a tear.  Of  the  gallant  men  who  fell  there 
was  none  more  brave  or  more  beloved  than 
Maj.  Harlan.  The  death  of  Cols.  Trigg  and 
Todd  was  greatly  deplored.  They  were  men 
of  hne  intelligence,  of  personal  worth,  and 
of  public  usefulness.  “They  were  particu- 
larly qualified  to  counsel,  enlighten  and  guide 
the  people  in  their  private  and  civil  concerns: 
while  the  suavity  of  their  manners  and  the 
urbanity  of  their  minds  rendered  them  easy 
of  access,  and  always  I'eady  to  assist  those  who 
sought  their  information  or  advice.” 

Col.  John  Todd  was  universally  beloved; 
he  died  without  a stain  upon  his  character 
and,  it  is  believed,  without  an  enemy  in  the 
world.  He  was  the  eldest  of  three  brothers, 
was  educated  at  his  uncle’s  in  Virginia,  and 
at  maturity  entered  upon  the  study  of  the 
law,  subsequently  obtaining  a license  to  prac- 
tice. He  settled  at  Fincastle,  Ya.,  for  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  but  attracted  by 
the  glowing  accounts  of  Kentucky  visited 

*In  a letter  to  Gov.  Morehead,  in  1840,  Nathaniel  Hart 
wrote:  “I  went  with  my  mother  in  January,  1783,  to  Logan’s 
Station  to  prove  my  father’s  will.  He  had  fallen  in  the  preced- 
ing July.  Twenty  armed  men  were  ofthe  party.  Twenty-three 
widows  were  in  attendance  upon  the  court  to  obtain  letters  of 
administration  on  the  estates  of  their  husbands,  who  had  been 
killed  during  the  past  year.” 


Boonesborough  in  1775,  and  became  a resi- 
dent there  until  1779,  when  he  moved  to 
Lexington.  In  the  spring  of  1780  he  was  a 
delegate  from  Kentucky  to  the  assembly  at 
Virginia,  and  while  attending  on  this  session 
married  Miss  Hawkins.  From  the  year  1778 
he  might  be  considered  as  residing  in  Illinois 
until  his  marriage.  Settling  his  wife  in 
Lexington,  he  was  obliged  to  make  a long 
and  dangerous  trip  to  visit  his  family,  and 
beside  aiding  in  the  councils  held  by  Clark, 
and  accompanying  him  in  one  or  more  of  his 
expeditions,  it  is  believed  he  passed  the  jour- 
ney from  Lexington  to  Kaskaskia  twice  and 
probably  four  times  a year.  His  duties  as 
lieutenant  of  Illinois  County,  and  after  the 
fall  of  1780  of  Fayette  County,  gave  ample 
scope  for  the  exertion  of  his  great  executive 
ability,  and  made  large  demands  upon  his 
time  and  attention.  It  is  said  that  he  had 
only  recently  returned  from  Illinois  when  the 
depredations  of  the  Indians  summoned  him  to 
the  battle  of  Blue  Lick*  and  an  untimely 
grave. 

The  details  of  this  disastrous  engagement 
were  soon  known  throughout  the  Kentucky 
border,  and  rendered  the  settlers  especially 
watchful  for  “signs,”  as  it  was  feared  the  en- 
emy might  be  emboldened  by  their  success  to 
attack  other  points.  But  the  Indians  did  not 
prove  in  this  case  an  exception  to  the  general 
rule,  and  the  greater  part  retired  to  their 
towns  to  enjoy  their  triumph.  The  western 
tribes,  which  had  formed  a part  of  this  expe- 
dition, however,  took  their  departure  from 
the  main  body  near  the  scene  of  the  battle, 
and  pursued  their  homeward  course  through 
Kentucky  with  the  hope,  probably,  of  adding 
to  their  trophies,  and  at  the  same  time  ex- 
tending the  alarm  and  confusion  created  by 
their  unexampled  victory.  Their  presence 
was  heard  of  about  the  1st  of  September  on 
the  Salt  River,  and  Col.  Floyd  promptly  went 
out  at  the  head  of  a good  force  in  quest  of 
them.  After  scouting  several  days  without 
finding  the  savages,  the  party  disbanded,  the 
members  retiring  to  the  several  stations  from 
which  they  were  drawn,  believing  the  enemy 
had  left  the  country. 


*Appendix  A,  Note  15. 


HISTOKY  OF  I0:YTUCKY. 


189 


Among  others,  Kincheloe  Station,  on  Simp- 
son’s Creek,  in  what  is  now  Spencer  County, 
had  contributed  to  the  scouting  party,  Dui’- 
iner  the  absence  of  its  contingent  the  women 
alone  kept  watch  and  ward  without  noticing 
any  indications  of  an  enemy.  On  returning 
from  the  fruitless  scout,  the  men,  worn  out  by 
their  duty,  and  confident  that  all  danger  had 
passed,  went  to  bed  without  taking  any  spec- 
ial precautions  against  a sm’prise  by  the  sav- 
ages. Unfortunately,  the  Indians  had  only 
eluded  the  whites,  and  observing  the  exposed 
condition  of  this  station,  made  a simulta- 
neous attack  upon  the  cabins,  when  the  occu- 
pants were  wrapt  in  the  deep  slumber  which 
their  fatigue  induced.  Bursting  open  the 
doors,  the  savages  commenced  an  indiscrimi- 
nate slaughter  of  men,  women  and  children, 
and  almost  before  the  victims  realized  the  na- 
ture of  their  danger,  the  whole  settlement 
was  still  in  death.  A few  women  and  chil- 
dren were  taken  prisoners,  several  of  them 
only  to  be  basely  murdered  on  their  journey 
toward  captivity.  A few  others,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  darkness,  escaped  in  the  melee 
and  reached  other  stations. 

One  of  the  settlers  received  the  alarm 
early  enough  to  place  his  wife  and  a young 
woman  of  the  family  under  the  cabin  fioor, 
and  then  escaped  in  the  darkness.  Remain- 
ing: in  the  neig:hborhood  until  assured  of  the 
departure  of  the  savages  he  returned  to  his 
cabin,  relieved  his  wife  and  companion  and 
conducted  them  in  safety  to  another  station. 
Another,  occupying  a small  cabin  with  his 
wife  and  two  children,  one  an  infant,  bravely 
stood  at  bay  and  fought  the  savages  who  had 
forced  his  cabin  door,  though  outnumbered 
five  to  one.  He  had  succeeded  in  killing 
several  of  his  assailants,  when,  seeing  his 
wife,  with  the  babe  in  her  arms,  cruelly 
murdered,  he  instantly  placed  the  other  child 
in  the  loft,  and  hastily  mounting  af^er  it 
escaped  through  the  roof.  On  alighting 
upon  the  ground,  he  was  assailed  by  two 
savages  whom  he  had  driven  out  of  his  cabin. 
"Wounding  one  with  his  knife,  he  prostrated 
the  other  with  a powerful  blow  of  his  empty 
gun,  and,  snatching  up  his  child,  plunged 
into  the  surrounding  woods  and  escaped. 


A Mrs.  Polk,  who  was  captured  with  four 
children,  after  narrowly  escaping  death  at 
the  hands  of  her  captor,  finally  reached 
Detroit,  where  she  was  ransomed  with  her 
children  by  a British  officer.  A letter  from 
her  to  her  husband  apprised  him  of  her  fate. 
He  immediately  set  out  for  the  place  of  her 
detention  with  her  letter  as  his  only  pass- 
port. He  succeeded  in  making  the  journey 
in  safety,  and  subsequently  retmmed  to  Ken  - 
tucky  with  his  family  unharmed.  Another 
of  the  captive  women  made  her  escape,  but, 
totally  unacquainted  with  the  region,  she 
wandered  about  in  the  wilderness,  subsisting 
on  sour  grapes  and  green  walnuts  until,  on 
the  eighteenth  day,  she  was  accidentally  dis- 
covered entirely  denuded  of  clothing  and 
reduced  to  the  physical  proportions  of  a 
skeleton.  She  was  taken  to  Lynn’s  Sta- 
tion, where  she  eventually  recovered. 
Such  is  the  terrible  story  of  this  devasta- 
ting raid.  The  whole  population  of  Ken- 
tucky was  panic-stricken,  and  if  the 
savages  could  have  been  brought  to  repeat  it 
in  the  fall,  scarcely  a station  would  have  re- 
mained tenanted  through  the  succeeding 
winter.  On  August  30th,  Boone  wrote  the 
governor  of  Virginia:  “I  have  encouraged 

the  people  in  this  county  all  I could;  but  I 
can  no  longer  justify  them  or  myself  to  risk 
our  lives  here  under  such  extraordinary 
hazards.  The  inhabitants  of  this  county 
are  very  much  alarmed  at  the  thoughts  of 
the  Indians  bringing  another  campaign  into 
our  country  this  fall.  If  this  should  be  the 
case,  it  would  break  up  the  settlements.” 
The  demand  for  some  measure  to  restore  the 
pioneer’s  lost  faith  in  himself  was  impera- 
tive, and  Clark  early  summoned  the  leading 
men  to  Louisville  to  aid  in  concerting  some 
movement  of  reprisal.  At  this  conference 
it  was  determined  to  organize  an  expedition 
for  the  invasion  of  the  Indian  country, 
which  should  be  of  such  a formidable  char- 
acter as  to  completely  counteract  any  en 
couragement  the  savages  might  have  derived 
from  their  recent  campaign.  To  this  end  it 
was  provided  that  in  case  volunteers  should 
not  be  forthcoming  in  sufficient  numbers,  a 
draft  should  be  enforced,  and  that  horses  and 


190 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


provisions  should  be  imjjressed  i£  necessary. 
The  duty  of  organizing  the  force  to  be  em- 
ployed 5vas  assigned  to  Cols.  Floyd  and 
Logan.  The  troops  of  the  interior  were  to 
rendezvous  at  Bryan’s  Station,  from  whence 
they  should  march  to  the  mouth  of  the  Lick- 
ing, there  to  be  joined  by  the  body  organized 
at  Louisville. 

No  compulsory  measures  were  necessary; 
men  and  officers  offered  their  services  with 
eagerness,  and  beef- cattle,  horses  and  other 
supplies  were  freely  granted  by  those  who 
could  not  well  be  spared  from  the  settle- 
ments. It  was  the  last  of  September  before 
the  expedition  was  organized  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Licking  River.  Here  Clark  took  com- 
mand, with  Floyd  and  Logan  as  his  lieu- 
tenants. The  army,  consisting  of  about  1,000 
men,  marched  rapidly  and  undiscovered  un- 
til it  approached  the  first  of  the  towns  on 
Mad  River.  After  arriving  in  this  region, 
when  about  half  a mile  from  the  camp  of  the 
rear  party  of  the  savages  who  were  engaged 
in  the  late  raid,  the  whites  were  discovered 
by  a straggling  Indian,  who  hastily  gave  the 
alarm  of  “a  mighty  army  on  its  march.” 
The  camp  was  quickly  broken  up;  the  towns 
with  their  surrounding  fields  of  grain  were 
abandoned,  and  the  overwhelming  force  was 
compelled  to  satisfy  its  thirst  for  vengeance 
in  the  destruction  of  several  towns,  with  their 
corn-fields,  and  Loramie’s  store,  which  had 
been  rebuilt  and  restocked  since  the  former 
invasion.  Not  more  than  six  or  seven 
Indians  were  found  within  range  of  a rifle, 
but  these  were  instantly  killed.  With  these 
rather  meager  results,  the  army  returned  and 
was  disbanded. 

However  inglorious  this  campaign  may 
seem,  it  sufficed  to  show  the  savages  that  their 
recent  bloody  victory  had  not  affected  the 
main  question  of  possessing  the  debated 
hunting-grounds,  and  to  restore  the  self  con- 
fidence of  the  settlers,  which  had  been  so  rude- 
ly shaken  by  the  events  of  the  summer.  The 
succeeding  fall  and  winter  were  passed  in 
unusual  freedom  from  hostilities,  and  spring 
brought  the  welcome  tidings  of  peace.  A 
provisional  treaty  had  been  signed  at  Paris, 
between  England  and  the  colonies,  on  the 


30th  of  November;  on  January  20,  1783,  the 
forces  of  the  belligerent  powers  had  ceased 
active  operations;  and  on  the  19th  of  April 
following,  peace  was  proclaimed  to  the 
American  army.  While  this  brought  a ces- 
sation of  hostilities  in  the  East,  Kentucky 
was  still  threatened  with  a continuation  of 
the  war.  The  Indians,  loth  to  give  up  the 
sti'Uggle,  were  found  on  the  border  early  in 
the  spring,  but  at  length,  becoming  convinced 
that  they  must  prosecute  their  enterprise  un- 
aided by  their  former  allies,  they  ceased 
their  depredations  for  a time. 

These  hostilities  obtain  importance  princi- 
pally from  the  fact  that  they  resulted  in  the 
death  of  Col.  Floyd.  That  gallant  officer 
was  waylaid  and  shot  by  the  Indians  about 
three  miles  north  of  Shepherdsville,  on  the 
12th  of  April.  There  had  been  some  trouble 
with  the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Beargrass  settlements,  but  the  enemy  was 
supposed  to  have  retired  across  the  Ohio, 
when  the  Colonel  and  his  brother  Charles, 
unsuspecting  of  danger,  rode  into  an  ambush. 
Col.  Floyd  was  wearing  his  wedding  coat  of 
bright  scarlet  cloth  at  the  time,  and  thus  pre- 
sented a conspicuous  target  to  the  savage 
marksman.  He  was  mortally  wounded  at  the 
first  fire.  Charles  Floyd,  observing  the  ef- 
fect of  the  shot,  abandoned  his  own  horse, 
which  had  been  struck,  mounted  behind  his 
brother,  steadied  him  with  his  arms,  and 
seizing  the  reins  escaped  with  him  to  the 
station,  where  the  wounded  man  died  a few 
hours  later. 

Col.  John  Floyd  was  born  in  Virginia 
about  1750.  His  father  was  of  Welsh  de- 
scent; his  mother  was  of  English  and  Indian 
parentage.  Her  mother,  it  is  said,  was  the 
daughter  of  Powhatan’s  brother.  Floyd  re- 
ceived a good  education  for  the  time,  which 
was  enriched  by  the  culture  derived  from  un- 
usual advantages  of  travel.  He  married  at 
the  age  of  eighteen,  but  was  left  a widower 
within  a year  afterward.  Some  ten  years  la- 
ter he  formed  a second  marriage  with  a lady, 
who,  with  three  children,  survived  him.  He 
made  his  advent  into  Kentucky  as  a surveyor 
in  1774,  and  from  that  time,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a little  more  than  a year,  he 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


191 


devoted  himself  to  the  interests  of  the 
growing  frontier  settlements.  In  the  j 
fall  of  1776  he  went  back  to  Virginia,  fitted 
out  a privateer,  and  cruised  extensively  upon 
the  sea  with  considerable  success.  He  was 
captured,  however,  and  lay  in  a British 
prison  for  some  time,  when  he  made  his  es- 
cape through  the  assistance  of  the  jailer’s 
wife.  Returning  to  Kentucky  he  became  one 
of  the  leading  actors  during  the  stormy  pe- 
riod of  the  revolution.  He  was  with  Clark 
in  most  of  his  expeditions,  and  was  feared 
by  the  Indians  and  respected  by  the  English. 
It  is  said  that  he  was  offered  a large  sum  of 
money,  and  promised  an  English  title  by  the 
British  authorities  at  Detroit,  if  he  would 
transfer  his  influence  to  their  cause,  an  offer 
which  he  rejected  with  scorn.  Col.  Floyd 
was  a man  of  fine  military  bearing,  over  six 
feet  tall,  of  an  attractive  personal  appear- 
ance and  an  agreeable  manner.  His  whole 
character  was  marked  by  a calm,  impressive 
confidence  in  himself,  which  gave  him  great 
influence,  while  bis  intelligence  and  energy 
made  him  one  of  the  foremost  men  in  Ken- 
tucky. Fortunately  for  the  community,  his 
loss  fell  at  a time  when  circumstances  ren- 
dered it  less  severe,  but  his  memory  will  ever 
be  cherished  as  one  of  the  early  heroes  of 
the  border. 

But  the  era  of  peace  had  now  dawned,  and 
never  was  it  hailed  with  more  unfeigned  joy, 
than  by  the  Kentuckians  in  1783,  though  the 
glory  of  its  rising  was  still  dimmed  by  the 
clouds  that  marked  the  passing  storm.  The 
success  of  the  savages  in  the  preceding  year 
had  filled  the  land  with  mourning,  and  the 
opening  months  of  the  new  year  gave  no  evi- 


dence that  the  expedition  led  by  Gen.  Clark 
had  taught  any  salutary  lesson  to  the  indefat- 
igable foe.  And  yet,  while  it  was  generally 
recognized  that  the  treaty  provided  only  for 
the  civilized  belligerents,  the  I’estored  confi- 
dence of  the  borderers  was  such  that  they  felt 
no  fear  in  meeting  the  savages  alone.  A 
further  expedition  against  the  Indians,  to 
bring  them  to  terms,  seems  to  have  been  con- 
templated, but  this  was  eventually  given  up 
and  affairs  in  Kentucky  were  reduced  to  a 
peace  basis  in  the  following  letter  from  the 
governor  of  Virginia  to  Gen.  Clark: 

In  Council,  July  2,  1783. 

Sir  : The  conclusion  of  the  war,  and  the  dis- 

tressed situation  of  the  State,  with  respect  to  its 
finances,  call  on  us  to  adopt  the  most  prudent  econ- 
omy. It  is  for  this  reason  alone  I have  come  to  a 
determination  to  give  over  all  thought  for  the  pres- 
ent of  carrying  on  an  offensive  war  against  the  In- 
dians, which  you  will  easily  perceive  will  render 
the  services  of  a general  officer  in  that  quarter  un- 
necessary, and  will  therefore  consider  yourself  as 
out  of  command;  but  before  I take  leave  of  you,  I 
feel  myself  called  upon,  in  the  most  forcible  manner, 
to  return  you  my  thanks,  and  those  of  my  Council, 
for  the  very  great  and  singular  services  you  have 
rendered  your  country  in  wresting  so  great  and  val- 
uable a territory  out  of  the  hands  of  the  British  en- 
emy, repelling  the  attacks  of  their  savage  allies,  and 
carrying  on  successful  war  in  the  heart  of  their 
country.  This  tribute  of  praise  and  thanks,  so 
greatly  due,  I am  happy  to  communicate  to  you  as 
the  united  voice  of  the  Executive. 

I am,  with  respect,  Sir,  Yours,  &c., 

Benj.\min  Haerison. 

The  pacific  influences  of  the  time  at  length 
reached  even  the  savages.  Organized  hostil- 
ities entirely  ceased,  military  rank  was  lost 
in  the  common  sovereignty  of  the  citizen,  and 
peace,  the  “gladness -giving  queen,”  reigned 
supreme  over  the  ‘ ‘dark  and  bloody  ground.  ” 


193 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  PIONEER  AND  PIONEER  DATS. 


ur^HE  peace  of  1783  marks  the  close  of  the 
pioneer  period  in  the  history  of  Ken- 
tucky. For  more  than  a decade,  a few  chosen 
spirits  had  suffered  the  “slings  and  arrows 
of  outrageous  fortune”  with  a patient  forti- 
tude unexcelled  on  any  other  page  of  history; 
but  with  the  dawn  of  peace,  a great  tide  of  im- 
migration set  in  toward  the  frontier,  bringing 
new  men  and  questions,  and  they  who  had 
laid  the  foundations  of  the  State,  amid  the 
red  billows  of  savage  war,  were,  in  the  nat- 
ural order  of  things,  gradually  supplanted. 
'For  a little  time  their  influence  is  traced  in 
the  budding  civilization  which  arose  out  of 
the  crude  frontier  society,  but  art  and  time 
have  at  last  left  only  the  memory  of  their 
virtues  to  be  cherished  by  an  age  which  finds 
it  difficult  to  realize  that  the  pioneer  was  not 
a privileged  character,  who  led  a life  of 
romantic  adventure,  absolved  from  the  pen- 
alties of  that  primal  transgression,  which 
‘ ‘brought  death  into  the  world  and  all  our 
woe.” 

The  pioneer  was  the  peculiar  product  of 
the  period  in  which  he  acted.  The  separat- 
ing and  classifying  influences  of  an  advanced 
civilization  were  not  yet  pi’ominent,  and, 
save  in  the  tidewater  valleys  along  the  Atlantic 
coast,  the  homogeneous  character  of  the  peo- 
ple was  undisturbed  by  the  factitious  dis- 
tinctions of  wealth  and  education.  Worth 
made  the  man,  the  want  of  it  the  fellow,  and 
comfortable  surroundings  affected  the  char- 
acter of  immigration  only  in  restraining 
such  as  enjoyed  them  from  giving  up  a cer- 
tain good  for  the  untried  but  flattering 
promises  of  the  new  land,  though  many  well- 
to-do  persons  were  found  among  the  early 
settlers.  Education  played  even  a less  im- 
portant part  than  wealth  in  this  matter. 


Popular  education  was  at  a low  ebb  every- 
where, and  few  of  the  leading  minds 
comprehended  more  of  learning  than  the 
fundamental  branches  of  “reading,  writing 
and  arithmetic,”  and  had  but  a rudimentary 
acquaintance  with  these.  Of  general  culture 
there  were  scarcely  a half-dozen  in  Kentucky 
who  may  be  said  to  have  possessed  any  knowl- 
edge, and  yet  the  community  on  the  frontier 
did  not  compare  unfavorably  with  that  from 
which  it  was  drawn. 

These  men  and  women  were  not  a sordid 
folk,  and  in  moving  to  the  new  country  they 
were  influenced  scarcely  less  by  the  natural 
beauty  of  the  region  than  by  the  opportuni- 
ties it  afforded  to  improve  their  fortunes. 
They  were  born  or  reared  in  a frontier  com- 
munity. They  came  of  a race  who  sought  a 
refuge  in  the  New  World  to  escape  the  oppres- 
sion and  bigotry  of  the  old,  and  here,  amid 
the  influences  of  the  boundless  forest,  had 
drawn  in  a spirit  of  freedom,  self-reliance, 
and  of  a contented  righteousness  which 
characterized  their  new  settlement.  They 
were  not  saints,  indeed,  but  the  first  settlers 
were  generally  characterized  by  a sobriety  of 
habit  and  judgment  that  counted  “the  life 
more  than  meat.”  They  were  enlightened 
children  of  nature,  and,  in  their  simplicity, 
they  entertained  a deep  affection  for  the 
pi’imitive  charms  of  this  new  land,  as  of  a 
fostering  mother.  To  the  pioneer,  nature 
was  vocal  with  “a  various  language.”  The 
poet,  only,  can  voice  his  creed: 

The  bubbling  brook  doth  leap  when  I come  by, 
Because  my  feet  find  measure  with  its  call; 

The  birds  know  when  the  friend  they  love  is  nigb, 
For  I am  known  to  them,  both  great  and  small; 
The  flower  that  on  the  lonely  hillside  grows 
Expects  me  there  when  spring  its  bloom  has  given; 
And  many  a tree  or  bush  my  wanderings  know, 

And  e’en  the  clouds  and  silent  stars  of  heaven. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


193 


To  such  people  the  new  country  beyond  the 
Big  Sandy  was  an  Eden,  for  the  possession 
of  which  few  trials  or  dangers  were  consid- 
ered too  great  an  exaction. 

But  in  all  this  the  pioneers  were  not 
visionaries.  There  can  be  no  greater  mistake 
than  the  popular  error  which  confuses  the 
character  of  the  founders  of  this  common- 
wealth with  that  of  the  heroes  of  modern 
sensational  writings,  the  theatrical  terrors  of 
which  harrow  up  the  imaginations  of  the 
young  and  timid.  The  early  Kentuckians 
were  not  generally  adventurers  simply  in 
search  of  hazardous  experiences;  they  were 
not  “one-eyed  trappers,”  nor  professional 
“Indian  slayers.”  On  the  contrary  they 
were  eminently  practical  men,  who  sought 
new  homes  where  their  growing  families 
could  reap  the  benefit  of  cheap  lands,  and 
where  persevering  labor  might  lead  to  com- 
petence. To  this  unique  blending  of  senti- 
ment and  common  sense,  Kentucky  appealed 
with  captivating  power.  Its  primitive  fer- 
tility and  beauty  entranced  every  beholder, 
and  description  became  rhapsody.  It  is 
somewhat  in  this  strain  that  Imlay  pictures 
the  country  in  178-1; 

‘ ‘ Everything  here  assumes  a dignity  and 
splendor  I have  never  seen  in  any  other  part 
of  the  world.  You  ascend  a considerable 
distance  from  the  shore  of  the  Ohio,  and  j 
when  you  would  suppose  you  had  arrived  at  | 
the  summit  of  a mountain,  you  find  yourself 
upon  an  extensive  level.  Here  an  eternal 
vei’dure  reigns,  and  the  brilliant  sun  of  lati- 
tude 39  degrees,  piercing  through  the  azure 
heavens,  produces  in  this  prolific  soil  an 
early  maturity  which  is  truly  astonishing. 
Flowers,  full  and  perfect,  as  if  they  had 
been  cultivated  by  the  hand  of  a florist,  with 
all  their  captivating  odours,  and  with  all  the 
variegated  charms  which  colour  and  nature 
can  produce,  here,  in  the  lap  of  elegance  and 
beauty,  decorate  the  smiling  groves.  Soft 
zephyrs  gently  breathe  sweets,  and  the  in- 
haled air  gives  a voluptuous  glow  of  health 
and  vigor  that  seems  to  ravish  the  intoxicated 
senses.  The  sweet  songsters  of  the  forests 
appear  to  feel  the  influence  of  this  genial 
clime,  and,  in  more  soft  and  modulated  tones, 


warble  their  tender  notes  in  unison  with  love 
and  nature.  Everything  here  gives  delight, 
and  in  the  mild  effulgence  which  beams 
around  us,  we  feel  a glow  of  gratitude  for 
the  elevation  which  our  all  bountiful  Creator 
has  bestowed  on  us.  * * * * 

“You  must  forgive  what  I know  you  will 
call  a rhapsody,  but  what  I really  experienced 
in  traveling  across  the  Alleghany  Mountains 
in  March,  when  it  was  covered  with  snow, 
and  after  finding  the  country  about  Pitts- 
burgh bare,  and  not  recovered  from  the  rav- 
ages of  winter;  there  was  scarcely  a blade  of 
grass  to  be  seen,  everything  looked  dreary, 
and  bore  those  marks  of  melancholy  which 
the  rude  hand  of  frost  produces.  I embarked 
immediately  for  Kentucky,  and  in  less  than 
five  days  landed  at  Limestone,  where  I found 
nature  robed  in  all  her  charms. 

“From  Limestone  to  Licking  Creek  the 
country  is  immensely  rich,  and  covered  with 
cane,  rye-grass,  and  the  native  clover.  The 
cane  is  a reed  which  grows  to  the  height 
I frequently  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  feet,  but 
more  generally  about  ten  or  twelve  feet,  and 
in  thickness  from  the  size  of  a goose  quill, 
to  that  of  two  inches  diameter;  sometimes, 
yet  seldom,  it  is  larger.  "When  it  is  slender, 
it  never  grows  higher  than  from  four  to 
seven  feet;  it  shoots  up  in  one  summer,  but 
produced  no  leaves  until  the  following  year. 
It  is  an  evergreen,  and  is,  perhaps,  the  most 
nourishing  food  for  cattle  upon  earth.  No 
other  milk  or  butter  has  such  flavor  and  rich- 
ness as  that  which  is  produced  from  cows 
which  feed  upon  cane.  Horses  which  are 
fed  upon  it  work  nearly  as  well  as  if  they 
were  fed  upon  corn,  provided  care  is  taken 
to  give  them  once  in  three  or  four  days  a 
handful  of  salt,  otherwise  this  food  is  liable 
to  heat  and  bind  their  bowels.  The  rye-grass, 
when  it  arrives  to  maturity,  is  from  two  feet 
and  a half  high  to  three  and  a half,  and  the 
head  and  beard  resemble  the  real  rye,  and 
sometimes  produces  a small  grain,  long  and 
slender,  not  unlike  rye.  Whether  cultivation 
would  bring  it  to  the  same  perfection,  I can 
form  no  idea;  it  is,  however,  certain  that  it 
is  a very  good  and  valuable  grass.  The  clo- 
ver is  in  no  respect  different  from  the  clover 

I 2 


194 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


in  Europe,  but  it  is  more  coarse  and  luxuri- 
ant. There  is  a variety  of  grasses  which  are 
found  in  different  places,  but  I have  only 
mentioned  the  two  former,  they  being  es- 
teemed the  most  valuable. 

“In  order  to  travel  into  the  interior  parts  of 
the  State,  the  route  lies  across  the  branches 
of  Licking  Creek.  There  are  several  of  them 
which  take  their  rise  in  the  high  hills  of 
Great  Sandy  River,  and  the  spurs  of  the  Al- 
leghany Mountains.  They  traverse  a most  de- 
lightful country,  and  form  a junction  a small 
distance  below  the  lower  Blue  Lick.  A salt 
spring  is  called  a lick,  from  the  earth  about  it 
being:  furrowed  out  in  a most  curious  manner 
by  the  buffalo  and  deer,  which  lick  the  earth 
on  account  of  the  saline  particles  with  which 
it  is  impregnated.  The  country  from  the 
fork  to  the  Ohio  is  considerably  broken,  but 
generally  rich,  and  continues  uneven,  except 
on  the  banks  of  the  river,  quite  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Kentucky.  * * * * 

“After  passing  the  Blue  Lick  the  soil,  if 
possible,  increases  in  richness.  From  thence 
to  Danville  is  about  fifty  miles.  Lexington 
is  about  midway,  and  is  nearly  central  of  the 
finest  and  most  luxuriant  country,  perhaps, 
on  earth.  From  Lexington  to  Leesburg  is 
about  twenty  miles;  to  Boonesburg  it  is  about 
twenty;  the  upper  Blue  Lick  nearly  thirty. 
This  square,  which  is  nearly  fifty  miles,  com- 
prehends entirely  what  is  called  first-rate 
land.  Leesburg  lies  on  the  Kentucky  about 
twenty  miles  from  its  mouth  by  land,  and 
nearly  forty  by  water.  The  country  between 
that  and  the  Ohio  is  broken  but  rich,  though 
it  is  not  deemed  a valuable  body  of  land. 
The  Kentucky  is  bounded  everywhere  by 
high,  rocky  precipices,  which  are  generally 
200  feet  and  upward  perpendicular,  and 
which  make  its  passage  difficult. 

“ Few  places  on  it  have  any  bottom  land,  as 
the  rock  rises  mostly  contiguous  to  the  bed 
of  the  river,  which  confinement,  after  the 
heavy  rains,  renders  it  very  formidable  from 
the  impetuosity  of  its  current.  On  ascend- 
ing the  banks  of  this  river,  the  land  on 
either  side  is  equally  good  for  a considerable 
distance  above  Boonesburg;  but  adjacent  to 
the  mountains,  from  which  the  river  rises. 


the  country  becomes  broken,  sterile,  and  of 
little  or  no  value.  Boonesburg  lies  on  the 
Kentucky,  about  sixty  miles  above  its  mouth 
by  land,  and  about  130  by  water.  From 
Leesbm’g  down  the  river  on  the  south  side, 
for  about  ten  or  twelve  miles,  the  hills  are 
considerably  high  and  steep,  but  when  you 
pass  the  waters  of  Drinnon’s  Lick  Creek,  you 
fall  into  a body  of  good  champaign  land, 
which  extends  with  little  variation  to  the 
Rapids  of  the  Ohio.  From  Leesburg  to 
Danville  the  country,  for  the  first  twenty 
miles,  is  of  an  inferior  character  of  land  for 
this  country,  but  farther  on  you  get  into  the 
rich  country  I have  mentioned,  comprehend- 
ed within  the  square  of  fifty  miles. 

“Large  bodies  of  good  land  lie  on  every 
side  of  Danville  for  twenty  miles  and  up- 
ward, but  in  the  course  from  thence  to  the 
Rapids  of  the  Ohio,  on  the  waters  of  Salt 
River  (which  takes  its  name  from  a salt 
spring  called  Bullitt’s  Lick  that  is  on  its 
banks,  about  twenty  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  river),  the  country  is,  in  some  places, 
broken  into  ridges  of  hills,  which  are  in 
general  good  land,  but  not  well  watered.  As 
you  approach  the  Rapids  the  country  becomes 
more  level,  better  watered,  and  the  soil  more 
fertile.  The  country  of  Beargrass  is  beauti- 
ful and  rich,  as  indeed  is  the  land  on  Goose 
and  Harrod’s  Creeks.  In  the  fork  of  the 
Ohio  and  Salt  Rivers,  which  form  a junction 
about  twenty  miles  below  the  Rapids,  the 
country  is  flat  and  interspersed  with  small 
lakes  or  ponds,  occasioned  by  the  extreme 
lowness  of  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  in  this 
fork,  which,  when  flooded,  overflows  the 
country,  and  the  water  fills  these  ponds  peri- 
odically, or  as  often  as  those  inundations 
happen,  which  are  frequent  from  December 
until  April. 

“The  Rapids  of  the  Ohio  lies  about  700 
miles  below  Pittsburgh ; and  about  400  above 
the  confluence  with  the  Mississippi.  They 
are  occasioned  by  a ledge  of  rocks  which 
stretch  across  the  bed  of  the  river  from  one 
side  to  the  other,  in  some  places] projecting 
so  much  that  they  are  visible  when  the  wa- 
ter is  not  high,  and  in  most  places  when  the 
river  is  extremely  low.  The  fall  is  not  more 


rOST  OFFIC]>:  ANIJ  CX^STOM  house,  LOUISVILLE,  IN  COUKSE  OF  CONSTRUCTION,  (1887.) 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


195 


than  between  four  and  five  feet  in  the  dis- 
tance of  a mile,  so  that  boats  of  any  burthen 
may  pass  with  safety  when  there  is  a flood, 
but  boats  coming  up  the  river  must  unload. 

“The  situation  of  the  Rapids  is  truly  de- 
lightful. The  river  is  full  a mile  wide,  and 
the  fall  of  water,  which  is  an  eternal  cascade, 
appears  as  if  nature  had  designed  it  to  show 
how  inimitable  and  stupendous  are  her  works. 
* * * The  view  up  the  river  is  terminat- 

ed at  the  distance  of  four  leagues,  by  an 
island  in  its  center,  which  is  contrasted  by 
the  plain  on  the  opposite  shore  that  extends 
a long  way  into  the  country,  but  the  eye  re- 
ceding, finds  new  beauties  and  ample  sub- 
jects for  admiration  in  the  rising  hills  of  Sil- 
ver Creek,  which,  stretching  obliquely  to  the 
northwest,  proudly  rise  higher  and  higher  as 
they  extend,  until  their  summits  are  lost  in 
air.  * * * There  lies  a small 

island  in  the  river,  about  200  yards  from  the 
eastern  shore,  between  which  and  the  main 
there  is  a quarry  of  excellent  stone  for  build- 
ing, and  which  in  great  part  is  dry  the  latter 
part  of  summer.  The  banks  of  the  river  are 
never  overflowed  here,  they  being  fifty  feet 
higher  than  the  bed  of  the  river. 

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

“In  leaving  the  Rapids  in  a southwesterly 
direction  the  country  is  flat,  it  bordering 
upon  the  country  I have  described  in  the  fork 
of  the  Ohio  and  Salt  Rivers.  After  passing 
the  main  branch  of  the  Salt  River  near  Bul- 
litt’s Lick,  ten  miles  distant,  in  the  fork  of 
the  north  and  the  south  branches,  the  coun- 
try becomes  broken  and  hilly,  but  between 
which  and  the  Cumberland  Road,  that  leads 
from  the  upper  parts  of  Kentucky,  there  is  a 
considerable  extent  of  fine  land;  but  traveling 
a few  leagues  farther  southward  you  arrive 
at  extensive  plains,  which  extend  upwards 
of  150  miles  in  a southwest  course,  and  end 
only  when  they  join  the  mountainous  coun- 
try. Some  few  clumps  of  trees,  and  a grove 
here  and  there,  are  the  only  obstructions  to  a 
boundless  horizon.  It  is  pleasant  to  behold 
the  deer  bounding  over  the  scraggy  shrubs 
which  cover  the  earth.  While  the  setting 
sun  gilds  those  extensive  plains,  the  mild 
breezes  of  a summer’s  eve  playing  upon  the 


em’aptured  senses,  soften  the  heart  to  love 
and  friendship.  Unperceived  upon  some 
eminence  you  may  enjoy  the  sports  of  wild 
animals,  which  here  rove  unconcerned  lords 
of  the  field.  Heavens!  What  charms  there 
are  in  liberty! 

“We  now  have  arrived  on  the  waters  of 
Green  River.  * * * The  plains  extend 

upon  the  head- waters  of  this  river  quite  into 
the  limits  of  North  Carolina,  but  at  the 
mouth,  and  for  forty  miles  above,  there  is  a 
large  proportion  of  good  land,  particularly 
upon  Panther  Creek.  From  the  mouth  of 
Green  River  up  the  Ohio  to  Salt  River,  the 
land  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  is  generally 
fertile  and  rich;  but  leaving  its  banks  you 
soon  fall  into  the  plain  country,  which  is 
considered  as  little  better  than  bari-en  land,* 
* * * yet  it  is  of  superior  quality  to  great 

part  of  the  soil  in  the  lower  parts  of  Virginia, 
the  Carolinas  and  Georgia.  It  abounds  with 
hazel,  which,  it  is  well-known,  never  grows 
kindly  in  a poor  soil. 

“ The  native  strawberry  is  found  in  these 
plains  in  the  greatest  abundance,  as  are  like- 
wise plums  of  different  sorts;  and  if  we  can 
form  any  idea  of  the  native  grape  that  grows 
spontaneously  here,  what  the  same  soil  is 
capable  of  producing  where  they  are  culti- 
vated, it  would  appear  that  no  climate  or  soil 
in  the  world  is  more  congenial  to  the  vine, 
for  I have  never  tasted  more  delicious  grapes; 
and  it  is  the  opinion  of  some  judicious 
foreigners,  who  have  visited  these  Arcadian 
regions,  that  as  good  wine  as  can  be  made  in 
any  part  of  the  globe  might  be  produced 
from  the  native  grape  properly  cultivated. 
There  is  nothing  more  common  than  to  meet 
with  a pleasant  wine  made  here  by  the  set- 
tlers, who  know  nothing  of  the  use  of  vats, 
or  the  degree  of  fermentation  necessary  to 
the  perfection  of  the  art  of  wine-making. 
But  I flatter  myself  some  progress  will  be 
made  in  this  business,  as  several  foreigners 
have  long  had  it  in  agitation  to  undertake 
it.f  The  country  between  Green  and  Cum- 
berland Rivers  is,  in  general,  rich  and  finely 
watered.  There  is  in  it  a most  valuable  lead 

^Appendix  A,  Note  16. 

fAppendix  A,  Note  17. 


196 


IIISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


mine,  and  several  salt  springs,  and  two  of 
bitumen,  which,  when  analyzed,  is  found  to 
be  amber.  But  so  much  do  we  stand  in  need 
of  chemists  and  mineralists,  that  we  remain 
ignorant  of  the  properties  and  value  of  many 
fossils  which  have  been  discovered.  * * 

“ Cumberland  River  rises  among  the  moun- 
tains, considerably  to  the  northeast,  and  after 
its  several  branches  have  joined  it,  runs  a 
long  way  south,  and  enters  the  limits  of 
North  Carolina.  After  a course  of  half  a 
degree  within  those  limits  it  turns  to  the 
northwest,  and  empties  into  the  Ohio,  at  some 
distance  above  its  junction  with  the  Missis- 
sippi. The  Tenasee  runs  into  the  Ohio, 
not  a long  way  below  the  mouth  of  Cumber- 
land. The  Tenasee  is  the  most  important 
of  the  southern  branches  of  the  Ohio.  * * 

“After  you  leave  the  plains  which  extend 
into  the  Cumberland  country,  in  your  course 
to  the  Tenasee,  the  country  is  somewhat 
broken,  but  mostly  rich.  Gi’eat  part  of  the 
land  lying  between  these  rivers  was  in  mili- 
tary grants,  made  by  Virginia  to  their  officers 
and  soldiers,  and  is  esteemed  a valuable 
situation  for  its  proximity  to  the  junction  of 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi.  Their  grants  ex- 
tend as  low  on  the  Mississippi  as  the  parti- 
tion line  between  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina, all  of  which  is  a beautiful  country,  and 
the  banks  of  the  river,  which  are  very  high, 
prevent  it  from  overflowing,  which  is  not  the 
case  lower  down.”* 

This  early  survey  of  Kentucky  has  the  rare 
merit  of  being  generally  confirmed  by  ex- 
perience. But  while  this  is  true,  and  un- 
doubtedly expressed  the  collated  judgment  of 
the  early  settlers,  there  were  details  unnoted 
which  were  of  the  first  importance  in  decid- 
ing the  pioneer’s  choice  of  a new  home.  A 
fertile  soil  was  an  important  consideration, 
but  not  so  important  as  others  which  have  long 
since  become  obsolete.  The  demands  of  the 
pioneer  grew  out  of  the  undeveloped  condition 
of  the  whole  country,  and  made  him  a hunter 
rather  than  a farmer.  His  resources,  as  well 

* ‘A  Description  of  the  Western  Territory  of  North  Ameri- 
ca,” by  G.  Imlay;  Dublin,  1793;  pp.39-.52.  This  work  consists 
of  a scriesof  letters  by  the  author  to  a friend  in  England.  The 
original  edition  was  published  at  London , 1792.  Several  editions 
were  subsequently  published,  that  of  1797  being  in  two  volumes, 
the  second  of  which  contained  the  work  of  Filson.  A good  copy 
of  this  edition  is  rare. 


as  inducement  for  the  cultivation  of  the  land, 
were  of  the  most  limited  kind,  and  obliged 
him  to  depend  upon  nature  far  more  than 
upon  art  for  his  subsistence.  His  education 
and  experience  prepared  him  to  prefer  this 
kind  of  existence,  and  while  he  sought  a lo- 
cality which  was  likely  to  invite  immigration, 
and  thus  lead  to  the  appreciation  of  his  pre- 
emption, his  only  hope  of  an  ultimate  com- 
petence, his  experience  led  him  to  seek  a 
land  where  the  meager  demands  for  the 
support  of  his  family  could  be  most  readily 
supplied.  This  implied  an  abundance  of 
game,  a good  range  for  his  few  head  of 
stock,  convenient  materials  for  the  construc- 
tion of  his  rude  dwelling  and  limited  fencing, 
and  plenty  of  good  water. 

These  conditions  were  all  happily  blended 
in  the  new  land.  Springs  bubbled  up  in  all 
parts  of  the  very  garden  spot  of  Kentucky, 
tall  forests  crowned  the  uplands,  while  in 
the  glades  and  on  the  river- bottoms  flourished 
the  luxuriant  cane,  rye-grass  and  clover.  But 
what  more  excited  the  admiration  of  immi- 
grants was  the  profusion  of  game,  which  every- 
where abounded  and  included  “ beasts  of 
every  American  kind.”  Elks  were  found  in 
the  broken  country;  deer  moving  in  small 
companies,  or  herding  together  to  the  num- 
ber of  a hundred  head,  thronged  the  uplands 
and  valleys,  where  bears  and  buffaloes  in  large 
numbers  were  also  found,  adding  piquancy 
to  the  mingled  duty  and  pleasure  of  the 
hunt.  The  latter,  it  is  said,  came  in  vast 
herds  of  a thousand  head,  making  broad 
paths  to  the  licks,  which  they  frequented, 
and  shaking  the  earth  in  their  ponderous 
flight. 

The  buffalo  was  a new  game  to  the  pion- 
neers.  The  oldest  hunters  often  found 
themselves  at  fault  in  its  pursuit,  and  Butler 
relates  that,  in  1781,  a body  of  forty  emi- 
grants were  discovered  by  Clark  and  two 
companions,  “ actually  starving,  from  inex- 
perience of  the  hunters  in  killing  the  buf- 
falo.” Clark’s  company  soon  killed  fourteen 
of  these  animals  for  the  famished  party,  as 
much  to  their  astonishment  as  to  their  grati- 
fication. “ It  seems  that  skillful  hunters 
can  arrange  themselves  so  as  to  run  parallel 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


197 


with  a herd  of  buffalo,  killing  and  loading  as 
far  as  they  can  run.  This  conduct  of  our 
hunters  struck  the  group  of  strangers  with 
such  astonishment,  when  they  contrasted  the 
success  of  the  new  hunters  with  the  failure 
of  their  own  men,  themselves  expert  woods- 
men with  all  other  game,  that  they  were 
ready  to  look  upon  Clark  and  his  two  coad- 
jutors as  something  more  than  mortals  in 
disguise.  A party  thus  strangely  rescued 
from  starvation,  in  the  midst  of  wild  game, 
might  well  be  disordered  in  their  judgments 
at  first.” 

The  secret  of  the  successful  pursuit  of  this 
animal  was  soon  learned  by  all,  and  it 
became  the  general  object  of  the  hunter’s 
prowess,  hundreds  eventually  being  slaugh- 
tered simply  for  their  tongues,  which  were 
considered  a great  delicacy.  Such  improvi- 
dence in  the  use  of  nature’s  bounties  soon 
drove  the  buffalo  beyond  the  Mississippi, 
and  in  1784  only  a few  were  to  be  found  in 
Kentucky.  Deer,  turkeys,  wolves,  foxes  and 
those  woodland  friends  of  man,  the  squirrel 
and  raccoon,  remained  much  later,  the  last 
two  still  being  the  sport  of  the  younger 
hunters.  The  departure  of  the  deer  and 
turkey  was  in  some  part  supplied  by  the 
quail  and  summer-duck,  which  early  followed 
in  the  wake  of  the  grain-fields,  and  still  re- 
main. 

Into  this  earthly  elysium,  the  older  fron- 
tiers sent  forth  an  eager  throng  ready  to  riot 
in  its  charms,  and  had  not  the  Indian  inter- 
posed his  claim,  nature’s  magic  would  have 
raised  up  in  the  Kentucky  forests  a state 
which  could  have  been  scarcely  less  turbulent 
than  that  which  a quarter  of  a century  later 
arose  on  the  Pacific  slope.  Desperate  as  was 
the  contest  that  ensued,  society  gained  no 
slight  recompense  in  the  clarifying  in- 
fluences of  danger.  The  sordid  and  vicious 
were  largely  deterred  from  coming,  or  were 
frightened  into  a hurried  retreat  to  safer 
neighborhoods,  where  they  remained  until 
the  frontier  community  became  so  far  estab- 
lished as  to  hold  disintegrating  elements  in 
control.  1 

But  with  the  limitations  of  an  Indian  war 
and  an  early  attempt  to  plant  an  orderly  col-  , 


ony,  the  growth  of  the  early  society  in  Ken- 
tucky was  spontaneous,  and  exhibited  in  its 
evolution  a show  of  regularity  which  is  dis- 
coverable in  the  normal  development  of  the 
average  pioneer  community.  The  first  set- 
tlers, though  not  unacquainted  with  the  for- 
malities of  government,  lightly  esteemed  its 
functions,  and  were  prepared  to  reject  its 
sanctions  in  their  new  home.  The  early 
attempt  to  establish  a formal  government  by 
the  Transylvania  colonists,  though  liberally 
devised,  was  rejected,  primarily,  as  an  inno- 
vation upon  the  inherent  freedom  of  the  fron- 
tier. The  pioneer  claimed,  by  virtue  of  the 
risk  of  his  bold  adventure,  a certain  absolu- 
tion from  legal  responsibility  which  the 
necessities  of  the  case  obliged  society  at 
large  to  grant,  and  it  was  only  when  a differ- 
ent class  of  interests  became  prominent  that 
the  unwritten  law  of  the  community  assumed 
something  of  regularity.  With  the  increase 
of  numbers  democracy  delegated  its  powers, 
and,  by  a single  step  farther,  lost  itself  in 
the  embryonic  government  of  the  common- 
wealth. 

The  order  of  this  development  cannot  be 
clearly  defined.  It  was  the  result  of  a suc- 
cession of  influences  rather  than  the  legisla- 
tion of  classes,  and  the  character  of  society 
gradually  changed,  partly  through  a change 
of  sentiment  in  those  already  on  the  border, 
and  partly  through  the  accession  of  others 
who  entertained  more  advanced  notions. 
The  earliest  dominant  influence  was  exerted 
by  the  hunter  or  scout,  whose  presence  on 
the  frontier  was  due  to  the  attractions  of 
the  abundant  game  and  the  adventures  of  an 
unrestrained  life  ; then  succeeded  the  pio- 
neer, whose  chief  aim  was  to  establish  a 
home  and  provide  for  the  future  ; and 
finally  the  man  of  affairs,  the  prototype 
of  the  modern  politician,  who  prepared  the 
way  for  a more  stable  order  of  society.  No 
distinct  line  of  division  defined  these  classes, 
however.  The  one  often  merged  into  the 
other,  and  there  were  individuals  who  were 
successively  eminent  in  each  of  them,  though 
this  was  exceeding  rare,  Benjamin  Logan 
alone  affording  a conspicuous  example. 

Of  the  first  class  of  pioneers,  Logston  and 


198 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Kenton  may  be  taken  as  types  of  the  two 
extremes.  Big  Joe  Logston,  as  he  was 
called,  was  the  son  of  somewhat  remarkable 
l^arents,  who  lived  in  the  region  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains.  Old  Joe  Logston,  as 
his  father  was  known,  was  of  extraordinary 
size,  superior  in  athletic  accomplishments, 
and  possessed  of  great  muscular  strength. 
His  wife,  while  not  remarkably  tall,  was 
large  of  bone  and  coarse  of  fiber,  and  pos- 
sessed the  strength  of  three  ordinary  women. 
The  son  of  such  parents  was  predestined  to 
excel  in  physical  power,  and  in  early  man- 
hood he  exceeded  his  father  in  size,  strength 
and  activity.  His  size  became  proverbial, 
and  “ great  as  Big  Joe  Logston”  was  the 
most  exalted  standard  of  physical  excellence 
in  his  neighborhood.  He  early  became 
noted  for  his  skill  with  the  rifle  and  in  athletic 
sports,  and  is  said  to  have  boasted,  with  an 
accuracy  that  none  felt  willing  to  contest, 
that  he  could  “ out-run,  out-leap,  out-jump, 
throw  down,  drag  out  and  whip  any  man  in 
the  country.” 

Logston  took  to  the  woods  as  naturally  as  a 
bear’s  cub,  and  spent  his  early  years  inquest 
of  such  game  as  the  mountain  region  afford- 
ed, resorting  to  the  settlements  only  to  ex- 
change his  peltries  for  powder  and  lead.  As 
pioneer  improvements  encroached  upon  his 
solitude  he  grew  restive,  and  when  a cabin 
was  erected  within  two  miles  of  his  ac- 
customed naunts,  he  accepted  the  fact  as  a 
notice  to  leave,  and  in  1790  went  to  the 
Barren  River,  in  Kentucky.  Here  he  first 
met  the  hostile  Indian,  whom  he  considered 
as  only  a nobler  kind  of  game.  With  them 
he  had  numerous  adventures,  which  gave  him 
distinction  among  friends  and  foes,  and  their 
recital  afibrded  entertainment  at  many  a 
frontier  fireside.  One  of  the  most  notorious 
of  these  exploits  was  a tight  with  two  Indi- 
ans, in  which  he  succeeded  in  mortally 
wounding  one,  and  in  mauling  the  other  to 
death  with  his  fists.  As  the  settlement  in- 
creased in  his  neighborhood,  and  Indian 
hostilities  ceased,  he  went  to  Illinois,  where 
he  was  subsequently  killed  in  a contest  with 
a band  of  desperadoes. 

The  class  of  adventurers  of  which  Log- 


ston is  in  some  respects  rather  a mild  type 
was  not  so  conspicuous  in  numbers  or  prow- 
ess in  Kentucky  as  elsewhere  on  the  western 
border,  but  no  part  of  the  frontier  was 
without  its  representatives.  They  seldom 
had  families,  made  no  pre-emption,  or  lightly 
abandoned  it  with  the  crude  improvements 
they  made,  and  preferred  to  live  apart  from 
their  fellows.  They  were  too  often  of  a 
quarrelsome  disposition,  which  developed  into 
ferocity  when  the  natives  were  concerned, 
and  led  them  to  defy  law,  the  general  weal, 
and  every  consideration  of  humanity,  to 
satisfy  their  abnormal  thirst  for  the  blood  of 
the  savages.  These  characteristics,  it  will  be 
observed,  represent  the  least  favorable  de- 
velopment of  a class  of  people  generally 
designated  as  “first  settlers,”  “ a kind  of 
men,”  to  use  the  language  of  Michaux, 
“who  are  unable  to  stop  on  the  soil 
which  they  have  cleared,  and,  under 

pretense  of  finding  better  land,  a more 
healthy  country,  or  a greater  abundance  of 
beasts  of  chase,  keep  always  moving  farther, 
constantly  direct  their  steps  to  the  points 
most  remote  from  every  part  of  the  American 
population,  and  establish  themselves  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  nations  of  the  savages,  whom 
they  brave  even  in  their  own  country.” 

Kenton,  in  contrast  with  Logston,  while 
indubitably  of  the  same  class,  was  of  a supe- 
rior order.  His  endowments  were  intellec- 
tual rather  than  physical,  and  while  possessed 
of  great  powers  of  endurance  and  a taste  for 
hazardous  exploits,  he  was  endued  with  a sa- 
gacity which  alone  warrants  the  higher  place 
accorded  him  in  pioneer  annals.  The  almost 
tragic  event  which  cast  him  upon  the  fron- 
tier in  the  guise  of  an  outlaw  undoubtedly 
tiu’ned  the  course  of  his  life  to  nobler  pur- 
poses; and  where  he  sought  simply  an  asylum 
from  outraged  justice,  he  found  a field  of  ac- 
tion in  which  he  could  employ  his  expanding 
powers  and  redeem  the  good  name  which  the 
passion  of  undisciplined  youth  had  forfeited. 
His  advent  upon  the  frontier  has  been  noted  in 
the  preceding  pages.  From  that  time  forward 
he  was  a prominent  actor  in  Kentucky  af- 
fairs, though  occupying  the  position  of  scout 
until  the  expedition  of  1782,  in  which  he 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


199 


commanded  a company.  Thus  up  to  the 
peace,  which  was  announced  the  following 
year,  his  powers  found  congenial  employment 
in  the  warlike  activities  of  the  border,  or 
dm’ing  the  interval  when  a temporary  cessa- 
tion of  hostilities  gave  him  leisure  for  peace- 
ful pursuits,  in  aiding  the  surveyors  as  guide 
and  hunter. 

In  the  meantime  Kenton  had  been  known 
on  the  border  as  Simon  Butler,  having  as- 
sumed his  mother’s  family  name  to  further 
avoid  discovery  of  his  identity;  but  some 
time  in  1782  he  met  his  brother,  who  re- 
lieved him  of  further  necessity  for  disguise 
by  the  information  that  the  victim  of  his  as- 
sault had  recovered  and  long  since  forgiven 
the  injury.  The  supposed  crime  had  long 
weighed  on  his  heart,  and  his  emancipa- 
tion from  the  galling  bonds  of  self-accusa- 
tion  opened  a new  prospect  in  life,  and  gave 
his  activity  a new  direction.  He  had  secured 
claims  to  large  tracts  of  land,  and  was  con- 
sidered one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  Ken- 
tucky. On  the  announcement  of  peace  he 
repaired  to  his  claim  on  Salt  River,  and  be- 
gan cultivating  it.  A considerable  settle- 
ment gathered  about  him,  and,  having  pre- 
pared a home  for  his  parents,  he  set  out  in 
the  late  fall  of  1783  to  visit  Virginia  for  the 
first  time  since  his  flight,  nearly  thirteen 
years  before.  His  reception  by  his  family, 
and  even  by  his  old-time  rival,  was  of  the 
most  cordial  character;  old  differences  were 
forgotten,  and  the  illustrious  scout,  whose 
exploits  were  the  theme  of  every  fireside  dis- 
cussion, became  the  hero  of  the  hour. 

The  hardy  pioneer  spent  little  time  in  such 
seductive  dalliance,  and  early  in  the  spring, 
with  the  whole  family,  whom  he  had  induced 
by  his  glowing  description  to  emigrate,  he 
reached  Redstone.  Here,  while  preparations 
were  being  made  to  continue  the  journey  by 
water,  his  father  died  and  was  buried.  The 
rest  of  the  party  subsequently  proceeded  to 
their  destination.  At  this  time  the  route  fol- 
lowed by  the  great  tide  of  immigration  was 
by  way  of  the  river  to  Limestone  (Mays- 
ville),  and  thence  by  the  old  trail  to  the  in- 
terior. This  travel  made  the  site  of  Kenton’s 
old  camp  and  claim  especially  valuable,  and 


in  July,  1784,  he  repaired  to  this  point  with 
a party,  intent  upon  establishing  a station 
upon  his  land.  A blockhouse  was  built,  but 
the  Indians,  while  not  generally  renewing 
active  hostilities,  were  beginning  to  show  their 
restlessness  and  dissatisfaction  by  sundry 
depredations  which  discouraged  Kenton’s 
companions  from  joining  in  his  venturesome 
project,  and  the  enterprise  was  for  the  time 
abandoned.  In  the  fall,  however,  Kenton 
resolved  to  take  advantage  of  the  circum- 
stances, which  were  likely  to  enhance  the 
value  of  his  property,  and  removed  his  fara 
ily  to  this  exposed  region.  A few  of  the 
more  venturesome  families  joined  him  at 
once,  and  in  the  succeeding  spring  many  new- 
comers swelled  the  new  station  into  a strong 
frontier  settlement.  Here  the  distinguished 
hunter  discharged  the  duties  of  captain  and 
leader  of  the  settlement  with  the  same  suc- 
cess that  had  crowned  his  efforts  as  scout 
and  guide.  About  1799,*  after  reaching 
the  rank  of  maj.or,  and  taking  an  active  part 
in  all  the  campaigns  which  followed  the  re- 
newal of  the  Indian  war,  he  went  to  the 
newer  lauds  north  of  the  Ohio,  confounded 
by  the  subtleties  of  the  land- laws,  robbed  by 
unprincipled  speculators  and  beggared  by 
land-suits. 

Boone,  also,  in  all  his  instincts,  tastes  and 
habits,  was  closely  allied  to  this  class  of  “first 
settlers.  ” He  had,  at  the  same  time,  a pru- 
dent regard  for  the  future,  which  led  him  to 
labor  for  an  eventual  competence  for  his 
family,  and  amid  all  the  strange  vicissitudes 
of  the  frontier  he  never  neglected  the  culti- 
vation of  his  plantation  near  Boonesborough. 
He  was,  in  fact,  one  of  those  connecting  links 
between  the  hunter  and  the  farmer  which 
blended  the  social  product  of  the  early  adven- 
turers into  the  more  stable  form  of  society 
which  arose  out  of  the  influence  of  the  pion- 
eer husbandman.  After  the  declaration  of 
peace,  his  name  loses  significance  in  the 
annals  of  the  border,  and  while  at  one  time 
he  occupied  a prominent  place  in  the  county 
government,  and  once  represented  the  fron- 
tier in  the  Virginia  assembly,  he  was  soon 
superseded  in  those  functions,  and  wandered 

*Appendis  A,  Note  18. 


200 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


amid  the  scenes  of  an  expanding  civilization, 
a relic  of  a by-gone  period,  unappreciative 
and  unappreciated. 

In  1779  he  accumulated  a considerable 
sum  in  paper  money,  amounting  to  $20,000, 
it  is  said,  and  set  out  for  Richmond,  Va.,  to 
invest  it  in  land  warrants,  but  on  his  way  he 
was  unfortunately  robbed  of  the  whole  of  it. 
He  subsequently  made  claims  to  consider- 
able land,  but  eventually  lost  it  all  through 
the  intricacies  of  the  law.  Rendered  dis- 
contented by  misfortunes,  which  his  unfamil- 
iarity with  and  distaste  for  legal  niceties 
made  him  incapable  of  repairing  or  avoiding, 
he  began  to  long  for  the  untrammeled  free- 
dom of  the  forest.  His  family  no  longer 
needed  his  care,  and  about  1794,  with  his 
wife,  he  left  Kentucky  never  again  to  find 
here  his  abode  until  the  State  brought  his 
remains  to  be  interred  in  the  public  cemetry 
at  Frankfo’t.  * Subsequently  the  common- 
wealth. 

Slowly  wise  and  meanly  just, 

To  buried  merit  raised  the  tardy  bust. 


MONUMENT  TO  DANIEL  BOONE. 

These  figm’es,  whose  outlines  a happy 

^Appendix  A,  Note  19. 


chance  has  fixed  upon  the  historic  page,  were 
not  dissimilar  to  the  throng  which  constituted 
the  advance  line  of  civilization  on  the  bor- 
der. Of  the  many,  only  here  and  there  an 
exaggerated  tale  perpetuates  the  memory  of 
their  valor  or  their  virtues,  and  of  them  it 
may  be  written,  as  it  was  of  the  Romans: 
“History  has  left  a thousand  of  their  more 
brilliant  actions  unrecorded,  which  would 
have  done  them  great  honor,  but  for  want  of 
eloquent  historians.”  To  the  curious  gaze 
of  the  foreigner,  these  people  presented  an 
object  of  peculiar  interest,  and  a French 
traveler,  who  descended  the  Ohio  in  1802,  has 
left  the  following  pen-picture  of  a common 
representative  of  the  class: 

Before  we  arrived  at  Marietta,  we  fell  in  with 
one  of  these  settlers,  an  inhabitant  of  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Wheeling,  who,  like  us,  was  descending  the 
Ohio,  and  we  kept  together  for  two  days.  Alone, 
in  a canoe  of  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  long,  and 
twelve  or  fifteen  inches  wide,  he  was  going  to  visit 
the  banks  of  the  Missouri,  at  150  miles  from  its 
mouth.  The  excellent  quality  of  the  land,  which  is 
reported  to  be  more  fertile  than  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio,  and  which  the  Spanish  government  at  that 
time  distributed  gratis,  the  multitude  of  beavers, 
elks,  and  more  particularly  of  bisons,  were  the 
motives  which  induced  him  to  emigrate  into  these 
distant  countries,  from  whence,  when  he  had  deter- 
mined on  a convenient  spot  to  settle  with  his 
family,  he  had  to  return  and  seek  them  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio,  which  obliged  him  to  make  a 
voyage  of  1,400  or  1,500  miles  three  times. 

His  di-ess,  like  that  of  all  the  American  hunters, 
consisted  of  a round  waist-coat  with  sleeves,  a pair 
of  pantaloons,  and  a broad  woolen  girdle  of  a red 
and  yellow  color.  A carbine,  a tomahawk,  a small 
hatchet  used  by  the  Indians  to  cut  wood  and  to 
complete  the  death  of  their  enemies,  two  beaver 
traps  and  a large  knife  hanging  to  his  girdle,  com- 
posed his  hunting  equipage.  One  blanket  was  all 
his  baggage.  Every  evening  he  encamped  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  or  passed  the  night  by  a fire,  and 
when  he  judged  the  spot  to  be  favorable  to  the 
chase,  he  penetrated  into  the  woods  for  several  days 
and,  from  the  produce  of  his  hunting,  procured 
the  means  of  subsistence,  and  obtained  fresh  sup- 
plies with  the  skins  of  the  animals  he  had  killed. 

Such  were  the  first  inhabitants  of  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee,  of  whom  very  few  are  now  left.  It  was 
they  who  began  to  clear  those  fertile  countries  and 
wrested  them  from  the  savages,  who  obstinately 
disputed  the  possession  of  them;  it  was  they  who 
finallj'  secured  the  property  in  them  after  five  or  six 
years  of  bloody  war.  But,  long  habituated  to  a 
wandering,  unemployed  life,  they  were  unable  to 
enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  toil,  or  to  benefit  by  the 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


201 


extraordinary  value  to  which  they  had  raised  these 
lands  in  a short  time;  they  have  emigrated  into 
more  remote  countries,  where  they  are  forming  new 
establishments.* 

These  western  nomads  were  not  the  pre- 
cursors of  the  permanent  population  in  every 
settlement.  Like  birds  of  passage  their  flight 
was  “from  zone  to  zone,”  and  once  the 
migration  was  begun  they  did  not  stay  their 
course  ttntil  they  reached  the  remote  locality 
to  which  rumor,  or  a kind  of  instinct,  led 
them.  It  was  a common  occurrence  for  the 
head  of  a family  to  be  moved  by  a sudden 
impulse  to  go  “farther  west.”  With  the 
facility  of  the  Arabs,  the  whole  household 
would  be  on  its  way  in  a day  or  two,  some- 
times in  as  many  hours,  and,  boldly  plung- 
ing into  the  unmarked  wilderness,  travel  hun- 
dreds of  miles, 

Lone,  wandering,  but  not  lost. 

Occasionally,  necessitated  by  the  exigency 
of  the  way,  a stop  would  be  made  long 
enough  “to  raise  a crop,”  but,  this  secured, 
the  journey  was  resumed  and  prosecuted  to 
the  end.  This  class  of  immigrants  left  slight 
impress  of  their  personality  upon  permanent 
social  institutions,  but  their  service  to  the 
State  was  none  the  less  real.  Fitted  by 
their  tastes  and  experience  to  meet  the  rude 
shock  of  border  life,  they  prepared  the  way 
for  higher  forms  of  society,  and  then  passed 
off  the  stage  of  action  almost  unheeded. 

The  pioneer  husbandman  was  a more  pro- 
saic figure,  and  while  more  permanent  than 
his  predecessor,  he  paved  his  way  to  obscurity 
by  the  unobtrusive  diligence  which  alone 
insured  his  permanence.  It  will  be  observed 
that  he  was  the  successor  of  the  “ fii’st  set- 
tler ” in  wielding  the  dominant  social  in- 
fluence rather  than  in  the  matter  of  immi- 
gration. He  was  among  the  earliest  to  reach 
the  frontier,  though  doubtless  in  fewer  num- 
bers; and  here  amid  the  distractions  and 
dangers  of  an  Indian  war  he  gradually  ex- 
tended the  area  of  his  clearings,  furnished 
the  sinews  of  war,  and,  in  case  of  a general 
expedition,  swelled  the  ranks  of  the  invading 
army.  Many  of  this  class  were  men  of  some 
wealth,  for  the  time,  who  ‘ ‘ took  up  ” large 
areas  of  land  and  on  some  favorable  spot 


erected  a station.  Such  places  of  protection 
were  the  welcome  resort  of  the  less  provident 
class,  who,  in  return  for  board  or  the  use  of 
certain  lands,  became  the  retainers  of  the 
founders  of  the  station. 

It  is  difficult  to  draw  a typical  figure  of 
these  pioneers.  Like  the  men  of  average  and 
general  uniform  characteristics  of  to-day, 
who  constitute  the  “ forgotten  millions  ” of 
the  world,  they  can  be  reckoned  only  in  the 
mass,  and  indiscriminately  designated  as 
“the  people”  of  that  day.  Among  them, 
more  distinguished  than  the  many,  may  be 
mentioned  the  founder  of  the  first  settle- 
ment in  Kentucky,  James  Harrod.  Nothing 
is  known  of  his  early  antecedents.  He  prob- 
ably came  from  the  Pennsylvania  border  of 
Virginia,  and  justly  claimed  the  distinction 
of  having  erected  the  first  cabin  in  Kentucky. 
He  was  tall,  erect  and  commanding  in  ap- 
pearance, bold,  resolute,  and  energetic  in 
j action,  and  possessed  qualities  of  a lofty  and 
generous  natui-e.  He  was  unlearned  in  books, 
but  deeply  read  in  nature  and  human  char- 
acter. His  mild  and  conciliating  manners, 
his  integrity  and  generous  kindness,  served 
to  attract  and  hold  in  friendly  allegiance 
the  rudest  characters  with  whom  he  came  in 
contact,  and  made  him  a power,  which  neither 
the  advantage  of  wealth  nor  prestige  could 
withstand. 

In  the  first  years  of  the  Kentucky  settle- 
ments, when  Indian  hostilities  made  stations 
the  only  prudent  form  of  habitation,  and 
when  the  growth  and  stability  of  such  sta- 
I tions  depended  upon  the  numbers  that  could 
be  attracted  to  them,  Harrod  found  no  diffi- 
culty in  establishing  the  most  popular  one 
on  the  frontier,  the  influence  of  which 
eventually  proved  the  most  stubborn  obstacle 
to  the  success  of  the  Transylvania  colony, 
although  supported  by  the  reputation  of 
Daniel  Boone.  Up  to  1783,  Harrodsburg, 
originally  known  as  Harrod’s  Town,  con- 
tinued to  be  the  largest  settlement  beyond 
the  Big  Sandy,  and  the  center  of  frontier 
influence.  But  with  the  division  of  Ken- 
tucky into  three  counties,  Han’od,  whose 
public  importance  had  some  time  before  be- 
gun to  wane,  became  one  of  the  people. 


*Michaux’s  Travels,  pp.  136-138. 


202 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


From  the  first,  Harrod  was  diverted  from 
the  cultivation  of  his  land  only  by  the  esi- 
gencies  of  the  situation.  He  was  an  adept 
in  the  use  of  the  rifle,  and  took  keen  pleas- 
ure in  the  excitement  of  the  hunt,  but  in  this 
pursuit  he  was  eminently  practical;  he  hunted 
for  the  necessary  food  which  his  skill  enabled 
him  to  procure.  He  was  a formidable  ad- 
versary to  the  hostile  Indians,  and  during 
the  first  three  or  four  years  was  prominent 
as  a partisan  leader.  In  succeeding  years, 
when  the  number  of  settlers  had  somewhat 
increased,  he  seemed  to  have  left  the  per- 
formance of  these  duties  to  others  to  whom 
they  were  more  congenial.  The  attempt  of 
some  writers  to  make  him  figure  as  an  “In- 
dian-slayer”  appears  entirely  gratuitous. 
While  incidents  are  related  which  show  him 
to  have  possessed  a spirit  of  great  daring, 
his  noted  encounters  with  the  savages  were 
unsought,  and  occurred  when  alone  in  quest 
of  game.  His  widow  related  an  incident 
which  is  characteristic  of  the  man: 

When  in  the  fort,  I dreamed  one  night  that  the 
Indians  had  attacked  some  of  our  men  outside  the 
fort;  and  that  when  my  husband  ran  out  to  help 
them,  I saw  an  Indian  shoot  him,  and  when  he  fell, 
stoop  over  and  stab  him.  The  very  next  day  three 
men  were  chopping  on  a log  on  the  creek  alongside 
the  old  Harrod  fort,  close  by,  when  we  heard  guns 
fire  and  saw  the  three  men  killed  and  the  Indians 
scalping  them.  The  Colonel  started  out  with  the 
others,  but  so  forcibly  now  was  my  dream  im- 
pressed upon  me  that  I clung  to  him.  He  forcibly 
tore  himself  from  me,  and  hurried  out.  I ran  up  to 
the  highest  point  and  looked  out.  The  Indians 
were  in  turn  fired  upon , and  I saw  the  Colonel  shoot 
one  and  run  him  a short  distance  down  the  ci’eek, 
and  when  the  Indian  fell,  I plainly  saw  my  husband 
stoop  over  (just  the  “contrary”  of  my  dream)  and 
stab  him.  When  he  came  back,  he  did  not  exult, 
but  seemed  distressed,  and  said  he  wished  never  to 
kill  another  of  the  poor  natives,  who  were  defend- 
ing their  fatherland,  and  that  this  feeling  was 
forced  upon  him  by  the  rebound  of  his  knife,  when 
he  plunged  it  into  the  heart  of  the  fallen  Indian, 
who  looked  up  so  piteously  into  his  face.  He  shed 
a tear  when  telling  me.* 

Abundant  testimony  to  his  kindly  spirit  is 
found  in  all  the  books  of  border  tales.  New 
comers,  whether  pro.spectors,  speculators  or 
surveyors,  found  a cordial  welcome  at  his 
station,  the  reputation  of  which  found  its 


way  across  the  border.  Inexperienced  set- 
tlers found  him,  in  many  a case  of  need,  a 
providential  friend,  who,  without  solicitation, 
provided  a haunch  of  venison,  restored  a 
missing  animal,  or  recovered  a stolen  imple- 
ment, as  though  that  was  his  sole  business  in 
the  world.  No  case  of  distress  appealed  to 
him  in  vain,  and  there  were  few  families  in 
the  central  settlements  to  whom  his  disinter- 
ested kindness  had  not  given  special  cause 
for  gratitude.  “In  after  times,”  says  Gov. 
Morehead,  “when  peace  and  quiet  ensued,  and 
the  range  of  the  buffalo  was  filled  up  with  a 
civilized  and  enterprising  population,  and  he 
had  become  the  father  of  an  interesting 
family,  the  veteran  pioneer  would  turn  away 
from  the  scenes  of  domestic  and  social  life, 
and  plunge  again  into  the  wilderness  to  in- 
dulge himself  in  the  cherished  enjoyments  of 
his  earlier  years.  From  one  of  these  excur- 
sions into  a distant  part  of  the  country 
he  never  returned.  ”* 

Of  those  who  directed  the  larger  move- 
ments of  frontier  society,  the  names  of  Trigg, 
Floyd,  Todd,  Clark  and  Logan  were  more 
prominent — -names  which  have  not  lost  their 
brightness  even  in  the  blaze  of  what  it  is 
common  to  call  the  civilization  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  In  no  period  of  the  State’s 
development  has  its  destiny  been  shaped  with 
greater  fidelity  or  more  conspicuous  ability 
than  it  was  by  these  noble-minded  men  dur- 
ing the  first  two  decades  of  its  history,  but  it 
is  of  “the  people”  that  this  chapter  is  designed 
to  treat. 

The  settlement  of  Kentucky  was  made  un- 
der conditions  somewhat  different  from  those 
met  with  elsewhere  on  the  western  border. 
Nowhere  else  was  the  Indian  opposition  urged 
with  equal  determination;  nowhere  else  were 
the  settlements  so  completely  isolated  and 
dependent  upon  their  own  unaided  resources; 
and  nowhere  else  were  such  meagre  numbers 
so  often  called  to  defend  their  homes,  not 
only  from  the  assaults  of  overwhelming  sav- 
age hordes,  but  of  savages  led  by  trained  of- 
ficers, re-enforced  by  white  soldiers,  and  sup- 
plied with  the  most  effective  war  material  of 
the  day.  How  this  was  accomplished,  un- 


*Dr.  Christopher  Graham  in  Collins,  Vol.  II,  p.  615. 


^Appendix  A,  Note  20. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


203 


aided,  save  by  an  unwavering  fortitude  and 
the  rude  defenses  of  the  station,  may  be  read 
in  the  thousand  tales  of  daring  exploits,  of 
personal  heroism,  and  of  unselfish  devotion 
which  have  their  scenes  in  Kentucky. 

At  the  same  time,  these  tales  are  not  to  be 
relied  upon  as  a complete  portraiture  of  the 
people.  They  were  not  uncouth  knights- 
ei’rant,  nor  was  woodcraft  a species  of  witch- 
craft. Kentucky  immigrants  were  drawn 
from  the  same  classes  as  their  contemporaries 
in  other  parts  of  the  border,  though  circum- 
stances already  pointed  out  had  a powerful 
influence  in  remolding  their  character  as  a 
whole.  The  approach  to  this  famous  “cane- 
land”  was  not  made  by  the  ordinary  extension 
of  the  frontier,  and  a considerable  extent  of 
good  land  intervened  between  the  old  and 
the  new  settlements.  The  story  of  its  attrac- 
tions had  reached  far  into  the  interior,  and 
emigrants  were  drawn  hither  by  its  enchant- 
ments rather  than  urged  by  their  necessities, 
and,  once  in  possession,  they  adopted  it  as 
their  native  land,  and  defended  it  with  the 
fervor  of  patriotism.  The  spirited  opposition 
with  which  their  advent  was  met  had  a salu- 
tary influence  in  driving  out  the  faint-hearted, 
so  that  of  those  who  remained  each  was  a hero 
in  the  strife.  Otherwise  the  Kentucky  pion- 
eer was  not  unlike  his  fellows  elsewhere. 
He  brought  to  his  new  home  only  the  accom- 
plishments of  the  woodsman.  He  was  a good 
marksman,  was  well  versed  in  the  habits  of 
familiar  game,  possessed  a keen  faculty  of 
observation,  and  was  teachable,  patient,  per- 
severing. The  rest  he  learned  from  his  experi- 
ence here. 

Upon  the  character  of  men  thus  endowed, 
the  stirring  scenes  of  Kentucky,  from  1775  to 
1795,  could  not  fail  to  leave  a deep  impress. 
New  dangers  and  difiSculties  developed  new 
powers  to  meet  and  overcome  them.  Men, 
whose  early  experience  at  most  had  only  re- 
vealed the  crude  astronomy  by  which  they 
traced  their  course  in  the  unmarked  wilder- 
ness, and  the  natural  science  which  led  them 
to  discover  the  meaning  of  a mossy  bark  or 
the  peculiar  trail  of  the  various  animals,  now 
learned  to  read  a deep  significance  in  a dis- 
placed leaf,  the  bending  of  a twig,  a floating 


log,  or  the  turning  of  a human  foot-print. 
Instead  of  studying  the  habits  of  the  savage 
beasts,  the  pioneer’s  attention  was  drawn  to 
a grander  quarry,  and  insensibly  acquired 
many  of  the  habits  of  the  object  they  so  per- 
sistently studied.  In  many  respects,  Camp- 
bell’s pictm’e  of  the  Indian  might  well  be 
applied  to  the  pioneer: 

As  monumental  bronze  unchanged  his  look; 

A soul  that  pity  touched,  but  never  shook ; 
Train’d  from  his  tree-rocked  cradle  to  his  bier, 

The  fierce  extremes  of  good  and  ill  to  brook; 
Impassive — fearing  but  the  shame  of  fear — 

A stoic  of  the  woods — a man  without  a tear. 

A characteristic  story  is  told  of  one  of  the 
prisoners  captured  by  the  Indians  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Blue  Lick.  With  two  companions  he 
was  taken  to  Detroit,  and  in  the  route  passed 
through  several  towns  of  the  natives,  at  each 
of  which  he  was  compelled  to  run  the  gaunt- 
let. On  one  occasion,  taking  advantage  of 
the  arrangement  of  the  Indians,  he  ran 
so  close  to  one  of  the  ranks  as  to  come  out 
almost  unhurt.  Immediately  running  up  to 
a young  warrior,  with  equal  strength  and 
adroitness,  he  picked  up  the  astonished  In- 
dian and  hurled  him  violently  to  the  ground. 
In  another  instant,  thrusting  his  head  be- 
tween another  Indian’s  legs,  he  threw  him 
over  his  head;  then,  springing  into  the  air, 
he  knocked  his  feet  rapidly  together,  and 
crowed  like  a victorious  cock,  finishing  this 
remarkable  performance  by  rallying  the  na- 
tives as  a pack  of  cowards.  Such  dauntless 
behavior  elicited  the  admiration  of  the  sav- 
ages, and  one  old  warrior  promptly  adopted 
him  as  his  son. 

Such  exhibitions  were  not  rare  amonar 
white  captives,  and  are  to  be  referred  for 
their  origin  rather  to  the  settler’s  adoption 
of  the  stoicism  of  the  Indian  than  to  a spirit 
of  bravado.  There  was  but  little  encourage- 
ment for  the  development  of  such  a spirit 
where  all  were  brave.  One  excelled  another 
in  woodcraft  or  experience,  but  all  were  to 
be  relied  upon  in  emergencies,  and  many  a 
deed  of  daring,  which  is  now  thoughtlessly 
assigned  to  the  adventurous  class,  was  done 
by  men  in  whose  quiet  career  it  formed  the 
single  notable  exception,  and  was  attempted 


204 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


only  after  a cool  calculation  of  the  alterna- 
tives. Such  a case  is  the  incident  related  of 
Alexander  McConnell  by  McClung. 

McConnell  was  a resident  of  Lexington. 
He  had  been  out  on  foot,  in  quest  of  deer, 
had  killed  one,  and  had  returned  to  the  sta- 
tion for  his  horse  to  bring  in  the  game.  In  his 
absence,  a party  of  live  Indians  had  chanced 
upon  the  carcass,  and  correctly  divining  its 
meaning,  they  carefully  hid  near  to  await  the 
hunter's  return.  Not  suspecting  danger,  Mc- 
Connell rode  into  the  ambush;  his  horse  was 
instantly  killed,  and  while  freeing  himself 
from  the  fallen  animal,  he  was  pounced  upon 
by  the  savages  and  borne  off.  His  captors, 
who  appear  to  have  been  in  a peculiarly 
pleasant  mood,  permitted  him  to  proceed  un- 
bound and  to  retain  his  accoutrements.  These 
ill-assorted  companions  thus  traveled  har- 
moniously together  for  several  days,  the  cap- 
tive accepting  his  fate  with  the  sang  froid  of 
the  true  borderer,  and  gaining  favor  with 
the  savages  by  his  dexterity  in  providing 
game  for  the  party. 

On  approaching  the  banks  of  the  Ohio, 
McConnell  felt  that  his  chances  of  escape 
would  be  greatly  diminished  by  crossing  the 
river,  and  he  accordingly  determined  to  make 
an  earnest  effort  to  get  away  at  once.  His 
captors  had  taken  the  precaution  to  bind  him 
each  night,  though  not  with  their  accustomed 
care,  but  on  this  occasion  he  complained 
strenuously  of  the  pain  it  caused  him,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  of  observing  that  the 
thong  which  bound  him  to  the  body  of  the 
Indian,  was  only  loosely  tied  to  his  wrists. 
Waiting  until  his  captors  were  asleep,  he 
cast  his  eyes  about  for  some  suggestion,  when 
he  saw  a knife  blade  glittering  in  the  light  of 
the  camp-fire.  This  proved  to  be  within 
reach  of  his  feet,  and  grasping  it  with  his 
toes  he  succeeded  in  drawing  it  near  and  get- 
ting it  into  his  hand.  In  another  instant  his 
thongs  were  severed,  and  carefully  withdraw- 
ing from  the  embrace  of  his  sleeping  guard, 
he  was  free  to  escajae  to  the  woods. 

The  success  of  such  a course  was  very 
doubtful.  His  flight  would  soon  be  discovered, 
and  a vigorous  pursuit  made.  In  that  event, 
with  so  long  a distance  to  travel,  his  recap- 


ture seemed  certain,  when  death  would  un- 
doubtedly seal  his  fate.  The  only  alternative 
was  to  destroy  his  foes,  which  was  a scarcely 
less  hazardous  undertaking.  There  was  no 
opportunity  of  taking  them  off  in  detail; 
they  were  notoriously  light  sleepers,  and  what 
was  done,  must  be  done  quietly  and  quickly. 

After  anxious  reflections  for  a few  minutes  he 
formed  his  plan.  The  guns  of  the  Indians  were 
stacked  near  the  fire,  their  knives  and  tomahawks 
were  in  sheaths  by  their  sides.  The  latter  he  dared 
not  touch  for  fear  of  awakening  the  owners,  hut 
the  former  he  carefully  removed  with  the  exception 
of  two,  and  hid  them  in  the  woods,  where  he  knew 
the  Indians  would  not  readily  And  them.  He  then 
returned  to  the  spot  where  the  Indians  were  still 
sleeping,  ignorant  of  the  fate  preparing  for  them, 
and  taking  a gun  in  each  hand,  he  rested  the  muz- 
zles upon  a log  within  six  feet  of  his  victims,  and 
having  taken  deliberate  aim  at  the  head  of  one  and 
the  heart  of  another,  he  pulled  both  triggers  at  the 
same  moment. 

Both  shots  were  fatal.  At  the  report  of  their 
guns,  the  others  sprang  to  their  feet,  and  stared 
wildly  around  them.  McConnell,  who  had  run  in- 
stantly to  the  spot  where  the  other  rifles  were  hid, 
hastily  seized  one  of  them  and  fired  at  two  of  his 
enemies  who  happened  to  stand  in  a line  with  each 
other.  The  nearest  fell  dead,  being  shot  through 
the  center  of  the  body;  the  second  fell  also,  bel- 
lowing loudly,  but  recovering  quickly,  limped  off 
into  the  woods  as  fast  as  possible.  The  fifth  and 
only  one  who  remained  unhurt  darted  off  like  a 
deer  with  a yell  which  announced  equal  terror  and 
astonishment.  McConnell,  not  wishing  to  fight  any 
more  such  battles,  selected  his  own  rifle  from  the 
stack  and  made  the  best  of  his  way  to  Lexington, 
where  he  arrived  safely  within  two  days.  (McClung. ) 

A similar  development  was  silently  wrought 
in  the  female  character.  Women  who,  in 
1773,  terror-stricken  by  the  Indian  attack 
near  Cumberland  Gap,  demanded  the  retreat 
of  the  first  emigrants  to  Kentucky,  in  later 
years  stood  unswerving  amid  the  vicissitudes 
that  made  death,  wounds,  and  captivity  the 
almost  daily  fate  of  their  sex.  So  accustomed 
did  they  become  to  the  violent  form  of  death 
that,  as  Judge  Hall  relates  on  one  occasion, 
when  a young  man  died  the  natural  way,  the 
woman  of  the  station  sat  up  all  night,  gazing 
at  the  remains  as  an  object  of  beauty.  The 
matrons  of  the  frontier,  in  time,  seemed  to 
lose  all  womanish  fears  and  weaknesses,  and 
emulated  the  dexterity  of  their  fathers, 
brothers  and  husbands  in  the  use  of  the  gun 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


‘205 


and  ax  in  defense  of  their  homes  and  chil-  j 
dren.  McClung  relates  an  incident  which  | 
occurred  in  the  summer  of  1787,  when  the  : 
cabin  of  John  Merrill  of  Nelson  County,  Ky., 
was  attacked  by  Indians  and  defended  with 
singular  address  and  good  fortune. 

Merrill  was  alarmed  by  the  barking  of  a 
dog  about  midnight,  and,  upon  opening 
the  door  in  order  to  ascertain  the  cause  of 
the  disturbance,  he  received  the  fire  of  six  or 
seven  Indians,  by  which  his  arm  and  thigh 
were  both  broken.  He  instantly  sank  upon 
the  floor  and  called  upon  his  wife  to  close 
the  door.  This  had  scarcely  been  done  when 
it  was  violently  assailed  by  the  tomahawks 
of  the  enemy,  and  a large  breach  soon  efi^ect- 
ed.  Mrs.  Merrill,  however,  being  a perfect 
Amazon,  both  , in  strength  and  courage, 
guarded  it  with  an  ax,  and  successively 
killed  or  badly  wounded  four  of  the  enemy 
as  they  attempted  to  force  their  way  into  the 
cabin.  The  Indians  then  ascended  the  roof 
and  attempted  to  enter  by  way  of  the  chim- 
ney; but  here  again  they  were  met  by  the 
same  determined  enemy.  Mrs.  Merrill  seized 
the  only  feather  bed  the  cabin  afforded,  and 
hastily  ripping  it  open,  poured  its  contents 
upon  the  fire.  A furious  blaze  and  stifling 
smoke  instantly  ascended  the  chimney  and 
brought  down  two  of  the  enemy,  who  lay  for 
a few  moments  at  the  mercy  of  the  woman. 
Seizing  the  ax  she  quickly  dispatched  them, 
and  was  instantly  afterward  summoned  to 
the  door,  where  the  only  remaining  savage 
now  appeared,  endeavoring  to  effect  an 
entrance  while  Mrs.  Merrill  was  engaged  at 
the  chimney.  He  soon  received  a gash  in 
the  cheek,  which  compelled  him,  with  a loud 
yell,  to  relinquish  his  purpose,  and  return 
hastily  to  Chillicothe,  where,  from  the  report 
of  a prisoner,  he  gave  an  exaggerated  account 
of  the  fierceness,  strength  and  courage  of  the 
“ long-knife  ” squaw. 

All  were  not  Amazons  in  strength,  nor  was 
it  chiefly  by  their  strength  that  the  women 
achieved  such  prodigies  of  valor  which  every- 
where adorn  the  pages  of  frontier  history. 
In  presence  of  mind  they  were  not  excelled 
by  the  acutest  scout,  and  often  outwitted  the 
cunning  savage  by  a bold  face  or  a quickly 


conceived  stratagem.  One  night,  when  a set- 
tler was  forced  to  be  away  from  his  home  on 
business, his  wife  learned  by  the  snorting  of  a 
horse,  feeding  near  by,  that  the  Indians  were 
prowling  about.  Putting  on  a bold  front, 
she  immediately  built  up  a large  blaze  in  the 
fire-place,  which,  sending  its  light  farthi’ough 
the  chinks,  indicated  to  the  savages  the  pres- 
ence of  a large  company,  whereupon  they  de- 
camped without  offering  any  molestation. 

Similar  address,  iinder  more  trying  cir- 
cumstances, was  exhibited  by  the  wife  of 
Samuel  Daviess,  in  1782.  On  going  out  of 
his  cabin  early  one  morning,  Mr.  Daviess 
was  startled,  on  stepping  a few  paces  from 
the  door,  to  find  an  Indian  with  an  upraised 
tomahawk,  barring  his  return.  Entirely 
una:’med  it  instantly  occurred  to  him  that 
by  running  around  the  cabin  he  could  gain 
an  entrance  before  his  pursuers  could  over- 
take him.  To  think  was  to  act,  but  on  mak- 
ing the  circuit  he  found  the  cabin  occupied 
by  four  Indians,  whom  he  had  heretofore 
failed  to  observe.  His  pursuer  was  close 
upon  him;  there  was  no  room  for  hesitation, 
and  he  at  once  plunged  into  a field  of 
standing  corn  near  by,  where,  with  difficulty, 
he  eluded  his  pursuer  and  finally  set  off  for 
help  to  the  nearest  station,  five  miles  away. 

The  unsuccessful  savage,  after  carefully 
staining  his  hands  and  tomahawk  with  poke- 
berries,  retui’ned  to  the  cabin  and  exhibited 
them  to  Ml’S.  Daviess  to  convince  her  that 
there  was  no  hope  of  rescue.  She  readily 
detected  the  fraud  ^^ithout  giving  any  sign 
of  her  discovery,  and  in  response  to  signs 
indicated  on  her  fingers  that  the  nearest 
cabin  was  eight  miles  away.  Thus  lulling 
the  immediate  fears  of  the  savages,  she 
slowly  arose  from  the  bed  and  dressed  her- 
self and  children,  at  their  command.  This 
done,  she  attracted  the  Indians  by  displaying 
various  articles  of  clothing  one  after  another, 
and  in  this  way  delayed  their  departure  for 
several  hours.  Finally,  when  every  resource 
for  effecting  delay  was  exhausted,  she  was 
forced  to  accompany  her  captors  with  her 
children,  some  of  whom  were  too  young  to 
keep  pace  with  the  party.  Observing  this, 
and  knowing  the  Indians  would  not  hestitate 


206 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


to  murder  them  to  save  annoyance,  she  placed 
them  on  the  backs  of  the  older  boys,  and  car- 
rying an  infant  at  her  breast  thus  preserved 
their  lives. 

By  her  shrewd  devices,  the  rescuing  party 
was  enabled  to  overtake  the  Indians  about 
9 o’clock  in  "^he  morning.  Noticing  by 
the  agitation  of  :i;e  savages  that  the  pursuers 
were  close  at  hand,  she  saved  herself  and 
infant  by  jumping  into  a sink  hole  just  as 
the  whites  attacked  the  band,  and  rescued 
the  whole  family.  The  elder  boy,  about 
eleven  years  of  age,  was  struck  down  and 
scalped,  but  not  killed,  and  his  first  utter- 
ance on  rising  was:  “Curse  that  Indian,  he 
has  got  my  scalp.” 

Children  of  such  parents  and  brought  up 
in  such  surroundings  could  not  fail  to  catch 
something  of  the  heroic  spirit  of  the  times. 
Quieted  in  their  infancy  by  suggesting  the 
proximity  of  the  Shawanese,  supplied  with 
tomahawk  and  bows  and  arrows  for  their 
earliest  toys,  they  early  displayed  a precocity 
in  those  accomplishments  upon  which  their 
safety  often  depended.  It  is  sometimes  said 
that  infants  of  pioneers  were  less  addicted 
to  crying  than  those  of  a later  period;  but 
whether  this  be  true  or  not,  numerous  well- 
attested  incidents  are  related  where  nursing 
children  have  passed  through  the  terrors  of 
a midnight  attack,  and  afterward  lain  quiet- 
ly in  hiding,  when  a single  sound  would 
have  sealed  the  doom  of  mother  and  child. 
Children,  at  an  age  when  parents  are  now 
loth  to  allow  them  out  of  their  sight,  were 
then  found  successfully  eluding  the  savages, 
uninstructed,  and  carrying  appeals  for  aid 
through  miles  of  forest  beset  by  Indians. 

Boys  were  early  instructed  in  the  use  of 
firearms,  and  a rifle  or  shotgun  was  usually 
their  first  piece  of  property.  As  a garrison 
for  the  station  when  the  men  were  drawn  off 
for  some  expedition,  or  as  messengers  and 
hunters,  they  performed  conspicuous  service, 
and  greatly  augmented  the  military  strength 
of  the  frontier.  During  the  winter  of  1776- 
77,  the  settlements  suffered  much  from  the 
scarcity  of  food.  The  small  stock  of  corn 
was  soon  exhausted,  and,  while  the  forest 
teemed  with  game,  the  Indians  were  so  nu- 


merous and  watchful  that  hunters  were 
almost  daily  killed  or  wounded.  In  this 
predicament  a lad  only  about  seventeen 
years  of  age  became  Harrodsburg’s  sole 
dependence.  This  was  James  Ray,  who 
was  accustomed  to  mount  an  old  but  strong 
horse,  the  last  of  forty  head  belonging  to 
his  step-father,  Maj.  McGary,  and  starting 
off  before  day-break  rode  up  the  beds  of 
streams  to  hide  his  trail.  After  gaining  a 
safe  distance  from  the  fort,  he  spent  the  day 
in  hunting,  and  returned  by  the  same  route 
after  dark,  bringing  his  game  with  him. 
Thus  day  after  day  and  week  after  week  he 
successfully  eluded  the  enemy  and  supplied 
the  fort.  Older  hunters  tried  his  plan  but 
were  discovered,  and  finally  resigned  the 
perilous  duty  to  the  lad  whose  boldness  and 
sagacity  preserved  him  through  all  the  peril 
which  beset  him. 

A more  striking  incident  is  related  of 
some  lads  from  eleven  to  fourteen  years  of 
age.  At  Col.  Pope’s  settlement,  near  Lou- 
isville, several  lads  were  instructed  by  a 
tutor  w’hom  the  Colonel  had  engaged  for  the 
education  of  his  own  sons.  One  Saturday, 
five  of  these  boys — two  sons  of  Col.  Linn, 
Brashier,  Wells,  and  a lad  whose  name  is 
not  remembered — taking  advantage  of  a 
holiday,  set  off  for  a hunt.  They  encamped 
near  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  some  six  miles 
southwest  of  Louisville,  where  a wide  bot 
tom  and  a large  pond  afforded  abundance  of 
game.  It  was  February,  and  in  the  night 
a light  snow  had  fallen,  which  made  their 
trail  perfectly  plain.  The  lurking  savages 
soon  discovered  it,  and  just  as  all  had  laid 
down  their  guns  and  were  busy  fastening  a 
bear  cub,  which  they  had  killed,  on  the  back 
of  the  elder  Linn,  the  Indians  pounced  down 
upon  them. 

Escape  was  impossible,  and  the  lads  were 
hurried  over  to  the  White  River  towns,  where 
they  showed  such  spirit  in  thrashing  the 
Indian  boys  who  molested  them,  that  they 
were  adopted  into  the  tribes  of  their 
delighted  captors.  Wells  was  taken  to  a 
distant  nation,  with  whom  he  grew  to  man- 
hood, married  a sister  of  Little  Turtle,  and 
subsequently  became  a noted  and  trusty 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


207 


scout  for  Gen  Wayne.  The  rest  adapted  : 
themselves  to  their  new  surroundings,  but 
bided  their  time  for  an  opportunity  to  i 
escape. 

This  came  at  last;  several  months  after 
their  capture,  the  four  boys  found  themselves 
at  some  distance  from  the  village,  fishing  in 
the  company  of  an  old  man  and  woman. 
After  some  natural  hesitation  they  deter- 
mined to  kill  their  guardians  and  escape. 
Their  plans  were  put  in  execution,  and, 
having  dispatched  the  Indians  at  night,  they 
took  the  nearest  course  for  their  homes, 
traveling  by  night  and  lying  concealed  by 
day.  Their  flight  was  soon  discovered  by 
the  tribe  and  a vigorous  pm’suit  made,  but 
they  fortunately  escaped  detection  until  they 
reached  the  Ohio  opposite  Louisville.  Here 
they  found  themselves  in  the  greatest  danger. 
E'iring  their  guns  to  attract  their  friends 
made  no  impression  upon  the  whites,  as  they 
supposed  it  was  done  by  the  Indians,  but  their 
pursuers  were  thus  guided  to  their  vicinity. 
In  this  dilemma  the  boys  marched  up  the 
river  and,  constructing  a raft,  put  such  as 
could  not  swim  upon  it,  while  the  elder  Linn 
swam  and  propelled  it  across  the  river. 
They  had  scarcely  got  beyond  rifle  range  of 
the  northern  shore  when  the  Indians  ap- 
peared on  the  bank,  but  too  late  to  intercept 
their  flight. 

In  all  this  there  is  much  material  for  ro- 
mance, and  it  is  in  this  form  that  pioneer 
life  is  too  often  presented.  But  it  should 
not  be  forgotten  that  the  actual  experience 
was  far  from  what  such  narratives  make  it. 
The  dangers  were  real;  the  heroes,  once  dead, 
did  not  revive  to  bow  before  an  enthusiastic 
audience;  the  “star”  was  also  the  “supe;” 
and  the  “acting”  was  done,  without  tinsel 
or  false  color,  in  the  broad  glare  of  every- 
day life.  It  was  a play  only  as 

“All  the  world’s  a stage. 

And  aU  the  men  and  women  merely  players.” 

The  pioneers  had  their  exits  and  their 
entrances,  and  each  one  played  many  parts, 
but  necessity  and  not  applause  was  the  motive 
power.  Each  year  wrought  its  changes  in 
the  scene;  increased  numbers  multiplied  the 
isolated  stations;  added  power  changed  the 


military  character  of  the  community  for  the 
garb  of  peace;  and  the  unrestrained  life  of 
the  forest  gave  place  to  the  less  romantic  but 
more  enduring  forms  of  civilization. 

The  remarkable  immigration  of  1780  marks 
the  turning  point.  Thenceforward  the  tide 
of  population  flowed  across  the  border  with 
persistent  power;  cabins  sprang  up  singly  or 
in  settlements  of  two  or  three  throughout 
the  central  region,  and  in  1783,  “ the  settle- 
ment of  Kentucky  was  considered  as  formed.” 
It  was  no  longer  viewed  as  a hunter’s  para- 
dise, but  a place  where  a home  could  be 
readily  planted  and  a competence  easily 
achieved.  It  is  related  of  Col.  William 
Whitley  that,  soon  after  marrying  and  set- 
ting up  an  independent  establishment,  he 
said  to  his  wife  that  he  heard  good  reports 
of  Kentucky,  and  believed  that  they  could 
make  a better  living  there  with  less  hard 
work.  “ Then,  Billy,  if  I was  you,  I would 
go  and  see,”  was  her  quick  response,  and 
acting  upon  this  advice,  they  were  both  soon 
settled  on  the  frontier.  Such  was  the  readi- 
ness with  which  so  important  a change  was 
made,  and  such  the  inducement  which  sub- 
sequently led  thousands  of  families  to  seek 
the  new  land. 

The  route  followed  by  the  greater  number 
of  these  immigrants,  and,  indeed,  from  1780 
to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  by 
all  travelers  seeking  any  part  of  the  West, 
was  by  the  Ohio  River.  The  principal  point 
of  embarkation  was  Redstone  Old  Fort — 
Brownsville,  Penn. — a place  equally  acces- 
sible from  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  in  a 
direct  line  from  Philadelphia  and  the  East. 
The  emigrant  from  Virginia  directed  his 
course  to  Cumberland,  and  thence  by  Brad- 
dock’s  Road  to  his  destination,  some  sixty 
miles  northwest.  Previous  to  1783,  and  for 
several  years  later,  the  roads  were  imprac- 
ticable for  wheeled  vehicles,  and  overland 
transportation  was  effected  by  means  of  pack- 
horses.  Even  to  this  mode  of  transportation 
the  paths  across  the  mountains  were  difficult 
and  often  dangerous.  In  some  places  they 
were  barely  passable;  at  other  points  they 
ran  along  the  brink  of  a precipice,  where  a 
single  misstep  involved  great  danger  if  not 


208 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


destruction,  or  were  overflown  bj'^  streams, 
which  it  was  necessary  to  ford. 

Most  of  the  early  settlers  had  little  to 
bring  with  them.  Farming  implements,  a 
few  cooking  utensils,  a small  stock  of  sup- 
plies, and  the  women  and  children  were  all 
that  the  emigrant  found  it  necessary  to  pro- 
vide for.  These  were  placed  on  the  backs  of 
horses,  which  with  one  or  more  cows  and  an 
occasional  sheep  or  hog  made  up  the  caval- 
cade, which  was  led  by  the  men  and  boys  on 
foot.  Horses  which  canned  the  younger 
children  were  furnished  with  a pack-saddle, 
to  either  side  of  which  was  hung  a creel, 
fashioned  from  hickory  withes  in  the  form  of 
a crate.  In  these  were  stowed  the  clothing 
and  bedding,  in  the  center  of  which  a child 
or  two  was  securely  placed  and  guarded 
against  accidents  by  strong  lacings,  which 
prevented  their  falling  out.  Occasionally  a 
creel  would  break  loose  and  roll  with  its 
precious  freight  along  the  ground,  throwing 
the  whole  company  into  confusion  and  alarm. 
Not  unfrequently,  accidents  and  difficulties 
of  the  way  would  separate  mothers  from 
their  children  throughout  the  day,  and  the 
whole  family  assembled  only  at  the  evening 
meal,  when  the  rear  of  the  train  reached  the 
chosen  stopping  place  long  after  the  van. 
No  friendly  inn  then  opened  its  doors  to  the 
weary  emigrant,  nor  could  they  have  afforded 
to  pay  for  its  accommodations,  had  it  ex- 
isted. The  meal  was  prepared  in  the  open 
air,  and  the  night  was  well  advanced  before 
the  tired  parents  could  seek  repose  in  the 
protection  of  a blanket  in  a retired  nook  by 
the  road- side. 

Arrived  at  Redstone,  the  first  care  of  the 
emigrant  was  to  provide  a Kentucky  boat,* 
in  which  to  transport  his  effects  to  Lime- 
stone, which  now  became  the  general  landing 
place  of  emigrants  bound  for  Kentucky. 
The  building  of  these  boats  became,  at  a 
later  date,  quite  an  important  business  at 
this  place,  but  the  earlier  voyagers,  either 
from  necessity  or  motives  of  economy,  con- 
structed their  own  vessels,  which  caused 
considerable  delay.  The  journey  was  usually 
so  timed  that  the  party  arrived  early  enough 

*Appendix  A,  Note  21. 


j to  accomplish  this  preparation  before  the 
end  of  the  spring  flood,  which  began  about 
! the  middle  of  February  and  continued  about 
j three  months.  Considerable  numbers  were 
I often  thus  brought  together  at  this  general 
I rendezvous,  and  proved  of  mutual  advantage, 

I several  families  often  occupying  the  same 
I boat,  and  several  boats  frequently  making 
the  voyage  in  company.  A familiar  scene  of 
that  period  is  thus  described  by  Michaux: 

I was  alone  on  the  banks  of  the  Monongaliela, 
when,  for  the  first  time,  I observed  five  or  six  of 
these  boats  floating  down  the  river.  I could  not 
conceive  what  these  large  square  boxes  were,  which, 
abandoned  to  the  current,  presented  by  turns  their 
ends,  their  sides  and  their  corners.  As  they  ap- 
proached, I heard  a confused  noise,  but  the  height 
of  their  sides  prevented  me  from  distinguishing 
anything.  By  getting  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  I at 
length  discovered  several  families  in  these  boats, 
which  also  conveyed  their  horses,  their  cows,  their 
poultry,  their  dismounted  carriages,  their  plows, 
their  harness,  their  beds,  their  agricultural  tools,  in 
fact  everything  which  is  required  for  furnishing  a 
farm  house,  and  cultivating  the  land.  These  peo- 
ple aband(med  themselves  in  this  manner  forseveral 
hundred  miles  to  the  current  of  the  river,  probably 
without  knowing  the  place  where  they  might  stop, 
and  enjoy  in  tranquility  the  fruits  of  their  industry, 
under  one  of  the  best  governments  existing  in  the 
world.  (Travels  Westward,  etc.,  1802.) 

The  mouth  of  Cabin  Creek,  about  five  and 
a half  miles  above  Limestone,  had  long 
been  the  accustomed  landing  place  of  Indian 
war  parties  from  north  of  the  Ohio,  and 
from  this  point  two  trails  led  to  the  Upper 
Blue  Lick,  the  one  known  as  the  Upper 
War  Road,  and  the  other,  sometimes  called 
the  Lower  War  Road,  but  generally  the 
Buffalo  Trace.  The  Upper  Road  was  the 
one  generally  traveled  by  the  whites  and 
best  known.  War  roads  were  distinctly 
characterized  by  their  leading  by  the  shortest 
practical  route  from  one  point  to  another, 
and  by  having  their  course  blazed  by  toma- 
hawk-chips in  the  trees.  Buffalo  trails  were 
made  by  the  travel  of  these  animals;  were 
much  broader  than  the  others,  but  were  other- 
wise unmarked  and  wound  along  ridges  and 
creeks.  From  the  landing  place  a trail  led 
to  Washington,  a settlement  three  or  four 
miles  in  the  interior,  which  was  for  years  the 
only  place  in  this  part  of  the  country  for 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


209 


the  accommodation  of  travelers.  Although 
formally  laid  out  in  1786,  under  an  act  of 
the  Virginia  assembly,  it  continued  for  some 
years  completely  hidden  in  the  tall  cane 
which  grew  upon  its  site.  Here  the  new- 
comers gained  information  as  to  the  lauds 
open  to  settlers  or  of  improvements  for  sale, 
and  could  procure  a guide  for  the  explora- 
tion of  the  country  if  they  wished. 

This  region  was  permanently  occupied  in 
1784  by  Kenton.  A vigorous  settlement  was 
planted,  but  its  growth  was  retarded  by  the  ^ 
dangers  incident  to  its  exposed  location  until  I 
1790,  when  it  took  a new  start  and  increased 
rapidly.  The  early  immigration,  therefore, 
pushed  its  way  to  the  interior,  where  good 
lands  were  secured  and  homes  established  at 
a cost  scarcely  exceeding  the  labor  involved 
in  building  a cabin  or  clearing  the  ground. 
Before  the  generaUpacitication  of  the  Indians, 
in  1795,  few  single  cabins  were  reared  in 
localities  remote  from  others.  The  new- 
comer would  usually  select  land  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  some  settlement  which 
afforded  his  family  shelter,  while  he,  “camp- 
ing out”  in  the  meantime,  would  prepare  the 
new  home.  When  sites  at  considerable 
distance  from  settlements  were  chosen,  it  was 
the  custom  for  several  families  to  join  in  the 
enterprise,  and  locate  their  lands  in  such  a 
way  as  to  allow  the  several  cabins  to  be 
erected  within  “supporting”  distance  of  each 
other.  * 

The  earlier  settlers  generally  brought  their 
families  to  some  strong  station,  and  then, 
equipped  with  an  ax,  rifle,  frying-pan  and 
a small  stock  of  salt  and  meal,  the  fathers 
would  set  out  on  a prospecting  torn’,  to  be 
gone,  frequently,  for  several  months.  Before 
his  retmm  he  often  made  the  first  necessary 
clearing,  and  erected  a temporary  hut  to  re- 
ceive his  family.  Later,  as  cabins  were 
more  frequently  found  in  the  country,  the 
immigrant  manifested  no  hesitation  in  break- 
ing up  his  home  in  a distant  State,  and  with 
his  family  and  household  goods,  on  pack- 
animals  or  wagons,  start  out  for  a new  home, 
influenced  and  guided  solely  by  rumors  and 
picked- up  information  on  the  road.  Decid- 

*Appendix  A,  Note  22. 


ing  upon  a locality  for  his  future  residence, 
he  found  no  difficulty  in  securing  temporary 
shelter  for  his  family  in  some  cabin,  already 
well  filled  by  its  owners,  but  which  the  sim- 
plicity of  early  manners  and  an  unstinted 
hospitality  rendered  elastic  enough  to  com- 
fortably entertain  the  welcome  addition  to  the 
community. 

A new  arrival  of  this  nature  was  heralded 
with  a cordial  welcome  for  miles  about,  and  a 
neighborhood,  which  scarcely  knew  limits, 
hastened  to  lend  its  friendly  offices  in  rearing 
a cabin.  A day  was  appointed,  and  no  invi- 
tation was  needed  to  draw  together  a com- 
pany of  willing,  capable  hands.  To  assist 
in  raising  a cabin  for  a new  family  was  a 
duty,  which  the  unwritten  law  of  the  com- 
munity imperatively  laid  upon  every  able- 
bodied  man,  and  to  know  of  the  occasion  was 
a sufficient  invitation.  On  gathering,  one 
party  was  told  off  as  choppers,  whose  business 
it  was  to  fell  the  trees  and  cut  the  logs  of 
proper  dimensions;  a man  and  team  brought 
these  logs  to  the  site  of  the  proposed  build- 
ing; others  assorted,  “saddled,”  and  other- 
wise prepared  the  logs  to  fonn  the  structure, 
which  was  finished  on  one  day  and  occupied 
the  next.  It  was  not  un  frequently  the  case 
that  the  necessity  of  preparing  the  ground  for 
the  fii’st  crop  obliged  the  settler  to  forego  the 
floor,  and  even  a permanent  roof,  until  the 
planted  crop  granted  the  opportunity.  In  its 
best  estate*  it  was  a rude  though  not  uncom- 
fortable structure:  a puncheon  floor  below, 
and  a clap  board  roof  above,  a small,  square 
window  without  glass,  and  a chimney  carried 
up  with  “cats  and  clay” — short  pieces  of 
small  poles  firmly  imbedded  in  mud  or  mor- 
tar— to  the  height  of  the  ridge-pole. 


*There  were  a few  cabins  which  were  quite  pretentious,  and 
one  of  these  had  the  first  shingle  roof  in  the  county.  It  be- 
longed to  Adams,  who  sold  out  to  Kennedy  in  1809,  and  is  thus 
described  by  the  latter;  “Adams  was  a thrifty,  industrious  man, 
and  said  to  my  father,  ‘ I gad,  I thought  I would  build  the  best 
and  finest  house  In  all  the  country.’  It  was  constructed  of 
large,  hewed  white  oak  logs,  twenty-four  feet  long  by  eighteen 
feet  wide,  covered  with  black  walnut  shingles  rounded  at  the 
butt  end,  and  every  one  put  on  with  walnut  pegs,  bored  through 
shingles  and  lath  with  a brace  and  bit.  It  was  a good  roof,  and 
lasted  about  thirty  years.  Then  the  lower  and  upper  floors 
were  laid  with  poplar  plank,  sawed  by  hand  with  a whip-saw, 
nicely  dressed,  tongued  and  grooved,  and  put  down  with  pegs. 
Three  windows  two  feet  square,  with  nice  shutters,  but  not  a 
pane  of  glass,  nor  a nail  in  all  the  house,  save  in  the  three  doors. 
For  these  a few  nails  were  made  by  a blacksmith,  his  brother, 
Andy  Adams.  The  chimneys  were  of  stone,  the  first  in  the 
country,  and  contained  at  least  l.IO  loads  of  rock.  The  fire-places 
were  six  feet  wide,  with  wooden  mantel-pieces.” — History  of 
Todd  County,  Ky.,  published  by  F.  A.  Battey  Publishing  Co.. 
Chicago,  1884. 

13 


210 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


There  was  little  underwood  in  any  part  of 
the  country,  and  in  the  more  open  lands  it 
was  only  necessary  to  cut  the  cane  and  girdle 
the  larger  trees  to  prepare  the  ground  for 
cultivation.  In  the  more  heavily  timbered 
country  the  mattock,  as  well  as  the  ax,  was 
required  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  plow  and 
hoe,  which  were  of  the  simplest  construction, 
and  were  calculated  more  for  strength  and 
durability  than  to  economize  labor.  For- 
tunately the  fertility  of  the  soil  obviated  the 
necessity  of  thorough  tillage,  as  the  roots, 
which  ramified  the  soil,  successfully  defied  the 
strongest  plow.  The  first  cultivation  of  the 
soil,  therefore,  was  but  a tickling  of  the  sur- 
face, to  which  the  prolific  soil  responded  with 
a harvest  of  from  fifty  to  eighty  bushels  of 
corn  to  the  acre. 

Maize  was  invariably  the  first  crop,  and 
until  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  the 
only  general  crop  cultivated  in  Kentucky.  A 
small  space  was  usually  devoted  to  garden 
vegetables  ; a small  patch  of  turnips  was 
sown,  the  product  of  which  in  winter  even- 
ings afforded  those  who  had  enjoyed  apples 
elsewhere  a not  mipleasant  substitute  ; and 
occasionally  a secluded  spot  in  the  center  of 
the  corn-field  was  devoted  to  water  and 
musk-melons.  It  was  several  years  before 
wheat  could  be  grown  on  new  lands,  the 
weevil  and  its  rank  growth  jjreventing  its 
successful  cultivation  earlier.  But  even  then 
its  culture  languished.  Emigrants  from 
Virginia  and  the  Southern  States  brought  with 
them  a relish  for  corn,  which  is  still  a 
marked  feature  of  the  culinary  predilections 
of  the  average  Kentuckian;  and  wheat,  save 
in  the  case  of  the  emigrant  from  the  East- 
ern States,  or  for  “ company  ” purposes,  was 
for  many  years  only  raised  for  exportation. 
Other  obstacles  to  its  cultivation  were  un- 
doubtedly the  lack  of  the  superior  machinery 
which  was  required  to  prepare  it  for  use,  in 
the  rather  more  exacting  nature  of  its  cult- 
ure, and  in  the  restricted  uses  to  which  it 
could  be  applied.  The  ground  was  prepared 
with  a shovel -plow,  and  when  sown  was 
covered  with  a wooden-tooth  harrow  or  the 
bushy  limb  of  a tree.  It  was  cut  with  a 
sickle  and  threshed  with  a flail,  and  there 


was  little  to  relieve  the  tedium  of  these 
duties.  The  whisky-jug  did  add  a touch  of 
luxury  to  the  work,  but  the  result  was  rather 
to  intoxicate  the  laborer  than  to  mitigate  the 
severity  of  the  mid-summer  sun,  or  to  dispel 
the  stifling  dust. 

Nothing  could  equal  the  Indian  corn  for 
the  necessities  of  settlers  in  a new  and  iso- 
lated country.  It  furnished  food  for  man 
and  beast,  it  often  supplied  a roof  as  well  as 
bed,  and  the  harvest  could  be  partially  an- 
ticipated by  several  weeks,  an  availability 
which  was  not  the  least  of  its  recommenda- 
tions to  public  favor.  Its  earliest  foes,  the 
squirrel  and  crow,  gave  the  boys  a pleasur- 
able occupation  in  defending  the  fields,  which 
often  afforded  them  the  first  opportunity 
of  using  a rifle  or  shot-gun.  After  the 
ear  was  formed  and  the  grain  half-grown, 
this  contest,  which  had  ceased  for  a time  for 
want  of  a pretext,  was  renewed,  for  the 
squirrel  seemed  to  recognize  the  era  of 
“ roasting  ears  ” as  quickly  as  the  farmer. 
The  tender  corn  shaved  off  and  eaten  in  milk 
was  a dish  that  is  still  highly  praised,  and, 
grated  fine,  in  times  of  scarcity  supplied  a 
very  palatable  substitute  for  meal.  As  the 
ears  ripened,  the  blades  were  pulled  off  and 
tied  in  bundles  ; the  tops  above  the  ear 
were  cut  off  and  shocked  to  cover  the  “ fodder 
barn  ; ” and  finally  the  ear  was  pulled  and 
stored  to  furnish  the  crowning  occasion  of 
the  fall,  the  husking- bee. 

Another  and  important  source  of  wealth, 
or  rather  of  comfort,  which  was  the  form  in 
which  frontier  affluence  expressed  itself,  was 
the  stock,  which  immigrants  took  care  to  bring 
with  them  in  unusual  variety.  Among  these 
the  cow  obtained  a prominence  which  the 
plainness  of  frontier  fare  exalted  to  the  dis- 
tinction of  a public  benefactor.  As  Dr. 
Drake  expresses  the  fact — “ old  Brindle  was 
then  a veritable  member  of  the  family,  and 
took  her  slop  at  the  cabin  door,  while  the 
children  feasted  on  her  warm  milk  within. 
The  calf  grew  up  in  their  companionship, 
and  disputed  with  them  for  its  portion  of  the 
delicious  beverage  which  she  distilled  from 
the  cane  and  luxuriant  herbage  in  which  she 
waded  through  the  day.” 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


211 


Next  to  the  cow,  and  scarcely  second  in  the 
estimation  of  the  early  Kentuckians,  was  the 
horse,  which  acquired  an  importance  unknown 
elsewhere  on  the  western  border.  From  the 
first  these  animals  were  used,  to  the  almost 
entire  exclusion  of  oxen,  in  all  the  labors  of 
the  frontier.  This  doubtless  arose  from  the 
predilections  of  the  people,  who  came  largely 
from  Virginia,  where  the  passion  for  the 
horse  had  been  fostered  from  an  early  date. 
The  habit  and  necessity  of  traveling  on  horse- 
back emphasized  this  tendency,  and  the  de- 
mand for  speed  and  endurance  in  the  con- 
flict with  the  Indians  added  an  incentive  to 
the  cultivation  of  this  animal,  which  produced 
a race-track  before  the  Indians  had  yielded 
peaceable  possession  of  the  land.  The  fii’st 
“track”  was  probably  a straight- quarter - 
course  in  the  neighborhood  of  Foxtown,  Mad- 
ison County,  where,  it  is  said,  an  enthusiastic 
horse-trainer  was  shot  by  an  Indian  from  the 
cane  brake  just  as  he  was  pulling  up  his 
steed  at  the  end  of  the  track. 

Swine  came  quite  as  much  a matter  of 
course  as  of  necessity.  They  had  long  occu- 
pied an  important  place  in  the  domestic  econ- 
omy of  the  section  which  peopled  this  coun- 
try, and  later  years  have  so  far  confirmed 
this  early  taste  that  their  favorite  meat  and 
cereal,  “hog  and  hominy,”  have  almost  be- 
come of  sectional  significance.  Sheep  were 
also  brought  to  the  new  country,  but  in  small 
numbers.  Most  families  had  one  or  two, 
which,  in  some  cases,  increased  to  flocks  of 
twenty  to  forty  head,  but  in  more  instances 
the  few  first  brought  fell  early  victims  to 
the  wolves.  They  were  brought  principally 
in  obedience  to  the  necessity  for  material 
from  which  to  manufacture  clothing,  and  suf- 
ficient survived  for  this  purpose.  They  were 
little  cared  for  as  food,  and  save  during  the 
presence  of  harvest  hands,  or  a large  com- 
pany on  other  special  occasions,  mutton  sel- 
dom graced  the  farmer’s  board. 

Stock  found  in  this  new  land  a free  sup- 
port, unrestrained  in  range  or  bounty.  The 
first  settlers  found  little  necessity  for  giving 
their  stock  other  care,  the  year  round,  than 
lo  provide  a little  salt  at  stated  occasions. 
Bells  were  used  on  all  but  the  hogs,  which 


were  marked  by  sundry  slits  and  crops  in  the 
ear  and  allowed  to  run  at  large  until  wanted 
for  food,  when  they  were  found  in  good  con- 
dition, to  which  the  abundant  fall  of  nuts 
amply  contributed.  Horses  were  in  regular 
use,  and,  as  the  farmer’s  crop  increased,  were 
fed  more  or  less  corn.  Milch  cows  were  fed 
the  provender  preserved  from  the  corn  crop, 
and  pumpkins,  which  were  raised  for  the  pur- 
pose. In  these  the  sheep  sometimes  shared, 
but  it  was  not  until  the  settlements  consider- 
ably increased  that  even  this  was  thought 
necessary.  In  a later  day,  when  the  store  of 
provender  ran  short,  and  a peculiarly  severe 
winter  made  it  necessary  to  provide  natural 
food,  which  the  snow  prevented  the  stock 
from  procuring  for  themselves,  recourse  was 
had  to  “browsing.”  For  this  purpose  the 
farmer  drove  his  stock  to  the  woodland,  and, 
cutting  down  a red  or  white  elm,  or  a white 
hickory,  would  leave  it  to  the  hungry  ani- 
mals, which  needed  no  urging  to  attack  the 
smaller  and  tender  twigs,  and  even  the  bark 
stripped  from  the  larger  parts  of  the  slippery 
elm.  In  the  meantime  the  farmer  and  his 
boys  prepared  fuel  for  the  evening  tire,  or,  if 
not  too  pressed  with  care,  woirld  be  drawn 
off  by  sundry  tracks  in  pursuit  of  “coons” 
and  rabbits. 

Sheep  were  usually  folded  each  night  to 
guard  them  against  the  attacks  of  wolves. 
This  protection  consisted  of  a rude  log  pen 
near  the  cabin,  and  not  unfrequently,  when 
the  configuration  of  the  ground  permitted,  a 
space  under  the  cabin  was  devoted  to  the  pur- 
pose. As  settlements  extended,  fences  suf- 
ficient to  guard  the  growing  crops  from  the 
incursions  of  hogs  and  cattle  were  found  nec- 
essary, and  gradually  restricted  the  home 
range.  The  stock  was  then  frequently  di’iven 
to  some  distance,  where  a good  scope  of  un- 
occupied country  and  plenty  of  water  afford- 
ed the  desired  range.  Here  a handful  of  salt 
laid  on  the  ground  established  a rendezvous, 
which  the  stock  never  abandoned.  Hunting 
the  cows  or  horses  was  not  then  a trivial 
undertaking,  and  the  “hunter”  would  often 
prosecute  his  search  to  such  a distance  from 
accustomed  landmarks  as  to  be  obliged  to  de- 
pend upon  the  instinct  of  the  animal  to  lead 


212 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY". 


him  back.  Failing  to  find  the  animal  he  was 
utterly  lost,  and  not  unfi’equently  within  two 
or  three  miles  of  home.  This  service  fell 
principally  to  the  share  of  the  younger  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  who  early  developed  so 
acute  and  quick  observation  as  to  enable  them 
to  distinguish  the  peculiar  tone  of  their  own 
bells  from  that  of  their  neighbors.* * * § 

But  outdoor  activities  were  only  of  second- 
ary importance  in  solving  the  problem  of 
pioneer  life.  These  produced  the  crude  ma- 
terials, but  their  adaptation  to  the  necessities 
of  life,  the  development  of  new  possibilities 
from  meager  resources, f and  the  ingenious 
ameliorations  of  an  experience  full  of  obdur- 
ate exactions,  pertain  to  the  mysteries  of  the 
cabin,  the  presiding  genius  of  which  was  the 
wife  and  mother.  Woman  was  something 
more  than  man’s  helpmate  on  the  frontier, 
and  after  a lapse  of  nearly  two  centuries  the 
opinion  of  the  first  deliberative  assembly  on 
this  continent  (1619) — that,  “in  a new  plan- 
tation, it  is  not  known  whether  the  man  or 
woman  be  the  most  necessary” — remained 
unchallenged. 

The  interior  of  the  cabin  was  in  harmony 
with  the  rude  simplicity  of  its  outward  con- 
struction. Housekeeping  conveniences  were 
not  yet  contrived,  and  the  “inside  finish”  con- 
sisted solely  of  some  pegs  driven  into  the 
wall  for  the  accommodation  of  the  few  arti- 
cles of  spare  clothing,  and  two  larger  ones,  or 
a pair  of  buck  horns  over  the  fire  place,  for 
the  rifle.  “Moving  in”  was  a trivial  affair. 
The  limited  possessions  of  the  pioneers  and 
the  more  restricted  mode  of  early  transporta- 
tion compelled  the  immigrant  to  bring  only 


*The  faculty  of  distinguishing  the  delicate  differences  in 
ordinary  sounds  was  one  of  the  prime  essentials  in  successful 
woodcraft,  and  was  possessed  by  all  pioneers  in  a wonderful  de- 
gree. An  incident  related  by  Judge  Robertson  in  a public  ad- 
dress, in  1843,  illustrates  this  feature  of  the  frontier  education. 
Among  the  captured  whites  at  the  battle  of  Blue  Lick  was  an 
excellent  husband  and  father.  He  fortunately  escaped  the  fate 
of  many  of  his  comrades  in  captivity,  but  for  a year  his  wile  and 
friends  knew  only  that  he  was  reported  certainly  dead— killed 
on  the  field  of  battle.  She,  however,  hoped  against  reason,  and 
when  wooed  by  another,  postponed  the  nuptials,  declaring  her 
belief  that  her  husband  would  return.  “Her  expostulating 
friends  finally  succeeding  in  their  efforts  to  stifle  her  affectionate 
instinct,  she  reluctantly  yielded,  and  the  nuptial  day  was  fixed. 
But  just  before  it  dawned,  the  crack  of  a rifle  was  heard  near 
her  lonely  cabin.  At  the  familiar  sound  she  leaped  out  like  a 
liberated  fawn,  ejaculating  as  she  sprang,  ‘ That’s  John’s  gun.’ 

It  was  .John’s  gun,  sure  enough;  and  in  an  instant  she  was  once 
more  in  her  lost  husband’s  arms.”  (See  Collins,  Vol.  II,  p.  289  ) 

fThe  wife  of  William  Poague,  who  came  to  Ilarrodsliurg  in 
1776,  brought  the  first  spinning  wheel  to  Kentucky,  and,  her  hus- 
band having  contrived  a rude  loom  by  sinking  the  posts  in  the 

§ round  and  piecing  the  beams  and  sieys  to  them,  she  made  the 
rst  linen  manufactured  in  the  State  from  the  lint  of  nettles, 
and  the  first  linsey-woolsey  from  this  lint  and  butl'alo  wool. 


such  necessary  things  as  the  frontier  did  not 
furnish  material  for  making.  The  furniture 
consisted  of  a few  articles  roughly  made  on 
the  spot.  A split  slab,  smoothed  with  an  ax 
and  supported  by  four  legs,  did  duty  as  a table; 
three-legged  stools  or  long  benches  of  the 
same  material  supplied  the  place  of  chairs;  a 
log-trough  cradled  the  baby,  while  the  bed, 
if  raised  from  the  floor,  rested  upon  a one- 
legged  fixture  in  the  corner  of  the  cabin.  The 
bed  was  often  only  a few  bear  and  buffalo 
skins  thrown  upon  the  floor,  but  provident 
housewives  generally  took  care  to  bring  a 
bed-tick,  which  was  filled  with  leaves  until 
the  first  corn-crop  supplied  husks  for  the 
purpose;  and  this,  covered  with  bear  or  buf- 
falo skins,  lent  a touch  of  luxury  to  this  nec- 
essary feature  of  cabin  furniture. 

A similar  ingenuity  provided  kitchen  and 
table  utensils,  which  consisted  principally  of 
articles  turned  or  “ coopered  ” out  of  wood. 
These  included  noggins,  trays,  trenchers, 
bowls,  spoons  and  ladles,  besides  the  larger 
vessels,  such  as  buckets,  milk-pails,  churns, 
tubs,  etc.,  etc.  A kettle  and  frying-pan  or 
“Dutch-oven”  were  almost  the  only  metal  ar- 
ticles used  in  the  cabin.  A tin  cup  was  an 
article  of  delicate  luxury,  almost  as  rare  as  an 
iron  fork,  and  few  knives  were  to  be  found 
save  those  which  each  man  carried  as  a part 
of  his  equipment;  at  best,  two  or  three  suf- 
ficed for  the  use  of  the  family.  Another  ar- 
ticle, which  was  an  important  factor  in  the 
domestic  economy  of  the  cabin,  was  the 
grater.  A piece  of  tin,  eight  or  nine  inches 
long,  its  surface  closely  set  with  the  jagged 
results  of  rude  perforations,  was  bent  in  semi- 
circular form  and  fastened  to  a piece  of 
wood.  On  this  the  unripe  corn,  too  soft  to 
pound  or  grind, was  reduced  to  a sort  of  pulp, 
which  could  then  be  made  into  bread  or  oth- 
erwise prepared  for  food.  It  was  often  called 
the  “ blood-mill,”  from  the  frequent  lacera- 
tions which  befel  the  fingers  of  those  who 
operated  it.  When  the  grain  became  harder, 
the  “hominy-block,”  to  be  found  about  every 
cabin,  was  brought  into  requisition.  This 
was  a rude  wooden  mortar,  the  concavity  of 
which  was  made  by  burning  and  scraping. 
The  pestle  was  an  iron  wedge  let  into  a wood- 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


213 


en  handle,  which  was  often  attached  to  a 
spring-pole  to  aid  the  operation. 

In  this  day  of  diversified  industry,  when 
one  labor-saving  invention  crowds  another  off 
the  stage  in  endless  and  rapid  succession,  one 
can  scarcely  comprehend  the  patient,  perse- 
vering effort  required  of  the  pioneer  house- 
wife, even  for  the  successful  discharge  of  the 
ordinary  duties  of  the  cabin.  The  lack  of 
costly  furniture,  unwholesome  carpets,  of 
fragile  bric-a-brac  and  expensive  hangings, 
did  not  lessen  her  care.  She  was  both  mis- 
tress and  servant,  matron  and  nursery-maid, 
housekeeper  and  charwoman,  dairy-maid 
and  cook.  Neatness  was  not  less  demanded 
of  her  than  of  the  modern  housewife,  and  her 
split- broom  and  scrub-brush  found  ample  serv-  [ 
ice  in  keeping  floor  and  furniture  clean  and 
white.  Food  was  abundant  and  wholesome, 
but,  like  everything  else  that  the  pioneer  pos- 
sessed, it  was  to  be  derived  only  from  the 
crude  natural  product.  The  richest  milk,  the 
choicest  butter,  and  the  finest  meats,  with 
wild  fruit,  nuts  and  honey,  were  to  be  had 
for  the  trouble  of  taking  them  from  Nature’s 
bountiful  hand.  Bread  was  most  difficult  to 
obtain,  and  its  scarcity  was  of  ten  a great  pri- 
vation. At  such  times  the  corn-pone  was  es- 
teemed a great  luxury,  but  this  would  at 
length  pall  on  the  taste,  and  the  settler  would 
yearn  for  the  “ neat  and  abounding  wheat- 
bread  trays  ” of  his  earlier  home.* 

The  labor  involved  in  this  was  not  une- 
qually divided  between  the  sexes.  “ The  men 
hunted  and  brought  in  the  meat;  they  plant- 
ed, plowed  and  gathered  the  corn;  grinding 
it  into  meal  at  a hand-mill,  or  pounding  it 
into  hominy  in  the  mortar,  was  occasionally 
the  work  of  either,  or  the  joint  labor  of  both.” 
But  with  these  offices  women’s  labor  was 
scarcely  begun.  Custom  and  necessity  united 
to  lay  upon  her  the  duty  of  providing  for 
every  household  need  that  the  rude  agricult- 
ure of  the  period  did  not  supply,  and  in  all 
the  multifarious  activities  which  engaged  her 

*Dr.  Drake  relates  that  when  a little  child  he  cried  and 
begged  for  bread,  which  could  not  be  had,  until  his  parents  were 
obliged  to  leave  the  table  to  hide  their  distress,  Casseday  (Hist, 
of  Louisville,  p.  31,)  records  “that  when  the  first  patch  of  wheat 
was  raised  about  this  place,  after  being  ground  in  a rude  and 
laborious  hand-mill.  It  was  sifted  through  a gauze  neckerchief, 
as  the  best  bolting  cloth  to  he  had.  It  wasthen  shortened  with 
raccoon  fat,  and  the  whole  station  inv  ted  to  partake  of  a sump.- 
luous  feast  upon  flour  cake.” 


skill  and  energy,  she  labored  unaided  by  la- 
bor-saving machinery.  And  so  she  milked 
the  cows  in  all  weather,  while  sturdy  men 
and  boys  watched  an  operation  too  effem- 
inate to  enlist  their  service;  churned  the  but- 
ter and  pressed  the  cheese;  carried  the  tubs 
to  the  spring  or  caught  rain  water  for  the 
weekly  “washing”  from  the  eaves  in  troughs 
and  barrels;  made  her  own  soft-soap;  washed, 
picked,  carded  and  dyed  the  wool;  pulled, 
broke,  hatcheled  and  bleached  the  hemp;  spun 
the  thread,  and  wove  the  cloth;  contrived  and 
made  the  garments;  reared  her  children, 
nursed  the  sick,  sympathized  with  the  dis- 
tressed and  encouraged  the  disheartened  la- 
borer at  her  side.  In  all  this,  and  above  it 
all,  woman  was  the  tutelar  saint  of  the  fron- 
tier. 

The  dress  of  the  women  consisted  of  linen 
and  linsey-woolsey — linen  and  wool  combined. 
An  over  shadowing  sun-bonnet  of  linen,  neat- 
ly washed  and  ironed,  and  a check  apron 
made  of  the  heavier  material,  with  home- 
made stockings  and  a pair  of  heavy  cowhide 
shoes,  constituted  the  lady’s  outfit  for  the 
most  imjiortant  occasion.  Beer  skins  were 
much  used  in  men’s  wear,  and  both  men  and 
women  so  much  resembled  the  savages  in 
their  general  attire,  that  in  the  excitement  of 
an  attack  they  were  often  mistaken  for  In- 
dians.* 

The  hunting-shirt  was  universally  worn.  This 
was  a kind  of  loose  frock,  reaching  half  way  down 
the  thighs,  with  large  sleeves,  open  before,  and  so 
wide  as  to  lap  over  a foot  or  more  when  belted. 
The  cape  was  large  and  sometimes  handsomely 
fringed  with  a raveled  piece  of  cloth  of  a different 
color  from  that  of  the  hunting-shirt  itself.  The 
bosom  of  this  dress  served  as  a wallet  to  hold  a 
chunk  of  bread,  cakes,  jerk,  tow  for  wiping  the 
barrel  of  the  rifle,  or  any  other  necessary  for  the 
hunter  or  warrior.  The  belt,  which  was  always  tied 
behind,  answered  several  purposes  beside  that  of 
holding  the  dress  together.  In  cold  weather  the 
mittens,  and  sometimes  the  bullet-bag,  occupied  tlie 

^Numerous  incidents  illustrative  of  this  fact  are  to  be  found 
throughout  the  tales  of  the  border.  In  the  rescue  of  the  Calla- 
way sisters  and  Jemima  Boone,  Elizabeth  Callaway  was  found 
silting  ag  linst  a tree  with  a red  bandanna  handkerchief  on  her 
head,  fine  of  the  rescuers  was  about  lo  bring  the  raised  butt  of 
his  gun  down  upon  her  head  with,  fatal  force,  when  one  who 
happened  to  recognize  her  warded  otf  the  blow.  Coomes,  who 
figured  in  an  adventure  near  Harrodsburg,  was  subsequently 
out  with  a party  getting  corn  at  a distant  crib,  when  the  Indi- 
ans made  an  attack,  killing  eight  of  the  whites  at  the  first  fire. 
The  blood  of  a comrade  was  spattered  in  Coomes’  face,  and  so 
changed  his  appearance  that  a comrade  leveled  his  rifle  at  him 
which  the  former  observed  barely  in  time  to  declare  his  iden- 
tity. These  incidents  might  be  added  to  almost  indefinitely. 


214 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


front  part  of  it.  To  the  right  side  was  suspended 
the  tomahawk,  and  to  the  left  tlie  scalping  knife 
in  its  leathern  sheath.* 

The  hunting-shirt  was  generally  made  of  linsey, 
sometimes  of  coarse  linen,  and  a few  of  dressed 
deer  skins.  These  last  were  very  cold  and  uncom- 
fortable in  wet  weather.  The  shirt  and  jacket  were 
of  tlie  common  fashion.  A pair  of  drawers  or 
breeches  and  leggins  were  the  dress  of  thighs  and 
legs,  and  a pair  of  moccasins  answered  for  the  feet 
much  better  than  shoes.  These  were  made  of 
dressed  deer-skins.  They  were  mostly  made  of  a 
single  piece,  with  a gathering  seam  along  the  top  of 
the  foot,  and  another  from  the  bottom  of  the  heel, 
without  gathers,  as  high  as  the  ankle  joint  or  a lit- 
tle higher.  Flaps  were  left  on  each  side  to  reach 
some  distance  up  the  legs.  These  were  nicely 
adapted  to  the  ankles  and  lower  part  of  the  legs  by 
thongs  of  deer  skins,  so  that  no  dust,  gravel  or 
snow  could  get  within  the  moccasin. 

The  moccasins  in  ordinary  use  cost  but  a few 
hours’  labor  to  make  them.  This  was  done  by  an 
instrument  denominated  a moccasin-awl,  which 
was  made  of  the  back  spring  of  an  old  clasp  knife. 
This  awl,  with  its  buck-horn  handle,  was  an  ap- 
pendage of  every  shot-pouch  strap,  together  with  a 
roll  of  buck-skin  for  mending  the  moccasin.  This 
was  the  labor  of  almost  every  evening.  They  w’ere 
sewed  together  and  patched  with  deer-skin  thongs, 
or  tchangs,  as  they  were  commonly  called.  In  cold 
weather  the  moccasins  were  well  stuffed  with  deer’s 
hair  or  dry  leaves,  so  as  to  keep  the  feet  comforta- 
bly warm;  but  in  wet  weather  it  was  usually  said 
that  wearing  them  was  a “decent  way  of  going 
barefooted;”  and  such  was  the  fact,  owing  to  the 
spongy  texture  of  the  leather  of  which  they  were 
made. 

Owing  to  this  defective  covering  of  the  feet, 
more  than  to  any  other  circumstance,  the  greater 
number  of  our  hunters  and  warriors  were  afflicted 
with  rheumatism  in  their  limbs.  Of  this  disease 
the}"  were  all  apprehensive  in  wet  and  cold  weather, 
and  therefore  always  slept  with  their  feet  to  the 
fire  to  prevent  or  cure  it  as  well  as  they  could. 
This  practice  unquestionably  had  a very  salutary 
effect,  and  prevented  many  of  them  from  becoming 
confirmed  cripples  in  early  life.f 

*An  .'ilmostiusep.arable  compamon  of  the  early  Kentuckian 
was  the  rifle,  a small  horeJ,  long,  heavy  barreled  gun,  with  Hint 
lock.  It  required  only  a small  charge,  and  up  to  150  yards,  the 
ordinary  limit  of  forest  range,  it  was  exceedingly  accurate. 
Such  was  the  prejudice  in  favor  of  the  long  barrel  that  no  other 
gun  was  thought  fit  for  a woodsman.  It  is  related  that  when  the 
first  attempt  to  run  the  boundary  line  between  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee  was  made,  one  of  the  guard,  which  attended  the 
surveying  party,  had  a short  rilled  gun,  which  was  an  object  of 
derision  to  the  whole  party,  (tn  one  occasion  Dr  Walker  called 
up  the  owner  of  the  despised  weapon,  and  said;  "We  don't 
think  much  of  your  short  gun,  but  here’s  a chance  to  test  it — a 
target  for  you;  hit  it  if  you  can.”  The  object  was  a turkey’s 
head,  about  100  yards  distant,  upon  a dead  limb  of  a standing 
tree.  Jiloi-e  in  a spirit  of  desperation  than  of  confidence,  the 
challenged  marksman  drew  sight  on  the  object,  fired,  and 
brought  down  the  bird.  His  success  was  greeted  with  approv- 
ing shouts  of  the  company,  and  Walker  said,  if  his  father  had 
risen  from  the  dead,  and  told  him  he  could  kill  that  turkey 
with  that  thing,  he  would  not  have  believed  it.  (See  Appendix 
A,  Note  23.) 

fDoddridge’s  Notes,  p.  114. 


Early  emigrants  came  principally  from  the 
“back  settlements”  of  the  Atlantic  colonies. 
With  few  exceptions  they  came  from  the 
poorer  farming  classes,  and  possessed  little 
of  the  refinement  to  be  found  in  the  older 
communities  in  the  region  from  which  they 
came.  But  where  refinement  did  exist,  a 
few  mouths  of  isolation  and  an  experience  of 
the  dependence  of  each  family  upon  the 
friendly  offices  of  every  other  served  to  do 
away  with  any  fastidiousness  which  may 
have  been  cherished  at  first,  and  gradually 
molded  the  whole  community  into  a homo 
geneous  society.  The  average  early  settle- 
ment consisted  of  a cluster  of  clearings — from 
two  to  ten  acres  in  extent  and  inclosed  by  a 
brush  fence — sejiarated  by  intervening  for- 
ests, through  which  foot -trails,  bridle-paths, 
and,  finally,  narrow  wagon -ways  wound  their 
devious  course  amid  stumps,  pitfalls  and 
other  obstacles  to  travel.  Thus,  a dozen  or 
more  clearings  were  often  situated  within 
sound  of  a rifle  or  falling  tree,  but  complete- 
ly hidden  in  the  forest,  and  only  marked  as 
the  site  of  human  habitation  by  a one-story 
round- log  cabin,  about  which  four  or  five 
ragged  childi-en  pursued  their  noisy  play. 
Neighborhoods  were  not  limited  to  such  nar- 
row bounds,  however,  but  several  such  settle- 
ments, situated  miles  apart,  were  closely 
linked  together  by  social  ties. 

Social  gatherings  were  frequent  and  were 
closely  allied  to  useful  occupations.  Meet- 
ings to  raise  log-cabins,  barns,  etc.,  to  roll 
up  logs  in  a new  clearing,  or  later  for  the 
opening  of  new  roads,  were  occasions  when 
the  men,  after  a hard  day’s  work,  would 
spend  the  evening  in  the  rough  sports  of  the 
period.  “Profanity,  vulgarity  and  drinking” 
are  described  by  Dr.  Drake  as  the  “most  em- 
inent characteristics”  of  these  gatherings. 
“All  drank,  though  not  to  excess,  but  all,  of 
course,  did  not  participate  in  other  vices;  yet 
I am  bound  to  say  that  coarse  jocularities 
were  scarcely  frowned  upon  by  any.  Some 
sort  of  physical  amusements,  including 
fights,  in  which  biting  and  gouging  were  es- 
sential elements,  with  the  beastly  intoxication 
of  several,  would  generally  wind  up  these 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


215 


meetings.”*  Other  gatherings  in  which  the 
women  took  the  leading  part  were  qnilting 
and  spinning-bees  “Toward  evening  the 
younger  men  would  assemble  and  amuse  them- 
selves by  athletic  exercises  without,  and 
talking  to  and  ‘ plaguing  the  gals  ’ within 
the  cabin.  The  quilt  being  removed,  the 
supper  table  took  its  place,  and  after  the 
ladies  had  risen  from  the  cream  of  the  feast, 
the  gentlemen,  who  had  whetted  their  appe- 
tites by  drinking  whisky  and  looking  on, 
proceeded  to  glut  themselves  on  the  reliquice. 
Then  came  on  plays  of  various  kinds,  inter- 
larded with  jokes  and  bursts  of  laughter  till 
bed- time,  when  the  dispersion  took  place.” 

Corn  huskings  engaged  both  sexes,  and 
were  popular  sources  of  rude  but  absorbing 
amusement. 

When  the  crop  was  gathered  in,  the  ears  were 
heaped  into  a long  pile  or  rick,  a night  fixed  on,  and 
the  neighborhood  notified  rather  than  invited,  for 
it  was  an  affair  of  mutual  assistance . As  they  as- 
sembled at  nightfall,  the  green- glass-quart- whisky- 
bottle,  stopped  with  a cob,  was  handed  to  every 
one,  man  and  boy,  as  they  arrived,  to  take  a drink. 

A sufficient  number  to  constitute  a sort  of  quorum 
having  arrived,  two  men,  or  more  commonly  two 
boys,  constituted  themselves,  or  were  by  acclama- 
tion declared  captains.  They  paced  the  rick  and  | 
estimated  its  contractions  and  expansions  with  the 
eye,  till  they  were  able  to  fix  on  the  spot  on  which 
the  end  of  the  dividing  rail  should  be. 

The  choice  depended  on  the  tossing  of  a chip, 
one  side  of  w'hich  had  been  spit  upon;  the  first 
choice  of  men  was  decided  in  the  same  manner, 
and  in  a few  minutes  the  rick  was  charged  upon  by 
the  rival  forces.  As  others  arrived,  as  soon  as  the 
owner  had  given  each  the  bottle,  he  fell  in  accord- 
ing to  the  end  that  he  belonged  to.  The  captains 
planted  themselves  on  each  side  of  the  rail,  sus- 
tained by  their  most  active  operatives.  There  at 
the  beginning  was  the  great  contest,  for  it  was  law- 


*Drake’s  “Pioneer  Life  in  Kentucky,”  p.  184:  A meeting  for 
road-making  in  1797  is  described  in  the  autobiography  of  Rev. 
Jacob  Young.  The  company  consisted  of  about  100  men,  each 
provided  with  an  ax,  three  days’  provisions  and  a knapsack  for 
baggage,  under  the  direction  of  a captain.  The  day  was  spent  in 
hard  work,  and  as  it  was  in  November,  and  the  night  promised 
to  be  cold,  large  fires  were  built.  This  done  and  supper  eaten, 
hunting  stories  and  “some  pretty  fine  singing  under  the  circum- 
stances,” were  the  order.  “Thus  far  well,  but  a change  began 
to  take  place.  They  became  very  rude  and  raised  the  war- 
whuop  Their  .shrill  shrieks  made  me  tremble.  They  chose 
two  captains,  divided  the  men  into  two  companies,  and  com- 
menced fighting  with  fire-brands — the  log  heaps  being  burned 
down.  The  only  law  for  their  government  was  that  no  man 
should  throw  a brand  without  fire  on  it,  so  that  they  might 
know  how  to  dodge.  They  fought  tor  two  or  three  hours  in 
perfect  good  nature  till  brands  became  scarce,  and  they  began 
to  violate  the  law.  Some  were  severely  wounded,  blood  began  to 
flow  freely,  and  they  were  in  fair  way  of  commencing  afightin 
earnest.  At  this  moment  the  loud  voice  of  the  captain  rang 
out  above  the  din,  ordering  every  man  to  retire  to  rest.  They 
dropped  their  weapons  of  warfare,  rekindled  the  fires  and 
laid  down  to  sleep.”  (See  Collins,  Vol.  II,  p 734.) 


) ful  to  cause  the  rail  to  slide  or  fall  toward  your  own 
j end,  shortening  it  and  lengthening  the  other.  Corn 
I might  be  thrown  over  unhusked,  the  rail  might  be 
pulled  toward  you  by  the  hand  dexterously  applied 
underneath,  your  feet  might  push  corn  to  the  other 
side  of  the  rail,  your  husked  corn  might  be  thrown 
so  short  a distance  as  to  bury  up  the  projecting 
base  of  the  pile  on  the  other  side;  if  charged  with  any 
of  these  tricks,  you  of  course  denied  it,  and  there 
the  matter  sometimes  rested;  at  other  times  the 
charge  was  reaffirmed,  then  rebutted  with  “you’re 
a liar,”  and  then  a fight,  at  the  moment  or  at  the 
end,  settled  the  question  of  veracity. 

The  heap  cut  in  two,  the  parties  turned  their 
backsuponeach  other,  and  making  their  hands  keep 
time  with  a peculiar  sort  of  tune,  the  chorus  of  voices 
on  a still  night  might  be  heard  a mile.  The  oft-re- 
plenished whisky  bottle  meanwhile  circulated  freely, 
and  at  the  close  the  victorious  captain,  mounted 
on  the  shoulders  of  some  of  the  stoutest  men,  with 
the  bottle  in  one  hand  and  his  hat  in  the  other,  was 
canned  in  triumph  around  the  vanquished  party 
amidst  shouls  of  victorjq  which  rent  the  air.  Then 
came  the  supper,  on  which  the  women  had  been 
busily  employed,  and  which  always  included  a 
“pot  pie.”  Either  before  or  after  eating  the  fighting 
took  place,  and  by  midnight,  the  sober  were  found 
assisting  the  drunken  home.  (Pioneer  Life  in  Ken- 
tucky; pp.  54-56.) 

Courtship  and  marriage  were  marked  by 
the  same  rude  zest.  There  was  a little 
romance  and  less  formality  in  frontier  life, 
and  marriage  was  viewed  with  far  more  prac- 
tical concern  then  than  now.  There  was 
little  philandering;  the  character  of  pioneer 
recreations  brought  the  young  of  both  sexes 
frequently  together,  and  marriages  were  made 
up  with  little  previous  formality.  It  was 
1 quite  the  thing,  if  the  young  man  possessed 
the  means,  to  escort  one’s  lady-love  to  church 
on  horse-back;  the  less  fortunate  swain  met 
his  sweetheart  at  the  church  and  walked 
home  with  her.  On  such  occasions  it  was  no 
uncommon  occurrence,  after  getting  out  of 
sight  of  the  church,  for  the  young  lady  to 
remove  her  morocco  slippers  and  stockings — 
when  stores  finally  brought  such  luxuries  in 
reach — and  walk  home  with  her  escort  bare- 
footed. If  an  old  pioneer*  may  be  trusted, 
“the  general  custom  was  to  see  your  sweetheart 
at  night,  take  your  seat  by  her  and  embrace 
her  in  your  arms,  with  many  kisses  some- 
times reciprocated;  take  her  in  your  lap, 
with  your  arms  wound  around  each  other  in 

*Hon.  Urban  E Kennedy,  for  seventy  years  a resident  of 
Todd  County,  Ky.  (See  History  of  Todd  County;  pp.  56  and  273.) 


216 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


all  innocence  and  virtue.”  In  describing  an 
instance,  where  with  a friend  he  put  this 
theory  into  practice,  the  same  gentleman 
gives  the  following  illustration  of  early 
courtship: 

Well,  Henry  took  hi.s  girl  to  one  corner  and  I the 
other  one  in  the  remote  opposite  corner.  We  sat 
down  as  close  as  we  could,  and  Henry  laid  off  his 
fine  beaver  (which  cost  $12)  carefully  in  the  corner 
near  the  wall,  and  happened  to  set  it  very  plumb 
in  the  skillet,  in  which  they  had  fried  meat  for 
supper.  It  was  quite  dark  in  the  house;  the  little  fire 
had  gone  out,  so  we  enjoyed  ourselves  until  the  small 
hours  of  the  night.  I proposed  that  we  leave,  and 
Henry,  seizing  his  hat  by  the  brim,  raised  with  it 
the  skillet  and  aM.  The  gravy,  a half  inch  deep, 
had  cooled  enough  to  stick  tight.  He  soon  discov- 
ered the  situation,  and  the  poor  girls  were  greatly 
mortified.  They  got  a little  stump  of  a tallow  dip, 
and  with  a case-knife  we  scraped  off  all  we  could. 
We  were  not  in  the  habit  of  swearing,  but  Henry 
said  that  he  could  not  do  the  subject  justice  with- 
out some  profanity. 

The  early  settlers  generally  married 
young,  boys  of  eighteen  and  girls  of  six- 
teen entering  into  the  marriage  relation. 
There  were  no  arbitrary  social  distinctions, 
a family  establishment  cost  little  more  than 
labor  to  provide,  and  there  were  no  pruden- 
tial reasons  to  prevent  the  first  impression  of 
love  being  speedily  followed  by  marriage. 
This  was  the  usual  order,  and  was  a matter 
which  enlisted  the  eager  interest  of  the 
whole  community.  The  wedding  was  a pub- 
lic occasion,  and  the  only  one  in  the  social 
regime  of  the  frontier  that  was  not  associated 
with  a season  of  vigorous  exertion.  It  was 
anticipated,  therefore,  with  the  liveliest 
satisfaction,  and  was  attended  by  a revel  in 
which  the  wildest  spirit  of  frolic  ruled  the 
hour. 

The  wedding  commonly  occurred  in  the 
daytime.  In  the  morning  of  the  appointed 
day  the  groom  with  his  friends  of  both  sexes 
set  forth  on  horseback  from  the  house  of  his 
father  in  time  to  reach  their  destination 
about  noon.  On  reaching  a point  about  a 
mile  from  the  bride’s  residence,  two  young 
men  of  the  party  would  elect  to  “run  for 
the  bottle,”  and  starting  at  a given  signal 
would  rush  their  horses  by  the  most  direct 
practicable  route  to  the  cabin.  The  more 
difficult  the  way,  the  better  the  sport,  and 


logs,  brush,  swail,  hills  and  hollows  were 
passed  unheeded  in  their  eager  emulation 
for  the  victory.  The  one  first  at  the  door 
received  from  the  bride’s  father  a bottle  of 
whisky,  with  which  the  victor  returned  to  the 
approaching  cavalcade,  and,  first  presenting 
the  trophy  to  the  groom,  it  rapidly  made  its 
way  to  the  mouth  of  man  and  maid  through- 
out the  company,  when  it  was  returned  to 
the  victor.  The  ceremony  followed  the 
arrival  of  the  company;  the  dinner,  made  up 
of  a great  variety  of  substantial  food  and 
whisky,  succeeded,  after  which  dancing  or 
games  were  begun  and  generally  kept  up  un- 
til next  morning. 

About  9 or  10  o’clock,  a deputation  of 
the  young  ladies  stole  off  with  the  bride  and 
put  her  to  bed  in  the  loft;  and  this  done,  a 
delegation  of  young  men  took  the  groom  and 
snugly  placed  him  beside  her.  The  merri- 
ment then  went  on,  and  if  seats  were  scarce, 
as  was  generally  the  case  in  the  frontier  cab- 
ins, the  young  men,  when  not  engaged  upon 
the  floor,  were  obliged  to  offer  their  laps  as 
seats  for  the  girls,  an  offer  that  was  never  re- 
jected. In  the  zest  of  the  wedding  hilarity, 
the  bride  and  groom  were  not  forgotten. 
Late  in  the  night  some  one  would  suggest 
that  the  new  couple  must  be  in  need  of 
refreshments,  and  “black  Betty” — the  whisky 
bottle — with  a generous  allowance  of  the 
fragments  of  the  substantial  dinner,  would 
be  sent  up  by  a deputation,  and  bride  and 
groom  obliged  to  partake  of  a liberal  portion 
of  the  fare  provided.  On  the  following  day 
the  “infare”  would  be  held  at  the  cabin  of 
the  groom’s  father,  and  thither  the  pictur- 
esque cavalcade,  “headed  by  the  bride  and 
groom,”  would  early  wend  its  way.  Here  the 
scenes  of  the  wedding  occasion  would  be  re-en- 
acted “with  such  new  accompaniments  as  new 
members  of  the  company  could  suggest,  or 
the  inventions  of  a night  of  excited  genius 
had  brought  forth.” 

Dancing  was  not  a universal  custom. 
Many  of  the  early  settlers  were  piously 
opposed  to  this  form  of  amusement,  but 
there  were  few  settlements  from  which  the 
exercise  was  entirely  excluded.  As  described 
by  Doddridge,  “the  figures  of  the  dance  were 


CENTRE  COLLEGE,  JtAIX  BCILDING,  DANVILLE.— .SEE  [’AGE  504. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


217 


three  or  four-handed  reels,  and  square  sets 
and  jigs.  The  commencement  was  always  a 
square  four,  which  was  followed  by  what  was 
called  jigging  it  off;  that  is,  two  of  the  four 
would  single  out  for  a jig,  and  were  followed 
by  the  remaining  couple.  The  jigs  were 
often  accompanied  with  what  was  called 
cutting  out;  that  is,  when  either  of  the 
parties  became  tired  of  the  dance,  on  inti- 
mation the  place  was  supplied  by  some  one 
of  the  company  without  any  interruption  of 
the  dance.  In  this  way  the  dance  was  often 
continued  till  the  musician  was  heartily 
tired  of  his  situation.  Toward  the  latter  part 
of  the  night,  if  any  of  the  company,  through 
weariness,  attempted  to  conceal  themselves  for 
the  purpose  of  sleeping,  they  were  hunted  up, 
paraded  on  the  floorj  and  the  fiddler  ordered 
to  play  “Hang  on  till  to-morrow  morning.” 
The  use  of  intoxicants  was  nearly  univer- 
sal. \ For  a short  time  the  first  settlers  were 
abstainers  from  the  force  of  circumstances. 
The  nearest  point  where  whisky  could  be  ob- 
tained was  hundreds  of  miles  away,  and  its 
importation  as  well  as  manufacture  was 
rendered  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  by  the 
hostile  activity  of  the  savages.  But  it  was 
hardly  to  be  expected  that  a class  of  people 
who  had  been  educated  to  use  it  as  a regular 
beverage  would  be  forced  to  settle  do^vn  to 
the  practice  of  total  abstinence  by  a danger 
which  they  braved  without  hesitation  for 
objects  of  a much  less  pressing  nature. 
"When  its  manufacture  was  first  introduced 
into  Kentucky  has  not  been  ascertained,  but 
its  sale  in  hotels  was  regulated  as  early  as 
1781,  and  it  was  certainly  manufactm-ed  here 
as  early  as  1783,  if  not  before.  As  has  been 
indicated  in  the  foregoing  pages,  it  rapidly 
came  into  general  use,  and  formed  a part  of 
not  only  every  public  entertaiment,  but  of 
every  cabin’s  hospitality.  For  a friend  to 
call  and  find  the  bottle  empty  occasioned  the 
host  a feeling  of  chagrin,  and  gave  rise  to  a 
suspicion  of  stinginess  in  the  mind  of  the 
caller.  There  were  some,  however,  who  were 
exceptions  to  the  general  rule.  These  were 
usually  Methodists,  whose  discipline  required 
abstinence,  but  it  was  a cause  of  reproach 
among  members  of  other  sects,  and  of  no 


sect,  who  did  not  hesitate  to  suggest  that 
they  probably  “drank  behind  the  door.” 
Dissenting  religionists  were  an  important 
element  of  the  early  society  of  Kentucky.  So 
long  as  the  people  remained  cooped  up  in 
stations,  religious  activity  was  held  some- 
what in  abeyance,  but  this  restraint  removed, 
the  zeal  fostered  by  the  conflict  in  Virginia 
sprang  into  new  life  on  the  frontier.  Prob- 
ably the  first  preacher  on  the  border  was  the 
Rev.  John  Lythe,  “of  the  Church  of  Eng 
land,”  who  conducted  divine  service  under  the 
magnificent  elm  at  Boonesborough,  in  1775. 
But  the  old  antagonisms  were  transferred 
from  Virginia  to  Kentucky,  and  the  Episco- 
pal Church  found  no  encouragement  in  the 
new  settlements.  It  was  known  only  as  the 
Church  of  England,  and  was  generally  re- 
garded as  “an  organized  body  of  Arminians 
enlisted  in  the  service  of  despotism.” 

All  dissenting  sects  found  the  freedom  of 
the  newly  settled  region  congenial  to  the 
propagation  of  their  faith,  and  each  was  rep- 
resented in  the  creeds  of  some  of  the  first 
settlers.  Of  these,  the  Baptists  were  the  first 
to  plant  their  organization  here.  As  early 
as  1776,  William  Hickman,  Sr.,  began  travel- 
ing among  the  stations  confirming  the  Bap- 
tist membership  in  the  faith.  In  1780,  Lewis 
Craig,  one  of  the  valiant  champions  of  the 
dissenting  cause  who  was  carried  singing  to 
prison  in  Fredericksburg,  led  the  most  of  his 
chm’ch  from  Spottsylvania  County,  Va.,  to 
Gilbert’s  Creek,  in  Garrard  County.  Here 
a church  was  organized  in  the  following 
year.  In  1782  others  were  planted  in  the  re- 
gion of  Nelson  and  Hardin  Counties,  and  in 
1783  a fourth  was  established  on  South  Elk- 
horn,  five  miles  south  of  Lexington. 

In  the  latter  year  (1783)  the  Rev.  David 
Rice,  a minister  of  the  Presbyterian  faith, 
came  to  Kentucky  and  gatbered  the  scattered 
membership  of  this  church  into  three  con- 
gregations, at  Danville,  Cane  Run  and  at  the 
forks  of  Dick’s  River.  Other  ministers  fob 
lowed,  established  other  churches,  and  in  due 
course  of  time  the  Transylvania  Presbytery 
was  formed,  which,  in  1786,  represented 
twelve  congregations  in  more  or  less  perfect 
state  of  organization. 


218 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


In  this  year  (1786),  also,  the  name  of  Ken- 
tucky first  appears  in  the  general  minutes  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  whole 
area  of  the  present  State  was  then  constituted 
a cix'cuit,  and  James  Haw  and  Benjamin  Og- 
den appointed  the  first  itinerants.  A class 
had  been  established  as  early  as  1783  in  the 
region  of  Mercer  County,  but  the  first  church 
was  not  organized  until  three  years  later. 
In  1788  the  original  circuit  was  divided 
under  the  names  of  Lexington  and  Danville, 
and  in  1790  the  first  Methodist  Church  edi- 
fice, a log-cabin  at  Masterson’s  Station,  five 
miles  northwest  of  Lexington,  was  erected. 

The  first  Catholic  emigrants  were  William 
Cooraes  and  Dr.  Hart,  who  came  to  Harrods- 
burg  in  1775.  Ten  years  later,  a colony  of 
Catholics  emigrated  from  Maryland  and  set- 
tled principally  on  Pottinger’s  Creek,  in  the 
region  of  Bardstown.  In  the  next  year  a 
second  colony  followed,  and  settled  in  the 
same  vicinity;  and  in  1787  another  comjaany 
came,  settling  on  Rolling  Fork,  in  the  pres- 
ent county  of  Marion.  The  number  of  Cath- 
olic families  in  Kentucky  was  now  esti- 
mated at  fifty,  and  at  their  solicitation  a 
priest  was  sent  to  minister  to  them.  Other 
of  the  clergy  followed,  who  proved  indefati- 
gable missionaries,  but  it  was  not  until  after 
1793  that  the  denomination  gained  strength 
enough  to  organize  the  first  church. 

From  such  beginniners  the  various  church 
organizations  developed,  until  there  was 
scarcely  a settlement  without  its  meeting- 
house, and  at  least  one  rudimentary  church. 
Where  more  than  one  sect  was  represented, 
as  was  generally  the  case,  the  same  building 
served  the  purposes  of  all  by  turns,  the  whole 
church  going  community  attending  whenever 
there  were  services.  When  the  attendance 
of  ministers  became  somewhat  regular,  Sun- 
day became  an  occasion  of  special  interest. 
As  Dr.  Drake  describes  it: 

It  was  a day  for  dressing  up;  and  none  but  those 
who  labor  through  the  week,  in  coarse  dirty  clothes, 
can  estimate  the  cheering  influence  of  a clean  face 
and  feet,  a clean  shirt  and  “boughten”  clotbes  on  a 
Sabbath  morning.  All  preparation  had  to  be  finished 
at  an  early  hour,  for  to  reach  the  meeting-house  was 
a work  of  time.  At  length  we  take  our  departure, 
mother  in  a calico  dress,  with  her  black  silk  bonnet 


covering  a newly  ironed  cap,  with  the  tabs  tied  be- 
neath her  chin  with  a piece  of  narrow  ribbon;  father 
with  his  shoes  just  greased,  and  blackened  with  fat 
and  soot  mixed  together;  in  his  shirt  sleeves  if  the 
weather  was  hot,  or  in  his  Sunday  coat  if  cool;  a 
worn  dress  hat  over  his  short  smooth  black  hair;  a 
bandanna  handkerchief  in  his  pocket  for  that  day, ' 
and  his  walking-stick  in  his  hand  or  the  baby  in  his 
arms;  myself  in  fustian  jacket,  with  my  hat  brushed 
and  set  up,  my  feet  clean,  and  a new  rag  on 
some  luckless  “stubbed”  and  festering  toe;  the 
younger  children  in  their  best  Sunday  clothes,  and 
the  whole  of  us  slowly,  yet  cheerfully,  playfully, 
moving  onward  through  the  cool  and  quiet  woods 
to  the  house  of  God. 

The  scene  around  this  village  temple  can  never 
fade  from  my  memory  and  heart.  Horses  hitched 
along  the  fence,  and  men  and  women  on  foot  or 
horseback  arriving  from  all  quarters;  within  the 
inclosure,  neighbors  shaking  hands  and  inquiring 
after  each  other’s  families;  a little  group  leaning 
against  the  fence  in  conversation;  another  seated 
on  a bench  “talking  it  over;  ” another  little  party 
strolling  among  the  graves;  and  squads  of  children 
sitting  or  lying  on  the  grass  to  rest  themselves. 
The  hour  for  worship  arrived,  the  congregation 
were  seated  in  and  around  the  cabin-church  on 
benches  without  backs,  and  there  stood  Deacon 
Morris,  beneath  the  pulpit,  giving  out  the  hymns, 
while  Old  Hundred,  by  twice  as  many  voices,  was 
mingled  with  the  notes  of  birds  in  the  surrounding 
trees.  It  was  the  custom  of  those  who  came  from 
a distance  to  bring  with  them  some  kind  of  food, 
and  in  the  hour  of  intermission  they  might  be  seen 
in  scattered  groups  engaged  in  lunching. 

The  early  preachers  were  generally  illiter- 
ate men,  lacking  in  dignity  and  solemnity, 
but  possessing  considerable  natural  talents, 
and  inspired  by  an  indefatigable  zeal.  They 
were  men  who  had  grown  up  under  the  in- 
fluences of  the  religious  agitation  which  pre- 
ceded and  accompanied  the  Revolution,  and, 
repelled  by  the  apathy  which  followed  the 
success  of  the  dissenters,  in  their  contest 
with  the  established  church,  sought  fresher 
fields  on  the  frontier.  These  circumstances 
brought  to  Kentucky  a set  of  men  who  were 
well  calculated  to  “ turn  the  world  upside 
down.”  Their  lax  system  of  morals,  crude 
logic,  and  vigorous  declamation  met  with 
great  acceptation  in  a society  where  spirited 
action  was  much  better  understood  than 
moral  philosophy;  and  where  religion  meant 
the  “belonging”  to  some  church,  the  earnest 
opposition  to  the  peculiar  tenets  of  other 
sects,  and  the  abstaining  from  certain  capital 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


219 


violations  of  the  law-and-order  sentiment  of 
the  community. 

The  camp  meeting  was  the  mighty  agency 
of  pioneer  propagandism.  The  lack  of 
ministers  as  well  as  of  commodious  build- 
ings led  to  frequent  out-door  meetings.  To 
these  a preacher  who  touched  the  popular 
fancy  would  draw  large  numbers,  who 
gathered  at  the  appointed  time  from  miles 
around.  The  Methodists  were  the  earliest 
to  convert  these  sei’vices  into  a series  of 
meetings  held  on  successive  days  and  nights, 
but  the  practice  became  general,  and  each 
denomination  commonly  held  a series  of 
camp  meetings  each  year.  In  such  cases 
the  people  came  prepared  with  provisions  to 
remain  several  days,  and  even  weeks  on  some 
occasions.  In  the  meanwhile,  ' when  not  in 
attendance  upon  the  exercises,  they  found 
shelter  in  their  wagons  or  in  rudely  con- 
structed booths  in  the  woods.  The  earliest 
of  these  religious  gatherings  occurred  in 
Logan  County,  at  the  time  of  the  great  revival 
which  originated  under  the  preaching  of  the 
Rev.  James  McGready,  taking  form  in  1799 
and  continuing  for  several  years.  Various 
denominations  took  part  in  the  initial  meet- 
ing, and,  as  the  interest  extended,  camp- 
meetings  multiplied,  at  some  of  which  it  was 
estimated  that  from  20,000  to  25,000  persons 
were  in  attendance. 

A remarkable  characteristic  of  these  early 
camp- meetings  was  the  bodily  agitations 
which  attended  the  excitement  incident  to 
the  services.  The  manifestations,  often 
bordering  on  the  ridiculous,  seem  to  baffle 
philosophical  investigation.  Men  of  rugged 
mind  and  physique  and  women  and  children 
alike  succumbed  to  the  “ jerks,”  or  rather  the 
“exercises,”  as  they  were  popularly  termed. 

The  “ jerks’’  were  the  most  common  form 
of  this  strange  malady,  and  generally  pre- 
ceded the  other  forms  of  activity.  An  eye- 
witness thus  describes  these  scenes: 

Many  times  I have  seen  them  unexpectedly 
jerked  flat  on  their  backs,  and  the  next  instant 
jerked  full  length  on  their  faces.  Ladies,  while 
sitting  intently  observant  of  the  exercises,  were 
jerked  so  violently  that  their  bonnets,  capes,  hand- 
kerchiefs and  loose  apparel  would  be  thrown  clear 
away,  and  their  long,  beautiful  hair,  unrestrained 


by  combs,  fillets,  etc.,  flowing  down  to  their  waists, 
would  crack  like  an  ox-whip  with  the  violent  vibra- 
tions of  their  heads  and  shoulders.  Others  would 
jump  and  run,  like  an  antelope,  perhaps  for  fifty  or 
one  hundred  yards,  and  then  fall  prone  upon  the 
ground  and  lie  apparently  lifeless,  sometimes  for 
hours.  Some  wmuld  say  it  was  the  chastening  work 
of  an  Almighty  God,  others,  that  it  was  the  work  of 
the  devil.  You  might  see  the  skeptical  high-flyers 
stand  on  the  outskirts  of  the  assembly,  winking  and 
making  sport  of  these  manifestations,  and  often,  in 
five  minutes,  they  would  be  screaming  and  howling 
like  madmen.  Once  two  old  church-members  of 
great  formality  and  incredulity  visited  a meeting  of 
this  kind  to  observe  with  their  own  eyes  what  they 
had  heard  and  disbelieved  of  these  manifestations. 
After  critically  scrutinizing  the  whole  matter  they 
pronounced  it  heterodox,  and  left  the  ground. 
However,  before  reaching  home,  they  took  the 
“jerks,”  and  were  thrown  to  the  ground,  giving 
utterance  to  piercing  yells.  After  a time  the  ridicul- 
ing and  unbelieving  portion  of  the  community  be- 
came afraid  to  attend  these  meetings,  lest  they 
should  feel  this  supernatural  power,  and  stayed  at 
home.  But  many,  even  here,  in  the  midst  of  ridi- 
cule and  philosophical  speculation  on  the  subject, 
would  be  taken  with  the  jerks,  and  send  for  the 
minister  and  elders  for  instruction  and  relief.  Most 
of  those  who  were  thus  affected  became  members  of 
some  church,  though  quite  a number,  while  they 
abated  their  skepticism  in  regard  to  the  reality  of 
the  jerks,  did  not  yield  to  its  converting  influence.'*^ 
(History  of  Todd  County,  p.  87.) 

A large  part  of  the  explanation  of  these 
manifestations  may  probably  be  found  in  the 
superstitious  and  credulous  character  of  the 
early  settlers.  Respect  for  signs  and  omens 
constituted  a conspicuous  feature  of  their 
mental  characteristics,  and  made  them  easily 
moved  by  shrewd  interpretations  of  natural 
phenomena.  A peculiar  storm-cloud,  with 
vivid  flashes  of  ligchtnincf,  made  the  threaten- 
ings  of  the  sacred  word  more  tangible,  and, 
under  certain  circumstances,  even  raised  a 
fear  that  the  end  of  all  things  was  at  hand. 
The  preachers  of  the  time  were  not  always 
proof  against  the  temptation  to  use  the 
power  thus  put  in  their  hands,  and  numerous 
anecdotes  are  related  which  indicate  that 
much  of  their  remarkable  power  was  due  to  a 
somewhat  unscrupulous  play  upon  the  credu- 
lity of  unsophisticated  minds. 

*It  is  said  that  the  first  camp-meeting  held  in  Christendom 
was  in  1800,  at  the  txasper  River  meeting-house,  in  Logan 
County.  (See  Collins,  Vol.  I,  p.  404.1  In  the  "Biography  of  El- 
der Warren  Stone”  (by  Elder  John  Rogers,  Cincinnati,  1847), 
p 30,  is  found  another  and  more  complete  description  of  these 
tiodily  agitations.  In  the  same  work,  pp,  348-404,  is  a somewhat 
elaborate  review  of  the  history  and  character  of  these  manifesta- 
tions. 


220 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


The  ignorance  of  the  people  was  not  con- 
fined to  supernatural  things,  however,  and  it 
is  difficult,  at  this  day,  to  conceive  that  such 
a degree  of  simplicity  could  anywhere  exist 
among:  the  adults  of  an  enlig:htened  nation. 
Di’.  Drake  mentions  instances  of  families 
cooking  bohea  tea  with  a ham  of  bacon  as 
greens,  and  cooking  a considerable  quantity 
in  a Dutch  oven,  from  which  the  whole 
family  made  their  breakfast,  each  dipping  it 
up  with  a tin  cup.  In  this  matter  the  early 
society  was  not  without  its  gradations,  the 
Eastern  emigrant  being  counted  the  most 
intelligent,  the  Virginian  next,  and  the 
Marylanders  third  in  the  intellectual  scale. 
Books  were  rare,  and  included  sundry  vol- 
umes of  hymns,  the  Bible,  Pilgrim’s  Progress, 
and  one  or  more  almanacs.  Even  this  lim- 
ited supply  was  not  found  everywhere,  and 
in  the  most  favored  families  the  variety  was 
seldom  enlarged  by  a volume  of  poems,  and 
never  by  a romance. 

Until  the  publication  of  a Kentucky 
almanac  by  Bradford,  in  1788,  these  sybilline 
leaves  were  imported  from  Philadelphia,  and 
were  filled  with  anecdotes  and  bon-mots, 
“often  profane,  and  oftener  licentious  in  their 
character.”  “Poor  Richard’s  Almanac”  was 
a rare  exception,  and  was  used  by  the  more 
refined.  But  it  was  the  record  of  the  moon’s 
phases,  which  were  held  of  most  practical 
account.  With  the  waxing  and  waning  of 
this  -mysterious  planet  the  whole  tide  of  so- 
cial affairs  ebbed  and  flowed.  Babies  were 
weaned,  grains  and  vegetables  were  planted, 
and  hog:s  were  killed  with  strict  reg:ard  for 
the  inconstant  moon.  This  credulity  was 
universal,  and  made  the  almanac  as  indis- 
pensable to  the  cabin  as  the  newspaper  in 
modern  homes. 

It  is  a creditable  feature  of  this  early 
society  that  with  such  training,  and  sur- 
rounded by  the  discouragements  of  poverty, 
lack  of  books  and  lack  of  school  facilities  and 
teachers,  the  people  should  have  made  such 
early  efforts  to  secure  the  benefits  of  schools. 
The  school  teacher  was  early  abroad  in  Ken- 
tucky. The  first  of  these  knights  of  the 
birchen  rod  was  William  Coomes.  He  was 
among  the  first  settlers  at  Harrodsburg,  and 


from  1775  until  he  moved  to  the  Catholic 
settlements  in  Marion  County,  he  plied  his 
vocation  at  that  station.  But  schools  were 
not  generally  established  until  some  time 
after  the  large  immigration  of  1788,  and 
were  thenceforward,  for  years,  only  the 
crudest  attempts  to  organize  for  educational 
objects.  The  schoolhouse  was  the  familiar 
log  structure,  with  greased  paper  covered 
windows,  puncheon  benches  and  desks,  and  a. 


mammoth  fire-place.  Dill  worth’s  Speller 
and  the  New  Testament  were  the  sole  text 
books;  geography  and  arithmetic  were  taught 
orally,  the  propositions  of  these  perplexing 
sciences  often  being  further  complicated 
by  being  expressed  in  a doggerel  verse. 
Writing  was  more  akin  to  manual  than 
mental  exercise,  and  required  the  teacher 
to  be  expert  in  making  pens  as  well  as  marks. 
There  was  little  of  the  orderly  progression  of 
latter-day  systems,  and  few  pretended  to  go 
beyond  “capitals”  and  “large  joining  hand.” 
The  teachers  were  generally  of  Scotch  or 
Irish  extraction,  with  now  and  then  a Yankee. 
Unhampered  by  text  books  each  teacher  gave 
full  scope  to  his  peculiar  theories,  which  gen- 
erally expressed  his  mental  limitations  and 
peculiarities  of  temperament  and  habits,  and 
seldom  failed  to  include  a liberal  use  of  the 
rod.  The  first  quarter  of  the  present  century 
was  marked  by  a I'apid  progress  in  the  scho- 
lastic attainments  of  the  teacher,  and  in  cen- 
tral Kentucky  were  found  not  only  such  math- 
ematical and  classical  instructors  as  Filson 
and  his  contemporaries,  but  the  beginnings  of 
that  higher  instruction  which  has  since  devel- 
oped into  such  grand  proportions.  The  ear- 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


231 


ly  common  schools  were  of  course  supported 
by  subscription,  each  patron  bearing  such  a 
proportion  of  the  general  cost  as  his  children 
bore  to  the  whole  number  instructed.  But 
the  teacher,  being  a man  of  necessities  simi- 
lar to  his  patrons,  made  no  difficulty  in  ac- 
cepting his  salary  in  pork,  corn  or  whisky, 
and  thus  these  grosser  articles  were  trans- 
muted into  those  faculties  which  charmed  a 
senate  or  held  the  world  in  awe. 

“Business”  had  little  recognition  in  fron- 
tier society.  The  great  occupation  of  the 
new  settlers  was  clearing  away  the  forest  and 
cultivating  the  soil.  They  had  access  to  no 
markets;  produce  had  no  commercial  value  at 
home;  and  accustomed  to  find  all  their  neces- 
sities supplied  through  their  own  skill  and 
industry  from  nature,  they  did  not  encourage 
a division  of  labor.  Each  man  was  his  own 
blacksmith,  carpenter,  tanner,  shoe  and  har- 
ness-maker, while  the  women  supplied  the 
place  of  weaver  and  tailor.  The  work  of  the 
turner  and  cooper  was  less  readily  accom- 
plished, and  when  William  Poague  began  the 
manufacture  of  tubs,  churns,  pails,  noggins, 
etc.,  at  Harrodsburg,  the  neighboring  sta- 
tions found  it  a great  convenience  to  exchange 
their  produce  for  these  indispensable  articles 
of  cabin  furniture. 

Closely  following  this  pioneer  industiy 
came  the  primitive  inn.  It  was  scarcely  to 
be  distinguished  from  the  simple  home  of  the 
private  citizen,  and  differed  from  the  ordinary 
cabin  principally  in  that  its  hospitality  was 
dispensed  at  a fixed  price.  Its  patronage 
was  derived  from  prospectors  who  thronged 
to  the  new  land,  the  temporary  character  of 
whose  stay  rendered  such  an  establishment  a 
necessity.  The  earliest  of  this  class  of  pub- 
lic purveyors  was  situated  near  “the  Falls,” 
and  the  regulation  of  its  charges  by  the 
county  court,  in  1781,  suggests  the  condition 
of  things  at  that  time.  Whisky  was  provid- 
ed at  $15  per  half  pint;  corn  at  $10  a gallon; 
“stablage”  or  pasturage  one  night  at  $4;  “a 
diet”  at  $12,  and  “lodging  in  a feather  bed”  at 
$6.  These  prices  represent  the  depreciation 
of  the  continental  currency  rather  than  the 
scarcity  of  food,  but  the  cost  of  all  provisions 
which  involved  the  use  of  machinery  in  their 


manufacture  was  necessarily  high  for  many 
years. 

The  first  step  toward  the  reduction  of  food 
prices  was  taken  when  the  water-mill  was 
introduced.  The  hominy-block  and  grater 
had,  in  many  cases,  been  superseded  by  the 
hand  mill,  a small  buhr  propelled  by  hand, 
but  this,  while  it  improved  the  quality  of  the 
product,  did  not  appreciably  lessen  the  labor. 
The  water-mill  did  both,  but,  dependent  upon 
the  inconstant  streams,  it  proved  only  a par- 
tial substitute  for  the  more  laborious  methods. 
Sawing  facilities  were  soon  added,  and  the 
pioneer  began  to  rejoice  in  many  conven- 
iences which  the  ax  had  failed  to  supply. 
These,  with  an  occasional  tan- yard,  comprised 
the  public  industries  of  pioneer  days — enter- 
prises which  contributed  much  to  the  comfort 
of  the  early  settlements,  but  failed  alone  to 
afford  a support  for  those  who  employed 
their  capital  in  them.  There  was,  therefore, 
little  inducement  to  “ go  into  business,”  and 
those  who  did  so  still  made  farming  their  chief 
dependence  for  support  and  a future  compe- 
tency. Accordingly,  the  chief  pursuit  of  the 
early  settlers  for  more  than  a quarter  of  a 
century  was  the  acquisition  of  land. 

The  public  lands  in  Kentucky  were  acquired 
on  easy  terms.  Before  the  “ old  French 
war,”  the  commercial  value  of  lands  beyond 
the  Alleghanies  was  very  small,  and  the  crown, 
anxious  to  build  up  a barrier  of  English  set- 
tlements in  the  way  of  French  pretensions, 
made  liberal  grants  to  corporations  and  indi- 
viduals who  would  undertake  to  introduce 
immigration.  Hostilities  intervened,  and 
these  grants  served  rather  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion of  land  claims  than  of  settlements.  The 
five  years  which  followed  this  war,  before  the 
purchase  at  Fort  Stanwix,  were  characterized 
by  great  activity  in  multiplying  these  claims. 
It  was  provided  that  the  land  bounties  of  the 
Virginian  troops  should  be  located  on  the 
waters  of  the  Ohio,  but  these  with  the  earlier 
grants  were  suspended  for  a time,  while  their 
conflicting  interests  were  examined  by  the 
English  ministry.  But  in  the  meantime, 
regardless  of  royal  proclamation  or  Indian 
threatenings,  the  individual  prospector  was 
pushing  his  explorations  and  marking  his 


222 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY 


claims  farther  and  farther  toward  the  west. 
The  extinction  of  the  Indian  title  and  the 
adjudication  of  bounty  claims  removed  the 
last  barrier  to  the  possession  of  the  coveted 
region.  Adventurous  land  hunters,  under 
the  provision  of  Virginia  enactments,  vied 
with  the  military  claimants  in  securing  “ set- 
tlement rights.”  A few  chips  cut  by  a tom- 
ahawk from  a tree,  or  a rude  log  pen  without 
roof,  door,  or  window,  were  sufficient  with 
some  show  of  cultivation  to  constitute  a claim 
to  certain  adjacent  lands,  and  “ tomahawk  ” 
and  “ improver’s  ” rights  were  well  recog- 
nized property  in  that  period.  The  latter 
class  of  claims  became  very  numerous,  the 
owners  of  which,  who  were  in  the  habit  of 
coming  down  the  Ohio  in  the  spring,  doing  a 
little  work  toward  raising  a crop  of  corn, 
and  then  returning  to  the  older  settlements, 
were  generally  known  as  “ cabiners.” 

Thus  up  to  1779,  land  was  acquired  with- 
out money  and  practically  without  price,  but 
at  this  time  the  public  lands  of  Virginia 
assumed  a new  importance.  The  burdens  of 
the  war  for  independence  were  beginning  to 
be  seriously  felt,  and  the  eager  demand  for 
the  western  lands  suggested  their  availability 
as  a means  of  relief.  Accordingly,  the  as- 
sembly enacted  the  famous  land  law.  which, 
after  providing  for  the  various  claims  previ- 
ously authorized,  arranged  for  the  sale  of  the 
remaining  portion  of  the  public  lands  for 
the  benefit  of  the  State  treasury.  The  recog- 
nized claims  may  be  classified  as  follows; 
First,  those  of  the  Ohio,  Walpole  and  other 
companies,  which  had  a title  more  or  less 
perfect  from  the  British  government,  though 
none  of  them  were  patented.  Second,  those 
founded  on  the  military  bounty  warrants  of 
1763,  some  of  which  had  been  secured  by 
patent.  Third,  Henderson’s  claim  by  pur- 
chase from  the  Indians  at  Watauga.  Fourth, 
those  based  simply  upon  selection  and  occu- 
pancy. Fifth,  those  resting  upon  selection 
and  survey  without  occupancy.  Sixth,  those 
of  persons  who  had  imported  settlers,  to 
whom  an  old  law  of  Virginia  allowed  fifty 
acres  for  each  settler  thus  imported.  Seventh, 
those  of  persons  who  had  paid  money  into 
the  old  colonial  treasury  for  land.  Eighth, 


those  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  (he  Revo- 
lution, to  whom  Virginia  was  indebted. 

The  adjudication  of  these  claims  was  com- 
mitted to  a special  court  consisting  of  Will- 
iam Fleming,  Edmund  Lyne,  James  Bar- 
bour and  Stephen  Trigg,  which,  after  hear- 
ing the  evidence  in  support  of  claims,  was 
authorized  to  render  final  judgment,  though 
it  was  provided  that  such  judgments  should 
be  held  open  for  revision  until  December  1, 
1780.  The  whole  matter  was  an  intricate 
and  perplexing  subject,  and  to  facilitate  the 
work  of  the  commission  the  assembly  laid 
down  the  following  principles  for  its  guid- 
ance; 

First — When  no  patent  existed,  all  surveys 
made  before  January  1,  1778,  by  any  county 
surveyor  commissioned  by  William  and  Mary 
College,  and  founded  (a)  upon  charter;  (h) 
upon  importation  rights  duly  proved;  (c) 
upon  treasury  rights,  i.  e.,  money  paid  into 
the  colonial  treasury;  (d)  upon  entries  not 
exceeding  400  acres,  made  before  October  26, 
1763;  (e)  upon  acts  of  the  Virginia  Assembly 
resulting  from  orders  in  council,  etc. ; (/) 
upon  any  warrants  from  a colonial  governor 
for  military  services,  etc.,  were  to  be  good; 
all  other  surveys  were  null  and  void. 

Second — Where  no  survey  had  been  made, 
claims  made  (a)  under  importation  rights; 
{b)  under  treasury  rights;  (c)  under  warrants 
for  military  services,  were  to  be  admitted  to 
survey  and  entry. 

Third — Those  who  had  actually  settled  or 
caused,  at  their  cost,  others  to  settle  on  un- 
appropriated lands,  before  January  1,  1778, 
were  to  have  400  acres  or  less,  as  they 
pleased,  for  every  family  so  settled,  paying 
$2.25  for  each  hundred  acres. 

Fourth — Those  who  had  settled  in  villages 
before  January  1,  1778,  were  to  receive  for 
each  family  400  acres  adjacent  to  the  village, 
at  $2.25  per  100  acres,  and  the  village  prop- 
erty was  to  remain  unsurveyed  until  the  gen- 
eral assembly  could  examine  the  title  to  it, 
and  do  full  justice. 

Fifth — To  all  having  settlement  rights  as 
above  described  was  given  also  a right  of 
pre-emption  to  1,000  acres  adjoining  the  set- 
tlement, at  40  cents  an  acre. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


223 


Sixth — To  those  who  had  settled  since 
January  1,  1778,  was  given  a pre-emption 
right  to  400  acres,  adjoining  and  including 
the  settlement  made  by  them. 

Seventh — All  the  region  between  the  Green 
River,  the  Cumberland  Mountains,  Tenn., 
the  river  Tennessee,  and  the  Ohio  was  re- 
served for  military  claims. 

Eighth — The  200,000  acres  granted  Hen- 
derson & Co.  was  to  remain  thus  appropria- 
ted.* 

The  commission  began  its  work  on  the  13th 
of  October,  1779,  at  St,  Asaph’s,  and  for  the 
convenience  of  claimants  held  its  sessions  at 
various  points  in  Kentucky  until  the  26th  of 
April,  1780,  when,  having  accomplished  its 
mission,  it  adjourned  without  day.  In  this 
period  about  3,000  claims  were  passed  upon, 
the  first  of  which,  it  is  said,  was  a claim  of 
Isaac  Shelby  to  a settlement  and  pre-emption 
for  having  raised  a crop  of  corn  in  1776. 
The  greater  part  of  the  claims  thus  adjusted 
required  the  survey  and  entry  of  the  lands 
before  a perfect  title  could  be  had,  but  such 
was  the  inadequate  provision  of  Virginia,  in 
these  important  matters,  that  few  claims 
could  be  indisputably  established.  The  rad- 
ical and  incurable  defect  of  the  law  was  the 
neglect  of  Virginia  to  provide  for  the^general 
survey  of  the  whole  country  at  public  ex- 
pense. The  plan  of  division  by  ranges  and  me- 
ridian lines  had  not  then  been  suggested,  but 
the  Transylvania  Company  had  conceived  the 
idea  of  surveying  ‘‘‘by  the  four  cardinal  points, 
except  where  rivers  and  mountains  make  it 
too  inconvenient,”  and  so  far  as  this  work 
proceeded  it  was  superior  to  what  followed. 
By  the  Virginia  law  each  possessor  of  a war- 
rant was  allowed  to  locate  the  same  where 
he  pleased,  and  was  required  to  survey  it  at 
his  own  cost;  but  his  entry  was  required  to 
bo  so  exact  that  each  subsequent  locator  might 
recognize  the  land  already  taken  up.  To 
make  a good  entry,  therefore,  required  a pre- 
cision and  accuracy  of  description  which  was 
almost  impossible.  In  the  unskilled  hands 
of  the  pioneers,  entries,  surveys  and  patents 
were  filed  upon  each  other,  crossing  each 
other’s  lines  in  inextricable  confusion,  the 

*See  Annals  of  the  West,  pp.  218-220.  Laws  of  Kentucky, 
J.  Bradford,  Lexington,  1799,  pp.  210-354. 


full  fruition  of  which  was  not  reached  until 
the  country  became  more  thickly  settled.  All 
vague  entries  became  null  and  void,  but  a 
good  entry  did  not  give  an  undisputed  title. 
All  entries  were  accepted  for  record,  and 
when  any  of  them  were  found  to  conflict  the 
claimants  were  referred  to  the  courts;  thus 
countless  unhappy,  vexatious  lawsuits  fol- 
lowed, in  which  scant  justice  was  secured  to 
any  one.* 

The  conclusion  of  the  special  commission’s 
work  was  followed  by  an  unfortunate  scram- 
ble among  the  claimants  to  secure  the  survey 
and  entry  of  their  lands.  George  May 
opened  his  office  in  Harrodsburg  in  1780, 
but  was  soon  obliged  to  temporarily  close  it 
on  account  of  Indian  hostilities,  and  the 
offices  at  Lexington  and  Coxe’s  Station  were 
not  opened  until  the  latter  part  of  1782. 
This  delay  occasioned  a gi’eat  clamor  which 
was  re-enforced  by  the  speculators  and  immi- 
grant purchasers,  whom  the  ill-advised  legis- 
lation of  Virginia  had  brought  to  Kentucky 
in  large  numbers.  After  satisfying  existing 
claims  the  assembly  provided  that  the  re- 
maining public  lands  should  be  offered  to 
the  general  public  in  unrestricted  quantities 
at  40  cents  an  acre.  The  purchase  money 
was  paid  into  the  treasiu’y,  from  whence  a 
warrant  was  issued  to  the  purchaser  for  the 
specified  quantity  of  land.  This  authorized 
the  county  sui'veyor  to  locate  and  enter  the 
land  where  the  purchaser  was  pleased  to 
select  it.  It  was  also  provided  that  land  to 
the  extent  of  400  acres  in  any  single  case 
might  be  sold  on  credit,  the  surveyor’s  author- 
ization in  such  case  . consisting  of  an  order 
from  the  county  court.  Such  terms  had  the 
effect  to  greatly  multiply  the  demand  for 
surveyors,  and  so  keen  was  the  anxiety  to 
select  lands  that  even  the  fear  of  the  Indians 
failed  to  deter  the  adventurous  land- hunters 
from  pushing  their  explorations. 

In  the  closing  month  of  1781,  land  specu- 
lation received  an  additional  impulse  from  the 
questionable  funding  plan  of  Virginia.  The 
paper  issues  of  the  State  had  shared  the 
fate  of  the  continental  scrip,  so  that  a hat 
was  valued  at  £100,  a coat  and  waistcoat 

*Appeiulix  A,  Note  24. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


22  i 


at  £250,  and  a bushel  of  salt  at  £240.  The 
dejjreciation  of  the  State  currency  had  been 
legally  recognized,  and  a silver  dollar  rated 
at  $1.50  in  paper,  but  trade  had  long  since- 
established  a higher  rate  of  exchange,  and 
at  this  time  the  assembly  sought  to  stem  the 
current  by  additional  legislation.  It  was  ac- 
cordingly provided  that  the  early  issue 
should  be  taken  up  by  new  certificates  at  the 
rate  of  $1,000  in  paper  for  one  in  silver. 
This  new  issue  was  made  a legal  tender 
for  taxes  and  in  the  purchase  of  public 
lands,  and  the  price  of  land  was  fixed  at  a 
specie  valuation,  but  such  was  the  deprecia- 
tion of  the  new  currency  that  100  acres 
brought  less  than  the  value  of  50  cents  in 
silver. 

The  inevitable  and  immediate  result  was 
to  flood  the  treasury  with  the  discredited 
cuiTency  in  exchange  for  Kentucky  lands, 
and  to  involve  all  land  titles  in  a ruinous 
state  of  insecurity.  The  discovery  of  Haws 


in  these  titles  eventually  became  the  object 
of  regular  pursuit  by  unscrupulous  men, 
who  immediately  took  advantage  of  any  legal 
defect  to  enter  such  lands  and  eject  the 
settler  whose  industry  had  reclaimed  it  from 
the  original  wild  condition.  The  almost 
universal  distress  and  discontent  which  fol- 
lowed, seriously  reacted  upon  the  general 
prosperity,  and  such  remedial  legislation  as 
was  possible  was  early  applied.  The  ejector 
was  compelled  to  pay  for  the  improvements 
made,  which  under  the  circumstances  were 
not  lightly  valued.  It  followed,  therefore, 
that  the  ejector  found  the  investment  rather 
unprofitable,  for  after  such  outlay  the  danger 
of  being  ejected  in  his  turn  still  remained. 
The  statute  of  limitations  eventually  ended 
these  vexatious  litigations,  and  land-titles  in 
Kentucky  are  now  as  generally  secure  as 
elsewhere,  though  business  prudence  leads 
large  investors  to  take  the  necessary  steps  to 
secure  the  court’s  confirmation  of  their  titles. 


PUNCHEON  SEAT  OF  PIONEER  SCHOOLHOUSE. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


225 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  ERA  OF  SOCIAL  EVOLUTION. 


up^HE  period  of  the  Revolutionary  war  was 
an  era  of  the  most  rapid  and  marvelous 
development  in  America.  It  abounded  in  new 
forms  of  virtue  and  greatness.  “ Fidelity  to 
principle  pervaded  the  masses  ; an  unorgan- 
ized people,  of  their  own  free  will,  suspended 
commerce  by  universal  assent ; poverty  re- 
jected bribes.  Heroism,  greater  than  that  of 
chivalry,  burst  into  action  from  lowly  men  ; 
citizens  with  their  families  tied  from  their 
homes  and  wealth  in  towns,  rather  than 
yield  to  oppression.  Battalions  sprang  up 
in  a night  from  spontaneous  patriotism  ; 
where  eminent  statesmen  hesitated,  the  in- 
stinctive action  of  the  multitude  revealed  the 
counsels  of  maganimity  ; youth  and  genius 
gave  up  life  freely  for  the  liberties  of  man- 
kind. A nation  without  union,  without  mag- 
azines and  without  a treasury,  without 
credit,  without  goveroment,  fought  success- 
fully against  the  whole  strength  and  wealth 
of  Great  Britain;  an  army  of  veteran  sol- 
diers capitulated  to  insurgent  husbandmen.” 
(Bancroft.)  Into  this  struggle  the  people 
had  thrown  themselves  with  a patriotic  aban- 
don which  reserved  no  interest  beyond  the 
present,  and  when  the  victory  was  achieved 
and  peace  crowned  the  long  and  arduous 
contest,  many  found  their  occupation  gone, 
the  charm  of  old  associations  broken,  and 
thousands,  whose  course  of  life  was  thus  in- 
terrupted, discovered  inclination  not  less  than 
necessity  suggesting  the  expediency  of  be- 
ginning life  anew. 

To  people  thus  circumstanced,  the  availa- 
bility of  the  western  country  was  suggested 
in  a hundred  ways.  The  story  of  its  beauty 
and  fertility  was  well  and  widely  known,  and 
was  further  emphasized  by  the  general  dis- 
cussion which  preceded  the  cession  of  State 


public  lands  to  the  general  government. 
Bounties  granted  to  State  and  continental 
troops  took  the  form  of  warrants  for  certain 
of  these  lands,  and  the  liberal  terms  on 
which  Virginia  offered  her  Kentucky  posses- 
sions, all  served  to  attract  thousands  of  the 
Revolutionary  soldiery  to  the  western  settle- 
ments. But  this  interest  was  not  confined  to 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  army.  Large  num- 
bers of  bounty  warrants  found  their  way, 
through  the  improvidence  or  ignorance  of 
the  original  grantees,  into  the  hands  of  cap- 
italists, while  the  suicidal  policy  of  Virginia, 
in  making  her  depreciated  currency  a legal 
tender  for  lands,  increased  the  speculative 
mania  and  added  thousands  to  the  throng  of 
emigrants  who  crowded  into  the  Ohio  Valley. 
The  New  England  “ Ohio  Company,  ” origi- 
nally projected  in  1785  and  taking  form  two 
years  later,  added  its  influence  to  the  gen- 
eral movement,  and  the  great  immigration 
which  began  immediately  after  the  proclama- 
tion of  peace  continued  with  almost  unabated 
force  until  after  the  opening  of  the  present 
century. 

In  1783,  Kentucky  alone  received  an  addi- 
tion of  8,000  to  her  population.  In  the 
succeeding  year  10,000  more  came,  and  each 
flood -tide  of  the  Ohio  bore  striking  evidence 
to  the  increasing  rage  for  westward  emigra- 
tion. In  1786,  an  observer  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Big  Miami  noted  the  passage  of 
thirty- four  boats  in  thirty- nine  days  ; another 
at  Pittsburgh,  in  1787,  reported  the  departure 
of  fifty  flat-boats  from  that  point  between 
the  1st  of  March  and  the  middle  of  April;  at 
Fort  Harmar,  the  adjutant  recorded  the  num- 
ber of  boats  passing  that  post  between  Octo- 
ber, 1786,  and  May,  1787,  at  177,  carrying 
2,700  persons.  In  1788,  it  was  estimated 

I 4 


226 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


that  not  less  than  10,000  emigraDts  went  by 
Marietta,  and  in  twelve  months,  comprising 
portions  of  the  years  of  1788  and  1789,  the 
official  register  kept  at  Fort  Harmar  showed 
that  20,000  souls  had  descended  the  Ohio  in 
850  boats,  containing  also  600  wagons,  7,000 
horses,  3,000  cows  and  900  head  of  sheep.* 

While  the  larger  part  of  these  emigrants 
found  the  end  of  their  journey  in  Kentucky, 
another  current  came  into  this  favored  region 
by  way  of  Cumberland  Gap.  This  was  the 
route  followed  by  a considerable  portion  of 
the  Virginia  and  all  of  the  Carolina  emigra  - 
tion.  A block  house  had  been  erected  on 
the  Holston,  and  here  immigrants  would  col- 
lect until  a sufficient  number  had  rendez- 
voused to  make  it  safe  to  pass  the  ‘ ‘ wilder- 
ness,” an  uninhabited  interval  of  130  miles, 
which  separated  the  Holston  from  Crab 
Orchard,  the  nearest  settled  point  in  Ken- 
tucky. In  the  broken  country  through  which 
this  path  led,  pack  animals  alone  could  be 
used  for  transportation,  and  a motley  throng 
of  horses,  cows  and  oxen,  all  bearing  packs, 
was  a familiar  sight  on  this  route  long  after 
wagons  were  in  common  use  elsewhere  in  the 
State. 

The  effect  of  this  wonderful  movement  of 
the  peojale  was  to  increase  the  population  of 
Kentucky  with  marvelous  rapidity.  In  1783 
it  was  estimated  at  12,000;  in  the  spring  of 
1784  it  was  placed  at  20,000;  at  the  begin- 
ning of  1785  it  was  thought  to  have  reached 
30,000;  and  at  the  first  regular  censirs,  in 
1790,  it  was  found  to  be  73,677.  Of  this 
number  61,103  were  free  whites,  the  remain- 
der being  chiefly  slaves  and  free  persons  of 
color.  About  one-half  of  the  white  popu- 
lation and  two-thirds  of  the  slaves  were 
drawn  from  Virginia;  the  balance  came  prin- 
cipally from  Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and 
North  Carolina,  though  there  was  a consid- 
erable representation  of  foreigners  and  of 
emigrants  from  Philadelphia,  New  Jersey, 
New  York  and  the  New  England  States. 

But  this  vast  in-flowing  tide  of  humanity 
■was  not  less  remarkable  in  the  character  of 
its  elements  than  in  its  great  numbers.  Ken- 

McMaster’s  “ History  of  American  People,”  Vol.  I,  p.  149, 
and  Monette’s  “ History  of  A^alley  of  the  Mississippi,”  Vol.  II, 
p.  177. 


I tucky  was  no  longer  regarded  as  simply  a 
haven  for  the  repair  of  desperate  fortunes, 
but  rather  a land,  the  future  prospects  of 
! which  invited  the  investment  of  wealth  by 
the  promise  of  profit,  and  the  employment  of 
professional  genius  by  the  hope  of  prefer- 
ment. This  mighty  immigration  was  there- 
fore something  more  than  a curious  incident; 
it  was  “the  chaos  of  a mighty  world  round- 
ing into  form,” 

The  raw  material  of  a State, 

Its  [muscle  and  its  mind]. 

Shelby  and  Brown  had  already  come,  and 
in  the  throng  which  followed  into  the  frontier 
settlements  of  Kentucky  could  be  discovered 
such  leading  characters  as  Innes,  Bul- 
litt, Marshall,  Christian,  Wilkinson,  Muter, 
Nicholas,  Daviess  and  the  future  “great 
commoner,”  Henry  Clay.* 

All  forms  of  social  life  felt  the  invigor- 
ating impulse.  Isolated  clearings  expanded 
into  fruitful  and  contiguous  plantations. 
Stations  grew  into  villages;  and  towns  de- 
veloped into  cities  with  a sustained  rapidity 
scarcely  equaled  by  the  present  progress  of 
the  Northwest.  Agriculture  began  to  flourish, 
new  arts  and  manufactures  sprang  up ; stores 
were  opened  and  trade  with  distant  points 
established;  schools  and  churches  multiplied, 
and  society,  re-enforced  by  wealth  and  culture, 
began  to  assume  new  airs  of  gentility. 

Hitherto  the  adventurous  population  set- 
tled south  of  the  Ohio  had  only  been  able  to 
secure  a precarious  foothold  in  this  contested 
region,  and  even  this  slight  tenure  was 
barely  maintained  by  the  greatest  exertion. 
A few  stations,  principally  confined  to  the 
upper  valleys  of  the  Kentucky,  Salt  and 
Green  Rivers,  and  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio 
constituted  an  isolated  settlement  on  the 
verge  of  extinction.  Five  hundred  miles 
away,  through  the  “ great  woods  ” and  over 
three  mountain  ranges,  on  the  Atlantic  slope, 
lay  the  seat  of  government  at  Richmond. 
Of  the  intervening  country,  the  greater  part 
was  unmarked  by  human  habitation.  On 
the  Kanawha,  Greenbrier,  Elk  and  Cheat 
Rivers,  scattered  at  wide  intervals,  were 
feeble  settlements  which  proved  an  induce- 


Came  in  1797. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


227 


ment  rather  than  a barrier  to  the  incursions 
of  the  savages,  while  on  the  Ohio,  Pittsburgh, 
with  its  hundred  dwellings.  Wheeling  with 
half  as  many  board  and  log-cabins,  Point 
Pleasant,  marked  simply  by  a stockade,  and 
later.  Marietta,  planted  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Muskingum,  served  to  mark  the  slender 
tie  which  bound  Kentucky  to  the  older  cen- 
ters of  colonial  life. 

Since  Braddock’s  time,  a well-marked  road- 
way had  connected  the  upper  Potomac  with 
Pittsburgh,  and  a bridle  path,  leading  from 
the  Shenandoah  Valley  by  way  of  the  Hol- 
ston  and  Cumberland  Gap  to  Crab  Orchard, 
was  nearly  as  old  and  well  traveled,  but  it 
was  not  until  1782  that  a route  was  thus 
marked  out  eastward  from  Pittsburgh  to 
Philadelphia,  the  great  national  center  of 
commercial  and  political  life.  In  Kentucky 
at  this  time  there  was  not  a single  wheel - 
way.  The  trail  from  Limestone  to  Lexing- 
ton had  been  widened  at  intervals  along  its 
upper  extent,  and  in  1783,  a resolute  pioneer 
by  the  name  of  Smith  had  managed  to  take 
his  wagon  from  one  terminus  to  the  other; 
but  so  remarkable  was  this  feat,  that  it  gave 
this  pioneer  wagoner  a certain  claim  to  dis- 
tinction, which  was  popularly  recognized  in 
the  name  of  “Smith’s  wagon-road,”  a name 
that  for  years  was  applied  to  this  route. 
Impelled  by  the  increased  demand  for  more 
convenient  modes  of  transportation,  this  line 
of  travel  was  gradually  improved  by  private 
enterprise,  until  about  1788  it  began  to  be  a 
scene  of  busy  traffic,  with  lines  of  loaded 
wagons  passing  regularly  between  the  ter- 
mini. The  earliest  attempt  to  improve  the 
public  roads  by  special  legislation  was  in 
1795,  when  the  Kentucky  legislature  pro- 
vided for  the  widening,  leveling  and  other- 
wise improving  the  trail  from  Cumberland 
Gap  to  Crab  Orchard.  This  was  originally 
blazed  out  in  1775  by  Daniel  Boone,  but  for 
which,  he  w'rote  Gov.  Shelby,  he  received 
no  compensation.  He  wished  to  contract  for 
the  work  proposed,  but  it  was  eventually  let 
to  others.  Under  the  Virginia  law  county 
roads  were  laid  out  thirty  feet  wide,  and  from 
this  date  (1795)  forward,  considerable  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  the  construction  of  wheel- 


ways,  but  as  late  as  1840,  bridle  paths  and 
obscure  wagon-trails  greatly  outnumbered  the 
roads  regularly  laid  out. 

Under  the  changed  circumstances,  business 
instincts  were  quickened.  The  great  in- 
crease of  population  created  a brisk  demand 
for  every  surplus  product;  money  became 
fairly  abundant,  and  the  addition  of  a con- 
siderable number  of  wealthy  settlers  created 
new  wants,  to  which  those  skilled  in  the  vari- 
ous trades  were  not  slow  to  cater.  The 
tailor,  weaver,  hatter,  cabinet-maker,  workers 
in  leather,  the  blacksmith  and  even  the  car- 
penter soon  found  well-paid  employment.  A 
few  fields  of  wheat  south  of  the  Kentucky 
marked  the  improvement  of  agricultural  pur- 
suits, and  several  small  distilleries  gave 
promise  of  a home  market  for  increased 
quantities  of  corn.  Nor  were  trade  activi- 
ties long  limited  to  domestic  exchanges. 
Enterprising  merchants,  who  had  kept  pace 
with  the  advancing  line  of  settlements,  had 
some  time  before  opened  their  wares  at 
Brownsville,  and  now  felt  the  general  im- 
pulse to  move  with  the  flowing  tide.  In  1783, 
therefore,  Daniel  Brodhead  left  the  Monon- 
gahela  and- established  a store  at  Louisville. 
In  the  succeeding  year  James  Wilkinson, 
who  had  represented  a New  England  trading 
company  at  the  former  place,  also  came  to 
Kentucky  and  opened  a store  at  Lexington. 

From  this  beginning  an  important  com- 
merce sprang  up  between  the  thrifty  settle- 
ments in  Kentucky  and  Philadelphia  and 
Nashville.  This  was  soon  very  generally 
controlled  by  the  merchants  of  Lexington, 
who  brought  their  merchandise  by  wagon  from 
Philadelphia  or  Baltimore  to  Pittsbui’gh, 
and  thence  by  boat  to  Limestone,  which 
early  became  the  great  entrepot  for  all  the 
region  south  of  the  Ohio.  Thirty-five  or 
forty  days  were  consumed  in  thus  transport- 
ing goods  to  Lexington,  including  the  two 
days  and  a hal  f required  to  bring  them  from 
the  landing  place,  the  cost  of  carriage 
amounting  to  about  $7  or  $8  per  hun- 
dred. The  merchandise  consisted  of  coarse 
and  fine  iron  goods,  cutlery,  nails  and  tin- 
ware, dry  goods,  drugs,  queensware  and  such 
groceries  as  tea,  coffee  and  sugar,  and  were 


228 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


in  demand  in  about  this  order.  From  Lex- 
ington these  commodities  were  distributed  to 
the  interior,  the  operations  of  the  merchants 
extending  to  the  growing  settlements  of  Ten- 
iiessee,  to  which  goods  were  transported  by 
land. 

The  scarcity  of  money  which  soon  pre- 
vailed largely  reduced  business  exchanges  to 
a system  of  barter,  which  enabled  the  mer- 
chants to  reap  large  profits.  The  local  mer- 
chant was  granted  a year’s  credit  by  the 
importing  houses  of  the  East,  and  made  a 
considerable  part  of  his  payment  in  such 
products  of  the  country  as  would  bear  the 
expense  of  transportation.  He  was  careful, 
nevertheless,  to  secure  what  money  there  was 
in  circulation.  In  receiving  produce  in  pay- 
ment for  goods,  a difference  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  per  cent  in  favor  of  the  merchant 
was  exacted.  Certain  goods  were  sold  only 
for  cash  or  exchanged  for  domestic,  linen  and 
hemp,  articles  which  commanded  a ready  sale, 
and  in  this  way  the  country  was  gradually 
drained  of  its  circulating  medium  of  exchange. 

Coin  was  the  only  form  of  money  in  gen- 
eral use.  United  States  bank  notes,  when 
issued,  commanded  a premium,  but  while 
these  were  accepted  by  the  merchants  with- 
out difficulty,  the  common  people  feared  the 
skill  of  the  counterfeiter,  and  generally  re- 
fused to  use  them.  The  piaster,  or  Spanish 
dollar,  was  the  current  money  of  Virginia, 
and  consequently  of  Kentucky  and  Tennes- 
see, and  was  valued  at  six  shillings  sterling; 
but  even  rvhen  this  coin  was  fairly  abundant 
there  was  a great  scarcity  of  fractional  cur- 
rency, which  led  to  the  evil  practice  of  cut- 
ting the  whole  coin  into  quarters,  eighths  and 
sixteenths.  This  division  was  made  by  any 
one  and  every  one,  a custom  which  was 
promptly  taken  advantage  of  by  unscrupulous 
persons  to  convert  a portion  of  the  metal  to 
their  own  profit.  “ Sharp-shins,  ” or  cut 
coius,  were,  therefore,  soon  taken  by  the 
merchants  only  by  weight,  and  even  then  at 
a discount  on  the  whole  coin.  Still,  under 
the  rule  of  trade,  the  coin  came  in  large 
quantities  into  the  hands  of  the  merchants, 
who  packed  it  on  horses  and  sent  it  to  Phil- 
adelphia, as  many  as  fifteen  or  twenty  ani- 


mals laden  with  this  precious  stuff  at  times 
setting  oirt  in  company. 

There  was  scarcely  anything  produced  in 
Kentucky  which  woirld  bear  the  high  cost  of 
transportation  by  way  of  Pittsburgh  to  the 
East.  East-bound  freight  was  carried  cheaper 
than  the  goods  coming  west,  from  the  fact, 
that  otherwise  the  great  number  of  wagons 
employed  in  this  trafiic  would  return  empty; 
but  even  with  this  abatement  merchants 
found  little  save  the  more  valuable  furs  and 
ginseng*  to  export  to  their  markets.  When 
first  discovered  on  this  continent  the  latter 
was  worth  its  weight  in  gold.  It  was  sub- 
sequently found  abounding  in  Pennsylvania 
and  Kentucky,  where  it  was  secured  by  such 
of  the  inhabitants  whose  usual  occupations 
allowed  sufficient  leisure  to  collect  it.  Hunt- 
ers gathered  a large  proportion  of  the  amount 
early  exported  from  Kentucky,  who,  in  addi- 
tion to  their  usual  accoutrements,  carried  a 
bag  and  a small  pickaxe  for  the  purpose. 
This  found  ready  sale  with  the  merchants  at 
about  a shilling  a pound,  and  was  sold  in 
the  seaports  at  100  per  cent  advance. 

The  expanding  settlements  of  Tennessee 
and  the  Spanish  possessions  soon  afforded  a 
market  for  the  more  bulky  products  of  Ken- 
tucky, and,  among  these,  salt  became  the 
earliest  article  of  trade.  The  region  south  of 
the  Ohio  was  richly  furnished  with  salt 
springs,  and  the  pioneers  found  many  places 
where  this  necessary  condiment  could  be 
manufactured  for  their  own  supply,  but  many 
of  them  subsequently  proved  unprofitable  for 
the  purposes  of  commerce.  There  were  at 
least  twelve  important  salt  springs  between 
the  Big  Sandy  and  the  Cumberland,  of  which 
the  leading  ones  were  May’s  Lick  and  the 
Blue  Licks,  on  the  Licking,  Big-Bone  Lick, 
Drennon’s  Lick  and  Bullitt’s  Lick.  The 
latter  was  situated  on  Salt  River,  about 
twenty  miles  from  Louisville,  and  was  the 
first  that  was  extensively  worked.  It  eventu- 
ally became  the  property  of  the  United  States 
and  was  leased  to  various  contractors,  under 
whose  management  the  business  expanded 
to  such  proportions  as  to  engage  fifty  fur- 
naces and  500  men  in  the  manufacture. 

*Appendix  A,  Note  25. 


HISTOEY  or  KENTUCKY. 


229 


The  first  atteropts  to  produce  salt  were 
characterized  by  the  rudest  simplicity.  The 
ordinary  pots  and  kettles  used  in  the  cabins 
were  hung  over  an  open  fire,  to  which  was 
transferred  the  brine  laboriously  dipped  from 
the  spring.  In  this  way  twenty  or  thirty 
men  were  able  to  manufacture  a few  bushels 
of  salt  in  a month.  When  the  development 
of  the  country  suggested  the  more  methodical 
prosecution  of  the  enterprise  and  gave  pro- 
tection to  those  engaged  in  the  work,  im- 
provements were  rapidly  introduced.  The 
brine  was  then  collected  in  pits,  some  twenty 
feet  deep,  and  transferred  from  thence  to 
kettles  designed  for  the  purpose.  These 
were  of  “yellow  copper,”  had  a capacity  of 
“two  hundred  pints,”  and  for  some  years 
were  solely  manufactured  at  “Probes’  Fur- 
nace” in  West  Liberty,  Penn.  Ten  or  twelve 
of  these  kettles  were  arranged  in  a row  upon 
a trench  four  feet  in  depth,  and  of  a breadth 
suitable  to  afford  a support  for  them.  The 
interstices  between  the  kettles  were  stopped 
with  clay,  forming  a rude  sort  of  furnace 
which  was  universally  used  in  this  region  for 
many  years.  In  both  ends  of  this  trench  a 
wood  fire  was  maintained  night  and  day,  but 
the  cost  of  cutting  and  transporting  the  fuel, 
and  the  weakness  of  the  brine,  made  the  cost 
of  the  manufactured  article  reach  $4  per 
hundred- weight  at  the  furnace,  which  proved 
§ a fatal  obstacle  to  its  exportation. 

These  furnaces  were  subsequently  enlarged 
so  as  to  accommodate  sixty  kettles,  and  the 
supply  of  brine  improved  by  boring  to  a con- 
siderable depth  in  the  ground.  From  these 
wells,  the  brine  was  pumped  by  hand  or 
horse-power,  and  conveyed  by  means  of 
troughs  directly  to  the  kettles.  With  these 
improvements,  a single  furnace  produced 
thirty-five  or  forty  bushels  a day.  By  in- 
creasing the  number  of  furnaces  to  ten  or 
fifteen,  the  annual  product  was  raised  to  150,- 
000  bushels,  and  the  proportional  cost  of 
labor  was  so  reduced,  that  the  manufactured 
product  was  sold  at  $1.40  per  hiindred-  | 
weight.  At  this  price,  this  commodity  became 
the  leading  article  of  export,  and  was  shipped 
in  large  quantities  to  Nashville,  where  it  was 
disposed  of  for  money,  furs,  cotton,  etc.  The 


Kentucky  works  were  not  long  without  sharp 
competition.  Salt  springs  were  early  dis- 
covered on  the  Kanawha,  where  the  brine 
was  found  to  be  much  richer.  A large  part 
of  the  product  of  these  springs  found  a mar- 
ket in  Pittsburgh,  where  it  came  in  competi- 
tion with  the  Onondaga  salt,  which,  with  im- 
proved shipping  facilities,  eventually  monop- 
olized the  trade  of  all. 

Fortunately,  long  before  this  event  the  fer- 
tile lands  of  Kentucky  had  developed  new 
articles  of  commerce,  for  which  the  opening 
of  the  Mississippi  provided  a ready  market. 
The  isolated  wheat-fields  of  1783  rapidly  ex- 
panded into  a broad  acreage,  which,  in  1802, 
furnished  not  less  than  60, 000  barrels  of  flour 
for  the  New  Orleans  market;  tobacco,  the  cul- 
tivation of  which,  in  1802,  had  only  recently 
been  introduced,  swelled  the  list  with  sevei’al 
thousand  hogsheads,  weighing  from  1,000  to 
1 , 200  poun  ds  each ; and  the  hemp-fields,  beside 
supplying  the  busy  hand-looms  to  be  found 
in  every  cabin  (in  1802)  fmmished  42,048 
pounds  of  the  raw  staple,  and  2,402  hundred- 
weight manufactured  into  cables  and  cordage, 
for  export.  To  these  should  be  added  the 
rapidly  expanding  crops  of  corn,  rye  and 
oats,  which,  though  not  found  in  the  list  of 
exports,  swelled  the  products  of  the  soil 
to  an  immense  aggregate.  Almost  the  entire 
yield  of  rye  was  disposed  of  to  the  distiller- 
ies, while  oats  and  corn  found  an  equally 
good  demand  at  home. 

An  increasing  quantity  of  maize  was  each 
year  consumed  by  the  distilleries  and  fed  to 
stock.  This  was  especially  true  in  the  case 
of  horses,  the  breeding  of  which  was  rapidly 
assuming  a prominent  place  in  the  agricul- 
tural system  of  the  new  land.  The  number 
of  horses  was  greatly  augmented  by  the  new 
immigration,  and  of  the  animals  thus  brought 
in,  some  were  of  breeds  for  which  Virginia 
was  then  so  justly  celebrated.  Many  of  the 
new  comers  were  persons  of  wealth  and  lux- 
urious habits,  whose  influence  was  such  as  to 
give  a new  impulse  to  the  early  predilections 
of  the  Kentuckians,  and  care  in  breeding  this 
animal  became  well-nigh  universal.  Nearly 
every  plantation  had  a portion  devoted  to 
horses.  They  were  never  tied  up.  An  “un 


230 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


chinked  ” log  stable  afforded  some  pi’otection 
from  the  weather,  when  they  chose  to  avail 
themselves  of  it,  and  here  a manger  was  kept 
supplied  with  corn,  which  the  animals  ate  at 
their  pleasure.  Popular  taste  inclined  only 
to  carriage  and  saddle-horses,  which  were 
characterized  by  “ a delicate  leg,  a well  pi’O- 
poi'tioned  head,  and  an  elegant  slender  form.” 
Such  an  animal  was  worth  in  Kentucky  about 
$130  to  $140.  Farther  south,  and  especially 
in  the  Carolinas,  they  were  worth  from  25  to 
30  per  cent  more,  and  large  numbers  were 
annually  taken  there  for  sale.  Strings  of  from 
fifteen  to  thirty  animals  were  frequently  seen 


Cows,  valued  at  $10  or  $12  a head,  were 
found  everywhere  in  large  numbers.  Milk 
formed  an  important  part  of  the  food  of  the 
common  people. . Butter  wae  made  in  consid- 
erable quantities,  but  not  much  used,  and 
“barreled  butter”  formed  a not  insignificant 
item  in  the  exports  of  the  time.  But  of  all 
stock,  hogs  formed  the  most  important  feat- 
ure in  the  domestic  economy  of  the  region, 
both  in  the  matter  of  numbers  and  income. 
They  were  allowed  to  run  loose  in  the  un- 
fenced forests,  where  they  rapidly  multiplied 
and  fattened  for  market  with  little  attention 
from  the  owners.  They  afforded  the  staple 


AN  OLD  TIME  “WAIN”  OR  WAGON. 


setting  off  at  the  beginning  of  winter  destined 
for  Charleston,  a distance  of  700  miles,  which 
they  accomplished  in  eighteen  or  twenty  days. 
Brood-mares  found  ready  sale  in  Tennessee, 
and  altogether,  horses  formed  no  inconsider- 
able part  of  the  early  commerce. 

The  growing  prosperity  of  the  planters  was 
not  less  marked  in  the  increase  of  other  kinds 
of  stock.  The  number  of  horned  cattle 
rapidly  redoubled,  and  many  engaged  in  buy- 
ing the  sui’plus  animals  to  drive  to  Virginia, 
where  they  were  sold  to  the  graziers  on  the 
banks  of  the  Potomac  to  fatten  for  the 
markets  of  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia. 


food  of  the  whole  people,  and  were  represent- 
ed in  the  exports  of  the  first  six  months  of 
1802  by  272,000  weight  of  smoked,  and  24,- 
085  barrels  of  salted  pork. 

Such  commercial  activity  early  wrought 
great  changes  in  the  modes  of  transportation. 
The  long  lines  of  pack-horses  gave  way  to 
huge  covered- wains  drawn  by  four  curiously 
caparisoned  horses,  the  passing  of  which, 
during  a large  part  of  the  year,  was  indicated 
by  large  clouds  of  dust  like  that  produced  by 
a moving  army.* 

*The  Pittsburgh  Gazette  of  November,  ISU,  contained  an 
account  of  a gentleman  living  on  “the  great  road,”  four  miles 
from  the  city,  to  the  effect  that  the  number  of  these  wagons 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


231 


These  wagoners  in  time  became  exceedingly 
arrogant  and  often  refused  to  grant  the  rights 
of  the  road  to  others.  They  became  over- 
bearing to  immigrant  travel,  and  especially 
to  any  who  showed  evidence  of  wealth  in 
their  equipage.  Travelers  in  carriages  con- 
sidered themselves  fortunate  if  they  were 
permitted  to  stand  by  the  I'oadside  with  no 
gi’eater  inconvenience  than  being  stifled  with 
the  dust  of  the  passing  train,  and  having 
their  ears  assailed  by  the  gibes  of  the  drivers. 
Cases  where  carriages  were  maliciously  over- 
turned or  broken  down  were  frequent  and  un- 
redressed. A similar  influence  marked  the 
development  of  the  river  trafiic.  The  old 
Kentucky  boat,  with  its  ark-like  capacity  and 
heedless  navigation,  gradually  gave  place  to 
the  keel-boat  and  its  professional  crew. 

Pittsburgh  became  more  and  more  gener- 
ally the  point  of  embarkation  for  merchan- 
dise. Here,  merchants  found  better  storage 
for  their  goods  while  awaiting  river  transpor- 
tation, and  boats  proceeded  from  this  port 
with  less  difficulty  at  low  stages  of  water 
than  from  any  other.  The  Kentucky  boat, 
built  and  navigated  by  the  merchants,  was 
employed  by  shippers  for  a time,  but  these 
boats  were  found  to  be  carelessly  made,  and 
the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  navigation  so 
often  resulted  in  serious  loss  to  inexperienced 
mariners,  that  river  transportation  gradually 
fell  into  the  hands  of  persons  who  made 
river  freightage  a regular  business.  Such 
persons  were  not  slow  to  observe  that  the 
early  inodes  of  navigation  were  susceptible 
of  easy  improvements,  and  the  keel-boat, 
with  its  lighter  draught  and  better  appli- 
ances, rapidly  superseded  the  earlier  vessel. 
These  boats  were  commonly  manned  by  from 
five  to  ten  men,  under  the  command  of  a 
“patroon,”  and  carried  from  twenty  to  thirty 
tons  of  freight.  After  the  opening  of  the 
Mississippi,  the  increased  demands  of  trade 
gave  rise  to  the  barge,  a vessel  similar  to  the 
keel-boat,  but  of  gi-eater  capacity,  provided 
with  oars,  and  carrying  a crew  sometimes 
reaching  the  number  of  fifty  men.  Both 
kinds  of  vessels  were  furnished  with  a mast, 

laden  with  merchandise  which  passed  his  farm  for  Pittsburgh, 
from  the  1st  of  January.  1813,  to  the  1st  of  January,  1814, 
amounted  to  4,055. 


a squai’e  sail  and  coils  of  cordage  known  as 
cordelles.  A horn  was  also  a regular  part 
of  each  boat’s  equipage.  It  was  originally 
intended  for  making  signals,  but  it  became 
the  custom  of  the  boatmen,  at  intervals,  to 
sound  on  it  a sort  of  cadence,  the  mellow 
notes  of  which,  floating  land-ward,  announced 
the  passing  boat  in  melodious  tones,  which 
have  been  celebrated  in  a touching  poem  by 
Gen.  W.  O.  Butler. 

The  trip  down  the  river  in  times  of  freshet 
was  made  without  difficulty  in  thirty-five  to 
fifty  days,  but  to  return  was  a very  different 
undertaking,  and  the  boat  which  left  New 
Orleans  on  the  1st  of  March  seldom  reached 
.Louisville  before  the  middle  of  June  or  1st 
of  July,  and  sometimes  not  until  October. 
The  celebrated  ornithologist,  Audubon,  has 
left  the  following  graphic  picture  of  the 
tedious  journey  up-stream: 

We  will  suppose  one  of  these  boats  under  way, 
and  having  passed  Natchez,  entering  upon  what 
were  called  the  difficulties  of  their  ascent.  Where- 
ever  a point  projected  so  as  to  render  the  course 
or  bend  below  it  of  some  magnitude,  there  was  an 
eddy,  the  returning  current  of  which  was  some- 
times as  strong  as  that  of  the  middle  of  the  great 
stream.  The  bargemen,  therefore,  rowed  up  pretty 
close  under  the  bank,  and  had  merely  to  keep  watch 
in  the  bow  least  the  boat  should  run  against  a 
planter  or  sawyer.  But  the  boat  has  reached  the 
point,  and  there  the  current  is  to  all  appearance  of 
double  strength  and  right  against  it.  The  men 
who  have  rested  a few  minutes  are  ordered  to 
take  their  stations  and  lay  hold  of  their  oars,  for 
the  river  must  be  crossed,  it  being  seldom  possible 
to  double  such  a point  and  proceed  along  shore. 
The  boat  is  crossing,  its  head  slanting  to  the  cur- 
rent, which  is,  however,  too  strong  for  the  rowers, 
and  when  the  other  side  of  the  river  has  been 
reached,  it  has  drifted  perhaps  a quarter  of  mile. 
The  men  are  by  this  time  exhausted,  and,  as  we  will 
suppose  it  to  be  12  o’clock,  fasten  the  boat  to  a 
tree  on  the  shore.  A small  glass  of  whisky  is  given 
to  each,  when  they  cook  and  eat  their  dinner,  and 
after  resting  from  their  fatigue  for  an  hour,  recom- 
mence their  labors.  The  boat  is  again  seen  slowly 
advancing  against  the  stream.  It  has  reached  the 
lower  end  of  a sand-bar,  along  the  edge  of  which  it 
is  propelled  by  means  of  long  poles,  if  the  bottom 
be  hard.  Two  men,  called  bowsmen,  remain  at  the 
prow  to  assist,  in  concert  with  the  steersman,  in 
managing  the  boat  and  keeping  its  head  right 
against  the  current.  The  rest  place  themselves  on 
the  land  side  of  the  footway  of  the  vessel,  put 
one  end  of  their  poles  on  the  ground  and  the  other 
against  their  shoulders,  and  push  with  all  their 


232 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


might.  As  each  of  the  men  reaches  the  stern,  he 
crosses  it  to  the  other  side,  runs  along  it  and  comes 
again  to  the  landward  side  of  the  bow,  when  he 
recommences  operations.  The  barge,  in  the  mean- 
time, is  ascending  at  a rate  not  exceeding  one  mile 
in  the  hour. 

The  bar  is  at  length  passed,  and  as  the  shore  in 
sight  is  straight  on  both  sides  and  the  current  uni- 
formly strong,  the  poles  are  laid  aside,  and  the  men 
being  equally  divided,  those  on  the  river  side  take 
to  their  oars,  while  those  on  the  land  side  lay  hold 
of  the  branches  of  the  willows  or  other  trees,  and 
thus  slowly  propel  the  boat.  Here  and  there,  how- 
ever, the  trunk  of  a fallen  tree,  partly  lying  on  the 
bank  and  partly  projecting  beyond  it,  impedes  their 
progress  and  requires  to  be  doubled.  This  is  per- 
formed by  striking  into  it  the  iron  points  of  the 
poles  and  gaff-hooks,  and  so  pulling  around  it.  The 
sun  is  now  quite  low,  and  the  barge  is  again  secured 
in  the  best  harbor  within  reach  for  the  night,  after 
having  accomplished  her  distance  of  perhaps  fifteen 
miles.  The  next  day  the  wind  proves  favorable,  the 
sail  is  set,  the  boat  takes  all  advantages,  and  meet- 
ing with  no  accidents,  has  ascended  thirty  miles, 
perhaps  double  that  distance.  The  next  day  comes 
with  a very  different  aspect.  The  wind  is  right 
ahead,  the  shores  are  without  trees  of  any  kind,  and 
the  canes  on  the  bank  are  so  thick  and  stout  that 
not  even  the  cordelles  can  be  used.  This  occasions 
a halt.  The  time  is  not  altogether  lost,  as  most  of 
the  men, being  provided  with  rifles,betake  themselves 
to  the  woods  and  search  for  the  deer,  the  bears  or 
the  turkeys  that  are  generally  abundant  there. 
Three  days  may  pass  before  the  wind  changes,  and 
the  advantages  gained  on  the  previous  five  days  are 
forgotten.  Again  the  boat  proceeds,  but  in  pass- 
ing over  a shallow  place  runs  on  a log,  swings  with 
the  current,  but  hangs  fast  with  her  lee-side  almost 
under  water.  Now  for  the  poles!  All  hands  are  on 
deck,  bustling  and  pushing.  At  length  toward 
sunset  the  boat  is  once  more  afloat,  and  is  again 
taken  to  the  shore,  where  the  wearied  crew  pass 
another  night. 

Such  were  some  of  the  less  serious  diffi- 
culties of  a river  voyage.  Until  after  the 
general  pacification  of  the  Indians,  in  1795, 
the  perils  of  the  land  were  greater  than  those 
of  the  water,  though  these  were  not  of  a trivial 
character.  Wrecks,  more  or  less  complete, 
were  frequent,  three-fourths  of  which  were 
probably  occasioned  by  the  careless  construc- 
tion of  the  boats.  The  “broadhorns,”  as  the 
Kentucky  boats  were  popularly  called,  were 
especially  distinguished  in  this  way.  A bad, 
knotty,  or  rotten  plank  in  the  bottom,  a weak 
gunwale  of  tender  wood,  or  the  want  of 
stoutness  in  the  first  or  second  row  of  plank- 
ing above  the  gunwale,  was  frequently  the 


causes  of  a total  or  partial  loss  of  a valuable 
cargo.  The  character  of  the  boatmen  was 
another  prolific  source  of  trouble.  Few  of 
them  had  any  experience  as  mariners,  or 
observed  anything  like  nautical  discipline, 
and  none,  save  the  “patroon,”  seemed  to  feel 
any  responsibility  for  the  safe  issue  of  the 
voyage.  A boat  often  grounded  or  was 
staved  in  by  obstructions,  simply  because  the 
“patroon,”  being  below,  failed  to  give  the 
necessary  orders  to  avert  the  danger.  Barges 
were  sometimes  overturned  and  lost  by  the 
ignorant  handling  of  the  sail,  and  sometimes 
by  the  willful  abandonment  of  the  crew. 

Of  the  natural  dangers  to  early  naviga- 
tion, ice  was  probably  the  most  formidable. 
Eager  to  gain  the  utmost  advantage  of  the 
flood-tide,  shippers  often  ventured  out  with 
their  frail  craft  before  the  river  was  fairly 
cleared,  and,  caught  in  a jam,  the  slender 
plank  structure  broke  up  like  tinder- wood. 
In  February,  1811,  sixteen  boats  were  thus 
caught  in  the  ice  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tennes- 
see, “three  of  which  were  sunk  and  lost;  two 
stove  and  sunk  but  got  afloat  again  and  were 
repaired,  five  had  their  sides  driven  in,  but 
were  repaired  before  they  sank,  and  the  rest 
scarcely  escaped  from  the  general  wreck.” 
The  passage  of  the  falls  at  Louisville  was 
dangerous,  and  many  boats  were  lost  in  at- 
tempting it.  This  gave  rise  to  a class  of  per- 
sons who  ofi^ered  their  services  to  guide  pass- 
ing boats;  but  many  of  them  proving  incom- 
petent, the  danger  was  scarcely  lessened, 
until  1798,  when  the  office  of  pilot  was  es- 
tablished and  a regular  officer  appointed, 
who  was  authorized  to  charge  a fee  of  $2 
for  each  boat. 

Another  source  of  danger  was  the  “boat- 
wrecker,”  who  infested  the  uninhabited  re- 
gion from  old  Fort  Massac  to  the  junction  of 
the  Mississippi  River..  These  land  pirates 
were  accomplished  in  all  the  details  of  their 
nefarious  business,  and  did  not  hesitate  to 
boldly  attack  a boat’s  crew,  or  secretly  scut- 
tle the  craft,  whichever  promised  the  easiest 
success.  Their  usual  plan  was  to  draw  the 
crew  into  a game  of  cards,  of  which  the 
boatmen  were  passionately'  fond,  and  then 
cheat  them  out  of  everything  they  possessed. 


Central  University  Buildings.  Richmond.  Ky, 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


233 


When  this  plan  did  not  serve,  they  frequent- 
ly offered  their  services  as  pilots,  or  by  sug- 
gestions from  the  shore  too  often  insured 
fatal  injury  to  the  boat.  At  other  times  they 
would  creep  into  the  boat  when  tied  up  for 
the  night,  and  bore  holes  in  the  bottom,  or 
dig:  out  the  caulking.  As  soon  as  the  boat 
showed  signs  of  sinking,  these  miscreants 
would  swarm  out  fi-om  the  shore  in  their 
skiffs,  to  assist  in  saving  the  cargo,  which 
they  conveyed  to  secret  places  along  the 
smaller  affluents  of  the  river  beyond  the 
chance  of  discovery.  If  an  owner  was  hardy 
enough  to  push  his  search  so  far  as  to  prom- 
ise discovery  of  the  hidden  goods,  ho  gener- 
ally met  his  death  in  some  of  the  obscure  re- 
cesses of  the  marshy  river  margin. 

A certain  Col.  Fluger,  known  on  the  river 
as  “Col.  Plug,”  was  the  leader  of  a band, 
which  operated  near  Cache  Creek.  He  was 
one  of  the  boldest  of  the  “wreckers,”  and 
was  believed  to  possess  skeleton  keys  to  all 
the  warehouses  between  that  point  and  Lou- 
isville. On  one  occasion,  the  crew  of  a 
“broadhorn,”  which  had  suffered  from  his 
band  in  the  previous  year,  determined  on 
their  next  trip  to  be  revenged.  Before  reach- 
ing the  vicinity  of  his  rendezvous,  several  of 
the  crew  went  ashore,  and,  making  their  way 
unobserved  by  land,  secreted  themselves  near 
the  usual  landing  of  the  boat.  This  with 
its  reduced  crew  subsequently  arrived;  the 
men  were  hospitably  received  by  the  free- 
booters, and  the  usual  game  of  cards  begun. 
When  well  engaged  in  the  game  and  with 
considerable  money  on  the  table,  a sharp 
whistle  suddenly  gave  the  signal  for  an 
attack  by  those  of  the  band  who  were  secreted 
nearby.  The  hidden  boatmen  heard  it  also, 
and  understanding  its  import  rushed  to  sup- 
port their  comrades.  The  struggle  was  short 
and  sharp.  Three  of  Plug’s  men  were  thrown 
into  the  river,  when  the  rest  fled,  leaving  their 
leader  in  the  hands  of  the  victorious  boatmen. 
The  freebooter  was  quickly  stripped,  compelled 
to  embrace  a good-sized  tree,  to  which  he  was 
firmly  bound,  and  then  whipped  with  a “cow- 
hide” so  long  as  any  of  the  crew  had  strength 
to  wield  it  effectively.  In  this  condition. 
Plug  was  left  to  be  relieved  by  the  chance 


return  of  his  comrades.  Not  long  after,  this 
I desperado  met  his  death  while  digging  the 
I caulking  out  of  a river  boat.  A sudden  tem- 
pest tore  the  boat  from  its  moorings,  and 
dashing  it  into  the  raging  river,  wrecker  and 
boat  were  both  lost. 

The  life  of  the  boatman  was  not  calculated 
to  invite  the  better  class  of  men  to  enter  the 
river  service.  A crew  was  engaged  for  the 
do^vn  trip  only.  The  return  trip  was  made 
overland  or  in  the  service  of  such  returning 
boats  as  needed  an  increase  of  force  for  the 
upward  voyage.  The  life  was  full  of  hazardous 
adventure,  and  none  but  the  hardy,  unsettled 
portion  of  frontier  society  could  be  in- 
duced to  undergo  the  necessary  privations 
and  dangers  incident  to  the  service;  but  to 
this  class  there  was  an  attraction  in  the  un- 
restrained, irresponsible  life,  which  kept  the 
demand  for  hands  fully  supplied.  The  asso- 
I ciation  of  such  characters  brought  on  frequent 
j collisions  among  themselves;  and  fighting,  in 
which  the  most  brutal  practices  were  in- 
j dulged,  was  of  such  common  occm-rence  as  to 
j pass  without  particular  comment,  and  gradu- 
ally came  to  be  looked  upon  almost  as  a 
pastime.  Island  No.  57,  in  the  Ohio  Kiver, 
gained  its  name  of  Battle  Island  from  an 
encounter  which  is  described,  in  the  barge 
captain’s  journal,  as  follows: 

Two  of  my  stoutest  men  having  quarreled  during 
the  day  while  at  the  oars,  and  having  clinched,  had 
a small  round  under  deck.  Hearing  the  noise,  I 
ran  and  parted  them,  and  could  appease  them  in  no 
other  way  than  by  granting  them  permission  to 
take  it  out  on  land.  Accordingly  at  evening,  as 
soon  as  we  dropped  anchor,  the  parties  having 
chosen  their  stand-by  friends,  set  out  from  the  barge 
in  the  jolly-boat,  and  landed  on  Island  No.  .57, 
where,  after  it  was  agreed  that  it  should  be  “rough 
and  tumble,”  and  the  signal  for  parting  should  be 
“enough,”  the  combatants  stripped  off  their  jackets 
—the  weather  being  cold — and  taking  their  distance, 
flew  at  each  other  most  ferociously.  Two  rounds 
brought  them  fast  clinched  in  each  other’s  hug  to 
the  ground,  when  the  undermost,  flndingthe  thumb 
of  his  antagonist  removing  his  eye  from  its  socket 
hollowed  out  vociferously  to  the  bystanders:  “Take 
him  off  ! take  him  off  ! he’s  gouging  me  !”  This 
was  done  immediately,  and  the  boys  got  on  their 
feet  again;  and  discovering  there  was  not  much 
harm  done  except  a bite  from  the  one  and  a gouge 
from  the  other,  they  returned  good-naturedly  to  the 


234 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


barge  again,  and  as  usual  worked  friendly  together 
during  the  remainder  of  the  voyage.* 

Such  encounters  were  not  always  so  satis- 
factorily ended,  nor  were  they  confined  to 
themselves.  Bullies  along  the  shore  and  at 
the  principal  ports,  when  opportunity  offered, 
seldom  failed  to  challenge  the  noted  cham- 
pions of  the  river,  and  the  landing  of  a boat’s 
crew  was  generally  the  signal  for  a drunken 
debauch,  during  which  gambling  and  set 
fights  were  freely  indulged.  These  rough 
champions  adopted  suggestive  ?to??ts  de  guerre, 
such  as  “Half  horse,  half  alligator,”  “Snap- 
ping-turtle,” and  the  like,  and  the  exagger- 
ated reports  which  came  to  the  peaceable 
portion  of  the  community  gave  rise  to  the 
belief  that  these  names  were  not  inappropri- 
ately applied.  Their  unlawful  and,  too  often, 
outrageous  conduct  on  their  return  trip  by 
land,  made  them  the  terror  of  such  families 
as  lived  along  their  route  of  travel,  and  a 
rule  “not  to  lodge  Kentuckians  on  any 
account”  was  at  length  pretty  generally 
adopted  by  such  persons,  to  the  distress  of 
the  innocent  as  well  as  guilty. 

The  exaggerated  stories,  in  which  the  ex- 
ploits of  the  boatman  have  been  perpetuated, 
undoubtedly  make  him  the  “hero  of  fields 
his  valor  never  won,”  but  enough  has  been 
authenticated  to  give  these  tales  a foundation 
in  fact.  Of  these  river  heroes,  none  forms 
a more  striking  figure  in  early  annals  than 
Mike  Fink.  His  early  home  was  in  Pitts- 
burgh, where  he  distinguished  himself  as  an 
Indian  spy  before  he  reached  his  majority; 
but  while  thus  employed  the  wild,  adventur- 
ous life  of  the  boatman  attracted  his  youth- 
ful fancy,  and,  lured  away  by  the  soft  en- 
chantment of  the  boat- horn,  he  engaged  in 
the  minor  ofiices  of  the  river  service.  Here 
he  proved  an  apt  scholar,  and  from  this 
modest  beginning  became  one  of  the  most 
notorious  of  his  class.  When  the  river  was 
low,  Mike  spent  his  time  with  his  rifie  and 
soon  distanced  his  competitors  in  the  use  of 
this  weapon.  His  skill  was  so  universally 
acknowledged  that  whenever  he  made  one  in  a 
shooting- match  for  beef,  such  as  was  then  of 
common  occurrence  in  Kentucky,  he  was 

♦"The  Navigator,”  p.  306.  Pittsburgh,  1814. 


always  allowed  the  “fifth  quarter” — the  hide 
and  tallow — without  a shot.  This  was  a per- 
quisite of  his  skill;  one  which  he  always 
claimed,  always  obtained,  and  always  sold 
for  whisky  with  which  to  treat  the  assembled 
company.  His  capacity  as  a drinker  was 
enormous;  he  could  drink  a gallon  in  twenty- 
four  hours  without  its  effect  being  percepti- 
ble in  his  language  or  demeanor.  He  was 
also  something  of  a wag,  and  had  an  uncom- 
fortable way  of  enforcing  his  jests.  He 
used  to  say  that  he  told  his  jokes  to  be 
laughed  at,  and  no  man  should  treat  them 
lightly.  The  consequence  was  that  when 
one  refused  to  laugh,  the  offender  received  a 
sound  drubbing  as  an  admonition  for  the 
future,  which  usually  proved  effective. 

His  practical  jokes,  as  he  and  his  associates 
were  accustomed  to  call  their  predations  upon 
the  inhabitants  along  the  line  of  the  river, 
were  bold  and  ingenious.  On  a certain  oc- 
casion, while  passing  down  the  river,  Mike 
observed  a flock  of  sheep  grazing  on  shore, 
and  hit  upon  a characteristic  expedient  to  se- 
cure a supply  of  mutton  without  paying  for 
it.  As  it  was  about  dusk,  he  landed  his  boat 
in  an  eddy  he  had  discovered,  and  having 
made  all  fast,  he  took  some  Scotch  snuff, 
which  formed  a part  of  his  cargo,  and  with 
it  besmutted  the  faces  of  several  of  the  ani- 
mals. Returning  to  his  boat,  he  sent  one  of 
his  men  to  the  owner  to  say  that  he  would 
better  come  down  and  see  what  ailed  his  sheep. 
The  startled  sheep-owner  found  some  of  his 
flock  bleating,  rubbing  themselves,  and  caper- 
ing about  in  the  strangest  fashion,  and 
sorely  puzzled,  turned  to  the  plotter  of  the 
mischief  for  his  opinion.  With  the  gravest 
demeanor,  Mike  assured  the  man  that  the 
“black  murrain”  had  attacked  his  sheep,  and 
would  probably  destroy  the  whole  flock  if  not 
promptly  arrested.  After  exciting  the  farmer’s 
fears  to  the  highest  pitch  by  an  artfully  con- 
cocted story,  he  convinced  his  victim  that  only 
the  summary  killing  of  the  diseased  ani- 
mals could  save  him  from  total  loss.  Mike 
was  at  once  deputed  to  shoot  the  infected 
sheep,  which  were  then  thrown  into  the  river 
by  the  crew.  After  dark,  the  carcasses, 
which  had  been  caught  in  the  eddy,  were 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


235 


hauled  on  board,  and  by  daylight  the  boat, 
with  its  fresh  supply  of  mutton,  was  gliding 
down  stream  to  its  destination. 

But  many  of  these  “jokes”  were  character- 
ized by  a wanton  cruelty  which  indicated  a 
malevolent  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  per- 
petrator. A negro  had  come  down  to  the 
river  bank  to  see  the  passing  boat.  Mike’s 
keen  observation  caught  sight  of  the  negro’s 
heel,  which  was  peculiar  in  its  excessive 
length,  and  quick  as  thought  the  boatman 
raised  his  rifle  and  fired,  the  bullet  instantly 
tearing  away  a part  of  the  exposed  member. 
For  this  piece  of  deviltry  he  was  arraigned 
by  the  law  officers  at  St.  Louis,  but  there  is  no 
record  showing  that  he  was  ever  compelled  to 
pay  any  penalty  for  bis  crime.  The  power  of 
law  was  regularly  defied  by  these  audacious 
characters,  and  notwithstanding  they  were 
charged  with  the  whole  catalogue  of  infamous 
crimes,  from  murder  down,  the  officers  found 
themselves  powerless  to  inflict  punishment. 
Mike  was  finally  outlawed,  and  a reward  offered 
for  his  apprehension. 

For  a time  the  desperado  evaded  the  clutches 
of  the  officers;  but  one  day,  when  his  boat  was 
moored  at  Louisville,  an  old  friend  who  had 
attained  the  dignity  of  a constable,  came  to 
him  pleading  the  necessity  of  his  family,  and 
pointing  out  the  fact  that  while  his  captor 
would  secure  the  much- needed  reward  the 
captive  would  in  all  probability  escape  con- 
viction, he  persuaded  Mike  to  permit  himself 
to  be  taken.  This  compromise  was  effected 
only  on  one  condition,  which  Casseday  thus 
descri  bes : 

He  felt  at  home  nowhere  but  in  his  boat  and 
among  his  men;  let  them  take  him  and  his  men  in 
the  yawl  and  they  would  go.  It  was  the  only  hope 
of  procuring  his  appearance  at  court,  and  the  con- 
stable consented.  Accordingly  a long  coupled 
wagon  was  procured,  and,  with  oxen  attached,  went 
down  the  hill,  at  Third  Street,  for  Mike’s  yawl. 
The  road,  for  it  was  not  then  a street,  was  very 
steep  and  very  muddy  at  this  point.  Regardless  of 
this,  however,  the  boat  was  set  upon  the  wagon, 
and  Mike  and  his  men,  with  their  long  poles  ready, 
as  if  for  an  aquatic  excursion,  were  put  aboard, 
Mike  in  the  stern.  By  dint  of  laborious  dragging, 
the  wagon  had  attained  half  the  height  of  the  hill, 
when  out  shouted  the  stentorian  voice  of  Mike, 
calling  to  his  men;  “Set  poles!”  and  the  end  of  every 
long  pole  was  set  firmly  in  the  thick  mud.  “Back 


her!”  roared  Mike,  and  down  the  hill  again  went 
wagon,  yawl,  men  and  oxen.  Mike  had  been  re- 
volving the  matter  in  his  mind,  and  had  concluded 
that  it  was  best  not  to  go;  and  well  knowing  that 
each  of  his  men  was  equal  to  a moderately  strong 
ox.  he  had  at  once  conceived  and  executed  this 
retrograde  movement.  Once  at  the  bottom,  another 
parley  was  held  and  Mike  was  again  overpowered. 
This  time  they  had  almost  reached  the  top  of  the 
hill,  when  “Set  poles!”  “Back  her!”  was  again  or- 
dered and  again  executed.  A third  attempt  was 
successful,  and  Mike  reached  the  court  house  in 
safety,  and,  as  his  friend,  the  constable,  had  en- 
deavored to  induce  him  to  believe,  he  was  acquitted 
for  lack  of  sufficient  evidence.  Other  indictments, 
however,  were  found  against  him,  but  Mike  pre- 
ferred not  to  wait  to  hear  them  tried,  so  at  a given 
signal  he  and  his  men  boarded  their  craft  again,  and 
stood  ready  to  weigh  anchor.  The  dread  of  the 
long  poles  in  the  hands  of  Mike’s  men  prevented  the 
posse  from  urging  any  serious  remonstrance  against 
their  departure.  And  off  they  started  with  poles 
“tossed.”  As  they  left  the  court  house  yard  Mike 
waved  his  red  bandanna,  which  he  fixed  on  one  of 
the  poles,  and  promising  to  “call  again”  was  borne 
back  to  his  element,  and  launched  once  more  upon 
the  waters.* 

Mike’s  end  formed  a fitting  close  to  an  in- 
famous career.  With  the  introduction  of 
steam  navigation  his  career  as  a boatman 
ended,  but,  unwilling  to  abandon  his  wild 
life,  with  two  or  three  companions  he  turned 
his  attention  to  trapping  on  the  upper  Mis- 
souri. Here  he  quarreled  with  a comrade, 
whom  he  cowardly  murdered,  only  to  meet  a 
similar  fate  at  the  hands  of  the  murdered 
man’s  friend.  The  latter  assassin  met  his 
death  a few  months  later,  while  attempting 
to  swim  across  the  river.  Thus  perished  the 
last  of  the  boatmen. 

With  all  this  laborious  effort  and  risk,  a 
barge  could  bring  up  the  river  only  a few 
bags  of  coffee,  and  at  best  100  hogs- 
heads  of  sugar.  A regular  line  of  these 
boats  was  established  at  Cincinnati,  which 
plied  to  and  from  New  Orleans,  each  carry- 
ing in  its  downward  trip  a crew  of  nine  men, 
which  was  re-enfoi’ced  to  twenty-five  or  thirty 
men  on  the  return  voyage.  A similar  line 
was  established  at  Louisville  and  Pittsburgh, 
but  as  late  as  1808,  the  whole  number  of 
barges  engaged  on  the  river  did  not  exceed 

*“  History  of  Louisville,”  p.  7S.  Much  of  the  foregoing 
sketch  of  Mike  Fink  is  compiled  from  this  work,  which  is  in- 
debted for  its  data  principally  to  sketches  which  appeared  in 
the  ^f^estern  Souvenir  for  1829,  and  in  the  Western  Review  for 
LS30. 


236 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


twenty-five  or  thirty,  the  largest  of  which 
scarcely  reached  100  tons  burthen.  Then 
succeeded  the  sailing  vessel.  It  is  said 
the  inhabitants  of  Marietta  first  conceived 
the  idea  of  exporting  native  products  directly 
to  the  West  Indies,  a vessel  being  constructed 
at  that  place  and  sent  to  Jamaica.  The  suc- 
cess which  attended  this  venture  inspired  a 
strong  emulation  among  boat-builders  and 
shippers  on  the  Ohio,  and  Pittsburgh  and 
Louisville  at  once  engaged  in  similar  enter- 
prises, the  vessels  going  to  the  West  Indies 
or  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  From 
1802  to  1805,  there  were  built  at  Pittsburgh 
the  ships  “Pittsburgh,”  “Louisiana,”  “Gen. 
Butler”  and  “Western  Trader;”  the  brigs 
“Nanina,”  “Dean”  and  “Black  Walnut;”  and 
the  schooners  “Amity,”  “Alleghany”  and 
“Conquest.”  The  “Monongahela  Farmer” 
and  the  brig  “Ann  Jean”  were  built  at  Eliz- 
abethtown, besides  others  at  Marietta  and 
Louisville,  of  which  the  record  has  been 
lost.  The  misfortunes  which  attended  many 
of  these  later  vessels,  arising  from  bad  man- 
agement in  their  course  down  the  river, 
served  to  dampen  the  ardor  of  ship- builders, 
and  the  business  had  greatly  declined,  when 
the  first  steamboat,  in  1811-12,  was  con- 
structed. 

But  commercial  circles  were  not  alone  in 
profiting  from  the  invigorating  impulse  of 
the  great  immigration.  Evidences  of  wealth 
and  prosperity  were  everywhere  multiplying 
among  planters.  The  increasing  number  of 
stores  brought  in  new  articles  of  luxury, 
which  the  improved  market  for  the  products 
of  the  plantations  enabled  the  owners  to 
purchase  to  a considerable  extent.  This 
change  was  principally  observable  in  the 
increase  of  home  comforts.  There  was  little 
of  ostentation  displayed.  Log- houses,  con- 
structed, it  is  true,  with  greater  care,  con- 
tinued the  ordinary  residence  of  all  classes, 
though  here  and  there  plank  and  brick 
formed  a more  substantial  as  well  as  sightly 
material  for  this  purpose.  Orchards  were 
multiplied,  the  peach  forming  the  favorite 
fruit  of  the  people,  though  apples  were 
scarcely  second  in  the  public  esteem.  These 
were  propagated  from  seed,  and  such  was  the 


favorable  character  of  the  climate  that  the 
peach  tree  bore  abundantly  in  three  or  four 
years  from  the  planting.  So  general  was  this 
prosperity  that,  in  1802,  Michaux  found 
nowhere  in  Kentucky  “ a single  family  with- 
out milk,  butter,  smoked  or  salted  meat  and 
maize  for  their  food;  the  poorest  man  has 
always  one  or  more  horses,  and  it  is  very 
seldom  that  a planter  goes  on  foot  to  see  his 
neighbors.”  Improved  table  furniture  was 
gradually  introduced;  knives  and  forks  of 
metal  in  limited  numbers  took  the  place  of 
the  earlier  substitutes;  tinware  displaced  the 
noggin  and  bowl;  pewter  plates,  succeeding 
the  wooden-platters,  gave  a touch  of  bright 
ness  to  the  somber  interior  of  the  cabin;  and 
the  tinker,  with  his  small  pony,  nearly 
covered  by  a huge  pair  of  saddle-bags,  filled 
with  the  molds  and  soldering  irons  with 
which  he  turned  old  pewter  dishes  into  new 
and  by  sundry  patches  prolonged  the  useful- 
ness of  dilapidated  tinware,  becomes  a reg- 
ular visitant  of  the  scattered  plantations. 

There  were  growing  signs  of  a more  luxuri- 
ous living  among  the  wealthy.  The  habits  of 
the  “ old  dominion  ” society  were  gradually 
transplanted  into  the  new  land.  Slaves  rapid- 
ly increased;  silver  plate  began  to  adorn 
their  tables;  imported  wines  cheered  their 
guests;  and  a growing  disposition,  on  the 
part  of  a certain  class  of  the  Virginians,  to 
arrogate  something  of  superiority  to  those 
of  their  neighbors,  who  could  lay  no  claims 
to  the  mystic  virtue  expressed  in  the  title  of 
“ F.  F.  V.,”  began  to  be  manifested.  With 
the  progress  of  political  development  this 
tendency  became  confirmed.  Public  offices 
were  filled  for  the  period  of  “ good  behavior,” 
and,  once  supplied,  there  was  no  rotation  in 
office  to  act  as  a stimulant  to  the  people  to 
qualify  themselves  for  places  of  honor  and 
trust.  It  accordingly  became  very  generally 
accepted  that  some  were  born  to  rule,  and 
that  the  many  were  born  to  be  ruled,  and  both 
parties  came  to  view  this  division  as  natural 
and  desirable.  This  was  the  starting  point 
of  that  harmless  form  of  caste  which  has 
dubbed  every  man  of  parts  with  a title. 

With  the  increase  of  prosperity  this  socie- 
ty began  to  show  some  effort  to  supersede  the 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


237 


primitive  style  of  clothing,  and  calico  and  [ 
broadcloth  began  to  be  seen  more  frequently,  j 
Little  by  little  the  old  colonial  magnificence  | 
appeared  at  official  receptions  and  other  im- 
portant public  occasions.  At  such  times  the 
representative  part  of  the  community  ap- 
peared in  a fine  cloth  or  velvet  coat,  cut 
“round-breasted,”  with  long  or  swallow  tail, 
large  gilt  buttons  on  both  sides,  set  from  col- 
lar to  waist;  the  vest,  if  for  winter,  was  of 
swan’s  down;  if  for  summer,  white  marseilles 
with  small  gilt  buttons;  the  lower  limbs  were 
clothed  in  “ breeches,”  made  for  winter  of 
cloth  or  velvet,  or  corduroy,  and  of  nankeen 
or  linen  for  summer.  These  reached  down 
from  the  waist  to  the  knee,  where  a cloth 
band,  reaching  just  below  that  joint,  fitted 
close  to  the  leg,  and  was  ornamented  by  a 
silver  buckle  on  the  outside  seam.  A long 
stocking  of  worsted  for  winter,  or  of  silk  or 
home-knit  fleece  for  summer,  and  held  in 
place  by  the  knee-band  instead  of  a garter, 
clothed  the  calf  of  the  leg,  while  low  shoes 
with  silver  buckles  on  the  outer  slope  of  the 
instep  clothed  the  feet.  A white  and  black 
stock  with  silver  buckle  supplied  the  place  of 
a cravat.  The  hat  was  black,  of  fur  or  mixture 
of  lamb’s  wool  and  fm’,  with  very  large  brim, 
and  if  worn  by  a person  of  distinction  the 
brim  was  cocked  with  a silver  boss.  Panta- 
loons, then  called  “ overalls,”  were  sometimes 
worn.  Boots  were  equally  rare,  but  when 
worn  they  extended  to  the  knee  and  had  a 
scallop  in  f3  ont,  from  the  center  of  which  a 
silk  tassel  some  three  inches  long  was  sus- 
pended. These  were  known  as  “ fair-tops,” 
being  made  of  a nice  piece  of  fair  leather. 
Nearly  all  who  could  wore  a queue.  The 
back  hair  was  suffered  to  grow  long;  this  was 
bound  round  with  blue  or  pink  ribbon  with  a 
double  bow-knot;  and  if  the  hair  was  not  long 
enough,  false  hair  was  nicely  spliced  to  the 
stub,  which  was  thus  sometimes  extended  to 
the  waist.  The  dress  of  the  ladies  in  the 
same  social  circle  was  somewhat  less  elabor- 
ate. A few  silk  gowns,  or  of  bombazet  or 
gingham,  the  latter  often  homespun,  with 
what  was  then  called  a “ spencer,”  constituted 
the  indoor  dress.  Ladies’  hats  or  bonnets 
were  of  straw  or  silk,  moderately  trimmed. 


The  gown  was  worn  short,  below  which  a neat 
pair  of  morocco  shoes  with  buckles  and  fine 
silk  or  thread  stockings  were  revealed.  In 
Louisville,  it  was  said,  “ There  is  a circle, 
small  ’tis  true,  but  within  whose  magic  round 
abounds  every  pleasm’e  that  wealth  regulated 
by  taste  can  bestow.  There  the  ‘ red-heel  ’ 
of  Versailles  may  imagine  himself  in  the 
very  emporium  of  fashion,  and,  whilst  lead- 
ing beauty  through  the  mazes  of  the  dance, 
forget  that  he  is  in  the  wilds  of  America.” 
The  influence  of  this  change  upon  the 
common  people  was  very  marked.  Respect- 
ful deference  to  elders  or  those  in  official 
station  became  a notable  feature  of  family 
and  school- training,  though  generally  un- 
mixed with  anything  of  servility.  “Honor” 
became  a prominent  word  in  the  early 
vocabulaiy,  and  the  habit  of  attaching  an 
exaggerated  importance  to  insult,  a strong 
and  universal  custom.  In  close  correlation 
with  these  featm’es  was  a marked  courtesy  in 
ordinary  intercourse  that  approached  the 
verge  of  gallantry.  Friendships  were  warm 
and  constant;  resentments  were  bitter  and 
revengeful.  Unbounded  hospitality,  which 
freely  offered  entertainment  to  neighbor  or 
stranger,  prevailed.  Neighborhoods  lived, 
worked,  feasted  or  suffered  together  in  cordial 
harmony;  families  intermarried  so  that 
every  one  was  the  natural  ally  of  each  one, 
ready  to  espouse  his  cause  in  danger,  or  to 
congratulate  him  in  success.  The  limits  of 
neighborhoods  extended  over  a wide  area,  and 
a ride  of  several  miles  on  horseback  to  pay  a 
friendly  visit  was  an  unnoted  and  frequent 
occuiTence.  Nor  was  this  social  duty 
devolved  solely  upon  the  women,  as  in  the 
Northwest.  The  habits  and  agricultural 
system  of  the  new  land  gave  the  man  a large 
amount  of  leisiu’e,  which  was  employed 
principally  in  masculine  gossip.  On  coming 
together,  men  disposed  of  each  other’s  busi- 
ness projects  and  prospects  with  short  shrift 
and  fell  to  discussing  genealogies  and  poli- 
tics. The  pipe  was  invariably  an  “unobtru- 
sive third,”  the  mild  influence  of  which 
served  to  keep  political  talk  well  within 
friendly  bounds.  Short  visits  were  neither 
desired  nor  made.  The  guest  for  the  time 


238 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


was  put  in  full  possession  of  the  resources  of 
his  host,  whose  domestic  habits  experienced 
scarcely  a ripple  of  interruption  by  the 
temporary  addition  to  his  household.  The 
entertainment  was  without  ostentation,  and 
the  table,  though  rudely  spread  with  sub- 
stantial food,  was  large  in  its  bounty. 

At  the  same  time  “smart  signs  of  wicked- 
ness” began  to  appear  in  the  popular 
amusements.  A passion  for  gaming  and 

spirituous  liquors  seemed  to  prevail;  the 
taverns  became  the  places  of  general  resort, 
where  drinking  bouts  commonly  ended  in  the 
most  sanguinary  encounters.  Horse-racing, 
dog  and  cock-fighting,  raffling  and  shooting- 
matches  were  the  favorite  sports  whenever 
the  people  came  together.  For  many  years 
it  was  the  custom  on  each  Saturday  for  the 
justices  of  the  peace  in  the  country  around 
to  repair  to  the  nearest  village  to  hold  their 
courts.  This  brought  together  a large  con- 
course of  litigants,  their  friends  and  wit- 
nesses, besides  those  who  came  simply  to  see 
the  sports.  On  this  day,  work  was  generally 
suspended  in  the  country,  and  in  the  town 
the  afternoon  was  usually  observed  as  a 
holiday  by  the  shop-keepers.  The  cases  be- 
fore the  courts  attracted  little  attention  from 
any,  save  those  directly  affected  by  their  de- 
cision, and  were  quickly  disposed  of,  when 
all  joined  the  throng  and  engaged  in  the 
real  business  of  the  hour.  The  drinking 
l^egan  early  in  the  day,  and  by  afternoon  the 
fun  grew  fast  and  furious.  The  horse-racing 
and  a cock  or  dog- fight  were  followed  by 
various  athletic  contests.  By  this  time  the 
day  was  far  spent,  and  the  disappointed 
ambitions  of  the  crowd  were  sufficiently  in- 
flamed by  the  constant  drinking  to  bring  on 
a number  of  disgraceful  fights,  which  were 
always  a part  of  the  day’s  excitement.  As 
night  fell  the  crowd  dispersed,  some  danger- 
ously reeling  on  their  horses,  and  all  shout- 
ing and  yelling  like  savages.  Many  were  too 
drunk  to  get  away  and  might  be  seen  on 
Sunday  seeking  their  homes  after  a night’s 
drunken  sleep  in  some  secluded  corner  of  the 
town.  These  scenes  followed  in  a weekly 
round,  each  Saturday  providing  a programme  | 
for  the  succeeding  one.  The  regular  muster  I 


of  the  militia  was  another  occasion  on  which 
tlie  whole  people  gave  loose  rein  to  their  pro- 
pensities. Not  only  the  enrolled  members, 
but  the  whole  population  attended,  when 
pony-racing,  foot-x’acing,  wrestling,  fighting 
and  drunkenness  were  engaged  in  far  more 
than  military  movements.  It  was  the  favor- 
ite resort  also  of  the  candidate  for  political 
honors,  who  delighted  his  half-drunken  audi- 
ence with  a speech,  of  which  the  most  re- 
markable feature  was  its  ribaldry. 

But  there  was  another  side  to  the  picture 
thus  presented.  While  the  arts  of  peace 
were  rapidly  removing  the  rude  evidences  of 
frontier  life,  war  still  hovered  on  the  border. 
The  provisions  of  the  treaties  made  between 
England  and  the  colonies  did  not  include 
the  savages,  who  still  pressed  their  claims  to 
the  Ohio  Valley  with  a pertinacity  which 
even  defeat  could  not  abate.  But  the  suc- 
cessful issue  of  the  revolutionary  movement 
none  the  less  powerfully  affected  the  inter- 
ests of  the  savages.  The  re-enforced  frontier 
settlements  no  longer  thought  solely  of  de- 
fense, but  began  to  meditate  revenge,  and 
instead  of  a few  despairing  pioneers  the 
Indians  found  themselves  confronted  by  the 
strength  which  had  humbled  their  more 
powerful  allies. 

On  the  conclusion  of  peace  with  the  En- 
glish, the  national  government  set  about 
measures  for  the  pacification  of  the  natives, 
and  as  early  as  May,  1783,  congress  instructed 
the  secretary  of  war  to  take  steps  to  notify 
the  savages  of  the  results  of  the  recent  con- 
test,  and  to  bring  about  a genei’al  cessation  of 
hostilities.  On  October  15,  following,  the 
secretary  reported  the  result  of  his  efforts, 
and  expressed  the  belief  “that  although  the 
hostile  tribes  of  the  Indians  in  the  northern 
and  middle  departments  are  seriously  dis- 
posed to  a pacification,  yet  they  are  not  in  a 
temper  to  relinquish  their  tei’ritorial  claims 
without  a further  struggle.  ” Congress  never- 
theless determined  to  hold  formal  conven- 
tions with  the  various  tribes  in  the  hope  that 
by  establishing  territorial  boundaries  between 
the  two  races  “all  occasion  for  future  ani- 
mosities, disquiet  and  contention”  might  be 
avoided.  While  doubtless  sincere  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


239 


avowal  of  this  sentiment,  this  unwieldy  body  | 
found  itself  greatly  hampered  in  its  action 
by  its  limited  executive  power,  as  well  as  by  ! 
the  almost  entire  absence  of  anything  like  j 
national  spirit  among  its  members.  Though 
generally  agreed  upon  the  object  to  be 
achieved,  there  was  no  end  to  the  difficulties 
raised  in  effecting  its  accomplishment,  and 
it  was  not  until  October,  1784,  therefore, 
that  the  first  of  these  conferences  was  held. 
This  occurred  with  the  Iroquois  at  Fort  Stan- 
wix,  where,  on  the  27th  instant  a treaty  was 
entered  into  by  which  the  old  indefinite  claim 
of  this  confederacy  to  the  "West  was  finally 
extinguished.  On  January  21,  1785,  a treaty 
was  made  with  the  warriors  of  the  Wyandot, 
Delaware,  Chippewa  and  Ottawa  nations  at 
Fort  McIntosh,  by  which  the  southern  half 
of  the  present  state  of  Ohio  was  ceded  to  the 
whites.  In  the  following  November,  a treaty 
of  peace  and  friendship  was  negotiated  with 
the  Cherokees  at  Hopewell,  on  the  Keowee, 
in  Georgia;  with  the  Choctaws  on  January  3, 
1786;  and  with  the  Chickasaws  on  the  10th 
of  the  same  month.  In  the  meantime,  while 
congress  debated  the  matter  of  a convention 
with  the  “Pottawatama,  Twightwee,  Pianke- 
shaw  and  other  western  nations”  at  Vin- 
cennes, prompt  steps  were  taken  to  secui’e 
the  ceded  lands  on  the  Ohio,  and  in  the  fall 
of  1785  Maj.  Doughty  descended  the  river 
and  erected  Fort  Harmar  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Muskingum. 

Various  circumstances  concurred  to  change 
the  original  time  and  place  set  for  the  last- 
named  convention,  which  eventually  was  held 
on  January  31,  1786,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big 
Miami,  where  Fort  Finney,  a temporary 
defense,  was  erected.  A growing  spirit  of 
hostility  was  manifested  by  the  savages. 
The  Wabash  tribes  refused  to  attend,  influ- 
enced by  the  Shawanese,  who  subsequently 
so  far  reconsidered  their  own  determination 
as  to  meet  the  commissioners.  They  came 
in  no  very  amicable  spirit,  however,  and  it 
was  probably  due  to  the  sagacity  of  the  con- 
gressional representatives  that  so  favorable 
an  issue  of  the  convention  was  reached. 

The  Indians  came  into  the  apartment  exhibiting 
marks  of  disrespect  for  the  whites.  The  commis- 


sioners, without  noticing  the  disorderly  conduct  of 
the  other  party  or  appearing  to  have  discovered  their 
meditated  treachery,  opened  the  council  in  due  form. 
They  lighted  the  peace-pipe,  and  aftei  drawing  a 
few  whiffs,  passed  it  to  the  chiefs,  who  received  it. 
Gen.  Clark  then  rose  to  explain  the  purpose  for 
which  the  treaty  was  ordered.  With  an  unembar- 
rassed air,  with  the  tone  of  one  accustomed  to  com- 
mand, and  an  easy  assurance  of  perfect  security 
and  self-possession,  he  stated  that  the  commission- 
ers had  been  sent  to  offer  peace  to  the  Shawanese; 
that  the  president  had  no  wish  to  continue  the  war; 
he  had  no  resentment  to  gratify;  and  if  the  red  men 
desired  peace,  they  could  have  it  on  reasonable 
terms.  “If  such  be  the  will  of  the  Shawanese,”  he 
concluded,  “letsomeof  their  wise  men  speak.” 

A chief  arose,  drew  his  tall  person  to  its  full 
height,  and  assuming  a haughty  attitude,  threw  his 
eye  contemptuously  over  the  commissioners  and 
their  small  retinue,  as  if  to  measure  their  insignifi- 
cance, in  comparison  with  his  own  numerous  train, 
and  then  stalking  to  the  table,  threw  upon  it  two 
belts  of  wampum  of  different  colors — the  war  and 
the  peace  belt.  “We  come  here,”  he  exclaimed,  “to 
offer  you  two  pieces  of  wampum;  they  are  of  dif- 
ferent colors;  you  know  what  the^'  mean;  you  can 
take  which  j^ou  like,”  and,  turning  upon  his  heel, 
he  resumed  his  seat. 

The  chiefs  drew  themselves  up  in  the  conscious 
ness  of  having  hurled  defiance  in  the  teeth  of  the 
white  men.  They  had  offered  an  insult  to  the  re- 
nowned leader  of  the  Long  Knives,  to  which  they 
knew  it  would  be  hard  to  submit,  while  they  did 
not  suppose  he  dare  resent  it.  The  council-pipe 
was  laid  aside.  Those  fierce  wild  men  gazed  in- 
tently at  Clark.  The  Americans  saw  that  the  crisis 
I had  arrived;  they  could  no  longer  doubt  that  the 
1 Indians  understood  the  advantage  they  possessed, 
and  were  disposed  to  use  it,  and  a common  sense  of 
danger  caused  each  eye  to  be  turned  on  the  leading 
commissioner.  He  sat  undisturbed,  and  apparently 
careless,  until  the  chief,  who  had  thrown  the  belts 
upon  the  table,  had  taken  his  seat;  then  with  a 
small  cane,  which  he  held  in  his  hand  he  reached, 
as  if  playfully,  toward  the  war-belt,  entangled  the 
end  of  the  stick  in  it,  drew  it  toward  him,  and  then 
with  a switch  of  the  cane  threw  the  belt  into  the 
midst  of  the  chiefs.  The  effect  was  electric.  Every 
man  in  the  council,  of  each  party,  sprang  to  his 
feet,  the  savages  with  a loud  exclamation  of  aston- 
ishment, “Hugh!”  the  Americans  in  expectation  of 
a hopeless  conflict  against  overwhelming  numbers. 
Every  hand  grasped  a weapon,  Clark  alone  was 
unawed.  The  expression  of  his  countenance  changed 
to  a ferocious  sternness,  and  his  eye  flashed,  but 
otherwise  he  was  unmoved.  A bitter  smile  was 
perceptible  upon  his  compressed  lips,  as  he  gazed 
upon  that  savage  band,  whose  hundred  eyes  were 
bent  fiercely  and  in  horrid  exultation  upon  him,  as 
they  stood  like  a pack  of  w'olves  at  bay  thirsting  for 
blood,  and  ready  to  rush  upon  him  whenever  one 


240 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


bolder  than  the  rest  should  commence  the  attack. 
It  was  one  of  those  moments  of  indecision  when  the 
slightest  weight  thrown  into  either  scale  will  make 
it  preponderate;  a moment  in  which  a bold  man, 
conversant  with  the  springs  of  human  action,  may 
seize  upon  the  minds  of  all  around  him  and  sway 
them  at  his  will. 

Such  a man  was  the  intrepid  Virginian.  He 
spoke,  and  there  was  no  man  bold  enough  to  gain- 
say him — none  that  cou'ld  return  the  fierce  glance 
of  his  eye.  Raising  his  arm  and  waving  his  hand 
toward  the  door,  he  exclaimed,  “Dogs!  You  may 
go!”  The  Indians  hesitated  for  a moment,  and 
then  rushed  tumultuously  out  of  the  council  room.* 

The  savages  subsequently  returned  and 
sued  for  peace,  when  the  Shawanese,  with 
certain  of  the  Wyandots  and  Delawares, 
united  in  a treaty  of  peace  and  friendship. 
The  good  results  of  such  treaties  were  not 
likely  to  prove  long-lived.  None  of  the  par- 
ties interested,  save  the  general  government, 
seemed  to  desire  peace.  “ The  British 
agents,  our  own  traders,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  Kentucky,  I am  convinced,  are  al  I opposed 
to  a treaty,”  wrote  Parsons,  “and  are  using 
every  measure  to  prevent  it.  Strange  as  this 
may  seem,  I have  convincing  proofs  of  its 
reality.”  It  happened,  therefore,  that  while 
the  “ plenipotentiaries  ” of  congress  and  the 
various  Indian  nations  on  the  borders  of 
Kentucky  were  negotiating  treaties  of  “ peace 
and  friendship,”  the  region  south  of  the 
Ohio  was  the  scene  of  predatory  incursions 
and  reiu’isals,  scarcely  less  active,  though 
attended  with  less  serious  results  than  before 
the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war. 

After  the  close  of  hostilities  in  1783,  the 
savages  seem  to  have  observed  a kind  of 
armed  neutrality.  Surveyors  in  the  unin- 
habited region  north  of  the  Licking  found 
“ fresh  sign  ” of  Indians,  and  realizing  the 
unsettled  state  of  affairs  prudently  withdrew. 
In  other  sections  similar  indications  of  the 
presence  of  savages  were  found,  and  now  and 
then  small  straggling  bands  were  met.  On 
such  occasions,  the  natives  were  found  some- 
times rude  and  predatory  in  their  behavior, 
at  other  times  only  suspicious,  but  at  all 

Wilderness  and  War-path”  liy  Judge  Hall,  in  Wiley  and  I 
Putnam’s  Library.  By  some  writers,  the  leading  role  in  this  I 
transaction  is  assigned  to  Gen.  Richard  Butler,  who,  with  R.  H.  i 
Parsons,  was  associated  with  Clark  as  commissioner.  The  in-  I 
tensely  dramatic  character  of  the  interview  is  considered  by 
others  to  be  largely  tbe  product  of  Mr,  Hall’s  fertile  imagination.  I 
<See  Annals  ol'  the  West,  note  p.  278.)  | 


times  sullen  and  distrustful,  though  offering 
no  violence.  The  whites  were  in  scarcely 
better  temper,  though  many,  desiring  to 
avoid  a renewal  of  the  bloody  experience  of 
an  Indian  war,  exerted  themselves  to  culti- 
vate friendly  relations  with  these  roving  for- 
esters. Mainly  through  such  efforts,  the 
natives  were  led  to  frequent  the  settlements 
and  engage  in  an  interchange  of  good  offices, 
which  promised  to  solve  the  perplexing  prob- 
lem of  Indian  affairs.  Unhappily  at  this 
juncture  a visiting  native  was  lured  into  the 
1 forest  and  murdered  by  a vindictive  settler. 
Some  attempt  was  made  to  prosecute  the 
murderer,  but  so  powerful  was  the  public 
prejudice  that  the  attempt  utterly  failed. 

The  effect  upon  the  savages  was  wide- 
spread and  instantaneous.  Their  worst  sus- 
picions seemed  confirmed,  and  the  fact  that 
the  British  had  not  yielded  possession  of  the 
northern  posts  gave  rise  to  a belief  that  the 
Americans  had  deceived  them  as  to  the  actual 
issue  of  the  war,  a belief  that  was  fortified 
by  the  representations  of  the  traders  and 
agents  of  the  English.  All  friendlv  inter- 
course  between  the  races  was  summarily 
ended,  and  old-time  depredations  were  re- 
newed. The  southern  tribes  were  the  first 
to  proceed  to  hostilities,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1784  emphasized  the  changed  relations  by 
stealing  horses  from  the  settlers  in  Lincoln 
County.  Several  encounters  occurred  in  the 
course  of  the  year,  in  which  a number  of  the 
savages  were  killed,  and  in  the  fall  such  were 
the  alarming  rumors  in  regard  to  the  Chero- 
kees  that  Col.  Logan  called  a convention  of 
the  leading  people  to  concert  measures  to 
avert  the  danger.  The  rumor  proved  greatly 
exaggerated,  and  no  action  was  taken  by  the 
assembled  whites. 

These  minor  depredations  were  continued, 
but  in  March,  1785,  they  were  unpleasantly 
varied  by  an  attack  upon  a new  settlement  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  by  the  Shawanese; 
Elliot  was  killed  and  scalped,  his  cabin 
burned  and  his  family  dispersed.  Other 
evidences  of  the  more  determined  character 
of  the  hostilities  to  be  expected  were  observed 
from  time  to  time,  but  no  further  murders 
are  noted  until  October,  when  some  of  the 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


241 


southern  warriors  appeared  on  the  Wilderness 
Koad,  and  attacked  emigrants  on  their  way  to 
Kentucky  settlements.  McClure’s  company 
was  assaulted  one  night  while  in  camp  near 
the  head  of  Scagg’s  Creek;  six  were  killed 
and  scalped,  and  the  rest  dispersed.  Mrs. 
McClure  gained  the  underbrush  with  her  four 
children,  and  would  have  escaped  with  three 
of  them,  had  she  been  willing  to  abandon  the 
fourth,  an  infant  in  her  arms.  This  one  by 
its  cries  discovered  her  retreat,  and  the  sav- 
ages coming  upon  her  cruelly  murdered  the 
three  children,  and  took  mother  and  babe 
captives. 

The  news  of  the  outrage  was  quickly 
brought  to  Whitley’s  Station,  but  the  captain 
being  absent,  his  wife  promptly  dispatched  a 
messenger  for  him,  and  in  the  meantime 
summoned  his  company  of  twenty-one  men. 
Hastily  returning,  Whitley  found  his  men 
fully  equipped  for  an  expedition,  awaiting 
him.  Believing  the  savages  would  at  once 
take  the  war-road  toward  their  villages,  the 
rescuing  party  directed  their  course  to  inter- 
cept the  enemy’s  retreat.  Fortunately  for 
the  success  of  this  plan,  the  Indians  delayed 
to  divide  their  plunder,  and  the  whites  had 
just  time  enough  to  form  an  ambuscade, 
when  the  war- party  came  up.  Two  of  the 
warriors  were  instantly  killed  and  two 
wounded.  The  rest  dispersed,  leaving  Mrs. 
McClure,  her  child,  a negro  woman  and  the 
six  scalps  in  the  hands  of  the  rescuers.  Ten 
days  later,  a Mr.  Moore  and  his  party  of 
emigrants  were  attacked  near  Raccoon  Creek, 
on  the  same  road,  when  nine  of  the  company 
were  killed  and  the  rest  scattered.  Whitley 
was  again  notified,  who,  after  live  days’  scout, 
came  upon  the  hostile  band,  and  inflicted  a 
severe  punishment  on  them.  Thi’ee  of  them 
were  killed,  and  a rich  booty,  consisting  of 
twenty-eight  horses,  £50  in  coin,  and  a 
quantity  of  household  goods,  was  taken. 
In  November  two  men  were  killed  on  Rolling 
Fork,  of  Salt  River. 

The  inconclusive  result  which  attended  the 
meeting  of  the  convention  called  by  Col. 
Logan,  in  1784,  was  occasioned  more  by  the 
discovery  that  it  lacked  the  authority  to  or- 


ganize an  expedition  than  by  the  conviction 
that  such  a measure  was  unnecessary.  Here 
it  dawned  upon  the  frontiersmen,  who  had 
hitherto  known  no  law  save  that  of  necessity, 
that  the  issue  of  the  war  had  changed  their 
relations  to  the  natives,  and  that  what  had 
been  permitted  when  the  whole  nation  was 
engaged  in  a doubtful  struggle  for  existence, 
in  justice  to  the  general  weal,  could  no 
longer  be  allowed.  Indian  affairs  had  now 
become  the  care  of  the  general  government 
alone,  by  which  the  tribes  were  considered  as 
independent  nations  with  whom  peace  or  war 
could  be  concluded  only  by  its  authority. 
Thus,  with  national  independence  came  its 
responsibilities,  and  instead  of  prompt  re- 
prisal the  Kentuckians  ■ found  themselves 
obliged  to  employ  official  circumlocution — to 
prefer  their  complaints  to  the  governor,  by 
whom  they  were  referred  to  congress  for  x’e- 
dress.  This  obviously  did  not  prevent  a de- 
fense of  their  homes  and  property,  or  the  in- 
fliction of  such  punishment  as  was  possible 
without  an  invasion  of  the  territory  secured 
by  treaty  to  the  several  tribes,  but  the  ex- 
perience of  former  years  had  demonstrated 
that  the  only  practicable  defense  of  the  fron- 
tier lay  in  such  an  invasion,  and  it  was, 
therefore,  with  the  greatest  reluctance  that 
the  hardy  woodsmen  acquiesced  in  the  new 
order  of  things. 

As  the  depredations  increased,  the  forbear- 
ance of  the  settlers  diminished,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1786,  after  suffering  repeated 
losses  by  the  Indians,  the  inhabitants  on 
the  Blue  Grass  determined  to  undertake  their 
own  redress.  In  April,  the  savages  made  a 
successful  raid  after  horses,  and  as  usual 
effected  their  escape  across  the  river.  A 
party  of  settlers  was  immediately  organized 
under  the  command  of  Col.  Milliam  Chris- 
tian, who  had  settled  here  in  the  previous 
year,  and  the  thieves  rapidly  followed.  A 
part  of  the  predatory  band  was  overtaken 
some  twenty  miles  within  the  limits  of  their 
territory,  and  when  brought  to  bay  made  a 
stubborn  resistance.  In  numbers  each  party 
suffered  an  equal  loss,  two  falling  on  either 
side;  but  one  of  the  whites  was  Col.  Chris- 

I 5 


242 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


tiaii,  a man  that  the  growing  State  could  ill 
afford  to  lose.* 

Such  action  was  undoubtedly  without 
legal  sanction,  and  can  be  justified  only  by 
a consideration  of  the  undisciplined  state  of 
society,  and  the  great  provocation  offered  by 
the  savages.  At  the  same  time  the  settlers 
did  not  fail  to  make  urgent  complaint  to  the 
governor,  who  promptly  presented  their  case  to 
the  general  government,  but  in  the  nature  of 
the  circumstances  these  complaints  assigned 
the  authorship  of  these  troubles  with  such  in- 
definiteness that  congress,  slow  to  move  at 
best,  found  it  difficult  to  act  intelligently. 
A communication  of  the  governor  on  May  16, 
1786,  however,  elicited  the  jjromjDt  action  of 
the  government.  Two  companies  of  troops 
were  sent  to  Louisville,  and  on  June  30, 
the  organization  of  the  Kentucky  militia  for 
an  expedition  into  the  country  of  the  mis- 
chief-makers, under  the  command  of  the 
leading  government  officer,  was  authorized. 
The  expedition  thus  suggested  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  ordered  by  the  national  authori- 
ties, but  while  congress  delayed,  the  governor 
appears  to  have  given  some  general  instruc- 
tions to  the  Kentucky  officials  “ to  adopt 
the  necessary  means  of  defense.’’  Under 
such  authority,  the  county- lieutenants  were 
convened,  and  the  question  whether  the  act 
of  congress  referred  to  empowered  them  to 
impress  men  and  materials  for  an  expedition. 


■'^William  Christian  was  born  in  Augusta  County,  Va.;  was 
educated  at  Staunton:  and  when  a young  man,  commanded  a 
company  in  ('ol.  Bird’s  regiment,  which  served  on  the  south- 
western frontier  in  the  early  part  of  the  French  and  Indian  war. 
In  this  service  he  proved  a brave  and  skillful  partisan,  and  on 
the  return  of  peace,  retired  to  his  private  pursuits  with  a wide- 
spread reputation  for  ability.  He  subsequently  married  a sis- 
ter of  Patrick  Henry,  and  settled  in  Botetourt  County,  where 
he  was  made  colonel  of  militia.  In  the  Dunmore  war  he  again 
took  the  field  at  the  head  of  300  men,  reaching  Point  Pleasant 
on  the  day  following  the  great  battle  which  was  fought  here  on 
October  10, 1774. 

In  the  following  year  he  was  a member  of  the  general  State 
convention,  and  in  1776  was  appointed  second  in  command  of 
the  First  Virginia  Regiment.  The  resignation  of  the  colonel  in 
the  same  year  occasioned  the  promotion  of  Mr.  Christian  to  the 
first  place,  when  he  was  ordered  with  a force  of  l,z0u  men  to 
quell  the  Cherokee  outbreak.  This  he  achieved  with  singular 
ability  and  good  fortune,  and  returned  to  find  ample  demand 
for  his  services  in  counteracting  the  machinations  of  the  tories. 
For  this  purpose  he  resigned  his  commission  in  the  line,  and 
served  in  command  of  the  militia  of  his  county.  He  was 
thus  engaged  during  the  war  and  rendered  signal  service  to  the 
patriotic  cause,  exhibiting  the  highest  executive  ability  and 
good  judgment  in  dealing  with  the  difficult  questions  which  the 
complicated  state  of  society  presented.  He  subsequently  repre- 
sented his  county  in  the  .'^tate  assembly  for  several  years,  when, 
in  1785,  he  castin  hisfortunesw'ith  those  of  Kentucky.  His  repu- 
tation had  preceded  him  here,  and  he  was  at  once  advanced  to 
the  place  in  public  esteem  left  vacant  by  the  death  of  Col.  Floyd. 
As  the  discussion  of  a separation  from  Virginia  progressed.  Col. 
Christian’s  ability  made  him  a conspicuous  candidate  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people  for  the  first  governor  of  the  projected 
State,  but  all  such  anticipations  were  summarily  ended  by  his 
sudden  death,  which  was  learned  with  universal  regret. 


■was  submitted  to  the  legal  officers  of  the 
district. 

On  the  receipt  of  a favorable  reply,  the 
assembled  officers  promptly  decided  upon  a 
campaign  against  the  tribes  on  the  Wabash. 
Gen.  Clark  was  chosen  for  the  chief  com- 
mand, and  such  was  the  general  enthusiasm, 
that  1,000  men  were  quickly  equipped 
and  assembled  at  Louisville.  Vincennes 
was  selected  as  the  base  of  operations,  and 
thither  the  supplies  for  the  army  were 
shipped  in  nine  keel -boats.  The  troops  pro- 
ceeded by  land,  and  reached  their  destina- 
tion some  time  in  September,  but  the  pro- 
visions and  ammunition  being  delayed  by  the 
low  water  in  the  Wabash,  it  was  decided, 
much  against  Clark’s  wish,  to  await  the 
arrival  of  the  boats.  Nine  days  were  thus' 
consumed  in  inactivity,  and  with  the  most 
disastrous  consequences.  The  scanty  supplies 
at  hand  had  daily  diminished;  the  troops 
began  to  manifest  a restless,  discontented 
spirit;  and  a rumor  prevailed  that  a messen- 
ger dispatched  by  the  general  to  offer  peace 
or  war  to  the  savages  had  cut  off  the  last  hope  of 
surprising  the  enemy.  To  these  disheartening 
conditions  was  added  a lamentable  want  of 
harmony  among  the  officers,  and  a growing 
lack  of  confidence  in  the  commanding 
general.  In  his  retirement  after  the  revolu- 
tionary war,  Clai’k  had  contracted  a serious 
habit  of  intoxication,  and,  overruled  in  his 
desire  for  prompt  action  by  the  majority  of 
his  subordinate  officers,  he  sought  relief 
from  his  vexation  in  drinking,  and  even 
appeared  in  camp  completely  under  the 
influence  of  whisky.  Seizing  upon  this 
fact,  some  of  his  lieutenants,  acting,  it  is 
charged,  from  motives  of  jealousy,  en- 
couraged the  growing  feeling  of  general  dis- 
content. 

It  was  under  such  circumstances  that  the 
troops  were  at  length  put  in  motion  tc 
achieve  the  design  of  the  campaign.  Each 
hour  rendered  the  disintegrating  influences 
more  potent,  and  when  only  about  two  days’ 
march  from  the  Indian  town,  300  men  re- 
fused to  proceed  further,  and,  turning  their 
backs  upon  their  comrades,  took  up  their 
march  homeward.  The  most  earnest  entrea- 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


243 


ties  failed  to  shake  their  purpose,  and  after  a 
'Somewhat  disorderly  council,  and  notwith- 
standing that  sufficient  remained  to  promise 
the  success  of  the  enterprise,  the  whole  force 
was  ordered  to  follow.  On  reaching  Vin- 
cennes the  greater  part  of  the  troops  broke 
into  small  parties,  each  of  which  sought  its 
own  course  homeward,  ending  the  campaign 
in  disgrace,  for  which  none  were  wholly  free 
from  responsibility.  The  public  censure,  how- 
ever, fell  with  greatest  severity  upon  the 
commanding  officer,  of  whom  it  was  written 
at  this  time  with  too  much  truth:  “The  sun 

of  Gen.  Clark’s  military  glory  has  set,  never 
more  to  rise.” 

Logan  set  out  with  his  expedition,  but  in 
crossing  the  river  it  was  decided  in  council 
that  he  should  return  to  Kentucky  and  or- 
ganize a new  force  to  be  directed  against  the 
Shawanese,  whose  attention,  it  was  thought, 
would  be  drawn  toward  the  earlier  movement, 
and  would,  therefore,  be  unprepared  for 
nearer  hostilities.  This  Col.  Logan  prompt- 
ly accomplished.  Seven  hundred  men  were  en- 
listed and  rendezvoused  at  Washington,  from 
whence  the  second  expedition,  commanded  by 
Logan  and  guided  by  Kenton,  at  the  head  of 
his  own  company  of  scouts,  proceeded  by  a 
rapid  and  direct  march  to  the  Mackacheek  and 
Pickaway  towns.  The  Indians  were  completely 
surprised,  and  the  country  east  and  west  for 
100  miles  visited  with  terrible  destruction. 
Four  towns,  with  all  their  standing  crops, 
were  destroyed;  about  twenty  warriors  were 
killed,  and  a number  of  women  and  children 
taken  prisoners,  at  a total  loss  to  the  whites 
of  only  ten  men  killed  or  wounded.  But 
while  the  whites  were  thus  exerting  their 
power  against  the  northern  and  western 
tribes,  the  savages  still  harried  the  southern 
border.  Here,  in  October,  1786,  the  Indians 
made  a night  attack  on  McKnitt’s  company 
of  emigrants,  as  they  lay  encamped  between 
the  Big  and  Little  Laurel  Rivers,  killing 
twenty-one,  and  dispersing  or  taking  the  rest 
prisoners.  In  December,  they  made  another 
night  attack  upon  a party  of  whites  at  the 
mouth  of  Buck  Creek,  on  the  Cumberland, 
killing  one  man  and  putting  the  rest  to  flight. 
Thus  the  year,  which  was  marked  in  its  open- 


ing months  by  the  successful  negotiation  of 
treaties  with  the  various  Indian  tribes,  closed 
amid  the  discordant  cries  and  angry  clash  of 
the  embattled  races. 

The  year  of  1787  witnessed  the  reuewal  of 
warlike  activities  on  all  sides,  with  all  their 
old-time  barbarities.  The  invasion  of  the 
Shawanese  country  served  only  to  exasperate 
that  fierce  and  vindictive  nation,  and  during 
the  succeeding  winter  and  spring  they  en- 
gaged in  such  active  hostilities  as  to  keep 
the  whole  country  bordering  on  the  Ohio,  in 
a constant  state  of  alarm.  In  the  counties  of 
Mason  and  Bourbon  the  settlers  were  again 
compelled  to  resort  to  stations  for  protection; 
labor  in  the  fields  and  intercourse  between 
settlements  were  interrupted  or  carried  on 
under  a strong  guard,  and  the  system  of 
scouts  and  rangers,  adopted  only  in  times  of 
great  danger,  was  again  established.  The 
great  increase  in  the  number  of  settlers  for- 
bade the  savages  to  hope  for  success  in  a bold 
attack  upon  the  forts,  and  their  vigilance 
rendered  it  impossible  for  large  bands  to 
safely  penetrate  far  into  the  interior.  The 
hostility  of  the  natives,  therefore,  found  ex- 
pression chiefly  in  predatory  raids,  though 
attacks  were  not  wanting,  which  evinced 
their  prowess,  and  inspired  the  frontier  with 
terror.  Unwary  settlers  were  everywhere 
picked  off  by  the  keen-sighted  enemy,  and  on 
one  occasion  the  savages  descended  upon  the 
well-traveled  road  from  Limestone  to  Lex- 
ington, captui’ing  a wagon  and  teamster. 
In  December  a small  detached  station  at 
Drennon’s  Lick  was  captured,  and  two  men 
killed,  but  with  these  exceptions  the  great 
complaint  was  the  loss  of  horses.  In  steal- 
ing these  animals,  the  savages  displayed  a 
dexterity  which  threatened  to  exhaust  the 
whole  supply  on  the  border. 

At  first  it  was  the  custom  for  one  or  two 
Indians  to  secretly  make  their  way  into  a 
settlement  at  night,  secure  a horse  for  each 
one,  and  retire  to  their  villages  unobserved; 
but  as  they  became  more  proficient  in  their 
operations,  they  improved  upon  the  original 
plan.  The  parties  were  then  increased  from 
six  to  a dozen  warriors,  who  selected  some 
retired  rendezvous  on  the  south  side  of  the 


244 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


river,  to  which  they  brought  their  booty. 
Leaving  their  first  captures  in  care  of  a guard, 
the  rest  would  again  disperse  to  bring  other 
animals  until  fifteen  or  twenty  were  collected, 
when  they  would  secretly  take  them  across 
the  Ohio,  and  thence  to  their  towns.  In  this 
way  it  was  no  unusual  thing  for  each  savage 
to  bring  a horse  to  the  rendezvous  every 
night.  It  consequently  often  happened  that 
a predatory  party  would  set  out  from  their 
villages,  traverse  the  more  than  100  miles  to 
the  settlements,  and  return  in  fifteen  or 
twenty  days  with  as  many  horses,  while,  such 
was  the  extent  of  these  depredations,  a single 
county  in  Kentucky  often  lost  100  of  these 
animals  in  a single  month. 

Such  wholesale  depredations  were  calcu- 
lated to  exasperate  the  settlers  and  lead  them 
to  Ignore  the  formalities  imposed  by  existing 
treaties.  Reprisals  promptly  followed.  Early 
in  the  year  Luttrell  was  killed  on  Fishing 
Creek  by  the  Indians.  Logan  at  once  col- 
lected a party  of  settlers,  repaired  to  the 
scene  of  murder,  fell  on  a trail  and  pursued 
it  across  the  Cumberland,  where  he  came 
upon  an  Indian  band.  He  attacked  them 
without  parley,  killed  several,  and  dispersed 
the  rest,  returning  in  triumph  with  the  furs 
and  skins  found  in  the  camp.  A little  later 
Kenton,  who  had  been  active  in  waylaying 
the  marauders  from  the  north,  solicited  the 
aid  of  Col.  Robert  Todd,  of  Fayette  County, 
in  making  an  expedition  into  the  Paint  Creek 
country.  This  appeal  called  forth  a prompt 
response,  and  a formidable  force  penetrated 
the  Indian  territory  to  Chillicothe,  burning 
the  town  and  ravaging  the  country  for  miles 
around.  The  enemy  made  no  resistance,  and 
suffered  a loss  of  three  killed  and  seven  taken 
prisoners,  who  were  so  carelessly  guarded, 
however,  that  they  made  their  escape  before 
the  expedition  recrossed  the  river.  In  June 
Maj.  Oldham  crossed  the  Ohio  River  with  a 
scouting  party,  and  made  his  way  to  the  Wa- 
bash, but  without  meeting  any  of  the  enemy. 

These  expeditions  served  little  better  pur- 
pose than  to  infui’iate  the  Indians,  and  the 
depredations  of  the  succeeding  year  (1788) 
were  marked  by  greater  frequency  and 
audacity.  The  progress  of  the  settlements 


north  of  the  river  contributed  to  the  same 
result.  The  different  States  claiming  terri- 
tory in  the  region  northwest  of  the  Ohio 
having  relinquished  their  pretensions,  con- 
gress, on  July  13,  1787,  formulated  an 
I ordinance  for  its  government;  on  the  27th 
instant  Dr.  Cutler  and  his  associates  had  se- 
cured a grant  of  3,500,000  acres  on  the  Ohio 
and  Scioto,  extending  eastward;  in  October 
St.  Clair  had  been  appointed  governor,  and 
700  troops*  ordered  for  the  defense  of  the 
region,  and  to  prevent  the  unauthorized  in- 
trusion of  the  whites.  In  the  succeeding 
winter  the  Ohio  Company’s  surveyors  and 
pioneers  had  reached  the  Youghiogheny,  and 
on  the  7th  of  April  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
Muskingum,  where  the  foundation  of  Mari- 
etta was  laid.  Here  subsequent  arrivals  were 
more  rapid  than  convenient  covering  could  be 
provided,  though  houses  were  being  constant- 
j ly  erected,  and  by  the  middle  of  December 
j fifteen  ladies,  as  well  accomplished  in  the 
manners  of  polite  circles  as  were  to  be  seen 
in  the  older  States,  graced  the  first  ball. 

Such  progress  in  the  settlements  of  the 
whites  might  well  challenge  the  attention  of 
the  savages,  who,  notwithstanding  the  recent 
treaties,  still  claimed  the  region  north  of  the 
Ohio.  Alarmed  by  the  danger  which  thus 
threatened  all  alike,  and  exasperated  by  incon- 
clusive expeditions,  the  tribes  generally  united 
to  resist  the  new  encroachments.  While  the 
northern  Indians  were  thus  harassing  the 
border  settlements  with  redoubled  effort,  the 
southern  tribes  maintained  their  hostilities 
with  unabated  vigor,  and  scarcely  a month 
passed  without  its  list  of  brutal  murders  and 
exasperating  thefts.  “In  Kentucky,”  wrote 
Symmes,  “a  man  a week  falls  by  their  hands,” 
while  on  the  river  the  increasing  travel  felt 
their  vindictive  power  with  scarcely  less 
effect.  An  incautious  landing  was  almost 
certain  destruction,  while  skillful  decoys, 
narrow  passages  and  accidents  of  navigation 
all  served  the  murderous  purpose  of  the  re- 
lentless enemy.  Emigrants  soon  learned  to 
make  the  voyage  in  fleets,  and  were  thus 
comparatively  secure,  but  single  boats,  or  the 

*These  troops  were  stationed  at  Venango,  Fort  Pitt,  Fort 
McIntosh,  on  the  Muskingum,  on  the  Miami,  at  Vincennes  and 
Louisville. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


245 


unshielded  person  of  a passenger  seldom 
escaped  some  permanent  memorial  of  the 
sleepless  enmity  of  the  savages. 

Despite  these  hostilities  the  settlements  on 
both  sides  of  the  river  continued  to  increase. 
Late  in  the  fall,  and  in  the  succeeding  win- 
ter, Symmes  having  secured  his  grant  on  the 
Miamis,  the  settlements  of  Columbia  and 
Losantiville  were  established,  which,  con- 
trary to  expectation,  were  allowed  by  the 
savages,  not  only  without  molestation,  but 
with  expressions  of  good  will  and  friendship. 
This  change  of  sentiment  did  not  extend  to 
the  settlements  south  of  the  river,  however. 

The  hostile  incursions  into  the  Kentucky  settle- 
ments in  1789  commenced  early  in  March,  and 
were  continued  occasionally  until  May,  when  they 
became  frequent  and  alarming.  These  parties  con- 
sisted chiefly  of  warriors  from  the  towns  upon  the 
sources  of  the  Little  Miami  and  of  branches  flow- 
ing into  the  Scioto  and  Great  Miami,  and  the  field 
of  their  operations  was  the  whole  range  of  settle- 
ments near  the  Ohio,  from  Fort  Harmar  to  the 
mouth  of  Salt  River. 

From  the  first  of  May  to  the  first  of  August, 
there  had  been  thirteen  persons  killed  and  ten 
wounded  by  the  Indians  in  the  county  of  Jefferson, 
beside  twenty  horses  stolen.  In  the  county  of  Nel- 
son, two  persons  had  been  killed  and  two  wounded, 
beside  twenty  horses  stolen.  In  Lincoln  County, 
two  persons  had  been  killed  and  tvi^o  wounded,  and 
twenty-five  horses  stolen.  In  Madison  County,  one 
person  had  been  killed  and  three  wounded,  and  ten 
horses  stolen.  In  Bourbon  County,  two  persons 
had  been  wounded,  and  fifteen  horses  stolen.  In 
Mason  County,  two  persons  had  been  killed  and 
forty-one  horses  stolen.  In  Woodford  County, 
one  boy  had  been  killed,  and  several  horses  stolen. 
Many  other  harassing  depredations  of  less  note 
had  been  perpetrated  by  lurking  parties  of  sav- 
ages, so  that  the  whole  frontier  region  within  thir- 
ty miles  of  the  Ohio  was  kept  in  a state  of  contin- 
ual alarm  and  apprehension.  Parties  of  Indians 
often  penetrated  unperceived  into  the  heart  of  Ken- 
tucky, at  least  fifty  or  sixty  miles  from  the  Ohio. 
In  Woodford  County,  on  the  10th  of  August,  two 
men  were  fired  upon  by  a party  of  Indians,  but 
escaped  with  the  loss  of  one  horse,  saddle  and  bri- 
dle. On  the  night  succeeding,  the  same  party  stole 
eleven  horses  in  that  vicinity.  A party  of  men  set 
out  next  day  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  and,  having 
overtaken  them,  killed  two  of  them,  and  recovered 
most  of  the  horses.  On  the  16th  of  August,  a party 
of  Indians  in  ambuscade  captured  six  negroes. 
Having  retreated  half  a mile  with  the  captives,  and 
fearing  pursuit,  they  tomahawked  four  of  them, 
and  the  other  two  escaped.  Two  of  these,  who 
were  left  for  dead,  finally  recovered.  The  same 


party  on  the  following  night  stole  a number  of 
horses,  with  which  they  fled  across  the  Ohio.  Next 
day  a party  of  forty  men,  under  Lieut.  Robert 
Johnson,  set  out  in  pursuit  and  followed  them  to 
the  Ohio  River,  about  twenty-five  miles  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Great  Miami.  Here  part  of  the  com- 
pany returned,  but  twenty-six  of  them  volunteered 
to  cross  the  river,  and  continue  the  pursuit.  Hav- 
ing followed  their  trail  about  twelve  miles  further, 
they  came  upon  the  Indians,  encamped  at  a salt 
lick.  By  a vigorous  and  unexpected  attack,  in  two 
divisions,  the  Indians  were  at  length  routed,  and 
forty  horses  recovered.  Lieut.  Johnson  lost  two 
men  killed  and  three  wounded.  Other  parties  of 
Indians  had  penetrated  the  settlements,  and  served 
to  keep  up  alarm  and  apprehension  among  the 
frontier  people;  and  occasional  murders  and  dep- 
redations were  continued,  with  but  little  intermis- 
sion, until  checked  by  the  severity  of  winter.  In 
December  the  Indians  killed  three  men  withiii 
twelve  miles  of  Danville,  at  “Carpenter’s  Station," 
and  five  others  on  Russell’s  Creek,  besides  some  who 
were  wounded  and  escaped.* 

Early  in  January,  1789,  new  treaties 
were  negotiated  by  the  general  government 
with  the  Iroquois,  confirming  the  treaty  of 
1784  at  Fort  Stanwix;  and  with  the  Wyan- 
dots,  Delawares,  Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Potta- 
watomies  and  Sacs,  confirming  and  extend- 
ing the  treaty  of  Fort  McIntosh,  but  these 
still  left  the  cause  of  hostilities  unsettled. 
So  far  as  the  Iroquois,  Wyandots,  Delawares 
and  Shawanese  were  concerned,  the  transfers 
of  territory  thus  effected  were  not  disputed. 
But  some  time  previous  to  1787,  a confedera- 
tion of  the  other  tribes  of  the  northwest  had 
been  formed,  which  resolutely  refused  to 
acknowledge  the  act  of  certain  of  their  tribes 
that  were  represented  in  the  last  named 
treaty.  Of  this  fact  they  informed  St.  Clair, 
and  demanded  that  the  Ohio  River  be  made 
the  perpetual  boundary  between  the  white 
and  red  man.  In  spite  of  these  representa 
tions,  however,  the  settlements  increased  on 
the  northern  bank  of  the  Ohio,  and  in  June, 
1789,  Maj.  Doughty,  with  140  men,  came  to 
the  site  of  Cincinnati  and  began  the  con 
struction  of  Fort  Washington,  which,  in  the 
following  December  was  farther  strengthened 
by  the  arrival  of  Oen.  Harmar  with  300 
more  troops. 

Notwithstanding  this  show  of  power,  the 

•^History  of  Mississippi  Valley,  by  John  W.  Monette,  New 
York,  1846,  Vol.  IT,  pp.  168,  150. 


246 


HISTOET  OF  KENTUCKY. 


hostile  tribes  continued  their  hostilities  with 
the  results  noted,  and  opened  the  succeeding 
year  (1790)  with  even  more  vigorous  and  ex- 
tended effort  to  beat  back  the  invaders  than 
before.  Again  the  vast  numbers  on  the  river 
attracted  the  vindictive  rage  of  the  savages, 
which  fell  with  cruel  effect  upon  inexperi- 
enced men,  women  and  children,  who  were 
hastening  to  the  inviting  regions  of  the  Ohio 
Valley.  In  January  a boat  containing  ten 
persons  was  captui’ed  within  sixteen  miles  of 
Limestone,  and  all  murdered,  save  one  wo- 
man, who  was  taken  captive.  In  March  a 
band  of  fifty  Shawanese  and  Cherokees  gath- 
ered at  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  and  for  sev- 
eral weeks  almost  blockaded  the  river.  With 
white  prisoners,  whom  they  compelled  to  de- 
coy boats  to  their  relief,  they  deceived  and 
captured  a number  of  vessels,  the  crews  of 
which  fell  an  easy  prey.  Such  as  escaped 
this  device  suffered  more  or  less  from  the 
rifles  discharged  from  the  banks.  On  the  20th 
of  March  they  decoyed  the  boat  of  John  May 
to  the  shore  and  captured  it,  killing  May  and 
a young  woman,  and  taking  the  rest  prison- 
ers. On  the  following  day  an  open  pirogue 
with  six  men  was  fired  upon  and  every  one  on 
board  killed.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  month 
a party  of  Wabash  Indians  captured  a boat 
ladened  with  salt,  at  the  mouth  of  Salt  River, 
and  killed  the  three  men  in  charge. 

Nor  were  the  settlements  forgotten.  In 
March,  Indians  captured  and  carried  off  three 
persons  from  Brashear’s  Creek,  near  Louis- 
ville, and  a few  days  later  killed  two  men 
working  in  a field  in  the  same  vicinity.  Ear- 
lier in  the  month  two  men  were  killed,  and  a 
woman  and  five  children  taken  captive  in 
Kennedy’s  Bottom,  twenty-five  miles  above 
Limestone. 

The  month  of  April  was  signalized  by  the 
remarkable  audacity  and  success  of  Indian 
attacks.  On  the  2d  instant  several  family 
boats  were  attacked  near  Kennedy's  Bottom. 
One  man  was  killed,  and  the  rest  of  the  com- 
pany, abandoning  one  boat  and  its  contents 
to  the  enemy,  united  their  force,  and  after  a 
chase  of  two  hours,  succeeded  in  effecting 
their  escape  with  the  others.  On  the  4th, 
after  failing  in  their  attempts  to  decoy  three 


family  boats,  the  savages  manned  a captured 
barge  with  thirty  warriors,  and  set  out  in 
vigorous  pursuit.  To  preserve  the  lives  of 
the  non-combatants,  two  boats  were  abandoned 
and  their  crews  transferred  to  the  other 
barge,  which,  with  oars  double-manned,  sue 
ceeded  in  escaping,  after  a vigorous  pursuit 
of  fifteen  miles.  The  boats  lost  in  this  en- 
counter contained  twenty- eight  horses,  and 
dry  goods,  besides  household  furniture,  to  the 
value  of  nearly  $5,000.  On  Sunday,  the 
18th,  a company  of  defenseless  women  and 
children,  returning  from  church  service  at 
Hartford  to  a station  on  Rough  Creek,  were 
attacked  by  Indians,  a boy  and  girl  killed 
and  scalped,  an  old  woman  tomahawked  and 
scalped  alive,  and  her  daughter  carried  off 
captive. 

On  the  11th  of  May,  a barge,  containing  a 
company  of  sixteen  persons,  including  an  of- 
ficer and  eight  soldiers  of  the  regular  service, 
was  captured  by  twenty  warriors.  Five  of 
the  captives  were  barbarously  murdered, 
three  escaped,  and  the  rest  were  carried 
away.  Soon  after  two  boys  out  hunting  near 
Loudon  Station,  on  the  head- waters  of  Dren- 
non’s  Lick  Creek,  were  captured.  On  the 
23d  a collection  of  men,  women  and  children, 
returning  home  from  a sermon  on  Beargrass 
Creek,  were  fired  on  by  the  savages,  one  man 
killed  and  a woman  made  captive.  On  being 
pursued,  soon  after,  the  captors  tomahawked 
the  woman  and  escaped  unpunished.  In 
June,  of  two  spies,  sent  to  reconnoiter  toward 
the  Ohio,  one  was  killed  near  the  Big  Bone 
Lick.  On  the  19th,  one  man  was  killed  and 
scalped,  and  another  wounded,  at  Baker’s 
Station.  On  the  26th,  at  Morgan’s  Station, 
nine  men  were  attacked  and  three  of  them 
wounded,  one  of  them  mortally.  On  the 
same  day,  a family  boat,  guarded  by  three 
men,  was  attacked  near  Three  Islands,  in  the 
Ohio.  There  were  sixteen  of  the  Indians  in 
four  bark  canoes.  These  approached  the 
whites,  boarded  the  boat  in  spite  of  their  re- 
sistance, and  took  all  on  board  prisoners. 

Such  effective  hostilities  on  the  part  of  the 
savages  could  not  fail  to  call  forth  the  most 
vigorous  reprisals  on  the  part  of  the  Kentuck 
ians,  and,  notwithstanding  the  peace  policy 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


247 


of  the  general  government  greatly  hampered 
their  movements,  volunteer  expeditions,  car- 
ried on  by  individual  enterprise  and  at  indi- 
vidual expense,  were  constantly  in  motion 
along  all  the  borders  of  Kentucky.  Detach- 
ments were  occasionally  sent  out  from  Forts 
Hai’mar  and  Washington  to  break  up  hostile 
camps  in  their  near  vicinity,  but  all  these 
efforts  did  little  more  than  to  incite  the  un- 
subdued savages  to  more  energetic  action.  In 
April,  Gen.  Scott,  who  had  settled  in  Kentucky 
in  1786,  led  a body  of  230  volunteers  across  the 
river  at  Limestone  to  chastise  the  marauders, 
who  carried  on  their  depredations  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Scioto,  but  the  expedition  found 
the  Indian  camp  abandoned,  and  effected 
nothing  more  serious  than  the  killing  of  four 
of  the  enemy.  This  force  was  re-enforced 
by  100  regulars  from  Fort  Harmar,  but, 
in  the  main,  in  spite  of  this  openly  hostile 
attitude  of  the  savages,  the  general  govern- 
ment persisted  in  its  policy  of  ignoring  the 
state  of  war  which  actually  existed,  and  from 
1783  to  1790,  exerted  its  influence  to  secure 
a peaceful  solution  of  the  trouble  through 
treaties. 

On  the  failure  of  the  Wabash  campaign 
in  1786,  Clark  had  taken  position  at  Vincennes 
Avith  such  troops  as  he  could  induce  to  re- 
main, and,  upon  his  own  authority,  attempted 
to  negotiate  with  the  neighboring  tribes.  This 
action  was  disallowed  by  the  Virginian 
authorities,  who  recommended  congress  to 
appoint  commissioners,  to  conduct  the  nego- 
tiations. The  suggestion  reached  congress 
too  late  for  action  in  this  matter,  but  in 
October  (1787)  action  was  taken  to  secure  a 
conference  with  the  savages  early  in  1788, 
and  Gov.  St.  Clair  was  instructed  accord- 
ingly. It  was  not  until  January  9,  1789, 
however,  that  anything  was  accomplished, 
when  the  futile  treaties  at  Fort  Harmar  were 
negotiated.  In  pursuance  of  the  general 
policy,  and  in  order  to  reduce  the  exasperating 
conflicts  between  the  Indians  and  Kentuck- 
ians, the  president  directed  the  governor  of 
Virginia  to  discharge  the  scouts  and  rangers 
heretofore  employed  in  the  counties  of  Ken- 
tucky at  public  expense.  This  order  was 
received  (July,  1789,)  by  the  settlers  on  the 


exposed  frontier  with  earnest  protests  from 
the  leading  men,  and  with  practical  refusal 
to  obey  it  from  the  people. 

There  was  little  difference  of  opinion  as  to 
the  character  and  necessities  of  the  situation 
among  those  who  were  in  a position  to  know 
the  facts,  and  their  oft-repeated  representa- 
tions gradually  led  the  general  government  to 
adopt  a less  forbearing  policy.  As  early  as 
September  29,  1789,  congress  had  empowered 
the  presideat  to  call  out  the  militia  and  he,  on 
October  6,  had  authori2;ed  the  territorial  gov- 
ernor to  draw  1,500  men  from  the  Avestern 
counties  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  if 
absolutely  necessary,  but  added  instructions 
which  required  delay  and  further  parley. 
Late  in  the  same  month,  the  Virginia  legis- 
lature recognized  the  good  intentions  of  the 
president,  called  his  attention  to  the  contin- 
ued hostilities,  and  lU’ged  the  adoption  of 
aggi’essive  measures.  The  Kentuckians  sup- 
ported this  action  of  the  legislature  by  num- 
erous addresses,  to  one  of  which  the  presi- 
dent replied,  on  December  15,  that  measures 
for  the  defense  of  the  frontier  would  cer- 
tainly be  taken,  and  a few  days  later,  brought 
to  the  attention  of  congress  a letter  of  Gov. 
St.  Clair,  in  which  he  represented  the  nature 
of  the  Indian  depredations;*  that  the  Ken- 
tuckians constantly  traversed  his  territory  in 
pursuit  of  the  enemy,  whom  he  was  enabled 
to  chastise;  and  recommending  active  meas- 
ures against  the  savages.  Accordingly,  while 
the  last  means  to  avoid  a war  were  being: 
employed,  the  secretary  of  Avar  wrote  (April 
13,  1790,)  Judge  Innes,  that  the  president 
wished  to  extend  to  Kentucky  the  benefits  of 
certain  regulations  adopted  for  the  defense 
of  the  frontier,  and  empowered  him  to  author- 
ize the  county  lieutenants  to  call  out  the 
scouts  in  cases  of  emergency. 

On  the  1st  or  2d  of  January,  1790,  Gov. 
St.  Clair  reached  Losantiville,  the  name  of 
which  he  changed  to  Cincinnati,  in  honor  of 
the  military  society  bearing  that  name,  and 

*The  results  of  the  partisan  war,  which  had  prevailed  since 
17S3,  were  indeed  startling,  when  summed  up.  In  a calm  pre- 
sentation of  the  subject,  it  was  stated  upon  personal  knowledge 
that  in  the  period  referred  to— 17S3  to  1790—1,500  persons  had 
been  killed  or  captured  in  Kentucky;  20,000  horses  had  been 
taken  from  immigrants  or  settlements,  and  househol  I goods 
and  other  property  stolen  or  destroyed  to  the  value  of  So0,0o0. 
(See  American  State  Papers,  Vol.  V,  p.  8S.) 


248 


HlSTOliY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


on  the  8th  instant  reached  Fort  Steuben,  on 
the  site  of  Jeffersonville,  from  whence  he  set 
off  for  Kaskaskia.  On  the  5th  of  April,  under 
instructions  of  the  governor,  the  commandant 
at  Vincennes  sent  Anthony  Gamelin  on  a 
mission  to  the  hostile  Indians  to  learn  their 
real  sentiments.  He  first  approached  the 
Wabash  tribes,  the  Piankeshaws,  the  Kicka- 
poos  and  Weas,  by  whom  he  was  severally 
referred  to  their  elder  brethren,  the  Miamis. 
Accordingly  the  envoy  proceeded  to  the  vil- 
lages of  the  Miamis,  who  were  closely  asso- 
ciated with  the  Shawanese  and  Delawares. 
This  point  was  reached  on  the  23d  of  the 
month,  and  on  the  following  day  negotiations 
were  opened  with  the  representatives  of  the 
three  nations.  Several  days  were  consumed 
in  inconclusive  talks,  the  Indians  wishing  to 
confer  with  the  neighboring  and  lake  tribes, 
as  well  as  the  English  commandant  at 
Detroit,  before  rendering  a final  answer.  This 
the  instructions  of  the  envoy  did  not  permit, 
but  on  the  29th  instant,  the  sentiment  of  the 
Indians  was  conveyed  to  him  in  a private 
manner,  of  which  he  makes  record  in  his 
journal  as  follows: 

In  the  evening,  Blue  Jacket,  chief  of  the  Shaw- 
anese, having  taken  me  to  supper  with  him,  told 
me,  in  a private  manner,  that  the  Shawanese  nation 
was  in  doubt  of  the  sincerity  of  the  Big  Knives,  so 
called,  having  been  already  deceived  h}"  them. 
That  they  had  first  destroyed  their  lands,  put  out 
their  fires,  and  sent  away  their  young  men,  being 
a Imnting  without  a mouthful  of  meat;  also,  had 
taken  away  their  women;  wherefore,  many  of  them 
would  with  a great  deal  of  pain,  forget  these  affronts. 
Moreover  that  some  other  nations  were  apprehend- 
ing that  offers  of  peace  wmuld,  may  be,  tend  to 
takeaway,  by  degrees,  their  lands;  and  would  serve 
them  as  they  did  before;  a certain  proof  that  they 
intended  to  encroach  on  our  lands,  is  their  new  set- 
tlement on  the  Ohio.  If  they  don’t  keep  this  side 
(of  the  Ohio)  clear,  it  will  never  be  a proper  recon- 
cilement with  the  nations  Shawanese,  Iroquois, 
Wyandots,  and  perhaps  many  others.  Le  Gris, 
chief  of  the  IVIiamis,  asked  me,  in  private  discourse, 
Avhat  chief  had  made  a treaty  with  the  Americans 
at  Muskingum  (Fort  Ilarmar).  I answered  him 
that  their  names  were  mentioned  in  the  treaty.  He 
told  me  he  had  heard  of  it  some  time  ago;  but  they 
are  not  chiefs,  neither  delegates,  who  made  that 
treaty;  they  are  only  young  men,  who,  without 
authority  and  instructions  from  their  chiefs,  have 
concluded  that  treaty,  which  will  not  be  approved. 
They  went  to  the  treaty  clandestinely,  and  they  in- 


tend to  make  mention  of  it  in  the  next  council  to 
be  held.* 

With  this  Gamelin  was  forced  to  be  satis- 
fied, and  on  the  8th  of  May,  returned  to  Vin- 
cennes. Three  days  later,  traders  from  the 
Upper  Wabash  arrived  at  the  same  place, 
bringing  the  news  that  the  northern  Indians 
had  joined  the  W^ abash  tribes,  and  that  three 
days  after  Gamelin’s  departure,  an  American 
captive  had  been  burned  in  their  village. 
War  was  thus  seen  to  be  inevitable,  and  St.. 
Clair  hastened  to  return  to  Fort  W ashington, 
in  order  to  concert  offensive  measures  with 
Gen.  Harmar.  The  governor  reached  his 
destination  on  the  13th  of  July,  and  two  days 
later  called  upon  Virginia  for  1,000  men, 
and  on  Pennsylvania  for  500  more.  A double 
campaign  was  planned,  one  movement  to  be 
conducted  against  the  Wabash  tribes,  for 
which  300  of  the  militia  were  ordered  to 
repair  to  Fort  Steuben,  to  act  in  concert 
with  the  troops  from  Fort  Knox,  at  Vincennes. 
The  other  was  to  be  directed  against  the  vil- 
lages at  the  junction  of  the  St.  Mary  and  St, 
Joseph  Rivers,  for  which  700  of  the  militia 
were  to  gather  at  Fort  Washington,  and  500 
just  below  Wheeling,  to  act  in  conjunction 
with  a body  of  regulars,  under  Harmar,  from 
Fort  Washington. 

Under  the  call  for  troops,  the  quota  for  that 
portion  of  the  district  of  Kentucky  included 
within  the  counties  of  Nelson,  Lincoln  and 
Jefferson  was  fixed  at  300  men,  to  rendezvous 
at  Fort  Steuben  on  the  12th  of  September, 
and  of  that  within  the  counties  of  Madison, 
Mercer,  Fayette,  Bourbon,  Woodford  and 
Mason,  the  quota  was  fixed  at  700  men,  to 
rendezvous  at  Fort  Washington,  on  the  15th 
of  September.  There  was  a strong  and  wide- 
spread aversion,  on  the  part  of  the  frontier 
militia,  to  serve  with  the  regulars,  or  under 
the  command  of  their  officers,  and  the  troops 
which  responded  to  the  call  of  St.  Clair, 
were  totally  unlike  those  who  had  hitherto 
afforded  such  exalted  evidence  of  the  prowess 
of  the  frontiersmen. 

They  were  ill-equipped,  being  almost  destitute  of 
camp-kettles  and  axes;  nor  could  a supply  of  these 
essential  articles  be  procured.  Their  arms  were 
generally  very  bad,  and  unfit  for  service;  as  I was 


^American  State  Papers,  Vol.  V,  p.  93. 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


249 


the  commanding  officer  of  the  artillery,  they  came 
under  my  inspection,  in  making  what  repairs  the 
time  would  permit;  and  as  a specimen  of  their  bad- 
ness, I would  inform  the  court,  that  a rifle  was 
brought  to  be  repaired  without  a lock,  and  another 
without  a stock.  I often  asked  the  owners  what 
induced  them  to  think  that  those  guns  could  be  re- 
paired at  that  time?  And  they  gave  me  for  an 
answer  that  they  were  told  in  Kentucky  that  all 
repairs  would  be  made  at  Fort  Washington.  Many 
of  the  officers  told  me  that  they  had  no  idea  of 
there  being  half  the  number  of  bad  arms  in  the 
whole  district  of  Kentucky  as  were  then  in  the  hands 
of  their  men.  As  soon  as  the  principal  part  of  the 
Kentucky  militia  arrived,  the  general  began  to 
organize  them;  in  this  he  had  many  difficulties  to 
encounter.  Col.  Trotter  aspired  to  the  command 
although  Col.  Hardin  was  the  eldest  officer,  and  in 
this  he  was  encouraged  both  by  men  and  officers, 
who  openly  declared  unless  Col.  Trotter  commanded 
them  they  would  return  home.  After  two  or  three 
days  the  business  was  settled,  and  they  (i.  e.  the 
Kentucky  men)  were  formed  into  three  battalions 
under  the  command  of  Col.  Trotter,  and  Col. 
Hardin  had  the  command  of  all  the  militia  (both 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia).  As  soon  as  they  were 
arranged,  they  were  mustered,  crossed  the  Ohio, 
and  on  the  twenty-sixth  marched  and  encamped 
about  ten  miles  from  Fort  Washington.  The  last 
of  the  Pennsylvania  militia  arrived  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  September.  They  were  equipped  nearly  as 
the  Kentucky,  but  were  worse  armed ; several  were 
without  any.  The  general  ordered  all  the  arms  in 
store  to  be  delivered  to  those  who  had  none  and 
those  whose  guns  could  not  be  repaired.  Amongst 
the  militia  were  a great  many  hardly  able  to  bear 
arms,  such  as  old,  infirm  men,  and  young  boys; 
they  were  not  such  as  might  be  expected  from  a 
frontier  country,  viz. ; the  smart  active  woodsmen, 
well  accustomed  to  arms,  eager  and  alert  to  revenge 
the  injuries  done  them  and  their  connections.  No, 
there  were  a great  number  of  them  substitutes,  who 
probably  had  never  fired  a gun.  Maj.  Paul,  of 
Pennsylvania,  told  me,  that  many  of  his  men  were 
so  awkward,  that  they  could  not  take  their  gun- 
locks  off  to  oil  them  and  put  them  on  again,  nor  could 
thej^  put  in  their  flints,  so  as  to  be  useful;  and  even 
of  such  material,  the  numbers  came  far  short  of 
what  was  ordered,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  returns.* 

*Maj.  Ferguson’s  evidence  before  court  of  inquiry.  See 
American  State  Papers,  Vol.  XII,  p.  20.  In  the  same  volume,  page 
24,  is  found  an  account  of  the  organization  and  advance  of  the 
army  as  follows;  The  Kentuckians  composed  three  battalions, 
under  Jlajs.  Hall,  Mc.Mullen  and  Kay, with  Lieut.-Col.  Command- 
ant Trotter  at  their  head.  The  Pennsylvanians  were  formed  into 
one  battalion,  under  Lieut.-Col.  Trubly  and  Maj.  Paul,  the  whole 
to  be  commanded  by  Col.  John  Hardin,  subject  to  the  orders  of 
Gen.  Harmar.  The  30th,  the  General  having  got  forward  all 
the  supplies  that  he  expected,  moved  out  wuth  the  Federal 
troops,  formed  into  two  small  battalions,  under  the  immediate 
command  of  Maj.  Wyllys  and  Maj.  Houghty,  together  with  Capt. 
Ferguson’s  company  of  artillery  and  three  pieces  of  ordnance. 
On  the  3d  of  October,  Gen.  Harmar  joined  the  advance  troops 
early  in  the  morning;  the  remaining  partof  theday  wasspentin 
forming  the  line  of  march,  the  order  of  encampment  and  battle, 
and  explaining  the  same  to  the  militia  field  officers.  Gen. 
Harmar’s  orders  will  show  the  several  formations.  On  the  4th, 
the  army  took  up  the  order  of  march  as  is  described  in  the 


Thus  constituted  and  organized,  the  expe- 
dition set  forth  on  the  4th  of  October.  The 
route  followed  was  the  “old  war-path,”  which 
led  across  the  head- waters  of  the  Little  Miami 
and  Mad  Rivers  to  Piqua,  and  thence  in  a 
westerly  direction  to  a few  miles  below  the 
mouth  of  Loramie’s  Creek.  From  this  point 
the  line  of  march  lay  a little  west  of  north 
on  the  west  side  of  the  creek  for  about  thirty 
miles,  when,  crossing  the  head- waters  of  the 
St.  Mary’s,  it  led  up  to  its  jimction  with  the 
St.  Joseph’s,  where  were  located  the  principal 
villages  of  the  Miamis.  At  Loramie’s  Creek, 
the  first  Indians  were  seen,  three  warriors, 
who  were  evidently  watching  the  movements  of 
the  army.  They  were  instantly  pursued  and 
one  of  them  captured.  From  information 
thus  derived,  it  was  determined  on  the  13th 
of  October,  when  about  thirty-five  miles  from 
the  village,  to  send  a strong  detachment  for- 
ward to  hold  the  savages  in  their  defenses 
until  the  rest  of  the  army  with  the  artillery 
could  be  brought  up.  Accordingly,  Col. 
Hardin  and  Maj.  Paul  were  detailed  in  com- 
mand of  600  men  for  this  duty.  On  the  14th, 
the  detachment  set  forward,  and  about  3 
o’clock  on  the  next  day  reached  the  villages, 
which  they  found  deserted.  Here  the  advance 
remained  inactive  until  the  approach  of  the 
main  army  on  the  17th,  when  the  work  of  de- 
struction was  begun.  In  four  days  the  main 
village  and  four  others  and  20,000  bushels  of 
corn  were  destroyed. 

Gen.  Harmar’s  instructions  provided  that,  in 
case  of  success  at  this  point,  the  expedition 
should  be  directed  against  the  Indian  villages 
on  the  Wabash,  and  on  finding  the  enemy 
gone,  it  was  the  General’s  intention  to  proceed 
westward  at  once.  This  movement  was  frus- 
trated, however,  by  the  carelessness  of  the 
militia,  who,  regardless  of  the  success  of  the 
movement,  allowed  the  savages  to  easily  cap- 
ture the  pack-horses,  for  which  the  owners, 

orders:  On  the  5th,  a re-enforcement  of  horsemen  and  mounted 
infantry  joined  from  Kentucky.  The  dragoons  were  formed 
into  two  troops;  the  mounted  riflemen  made  a company,  and  this 
small  battalion  of  light  troops  was  put  under  command  of  Maj. 
Fontaine.  The  whole  of  Gen.  Harraar’s  command  may  be  stated 
, thus: 

3 battalions  of  Kentucky  militia  ( ,,,, 

1 battalion  Pennsylvania  militia  ( * 

1 battalion  light  troops  mounted  militia  ' „.iq 

2 battalions  Federal  troops  ) 

Total 


1453 


250 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


after  demanding  pay  for  their  use,  promptly 
asked  reimbursement  for  their  loss.  The  ■ 
proposed  attack  upon  the  Wabash  villages  [ 
was  therefore  given  up,  and  the  traces  of 
women  and  children  having  been  discovered. 
Col.  Trotter  was  dispatched  with  300  men,  on 
the  18th,  to  develop  the  hiding-place  of  the 
enemy.  The  conduct  of  this  officer  was  very  1 
unsatisfactory.  A small  force  of  the  enemy  | 
was  found,  but  such  was  the  lack  of  discipline 
and  soldierly  bearing  of  both  officers  and  men, 
that  nothing  was  accomplished.  Dissatisfied 
with  the  inconclusive  result,  Hardin  assumed 
the  command  on  the  following  day,  and  at  an 
early  hour  came  upon  a determined  detach-  | 
ment  of  the  enemy.  Here  the  unsoldierly  | 
conduct  of  Hardin  precipitated  a sad  defeat. 
When  informed  of  the  evidence  which  be- 
tokened the  presence  of  a watchful  enemy,  he 
declared  they  would  not  fight,  and  failed  to 
adopt  any  military  precautions.  He  was, 
therefore,  riding  in  front  of  his  troops  when 
the  Indians  opened  a sharp  fire  upon  the 
troops,  forcing  him  to  make  a quick  retreat, 
in  which  he  was  followed  by  most  of  his  fol- 
lowers. Nine  of  the  militia  and  twenty-four 
of  the  regulars  stood  fast,  and  were  instantly 
killed.  Armstrong,  who  was  in  command  of 
the  detachment  thus  immolated,  threw  him- 
self into  a thicket,  where  for  “three  hours  in 
daylight”  he  remained,  according  to  Marshall, 
sunk  in  a swamp,  “up  to  his  neck  in  mud  and 
water  within  100  yards  of  the  horrid  scene.” 
He  subsequently  escaped,  and  gave  the  fol- 
lowing opinion  of  the  causes  of  the  defeat. 
“During  that  time,”  he  says,  “I  had  an  op- 
portunity of  seeing  the  enemy  pass  and  repass, 
and  conceived  their  numbers  did  not  amount 
to  100  men;  some  were  mounted,  others  armed 
with  rifles,  and  the  advance,  with  tomahawks 
only.  I am  of  opinion  that  had  Col.  Trotter 
proceeded,  on  the  18th,  agreeably  to  his 
orders,  having  killed  the  enemy’s  sentinels, 
he  would  have  surpris.ed  their  camp  and  with 
ease  defeated  them;  or  had  Col.  Hardin  ar- 
ranged his  troops,  or  made  any  military  dis- 
position, on  the  19th,  that  he  would  have 
gained  a victory.  Our  defeat  I therefore 
ascribe  to  two  causes:  the  unofficer-like  con- 
duct of  Col.  Hardin  (who  I believe  was  a 


brave  man)  and  the  cowardly  behavior  of  the 
militia;  many  of  them  threw  down  their  arms 
loaded,  and  I believe  that  none  except  the 
party  under  my  command  fired  a gun.  * 

With  an  army  on  the  verge  of  insubordi- 
nation, its  councils  distracted  by  the  jealous 
rivalry  of  officers,  and  the  whole  organization 
utterly  lacking  in  discipline  and  equipment, 
such  a defeat  was  calculated  to  hurry  the  re- 
treat of  the  most  determined  general,  and  on 
the  2lst  instant  the  expedition  began  its  ret- 
rograde movement  toward  Fort  W ashington. 
But  Hardin,  uneasy  under  his  defeat,  strong- 
ly urged  Harmar  to  permit  him  to  return 
that  night  to  the  destroyed  villages  and  in- 
flict punishment  upon  the  savages,  who  were 
likely  to  return  to  their  old  sites  on  the  re- 
treat of  the  army.  To  this  the  general  reluc- 
tantly assented,  and  a detachment  of  340 
militia,  forty  of  whom  were  mounted  and 
sixty  regular  troops,  were  sent  under  the 
command  of  Hardin  and  Maj.  Wyllys  to 
effect  the  object  proposed  by  Col.  Hardin. 
Unfortunate  delays  occmTed,  but  notwith- 
standing these,  had  there  been  no  wanton  dis- 
obedience of  orders,  the  plan  would  probably 
have  succeeded.  As  it  was,  the  attack  fell  soon 
after  sunrise,  and  the  Indians,  giving  way  with 
precipitation, were  heedlessly  followed  by  the 
militia,  leaving  the  small  body  of  regulars 
alone  to  hold  the  line  of  battle.  The  savages 
had  not  been  so  demoralized  as  at  first  ap- 
peared, and  rallying  their  main  body  they  fell 
upon  the  unsupported  regulars  in  overwhelm- 
ing numbers,  and  utterly  destroyed  them.  The 
militia,  in  the  meantime,  found  they  had  only 
been  led  away  by  a clever  stratagem,  and 
after  a pursuit  of  two  miles  sought  to  return. 
It  was  then  that  they  found  the  real  enemy. 
The  line  of  their  retreat  was  a continuous  am- 
buscade, the  savages  safely  pouring  a destruc- 
tive fire  from  elevated  ground  into  the  ranks 
of  the  returning  militia.  But  eight  of  the 
regulars  survived,  and  of  the  militia,  100 
privates  and  ten  officers  were  killed,  beside 
those  wounded. 

On  rejoining  the  main  body,  Hardin  urged 
the  general  to  send  another  party,  or  lead 
back  the  whole  army  to  the  scene  of  the  de- 

*American  State  Papers,  Vol.  XII,  p.  26. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


251 


feat.  This  Harmar  refused  to  do,  and,  ac- 
cording to  Col.  Hardin’s  statement,  but  one 
other  man  in  the  whole  army  could  be  found 
to  support  his  proposition.  The  retreat  was 
now  steadily  continued,  until  the  remains  of 
the  expedition  was  once  moi’e  within  the  de- 
fenses from  which  it  set  forth,  and  here  the 
militia  was  discharged  to  spread  the  jealous 
discontent,  which  had  narrowly  escaped  ex- 
pression in  general  mutiny  on  the  homeward 
march.  Hardin  and  Harmar  rapidly  became 
exceedingly  unpopular  in  Kentucky;  and 
such  was  the  general  censure  of  their  con- 
duct in  this  campaign,  that  each  sought  a 
negative  sort  of  defense  against  public  opin- 
ion in  an  acquittal  before  a court  of  inquiry. 
In  official  circles,  however,  the  campaign 
obtained  more  credit.  Harmar  and  St.  Clair 
considered  it  highly  successful;  the  whites 
had  inflicted  a loss  upon  the  Indians  of  fifty 
warriors  slain,  a large  quantity  of  corn  de- 
stroyed, and  five  or  six  villages  burned,  the 
largest  of  which  contained  250  cabins.  The 
invaders  had  lost,  beside  considerable  mate- 
rial, 183  men  killed,  and  about  forty  wounded. 
The  list  of  casualties  was  undoubtedly  large 
in  proportion  to  the  achievements  of  the 
army,  but  the  general  offset  of  this  consider 
ation  with  the  fact  that  the  whites  were  “able 
to  lose  ten  men  to  their  one,”  and  that,  notwith- 
standing the  retreat  seemed  forced,  the  great 
object  of  the  campaign,  “the  destruction  of 
the  Miami  towns,  “ had  been  accomplished. 

In  respect  to  its  achievements,  the  cam- 
paigns of  other  leaders  on  the  frontier  had 
scarcely  accomplished  more,  but  it  could  not 
be  disguised  that  the  expedition  had  signally 
failed  in  the  main  purpose  for  which  all  ag- 
gressive movements  were  primarily  planned, 
that  of  intimidating  the  savages.  On  the 
contrary,  the  Indians  looked  upon  the  cam- 
paign as  a failure  and  followed  the  retreating 
whites  almost  to  the  river,  and  were  espec- 
ially active  in  their  depredations  during  the 
succeeding  fall  and  winter.  In  the  spring, 
their  war  parties  continued  their  incursions 
against  the  unprotected  settlements  on  the 
Ohio  from  Fort  Pitt  to  Louisville  with  unaba- 
ted ardor,  achieving  in  this  time  some  of  their 
most  noted  successes.  The  general  govern- 


ment recognized  the  necessity  for  decisive 
action,  and  early  adopted  measures  for  sub- 
duing the  exultant  savages.  A threefold 
plan  was  accordingly  resorted  to.  It  was 
decided  to  first  send  to  the  western  tribes  a 
messenger,  supported,  if  possible,  by  the 
presence  of  influential  Iroquois  chiefs,  with 
offers  of  peace.  At  the  same  time  provisions 
were  made  to  organize  a volunteer  expedition 
to  be  directed  against  the  Wea,  Miami  and 
Shawanese  towns  in  case  the  negotiations 
should  fail,  and  to  follow  this  movement  by 
an  overwhelming  federal  force  which  should 
invade  the  hostile  region,  and  plant  and 
garrison  a fort  in  the  midst  of  the  unfriendly 
tribes.  In  the  meantime,  to  guard  the  ex- 
posed stations  from  immediate  attack,  cer- 
tain posts  on  the  frontier  were  indicated 
which  were  to  be  regularly  garrisoned  by  the 
militia.* 

Col.  Thomas  Proctor,  the  chosen  messenger 
of  peace,  set  out  from  Philadelphia  March 
12,  1791,  and  it  was  hoped  that  he  would  be 
able  to  reach  Fort  AVashington  with  a report 
of  his  mission  by  the  5th  of  May.  In  the 
preceding  December,  the  Kentuckians  had 
petitioned  congress  to  be  permitted  to  fight 
the  Indians  in  their  own  way,  and  accord- 
ingly in  March,  Brig.-Gen.  Charles  Scott  was 
authorized,  in  conjunction  with  Innes,  Brown, 
Logan  and  Shelby,  to  organize  an  expedition 
of  mounted  men  against  the  AV abash  tribes, 
which  should  start  on  the  10th  of  May, 
provided  it  was  not  delayed  by  the  order 
of  St.  Clair,  to  whom  such  authority  was 
given. 

The  failure  of  Proctor  to  reach,  or  send 
news  to,  Fort  AVashington,  did  effect  the  delay 
of  the  expedition  until  the  23d  instant, 
when,  despairing  of  favorable  news  from  the 
north,  St.  Clair  gave  orders  for  the  force  to 
proceed. 

Gen.  Scott’s  command  consisted  of  some 
800  light  troops  and  mounted  riflemen. 
AVilkinson  had  joined  as  a volunteer,  but  was 
at  once  elected  second  in  command,  with 

*The  stations  in  Kentucky,  and  their  garrisons,  -were  as  fol- 
loirs:  At  Three  Islands,  20  men  ; at  Ijocust  Creek,  18  ; the  “Iron 
Works,”  17  ; forks  of  the  Licking,  12;  Big  Bone  Lick,  18;  Tanner’s 
Station,  5 ; Drenon’s  Lick,  10;  mouth  of  Kentucky,  9;  Patton's 
Creek,  io ; mouth  ofSalt  River,  19 ; Hardin’s  settlement,  12  ; Rus- 
sell's Creek.  1.5  ; Severn's  Valley,  10 ; AVidow  AVilson’s,  5 ; EstRl’s 
Station,  10 ; Stephenson’s,  IS ; Knob  Lick,  9. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


253 

the  title  of  lieutenant-colonel  commandant. 
Col.  Hardin,  buiming  to  redeem  his  military 
reputation,  had  also  joined  the  expedition  as 
a volunteer,  and  was  placed  in  command  of 
the  advance  guard  and  the  guides.  The 
little  army  rapidly  pursued  the  course  of 
Harmar’s  expedition  until  it  crossed  the  St. 
Mary’s,  when  suddenly  taking  a westward 
coui’se  it  came  upon  the  Wabash  and  Eel 
River  towns.  The  former  were  sighted  on 
the  1st  of  June,  and  found  situated  on  the 
low  ground  bordering  the  I’iver.  Col.  Hardin 
was  immediately  detached  with  a force  to 
attack  them  on  the  left,  while  the  main  body 
moved  forward  by  the  direct  approach.  On 
turning  a point  of  woods,  the  main  body 
discovered  a cabin  situated  considerably  in 
advance  of  the  village.  This  was  promptly 
stormed  by  Capt.  Price  with  forty  men,  and 
two  warriors  killed.  On  gaining  the  summit 
of  an  eminence,  which  overlooked  the  villages, 
the  enemy  was  observed  in  great  confusion, 
endeavoring  to  escape  across  the  river  in 
canoes.  Wilkinson  was  ordered  forward  with 
the  first  battalion,  which  reached  the  brink  of 
the  river  just  as  the  last  of  the  enemy  left 
the  shore,  and  notwithstanding  a brisk  dis- 
charge of  guns  from  the  Kickapoo  town  on 
the  other  side,  the  troops  opened  fire  on  the 
retreating  Indians  with  such  effect  as  to 
“destroy  all  the  savages  with  which  five 
canoes  were  crowded.” 

Immediate  steps  were  taken  to  dislodge  the 
enemy,  who  had  taken  position  in  the  Kicka- 
poo town,  but,  the  river  proving  unfordable, 
there  was  some  delay,  though  a considerable 
force,  by  swimming  or  in  canoes,  got  on  the 
other  side  unobserved.  About  this  time 
word  came  to  Gen.  Scott  that  Hardin  was  en- 
cumbered with  prisoners,  and  that  having 
discovered  a stronger  village,  hitherto  unob- 
served and  farther  to  the  left,  he  was  about  to 
attack  it.  Troops  were  at  once  detached  for 
his  support,  but  the  village  being  some  six 
miles  distant,  all  was  over  before  the  supports 
came  up.  A little  before  sunset,  Hardin  re- 
turned with  fifty-two  prisoners,  besides  in- 
flicting a loss  of  six  warriors  killed.  The 
Kickapoo  town  having  been  abandoned  as 
soon  as  the  movement  to  that  side  was  dis- 


covered, the  troops  rested  until  next  morning,, 
when  it  was  proposed  to  dispatch  Wilkinson 
with  500  men  to  destroy  an  important  town 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Wild  Cat  Creek,  eighteen 
miles  distant.  On  parading  the  troops  they 
were  found  in  such  an  exhausted  condition, 
that  only  360  were  believed  capable  of  per- 
forming the  service,  but  with  this  reduced, 
force  the  march  was  begun  on  foot  at  “half 
after  five  in  the  evening.”  The  vicinity 
of  the  town  was  reached  about  11  o’clock 
that  night,  when  the  troops  went  to  rest  upon 
their  arms  until  morning.  At  half-past  four 
the  towns  were  attacked  on  all  sides,  and  the 
Indians,  completely  surprised,  instantly  took 
refuge  in  flight.  After  burning  the  town, 
consisting  of  some  seventy  cabins,  and  de- 
stroying the  growing  crops,  peltries  and  other 
belongings,  the  detachment  returned,  having 
been  gone  only  about  twelve  hours. 

The  expedition  now  tmmed  homeward,  and 
on  the  14th  of  June  reached  Louisville. 
The  result  of  the  campaign  had  done  much 
to  justify  the  hesitation  which  the  Ken- 
tuckians manifested  in  joining  the  regulars 
in  such  expeditions.  In  three  weeks  they 
had  traveled  more  than  300  miles;  had  en- 
gaged in  numerous  skirmishes  with  the 
enemy;  had  burned  several  large  towns  and 
adjacent  villages;  destroyed  immense  quanti- 
ties of  growing  crops;  killed  thirty-two 
Indians,  “chiefly  warriors  of  size  and  figure;” 
and  taken  fifty-eight  prisoners.  All  this 
had  been  accomplished  without  the  loss  of  a 
single  man  killed,  and  of  only  five  wounded 
among  the  whites.  Such  success  could  not 
fail  of  recognition,  and  the  general  govern- 
ment, not  yet  ready  to  exert  its  jjower, 
atithorized  a second  expedition  by  the  Ken- 
tuckians to  be  directed  against  the  Eel  River 
towns.  Wilkinson  was  appointed  to  organ- 
ize and  command  the  next  expedition,  who, 
with  Hardin  and  Caldwell  as  majors,  soon 
raised  a force  of  530  mounted  men. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  these  troops  set 
forth  from  Fort  Washington,  and  rapidly 
following  the  course  toward  the  Miama  towns, 
as  before,  turned  again  toward  the  west,  and 
on  the  7th  of  August  came  suddenly  upon 
the  towns  upon  the  Eel  and  Tippecanoe 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


branches  of  the  Wabash.  The  former  were 
found  “scattered  along  Eel  River  for  full 
three  miles,  on  an  uneven,  scrubby  oak 
barren,  intersected  altex’nately  by  bogs  almost 
impassable,  and  impervious  thickets  of  plum, 
hazel  and  black  jacks.”  The  Indians,  ex- 
pecting a second  expedition,  had  prepared 
for  it  by  packing  and  burying  their  goods; 
the  warriors  were  generally  absent  watching 
the  paths  leading  up  from  the  Ohio,  or  pro- 
curing ammunition,  and  so  sudden  and  de- 
termined was  the  onset  that  few  in  the  town 
escaped.  Eight  warriors  were  killed  and 
one  wounded.  After  burning  the  cabins, 
and  cutting  up  the  corn,  which  was  “scarcely 
in  the  milk, ’’the  troops  set  out  for  the  Kick- 
apoo  town  in  the  prairie,  but  such  was  the 
state  of  the  country  and  the  sore  condition 
of  the  horses,  that  this  enterprise  had  to  be 
given  up,  and  the  expedition,  after  ravaging 
much  of  the  Wabash  and  Weatonon  country, 
and  traveling  some  450  miles,  returned  to 
Fort  Washington,  where  it  arrived  on  the 
23d  of  August. 

In  the  meantime,  while  Wilkinson  was 
floundering  up  to  his  armpits  in  the  boggy 
Wabash  country,  and  Proctor  was  making 
his  ineffectual  attempts  to  gain  an  audience  , 
with  the  disaffected  tribes,  the  government  1 
was  gradually  perfecting  arrangements  to  j 
oarry  out  the  third  part  of  the  proposed  pi’o-  j 
gramme — “ to  establish  a strong  military  ! 
post  at  the  Miami  Village,”  to  be  supported 
by  a chain  of  similar  posts  connecting  it 
with  Fort  Washington.  St.  Clair  had  been 
selected  for  the  chief  command. 

At  the  close  of  April  he  was  in  Pittsburgh, 
toward  which  point  troops  from  all  quarters,  horses, 
stores  and  ammunition  were  going  forward.  The 
forces,  it  was  thought,  would  be  assembled  bj"  the 
last  of  July  or  the  first  of  August.  By  the  middle 
of  July,  however,  it  was  clear  that  the  early  part 
of  September  would  be  as  soon  as  the  expedition 
could  get  under  way;  but  the  commander  was  I 
urged  to  press  everything,  and  act  with  the  utmost 
promptness  and  decision.  But  this  was  more  easily  j 
urged  than  accomplished.  On  the  loth  of  May,  St. 
Clair  had  reached  Fort  Washington,  and  at  that 
time,  the  United  States’  troops  in  the  West 
amounted  to  but  264  non-commissioned  officers  and 
privates  fit  for  duty;*  on  the  15th  of  Jul}^  this  num-  | 

*Forty-five  at  Fort  Harmar,  seventy-live  at  Fort  AVashing- 
ton,  sixty-one  at  Fort  Stueben,  and  eighty-three  at  Fort  Knox 
(Viucennesj. 


ber  was  more  than  doubled,  however,  as  the  first 
regiment,  containing  299  men,  on  that  day  reached 
Fort  Washington.  Gen.  Butler,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed second  in  command,  was  employed  through 
part  of  April  and  May  in  obtaining  recruits;  but 
when  obtained,  there  was  no  money  to  pay  them, 
nor  to  provide  stores  for  them.  In  the  quarter- 
master’s department,  meantime,  everything  went 
on  slowly  and  badly;  tents,  pack-saddles,  kettles, 
knapsacks  and  cartridge-boxes  were  all  “deficient 
in  quantity  and  quality.”  Worse  than  this,  the 
powder  was  poor  or  injured,  the  arms  and  accoutre 
ments  out  of  repair,  and  not  even  proper  tools  to 
mend  them.  And  as  the  troops  gathered  slowly  at 
Fort  Washington,  after  some  wearisome  detentions 
at  Pittsburgh  and  upon  the  river,  a new  source  of 
trouble  arose  in  the  habits  of  intemperance  indulged 
in  and  acquired  by  the  idlers.  To  Avithdraw  them 
from  temptation,  St.  Clair  Avas  forced  to  remove  his 
men,  now  numbering  2,000,  to  Ludlow’s  Station, 
about  six  miles  from  the  fort;  by  which,  how- 
ever, he  more  than  doubled  his  cost  of  providing 
for  the  troops.  Here  the  army  continued  until 
September  17,  when,  being  2,300  strong,  exclusive 
of  militia,  it  moved  forward  to  a point  upon  the 
Great  Miami,  Avhere  Fort  Hamilton  Avas  built,  rhe 
first  in  the  proposed  chain  of  fortresses.  This 
being  completed  the  troops  moved  on  forty-four 
miles  farther,  and  on  the  12th  of  October  com- 
menced Fort  Jefferson,  about  six  miles  south  of  the 
town  of  Greenville,  Darke  County.  On  the  24tli, 
the  toilsome  march  through  the  wilderness  began 
again.  At  this  time  the  commander-in-chief,  whose 
duties  through  the  summer  had  been  very  severe, 
was  suffering  from  an  indisposition,  which  was  by 
turns  in  his  stomach,  lungs  and  limbs;  provisions 
Avere  scarce;  the  roads  Avet  and  heavy;  the  troops 
going  with  “much  difficulty,”  seven  miles  a day; 
the  militia  deserting  sixty  at  a time.  Thus  toiling 
along,  the  army — rapidly  lessening  by  desertion, 
sickness  and  troops  sent  to  arrest  deserters — on  the 
3d  of  November,  reached  a stream  twelve  yards 
wide,  which  St.  Clair  supposed  to  be  the  St.  Mary 
of  the  Maumee,  but  which  was  in  reality  a branch 
of  the  Wabash,  just  south  of  the  head- waters  of  the 
stream  forAvhich  the  commander  mistook  it.  Upon 
the  banks  of  this  creek,  the  army,  now  about  1,400 
strong,  encamped  in  two  lines.* 

The  right  wing,  composed  of  Butler’s, 
Clark’s  and  Patterson’s  battalions,  and  com- 
manded by  Gen.  Butler,  constituted  the  first 
line;  and  seventy  yards  in  the  rear,  which 
was  all  the  space  the  situation  would  alloAv, 
was  the  second  line,  formed  by  the  left  wing 
of  Col.  Darke,  and  composed  of  Bedinger’s 
and  Gaither’s  battalions,  and  the  Second 
Regiment.  Across  the  creek,  about  a quarter 
of  a mile  in  advance  of  the  main  body,  the 

*Annah  of  the  AA'est,  pp.  358,  359. 


254 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


militia  was  encamped  in  similar  order.  It 
was  proposed  on  the  following  day  to  inclose 
the  main  camp  before  proceeding  toward  the 
Miami  towns,  and  plans  of  the  intended 
fortification  were  agreed  upon  between  the 
engineer  officer  and  St.  Clair  that  night. 
But  these  plans  were  destined  to  remain  un- 
accomplished. The  Indians  had  been  gath- 
ering to  dispute  the  passage  of  the  army,  and 
several  had  been  observed  near  the  creek  who 
had  precipitately  fled  on  the  approach  of  the 
troops.  Orders  had  been  given  to  Lieut.  - 
'Col.  Oldham,  who  commanded  the  militia,  to 
have  the  woods  thoroughly  examined  by  his 
scouts,  while  Capt.  Slough,  with  a volunteer 
troop  of  regulars,  reconnoitered  still  farther 
in  advance.  Slough  in  the  night  discovered 
so  strong  a body  of  the  enemy,  a mile  beyond 
the  foremost  camp,  that  he  prudently  fell 
back  and  reported  the  fact  to  Gen.  Butler. 
Oldham  also  detected  the  presence  of  the 
savages  in  significant  numbers,  and  reported 
the  fact  to  the  same  officer,  but  for  some  un- 
explained reason  this  important  information 
did  not  reach  St.  Clair,  nor  induce  Butler 
or  Oldham  to  make  any  new  disposition  to 
meet  the  imminent  danger  thus  discovered. 

Thus  the  night  passed,  and  in  the  morning, 
considerably  before  daylight,  as  was  the  con- 
stant practice,  the  troops  were  paraded  under 
arms.  About  half  an  hour  before  sunrise, 
however,  just  as  the  troops  had  been  dis- 
missed, the  savages  opened  a fierce  attack 
upon  the  militia.  They  soon  gave  way  in  a 
disorderly  scramble  for  the  rear,  and  rushing 
through  the  first  line,  with  the  Indians  at  their 
heels,  threw  it  into  considerable  disordei*, 
which  was  never  altogether  remedied.  The 
fire  of  this  line,  however,  checked  the  vic- 
torious pursuit  for  the  moment,  but  the  enemy 
returned  to  the  attack  with  renewed  vigor, 
and  with  the  second  line  it  was  immediately 
involved  in  a desperate  struggle  with  the  in- 
trepid assailants.  The  weight  of  the  attack 
was  directed  against  the  center,  where  the 
artillery  was  placed,  and  such  was  the  effect 
of  the  concentrated  fire  that  the  troops  were 
repeatedly  driven  back  at  this  point  with 
great  slaughter,  and  the  cannon  silenced,  the 
artillerymen  being  all  killed  or  driven  off. 


A charge  by  Col.  Darke  afforded  temporary 
relief,  but  the  savages  soon  gained  the  in- 
terior of  the  camp  by  a flank  movement,  and 
wrested  the  only  line  of  retreat  from  the 
sorely  beset  troops.  Confusion  was  rapidly, 
spreading  among  the  whites,  in  spite  of  the 
gallant  efforts  of  the  officers,  and  retreat 
was  the  only  course  left  open  to  the  com- 
mander. To  effect  this  movement  with  moder- 
ate success  the  road  must  be  regained,  and  a 
charge  was  accordingly  ordered.  Fortunate- 
ly, it  proved  successful,  and  along  the  route 
thus  opened  the  militia  hastened,  followed 
by  the  regulars,  Maj.  Darke  with  his  battal- 
ion covering  the  rear.  In  his  official  report 
to  the secretaiy  of  war  St.  Clair  said: 

The  retreat,  in  those  circumstances,  was,  you 
may  be  sure,  a very  precipitate  one.  It  was,  in 
fact,  a flight.  The  camp  and  artillery  were  aban- 
doned; but  that  was  unavoidable;  for  not  a horse 
was  left  alive  to  have  drawn  it  off,  had  it  otherwise 
been  practicable.  But  the  most  disgraceful  part  of 
the  business  is,  that  the  greatest  part  of  the  men 
threw  away  their  arms  and  accoutrements,  even 
after  the  pursuit,  which  continued  about  four  miles, 
had  ceased.  I found  the  road  strewed  with  them 
for  many  miles,  but  was  not  able  to  remedy  it;  for, 
having  had  all  my  horses  killed,  and  being 
mounted  upon  one  that  could  not  be  pricked  out  of 
a walk,  I could  not  get  forward  myself,  and  the 
orders  I sent  forward  either  to  halt  at  the  front,  or  to 
prevent  the  men  from  parting  with  their  arms,  were 
unattended  to.  The  rout  continued  quite  to  Fort 
.lefEerson.  twenty-nine  miles,  which  was  reached  a 
little  after  sun-setting.  The  action  began  about  half 
an  hour  before  sunrise,  and  the  retreat  was  attempted 
at  half  an  hour  after  nine  o’clock.  I have  not  yet 
been  able  to  get  returns  of  the  killed  and  wounded; 
but  Maj. -Gen.  Butler,  Lieut. -Col.  Oldham,  of  the 
militia,  Maj.  Ferguson,  Maj.  Hart  and  Maj.  Clarke 
are  among  the  former;  Col.  Sargent,  my  adjutant- 
general,  Lieut. -Col.  Darke,  Lieut. -Col.  Gibson, 
Maj.  Butler,  and  the  Viscount  Malartie,  who  served 
me  as  aid-de-camp,  are  among  the  latter;  and  a 
great  number  of  captains  and  subalterns  in  both. 

At  Fort  Jefferson  a garrison  was  left  in 
charge  of  the  defenses  and  the  wounded, 
while  the  demoralized  army  pressed  on  to 
Fort  Washington,  where  it  arrived  in  broken 
detachments  on  the  8th  of  November.  The 
troops  had  suffered  a terrible  loss.  In  the 
one  disastrous  battle  38  commissioned  offi 
cers  were  killed,  and  600  non-commissioned 
officers  and  privates  were  either  killed  or  miss- 
ing. Among  the  wounded  were  21  commis- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


sioned  officers,  and  242  non-commissioned 
officers  and  privates.  The  loss  of  the  Indians 
in  killed  was  placed  at  56.  But  dishearten- 
ing^ as  was  this  comparison,  scarcely  anything 
can  be  reckoned  more  permanently  serious, 
among  the  disasters  of  this  unfortunate 
campaign,  than  the  utter  demoralization  of 
the  troops.  So  overcome  with  terror  were 
the  men  that  it  was  with  difficulty  that  the 
sentinels  at  Fort  Jefferson  were  prevented 
from  systematically  deserting,  and  the  militia, 
dispersing  to  their  homes,  spread  the  con- 
sternation throughout  the  border.* 

The  odium  of  this  campaign  fell  heaviest 
upon  St.  Clair,  though  a congressional  com- 
mittee soon  after  the  event,  and  history, 
much  later,  have  exonerated  him  from  blame. 
The  unfortunate  commander,  “ a veteran  of 
the  Revolution,  possessed  of  both  talent  and 
experience, but  old  and  infirm,”  was  an  unhap- 
py selection,  but  the  more  prominent  causes 
which  contributed  to  the  disaster  are  to  be 
sought  elsewhere.  The  leading  causes  of  the 
disaster  were  the  surprise  of  the  enemy  and 
the  unsteadiness  of  the  militia.  What  good 
reasons  could  be  assigrned  for  the  negrlect  of 
Butler  and  Oldham  to  adopt  precautions  in 
face  of  a well  ascertained  danger,  and  for 
their  failure  to  acquaint  St.  Clair  with  the 
facts,  can  never  be  known,  as  both  of  the 
delinquent  officers  lost  their  lives  upon  the 
field  of  battle,  but  they  may  be  held  princi- 
pally responsible  for  the  unexpected  charac- 
ter of  the  attack. 

The  militia  was  similar  to  that  which 
served  with  Harmar.  The  contrast  drawn 
between  the  campaigns  of  Scott  and  Wilkin- 
son and  that  of  the  former  general  did  not 


*One  of  many  petitions  sent  to  the  governor  or  president 
will  suffice  to  illustrate  the  state  of  public  feeling  in  Kentucky. 
“ From  the  representatives  of  the  county  of  Ohio  to  the  gover- 
nor of  Virginia— Sir;  The  alarming  intelligence  lately  received, 
of  the  defeat  of  the  army  in  the  western  country,  fills  our  mind 
with  dreadful  fears  and  apprehensions,  concerning  the  safety  of 
our  fellow-citizens  in  the  county  we  represent,  and  we  confi- 
dently hope  will  be  an  excuse  to  your  Excellency,  whose  zeal 
has  been  so  frequently  evinced  in  behalf  of  the  distressed  fron- 
tier counties,  for  the  request  we  are  now  compelled  to  make. 
In  the  course  of  last  year  upward  of  fifty  of  our  people  were 
killed,  and  a great  part  of  our  country  plundered,  notwithstand- 
ing the  aid  afforded  by  the  Pennsylvanians,  who  joined  the 
Virginians  In  our  defense.  The  success  of  the  Indians  in  then- 
late  engagement  with  Gen.  St.  Clair,  will,  no  doubt,  render  them 
more  daring  and  bold  in  their  future  incursions  and  attacks 
upon  our  defenseless  inhabitants;  (those  adjoining  the  county  of 
Harrison,  extending  a hundred  miles;  covering  the  county  of 
Monongalia;  and  we  conceive  that  not  less  than  sixty  or 
seventy  men  will  be  sufficient  to  defend  them.  Through  you, 
sir.  we  beg  leave  to  request  this  assistance.”  (American  Slate 
Papers,  Vol.  V,  p.  212). 


255 

tend  to  remove  the  general  prejudice  existing 
among  the  Kentuckians  against  serving  with 
regulars.  To  this  was  added  a growing  pref- 
erence for  the  mounted  service,  and  when 
the  government  called  for  volunteers,  no 
general  officer  could  be  found  who  would 
accept  command,  and  none  of  the  best  fight- 
ing force  who  would  offer  their  service. 
Resort  was,  therefore,  had  to  a draft,  and  the 
command  of  the  troops  thus  raised  assigned 
to  Lieut.-Col.  Oldham.  This  militia  served 
with  great  reluctance,  and  sought  every 
opportunity  to  desert,  a body  of  sixty  men* 
turning  back  on  October  31st,  in  spite  of  their 
officers.  It  was  such  depletions  and  the 
absence  of  troops  sent  to  bring  them  back 
that  reduced  St.  Clair’s  effective  force  at  the 
time  of  battle.  Probably  not  more  than  500 
of  these  half-hearted  troops  were  present 
when  the  Indians  attacked,  and  having  no 
relish  for  the  work,  nor  any  cohesive  power 
as  a collective  body,  they  easily  gave  way 
under  the  effect  of  the  surprise  and  a vio-or- 
ous  assault.  In  their  headlong  stampede 
they  were  scarcely  less  effective  than  the 
enemy  in  demoralizing  the  army. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  causes,  the 
effect  was  not  in  doubt.  The  savages,  em- 
boldened by  their  success,  renewed  their 
attacks  upon  all  the  frontier  settlements,  and 
Kentucky,  which,  in  1791,  had  “ enjoyed 
more  repose,  and  sustaind  less  injury,  than 
for  any  year  since  the  war  with  Great  Brit- 
ain,” was  once  more  harassed  by  hostilities 
which  for  nearly  twenty  years  had  kept  the 
people  upon  the  verge  of  despair.  The  coun- 
ties of  klason.  Bourbon,  Nelson  and  Jefferson 
were  the  chief  sufferers.  In  this  exposed 
region  the  settlers  maintained  patrolling 
parties  of  volunteers,  which  scoured  the 
country  in  all  directions  with  such  effect  as 
to  greatly  limit  the  success  of  the  enemy’s  in- 
cursions, but,  in  spite  of  these  precautions, the 
settlers  suffered  the  most  cruel  losses. 

An  incident  related  of  the  heroic  defense 
of  a cabin  in  Innis  Bottom,  on  the  Elkhorn, 
illustrates  the  common  experience  of  the 
period.  Six  families  had  settled  here  in  the 
latter  part  of  1791,  and  in  the  succeeding 
spring  the  various  cabins  were  simultaneously 


256 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


assaulted  by  upward  of  100  savages.  Jesse 
and  Hosea  Cook,  with  their  families,  occu- 
pied one  of  the  cabins,  and  at  the  time  of 
the  attack  the  men  were  shearing  their  sheep 
in  front  of  the  cabin  door.  The  first  fire 
killed  one  of  the  brothers,  and  mortally 
wounded  the  other,  who  had  just  enough 
strength  left  to  gain  the  interior  before  he 
expired.  The  women  immediately  closed 
and  barred  the  door,  which,  being  unusually 
heavy,  repelled  the  bullets  fired  into  it  by 
the  Indians  as  well  as  the  assaults  of  their 
tomahawks. 

In  the  meantime  the  women  searched  in 
vain  for  means  to  defend  their  log  citadel. 
No  bullets  could  be  found  for  a time,  and  the 
assailants,  believing  there  was  nothing  to  fear 
from  the  inmates,  carelessly  exposed  them- 
selves in  front.  Fortunately  a single  bullet 
was  at  length  discovered,  which  one  of  the 
women,  with  nervous  strength,  bit  in  two. 
A rifle  was  hastily  charged  with  one  part,  and 
observing  a savage  sitting  astride  a log  a few 
feet  from  the  door,  the  courageous  woman 
discharged  the  gun  and  instantly  killed  him. 
This  deed  turned  the  fury  of  the  assailants 
upon  the  cabin,  and,  mounting  upon  the  roof 
they  fired  the  clapboards.  Not  a moment 
was  lost  in  confronting  the  new  dan- 
ger. One  woman  mounted  to  the  loft, 
while  the  other  handed  up  water  that 
was  found  within.  This  sufficed  to  check, 
but  not  extinguish  the  tire.  The  water  ex- 
hausted, a quantity  of  eggs  was  crushed 
and  applied  to  the  burning  roof.  Still  the 
tire  was  unsubdued,  and  recourse  was  had  to 
the  dead  man’s  coat  saturated  with  his  blood. 
These  expedients  still  left  enough  life  in  the 
fire  to  endanger  their  lives,  when  the  contents 
of  a “chamber  bucket,”  relieved  them  from 
this  danger,  and  eventually  proved  their  sal- 
vation, as  the  savages  soon  afterward  hastily 
decamped. 

Such  incidents  called  forth  numerous 
reprisals,  of  which  none  were  more  bold  and 
effective  than  those  conducted  by  Kenton. 
Situated  near  the  direct  route  of  the  war  , 
parties  from  the  North,  his  watchfulness  gen-  I 
erally  obtained  the  earliest  information  of 
their  presence  in  Kentucky.  His  promptness 


to  act  usually  brought  him  upon  the  heels  of 
the  retreating  marauders,  who  seldom  escaped 
with  all  their  booty,  and  generally  paid  the 
penalty  of  their  temerity  with  the  lives  of 
some  of  their  number.  In  this  year  (1792) 
he  came  in  contact  with  a band  under  the 
command  of  the  famous  chieftain,  Tecumseh. 
The  depredations  by  Indians  on  the  Little 
Miami  aroused  the  settlers  to  concert  meas- 
ures for  revenge,  and  an  expedition  was 
organized  with  Kenton  in  command.  The 
little  party  of  rangers  cautiously  advanced 
across  the  Ohio,  and  up  the  course  of  the 
former  river  to  near  the  present  site  of 
Williamsburg,  before  they  discovered  any 
fresh  “siarns.”  Here  a single  Indian  on 

O C5 

horseback,  hunting  with  bell  open,  was  way- 
laid and  killed.  A few  hundred  yards  far- 
ther on  brought  the  party  in  sight  of  a con- 
siderable encampment  of  Indians.  Their  linen 
tents  and  markees  indicated  that  they  had 
shared  the  spoils  of  St.  Clair’s  defeat,  and 
that  their  number  was  greatly  superior  to 
that  of  the  whites.  Relying  upon  the  effect 
of  its  audacity  and  surprise,  Kenton  deter- 
mined to  make  a night  attack.  The  day 
closed  in  dark  and  drizzly,  and  having  sep- 
arated into  four  divisions,  a simultaneous 
attack  was  made  at  the  appointed  time.  Each 
rifle  did  execution  upon  a warrior  at  the  first 
fire,  when  the  rangers  charged  with  terrific 
yells  upon  the  tents.  The  first  alarm  and 
confusion  having  subsided,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  their  able  leader,  the  Indians  were 
led  to  observe  the  small  number  of  the  assail- 
ants, and  to  return  to  the  fight.  Kenton, 
equally  quick  to  note  the  change  and  its  im- 
port, gave  orders  to  retreat,  which  was  effected 
in  safety.  The  band  subsequently  proved  to 
be  a party  of  200  warriors  under  Tecumseh. 
Thirty  were  killed  outright,  and  others 
wounded;  the  whites  lost  one  killed  and  one 
captured,  who  was  executed  by  the  savages 
on  the  following  morning. 

In  June,  1793,  the  Indians  had  attacked 
and  captured  Morgan’s  Station,  and  then 
retired  to  a village  on  Paint  Creek.  This 
again  called  out  Kenton,  who  with  thirty 
men  hastily  took  the  trail,  hoping  to  inter- 
cept their  retreat  near  the  Scioto.  On  reach 


HISTORT  OF  KENTUCKY. 


257 


mg  Beeve’s  Crossing  on  Paint  Creek,  ‘ ‘ fresh 
signs’’  were  discovered,  and  a reconnoisance 
developed  the  fact  that  the  Indians  had  en- 
camped some  distance  down  the  creek  with 
three  hres.  The  savages,  utterly  unsuspicious 
of  danger,  were  giving  vent  to  their  satis- 
faction in  singing  and  carousal,  and  the 
whites,  after  inspecting  the  camp,  deferred  the 
attack  until  just  before  daylight  the  next 
morning.  Kenton  divided  his  party  into 
three  equal  divisions,  which,  at  a given  signal, 
made  a furious  attack  from  three  different 
directions.  The  Indians  were  put  to  flight 
in  the  greatest  consternation,  leaving  fom’  of 
their  number  dead  upon  the  ground.  The 
whites  lost  one  man  killed. 

Again,  in  August  of  the  same  year,  the 
scouts  bi’ought  to  Kenton  the  information 
that  a party  of  savages  had  crossed  the 
river.  Promptly  sending  the  news  to  the 
militia  officers  of  Bourbon  County,  Kenton 
prepared  to  waylay  the  Indians  upon  their 
retreat.  With  a party  of  seven  chosen  spirits 
he  crossed  the  river  at  Limestone  and  pro- 
ceeded down  to  the  mouth  of  Holt’s  Creek. 
After  waiting  nearly  four  days,  thi’ee  Indians 
were  observed  to  approach  with  six  horses. 
The  animals  were  driven  into  the  river,  and, 
raising  a canoe  which  they  had  previously 
sunk,  the  savages  followed.  As  the  canoe 
approached  the  shore,  one  of  its  occupants 
was  discovered  to  be  a white  man  and  he  was 
spared,  but  the  Indians  fell  victims  to  the 
unerring  marksmanship  of  the  rangers.  The 
white  man,  however,  proved  so  thoroughly 
Indianized  that  Kenton’s  party  was  obliged 
to  shoot  him  in  self  defense.  Four  hours 
later,  two  more  Indians  and  a white  man  with 
five  horses  approached  in  a similar  manner, 
and  met  a similar  fate. 

In  the  night  the  main  body  came  up  with 
thirty  horses,  and  began  to  signal  their 
comrades  by  imitating  the  hooting  of  owls. 
Receiving  no  response  the  wary  savages  be- 
came suspicious,  and  after  a cautious  recon- 
noissance,  one  of  their  number  quietly  swam 
across  the  river.  He  soon  discovered  the 
fate  of  his  friends,  and  quickly  gaining  the 
hills  in  the  rear  of  the  whites  signaled  the 
waiting  savages  south  of  the  river  with  three 


loud  and  long  yells,  which  were  followed  by 
a warning  of  the  lurking  danger  in  their  native 
tongue.  This  warning  was  quickly  acted 
upon  by  the  Indians,  who  instantly  fled, 
leaving  their  booty  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  militia,  which  came  up  in  hot  haste 
an  hour  later.  This  is  believed  to  have  been 
the  last  incursion  of  the  Indians  into  Ken- 
tucky. 

In  the  meantime,  the  government  had  not 
been  unmindful  of  the  necessities  of  the 
situation.  The  disastrous  battle  was  fought 
on  the  4th  of  November;  on  the  8th,  the 
broken  fragments  of  the  army  reached  Fort 
Washington;  on  the  9th,  St.  Clair  wrote  his 
report;  on  December  12th,  the  information 
was  laid  before  congress;  and  on  the  26th  of 
the  same  month,  the  secretary  of  war,  Gen. 
Knox,  submitted  to  the  president  the  out- 
lines of  new  measures  to  be  undertaken 
against  the  hostile  tribes.  Before  this  date, 
however,  it  was  generally  agreed  among  the 
responsible  heads  of  the  government  that  a 
new  campaign,  with  a competent  army,  would 
be  required,  but  it  was  the  wish,  chiefly  of 
Washington,  that  the  last  possible  effort  to 
prevent  further  bloodshed  should  first  be 
exhausted.  This  disposition  gained  a wider 
support  because  it  was  generally  feared  that 
the  effect  of  St.  Clair’s  defeat  had  been  such 
as  to  shake  the  loyalty  of  the  hitherto  friendly 
nations,  and  that  premature  action  might 
precipitate  the  tribes  all  along  the  border  into 
a general  war. 

Accordingly,  the  greatest  activity  was  dis- 
played in  dispatching  envoys  bearing  mes- 
sages of  peace  to  the  various  Indian  nations. 
In  January,  1792,  two  agents  were  sent 
from  Philadelphia,  via  Niagara,  to  the 
Miami  and  Wabash  tribes.  In  February, 
the  efforts  of  the  commandants  at  Forts 
Washington  and  Knox  were  enlisted,  and  on 
April  7th  Freeman  was  dispatched  from  the 
former  post  on  a peace  mission;  on  the  13th 
instant,  William  May  followed  his  trail  and 
“deserted”  to  the  enemy  to  aid  or  learn  of 
Freeman.  On  May  22d,  Capt.  Trueman  was 
sent  on  an  embassy  to  the  Miami  village; 
and  on  the  same  day.  Col.  Hardin  set  out 

for  Sandusky.  With  the  exception  of  May, 

16 


258 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY 


none  of  the  envoys  thus  sent  out  from  Fort 
Washington  escaped  death  at  the  hands  of 
the  treacherous  savages. 

In  the  East,  affairs  -with  the  Iroquois 
seemed  to  progress  with  a better  show  of 
success.  In  March,  fifty  of  their  chiefs 
visited  Philadelphia,  and  returned  to  use 
their  good  offices  in  behalf  of  peace  at  the 
council  of  the  northwest  Indians,  to  be  held 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Auglaize.  x4.t  this  grand 
convocation,  beside  the  western,  New  York 
and  Canadian  Indians,  there  were  twenty- 
seven  other  nations  present,  but  no  decisive 
action  was  taken.  The  matter  of  peace  and 
war  was  referred  to  another  council,  to  be 
held  in  the  spring,  but  the  prevailing  senti- 
ment of  the  assembled  natives  was  that  the 
Ohio  must  be  made  the  boundary  between 
the  races,  and  the  treaties  of  Forts  Harmar 
and  McIntosh  annulled.  To  such  an  im- 
potent conclusion  did  the  year’s  negotiations 
come. 

An  unimportant  exception  to  this  list  of 
failures  occurred  in  the  West.  On  June  26 
Rufus  Putnam  set  out  from  Marietta  for  the 
Miami  towns,  but  learning  at  Fort  Washing- 
ton of  the  probable  fate  of  his  predecessors, 
and  the  hostilities  of  the  savages,  he  deter- 
mined to  go  to  Vincennes  to  detach  the  Wabash 
tribes  from  the  general  league,  if  possible. 
He  set  forth  from  Cincinnati  on  the  17th  of 
August,  with  presents  and  certain  Indian 
prisoners  to  be  given  to  their  friends.  Safely 
reaching  his  destination,  Putnam  opened  ne- 
gotiations with  such  address  that  on  the  27th 
of  September  he  concluded  a treaty  with  ten 
of  the  leading  tribes,  but  as  the  senate  re- 
fused to  ratify  it,  it  also  must  be  added  to 
the  list  of  failures. 

The  sterner  argument  of  force,  however, 
had  not  been  entirely  lost  sight  of  amid  all 
this  futile  negotiation.  In  January,  1792, 
St.  Clair  had  proceeded  to  Philadelphia  to 
demand  a court  of  inquiry,  leaving  Wilkin- 
son, appointed  lieutenant- colonel  of  the  Sec- 
ond Regiment,  in  command  at  Fort  "Wash- 
ington. The  posts  erected  in  the  previous 
year  were  still  held  by  garrisons  of  regulars 
and  detachments  of  militia,  to  keep  the  sav- 
ages, who  lurked  about  them,  in  awe.  Soon 


after  St.  Clair’s  departure  the  new  com- 
mandant led  a liody  of  regulars  and  170 
militia,  under  Maj.  Gano,  to  relieve  the 
garrison  at  Fort  Jefferson,  and  from  that 
point  advanced  to  the  scene  of  the  late  battle, 
where  he  collected  more  than  200  muskets 
and  brought  them  to  the  fort,  with  three  of 
eight  gun  carriages,  from  which  the  cannon 
had  been  taken.  As  spring  advanced  the 
number  of  lurking  savages  increased,  attack- 
ing supply  trains  and  relieving  detachments, 
with  the  hope  of  forcing  the  abandonment  of 
these  detached  posts. 

The  most  serious  of  these  attacks  occurred 
on  the  6th  of  November.  Capt.  John  Adair, 
with  100  mounted  Kentuckians,  had  been 
called  out  to  escort  a “brigade  of  pack 
horses”  to  Fort  Jefferson.  The  trip  out  and 
back  to  Cincinnati  took  six  days,  the  train 
camping  each  night  near  one  of  the  forts  for 
protection.  It  happened  about  the  same 
time  that  a body  of  250  savages  had  concerted 
an  attack  on  one  of  the  Miami  settlements, 
and  in  passing  Fort  Hamilton  had  captured 
some  wood-choppers  from  the  fort.  These 
prisoners  informed  their  captors  that,  the  day 
previous,  a train  had  gone  forward  with  sup- 
plies for  the  other  posts.  The  Indians  at 
once  changed  their  plans  and  laid  an  ambus- 
cade in  which  to  entrap  the  returning  convoy. 
Reaching  Fort  Jefferson  on  Saturday,  Adair 
allowed  the  men  and  horses  to  rest  over  Sun- 
day, and  reached  Fort  St.  Clair  on  Monday 
night.  Learning  of  this  through  their  scouts, 
the  Indians  left  their  hiding  place,  and  about 
day-break  on  Tuesday  made  a spirited  attack 
on  three  sides  of  the  camp.  The  militia 
retired  in  good  order  “beyond  the  shine  of 
their  fires,  on  the  side  next  to  the  fort,”  and 
when  the  enemy  became  engaged  in  plunder- 
ing the  abandoned  camp,  made  a spirited 
attack  on  both  flanks  and  forced  them  to  give 
way.  It  was  not  done,  however,  without 
stubborn  fighting,  in  which  the  tomahawk  and 
war  club  were  freely  employed.  The  savages 
retreated  in  good  order,  repeatedly  turning 
upon  the  whites  and  driving  them  back.  On 
returning  to  their  camp  the  militia  found 
140  horses  killed  or  stolen,  with  all  their 
camp  equipage,  six  of  their  number  wounded 


HISTOEY  or  KENTrCKY. 


259 


and  an  equal  number  killed.  The  loss  of 
the  savages  is  said  to  have  been  only  sis 
killed. 

Notwithstanding  such  striking  evidences 
of  determined  hostilities  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians,  and  the  failure  which  had  attended 
every  employment  of  peaceful  measures  dur- 
ing the  previous  year,  the  government  still 
proposed  one  further  efibrt  to  negotiate  a 
peace,  and  on  the  1st  of  March,  1793,  secured 
the  services  of  three  commissioners  to  attend 
a meeting  of  the  hostile  tribes  “at  the  rapids 
of  the  Miami  (Maumee)  when  the  leaves  were 
fully  out.”  Sandusky  was  finally  selected  as 
the  place  of  meeting,  and  the  commissioners 
set  out  for  that  place  by  way  of  Niagara. 
Here  they  were  delayed  by  one  cause  or 
another  until  the  15th  of  July,  when  fifty 
natives,  headed  by  the  tory  Butler  and  the 
half-breed  Brant,  arrived  from  the  Maumee. 
These  envoys  from  the  savages  claimed  to 
represent  sixteen  of  the  leading  Indian  na- 
tions, but  did  nothing  more  than  demand 
the  meaning  of  the  war-like  preparations  on 
the  Miarhi.  The  commissioners  subsequently 
crossed  the  lake  to  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit 
River,  wh’ere,  on  the  21st  of  July,  they  took 
up  their  residence  in  the  house  of  the  notori- 
ous English  agent,  Matthew  Elliott.  They 
took  immediate  steps  to  hasten  the  proposed 
meeting  at  Sandusky,  but  on  the  29th  instant 
twenty  Indians  came  from  the  Maumee,  and 
on  the  31st  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  two 
races  met  in  council,  with  Simon  Girty  as  in 
terpreter.  Negotiations  were  prolonged  until 
the  16th  of  August,  when  the  tribes  submit- 
ted their  ultimatum,  which  may  be  gathered 
from  the  closing  paragraph  of  their  final 
message : 

Brothers-.— Ax  our  general  council,  held  at  the 
Glaize  last  fall,  we  agreed  to  meet  commissioners 
from  the  United  States,  for  the  purpose  of  restoring 
peace,  provided  they  consented  to  acknowledge  and 
confirm  our  boundary  line  to  be  the  Ohio,  and  we 
determined  not  to  meet  you  until  you  gave  us  satis- 
faction on  that  point;  that  is  the  reason  we  have 
never  met. 

We  desire  you  to  consider,  brothers,  that  our  only 
demand  is  the  peaceable  possession  of  a small  part 
of  our  once  great  country.  Look  back  and  review 
the  lands  from  whence  we  have  been  driven  to  this 
spot.  We  can  retreat  no  farther,  because  the  coun- 


try behind  hardly  affords  food  for  its  inhabitants, 
and  we  have,  therefore,  resolved  to  leave  our  bones 
in  this  small  space  to  which  we  are  now  confined.* 

This  closed  all  hope  of  preventing  a con- 
test of  arms.  The  commissioners  immedi- 
ately set  out  on  their  return,  reaching  Fort 
Erie, near  Niagara,  on  the  23d  instant,  whence 
they  dispatched  to  Gen.  Wayne  a report  of 
the  issue  of  their  negotiations  by  three  differ- 
ent channels.  These  reached  the  general  at 
“Hobson’s  Choice,”  near  Cincinnati,  when 
that  energetic  oflScer  was  struggling  to  over- 
come the  unwillingness  of  the  Kentuckians 
to  volunteer,  and  against  those  even  more 
intractable  forces,  “the  fever,  infiuenza  and 
desertion.  ” 

Washington  had  early  persuaded  congress 
to  authorize  the  increase  of  the  army  by  the 
addition  of  three  regiments  of  infantry,  and 
a full  squach'on  of  2,000  horsemen,  to  be  en- 
listed for  three  years,  or  until  a settled  peace 
had  been  effected.  St.  Clair  having  resigned, 
the  choice  of  a new  commander  devolved  upon 
the  president,  who,  from  a number  of  excel- 
lent officers  suggested,  appointed  Gen. 
Anthony  Wayne,  not,  however,  without  the 
strong  opposition  of  leading  men  and  the 
“extreme  disgust”  of  the  Virginians.  Through 
the  summer  of  1792,  the  enlistment  and  dis- 
cipline of  the  new  levies  were  not  neglected, 
and  in  December  they  were  rendezvoused  at 
a point  twenty- two  miles  below  Pittsbui’gh, 
which  took  the  name  of  Legionville  from  the 
title  adopted  by  the  new  array — the  Legion  of 
the  United  States.  Here  the  new  troops  passed 
the  winter,  sparing  neither  powder  nor  lead 
in  perfecting  their  marksmanship.  In  April 
they  descended  the  river  and  encamped  near 
Fort  Washington,  where  drilling  and  other 
preparations  were  continued  until  October, 
1793.  On  the  5th  instant  Wayne  estimated 
the  effective  force  which  he  could  lead  be- 
yond Fort  Jefferson  at  2,600  regulars,  360 
mounted  volunteers,  and  thirty-six  guides 
and  spies.  Though  this  was  far  short  of 
what  he  had  hoped  for,  he  was  by  no  means 
discouraged,  and,  proposing  a defensive 

*The  nations  joining  in  this  reply  were  the  Wyandots, 
Seven  Nations  of  Canada,  Pottawatomies,  Senecas  of  the  Glaize, 
Shawanese,  Cherokees,  Jliamis,  Ottawas,  Messasagoes,  Chlppe- 
was,  Munsees,  Mohicans,  Connoys,  Delawares.  Nantakokies  and 
I reeks.  (See  American  State  Papers,  Yol.  V,  p SUO.J 


260 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


campaign,  argued  from  the  unorganized 
character  of  Indian  warfare  the  j^robability 
of  a successful  issue. 

On  the  7th  instant  the  army  began  its  ad- 
vance, and  six  days  later  took  up  a strong 
position  in  advance  of  Fort  Jefferson.  On 
the  17th,  although  no  opposition  had  hither- 
to been  met  with,  the  watchfulness  of  the 
enemy  was  evinced  by  a fierce  attack  upon  a 
supply  train,  about  twenty  miles  beyond 
Fort  St.  Clair.  The  troops,  consisting  of 
ninety  regulars  under  command  of  two  com- 
missioned officers,  were  forced  to  retreat  to 
the  fort,  leaving  seventy  horses  and  the 
stores  in  twenty-one  wagons,  beside  both 
otficers  and  thirteen  men,  to  the  mercy  of 
the  savages.  The  wagons  and  a large  part 
of  their  contents  were  subsequently  re- 
covered. On  the  24th  instant,  Gen.  Scott 
joined  the  army  with  1,000  mounted  Ken- 
tuckians. In  raising  these  troops,  the  same 
obstacle  which  had  so  powerfully  obstructed 
the  previous  campaigns  of  Harmar  and  St. 
Clair  had  been  encountered.  The  best  men 
obstinately  refused  to  volunteer,  and  on  the 
28th  of  September  a draft  had  been  enforced 
by  the  governor,  which,  with  Gen.  Wayne’s 
personal  efforts,  had  achieved  the  result 
mentioned.  The  militia  was  retained  but  a 
short  time,  however,  when  it  was  dismissed 
until  spring,  the  general  in  command  having 
decided  to  fortify  his  position  and  remain 
there  through  the  winter. 

Fort  Greenville  was  according  built  on  the 
site  of  the  present  county  seat  of  Darke 
Coimty,  which  takes  its  name  from  the 
fort.  This  completed,  a force  was  sent  to 
erect  a military  post  on  the  site  of  St.  Clair’s 
defeat.  The  troops  reached  their  destination 
Christmas  day,  and  at  night  foimd  the  ground 
so  thickly  strewn  with  human  bones  that 
they  had  to  be  removed  from  the  tents  before 
the  beds  could  be  made.  On  the  following 
day,  these  sad  mementos  of  the  fatal  en- 
gagement were  buried  in  trenches  dug  for  the 
purpose.  Fort  Recovery  was  thus  erected, 
twenty-three  miles  northwest  of  Greenville, 
on  a branch  of  the  W abash,  and  garrisoned  by  a 
company  of  artillery  and  one  of  riflemen  under 
the  command  of  Capt.  Alexander  Gibson. 


Thus  the  winter  passed  unmarked  by  any 
serious  hostilities,  though  Wayne’s  scouts, 
under  the  command  of  Kenton,  brought  in- 
telligence which  indicated  the  concentration 
of  a formidable  force  on  the  Maumee.  Nor 
were  the  Indians  alone  to  be  feared.  The 
treacherous  English  had  not  only  early 
supplied  the  savages  with  powder  and  lead,  in 
large  quantities,  but  in  the  fall  of  1793  they 
had  advanced  with  three  companies  of  troops 
and  erected  a military  post  at  the  Maumee 
Rapids,  ostensibly  to  guard  the  approach  to 
Detroit  against  the  advance  of  the  hostile 
American  army.  Indubitable  evidence  was 
gained,  also,  that  the  British  had  given  the 
savages  good  reason  to  believe  that  they  would 
receive  assistance  from  the  troops  in  time  of 
battle. 

Undisturbed  by  these  warlike  preparations, 
Wayne  matured  his  plans  for  an  advance 
which  he  proposed  should  be  irresistible, 
whatever  force  should  oppose.  On  the  30th 
of  June,  1794,  the  long  truce  was  broken  by 
an  attack  on  Fort  Recovery.  A thousand  or 
fifteen  hundred  Indians  and  English,  under 
the  command  of  Little  Turtle,  furiously 
assailed  the  fort  on  every  side.  The  assail- 
ants were  repeatedly  repulsed  with  great  loss, 
but  returned  to  the  attack  with  fresh  determi- 
nation until  night  fell.  Fortunately  for  the 
slender  garrison,  a convoy  of  fifty  dragoons 
and  ninety  riflemen  had  just  arrived,  though 
not  yet  entered,  and  lent  valuable  aid  in  re- 
sisting the  savages.  The  succeeding  night 
being  dark  and  foggy,  the  detachment  effect- 
ed an  entrance  to  the  fort  in  safety.  On  the 
following  day  the  fight  was  renewed,  but 
early  despairing  of  success  the  savages  with- 
drew to  their  camp  seven  miles  away,  where 
they  remained  two  days  encumbered  with 
their  dead. 

On  the  26th  of  July,  Scott  returned  with 
the  militia,  this  time  increased  to  1,600  men. 
The  visit  to  Wayne’s  camp  in  the  preceding 
fall  had  impressed  the  captious  Kentuckians 
with  a profound  respect  for  the  military 
ability  of  the  new  commander- in-chief,  and 
there  was  no  difficulty  experienced  in  the 
spring  in  raising  the  full  complement  of 
militia.  Two  days  after  the  arrival  of  this 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


261 


re-eDforcement,  the  army  advanced.  On  the 
1st  of  August,  the  army  reached  the  St. 
Mary’s  River,  twenty-four  miles  from  Fort 
Recovery,  where  the  erection  of  a stockade 
(Fort  Adams)  detained  it  three  days.  On  the 
8th,  after  a march  of  fifty -three  miles,  the 
legion  reached  the  junction  of  the  Auglaize 
and  Maumee,  where  Wayne  proceeded  to 
build  Fort  Defiance.  While  engaged  in  erect- 
ing this  fort,  he  sent  on  the  13th  a last 
offer  of  peace  to  the  hostile  tribes,  which 
elicited  no  response  save  a request  for  a delay 
until  the  18th  instant.  Unwilling  to  await 
the  tardy  return  of  the  envoy,  however,  the 
troops  moved  forward,  and  on  the  last  date 
mentioned  arrived  at  a point  forty-one  miles 
from  Fort  Defiance,  where  some  light  works 
were  thrown  up  for  protection  of  the  baggage, 
and  called  Fort  Deposit.  On  the  20th,  the 
baggage  having  been  stored  away  to  be  left 
behind,  the  army  began  its  advance  between 
7 and  8 o’clock  in  the  morning.  The  enemy 
was  now  reported  to  be  in  force  at  the  foot  of 
the  Maumee  Rapids,  seven  miles  away,  and 
after  advancing  about  five  miles  the  skirmish- 
ers reported  the  discovery  of  the  savages.  A 
heavy  fire  from  the  Indians  caused  the  ad- 
vance guard  to  retreat  when  the  main  lines 
were  formed. 

The  legion  was  immediately  formed  into  two 
lines,  principally  in  a close  thick  wood,  which  ex- 
tended for  miles  on  our  left,  and  for  a very  con- 
siderable distance  in  front,  the  ground  being  cov- 
ered with  old  fallen  timber,  probably  occasioned  by 
a tornado,  which  rendered  it  impracticable  for  the 
cavalry  to  act  with  effect,  and  afforded  the  enemy 
the  most  favorable  covert  for  their  mode  of  war- 
fare. The  savages  were  formed  in  three  lines 
within  supporting  distance  of  each  other  and  ex- 
tending for  near  two  miles  at  right  angles  with  the 
river.  I soon  discovered  from  the  weight  of  the  fire 
and  extent  of  their  lines  that  the  enemy  were  in 
full  force  in  front,  in  possession  of  their  favorite 
ground,  and  endeavoring  to  turn  our  left  flank.  I 
therefore  gave  orders  for  the  second  line  to  advance 
and  support  the  first;  and  directed  Maj.-Gen.  Scott 
to  gain  and  turn  the  right  flank  of  the  savages,  with 
the  wliole  of  the  mounted  volunteers,  by  a circuit- 
ous route;  at  the  same  time  I ordered  the  frontline 
to  advance  and  charge  with  trailed  arms,  and  rouse 
the  Indians  from  their  coverts  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  and  when  up,  to  deliver  a close  and  well 
directed  Are  on  their  backs,  followed  by  a brisk 
charge  so  as  not  to  give  them  time  to  load  again. 


I also  ordered  Capt.  MisCampbell,  who  com- 
manded the  legionary  cavalry,  to  turn  the  left  flank 
of  the  enemy  next  the  river,  and  which  afforded  a 
favorable  field  for  that  corps  to  act  in.  All  these 
orders  were  obe3md  with  spirit  and  promptitude ; but 
such  was  the  impetuosity  of  the  charge  by  the  first 
line  of  infantry,  that  the  Indians  and  Canadian 
militia  and  volunteers  were  driven  from  all  their 
coverts  in  so  short  a time,  that  although  every 
possible  exertion  was  used  bj^  the  officers  of  the 
second  line  of  the  legion,'  and  by  Gens.  Scott, 
Todd  and  Barbee  of  the  mounted  volunteers  to  gain 
their  proper  positions,  but  part  of  each  could  get 
up  in  season  to  participate  in  the  action,  the  enemy 
being  drove  in  the  course  of  one  hour  more  than 
two  miles,  through  the  thick  woods  already  men- 
tioned, by  less  than  one-half  their  nunrbers.  From 
every  account  the  enemy  amounted  to  2,000  com- 
batants. The  troops  actually  engaged  against  them 
were  short  of  900.  This  horde  of  savages,  with 
their  allies,  abandoned  themselves  to  flight  and  dis- 
persed with  terror  and  dismay,  leaving  our  victori- 
ous army  in  full  and  quiet  possession  of  the  field  of 
battle,  which  terminated  under  the  influence  of  the 
guns  of  the  British  garrison.* 

For  three  dats  and  nights  the  American 
army  remained  on  the  banks  of  the  Mau- 
mee, ravaging  the  country  about  with  fire  and 
sword.  Houses  and  corn-fields  were  consumed 
and  destroyed  both  above  and  below  the  Brit- 
ish post;  and  all  the  houses,  stores  and  goods 
of  the  English  agent,  McKee,  were  burned, 
as  well  as  every  sort  of  property  about  the 
fort  beyond  pistol  range  of  the  British  garri- 
son. This  done,  the  army  retired  by  easy 
marches  to  Fort  Defiance,  where  it  arrived  on 
the  27th  instant.  Until  September  14  the 
ti’oops  were  engaged  in  strengthening  the 
works  of  this  fort,  and  in  destroying  the 
abandoned  crops  and  villages,  which  made 
the  margins  of  the  confluent  streams  for  miles 
above  and  below  the  fort  appear  like  one 
grand  inland  town.  On  the  14th,  therefore, 
the  army  set  out  for  the  principal  Miami 
towns,  where,  in  the  bend  of  the  St.  Mary,  a 
new  fortress  was  completed  on  the  22nd  of 
October,  and  named  Fort  Wayne,  by  Col. 

*Gen.  Wayne’s  report;  (see  American  State  Papers.  Vol.  V,  p. 
491.)  Ill  this  engagement  the  legion  had  twenty-six  killed, 
five  of  them  officers;  eighty-seven  wounded,  thirteen  of  them 
officers;  the  Kentucky  volunteers  had  seven  killed,  all  privates, 
and  thirteen  wounded,  three  of  whom  were  officers.  The  loss 
oftheenemy  was  estimated  at  more  than  double  that  of  the 
Americans.  “The  woods  were  strewn  fora  considerable  dis- 
tance with  the  dead  bodies  of  Indians,  and  their  white  auxilia- 
ries, the  latter  armed  with  British  muskets  and  bayonets.’* 
“Brig.-Gen.  Wilkinson  and  Col.  Hamtramck.  the  commanders 
of  the  right  and  left  wings  of  the  legion,”  were  complimented 
in  the  report  for  bravery  and  efficiency;  and  among  the  aid-de- 
camps who  were  similarly  mentioned  occurs  the  name  of  Lieut. 
W.  H.  Harrison. 


263 


IIlSTOllY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Hamtramck,  who  was  left  in  command.  While 
here  the  troops  suffered  much  from  sickness 
and  the  lack  of  supplies,  and  the  militia  be- 
coming troublesome,  they  were  dispatched  on 
the  12th  instant  to  Greenville  for  discharge. 
On  the  28th  the  rest  of  the  army,  after  leaving 
a garrison  to  hold  the  new  fort,  began  its 
march  for  the  same  place.  On  the  return 
march  a detachment  was  left  to  garrison  Fort 
Loramie,*  which  was  erected  on  the  ci’eek  of 
that  name,  where  the  old  French  and  En- 
glish trading  posts  were  early  established. 

The  blow  inflicted  upon  the  Indians  fell 
with  crushing  weight.  Their  bravest  war- 
riors,  those  who  had  triumphed  over  Harmar 
and  St.  Clair,  were  now  beaten  and  dismayed; 
their  most  important  and  cherished  villages 
had  been  consumed,  and  all  the  winter’s  sup- 
ply for  thousands  was  destroyed;  and  what 
was  infinitely  more  disastrous,  the  white  man 

*Sixteen  miles  northwest  of  Sidney,  in  Shelby  County, 
Ohio. 


had  built  a chain  of  impregnable  fortresses 
into  the  very  heart  of  their  country.  The 
promise  of  English  help  had  proven  a delu- 
sion and  a snare,  and  there  was  no  further 
escape  save  to  seek  what  they  had  so  often 
disdainfully  rejected.  And  now  all  indica- 
tions began  to  point  to  a speedy  restoration 
of  peace.  In  the  East  a new  treaty  was  made 
with  the  Iroquois  early  in  November;  in  the 
West  the  number  of  hostile  Indians  lurking 
about  the  forts  began  to  diminish;  in  Decem- 
ber, chiefs  of  the  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  Sacs, 
Pottawatomies  and  Miamis  came  with  mes- 
sages of  peace  to  the  commandant  at  Fort 
Wayne;  in  January,  1795,  these  nations,  with 
the  Delawares,  Wyandots  and  Shawanese  en- 
tered into  preliminary  articles  with  Gen. 
Wayne,  at  Greenville,  and  on  the  30th  of 
July  a treaty  was  agreed  upon,  which  was  to 
bury  the  hatchet  forever.  Thus  was  Ken- 
tucky at  last  freed  from  the  fear  of  savage 
incursions. 


Masonic  Widow’s  and  Orphan’s  Home.— Louisville. 


HISTOEY  or  KENTUCKY. 


263 


CHAPTEE  XI. 


EARLY  POLITICAL  DEVELOPaiENT. 


The  autumn  of  1784  marks  the  begin-  | 
ning  of  a new  phase  in  the  development  ^ 
jf  Kentucky.  The  gradual  transformation  i 
of  society  had  brought  the  frontier  com- 
munity to  the  verge  of  a new  experience. 
Like  the  boy,  growing  up  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  home,  unmindful  of  its  larger 
responsibilities,  and  careful  only  of  the 
duties  assigned  him,  when  suddenly  made 
aware  of  his  majority  finds  the  careless 
dream  of  youth  magically  dispelled,  so  Ken- 
tucky suddenly  awoke  to  find  its  days  of 
tutelage  ended.  Unconsciously,  society  had 
been  preparing  for  the  inevitable  change. 
Gradually  the  scattered  stations  upon  a dis- 
tant frontier,  with  their  few  hundreds  of  oc- 
cupants, had  exj^anded  in  territorial  limits 
and  inhabitants  to  the  proportions  of  a State. 
Its  early  heroes  had  one  by  one  quit  the  stage 
of  action,  and  new  men  had  fallen  heir  to 
their  achievements,  their  responsibilities  and 
their  positions.  Of  all  the  early  leaders, 
Clark  and  Logan  alone  remained,  and  the 
latter  performed  the  final  act  of  the  old 
regime  when  he  issued  the  call  for  a conven- 
tion, which  met  in  this  fall  With  its  organ- 
ization, a new  dynasty  came  to  the  throne. 

The  political  lines  of  Virginia  had 
followed  close  upon  the  westward  progress 
of  her  population.  Until  her  frontier 
crossed  the  Blue  Ridge,  the  unexplored 
region  beyond  the  mountains  was  recognized 
only  as  the  “great  woods.”  In  1734,  Orange 
Coimty  was  formed  and  included  all  that 
reffion  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  which  Virginia 
claimed  under  the  comprehensive  charter  of 
the  crown.  In  the  fall  session  of  1738,  the 
Virginia  assembly  divided  this  vast  outlying 
region  into  two  counties,  Frederick  and 
Augusta;  the  former  was  bounded  on  the 


north  by  the  Potomac,  on  the  east  by  the 
Blue  Ridge,  and  on  the  south  and  west  by  a 
line  to  be  run  from  the  head  spring  of  Hedg- 
man  to  the  head  spring  of  the  Potomac;  the 
remainder  of  Virginia,  west  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  constituted  Augusta,  a territory  which 
at  present  comprises  four  entire  States  and 
nearly  forty  counties  in  the  western  part  of 
what  was  originally  Virginia.  In  1769, 
Botetourt  County  was  formed  from  the  out- 
lying  part  of  Augusta;  in  1772,  Fincastle 
was  formed  out  of  the  western  part  of  Bote- 
tourt; and  on  December  31,  1776,  the  latter 
county  was  extinguished  by  the  division  of 
its  territory  between  the  new  counties  of 
Washington,  Montgomery  and  Kentucky,  the 
name  of  old  Fincastle  being  perpetuated  only 
by  the  shire  town  of  Botetourt  County. 

In  this  division,  “all  that  part  thereof 
which  lies  to  the  south  and  westward  of  a 
line  beginning  on  the  Ohio,  at  the  mouth  of 
Great  Sandy  Creek,  and  running  up  the 
same  and  the  main  and  northeasterly  branch 
thereof  to  the  Great  Laurel  Ridge  or  Cum- 
berland Mountain;  thence  southwesterly 
along  the  said  mountain  to  the  line  of  North 
Carolina,”  was  assigned  to  a distinct  county 
to  be  called  Kentucky.  Upon  the  organiza- 
tion of  Fincastle,  this  region  was  specifically 
attached  to  it  for  judicial  and  other  purposes, 
but  the  character  of  the  people,  as  well  as 
the  vast  extent  of  wild  country,  forbade  the 
exercise  of  anything  like  supervision,  and 
the  pioneers  in  Kentucky  received  little 
active  sympathy  and  no  protection,  either  of 
a civil  or  military  character.  With  the 
organization  of  a new  county,  however,  the 
machinery  of  government  was  placed  in  their 
own  hands;  they  were  henceforth  represented 
in  the  general  assembly  by  two  representa- 


264 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


tives;  justices  of  the  peace  and  a county- 
court  took  cognizance  of  questions  of  law 
and  equity,  and  the  county -lieutenant,  sheriff, 
coroner  and  surveyor  were  the  authorized 
leaders  of  all  public  activities. 

Indian  hostilities  led  to  the  early  organiza- 
tion of  the  militia,  but  the  same  cause 
operated  to  prevent  the  instituting  of  civil 
government  until  after  the  suspension  of  the 
Indian  campaign.  In  the  fall,  therefore, 
the  first  court  met  at  Harrodsburg,  consisting 
of  John  Todd,  presiding  justice,  and  John 
Floyd,  Benjamin  Logan  and  Richard  Callo- 
way, associate  justices.  Its  organization 
was  completed  by  the  appointment  of  Levi 
Todd  as  clerk.  Officers  for  a regiment  of 
militia  were  promptly  commissioned,  and  the 
county- lieutenant.  Col.  John  Bowman,  pro- 
ceeded to  regularly  enroll  all  citizens, 
whether  resident  or  not,  into  companies  and 
battalions.  This  organization  sufficed  for 
the  simple  purposes  of  the  frontier  community 
until  the  1st  of  November,  1780,  when  the 
county  of  Kentucky  was  divided;  “all  that 
part  of  the  aforesaid  county  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Kentucky  River,  which  lies  west  and 
north  of  a line  beginning  at  the  mouth  of 
Benson’s  Big  Creek,  and  running  up  the 
same  and  its  main  fork  to  the  head;  thence 
south  to  the  nearest  waters  of  Hammon’s 
Creek,  and  down  the  same  to  the  town  fork  of 
Salt  River;  thence  south  to  Green  River; 
and  down  the  same  to  its  junction  with  the 
Ohio,  to  be  called  Jefferson  County.  All 
that  part  of  the  said  county  of  Kentucky, 
which  lies  north  of  a line  beginning  at  the 
Mouth  of  the  Kentucky  River,  and  up  the 
same  and  its  middle  fork  to  the  head;  and 
thence  southeast  to  the  Washington  line,  to 
be  called  Fayette  County.  And  all  the 
residue  of  the  said  county  of  Kentucky,  to 
be  called  Lincoln  County.” 

The  original  governmental  authority  was 
now  divided  among  three  similar  organiza- 
tions with  separate  jurisdiction.  These  courts 
possessed  only  a qualified  authority  in  civil 
and  criminal  matters.  All  capital  cases  were 
referred  to  the  only  competent  court  at  Rich- 
mond; misdemeanors,  punishable  by  fine  and  i 
imprisonment,  were  brought  before  the  county  i 


court  at  its  quarterly  session,  which  at  these 
sessions  had  cognizance  also  of  all  matters  at 
common  law,  or  in  chancery,  when  of  a civil 
nature,  not  exceeding  the  value  of  25 
shillings.  The  monthly  session  of  the  court 
took  cognizance  of  all  other  business  per- 
taining to  the  civil  administration  of  the 
county.  In  their  individual  capacity  as 
justices  of  the  peace,  the  members  of  the  court 
were  conservators  of  the  peace,  superintend- 
ents of  local  concerns,  with  power  to  examine 
and  commit  persons  charged  with  crimes 
affecting  life  or  limb;  to  bind  them  for  fur- 
ther trial  or  finally  discharge  them.  Such, 
however,  was  the  pressure  of  danger,  the  sim- 
plicity of  manner,  the  integrity  of  the  people, 
and  the  state  of  property,  according  to 
Marshall,  that  there  was  but  little  use  for 
criminal  law  until  a later  period. 

In  March,  1783,  agreeably  to  an  act  of  the 
Virginia  assembly,  a new  court  was  established. 
The  three  counties  had  been  formed  into  a 
judicial  district,  to  designate  which  the  dis- 
carded name  of  Kentucky  was  revived.  With- 
in these  limits,  the  new  court  was  invested 
with  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction,  similar 
to  the  circuit  courts  of  Virginia,  and  was 
composed  of  John  Floyd,  Samuel  McDowell 
and  George  Muter,  judges;  John  May,  clerk; 
and  W alker  Daniel,  prosecuting  attorney.  Its 
first  session  was  opened  in  Harrodsburg,  the 
first  two  judges  named  only  being  present. 
Muter  not  putting  in  an  appearance  until 
two  years  later.  At  this  session,  nine  cases  for 
selling  liquor  without  license,  eight  for  adul- 
tery or  fornication,  one  against  the  clerk  of 
Lincoln  County,  for  failing  to  keep  account 
of  his  fees,  and  several  for  minor  offenses 
were  presented  by  the  grand  jury.  No  house 
in  Harrodsburg  could  be  secured  that  would 
conveniently  accommodate  the  business  of 
the  court,  and  the  remainder  of  the  sessions 
was  therefore  adjourned  to  a meeting-house 
near  “Dutch  Station,”  six  miles  distant.  For 
its  next  session,  the  court  authorized  Daniel 
and  May  to  select  some  safe  place,  near  Crow’s 
Station,  in  which  the  business  could  be  trans- 
acted, and  empowered  them  to  employ  per- 
sons to  erect  a log  house,  large  enough  for  a 
court  room  in  one  end  and  two  jury  rooms  in 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


265 


the  other,  on  the  same  floor.  They  were  also 
authorized  to  contract  for  the  erection  of  a 
hewed  or  sawed-log  prison,  the  walls  to  beat 
least  nine  inches  thick.  No  provision  was  made 
for  the  expense  of  these  buildings,  save  that 
in  case  the  court,  for  any  reason,  removed  its 
sessions  to  any  other  place  these  gentlemen 
were  to  be  reimbursed  out  of  the  com’t  funds, 
or  through  its  influence  by  the  legislature. 
The  agents  of  the  court  had  no  diflficulty  in 
securing  a donation  of  these  buildings  on  the 
court’s  engagement  to  hold  its  session  there, 
and  from  this  beginning,  the  town  of  Dan- 
ville took  its  origin.  Thenceforward,  this 
village  became  the  district  capital  and  a 
noted  point  for  public  meetings,  until  the 
separation  of  Kentucky  from  the  parent  State 
inaugurated  a new  regime. 

Such  was  the  state  of  political  development 
when  Col.  Logan  called  a meeting  of  the  cit- 
izens, in  the  fall  of  1784,  to  consider  the  sit- 
uation of  the  district  with  regard  to  the 
threatened  invasion  of  the  savages.*  But  in 
the  powers  thus  conferred,  the  assembled 
pioneers  found  none  to  authorize  the  inde- 
pendent action  to  which  they  had  so  long 
been  accustomed.  The  same  resources  were 
found  in  the  country;  the  settlers  still  pos- 
sessed their  trusty  rifles;  horses  and  trap- 
pings,cornmeal  and  bacon  were  still  abundant, 
but  the  question  which  confronted  the  con- 
vention was  how  these  could  be  commanded 
in  any  general  effort  against  the  enemy.  So 
long  as  the  danger  was  imminent  and 
threatened  all  alike,  private  interests  would 
insure  a ready  response  to  the  call  to  arms, 
even  if  there  was  no  prospect  of  remunera- 
tion by  the  government  for  time  and  losses. 
But  the  declaration  of  peace,  and  the  rapidly 
extending  lines  of  the  settlements,  had 
wrought  great  changes  in  the  public  temper. 
The  central  settlements  no  longer  felt  the 
same  apprehension  of  danger  as  those  in  more 
exposed  situations,  and  the  natural  feeling 
began  to  prevail  that,  now  the  emergency  had 
passed,  it  was  due  those  who  had  suffered  so 
much  for  the  general  weal  that  the  govern- 
ment should  undertake,  at  its  own  expense, 
the  defense  of  those  from  whom  it  claimed 

^Appendix  A,  Note  26. 


the  allegiance  of  subjects.  This  sentiment 
was  daily  strengthened  by  the  accession  of 
those  who  had  not  been  trained  in  the  stern 
school  of  border  experience,  and  whose  pres- 
ence on  the  frontier  was  induced  by  a wish 
rather  to  improve  their  private  fortunes  than 
to  cultivate  the  grace  of  patriotism. 

The  source  of  the  difficulties  under  which 
the  district  labored  was  not  far  to  seek.  It 
lay  in  the  inability  of  the  frontier  community, 
through  legal  restrictions,  to  exert  the  power 
it  amply  possessed.  The  formality  of  govern- 
mental sanction  had  hitherto  been  largely 
ignored  by  tacit  consent,  but  now  the  Vir- 
ginia authorities,  complaining  of  the  burden 
of  the  war,  began  to  scrutinize  unauthorized 
expense.  The  evils  complained  of  were 
remote  from  the  seat  of  government;  they 
were  of  a kind  not  fully  appreciated  by  those 
who  had  long  been  removed  from  frontier 
scenes,  and  failed,  therefore,  to  awaken  sym- 
pathetic promptness  in  promoting  measures 
of  relief.  But  with  even  these  obstacles  re- 
moved, there  still  remained  the  long,  tedious 
journey  to  and  fro, which  must  be  accomplished 
before  action  could  be  authorized,  and  hope- 
lessly prevented  that  promptness  of  reprisal, 
which  the  nature  of  the  case  rendered  the 
only  effective  redress.* 

All  this  came  vividly  before  the  men  whom 
Logan’s  call  had  brought  together.  They 
discovered  that  the  remedy  to  be  applied  lay 
beyond  their  power,  and,  while  suggesting  an 
appeal  to  the  legislature,  they  recommitted 
the  whole  subject  to  a body  which  should  be 
more  representative  of  the  people  than  them- 
selves. A circular  letter  was  accordingly 
addressed  to  the  citizens  of  the  district. 


*The  difficulty  of  communicating  with  the  frontier  can 
scarcely  now  be  imagined.  In  April,  1781,  Gov.  Jetierson  sent 
orders  io  Clark  for  a military  expedition  into  the  Indian  country 
which  did  not  reach  tbeir  destination  until  the  lllh  of  <-he  fol- 
lowing July.  On  the  30th  of  November,  1782,  the  provisional 
articles  of  peace  were  signed  in  Paris,  but  news  of  this  event, 
though  known  in  the  East  in  January,  did  not  reach  Kentucky 
until  April  As  late  as  1788,  there  was  little  improvement  in 
this  respect  to  be  observed.  In  a letter  of  John  Brown  to  Judge 
Muter,  dated  New  York,  July  10,  1788,  it  was  written:  “An 
answer  to  your  favor  of  the  10th  of  ^March,  was,  together  with 
several  other  letters,  put  into  the  hands  of  one  ofGen.  Harmar’s 
officers,  who  set  out  in  May  last  for  ihe  Ohio,  and  who  promised 
to  forward  them  to  the  district.  But  I fear  that  they  have  mis- 
carried, as  I was  a few  days  ago  informed,  that  his  orders  had 
been  countermanded,  and  that  be  had  been  sent  to  the  garrison  at 
West  Point.  Indeed,  I have  found  it  almost  impracticable  to 
; transmit  a letter  to  Kentucky,  as  there  is  scarce  any  communi- 
I cation  between  this  place  and  that  country.  A post  is  now 
I established  from  this  place  to  Fort  Pitt,  to  set  out  once  in  two 
I weeks,  after  the  20th  instant;  this  will  render  the  communica- 
I tion  easy  and  certain.”  Marshall,  Vol.  I,  p.  304.) 


2GG 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


recommending  that  each  militia  company- 
should  appoint  a delegate  to  a convention  to 
be  held  at  Danville  on  the  27th  of  December, 
1784.  To  this  recommendation  there  was  a 
very  cordial  and  general  response;  represent- 
atives were  chosen  and  convened  at  Danville 
on  the  appointed  day,  and  promptly  com- 
pleting their  organization  by  the  election  of 
Samuel  McDowell  as  president  and  Thomas 
Todd  as  clerk,  they  proceeded  to  the  trans- 
action of  the  business  which  had  brought 
them  together.  For  ten  days  this  body  con- 
ducted its  deliberations  with  commendable 
industry  and  good  sense;  the  best  method  of 
obviating  the  difficulties  which  hindered 
present  necessary  action,  and  of  preventing 
their  recurrence  in  the  future  was  soberly 
discussed;  the  proposed  appeal  to  the  legis- 
lature appeared,  on  the  whole,  to  be  only 
partially  effective;  the  main  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  successfully  dealing  with  the  frontier 
problem  were  believed  to  exist  in  the  fixed 
character  of  the  country,  in  its  isolated  and 
exposed  condition.  For  this  there  seemed 
no  apparent  remedy  save  the  one  suggested 
by  a provision  of  the  State  constitution,  one 
expressly  adopted  with  a view  to  such  an 
occasion  as  the  present — that  of  independence. 

This  bold  proposition  received  the  appro- 
bation of  a “decided  majority”  of  the  con- 
vention, which  found  expression  in  a resolu- 
tion urging  that  steps  be  taken  to  bring  it 
about,  but  as  so  radical  a measure  was  not 
contemplated  by  the  people  when  the  repre- 
sentatives were  chosen,  it  was  thought  proper 
as  well  as  prudent  to  again  refer  the  matter 
to  the  people.  It  was  accordingly  suggested 
by  resolution  that  at  the  succeeding  April 
election,  when  legislative  representatives  were 
chosen,  delegates  should  be  elected  to  a sec- 
ond convention,*  which  should  meet  at 
Danville  in  May,  for  the  express  purpose  of 
considering  the  propriety  and  expediency  of 
seeking  a separation  of  the  district  from  Vir- 
ginia. The  nature  of  the  proposition,  which 
was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  people 
by  circular  letters  and  otherwise,  evoked  a 

*There  is  some  discrepancy  between  writers  in  the  number 
of  these  conventions.  This  arises  from  the  fact  that  some  count 
the  informal  gathering  convened  by  Col.  Logan  as  the  first  con- 
vention. The  succeeding  meeting,  the  first  to  which  delegates 
were  chosen,  is  properly  entitled  to  that  distinction. 


considerable  difference  of  opinion.  None  but 
the  most  radical  accepted  the  proposed  inno- 
vation without  hesitation;  others  yielded  their 
assent  to  what  seemed  the  only  practical  alter- 
native in  the  present  dilemma,  while  “thosr 
who  felt  themselves  at  ease  in  places  of  safety 
those  who  were  strongly  attached  to  Virginii 
— and  there  were  many  who  loved  her  man- 
ners,habits  and  institutions — those  who  were 
unmoved  by  new  objects  of  ambition,  and 
others  averse  to  any  radical  change,  in  a 
word,  all  those  whose  property  rendered  them 
timid,  could  but  anticipate  the  event  of  sep- 
aration from  the  parent  State  with  some 
apprehensions;  many  openly  opposed  the 
measure.”  (Marshall.) 

There  was  little  or  no  opposition  to  the 
convention  manifested,  however,  and  the 
delegates  were  duly  chosen.  On  the  23d  of 
May,  1785,  the  new  body  assembled  at  Dan- 
ville, the  session^  of  which  were  also  attended 
by  a considerable  number  of  interested  citi- 
zens. Good  order  and  calm  deliberation 
characterized  the  discussions,  and  on  the  ninth 
day  the  conclusions  to  which  the  convention 
had  come  were  expressed  in  the  following 
resolutions: 

First.  Resctoea!,  unanimously,  as  the  opinion  of 
this  convention  That  a petition  be  presented  to  the 
assembly,  praying  that  this  district  may  be  estab- 
lished into  a State,  separate  from  Virginia. 

Second.  Resolved,  unanimously,  as  the  opinion  of 
this  convention,  That  this  district,  when  established 
into  a Slate,  ought  to  be  taken  into  union  with  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  enjoy  equal  privi- 
leges in  common  with  said  States. 

Third.  Resolved,  That  this  convention  recom- 
mend it  to  their  constituents,  to  elect  deputies  in 
their  respective  counties  to  meet  at  Danville  on  the 
second  Monday  of  August  next,  to  serve  in  conven- 
tion, and  to  continue  by  adjournment  till  the  1st 
day  of  April  next,  to  take  further  under  their  con- 
sideration the  state  of  the  district. 

Fourth.  Resolved,  unanimously.  That  the  elec- 
tion of  deputies-for  the  proposed  convention,  ought 
to  be  on  the  principles  of  equal  representation. 

Fifth,  Resolved,  That  the  petition  to  the  assem- 
bly for  establishing  this  district  into  a State,  and 
the  several  resolves  of  the  former  and  present  con- 
vention upon  which  the  petition  is  founded,  to- 
gether with  all  other  matters  relative  to  the 
interests  of  the  district,  that  have  been  under  their 
consideration,  be  referred  to  the  future  convention, 
that  such  further  measures  may  be  taken  thereon 
as  they  shall  judge  proper. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


267 


These  resolutions  are  chiefly  interesting  on 
account  of  the  unanimity  they  express  in 
favor  of  separation,  and  the  indication  they 
afford  of  the  independent  development  of  new 
political  ideas  which  was  silently  going  for- 
ward in  the  frontier  community.  As  has  been 
indicated,  the  people  were  considerably  di- 
vided upon  the  desirability  of  separation, 
and  if  the  delegates  may  be  supposed  to  have 
originally  fairly  represented  the  sentiment 
of  their  constituents,  the  arguments  employed 
in  favor  of  the  radical  measure  must  have 
been  unusually  convincing  to  win  over  the 
entire  opposition.  It  is  probable,  however, 
tnat  the  delegates  were  chosen  from  the  lead- 
ing men  irrespective  of  their  sentiments,  who 
in  such  an  aggressive  society  were  unlikely 
to  sympathize  with  the  conservative  element. 
The  assertion  of  population  as  the  true  basis 
of  representation  was  a new  departure,  con- 
trary to  the  constitution  and  settled  practice 
of  Virginia  as  well  as  the  aristocratic  senti- 
ment which  was  slowly  gaining  a foothold  in 
the  district.  It  was  an  outgrowth  of  the 
liberal  influences  made  prominent  by  the  reso- 
lution, which,  coming  in  contact  with  the 
plastic  society  of  Kentucky,  rendered  it  in  im- 
portant respects  superior  to  the  parent  State. 

Whatever  the  reasons  which  led  to  the  una- 
nimity of  the  convention,  the  delegates  evi- 
dently had  reason  to  believe  that  their  constit- 
uents were  not  ready  to  endorse  their  action 
without  further  discussion,  and  while  they 
drew  up  a petition  to  the  legislature,  chiefly,  it 
would  seem,  as  a matter  of  form,  they  took 
care  not  to  present  it,  but  referred  it  to  the 
people  with  an  address  in  which  they  pre- 
sented every  consideration  in  favor  of  their 
proposed  action.  As  a complete  statement  of 
the  grievances  complained  of  at  that  time,  it  J 
is  worthy  of  reproduction:  i 

To  THE  Inhabitants  of  the  District  op  Ken- 
tucky. 

Friends  and  Fellow  Citizens:  We  your  repre- 
sentatives, met  in  convention,  in  consequence  of 
our  appointment,  beg  leave  to  address  you  on  a sub- 
ject which  we  consider  of  the  last  importance  to 
you,  to  ourselves  and  to  unborn  posterity.  In  every 
case,  where  it  becomes  necessary  for  one  part  of  the 
community  to  separate  from  the  other,  duty  to  Al-  ' 
mighty  God,  and  a decent  respect  for  the  opinions  j 


of  mankind,  require  that  the  causes  which  impel 
them  thereto  should  be  cleariy  and  impartially  set 
forth. 

We  hold  it  as  a self-evident  truth,  that  govern- 
ment is- ordained  for  the  ease  and  protection  of  the 
governed;  and  whenever  these  ends  are  not  attained 
by  one  form  of  government,  it  is  right,  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  people,  to  seek  such  other  mode  as  will 
be  most  likely  to  insure  to  themselves  and  their 
posterity  those  blessings  to  which  by  nature  they 
are  entitled. 

In  the  course  of  our  inquiries,  we  find  that 
several  laws  have  passed  the  legislature  of  Virginia, 
which,  although  of  a general  nature,  yet  in  their 
operation  are  particularly  oppressive  to  the  people 
of  this  district;  and  we  also  find,  that  from  our 
local  situation,  we  are  deprived  of  many  benefits  of 
government  which  every  citizen  therein  has  a right 
to  expect;  as  a few  facts  will  sufficiently  demon- 
strate. 

We  have  no  power  to  call  out  the  militia,  our 
sure  and  only  defense,  to  oppose  the  wicked  mach- 
inations of  the  savages,  unless  in  case  of  actual 
invasion. 

We  can  have  no  executive  power  in  the  district, 
either  to  enforce  the  e.vecution  of  laws,  or  to  grant 
pardons  to  objects  of  mercj^  because  such  a power, 
would  be  inconsistent  with  the  policy  of  govern- 
ment. and  contrary  to  the  present  constitution. 

We  are  ignorant  of  the  laws  that  are  passed,  un- 
til a long  time  after  they  are  enacted;  and  in  many 
instances  not  until  they  have  expired;  by  means 
whereof  penalties  may  be  inflicted  for  offenses  never 
designed,  and  delinquents  escape  the  punishment 
due  to  their  crimes. 

We  are  subjected  to  prosecute  suits  in  the  high 
court  of  appeals  at  Richmond,  under  ever}"  disadvan- 
tage, for  the  want  of  evidence,  want  of  friends, 
and  want  of  money. 

Our  money  must  necessarily  be  drawn  from  us 
not  only  for  the  support  of  civil  government,  but 
by  individuals,  who  are  frequently  under  the  neces- 
sity of  attending  on  the  same. 

Now,  is  it  possible  for  the  inhabitants  of  this  dis- 
trict, at  so  remote  a distance  from  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment, ever  to  derive  equal  benefits  with  the  citi- 
zens in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State;  and  thisin- 
c.mvenicnce  must  increase,  as  our  country  becomes 
more  populous. 

Our  commercial  interests  can  never  correspond 
with  or  be  regulated  by  theirs;  and  in  case  of  any 
invasion,  the  State  of  Virginia  can  afford  us  no 
adequate  protection,  in  comparison  with  the  advan- 
tages we  might  (if  a separate  State)  derive  from 
the  federal  union. 

On  maturely  considering  truths  of  such  great  im- 
portance to  every  inhabitant  of  the  district,  with  a 
firm  persuasion  that  we  were  consulting  the  general 
good  of  our  infant  country,  we  have  unanimously 
resolved — “that  it  is  expedient  and  necessary  for 
this  district  to  be  separated  from  Virginia,  and  es- 


2G8 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


tablished  into  a sovereign  independent  State,  to  be 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  taken  into  union  with  the  United  States 
of  America.”  In  order  to  effect  this  purpose,  we 
have  agreed  on  a petition  to  be  presented  to  the 
legislature  of  Virginia,  at  their  ne.xt  session,  pray- 
ing that  a separation  may  take  place;  in  which  pe- 
tition are  fully  set  forth  such  terms  as  we  thought 
beneficial  to  our  infant  country,  and  not  inconsist- 
ent for  Virginia  to  grant. 

It  is  generally  admitted  that  this  district  ought  at 
some  period,  not  far  distant,  to  be  separated  from 
the  government  of  Virginia.  The  only  question 
then  is,  whether  we  are  now  of  sufficient  ability, 
either  to  fill  the  different  offices  of  government,  or 
provide  for  its  support?  In  answer  to  the  first 
part  of  this  objection,  examples  have  taught  us 
that  sound  principles  and  plain  sense  suffice  for 
every  laudable  purpose  of  government;  and  we 
generally  find  that  the  liberty  of  the  subject  and 
the  laws  of  the  land  are  in  the  highest  reverence 
at  the  foundation  and  rise  of  States  before  the 
morals  of  the  people  have  been  vitiated  by  wealth 
and  licentiousness,  and  their  understandings  en- 
tangled in  visionary  refinements,  and  chimerical 
distinctions;  and  as  to  the  latter  part,  we  have  now 
in  our  power  several  valuable  funds,  which  if  by 
procrastination  we  suffer  to  be  exhausted,  we  shall 
be  stripped  of  every  resource  but  internal  taxation, 
and  that  under  every  disadvantage;  and,  therefore, 
we  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  it  as  our  opinion 
that  the  present  is  preferable  to  any  future  period. 

By  an  act  of  the  last  session  of  the  assembly,  wc 
find  that  the  revenue  law  is  now  fully  and  immedi- 
ately to  be  enforced  within  the  district,  so  that  we 
shall  not  only  pay  a very  considerable  part  of  the 
tax  for  supporting  the  civil  government  of  the  State, 
but  also  be  obliged  to  support  our  supreme  court, 
and  every  other  office  we  need  in  this  district,  at 
our  own  charge;  and  we  are  of  opinion  that  the 
additional  expense  of  the  salaries  to  a governor, 
council,  treasurer,  and  delegates  to  congress,  will 
for  a number  of  years,  be  more  than  saved  out  of 
the  funds  before  alluded  to,  without  any  additional 
tax  on  the  people. 

To  impress  you  still  more  with  a sense  of  our  re- 
gard for  your  interests  as  a free  people,  we  have 
determined  not  to  proceed  in  a matter  of  such  mag- 
nitude without  repeated  appeals  to  your  opinions; 
we  have,  therefore,  recommended  the  election  of 
another  convention,  to  meet  at  Danville  on  the 
second  Monday  in  August  next,  to  take  further  into 
consideration  the  state  of  the  district,  and  the  re- 
solves of  this  and  the  preceding  convention.  In 
this  election  we  hope  you  will  be  actuated  by  a 
serious  sense  of  the  important  objects  which  the 
proposed  election  is  designed  to  promote. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  true  state  of 
the  facts  thus  traversed,  the  above  state- 
ment of  the  case  was  believed  to  be  well  cal- 


culated to  bring  the  people  to  the  support  of 
the  advanced  position  of  the  convention;  and, 
in  the  absence  of  a press,  written  copies 
were  industriously  circulated,  while  the  late 
members  of  the  convention  were  active  in 
disseminating  their  views  and  enforcing 
them  by  similar  arguments.  The  opponents 
of  the  measure  were  less  active;  their  appre- 
hensions were  scarcely  well  enough  defined 
to  supply  arguments,  and  they  therefore  pas- 
sively awaited  events  rather  than  sought  to 
control  them.  The  election,  accordingly, 
passed  without  serious  contest,  and  the  dele- 
gates-elect  assembled  at  Danville,  where,  on 
the  8th  of  August,  1785,  the  third  conven- 
tion was  organized.  In  providing  for  this 
convention,  its  predecessor  had  apportioned 
the  representation  among  the  counties,  in  the 
absence  of  any  census,  according  to  the  title 
lists  and  muster  rolls,  which  afforded  a fairly 
accurate  estimate  of  the  population.  In  this 
apportionment,  the  number  of  delegates 
assigned  to  Jefferson  County  was  6;  to  Nel- 
son, 6;  to  Lincoln,  10;  and  to  Payette,  8;  a 
total  of  30  delegates.* 

This  convention  was  distinguished  by  two 
notable  features:  the  prominent  character  of 
its  members,  and  the  aggressive  tone  of  its 
deliberations.  To  both  of  these,  James  Wil- 
kinson contributed  in  an  unusual  degree. f He 
had  entered  the  army  early  in  the  revolution- 
ary struggle,  and  had  gradually  won  honor- 
able distinction  and  a high  official  position 
before  its  close.  On  the  return  of  peace  he 
had  come  to  Pennsylvania,  had  engaged  in 
mercantile  pursuits,  and  had  in  the  meantime 
served  in  the  assembly  of  his  adopted  State. 
In  February  of  the  preceding  year,  he  had 

*Aceording  to  Marshall  (Vol.  I,  p.  207,)  only  twenty-six 
members  attended,  as  follows : from  Lincoln— Samuel  McDowell,. 
George  Muter,  Christopher  Irvin,  William  Kennedy,  Benjamin 
Logan,  Caleb  Wallace,  Harry  Innes,  John  Edwards  and  .tames 
Speed. 

From  Fayette— James  Wilkinson,  James  Garrard,  Levi  Todd, 
John  Coburn,  James  Trotter,  .John  Craig  and  Robert  Patterson. 

From  Jefferson — Richard  Terrell,  George, Wilson,  Benjamin 
Sebastian  and  Philip  Barbour. 

From  Nelson— Isaac  Cox,  Isaac  Morrison,  Andrew  Hines, 
Matthew  Walton,  James  Morrison  and  James  Rogers. 

Of  these,  Wilkinson  was  foremost  in  brilliant  accomplish- 
ments and  honorable  distinction;  McDowell,  Muter,  Wallace 
and  Sebastian  were  at  different  times  members  of  the  highest 
court  of  Kentucky;  Innes  was  attorney -genenal,  and  subse- 
quently judge  of  the  United  States  Court  for  Kentucky;  Logan, 
Patterson,  Todd  were  scarcely  less  distinguished  by  their  emi 
nent  services  in  the  early  history  of  the  district , while  scarcely 
one  of  the  other  members  failed  to  prominently  identify  his 
name  with  some  of  the  best  achievements  of  the  new  State. 

t-^ppendix  A.  Note  27. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY". 


269 


<3ome  to  Lexington,  where  his  grace  of  man- 
ner and  power  of  intellect  easily  captivated 
‘‘the  simple  and  I’ustic  Kentuckians.  ” “A  per- 
son, not  quite  tall  enough  to  be  perfectly  ele- 
gant, was  compensated  by  its  symmetry  and 
appearance  of  health  and  strength.  A coun- 
tenance, open,  mild,  capacious  and  beaming 
with  intelligence;  a gait,  firm,  manly  and  j 
facile;  manners,  bland,  accommodating  and  | 
popular;  an  address,  easy,  polite  and 
gracious;  invited  approach,  gave  access,  in- 
sured attention,  cordiality  and  ease.  By 
these  fair  forms,  he  conciliated;  by  these,  he 
captivated.”  (Marshall.) 

The  general  was  undoubtedly  ambitious; 
was  not  averse  to  reaching  his  ends  by  indirect 
methods,  and  came  to  Kentucky  to  improve 
his  fortune  in  any  way  that  the  formative 
state  of  society  should  suggest.  Accordingly, 
while  earnestly  engaged  in  pushing  his 
business  operations,  the  growing  public  inter- 
est in  the  question  of  separation  did  not 
escape  his  attention.  He  was  not  a member  j 
of  either  the  first  or  second  convention,  j 
though  it  is  believed  that  he  exercised  a con- 
trolling influence  over  the  action  of  the  | 
second,  and  inspired,  if  he  did  not  write,  the  ' 
address  put  forth  by  that  body.  In  the  third  | 
convention  he  was  undoubtedly  the  vis  a tergo,  [ 
and  drew  up  the  petition  to  the  legislature  as  | 
well  as  the  impassioned  appeal  to  the  people.  I 
The  convention  spent  several  days  in  the 
consideration  of  the  papers  committed  to  it 
by  its  predecessors,  when,  “according  to  the 
order  of  the  day,  it  resolved  itself  into  a ' 
committee  of  the  whole  on  the  state  of  the 
district,”  and  after  some  time  spent  in  dis-  j 
cussion,  the  committee  arose  and  made  its  ! 
report  to  the  convention  at  the  hand  of  Mr.  | 
Muter.  This  report  recites  in  an  itemized  I 
statement  the  identical  grievances  which  * 
formed  the  burden  of  the  address  already  j 
quoted,  though  in  more  elegant  phrase  and 
more  forcible  manner.  In  the  address  to  the 
legislature,  “the  complimentary  style  of  ad- 
ulation and  insincerity”  was  discarded,  as  it 
became  “freemen,  when  speaking  to  freemen, 
to  employ  the  plain,  manly  and  unadorned 
language  of  independence,  supported  by  con-  ' 
scious  rectitude.”  The  character  of  the  whole 


petition,  if  such  it  may  properly  be  called, 
was  in  keeping  with  this  profession,  and  after 
reciting  the  familiar  objections  to  the  present 
relation,  prayed  “that  an  act  may  pass  at  the 
ensuing  session  of  assembly,  declaring  and 
acknowledging  the  sovereignty  and  inde- 
pendence of  this  district.” 

The  appeal  to  the  people  was  of  a still 
more  aggressive  character,  and  was  well 
calculated  to  incite  the  people  to  illegal 
action.  The  Indians  had  again  begun  to 
harass  the  frontier  with  fire-brand  and  toma- 
hawk, and  furnished  the  ready  writer  with  an 
argument  that  touched  the  most  sensitive 
point  in  the  Kentucky  character.  It  was 
addressed  to  the  “inhabitants  of  the  district 
of  Kentucky”  as  “friends  and  countrymen,” 
and  proceeded  as  follows: 

Y"our  representatives  in  convention  having  com- 
pleted the  important  business  for  which  they  were 
especially  elected,  feel  it  their  duty,  before  they 
adjourn,  to  call  your  attention  to  the  calamities 
with  which  our  country  appears  to  be  threatened — 
blood  has  been  spilled  from  the  eastern  to  the  western 
extremity  of  the  district',  accounts  have  been  given 
to  the  convention,  from  post  St.  Vincennes,  which 
indicate  a disposition  in  the  savages  for  general  war; 
in  the  meantime,  if  we  look  nearer  home,  we  shall 
find  our  borders  infested  and  constant  depredations 
committed  on  our  property.  Whatever  maj’  be  the 
remote  designs  of  the  savages,  these  are  causes  suf- 
ficient to  rouse  our  attention,  that  we  may  be  pre- 
pared not  only  to  defend  but  punish  those  who, 
unprovoked,  offend  us.  God  and  nature  have  given 
us  the  power,  and  we  shall  stand  condemned,  in  the 
eyes  of  heaven  and  mankind,  if  we  do  not  employ 
it,  to  redress  our  wrongs  and  assert  our  rights. 

The  Indians  are  now  reconnoitering  our  settle- 
ments, in  order  that  they  may  hereafter  direct 
their  attacks  with  more  certain  effect,  and  we  seem 
patiently  to  await  the  stroke  of  the  tomahawk. 
Strange  indeed  it  is,  that  although  we  can  hardly 
pass  a spot  which  does  not  remind  us  of  the  murder 
of  a father  or  brother  or  friend,  we  should  take  no 
single  step  for  our  own  preservation.  Have  we  for- 
got the  surprise  of  Bryant’s,  or  the  shocking  de- 
struction of  Kincheloe’s  station?  Let  us  ask  you, 
ask  ourselves,  what  is  there  to  prevent  a repetition 
of  such  barbarous  scenes?  Five  hundred  Indians 
might  be  conducted  undiscovered  to  our  very  thresh- 
olds. and  the  knife  may  be  put  to  the  throats  of 
our  sleeping  wives  and  children.  For  shame!  let 
us  rouse  from  our  lethargy;  let  us  arm,  associate 
and  embody;  let  us  call  upon  our  officers  to  do  their 
duty;  and  determine  to  hold  in  detestation  and  ab- 
horrence, and  treat  as  enemies  to  the  community, 
every  person  who  shall  withhold  his  countenance 


270 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY 


and  support  of  such  measures  as  may  be  recom- 
mended for  our  common  defense.  Let  it  be  remem- 
bered that  a stand  must  be  made  somewhere;  not  to 
support  our  present  frontier  would  be  the  height  of 
cruelty  as  well  as  folly.  For  should  it  give  way, 
those  who  now  hug  themselves  in  security  will  take 
the  front  of  danger,  and  we  shall  in  a short  time  be 
huddled  together  in  stations,  a situation,  in  our 
present  circumstances,  scarcely  preferable  to  death. 
Let  us  remember  that  supiueness  and  inaction  may 
entice  the  enemy  to  general  hostilities,  whilst  prep- 
aration and  offensive  movements  will  disconcert 
their  plans,  drive  them  from  our  borders,  secure 
ourselves,  and  protect  our  property;  therefore, 

Eesoloeil,  That  the  convention  in  the  name  and 
behalf  of  the  people,  do  call  on  the  lieutenants,  or 
commanding  officers  of  the  respective  counties  of 
this  district,  forthwith  to  carry  into  operation  the 
law  for  regulating  and  disciplining  the  militia. 

Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  officers, 
to  assemble  in  their  respective  counties,  and  concert 
such  plans  as  they  may  deem  expedient  for  the  de- 
fense of  our  country,  or  for  carrying  expeditions 
against  the  hostile  nations  of  Indians. 

In  view  of  the  actual  facts,  the  entire  ex- 
pression of  this  convention  cannot  but  be 
considered  in  the  last  degree  intemperate. 
No  petition  for  separation  had  yet  been  pre- 
sented to  the  assembly,  nor  had  Virginia 
manifested  any  disposition  to  maintain  the 
existing  relation  longer  than  should  prove  to 
the  mutual  prosperity  of  both  sections.  In 
fact,  every  authoritative  utterance  from  1776 
to  the  date  of  the  legislative  address  had 
been  to  the  contrary.  The  attitude  of  inde- 
pendence assumed  lacked  every  element  of  dig- 
nity, and  betrayed  far  more  of  bravado  than 
patriotism.  The  popular  address  was  simple 
demagogism.  The  danger  to  be  feared  from 
the  Indians  was  grossly  exaggerated,  and  the 
appeal  to  “ arm,  associate  and  embody,”  as 
well  as  the  final  resolutions,  was  idle  vapor- 
ing or  an  attempt  to  incite  the  borderers  to 
unlawful  enterprises,  which  would  tend  to 
complicate  the  situation  and  render  appro- 
priate action  by  the  constituted  authorities 
more  difficu’t  and  uncertain.  To  Wilkin- 
son such  a view  of  the  matter  had  little 
weight.  He  was  essentially  selfish  in  his 
action,  and  undoubtedly  hoped  to  profit  by 
thus  pandering  to  the  prejudices  of  the  less 
thoughtful  of  the  community.  That  the 
eminent  gentlemen  who  made  up  the  mem- 
bership of  the  convention  should  unani- 


mously endorse  such  pronunciamentos  must 
excite  surprise,  but  it  is  probable  that  the 
end  in  view  was  more  closely  scanned  than 
the  methods  by  which  it  was  sought. 

Copies  of  the  popular  address  were  multi- 
plied by  the  pen  and  industriously  circulated 
among  the  people.  Henceforward,  there 
were  two  active  parties  among  the  citizens  of 
the  district,  both  seeking  separation,  but  the 
one  advocating  a temperate,  legal  and  digni- 
fied course,  while  the  other  urged  an  aggress- 
ive, peremptory,  and,  if  need  be,  a violent 
dissolution  of  the  tie.  Wilkinson  became 
the  leader  of  the  latter,  and  practiced  all  the 
arts  of  a popular  leader  to  engage  the  atten- 
tion of  the  class  to  whom  the  address  most 
strongly  appealed,  and  win  them  to  the  sup- 
port of  his  measures.  He  set  up  an  ostenta- 
tious establishment,  cultivated  the  friend- 
ship of  the  younger  and  more  ardent  spirits, 
and  liberally  dispensed  a lavish  hospitality, 
with  such  success  as  to  bewilder  the  judg- 
ment of  many  whose  intelligence  was  un- 
moved by  his  arguments.  His  talents,  which 
were  of  a high  order,  accomplished  the  rest, 
and  he  was  for  the  time  the  leading  spirit,  if 
not  the  autocrat,  of  district  politics. 

In  the  midst  of  the  discussion  thus  pro- 
duced, the  address  to  the  legislature — com- 
mitted for  presentation  to  Muter,  the  chief 
justice,  and  Innes,  the  attorney-general  of  the 
district — had  come  before  the  assembly. 
That  body  found  no  difficulty  in  granting  the 
wish  of  the  Kentuckians,  and  in  January, 
1786,  in  recognition  of  the  remoteness  of 
the  district  and  the  natural  difficulties 
attending  the  necessary  intercourse  between 
the  two  sections,  it  was  provided  that 
the  expediency  of  the  measure,  and  “the 
will  of  the  good  people  of  the  district,”  should 
be  determined  by  another  convention  to  be 
held  at  Danville  on  the  fourth  Monday  in 
the  following  September.  The  convention 
was  to  be  composed  of  five  representatives 
from  each  of  the  seven  counties  (Bourbon, 
Madison  and  Mercer  were  formed  in  this  ses- 
sion), to  be  elected  on  the  court  days  in 
August,  and  to  continue  in  appointment  for 
one  year.  Two-thirds  of  the  representatives- 
elect  were  to  form  a quorum,  and  a majority 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


271 


of  votes  to  decide  their  action;  and  if,  by 
such  an  expression,  it  appeared  to  be  the  will 
of  the  people,  the  district  should  be  erected 
into  an  independent  State  on  certain  stipu- 
lated conditions,*  of  which  the  one  requiring 
the  assent  of  congress  before  the  1st  day  of 
June,  1787,  proved  the  greatest  obstacle  to 
the  wished- for  consummation. 

This  act  was  received  in  the  district  with 
general  disfavor.  Many  of  the  aggressive 
party  complained  of  the  delay  involved  in 
again  submitting  the  question  of  expe- 
diency when  three  conventions  had  given 
such  unmistakable  expression  upon  that  point, 
while  objection  to  other  of  the  conditions  was 
entertained  by  the  people  irrespective  of 
factional  lines.  A foui’th  convention  appeared 
unavoidable,  however,  and  both  parties  pre- 
pared to  contest  the  election.  The  increasing 
depredations  of  the  savages  afforded  Wilkin- 
son and  his  following  a powerful  argument, 
and  with  a new  boldness  they  declared  their 
intention  in  case  of  success  to  throw  off  the 
authority  of  Virginia  without  delay.  As  the 
time  of  election  approached,  it  was  publicly 
given  out  that  Wilkinson  would  advocate 
this  course  in  a speech  to  the  people  at  Lex- 
ington at  the  opening  of  the  polls.  The  op- 
posite faction,  accordingly,  selected  a cham- 
pion to  reply.  The  day  an-ived,  the  speech 
was  made,  and  also  the  reply.  In  the  foren- 
sic contest,  the  general  seems  to  have  suc- 
ceeded in  outwitting  his  antagonist  rather 
than  in  convincing  the  voters,  many  of  whom, 
being  from  the  remoter  districts,  were  less 
under  the  influence  of  aggressive  champions. 
It  occurred  to  these  simple  people  that  such 


*A  letter  from  Madison  to  Washington,  under  date  of  De- 
cember 9,  1785,  gives  a concise  statement  of  these  conditions,  as 
follows:  “Kentucky  made  a formal  application  for  indepen- 
dence. Her  memorial  has  been  considered,  and  the  terms  of  sep- 
aration fixed  by  a committee  of  the  whole.  The  substance  of 
them  is,  that  all  private  rights  and  interests,  derived  from 
the  laws  of  Virginia,  shall  be  secured;  that  the  unlocated  lands 
shall  be  applied  to  the  objects  to  which  the  laws  of  Virginia  have 
appropriated  them;  that  the  Ohio  shall  be  a common  highway  for 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  the  jurisdiction  of  Kentucky 
and  Virginia,  as  far  as  the  remaining  territory  of  the  latter  will 
be  thereon,  be  concurrent  only  with  the  new  states  on  theoppo- 
site  shore;  that  the  proposed  State  shall  take  its  due  share  of  our 
state  debts;  and  that  the  separation  shall  not  take  place  unless 
these  terms  shall  be  approved  by  a convention  to  be  held  to  de- 
cide the  question,  nor  until  congress  shall  assent  thereto,  and 
fix  the  terms  of  their  admission  into  the  Union.  The  limits  of 
the  proposed  State  are  to  be  the  same  with  the  present  limits  of 
the  district.  The  apparent  coolness  of  the  representatives  of 
Kentucky,  as  to  separation,  since  these  terms  have  been  defined, 
indicates  that  they  bad  some  views,  which  will  not  be  favored  by  i 
them.  They  dislike  much  to  be  hung  upon  the  will  of  congress.” 
Spark’s  Life  of  Washington,  Vol.  IX,  p.  510.  For  conditions  in 
ull,  see  Marshall,  Vol.  I,  p.  223,  224.  i 


I action  would  place  Kentucky  in  an  attidude 
! hostile  to  Virginia,  a position  they  were  not 
prepared  to  assume.  The  officers  in  charge 
were  in  the  interest  of  Wilkinson,  and  observ- 
ing the  unexpected  strength  of  the  opposition 
did  not  open  the  polls  until  late  in  the  day, 
and,  after  receiving  the  votes  of  about  one- 
fifth  of  those  present,  postponed  the  election 
to  gain  time  for  their  favorite  to  concert 
measures  to  counteract  the  popular  tendency. 

The  law  authorized  the  polls  to  be  opened 
on  five  consecutive  days,  and  the  opposition, 
understanding  the  tactics  employed,  retired, 
declaring;  their  intention  of  massing;  their 
forces  on  the  last  day.  This  plan  readily 
sug;g;ested  the  means  to  circumvent  it.  Voters 
favorable  to  Wilkinson’s  election  were  urged 
to  attend  the  polls  on  the  intervening  days, 
and  on  the  final  day,  in  those  sections  where 
the  greatest  opposition  existed,  voters  were 
prevented  from  attending  the  election  through 
the  connivance  of  the  militia  officers,  who 
summoned  the  people  to  appear  at  musters 
set  for  that  date.  The  result  was  that  Wilkin- 
son and  his  supporters  were  elected.  It  was  a 
barren  victory,  however,  for  in  the  face  of 
such  determined  and  powerful  opposition,  he 
found  it  unadvisable  to  proceed  to  extremes, 
while  other  events  contributed  to  render  the 
convention  of  no  effect  in  forwarding  the  pro- 
posed separation. 

In  this  year  occurred  the  futile  expedition 
to  the  Wabash,  and  the  more  successful  one 
against  the  Shawanese,  under  Col.  Logan. 
Accordingly,  when  certain  of  the  members- 
elect  convened  at  Danville,  in  the  latter  part 
of  September,  they  found  that  the  military 
activities  had  drawn  upon  their  numbers  so 
heavily  as  to  leave  less  than  the  required 
quorum  to  do  business.  They  nevertheless, 
in  the  character  of  a committee,  drew  up  a 
memorial  to  the  legislature,  in  which  they 
represented  the  reasons  which  prevented  the 
regular  organization  of  the  convention,  and 
at  the  same  time  suggested  that  certain 
changes  should  be  made  in  the  terms  of  sepa- 
ration. This  was  transmitted  to  John  Mar- 
shall, then  resident  in  Richmond,  by  whom 
it  was  presented  to  the  assembly.  In  the 
meantime,  a few  of  the  members  with  the 


272 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


clerk  assembled,  and  adjornmed  from  day  to 
day,  until  some  time  in  January,  1787,  when 
a quorum  was  secured.  The  question  was 
then  again  brought  up  for  consideration  and 
again  unanimously  affirmed.  At  this  juncture 
the  second  act  of  tlie  legislative  was  received 
by  which  the  convention  found  itself  super- 
seded, and  the  whole  matter  referred  to  a fifth 
convention. 

The  chagrin  and  vexation  of  the  members 
on  the  reception  of  this  postponement  of 
their  wishes  was  great  indeed,  and  while  they 
with  good  sense  and  decorum  immediately 
adjourned,  they  added  this  disappointment 
to  the  sum  of  their  grievances,  and  urged  it  as 
an  additional  argument  in  favor  of  immedi- 
ate se]3aration.  The  action  thus  complained 
of  was  not,  however,  the  result  of  hostility 
on  the  part  of  Virginia.  From  a letter  of 
Mr.  Marshall,  who  represented  the  memorial- 
ists before  the  assembly,  as  well  as  from  the 
act  itself,  the  legislature  still  appeared  ready 
to  grant  the  desired  separation,  but  it  con- 
sidered that  the  delay  of  the  convention  to 
act  made  it  impossible  for  congress  to  give 
its  assent  within  the  stipulated  time;  “that 
the  twelve  months’  existence  allowed  to  the 
convention,  for  other  purposes,  might,  in  the 
divided  state  of  public  opinion,  involve  diffi- 
culties, especially  as  there  did  not  appear  to 
be  in  the  minority  a disposition  to  submit  to 
the  will  of  the  majority;  that  the  proceedings 
of  the  convention  would  be  subject  to  objec- 
tions in  consequence  of  defects  in  the  law; 
and  that  the  most  safe,  accommodating  and 
unexceptionable  coui’se  would  be  to  pass  a new 
law,  in  which  the  defects  of  the  former  act 
might  be  corrected;  and  to  call  another  con- 
vention, to  the  decision  of  which  even  the 
disappointed  could  make  no  reasonable  objec- 
tion.” (Marshall,  Vol.  I,  p.  255). 

The  new  act  differed  little  in  the  character 
of  its  requirements,  while  it  granted  certain 
privileges  which  provided  against  the  recur- 
rence of  the  obstacles  which  had  rendered  the 
last  convention  abortive.  Representatives  I 
were  to  be  elected  on  the  court  days  in  Au- 
gust, 1787;  the  convention  was  to  meet  at 
Danville  on  the  thii’d  Monday  in  September 
following;  the  limit  within  which  congress 


was  to  grant  its  assent  was  fixed  at  the  4th  of 
July,  1787;  and  the  earliest  date  on  which 
separation  could  take  place  was  changed  from 
September  1,  1787,  as  in  the  first  act,  to 
January  1,  1789.  At  the  same  time  it  was 
provided  that  five  members  assembled  should 
have  the  power  to  adjourn  from  day  to  day, 
and  to  issue  writs  of  election,  if  necessary,  to 
fill  vacancies,  and  that  in  case  two-thirds  of 
the  members-elect  did  not  convene  within 
fifteen  days  of  the  time  appointed,  any  num- 
bei’,  in  which  a majority  should  concur  in  the 
vote,  should  be  competent  to  decide  in  favor 
of  separation.  On  the  contrary,  if  the  requi- 
site two- thirds  did  assemble  within  the  period 
indicated,  while  a majority  should  be  compe- 
tent to  organize,  the  question  of  separation 
must  be  aflffi’med  by  a two-thirds  vote  to  make 
it  valid. 

Before  the  citizens  of  the  district  were 
called  upon  to  provide  for  a new  convention 
under  this  act,  a fresh  source  of  agitation 
was  developed  in  the  negotiations  concerning 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi.  The  origin 
of  this  controversy  dates  back  to  the  year 
1780,  when  Spain,  having  joined  France  in 
the  war  against  England,  sought  through  the 
French  government  an  alliance  with  the 
United  States.  It  was  about  the  time  of  Mr. 
Jay’s  arrival  in  Madrid,  as  minister  to  the 
Spanish  Court,  when  the  French  minister  was 
instructed,  in  behalf  of  his  Catholic  majesty 
of  Spain,  “to  communicate  to  the  congress, 
certain  articles,  which  his  Catholic  majesty 
deems  of  great  importance  to  the  interests  of 
his  crown,  and  on  which  it  is  highly  neces- 
sary that  the  United  States  explain  them- 
selves, with  precision,  and  with  such  modera- 
tion, as  may  consist  with  their  essential 
rights.”  These  “ax’ticles”  referred  to  the 
western  boundary  of  the  United  States,  the 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  the  possession 
of  Florida  and  the  territory  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. The  minister  proceeded  to  give  “the 
idea  of  the  cabinet  of  Madrid”  to  the  effect 
“that  the  United  States  extend  to  the  westward 
no  farther  than  settlements  were  permitted 
by  the  royal  proclamation,  bearing  date  the 
7th  day  of  October,  1763  (that  is  to  say,  not 
west  of  the  Alleghanies);  that  the  United 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


273 


States  do  not  consider  themselves  as  having 
any  right  to  navigate  the  Mississippi,  no  ter- 
ritory belonging  to  them  being  situated  there- 
on; that  the  lands  lying  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Mississippi,  whereon  the  settlements 
were  prohibited  by  the  aforesaid  proclama- 
tion, are  possessions  of  the  crown  of  Great 
Britain,  and  proper  objects  against  which 
the  arms  of  Spain  may  be  employed,  for  the 
purpose  of  making  a permanent  conquest  for 
the  Spanish  crown;  that  such  conquest  may, 
probably,be  made  during  the  present  war  ;that, 
therefore,  it  would  be  advisable  to  restrain  the 
Southern  States  from  making  any  settlements 
or  conquests  in  these  territories;  and  that 
the  council  of  Madrid  consider  the  Uni- 
ted States  as  having  no  claim  to  these 
teiTitories,  either  as  not  having  possession  of 
them  before  the  present  war,  or  not  having 
any  foundation  for  a claim  in  the  right  of  the 
sovereignty  of  Great  Britain,  whose  domin- 
ion they  have  abjured.”* 

Such  preposterous  ciaims  were  answered 
by  “a  word  and  a blow,  and  the  blow  came 
first.”  In  the  spring  of  1780  Clark  erected 
Fort  Jefferson  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  and 
in  October  the  American  “idea”  was  dis- 
patched to  Mr.  Jay,  the  representative  of  the 
United  States  at  Madrid.  Neither  congress 
nor  Mr.  Jay  for  a moment  admitted  the 
claims  of  Spain,  nor  did  that  power  readily 
yield  her  extravagant  pretensions.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1781,  under  the  evident  inspiration  of 
his  government,  a Spanish  officer,  with  six- 
ty-five men,  set  out  from  St.  Louis,  and, 
proceeding  far  into  the  interior,  captured  the 
unimportant  post  of  St.  Joseph,  in  the  North- 
west. This  done,  and  the  territory  formally 
taken  possession  of  in  behalf  of  the  Spanish 
crown,  the  troop  quietly  returned  to  the 
west  bank  of  the  Mississippi.  In  the  mean- 
time the  American  government  greatly  felt 
the  need  of  friends,  and  satisfied  for  the  time 
with  such  expressions  as  had  been  made,  in 
February,  1781,  instructed  Mr.  Jay  not  to 
insist  upon  the  navigation  of  the  river,  if  a 
treaty  could  be  concluded  without  giving  it 
up.  Thus  matters  stood  during  the  year 

*See  Annals  of  the  West,  p.  22,  where  it  is  quoted  from  Pit- 
kin’s History  of  the  United  States,  Vol  II,  p.  92. 


of  1782;  Spain,  supported  by  the  influence 
of  France,  demanding  recognition  of  her  ex- 
traordinary claims,  and  the  United  States 
politely  evading  the  issue. 

In  1785  negotiations  were  transferred  to 
the  Western  Hemisphere.  Jay  had  become 
secretary  of  State,  and  Don  Diego  Gardoqui 
had  been  sent  hither  to  press  the  Spanish  de- 
mands. On  July  20  congress  authorized  the 
secretary  to  negotiate  with  the  Spanish  rep- 
resentative, but  up  to  May,  1786,  no  progress 
had  been  made  in  the  matter.  At  this  time 
the  secretary  brought  the  whole  business  be- 
fore congress,  asking  for  instructions.  That 
official  represented  that  no  adjustment  of  the 
conflicting  claims  had  been  reached;  that  the 
interests  of  the  whole  country  demanded  a 
commercial  treaty  with  Spain;  and  that  this 
could  probably  be  efi’ected  only  by  surren- 
dering the  right  to  the  free  use  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. The  secretary  suggested  that  a com- 
promise should  be  made,  and  that  the  free 
use  of  the  river  below  the  bounds  of  the 
United  States  should  be  yielded  for  a period 
of  twenty-five  or  thirty  years.  This  propo- 
sition was  at  once  earnestly  opposed  by  the 
Southern  members,  but  outvoted  by  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States, 
and  congress  instructed  Mr.  Jay  to  continue 
the  negotiations  without  insisting  at  all 
hazards  upon  the  immediate  use  of  the  river. 

This  decision  was  reached  in  August,  and 
information  of  the  disposition  of  the  govern- 
ment to  practically  sacrifice  the  West  grad- 
ually found  its  way  across  the  mountains. 
There  was,  at  this  period,  no  postoffice  in 
Kentucky,  nor  any  regular  or  safe  mode  of 
transmitting  letters  or  papers  from  the  East, 
News  of  governmental  affairs  came  in  the  form 
of  rumors,  which,  gathering  new  forms  and 
colors  by  each  repetition,  finally  reached  the 
credulous  people  on  the  frontier  in  a shape 
so  distorted  as  to  appear  portentous.  Thus 
came  the  first  intimation  of  congressional 
action  in  the  matter  of  the  Spanish  claims. 

At  the  same  time,  confirmatory  intelligence 
was  received  from  the  Illinois  country.  On  the 
failure  of  the  Wabash  campaign,  Gen.  Clark 
1 had  remained  at  Vincennes,  where  he  enlist- 
1 ed  new  troops,  impressed  supplies,  and  seized 


274 


H [STORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


upon  Spanish  property  on  his  own  authority. 
In  the  following  December  (1786),  a Thomas 
Green  wrote  from  Louisville  to  the  author- 
ities of  Georgia,  which  was  then  involved  in 
a boundary  controversy  with  Spain,  that  the 
general  was  ready  to  demand  the  river,  with 
troops  enough  to  take  and  hold  the  lands  in 
question,  if  the  Georgians  would  counte 
nance  the  movement.*  Wells,  the  agent 
whom  Green  and  Clark  united  to  employ, 
showed  his  papers  to  various  persons  at  Dan- 
ville, while  on  his  journey  south.  Copies 
were  taken  and  forwarded  with  a communi- 
cation to  the  Virginia  authorities,  signed  by 
AVilkinson  and  fourteen  other  leading  Ken- 
tuckians. In  February,  1787,  this  commu- 
nication from  Kentucky  came  before  the 
Virginia  council,  which  condemned  the  ac- 
tion of  Clark,  disavowed  the  authority  as- 
sumed, ordered  the  prosecution  of  those  con- 
cerned in  the  high-handed  measures  taken 
at  Vincennes,  and  laid  the  whole  business  be- 
fore congress.  In  April,  the  matter  came  up 
for  discussion,  and  on  the  24th  instant  troops 
were  ordered  to  dispossess  the  intrirders  at 
Vincennes,  and  to  garrison  the  post. 

These  transactions  were  sufficient  to  excite 
the  people  of  the  district  to  a political  fer- 
ment, and  when  a certain  “committee  of 
correspondence  in  the  western  part  of  Penn- 
sylvania” made  a formal  communication  of 
the  proposition  of  Mr.  Jay,  certain  of  the 
leaders  in  favor  of  immediate  separation 
seized  the  opportunity  to  appeal  to  the  people 
in  a circular  letter  addressed  “to  the  differ- 
ent courts  in  the  western  country.” 


*A  letter  written  from  Louisville  by  the  same  person,  osten- 
sibly to  some  one  in  theEast,  found  its  way  to  Tennessee,  where 
it  was  widely  circulated.  It  bore  date  of  December  4,  1786,  and 
was,  doubtless,  similar  to  the  one  dispatched  by  messenger  to 
Georgia.  In  this  the  writer  represents:  ‘Our  situation  is  as 

bad  as  it  possibly  can  be.  therefore  every  exertion  to  retrieve 
our  circumstances  must  be  manly,  eligible  and  just. 

“We  can  raise  20,000  troopsthisside  the  Alleghany  and  Appa- 
lachian Mountains;  and  the  annual  increase  of  them  by  immigra- 
tion from  other  parts  is  from  2.000  to  4.0U0. 

“ We  have  taken  all  the  goods  belonging  t * the  Spanish  mer- 
chants of  Fort  Vincennes  and  the  Illinois,  and  are  determined 
that  they  shall  not  trade  up  the  river,  provided  they  will  not 
let  us  trade  down  it.  Preparations  are  now  making  here  (if 
necessary)  to  drivethe  Spaniards  fromtbeir  settlements,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  In  case  we  are  not  countenanced  and 
succored  by  the  United  States  {if  we  need  it',  our  allegiance 
will  be  thrown  off,  and  some  other  power  applied  to.  Great 
Britain  stands  ready  with  open  arms  to  receive  and  support  us. 
They  have  already  offered  to  open  their  resources  for  our  sup- 
plies. When  once  re-united  to  them,  ‘farewell,  a long  farewell’ 
to  all  your  boasted  greatness.  The  Province  of  Canada,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  these  waters,  ofthemselves,  in  time,  will  be  able 
to  conquer  you.  You  are  as  ignorant  of  this  country  as  Great 
Britain  was  of  America.  These  are  hints,  that  if  rightly  im- 
proved may  be  of  some  service;  if  not,  blame  yourselves  for  the 
neglect.”  (Annals  of  the  West,  p.  282,  quoted  from  Secret 
Journals  Voh  IV,  p.  323.) 


Kentucky,  Danville,  March  29,  17ST. 

A respectable  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
district,  having  met  at  this  place,  being  greatly 
alarmed  at  the  late  proceedings  of  congress,  in  pro- 
posing to  cede  to  the  Spanish  court  the  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi  River  for  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years,  have  directed  us  to  address  the  inhabitants 
on  the  western  waters,  and  inform  them  of  the 
measures  whicli  it  is  proper  for  this  district  to  adopt. 

The  iuliabitants  of  the  several  counties  in  this 
district  will  be  requested  to  elect  five  members  in 
eacli  county,  to  meet  at  Danville  on  the  first  Mon- 
day of  May,  to  take  up  the  consideration  of  this 
projectof  congress;  to  appoint  a committee  of  corre- 
spondence, and  to  communicate  witli  the  one  already 
established  on  the  Monongahela,  or  any  others  that 
maybe  constituted;  to  appoint  delegates  to  meet 
representatives  from  tbe  several  districts  on  the 
western  waters  in  convention,  should  a convention 
be  deemed  necessary;  and  to  adopt  such  other  meas- 
ures as  shall  be  most  conducive  to  our  happiness. 
As  we  conceive  that  all  the  inhabitants  residing  on 
the  western  waters  are  equally  affected  by  this  par- 
tial conduct  of  congress,  we  doubt  not  but  they  will 
readily  approve  of  our  conduct,  and  cheerfully 
adopt  a similar  system  to  prevent  a measure  which 
tends  to  almost  a total  destruction  of  the  western 
country.  This  is  a subject  which  requires  no  com- 
ment; the  injustice  of  the  measure  is  glaring,  and 
as  the  inhabitants  of  this  district  wish  to  unite  their 
efforts  to  oppose  the  cession  of  the  navigation,  of 
the  Mississippi  with  those  of  their  brethren  residing 
on  the  western  waters,  we  hope  to  see  such  an 
exertion  made  upon  this  important  occasion,  as  may 
convince  congress  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  west- 
ern country  are  united  in  the  opposition,  and  con- 
sider themselves  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of 
freemen,  and  those  blessings  procured  by  the  revo- 
lution, and  will  not  tamely  submit  to  an  act  of 
oppression  which  would  tend  to  a deprivation  of  our 
just  rights  and  privileges. 

This  document  was  signed  by  George 
Muter,  Harry  Innes,  John  Brown*  and  Ben- 
jamin Sebastian.  A copy  of  the  letter  found 
its  way  into  each  county,  and  with  it  a new 
feeling  of  alarm,  which  gradually  found  its 
way  to  the  remotest  corners.  The  call  for  a 
convention  to  consider  the  subject  met  with 
a ready  response,  and  in  May  the  delegates 
convened.  A short  conference  developed  the 
fact  that  either  the  case  was  not  so  alarming 
as  at  first  supposed,  or  that  the  convention 
could  effect  nothing  to  its  purpose,  and  it 

* Save  Mr.  Brown,  the  signers  of  this  circular  have  all  been 
noted  as  prominent  in  the  public  business  oi  the  district. 
Brown  was  the  son  of  a Virginia  Presbyterian  clergyman.  He 
finished  his  education  about  the  close  of  the  revolutionary 
war,  and  in  1783  came  to  Kentucky.  He  built  up  an  extended 
law  practice  and  early  took  an  active  part  in  politics.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  convention  of  1786;  appeared  as  signer  to  this 
document,  and  in  this  year  was  elected  to  the  legislature,  from 
which  he  was  sent  as  a delegate  to  congress. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


275 


therefore  adjourned  without  taking  action. 
This  agitation,  however,  contributed  in  no 
small  degree  to  the  restlessness  of  the  people. 
The  sectional  feeling,  which  notoriously  pre- 
vailed throughout  the  country,  made  the  bor- 
derers believe  that  their  interests  were  likely 
to  be  made  subsidiary  to  those  of  the  older 
communities,*  and  the  feeling  that  they  must 
take  care  of  themselves,  already  strikingly 
shown,  began  rapidly  to  gain  ground  with 
the  people  of  the  district.  About  this  time 
Col.  Logan  led  an  expedition  against  certain 
of  the  southern  Indians  who  were  included 
in  the  Hopewell  treaty.  These  at  once 
sought  redress  from  the  authorities,  charg- 
ing the  Kentuckians  as  the  aggressors.  This 
brought  prompt  instructions  from  the  gov- 
ernor to  Innes,  the  attorney-general,  to  pros- 
ecute the  offenders  and  to  take  measures  to 
prevent  a recurrence  of  similar  illegal  move- 
ments. 

To  this  communication,  Innes  replied  by 
letter,  under  date  of  July  21,  1787,  in  which 
he  said:  “In  my  official  capacity,  I cannot 
do  it;  in  a private  capacity,  it  would  render 
me  odious,”  and  with  this,  all  attempt  at 
legal  prosecution  of  such  offenses  ended. 
He  added,  however,  as  a “hint  to  your  ex- 
cellency for  matter  of  reflection”  that  “the 
Indians  have  been  very  troublesome  on  oui* 
frontiers,  and  still  continue  to  molest  us. 
Fi’om  which  circumstances,  I am  decidedly 
of  opinion,  that  this  western  country  will  in 
a few  years  act  for  itself,  and  ei’ect  an  inde- 
pendent government;  for  under  the  present 
system,  we  cannot  exert  our  strength;  neither 
does  congress  seem  disposed  to  pi’otect  us, 
for  we  are  informed  that  those  troops  which 
congress  directed  the  several  States  to  raise 
for  the  defense  of  the  western  country  are 
disbanded.”  This  was,  quite  probably,  an 
extreme  view  of  the  situation,  but  one  which 
had  far  more  foundation  in  truth  than  the 
partisan  feeling  of  the  historian,  Marshall, 
seems  willing  to  allow.  However,  with  other 

♦Washington,  who  greatly  desired  the  construction  of  works 
to  connect  the  Ohio  with  the  Potomac  and  the  James  Rivers, 
thought  the  temporary  ciosing  of  the  Mississippi  might  aid  this 
project,  as  weil  as  drive  the  \Vest  into  cioser  relations  with  the 
Atlantic  States.  These  views  received  the  support  of  such  in- 
fluential men  as  Henry  Lee  and  Richard  Henry  Lee.  (See 
“•■tnnals  of  the  West”  p.  287,  and  references  to  Spark’s  “ Life 
of  Washington.”; 


similar  expressions,  it  had  the  effect  to 
stimulate  the  State  and  national  govern- 
ments to  increased  efforts  to  remove  the 
grievance  of  which  complaint  was  made. 

Another  circumstance,  which  tended  to 
somewhat  calm  the  agitation,  was  the  ab- 
sence of  Wilkinson,  who  would  scarcely  have 
allowed  such  a favorable  opportunity  for  the 
furtherance  of  his  plans,  as  the  May  conven- 
tion afforded,  to  pass  unimproved.  Notwith- 
standing his  activity  in  public  affairs,  the 
general  does  not  appear  to  have  lost  sight  of 
his  business  enterprise,  and  it  was  more  at 
the  bidding  of  private  interest  than  public 
policy  that  he  ventured  with  a cargo  of  to- 
bacco, hams  and  butter,  within  the  forbidden 
precincts  of  the  Spanish  territory.  His  boat 
left  Louisville  in  June  and  reached  New 
Orleans  without  the  usual  opposition,  where 
its  contents  were  sold  at  a good  profit,  Wil- 
kinson, proceeding  south  by  land,  arrived 
some  time  after  these  events,  and  began  those 
relations  with  the  Spanish  authorities  of 
Louisiana  which  served  to  involve  his  char- 
acter in  a cloud  of  doubt  that  has  never  been 
entirely  dispelled.* 

It  was  doubtless  due  to  these  facts  that 
the  August  elections  passed  without  special 
incident.  The  delegates  to  the  district 
convention  were  chosen  without  serious  con- 
test. and  on  September  17th  assembled  at 
Danville  with  scarcely  a member  elect  absent 
The  orgaoization  accomplished,  the  question 
of  expediency  proposed  by  the  act  of  separa- 
tion was  brought  forward,  and  with  little 
discussion  again  decided  unanimously  in  the 
affirmative,  subject  to  “the  terms  and  con- 
ditions prescribed  by  law.  ” These  significant 
conditions  are  indicative  of  the  temper  of 
the  convention,  which,  in  this  respect,  was 
in  marked  contrast  with  its  predecessor. 
Congress  was  petitioned  for  the  admission 
of  the  new  State,  under  the  name  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  December  31,  1788,  fixed  upon  as 
the  date  when  the  present  relation  to  Virginia 
should  cease.  Neither  the  legislature  nor 
the  people  were  addressed  upon  the  subject, 
but,  for  their  information,  the  president  of 
the  convention  was  directed  to  forward  to  the 

* Appendix  A,  Note  28. 


276 


HISTOEY  or  KENTUCKY. 


governor  a copy  of  its  proceedings,  and  a 
transcript  of  its  journal  was  prepared  for 
publication  in  the  Kentucky  Gazette,  which 
had  been  established  in  the  preceding  Au- 
gust. The  president  was  also  directed  to 
“address  the  representatives  from  this  dis- 
trict to  the  general  assembly,  requesting  that 
they  will  use  their  endeavors  to  have  an 
inhabitant  of  the  district  appointed  a delegate 
to  congress  for  the  ensuing  year.”  Provision 
was  also  made  “ that  a convention  should  be 
elected  with  full  power  and  authority  to 
frame  and  establish  a fundamental  constitu- 
tion of  government  for  the  proposed  State, 
and  to  declare  what  laws  shall  be  in  force 
therein,  until  abrogated  or  altered  by  the 
legislative  authority  acting  under  the  con- 
stitution so  to  be  framed  and  established.” 

Mr.  Marshall  accounts  for  this  mildness 
of  temper  exhibited  by  the  convention  by  the 
facts  that  “the  leader  of  violent  separation” 
was  in  New  Orleans;  “Mr.  Brown  was 
probably  in  Virginia,  having  been  that  year 
elected  to  the  legislature.  If  Innes  and 
Sebastian  were  present,  they  were  not  yet 
prepared  to  lead  in  such  an  enterprise,  for 
they  were  then  but  as  common  troopers;  while 
the  eyes  of  Muter  being  opened,  he  had 
drawn  back  to  constitutional  grounds.”  It 
was  probably  due  more  to  the  absence  of 
leaders  than  to  a change  in  the  public  dis- 
position. But  in  February,  1788,  Wilkinson 
returned  from  the  South,  by  way  of  Charles- 
ton, S.  C.,  and  made  his  entry  into  Louis- 
ville in  state,  riding  in  a “chariot”  drawn 
by  four  horses  and  accompanied  by  several 
slaves.  It  was  immediately  given  out  that 
he  had  secured  from  the  Louisiana  authori- 
ties the  privilege  of  shipping  tobacco  to 
New  Orleans  on  the  most  advantageous 
terms,  and  the  general  forthwith  offered  to 
purchase  the  unmarketed  product,  the  cultiva- 
tion of  which  he  had  previously  urged.  Wil- 
kinson appeared  to  have  entered  into  the 
speculation  with  great  energy,  and  in  Janu- 
ary, 1789,  fitted  out  twenty-five  large  boats,  \ 
laden  with  tobacco.  Hour  and  provisions,  for  ^ 
New  Orleans.  Tliese  goods  were  success-  I 
fully  disposed  of,  and  later  in  the  year,  two 
mules  loaded  with  specie  were  delivered  to  i 


the  general  at  Frankfort,  where  a crowd  of 
Lincoln  County  planters  were  assembled  to 
receive  payment  for  tobacco  sold  to  Wilkinson. 

All  this  appears  to  have  been  open  and  above 
reasonable  suspicion,  but  the  ambitious  trader 
seems  to  have  been  unwilling  to  confine  his  ef- 
forts to  commercial  life,  and  early  sought  to 
turn  his  success  with  the  Spanish  authorities  to 
a political  account  in  furthering  his  advance- 
ment in  public  life.  He  therefore  assumed 
great  credit  for  securing  what  the  general 
government  was  willing  to  surrender;  and 
so  plausible  was  his  argument,  so  winning  his 
address,  that  the  tide  of  public  favor  seemed 
about  to  waft  him  to  the  goal  of  his  desires. 
There  were  not  wanting  a “few”  who  sus- 
pected “that  more  was  meant  than  a mere 
traffic  in  tobacco,”  but  such  was  the  public 
temper  that  they  were  forced  to  communicate 
their  fears  to  political  sympathizers  in 
“ whispers.”  Another  subject  which  at  this 
time  lent  its  aid  to  the  plans  of  Wilkinson 
was  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  constitution, 
which  had  been  submitted  to  the  States  for 
ratification  in  the  preceding  September. 
The  people  of  the  district  were  very  generally 
opposed  to  its  ratification.  They  had  ex- 
perienced what  they  believed  to  be  the  selfish 
legislation  of  the  Atlantic  States  in  the 
negotiations  concerning  the  Mississippi  River, 
in  the  dilatory  measures  undertaken  against 
the  savages,  and  in  the  vexatious  delays 
which  had  repeatedly  deferred  the  separa- 
tion of  the  district  from  Virginia,  and  they 
had  no  wish  to  have  the  power,  thus  unjustly 
exercised,  increased.  It  was  believed  that 
the  new  constitution  would  do  this,  and  the 
feeling  of  opposition  ranged  from  a wish  for 
its  unconditional  defeat  to  its  amendment 
before  adoption. 

It  was  with  such  sentiments  that  the  peo- 
ple prepared  for  the  April  election,  at  which 
a double  set  of  delegates  were  to  be  chosen. 
In  addition  to  five  from  each  county,  author- 
ized by  the  Fifth  District  convention  (Sep- 
tember, 1787),  the  legislature  had  authorized 
each  county  in  the  State  to  elect  at  the  same 
time  two  members  to  meet  in  convention  in 
June,  at  Richmond,  for  the  purpose  of  consid- 
ering the  new  Federal  constitution.  There 


HTSTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


277 


■was  little  division  of  sentiment  involved  in 
this  election,  and  therefore  no  special  contest. 
The  district  convention  was  called  for  the 
purpose  of  submitting  a constitution  for  the 
proposed  State  of  Kentucky,  and  involved 
none  of  the  issues  before  the  people.  In 
regard  to  the  Federal  constitution,  with  the 
exception  of  Jefferson  County,  which  was 
strongly  Federal  in  sentiment,  there  was  lit- 
tle feeling  manifested  by  the  Kentuckians  in 
favor  of  its  ratification.  The  people  had 
generally  settled  down  to  the  belief  that,  for 
one  reason  or  another,  it  would  be  rejected, 
and  delegates  were  selected  chiefly  on  person- 
al grounds.  * 

The  State  convention  met,  and  on  the  25th 
of  June  ratified  the  new  constitution  by  a 
vote  of  eighty-eight  to  seventy-eight.  Of 
the  Kentucky  members,  Robert  Breckenridge, 
Rice  Bullock  and  Humphrey  Marshall  voted 
with  the  majority, the  latter  alone  disappoint- 
ing his  constituents.  When  the  result  of  the 
convention  was  known  in  Kentucky,  there 
was  a deep  feeling  of  disappointment  and 
resentment  experienced,  especially  in  regard 
to  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Marshall.  He  un- 
doubtedly acted  upon  the  proper  view  of  the 
relation  of  representative  and  constituency, 
and  provided  he  made  no  expressed  or  implied 
engagement  to  act  otherwise,  of  which  there 
is  no  evidence,  the  member  from  Fayette 
cannot  be  reasonably  charged  with  a viola- 
tion of  good  faith.  But  the  people  did  not 
view  the  matter  in  so  calm  a manner,  and  the 
independent  delegate  narrowly  escaped  the 
violent  expression  of  his  constituency’s  dis- 
pleasure. 

On  the  28th  of  July,  the  Sixth  District 
convention,  but  the  first  called  for  the  fram- 
ing of  a constitution,  assembled  at  Danville, 
and  while  in  session  learned  that  congress 
had  refused  to  act  upon  the  question  of  Ken- 
tucky’s admission  to  the  confederacy.  In 
accordance  with  the  request  of  the  fifth  con- 
vention, John  Brown  had  been  sent  to 
congress  by  the  legislature  in  the  preceding 

*The  members  of  the  State  ConTention,  as  given  by  Butler 
(p.  166,  note,)  were:  From  Fayette  County,  Humphrey  Mar- 

shall and  John  Fowler;  from  Jefferson,  Robert  Breckenridge 
and  Rice  Bullock  ; Lincoln,  John  Logan  and  Henry  Pawling; 
Nelson,  John  Steele  and  Matthew  Walton  ; Mercer,  Thomas 
Allen  and  Alexander  Robertson  ; Madison,  G.  Clay  and  Will- 
iam Irvine;  Bourbon,  Henry  Lee  and  John  Edwards 


December;  on  the  29th  of  February  he  had 
presented  the  petition  of  the  convention  for 
the  admission  of  the  district  as  an  independ- 
ent member  of  the  Federal  union,  but  there 
were  many  obstacles  in  the  way  of  its  early 
and  final  disposition,  and  so  the  subject  was 
alternately  debated  and  deferred  from  Feb- 
ruary to  May,  from  May  to  June,  from  June 
to  July,  when  the  whole  matter  was  referred 
to  the  fii’st  (iongress  under  the  newly  adopted 
constitution.  This  decision  was  announced 
on  the  3d  of  July  by  resolution,  in  which 
congress  directed  a copy  of  the  proceedings 
“relative  to  the  independence  of  the  district 
of  Kentucky”  to  be  sent  to  the  Virginia  leg- 
islature, and  also  to  Samuel  McDowell,  “late 
president”  of  the  fifth  convention,  aud  that  the 
inhabitants  of  the  district  be  informed,  “that 
as  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  is 
now  ratified,  congress  thiuk  it  unadvisable 
to  adopt  any  further  measures  for  admitting 
the  district  of  Kentucky,”  etc.;  “but  that 
congress,  thinking  it  expedient  that  the  said 
district  be  made  a separate  State,  and  member 
of  the  Union,  as  soon  after  proceedings  shall 
commence  under  the  said  constitution,  as  cir- 
cumstances shall  permit,  ” recommend  to  both 
parties  concerned  that  steps  be  taken  anew 
to  bring  it  before  congress  again. 

The  preamble  to  this  resolution  throws  no 
additional  light  upon  the  reasons  on  which 
this  conclusion  wasreached.  It  appears  that, 
after  fully  considering  the  subject,  congress 
“did,  on  the  3d  day  of  June  last,  resolve  that 
it  is  expedient  that  the  said  district  be  erected 
into  a sovereign  and  independent  State,  and 
a separate  member  of  the  Federal  union,  and 
appointed  a committee  to  report  an  act  ac- 
cordingly,” but  the  sentence  inconsequent ly 
concludes,  “which  committee  on  the  second 
instant  was  discharged,”  as,  by  the  ninth 
State  having  ratified  the  new  constitution,  a 
new  order  of  things  had  set  in.  There  is  noth- 
ing in  all  this  to  indicate  why  the  commiUee 
should  have  delayed  a full  month  to  report 
upon  a matter  which  congress  had  declared 
expedient,  after  several  months’  considera- 
tion. Letters  from  Mr.  Brown  to  Judges 
McDowell  and  Muter  did  better  in  this  re- 
spect. To  the  latter  he  wrote: 


278 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Before  this  reaches  you,  I expect  you  will  have 
heard  the  determination  of  congress  relative  to  the 
separation  of  Kentucky,  as  a copy  of  the  proceed- 
ings has  been  forwarded  to  the  district  by  the  sec- 
retary of  congress  a few  days  ago.  It  was  not  in 
my  power  to  obtain  a decision  earlier  than  the  3d 
instant.  Great  part  of  the  winter  and  spring  there 
was  not  a representation  of  the  States  sutficient  to 
proceed  to  this  business,  and  after  it  was  referred  to 
a grand  committee,  they  could  not  be  prevailed 
upon  to  report,  a majority  of  them  being  opposed 
to  the  measure.  The  Eastern  States  would  not,  nor 
do  I think  thej^  ever  will,  assent  to  the  admission  of 
the  district  into  the  Union  as  an  independent  State, 
unless  Vermont  or  the  province  of  Maine  is  brought 
forward  at  the  same  time.  The  change  which  has 
taken  place  in  the  general  government  is  made  the 
ostensible  objection  to  the  measure;  but  the  jeal- 
ousy of  the  growing  importance  of  the  western 
country,  and  an  unwillingness  to  add  a vote  to  the 
southern  interest,  are  the  real  causes  of  opposition, 
and  I am  inclined  to  believe  that  they  will  exist  to 
a certain  degree  even  under  the  new  government,  to 
which  the  application  is  referred  by  congress.* 

The  effect  of  these  commiiuications  upon 
the  members  of  the  Constitutional  conven- 
tion, which  were  as  unexpected  as  disappoint- 
ing, may  readily  be  imagined.  “ The  most 
deep-felt  vexation,  a share  of  ill-temper  bor- 
dering on  disaffection  to  the  legal  course  of 
things,  and  strong  symptoms  of  assuming 
independent  government,”  were  manifested. 
The  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
trade  to  New  Orleans,  now  just  tasted  for  the 
first  time,  were  strenuously  pressed  into  the 
argument  in  favor  of  completing  the  consti- 
tution and  organizing  government  without 
delay.  And  had  not  these  dispositions  been 
met  with  a determined  countenance,  and  over- 
awed by  those  of  a contrary  tendency,  it  is 
not  difficult  to  believe  that  immediate  sepa- 
ration would  have  taken  place.t  It  was  pro- 
posed by  the  aggressive  party  that  the  course 
to  be  pursued  should  be  referred  to  the  cap- 
tains of  the  various  militia  companies,  who 
should  take  the  sense  of  their  commands  by 
vote.  This  proposition  was  opposed  on  the 
most  valid  grounds  by  the  more  conservative 
members,  and  finally  abandoned,  but  the  ses- 
sion was  protracted  several  days  by  these 
spirited  discussions,  when  the  convention  ad- 

■•^This  letter  was  not  made  public  until  1790,  but  the  one 
addressed  to  McDowell  was  of  similar  import,  and  was  probably 
laid  before  the  convention, save  a private  communication  in  re- 
gard to  Spanish  affairs,  to  be  referred  to  hereafter. 

fSee  Marshall,  Yol.  I,  p.  2S9. 


journed  after  agreeing  upon  the  following 
recommendation  and  resolutions: 

Whereas,  It  appears  to  the  members  of  this  con- 
vention that  the  United  States  in  congress  assem- 
bled have  for  the  present  declined  to  ratify  the  com- 
pact entered  into  between  the  legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia and  the  people  of  this  district,  respecting  the 
erection  of  the  district  into  an  independent  State, 
in  consequence  of  which  the  powers  vested  in  this 
convention  are  dissolved,  and  whatever  order  or 
resolution  they  pass  cannot  be  considered  as  hav- 
ing any  legal  force  or  obligation;  but  being  anxious 
for  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  ourselves  and  con- 
stituents, do  earnestly  recommend  to  the  good  peo- 
ple inhabiting  the  several  counties  within  the  dis- 
trict, each  to  elect  five  representatives  at  the  times 
of  holding  their  courts  in  the  month  of  October 
next,  to  meet  at  Danville  on  the  first  Monday  in 
November  following,  to  continue  in  oflice  until  the 
1st  of  .lanuary,  1790;  and  that  they  delegate  to 
their  said  representatives  full  powers  to  take  such 
measures  for  obtaining  admission  of  the  district  as 
a separate  and  independent  member  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  the  navigation  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, as  may  appear  most  conducive  to  those  im- 
portant purposes;  and  also  to  form  a constitution 
of  government  for  the  district,  and  organize  the 
same  wdien  tliey  shall  judge  it  necessary,  or  to  do 
and  accomplish  whatsoever,  on  a consideration  of 
the  state  of  the  district,  may  in  their  opinion  pro- 
mote its  interests. 

Resolved,  That  the  elections  directed  by  the  pre- 
ceding recommendation  be  held  at  the  court  house 
of  each  county,  and  continue  from  day  to  day  for 
five  da}'s,  including  the  first  day. 

Resolved,  That  the  sheriffs  within  the  respective 
counties  of  this  district  be  requested  to  hold  the 
said  elections,  and  make  return  thereof  to  the  clerk 
of  the  supreme  court  immediately  after  the  same 
are  finished;  and  also  deliver  to  each  representative, 
so  elected,  a certificate  of  his  election;  and  in  case 
there  shall  be  no  sheriff  in  either  of  the  said  coun- 
ties or  he  should  refuse  to  act,  that  any  two  acting 
magistrates  there  present  may  superintend  and  con- 
duct said  elections,  and  make  returns,  and  grant 
certificates  in  the  same  manner  the  sheriffs  are  re- 
quested to  do. 

Resolved,  That  every  free  male  inhabitant  of 
each  county  within  said  district  has  a right  to  vote 
in  the  said  elections  within  their  said  counties. 

Resolved,  That  a majority  of  the  members  so 
elected  be  a quorum  to  proceed  to  business. 

Resolved,  That  if  the  said  convention  shall  not 
make  a house  on  the  first  Monday  in  November, 
any  three  or  more  members  then  assembled  may 
adjourn  from  day  to  day  for  five  days  next  ensuing, 
and  if  a convention  should  not  then  be  formed  at 
the  end  of  the  fifth  day,  that  they  may  adjourn  to 
any  day  they  think  proper,  not  exceeding  one 
month. 

Resolved,  That  the  clerk  of  each  county,  or  the 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


279 


said  magistrates,  as  the  case  may  be,  read,  or  cause 
to  be  read,  the  aforesaid  resolutions  on  each  day 
immediately  preceding  the  opening  of  the  said  elec- 
tions. 

Ordered,  That  the  president  do  request  the  printer 
of  the  Kentucky  Gazette  to  publish  the  proceedings 
and  resolves  of  congress,  by  him  laid  before  this 
convention;  also  such  of  the  proceedings  of  this 
convention  as  the  president  shall  think  proper; 
and  in  particular,  that  the  printer  continue  to  pub- 
lish weekly,  until  the  1st  of  October  next,  the  rec- 
ommendation for  electing  another  convention,  and 
the  several  resolutions  relative  thereto. 

Thus  the  issue  of  immediate  or  delayed 
separation  came  again  before  the  people  for 
decision,  largely  at  the  polls.  Fayette  County, 
being  the  home  of  the  chief  leaders,  became 
the  scene  of  a spirited  campaign.  The 
militia  captains  were  important  factors  in 
the  early  political  machinery  of  Kentucky, 
and  the  wordy  contests  between  the  partisans 
of  one  or  the  other  of  the  parties  were  fre- 
quent and  warm.  Opposed  to  Wilkinson 
were  Col.  Thomas  Marshall,  Sr.,  and  Judge 
Muter,  who  did  not  hesitate  to  charge  the  gen- 
eral with  improper  and  illegal  relations  with 
the  Spanish  authorities,  and  with  designing, 
under  cover  of  the  final  clauses  of  the  Sixth 
convention’s  recommendation,  to  form  an 
independent  government  in  the  district  for 
the  purpose  of  entering  into  relations  with 
Spain  without  the  sanction  of  Virginia  or  of 
the  general  government.  These  gentlemen 
were  impelled  to  this  course  by  something 
more  substantial  than  mere  suspicions.  The 
discussions  in  the  last  convention  had  aroused 
their  alarm,  which  was  fully  confirmed  by 
the  letter  from  Brown  addi’essed  to  Muter 
and  immediately  shown  by  the  latter  to  Col. 
Marshall.  In  this  Brown  wrote,  in  addition 
to  the  part  already  quoted: 

The  question  which  the  district  will  now  have  to 
determine  upon,  will  be:  Whether  or  not,  it  will  be 
more  expedient  to  continue  the  connexion  with  the 
State  of  Virginia,  or  declare  their  independence 
and  proceed  to  frame  a constitution  of  government? 
'Tis  generally  expected  that  the  latter  will  be  the 
determination,  as  you  have  proceeded  too  far  to 
think  of  relinquishing  the  measure,  and  the  inter- 
est of  the  district  will  render  it  altogether  expedient 
to  continue  in  your  present  situation  until  an  appli- 
cation for  admission  into  the  Union  can  be  made, 
in  a constitutional  mode,  to  the  new  government. 

This  step  will,  in  my  opinion,  tend  to  preserve 


unanimity,  and  will  enable  you  to  adopt  with  effect 
such  measures  as  may  be  necessary  to  promote  the 
interest  of  the  district.  In  private  conferences 
which  I have  had  with  Mr.  Gardoqui,  the  Spanish 
minister  at  this  place,  I have  been  assured  by  him, 
in  the  most  explicit  manner,  that  if  Kentucky  will 
declare  her  independence,  and  empower  some  proper 
person  to  negotiate  with  him,  that  he  has  au- 
thority, and  will  engage  to  open  the  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi,  for  the  exportation  of  their  produce, 
on  terms  of  mutual  advantage.  But  that  this  priv- 
ilege never  can  be  extended  to  them  while  part  of 
the  United  States,  by  reason  of  commercial  treaties 
existing  between  that  court  and  other  powers  of 
Europe.  As  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  sincer- 
ity of  this  declaration,  I have  thought  proper  to 
communicate  it  to  a few  confidential  friends  in  the 
district,  with  his  permission,  not  doubting  but  they 
will  make  a prudent  use  of  the  information.* 

Without  disclosing  the  contents  of  this 
letter  to  the  public,  however,  and  urged  by 
Col.  Marshall — who,  it  is  said,  is  chiefly  re- 
sponsible for  the  matter  of  the  publication 
as  well  as  its  origin — Judge  Muter  addressed 
a letter  to  the  editor  of  the  Kentucky  Gazette, 
in  which  he  called  attention  to  the  illegality 
of  the  action  he  believed  to  be  imminent. 
He  said: 

Forming  a constitution  of  government,  and  or- 
ganizing the  same,  before  the  consent  of  the  legis- 
lature of  Virginia  for  that  purpose  is  first  olitained, 
will  be  directly  contrarj’  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of 
the  act  of  assembly,  entitled  “ an  act  for  punishing 
certain  offenses,  and  vesting  the  governor  with  cer- 
tain powers;”  which  declares  that  every  person  or 
persons  wdio  shall  erect  or  establish,  government 
separate  from,  or  independent  of  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia within  the  limits  thereof,  unless  by  act  of  the 
legislature  for  that  purpose  first  obtained,  or  shall 
exercise  any  office  under  such  usurped  government, 
shall  be  guilty  of  high  treason. 

The  third  section  of  the  fourth  article  of  the 
Federal  constitution  expressly  declares:  ‘‘that  no 
new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  any  other  State;  nor  any  State  be 
formed  out  of  the  junction  of  two  or  more 
States,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislatures 
of  the  States  concerned,  as  well  as  of  the  con- 
gress.” Therefore,  the  consent  of  Virginia  to  the 
separation  must  first  be  obte.incd  agreeabl}"  to  the 
above  cited  section,  to  afford  to  Kentucky  any  pros- 

*It  was  subsequently  disclosed  that  Brown  had  inclosed  in 
the  letter  to  McDowell  a separate  slip  marked  “confidential,” 
on  which  he  wrote:  “In  a conversation  I had  with  Mr.  Gardo- 

qui, the  Spanish  minister,  relative  to  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi,  he  stated  that,  if  the  people  of  Kentucky  would 
erect  themselves  into  an  independent  State,  and  appoint  a 
proper  person  to  negotiate  with  him,  he  had  authority  for  that 
purpose,  and  would  enter  into  an  arrangement  with  them  for 
the  exportation  of  their  produce  to  New  Orleans,  on  terms  of 
mutual  advantage.”  It  is  probable  that  similar  communications 
were  sent  to  Wilkinson,  Innes  and  others  of  that  party. 


280 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


pect  of  being  admitted  a member  of  the  Federal 
union. 

In  the  tenth  section  of  the  first  article  of  the 
Federal  constitution  it  is  declared;  “that  no  State 
shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confedera- 
tion.” Of  course  it  must  follow  that  no  part  of  a 
State  can  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confed- 
eration. 

The  resolution  of  the  late  convention,  if  adopted 
by  the  people,  might  fairly  be  construed  to  give 
authority  to  the  next,  to  treat  with  Spain  to  obtain 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  if  they  should 
think  such  a measure  conducive  to  their  interests; 
when  it  might  plainly  appear,  by  the  before-cited 
section,  that  any  other  application  than  to  the  assem- 
bly of  Virginia,  and  to  the  congress  of  the  United 
States,  must  be  contrary  to  the  Federal  constitution. 

It  is,  therefore,  submitted  to  the  consideration 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Fayette,  whether  it  may  not 
be  necessary  in  their  instructions  to  their  delegates, 
to  direct  them  not  to  agree  to  the  forming  a consti- 
tution and  form  of  government,  and  organizing  the 
same,  till  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  Virginia, 
for  that  purpose,  is  first  obtained;  not  to  agree  to 
make  any  application  whatever  to  obtain  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Mississippi,  other  than  to  the  legisla- 
ture of  Virginia,  and  the  congress  of  the  United 
States;  to  draw  up  and  forward  to  the  assembly  of 
Virginia  a memorial  requesting  them  to  alter  their 
acts  for  the  separation  of  this  district  from  Virginia, 
that  the  same  may  be  brought  before  the  congress 
of  the  United  States,  in  the  manner  directed  by  the 
Federal  constitution;  and  to  request  them  to  author- 
ize the  convention,  by  law,  to  form  a constitution  of 
government,  and  to  organize  the  same;  or,  direct  a 
new  convention  to  be  chosen,  to  continue  in  office  a 
reasonable  time,  and  to  be  vested  with  these  powers. 

To  forward  to  the  assembly  of  Virginia,  and  the 
congress  of  the  United  States  (if  they  judge  proper 
and  necessary),  a decent  and  manly  memorial  re- 
questing that  such  measures  may  be  pursued  by  con- 
gress, or  that  Virginia  will  use  her  influence  with 
congress  to  take  such  measures  as  shall  be  most 
likely  to  procure  for  the  people  of  the  western  coun- 
try the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  effect  of  such  an  address  by  the  chief 
justice  of  the  district  could  not  fail  to  make 
a deep  impression.  A strong  agitation  took 
place,  and  two  distinct  parties  were  formed; 
the  one  of  which  Wilkinson  was  the  most 
prominent  leader,  its  leaders  being  drawn 
principally  from  the  court  and  legal  profes- 
sion, became  known  as  the  “court  party,” 
while  the  other  assumed  the  name  of  the 
“country  party.”  No  such  policy  as  Brown 
had  confidentially  communicated,  and  Muter 
had  publicly  intimated,  had  been  distinctly 
avowed  by  Wilkinson  and  his  followers  in  [ 


the  campaign  which  followed  the  last  con- 
vention; but  such  were  the  suspicions  ex- 
cited against  these  men  that  the  people  were 
greatly  aroused  to  the  danger  of  such  a possi- 
bility, and  the  “court  party”  found  it  ad- 
visable to  be  less  pronounced  in  their  utter- 
ances. Still,  neither  party  felt  sure  of  the 
support  of  the  majority  of  the  people.  The 
rapid  immigration  was  bringing  in  large 
numbers  of  new  men,  whose  lack  of  border 
experience  caused  them  to  feel  less  keenly  in 
regard  to  the  gri  evances  complained  of,  and 
who  gradually  strengthened  the  “country 
party;”  and  yet,  the  adventurous  character 
of  many  of  them,  and  the  wide-spread  sec- 
tional feeling,  tended  to  keep  the  two  factions 
pretty  evenly  balanced. 

The  contest  was  probably  more  spirited  in 
Fayette  County  than  elsewhere  in  Kentucky. 
Here,  Wilkinson  and  the  other  candidates  of 
the  “court  party,”  were  opposed  by  Cok 
Marshall,  Muter, Crockett,  Allen,  and  another, 
whose  name  is  not  remembered,  of  the  other 
party.  “The  election  came  on  and  was  ex- 
ceedingly animated;”  the  vote  at  first  went 
very  much  against  the  radical  candidates,  and 
there  was  a strong  probability  that  the  whole 
list  would  be  defeated.  On  the  fourth  day, 
therefore,  Wilkinson  believed  it  advisable  to 
disclaim  the  character  imputed  to  him,  and  to 
make  such  professions  as  to  disarm  the  fears 
of  the  people,  with  whom  he  was  really  a 
great  favorite.  Accordingly,  the  return  of 
the  poll  at  the  close  of  the  election,  showed 
that  the  four  gentlemen  named,  of  the  opposi- 
tion, and  Wilkinson  alone,  of  the  “court 
party,”  had  been  chosen  delegates.  In  other 
parts  of  the  district,  the  result  was  more 
favorable  to  the  latter  party,  and  Brown, 
Innes,  McDowell  and  others  of  the  leaders 
were  chosen,  besides  enough  of  their  follow- 
ers to  make  the  membership  of  the  new  con- 
vention about  evenly  divided  between  the  two 
factions. 

The  seventh  convention  met  on  the  3d  of 
November,  1788;  on  the  4th,  a quorum  was 
present,  and  on  the  5th,  it  began  the  business 
of  the  session.  The  leaders  of  the  opposing 
forces  in  the  convention  had  already  discov- 
ered themselves;  of  the  “country  party,”  there 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


281 


were  Marshall,  Muter,  Crockett,  and  Col. 
John  Edwards,  of  Bourbon  County;  of  the 
“court  party,”  there  were  Wilkinson,  Brown, 
Sebastian  and  Tnnes.  The  first  trial  of 
strength  came  at  the  very  beginning  of  the 
real  work  of  the  convention.  Organization 
having  been  accomplished,  the  resolution  of 
congress  relating  to  the  separation  of  the 
district  was  read  to  the  convention  and  re- 
ferred to  a committee  of  the  whole,  into 
which  the  convention  was  resolved,  and  Mr. 
Wilkinson  called  to  the  chair.  In  the  dis- 
cussion which  followed,  a question  as  to  the 
authority  under  which  the  body  was  acting 
developed  the  fact  that  the  recommendation 
and  resolutions  of  the  former  convention  had 
not  been  referred.  A resolution  that  the 
committee  rise  in  order  that  this  document 
might  be  brought  before  it,  was  urged  and 
opposed  by  arguments  in  which  neither  party 
expressed  their  real  object.  Both  had  the 
empowering  clause  of  the  recommendation 
in  view,  but  the  one  urged  that  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Mississippi,  of  which  the  congres- 
sional document  made  no  mention,  was  too 
important  a subject  to  be  left  out  of  the 
consideration  of  the  committee,  while  the 
other  objected  to  the  confusion  involved  in 
the  discussion  of  so  many  topics  at  the  same 
time.  I 

The  debate  took  a wide  range  and  earnest  j 
tone,  in  the  course  of  which  Wilkinson  dilated 
upon  the  advantages  of  a free  navigation  of 
the  river.  He  pointed  out  the  discouragements 
experienced;  that  it  was  idle  to  look  to  the 
general  government  for  relief;  that  the  same 
difficulties  did  not  exist  in  treating  with 
Spain,  and  declai’ed  “that  there  was  informa- 
tion of  the  first  importance  on  that  subject 
within  the  power  of  the  convention,  which 
he  doubted  not  it  would  be  equally  agreeable 
for  the  members  to  have,  and  for  the  gentle- 
man who  possessed  it,  to  communicate.” 
The  attention  of  the  convention  was  thus 
directed  to  Mr.  Brown,  who  with  some  hesi- 
tation arose  and  said  “that  he  did  not  think 
himself  at  liberty  to  disclose  what  had 
passed  in  private  conference  between  the 
Spanish  minister,  Mr.  Gardoqui,  and  himself, 
but  this^  much  in  general  he  would  venture  to 


inform  the  convention,  that,  provided  we  are 
unanimous,  everything  we  could  wish  for  is 
within  our  reach.”  This  was  scarcely  so  ex- 
plicit as  his  friends  had  been  led  to  expect, 
nor  so  forcible  as  desired  by  Wilkinson,  who 
probably  intended  Mr.  Brown’s  authoritative 
utterance  as  an  introduction  to  a paper  which 
he  had  prepared  upon  the  subject  of  the 
navigation  and  commerce  of  the  Mississippi. 
Nothing  daunted  by  this  partial  failure  of  his 
plans  the  general  proposed,  with  the  permis- 
sion of  the  convention,  to  read  his  production 
It  was  at  once  called  for  by  his  party  associ- 
ates, and  listened  to  with  resoect  by  all.  It 
was  addressed  to  the  intendant  of  Louisiana, 
covered  some  fifteen  or  twenty  pages  of  manu- 
script, and  treated  the  subject  in  a way  that 
elicited  a unanimous  vote  of  thanks  “for  the 
regal'd  he  therein  manifested  for  the  interests 
of  the  western  country.”  The  reading  of 
this  essay  ended  the  discussion,  and  the  res- 
olutions in  question  were  referred  to  the 
committee  of  the  whole,  in  order  that  all  the 
interests  of  the  district  might  come  within 
the  scope  of  its  deliberations. 

The  victory  thus  gained  by  the  “court 
party”  was  barren  of  any  marked  results. 
Whatever  the  ulterior  purpose  of  its  leaders 
may  have  been,  its  achievement  required  an 
unanimity  that  was  found  to  be  impossible. 
Each  party  had  become  aware  that  it  was  in 
the  presence  of  a watchful  opponent,  and 
each,  doubtful  of  the  other’s  strength  and 
disposition,  appeared  unwilling  to  join 
issue.  The  whole  course  of  the  convention 
was  a series  of  evasions;  every  proposition 
was  voted  without  serious  opposition,  save  in 
the  case  just  mentioned.  Mr.  Innes  intro- 
duced petitions  from  subscribers  in  Mercer 
and  Madison  Countiespraying  for  an  address 
to  congress  in  behalf  of  securing  the  free 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  con- 
vention in  due  time  prepared  and  forwarded 
such  an  address.  A little  later  Mr.  Crockett 
introduced  a numerously  signed  remonstrance 
against  a “violent  separation”  from  Virginia, 
and  Mr.  Edwards,  by  order  of  the  conven- 
tion, presented  a “decent  and  respectful” 
address  to  the  legislature,  “praying  that  an 
act  may  pass  at  the  present  session  for  ena- 


282 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


bling  the  good  people  of  the  Kentucky  district 
to  obtain  an  independent  government;”  and 
its  “friendly  interposition  with  congress  for 
a speedy  admission  of  the  district  into  the 
Federal  union.”  An  amendment  being 
offered,  this  measure  was  postponed  for  a 
time,  and  in  the  meantime  Mr.  Wilkinson 
offered  a preamble  and  resolution  calling  for 
an  address  to  the  people,  seeking  “instruc- 
tions in  what  manner  to  proceed  on  the  im- 
portant subject  to  them  submitted.”  This 
was  also  passed,  and  the  business  placed  in 
the  hands  of  a committee  to  prepare.  This 
was  brought  forward,  reported  to  the  com- 
mittee of  the  whole,  where  it  was  superseded 
by  the  address  to  the  legislatime  which,  when 
adopted  by  the  convention,  obviated  the  neces- 
sity for  further  instructions.  This  done,  the 
convention  adjourned  till  the  first  Monday  in 
August,  1789.* 

It  is  almost  idle  to  inquire  into  the  motives 
which  actuated  the  “court  party,”  but  the 
historian,  Marshall,  has  ascribed  such  an  ex- 
ceptional character  to  them,  has  dealt  so 
freely  in  suspicion  and  inuendo,  that  they 
seem  to  have  a permanent  importance  which 
may  not  be  wholly  ignored.  Of  the  persons 
involved  in  the  supposed  conspiracy  with 
Spain,  Wilkinson  and  Brown  were  the  most 
important.  So  far  as  appearance  and  proof 
went,  the  operations  of  the  former  were 
simply  of  a business  character,  and  his 
relations  with  Louisiana  authorities  were  con- 
fined to  a kind  of  commercial  treaty  won  by 
the  remarkable  audacity  of  the  man.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  the  privilege  he  obtained 
was  a vei’y  profitable  one  not  only  to  himself 
but  also  to  the  people  of  Kentucky,  many  of 
whom,  through  his  permits,  shared  the  advan- 
tages of  the  concession.  There  is  no  reason- 
able probability  that  he  ever  received  a pen- 
sion from  the  Spanish  authorities,  and 
though  repeatedly  tried  by  competent  courts, 
before  which  he  waived  legal  formalities 
tending  to  limit  incompetent  evidence,  he  was 
triumphantly  acquitted  on  every  charge  pre- 
ferred, though  supported  by  witnesses  of  the 

♦Marshall  gives  the  proceedings  of  this  convention  consider- 
ably in  detail.  He  had  access  to  notes  of  the  deliberations 
taken  by  Col.  Marshall,  which  were  declared  by  other  mem- 
bers to  be  accurate.  See  Vol.  I,  pp.  316-337. 


worst  character  and  most  vindictive  temper. 
Brown’s  relations  were  of  a different  charac- 
ter. It  was  doubtless  the  hope  of  Spanish 
olficials  to  achieve  through  the  disaffection 
of  the  Kentuckians  what  seemed  impossible 
in  negotiating  with  the  general  government. 
That  the  western  representative  should  have 
given  his  assent  to  the  Spanish  minister’s 
proposition  was  not  so  unnatural  as  undiplo- 
matic. It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that 
national  sentiment  at  that  time  was  undevel- 
oped; that  the  separate  action  of  a State  was 
legally  recognized;  and  that  if  Kentucky  had 
been  “unanimous,”  the  matter  of  Virginia’s 
opposition  would  have  been  of  slight  con- 
sequence. That  Brown’s  attitude  was  en- 
tirely friendly  to  what  he  considered  the  best 
interests  of  the  district  is  beyond  reasonable 
doubt,  and  so  far  from  condemning  him,  the 
“good  people”  of  Kentucky,  while  not  indors- 
ing his  views  in  this  respect,  gave  him  the 
best  evidence  of  their  regard  by  continuing 
him  in  the  United  States  senate  for  eighteen 
years.  Even  the  jaundiced  historian,  while 
assailing  these  men,  is  compelled  to  say  “that 
so  long  as  the  leaders  of  the  faction  for  vio- 
lent separation  contiued  to  offer  themselves 
to  the  people  in  elections,  they  were  elected.” 
(Vol.  I,  p.  369.) 

After  the  contest  was  ended,  the  mental 
vision  of  many  of  their  opponents  cleared, 
and  led  them  to  do  justice  to  the  leaders  of 
the  “court  part}^.”  Col.  Marshall  was  an 
intimate  friend  of  Washington,  and  when 
the  latter  began  to  be  spoken  of  as  the  prob- 
able first  president  under  the  constitution, 
the  colonel  wrote  him,  under  date  , of  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1789,  giving  an  account  “of  such 
symptoms  of  foreign  intrigue  and  internal 
disaffection  as  had  manifested  themselves  to 
him.”  In  this  letter,  “the  names  of  Wil- 
kinson and  Brown  are  alone  mentioned  among 
the  implicated.”  Mr.  Marshall  was  undoubt- 
edly actuated  in  this  matter  by  the  most  worthy 
motives,  and  his  sincerity  is  evinced  by  his 
subsequent  conduct  when  his  suspicions  were 
proven  unfounded.  In  a letter  to  Marshall, 
Washington  subsequently  wrote: 

In  acknowledging  the  reciept  of  3'our  letter  of 
the  11th  of  September  (1790),  I must  beg  you  to 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


283 


accept  my  thanks  for  the  pleasing  communication 
which  it  contains  of  the  good  disposition  of  the 
people  of  Kentucky  toward  the  government  of  the 
United  States.  I never  doubted  but  that  the  opera- 
tions of  this  government,  if  not  perverted  by  prej- 
udice or  evil  designs,  would  inspire  the  citizens  of 
America  with  such  confidence  in  it,  as  effectually  to 
do  away  these  apprehensions  which,  under  our  for- 
mer confederation,  our  best  men  entertained  of 
divisions  among  ourselves,  or  allurements  from 
other  nations.  I am  therefore  happy  to  find,  that 
such  a disposition  prevails  in  your  part  of  the 
country  as  to  remove  any  idea  of  that  evil,  which  a 
few  years  ago  you  so  much  dreaded. 

“This  letter,”  as  Mr.  Butler  remarks,  “taken 
in  connection  with  the  subsequent  appoint- 
ment of  Wilkinson  to  be  a lieutenant-colonel 
in  the  army,  at  the  recommendation  of  Col. 
Marshall,*  as  well  as  others,  and  the  repeated 
military  commissions  of  high  trust  and  ex- 
pression of  thanks  to  Messrs.  Brown,  Innes, 
Scott,  Shelby  and  Logan,  amply  confirm  the 
idea  that  the  imputed  disaffection  of  any  of 
these  distinguished  citizens  to  the  union  of 
the  States,  had  been  abandoned  by  Col. 
Washington  himself,  and  most  certainly  by 
Washington,  if  ever  admitted  to  disturb  his 
serene  and  benevolent  mind.”  (P.  183.) 

The  year  of  1788  is  marked  by  another 
characteristic  intrigue,  which,  though  unim- 
portant  in  its  results,  illustrates  how  wide- 
spread and  determined  the  disaffection  of  the 
western  country  was  believed  to  be.  Some 
time  about  November,  Connolly, the  notorious 
nephew  of  Loi’d  Dunmore,  arrived  from  Can- 
ada, ostensibly  to  inquire  after  his  lands  at 
the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  but  really  to  discover 
the  disposition  of  the  leading  men  in  regard 
to  hostile  operations  against  the  Spanish  on 
the  lower  Mississippi.  He  was  introduced  by 
Col.  John  Campbell,  his  partner  in  the  lands, 
and  some  time  a prisoner  among  the  Indians. 
He  approached  Judge  Muter  and  Marshall, 

'••The  fact  of  this  recoinmeudation  becoming  known  to  his 
political  associates,  brought  upon  him  “a  degree  of  censure” 
which  evoked  the  following  explanation.  “lie  consideied 
Wilkinson  well  qualified  for  the  commission  he  had  solicited 
and  obtained;  that  while  he  remained  unemployed  by  govern- 
ment he  considered  him  dangerous  to  the  public  quiet  of  Ken- 
tucky, perhaps  to  her  safety;  that  if  his  commission  did  not 
secure  his  fidelity,  it  would  at  least  place  him  under  control,  in 
the  midst  of  faithful  officers,  whose  vigilance  would  render 
him  harmless,  if  it  did  not  make  him  honest.  At  all  events,  he 
could  see  no  good  reason  for  not  putting  the  lion  in  the  toils, 
which  he  solicited  for  himself.”  (Marshall,  Vol.  I,  p.  391 ).  This 
explanation,  if  not  distorted  by  the  historian,  served  ihecen- 
sured  gentlemen  as  an  ar<7W7nen^?m  ad in  his  reply  to 
his  associates,  but  as  a public  apology,  it  does  credit  neither  to 
his  head  nor  his  heart,  and  would  have  been  much  better 
omitted  by  his  friend,  the  historian. 


urging  the  necessity  of  the  free  navigation 
of  the  rivei’,  and  represented  that  the  Cana- 
dian authorities  had  4,000  troops,  besides  two 
regiments,  at  Detroit,  which  they  were  will- 
ing to  employ  in  aiding  the  Kentuckians  to 
possess  New  Orleans,  beside  arms,  ammuni- 
tion, clothing  and  money.  He  also  ap- 
proached Gens.  Scott  and  Wilkinson  with 
the  same  story.  The  latter,  dangerous  to  the 
public  quiet  as  he  was  believed  by  some  to 
be,  treated  the  plotter  in  a summary  fashion. 
Although  willing  to  impress  the  Spanish  in- 
tendant  with  the  idea,  “that  should  Spain  be 
so  blind  to  her  true  interests  as  to  refuse  the 
use  of  the  river  to  the  western  people,  and 
thereby  compel  a resort  to  military  means 
for  its  attainment,  that  Great  Britain  stands 
ready,  with  her  arms  expanded,  willing  to 
receive  and  co-operate  with  them  in  their 
efforts  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  great 
and  favorite  object,”  he  was  by  no  means 
ready  to  try  the  experiment.  He  procured 
it  to  be  given  out  that  Connolly  was  an 
English  spy,  and  engaged  a borderer  to  make 
a sham  assault  upon  him.  This  so  terrified 
him  that  he  asked  a guide  to  secretly  lead 
him  out  of  the  district,  and  thus  ended  the 
only  attempt  made  by  the  English  to  enlist 
the  co-operation  of  the  Kentuckians. 

On  the  29th  of  December  the  legislature, 
in  prompt  compliance  with  the  address  of  the 
last  district  convention,  passed  the  third  act 
of  separation.  This  docTiment  did  not  reach 
Kentucky,  however,  until  in  January,  1789, 
when,  its  terms  being  known,  it  gave  rise  to 
severe  criticism  and  to  general  disappoint- 
ment. It  was  found  that  new  conditions  had 
been  added  to  those  originally  imposed, 
which,  however  reasonable  they  may  have 
appeared  to  the  Virginians,  proved  highly 
objectionable  to  the  Kentuckians.  It  was 
provided  that  the  new  State  should  pay  a 
portion  of  the  present  domestic  debt  of  the 
commonwealth.  This  had  been  suggested  by 
the  great  expense  incurred  in  carrying  on 
military  operations  in  defense  of  the  district, 
which,  though  not  always  authorized  by 
Virginia,  had  been  assumed.  The  other  new 
condition  proposed  to  secure  to  the  Virginia 
officers  and  soldiers  the  bounty  lands  set 


284 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


apart  for  them,  but  it  served  to  continue  a 
certain  dependence  of  the  district  upon  the 
parent  State,  so  that  in  case  of  separation  the 
new  State  would  be  “in  part  independent, 
and  in  part  dependent  on  a co-State  as  to  the 
exercise  of  legislative  power.” 

This  act  obliged  the  people  of  the  district 
to  asrain  travel  the  whole  tedious  round  of 
conventions  to  determine  the  expediency  of 
separation,  to  form  a constitution,  and  to 
organize  a government.  The  election  of 
delegates  occurred  in  April,  and  Messrs. 
Marshall  and  Muter  again  presented  them- 
selves as  candidates.  Wilkinson,  tired  of 
politics,  and  immersed  in  business  cares,  de- 
clined to  present  his  name,  and  the  election 
passed  without  notable  incident.  On  the 
third  Monday  in  July  (20th),  1789,  the 
eighth  convention  assembled  at  Danville. 
There  were  many  of  the  “court  party”  pres- 
ent, biat  the  old  issue  was  not  presented,  and 
the  deliberations  of  the  body  were  unmarked 
by  any  serious  division  of  sentiment.  Dis- 
cussion first  turned  upon  the  new  terms  of 
separation,  and  after  a short  debate  a resolu- 
tion was  adopted  providing  fo»  a memorial  to 
the  legislature  “requiring  such  alterations  in 
the  terms  proposed  to  this  district  for  separa- 
tion as  will  make  them  equal  to  those  former- 
ly offered  by  Virginia,  and  agreed  to  on  the 
part  of  the  said  district.”  This  done,  the 
convention  turned  its  attention  to  general 
legislation.  It  directed  its  members  to 
“meet  at  their  court  houses,  on  the  October 
court  days,  and  lay  off  their  respective  coun- 
ties into  precincts,  and  that  each  delegate 
make  out  a list  of  the  souls  residing  within  his 
respective  precinct,  discriminating  between 
males  and  females,  and  between  those  over 
and  those  under  twenty- one  years  of  age.”  It 
was  further  provided  that  the  president  of  the 
convention  should  call  the  members  together 
again  so  soon  as  the  amended  act  of  the  legis- 
lature should  come  to  hand. 

The  memorial  of  this  convention,  in  due 
time,  came  before  the  legislature,  which,  on 
Decendber  18,  1789,  passed  an  act  in  con- 
formity with  the  wishes  of  the  district.  This 
act,*  the  fourth  and  final  one,  required  the 

^Appendix  A,  Note  29. 


; work  to  be  done  de  novo;  the  convention,  to 
determine  the  expediency  of  separation  was 
required  to  meet  at  Danville,  on  July  26, 
i 1790;  congress  to  give  its  assent  prior  to 
November  1,  1791;  the  day  of  separation  to 
be  fixed  “posterior”  to  that  date,  and  a con- 
stitutional convention  to  be  provided  for  and 
meet  prior  to  the  date  fixed  for  final  separa- 
tion. The  ninth  convention  accordingly 
met  on  the  date  appointed;  organized  with 
Judge  Muter  as  president;  resolved  unani-. 
mously  in  favor  of  the  expediency  of  separa- 
tion; accepted  the  terms  of  the  last  legis- 
lative act,  and  fixed  on  June  1,  1792,  as  the 
date  of  final  separation;  prepared  appropriate 
addresses  to  Virginia  and  congress;  provided 
for  the  election — on  the  court  days  in  Decem- 
ber, 1791 — of  delegates  to  constitute  a con- 
vention, which  was  to  assemble  on  the  first 
Monday  in  April,  1792,  at  Danville,  and  ad- 
journed. On  December  18,  1790,  the  presi- 
dent strongly  recommended  the  claims  of 
Kentucky  to  congress,  in  response  to  which 
communication  each  house  made  a suitable 
reply  in  favorable  terms,  and  on  February  4, 

1791,  both  houses  had  passed  the  act  admit- 
ting the  district,  as  the  State  of  Kentucky, 
on  the  terms  of  the  “compact”  between  that 
section  and  Virginia.  Fourteen  days  later 
Vermont  was  also  admitted  to  the  Union,  but, 
as  it  was  not  encumbered  with  delaying  con- 
ditions, it  became  a part  of  the  Union 
immediately  after  congress  rose  in  March — 
an  indirect  confirmation  of  Mr.  Brown’s 
opinion  that  the  historian,  Marshall,  fails  to 
point  out. 

In  December,  1791,  the  election  of  dele- 
gates for  the  tenth*  and  final  convention 
came  on  and  passed  without  notable  incident, 
save  that  “considerable  effort”  was  made  to 
place  the  district  under  party  discipline.  The 
plan  was  to  organize  a system  of  county 
committees,  “whose  first  ostensible  business 
was  to  form  tickets,  or  to  recommend  to  the 
people  fit  persons  to  be  elected  by  them  as 
representatives.  The  next  thing  was  to  fur- 
nish the  representatives,  when  chosen,  with 

*These  conventions  were  assembled  on  the  following  dates, 
December  27,  1784;  May  23  and  August  8,  1785;  September 
(fourth  Monday),  1786 ; September  17,  1787  ; July  28  and  Novem- 
ber 3,  1788;  July  20,  1789;  July  26, 1790,  and  April  (first  Mondav), 

1792. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


285 


instructions  how  to  act.  “ The  project  appears 
to  have  been  only  partially  successful,  and, 
as  a “principle  of  practice,”  was  not  estab- 
lished in  Kentucky  until  a later  time.  Elec- 
tioneering, however,  had  already  become  an 
art,  and  the  people,  accustomed  to  being 
courted  for  their  votes,  elected  “those  who 
had  taken  most  pains  to  please.”  The  de- 
liberations of  the  convention  were  har- 
monious, and  the  progress  of  the  work  so 
rapid  that,  notwithstanding  the  interruption 
occasioned  by  the  resignation  and  re-election 
of  Mr.  Nicholas,*  the  members  ratified  the 
new  instrument  by  their  adoption  and  sig- 
natm’e  on  the  19th  day  of  the  same  month. 

The  convention  provided  that  the  election 
of  State  oflficers  and  the  members  of  the 
legislature  should  occur  in  May,  and  that 
the  new  government  should  assemble  in  Lex- 
ington on  Monday,  the  4th  day  of  June 
following.  Accordingly,  on  the  3d  of  the 
month,  Isaac  Shelby,  the  declared  governor, 
left  his  farm  destined  for  that  place.  The 
same  day,  passing  through  Danville,  he 
received  a congratulatory  address  from  its 
citizens,  to  which  he  returned  an  appropriate 
reply,  and  then  proceeded  on  his  journey. 
The  next  day  he  arrived  in  Lexington, 
escorted  by  a troop  of  volunteers  who  had 
met  him  on  the  road,  pursuant  to  an  order 
of  the  trustees  of  the  town,  by  whom  he 
was  received  with  some  parade.  The  greater 
number  of  the  senators,  with  a large  propor- 
tion of  the  representatives,  arrived  the  same 
day,  and  on  the  following  day  the  new 
government  was  formally  inaugurated,  with 
Alexander  Scott  Bullitt  as  president  of  the 
senate,  and  Robert  Breckinridge  as  speaker 
of  the  house  of  representatives.  Thus,  after 
eight  years  of  vexatious  struggle,  the  State 

*This  incident  is  related  by  Marshall  (Vol.  I,  p.  395)  as  fol- 
lows: “Mr.  Nicholas,  finding  it  necessary  or  convenient  to  re- 
vise some  opinion  which  he  had  advanced  previous  to  his 
election,  and  which  now  stood  in  his  way  to  a newly  conceived 
measure,  resigned  his  seat  in  order  to  submit  himself,  as  regen- 
erated, to  the  people  in  another  election,  rather  than  forego  the 
desire  of  bringing  forth  this  recent  conception,  or  run  the  risk 
of  giving  offense  to  his  constituents,  or  of  trusting  to  the  in- 
trinsic merits  of  the  project  and  subsequent  speculations.  He 
was  in  the  midst  of  his  constituents,  and  beside,  this  self- 
immolation  could  but  yield  a most  savory  sacrifice  to  the  popular 
nostril,  and  secure  to  him  its  patronage.  Accordingly  he  had 
no  o ponent,  was  re-elected,  and  again  took  his  seat  iu  a few 
days,  re-ent'oreed  with  all  the  might  and  majesty  of  his  county. 
It  is,  however,  due  to  Jlr.  Nicholas  to  add  that  if  he  wasa  seeker 
of  popularity  he  was  a politician  of  distinguished  eminence” 
The  project  for  which  he  made  this  sacrifice  was  to  vest  the 
court  of  appeals  withoriginal  and  final  jurisdiction  in  landsuits, 
and  it  was  accordingly  incorporated  in  ^he  constitution. 


of  Kentucky  became  an  integral  part  of  the 
American  Union,  fitted  and  furnished  for  its 
career  in  the  sisterhood  of  States. 

The  boundaries  of  the  new  State  had  been 
recognized,  by  the  act  of  Virginia,  as  the 
“same  as  at  present  separate  the  district  from 
the  residue  of  this  commonwealth.”  In 
1780  the  line  36°  30'  north  latitude, 

which  separated  Virginia  from  North  Caro- 
lina, had  been  traced  only  to  the  Alleghany 
Mountains.  With  the  extension  of  settle- 
ments westward,  disputes  arose  between  the 
borderers,  and  serious  inconvenience  was 
experienced  in  the  matter  of  property,  as  well 
as  jurisdiction.  The  two  governments 
accordingly  provided,  in  this  year,  for  the 
further  survey  of  this  line.  Dr.  Walker 
being  selected  on  the  part  of  Virginia,  and 
Col.  Henderson  on  the  part  of  North  Car- 
olina, for  this  purpose.  These  gentlemen, 
with  their  attendants,  immediately  set  about 
this  business,  beginning  at  the  Tennessee 
River,  and  proceeding  eastward.  They  soon 
found  the  results  of  their  independent 
observations  disagreeing  with  each  other, 
and  each  adhering  to  his  own  opinion, 
through  a prepossession  in  favor  of  his  own 
State,  or  the  inaccuracy  of  instruments,  the 
lines  thus  drawn  were  found  to  cross  each 
other,  and  to  be  quite  wide  apart  on  reaching 
the  top  of  the  Cumberland  Mountain.  At 
this  point  Henderson  withdrew,  but  Walker, 
pursuing  his  course,  had  the  line  marked  to 
the  Tennessee  River,  where  he  stopped,  and 
subsequently  discovered  that  the  projected 
line  would  touch  the  Mississippi  instead  of 
the  Ohio,  as  had  been  supposed. 

Such  definition  of  the  boundary  line  by 
no  means  obviated  the  inconvenience  experi- 
enced, but  for  many  years  no  further  official 
attention  was  given  the  matter,  although 
difficulties  occasionally  arose  which  threat- 
ened to  interrupt  the  friendly  relations  of 
the  two  governments.  On  the  14th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1799,  the  boundai’y  on  the  east  was 
settled  by  commissioners  acting  for  the  two 
States  interested,  and  was  established  to  run 
from  the  point  where  the  southern  boundary 
crosses  the  Cumberland  Mountains,  pursuing 
a northeast  course  to  the  northeastwardly 


286 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


branch  of  the  Big  Sandy  River;  thence  to  j 
the  main  west  branch,  and  down  the  same  to 
the  Ohio.  In  1811,  provision  was  made  by  | 
the  Kentucky  legislature  for  the  survey  of 
the  southern  boundary  westward  from  the 
Tennessee  River,  which  was  subsequently  j 
accomplished  by  Messrs.  Alexander  and 
Munsell,  the  line  reaching  the  river  below 
New  Madrid.  In  1820  this  line,  with  the 
one  established  by  Walker,  was  mutually  j 
agreed  upon  as  the  southern  boundary  of 
Kentucky.  This  area,  otherwise  marked  by 
the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  Rivers,*  is  included 
between  the  meridians  of  82°  3'  and  89° 
30'  west  longitude,  and  between  36°  26' 
and  39°  6'  north  latitude.  Its  extreme 
length  from  east  to  west  is  308  miles;  its 
greatest  breadth  from  north  to  south  is  172 
miles,  and  contains  37,680  square  miles,  of 
which  all,  save  about  1,000  square  miles 
in  the  sub-valley  of  the  Ohio,  lies  within 
the  Mississippi  Valley. 

In  1800  the  population  had  increased 
since  the  first  census  to  220,955  per- 
sons, of  whom  41,082  were  slaves  or  free 
persons  of  color;  in  1810  the  population  was 
composed  of  324,237  whites  and  82,274 
blacks,  and  Kentucky  rose  from  the  four- 
teenth State,  in  point  of  population,  to  the 
ninth  in  the  American  Union.  This  devel- 
opment found  expression  also  in  the  growth 
of  towns  and  villages,  which,  numbering  only 
five,  with  populations  varying  from  150  to 
834  souls,  in  1790,  ten  years  later  had  in- 
creased to  twenty-nine,  with  populations 
varying’from  six  to  1,795  souls,  f A traveler 
from  the  East,  intent  on  seeing  the  country, 
at  this  time  would  take  boat  at  Pittsburgh,  and 
land  at  Limestone.  Until  1784  no  structure 
of  any  sort  marked  the  site  of  the  landing 
place,  but  at  that  date  the  Wallers  erected  a 
double  log-cabin  and  block-house;  and  three 

*Xhe  jurisdiction  of  Kentucky  extends  to  low-water  mark 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Ohio  Kiver. 

■fThe  census  takers  of  1800  returned  twenty-nine  towns,  with 
a separate  enumeration,  as  follows.  The  figures  before  the 
names  indicate  the  rank  of  each  town  in  point  of  population  ; 

24,  EddyTille,  69;  26,  Falmouth,  38;  12,  Flemingsburg,  124; 

2,  Frankfort,  628  ; 6,  Georgetown,  3.50 ; 20,  Germantown,  81 ; 22, 
Greensburg,  71;  27,  Greenville,  26;  25,  Hardinsburg,  49  ; 13, 
Ilarrodsburg,  124 ; 21,  Hartford.  74;  8,  Henderson,  205  ; 17,  Lau 
caster,  103;  i,  Lexington,  1,795;  5,  Louisville,  359 ; 11,  Mays- 
ville,  137;  19,  Mount  Sterling,  83;  16,  Newport,  106;  28,  Nicho- 
lasville,  2.3 ; 4,  Paris,  377;  20,  Prestonburg,  6;  15,  Richmond, 
110;  14, Russellville,  117 ; 7,  Shelby ville,  262;  18,  Shepherdsville, 
96;  10, Springfield,  63;  9,Versaillcs,  172;  3,  Washington, 570 ; 23, 
Williamsburg  (now  Orangeburg),  70. 


j years  later  a warehouse,  for  the  reception  and 
inspection  of  tobacco,  was  built  by  authority 
of  the  legislature.  Immediately  after,  a plat 
consisting  of  100  acres  was  laid  out  by  John 
May  and  Simon  Kenton,  “on  the  lower  side 
j of  Limestone  Creek,  and  called  Maysville.  ” 
Notwithstanding  its  importance  as  a general 
landing  place  for  Kentucky  immigration, 

I this  municipal  venture  developed  but  slowly. 

I In  the  same  year  (1787)  the  town  of  Charles- 
ton was  established  by  law  at  the  mouth  of 
Lawrence  Creek,  and  two  years  before,  the 
town  of  Washington,  four  miles  to  the  south- 
west of  the  landing,  had  been  laid  out.  This 
was  a pretentious  venture,  the  plat  of  which 
covered  700  acres;  it  grew  rapidly  under 
the  stimulating  influence  of  the  large  immi- 
gration, and  in  1790  possessed  a population 
of  462  souls.  In  1800  its  inhabitants  were 
returned  at  570,  and  at  815  ten  years  later. 
W^ith  such  competition  the  famous  entrepot 
grew  but  slowly.  It  was  noted  “as  a fine 
harbor  for  boats  coming  down  the  Ohio,”  and 
as  being  the  terminus  of  a “large  wagon- 
road  to  Lexington.”  In  1797,  Francis  Bailey, 
the  English  traveler,  estimated  that  it 
might  contain  from  thirty  to  forty  houses, 
which  were  found  to  be  chiefly  log-houses; 
the  place  on  a near  approach  appeared  very 
dirty,  and  presented  a much  more  pleasing 
prospect  from  the  river;  provisions  were 
found  to  be  very  dear,  owing  to  the  number 
of  boats  which  had  recently  landed.  As 
early  as  1798  it  had  reached  the  dignity  of  a 
“post-town,”  and  in  1802  was  found  by 
Michaux  to  consist  of  not  more  than  thirty 
or  forty  houses,  though  these  were  built  of 
plank,  obtained  from  the  Kentucky  boats 
that  were  broken  up  at  the  end  of  their  jour- 
ney. A few  years  later  it  was  described  as 
“quite  a bustling  place,”  but  with  a popula- 
tion only  numbering  about  350  souls. 

Inland  travel  from  this  point,  which  was 
known  as  Limestone  for  some  years  later,  was 
accomplished  on  horseback,  but  Michaux 
warns  visitors  that  they  will  find  it  difficult 
to  hire  horses  here.  Such  animals  were  only 
to  be  obtained  by  purchase,  and  the  people, 
not  less  well  informed  than  those  farther  east, 
knew  ‘ ‘ how  to  take  advantage  when  they 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


287 


can.”  The  Frenchman,  therefore,  deter- 
mined to  make  his  way  to  Lexington  on  foot, 
a distance  of  sixty-five  miles,  which  he  ac- 
complished in  two  days  and  a half.  Wash- 
ington was  reached  after  a tramp  of  four 
miles,  and  was  found  to  consist  of  “about 
two  hundred  houses,  all  of  planks,”  which 
were  erected  on  either  side  of  the  wagon- 
road  which  lead  to  Lexington.  Here  trade 
was  brisk,  the  principal  article  being  flour, 
which  was  exported  to  New  Orleans.  In  the 
country  around  were  found  beautiful  planta- 
tions, with  fences  as  well  kept  and  fields  as 
well  cultivated  as  in  Virginia.  From  Wash- 
ington the  road  led  to  Springfield,  a place 
then  consisting  of  five  or  six  houses,  two  of 
which  were  “spacious  well-built  taverns,” 
but  which  w'as  unknown  to  the  gazetteers  and 
has  since  entirely  passed  away.  A little  fiu’- 
ther  on,  the  traveler  reached  May’s  Lick, 
nine  miles  southwest  from  Washington, 
which  was  chiefly  interesting  for  the  salt 
works  established  there.  Millersburg,  known 
to  the  early  gazetteers  as  “Miller’s,”  was 
found  situated  on  a branch  of  the  Lickins:, 
thirty-two  miles  northeast  of  Lexington, 
and  consisting  of  about  fifty  houses  and  two 
saw-mills.  A bridge  was  constructed  over 
the  river,  which,  like  all  others  of  the  few 
to  be  found  in  this  country,  consisted  of  tree- 
trunks,  not  fastened  together,  placed  trans- 
versely beside  each  other.  But  little  care 
was  bestowed  iipon  repairs,  and  the  traveler 
on  horseback  is  advised  that  “it  is  always 
prudent  to  alight  on  crossing  them.” 

Some  eighteen  miles  before  reaching  Lex- 
ington on  this  road,  the  town  of  Paris  arose 
before  the  early  traveler.  It  was  at  this 
time  the  chief  place  in  Bourbon  County. 
During  the  pioneer  period  it  was  known 
as  Houston’s  Station,  and  was  eclipsed  by  the 
superior  importance  of  Ruddle’s  and  Miller’s 
Stations  in  its  near  vicinity.  In  1789,  it  was 
established  as  a town  by  the  legislature  un- 
der the  name  of  Hopewell;  a year  later  the 
name  was  changed  to  Bourbonton,  and  subse- 
quently to  Paris.  It  was  situated  in  the 
midst  of  a pleasant  plain  of  considerable 
extent,  and  near  the  Licking,  on  which  were 
several  “corn-mills.”  In  1796  it  contained 


only  eighteen  houses,  but  in  1802  Michaux 
notes  upward  of  150  buildings,  “more  than 
half  of  which  are  built  of  brick.”  Every- 
thing at  that  time  indicated  the  prosperity 
of  the  people.  “Seven  or  eight  of  them,” 
says  Michaux,  “ were  drinking  whisky  in  a 
very  neat  tavern,  where  I stopped  to  let  the 
great  heat  pass  over.  After  answering  the 
various  questions  they  asked  me  relative  to 
the  intentions  of  my  journey,  one  of  them 
invited  me  to  dine  with  him,  being  desirous 
of  making  me  acquainted  with  one  of  iny 
countrymen,  who  had  lately  arrived  from 
Bengal.  I yielded  to  his  request,  and  found 
a Frenchman  who  had  quitted  Calcutta  to 
come  and  live  in  Kentucky.  He  had  taken 
up  his  residence  at  Paris,  where  he  exercised 
the  profession  of  a schoolmaster.  ” 

No  further  aggregation  of  houses  claimed 
the  distinction  of  a village  until  Lexing- 
ton,  the  early  metropolis  of  Kentucky, 
was  reached.  This  town  was  established 
the  same  year  as  Louisville  (1780),  and 
rapidly  assumed  the  place  of  first  im- 
portance. It  was  situated  in  a rich,  exten- 
sive plain,  in  the  center  of  that  region  now 
known  as  Bluegrass,  on  the  north  side  of 
Town  Fork,  an  affluent  of  the  south  branch 
of  Elkhorn.  It  was  early  chosen  as  the  site 
of  Wilkinson’s  commercial  operations,  to 
whose  enterprise  it  doubtless  owed  much  of 
its  first  prosperity.  Its  rapid  growth,  how- 
ever, may  probably  be  attributed  to  its 
position  in  the  center  of  one  of  the  most 
fertile  regions  in  the  world.  In  the  census 
of  1790  it  is  credited  with  a population  of 
834,  which  had  reached  2,000  in  1796,  as 
estimated  by  Jedidiah  Morse,  the  earliest  of 
American  gazetteers.  At  the  latter  date,  there 
were  250  houses,  three  places  of  public  wor- 
ship, a court  house  and  a jail.  Two  printing 
offices  each  issued  a weekly  gazette,  several 
stores  competed  in  trade,  and  everything  in- 
dicated a flourishing  condition  of  prosperity. 
Its  social  charms  were  of  the  most  agreeable 
character,  its  population  including  a number 
of  the  most  genteel  families  to  be  found  in 
Kentucky. 

In  1802,  it  is  described  as  situated  in  the 
1 middle  of  about  300  acres  of  cleared  ground, 


288 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


surrounded  by  heavy  woods.  Its  plan  was 
regular;  the  broad  streets,  intersecting  each 
other  at  rigrht  angles,  were  without  “foot- 
ways,”  and  muddy  in  winter  and  in  the 
wet  season.  The  houses  were  mostly  brick, 
and  dispersed  over  an  extent  of  80  or  100 
acres,  save  on  Main  Street,  where  the  houses 
were  contiguous  to  each  other.  At  this  time 
the  gazettes  were  issued  twice  a week,  for 
which  a part  of  the  paper  was  manufactured 
in  the  country.  Two  good  rope-walks  found 
constant  employment  in  furnishing  the  ship- 
builders on  the  Ohio,  while  the  preparation 
and  manufacture  of  hemp  furnished  employ- 
ment for  considerable  capital  and  a number 
of  hands  in  several  other  establishments.  A 
new  invention  for  “grinding  and  cleansing” 
this  staple  had  just  been  announced  by  one 
of  its  citizens.  With  this  machine,  moved 
by  horse-power  or  by  a current  of  water,  it 
was  believed  that  8,000  weight  of  hemp 
could  be  thus  prepared  in  a day.  A new 
nail  machine  had  just  been  patented  also, 
which  eventually  turned  out  5,320  pounds 
of  finished  nails  in  twelve  hours,  and  en- 
abled the  manufacturers  to  export  the  finished 
product  to  Louisville,  Cincinnati,  and  even  to 
Pittsburgh.  Michaux  further  notes  that 
“ the  manufactories  of  Lexington  are  sup- 
ported, and  their  projmietors  are  thought  to 
be  doing  very  well,  notwithstanding  the  ex- 
treme high  price  of  labor.  This  price  is 
occasioned  by  the  inhabitants  giving  the 
preference  to  agriculture,  and  there  being 
but  few  who  put  their  children  to  trades,  be- 
cause they  require  their  assistance  in  their 
own  employments.  The  following  compari- 
son will  render  this  defect  of  artisans  in  the 
western  country  more  perceptible.  At 
Charleston  in  Carolina,  and  at  Savannah  in 
Georgia,  a white  workman,  such  as  a joiner, 
carpenter,  mason,  white-smith,  tailor,  shoe- 
maker, etc.,  earns  two  piasters  a day,  and 
cannot  live  a week  for  less  than  six.  At 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  he  receives  only 
one  piaster,  and  it  costs  him  four  a week. 
At  Marietta,  Lexington  and  Nashville,  Tenn. , 
this  workman  receives  a piaster,  or  a piaster 
and  a half  per  day,  and  can  live  a week  upon 
one  day’s  wages  Another  instance  will  also 


assist  in  giving  an  idea  of  the  low  price  of 
provisions  of  the  first  necessity  in  the 
western  States;  the  boarding-house  at  which 
I lived  during  my  residence  at  Lexington  is 
I’eckoned  one  of  the  best  in  the  town,  and 
the  table  is  very  well  supplied  for  two  pias- 
ters per  week.”  Outside  of  the  town  were 
several  powder-mills,  for  the  use  of  which 
sulphur  was  imported  from  Philadelphia, 
and  the  saltpeter  manufactured  from  the 
earths  of  the  neighboring  caverns.  Several 
tanneries  on  the  river,  and  potteries  where 
the  common  ware  was  made,  should  also  be 
included  in  these  outside  manufactories. 

In  1805,  Lexington  was  set  down  as  the 
“ largest  and  most  wealthy  town  in  Kentucky, 
or  indeed  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains;” 
its  Main  Street  had  all  the  api^earance  of 
Market  Street  in  Philadelphia  on  a busy  day; 
the  dwelling-houses  were  estimated  at  500, 
many  of  which  were  elegant,  and  three  stories 
high;  and  at  that  time,  thirty  brick  build- 
ings were  in  process  of  construction.  In  all, 
save  the  water,  the  surroundings  of  the  town 
were  declared  to  be  admirable,  and  the 
prosjject  seemed  to  warrant  the  prediction 
that  in  a few  years  Lexington  would  rival 
the  most  populous  inland  town  of  the  Atlantic 
States,  “not  only  in  wealth,  but  in  popula- 
tion.” Two  years  later,  the  town  had  gained 
a fourth  church,  a public  academy,  and 
“other  well  regulated  schools;”  a market- 
house,  in  which  the  produce  of  the  surround- 
ing country  was  exposed  for  sale;  a book 
store,  and  book  bindery,  two  more  rope- 
walks,  two  nail  factories,  and  two  cotton-mills, 
in  one  of  which  the  manufacture  of  duck  was 
made  a specialty.  The  stores  were  estimated 
at  thirty,  several  of  which  were  engaged  in 
the  wholesale  trade;  the  number  of  houses  by 
a closer  estimate  was  placed  at  400,  ‘ ‘ many 
of  which  are  handsomely  built,”  and  the 
population  at  2,400  souls. 

The  census  of  1810  showed  this  progress 
still  active.  The  population  had  increased  to 
4,326;  the  manufacture  of  hemp  now  en- 
gaged fifteen  rope-walks  and  bagging  facto 
ries,  which  annually  worked  up  about  1,200 
or  1,400  tons  of  hemp.  Each  bagging  factory 
employed  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  black 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


289 


boys  in  spinning,  from  ten  to  twenty  looms 
attended  by  black  men,  four  or  live  hands 
preparing  the  fibre,  and  two  or  three  white 
men  as  overseers.  The  rope-walks  each  em- 
ployed ten  or  fifteen  men,  each  man  and  boy 
aarning  for  his  master  about  $1  per  day. 
The  value  of  the  manufactured  products 
thus  turned  out  was  estimated  at  $500,000  in 
the  Eastern  market.  The  cotton  factories  had 
been  increased  to  four,  in  the  newest  and 
most  extensive  of  which  the  manufactured 
articles  were  declared  to  “ do  honor  to  our 
country.  ” It  was  further  noted  by  a traveler, 
that  “ Mr.  Daniel  Bradford,  has  lately  estab- 
lished a wool-carding  and  spinning  machin- 
ery, and  one  or  two  others  are  in  operation,” 
besides  an  oil  cloth  and  oil-carpeting  busi- 
ness, which  succeeded  well.  It  was  also  re- 
ported, that  Mr.  John  Bradford,  Sr.,  was 
about  to  erect  machinery  for  spinning  ropes 
by  steam  power.  A second  book  store,  and  a 
third  printing  press,  were  also  recent  acces- 
sions to  the  business  of  the  town.  Public 
enterprise  was  further  marked  by  a “well 
regulated  and  extensive  public  library,”  a 
“public  theatre,”  with  its  company  of  actors, 
and  neatly  conducted  “bath-houses,  both 
warm  and  cold.”  The  style  of  building  was 
still  handsome,  and  the  public  inns,  of  which 
there  were  four,  were  conducted  on  a plan 
and  style  of  neatness,  which  made  a man  feel 
at  home,  as  soon  as  he  entered.  Everything 
went  “like  clock  work,”  the  employees  being 
at  their  posts  night  and  day,  and  the  landlord’s 
watchful  eye  constantly  over  all.  It  was  not  un- 
usual to  see  thirty  or  forty  strangers  sit  down 
to  the  table  in  Postlewaite’s  tavern  at  one 
time,  and  the  others  were  not  less  well 
patronized. 

These  facts  pertaining  to  Lexington  may 
be  found  in  the  published  accounts  of  the 
travels  of  Michaux,  Espy  (Tour  in  Ohio  and 
Kentucky  in  1805;  published  in  Cincinnati, 
1871);  the  Navigator,  Pittsburgh,  1814, 
and  in  Fearon’s  Sketches  of  America,  London, 
1818.  From  the  latter  a statement  of  Lexincf- 

O 

ton’s  business,  in  1817,  is  drawn  as  follows; 
twelve  cotton  mills,  employing  a capital  of 
£67,500;  three  woolen-mills,  £32,600;  three 
paper-mills,  £20,250;  three  steam  grist-mills,  [ 


£16,875;  powder-mills,  £9,000;  lead  factory, 
£14,800;  foundries  for  casting  brass  and 
iron,  in  connection  with  a silver-plating  es- 
tablishment, £9,000;  four  hat  factories, 
£15,000;  four  coach  factories,  £12,600;  five 
tanneries,  £20,000;  twelve  factories  for  mak- 
ing cotton  bagging  and  hempen  yarns,  £100,- 
400;  six  cabinet-makers,  £5,600;  four  soap 
and  candle  factories,  £12,150;  three  tobacco 
factories,  £11,450;  sundry  others,  £120,000; 
making  the  total  of  employed  capital  in  man- 
ufacturing, £467,225. 

Southward  from  Lexington  the  public  road 
was  only  a bridlepath,  though  well  marked  by 
constant  use.  This  led  in  a southwest  course 
twenty-two  miles  to  Hickman’s  Ferry,  on  the 
Kentucky  River, where  a tavern  offered  enter- 
tainment to  the  belated  traveler,  and  a flat- 
boat  furnished  a means  of  crossing  in  time 
of  high  water.  A mile  beyond  the  river  a 
branch  road  turned  abruptly  westward  toward 
Harrodsburg,  while  continuing  southwardly 
for  some  twenty  miles  the  trail  led  to  Dan- 
ville. The  latter  village  was  established  by 
the  legislature  in  1787,  and,  as  the  district 
capita],  gained  some  early  distinction.  It 
was  the  place  where  the  various  conventions 
were  held  from  1784  to  1792,  but  it  was  not 
of  much  importance  as  a town  until  some 
years  later.  Its  population  is  not  given  sepa- 
rately in  either  the  first  or  second  census,  and 
in  1810  contained  only  432  inhabitants. 
On  the  formation  of  the  district,  Har- 
I’odsburg  lost  much  of  its  early  prestige. 
It  was  early  made  a post-town,  however,  and 
in  1796  contained  some  twenty  scattered 
houses.  In  1802,  planks  had  become  con- 
spicuous in  the  construction  of  dwellings,  but 
the  number  had  not  increased,  and  the  popu- 
lation was  only  124  as  returned  in  the  previ- 
ous census.  In  1810,  there  were  only  313 
inhabitants.  The  route  to  Nashville,  followed 
by  pack-trains  and  travelers,  led  southwest- 
wardly  from  Harrodsburg  to  Hay’s  (Haysville), 
thence  to  Skegg’s,  Bears’  Mallow,  Dripping 
Spring  and  across  the  Big  Barren  southward. 
After  leaving  Harrodsburg,  the  country  was 
sparsely  settled,  and  save  log  “taverns,”  at 
intervals  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  miles,  there 
was  scarcely  a sign  of  human  habitation  to 

18 


290 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


be  observed  along  the  route.  The  early 
tourist  was  forced,  therefore,  to  turn  north- 
ward and  seek  Frankfort,  as  the  trails  lead- 
ing westward  were  still  less  inviting. 

In  the  western  portion  of  the  new  State 
thus  left  unexplored,  there  were  two  towns, 
at  least,  which  gave  promise  of  future 
crrowth.  Of  these,  Henderson,  on  the  Ohio 
River  was  the  more  important.  It  was  laid 
out  quite  early,  though  not  incorporated  un- 
til 1810;  it  extended  along  the  river  front  for 
half  a mile,  and  from  its  situation  on  a high 
bank  commanded  a fine  view  of  the  river  for 
several  miles.  It  was  a post-town  and 
county  seat  as  early  as  1793,  and  in  the  sec- 
ond census  is  credited  with  a population  of 
205  souls.  In  1810  the  enumeration  fell  to 
159,  though  considerable  business  activity  is 
noted.  The  town  at  this  time  contained 
about  thirty  houses,  of  which  many  were 
brick.  The  business  portion  of  the  town  was 
represented  by  two  stores  indifferently  sup- 
plied and  two  long  tobacco  warehouses.  The 
other  western  town  was  Eddyville,  on  the 
Cumberland  River,  forty  five  miles  from  its 
mouth.  This  place  was  settled  in  1799,  and 
thither  the  notorious  Matthew  Lyon,  of  Ver- 
mont, came  in  the  spring  of  1801.  Removed 
from  the  political  agitations  of  the  East,  he 
turned  his  ability  into  commercial  channels, 
erected  a successful  wool  and  cotton  carding 
machine,  a paper-mill  propelled  by  oxen,  and 
a distillery.  He  subsequently  engaged  in 
boat-building,  constructing  several  gunboats 
for  the  government,  and  a large  number  of 
barges  and  river  boats.  One  of  his  sons  was 
enfasred  in  the  river  traffic  and  made  fre- 
quent  trips  to  New  Orleans.  The  village 
was  more  important  for  its  business  activity 
than  for  its  population,  which  was  only 
sixty-nine  persons  in  1800,  and  does  not 
appear  in  the  census  as  a separate  factor 
again  until  1830,  when  it  reached  only  167 
souls. 

The  State  capital  in  1800  was  the  second 
town  in  Kentucky.  The  land  on  which  it 
stood  was  surveyed  as  early  as  1774  by  the 
McAfees,  but  these  adventurers,  finding 
richer  lands  elsewhere,  neglected  to  record 
the  plat  made.  The  survey  was  well  known. 


however,  and  subsequent  locaters  were  care* 
ful  not  to  infringe  upon  its  boundaries. 
Thus  the  adjacent  lands  were  entered  at 
varioris  times  up  to  1789,  the  omission  of 
the  McAfees  escaping  notice  until  1785, 
when  Humphrey  Marshall  learned  of  it,  and 
promptly  took  advantage  of  the  fact  to  enter 
it  for  himself.  In  the  following  year, 
Frankfort  was  established  as  a town  by  the 
legislature,  taking  its  name,  it  is  said,  from 
the  fact  that  Stephen  Frank  was  killed  in 
1780  by  the  Indians  on  that  spot.  Its 
growth  was  not  such  as  to  attract  attention 
until  it  was  made  the  capital  of  the  new 
State  in  1793,  when  a new  era  in  its  history 
began.  The  town  was  situated  on  a'  river 
bottom,  marked  by  high  ground  on  the 
northeast,  and  encircled  on  the  southwest  by 
the  river,  which  forms  a semi-circle  at  this 
point.  A considerable  part  of  the  town  site 
was  subject  to  annual  inundation,  and  until 
1796  was  occupied  by  a stagnant  pond;  but 
at  this  time,  Gen.  Wilkinson,  being  stationed 
here,  took  measures  to  drain  this  part  of  the 
plain  and  greatly  improved  the  healthfulness 
of  the  place.  At  this  date,  Frankfort  was 
noted  as  a flourishing  town,  regularly  laid 
out,  containing  many  handsome  houses,  a 
tine  state-house  constructed  of  stone,  and  a 
tobacco  warehouse.  Its  population  is  hot 
given  in  the  first  census,  but  in  1800,  it  is 
credited  with  628  inhabitants,  and  in  1810, 
with  1,099.  It  then  contained  about  140 
houses,  three  printing  offices,  a book  store, 
book-bindery,  a public  library,  eighteen 
“mercantile”  stores,  and  a bank,  established 
in  the  fall  of  1807. 

The  buildings  were  principally  of  brick  and 
of  a pleasing  style.  The  State  House,  a 
large  three-story  stone  building,  stood  in  the 
’niddle  of  a “large  yard,”  and  appeared 
“much  neglected  for  want  of  repairs  and 
cleanliness.”  The  brick  building  occupied 
by  the  bank  was  a handsome  structure,  and 
stood  in  range  with  the  new  bridge  and  the 
State  House.  The  penitentiary  was  a well 
conducted  institution,  in  which  the  criminals 
were  employed  at  various  mechanical  branches 
of  industry  during  their  term  of  confinement. 
A variety  of  handsome  stone  and  marble 


NI  S’AVJriA 


f 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


291 


work,  among  which  were  “some  elegantly 
wrought  tombs,”  was  noted.  The  marble 
used  was  a handsome  stone,  beautifully  varie- 
gated and  susceptible  of  a high  polish, 
brought  from  a quarry  twenty-five  or  thirty 
miles  away. 

The  annual  sessions  of  the  legislature 
contributed  to  its  prosperity,  and  the  evi- 
dences of  its  improvement  in  buildings, 
manufactures  and  commerce  were  numerous. 
Some  of  these  marks  of  prosperity  are  noted 
in  the  Navigator,  published  in  Pittsburgh  in 
1811,  and  republished  in  1814,  as  follows; 

The  Kentucky  River  at  Frankfort  is  narrow, 
with  bold  banks  of  limestone  rock,  admirably  cal- 
culated for  building,  running  in  horizontal  veins  of 
from  six  to  twelve  inches  thick.  It  has  been  known 
to  rise  fifty  feet  perpendicular  in  twenty-four  hours. 
The  bridge  now  erecting  at  Frankfort  will  add  fa- 
cility to  the  commerce  of  the  time.  It  is  building 
on  the  plan  of  Judge  Finley’s  chain  bridge;  will 
cost  about  $25,000;  is  33-U  feet  span,  having  one 
pier  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  sixty-five  feet  in 
height  ; the  whole  length  being  700  feet,  and  eight- 
een broad.  The  two  chains  for  this  bridge  were 
made  at  Pittsburgh  by  Mr.  Thomas  Hazleton,  and 
weigh  about  twelve  tons,  of  inch  and  a half  square 
bar.  Much  difficulty  has  been  experienced  in  get- 
ting a foundation  for  the  western  abutment,  arising 
from  a kind  of  quicksand,  and  water  rushing  in  at 
the  bottom  upon  the  workmen  as  fast  as  they  could 
discharge  them  at  top  with  pumps  and  buckets 
worked  night  and  day. 

Messrs.  Hunter  & Instone  have  recently  got  into 
operation  in  Frankfort  an  extensive  bagging  man- 
ufactory, in  which  about  twenty-five  hands,  black 
men  and  boys,  are  busily  engaged,  spinning,  weav- 
ing, etc.  At  the  end  of  this,  and  immediately  on 
the  bank  of  the  river,  the  same  gentlemen  have 
erected  a large  warehouse  for  the  storage  of  goods, 
which  center  here  from  different  parts  of  the  State, 
to  descend  the  Kentucky  River  to  the  Ohio.  A 
bagging  manufactory  was  burned  down  at  Frankfort 
about  twelve  months  ago,  by  design,  it  was  con- 
jectured. 

An  extensive  rope-walk  was  erected  (September, 
1810)  at  the  edge  of  the  town,  calculated  to  do  a 
large  business;  and  a steamboat,  that  is,  a large 
boat  to  be  propelled  by  the  power  of  steam,  was  on 
the  stocks  a little  above  town.  She  is  intended  for 
the  trade  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers.  A 
mile  below  Frankfort  there  is  a saw  and  grist-mill 
in  the  river,  which  in  low  water  does  a good  deal  of 
business,  but  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  it  complete- 
ly covered  by  the  floods  of  the  river,  to  withstand 
which  it  has  no  roof  and  is  open  on  all  sides,  and 
heavily  loaded  down  on  the  corners  and  in  the  I 
middle  of  the  frame  at  top  with  piles  of  stones. 


\ The  mill  is  owned  by  a Mr.  Hawkins.  Boats  pass  it 
through  a chute,  by  lifting  a few  boards  at  its  head, 
which,  when  replaced,  form  a dam  for  the  mill. 
With  some  difficulty  the  Kentucky  River  can  he 
navigated  from  Frankfort  with  light  flat-bottomed 
boats  to  the  Ohio  in  the  lowest  stages  of  the  water, 
but  for  eight  months  in  the  year  the  navigation  is 
very  good. 

Two  miles  below  Frankfort  there  is  a bank  of 
fine  white  sand  thrown  up  by  the  river,  said  to  be 
well  calculated  for  the  manufacture  of  glass.  Mr. 
Greenup,  former  governor  of  Kentucky,  has  it  in 
contemplation,  it  is  said,  to  establish  a glass  house 
at  or  near  this  place,  and  the  establishment  of  a 
brew-house  is  talked  of  by  the  citizens  of  the  town. 
Thus  go  on  the  improvements  of  interior  America, 
whose  inhabitants  begin  to  feel  and  act  like  the  cit- 
izens of  an  independent  nation,  possessing  an  ex- 
tent of  country  capable  of  producing,  from  the  lux- 
ury of  the  soil  and  variety  of  climate,  everything 
which  ought  to  make  a people  happy  and  independ- 
ent of  all  the  venomous  combinations  of  maddened 
Europe, 

Frankfort  was  situated  in  the  most  popu- 
lous part  of  Kentucky,  The  lower  river 
valley  was  then  sparsely  settled,  Newport  on 
the  Ohio  being  the  only  town  north  of  the 
capital,  and  that  contained  only  106  inhabi- 
tants by  the  second  census.  But  both  east 
and  west  of  the  river  there  were  numerous 
plantations,  and  several  conspicuous  towns 
besides  those  already  mentioned.  West  of 
the  Limestone  and  Lexington  road  was  Flem- 
ingsburg,  with  124  inhabitants  in  1800;  west 
1 of  the  Lexington  and  Danville  trail  was 
i Richmond,  with  110  inhabitants;  southwest 
I of  this  town  was  Lancaster,  with  103  inhab- 
itants; and  some  fourteen  miles  southeast  of 
Frankfort  was  Versailles,  established  in  1792, 
and  eight  years  later  containing  172  inhab- 
itants. But  larger  than  any  of  these,  and  the 
sixth  town  in  the  State,  was  Georgetown,  ly- 
ing midway  between  Paris  and  Frankfort. 
It  was  originally  settled  in  1775;  was  the 
site  of  McClellan’s  Fort;  was  known  as 
Lebanon  until  1790,  when  it  was  incorpo- 
rated by  the  legislature  and  named  in  honor 
of  the  first  president  of  the  United  States. 
In  1800,  it  contained  350  inhabitants.  West 
of  the  river  was  Springfield,  about  forty  miles 
southwest  of  Frankfort.  The  country  about 
it  was  settled  in  1786.  by  the  leading  branch  of 
the  Hardin  family;  was  established  as  a town 
in  1793,  and  in  the  second  census  is  assigned 


292 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


103  inhabitants.  Bardstown,  thirteen  miles 
northwest  of  Springtield,  and  about  equally 
distant  from  Louisville  and  Frankfort,  was 
established  by  the  legislature  in  1788;  its 
original  plat  contained  100  acres,  situ- 
ated on  an  elevated  plain  near  Beech  Fork, 
an  affluent  of  Salt  River.  It  was  first  named 
Bairdiitouin  after  one  of  the  original  proprie- 
tors, from  which  it  has  been  changed  to  its 
present  name  by  the  popular  pronunciation 
of  the  original.  In  JMorse’s  Gazeteer  of  1798, 
it  is  mentioned  as  a “flourishing  town,”  with 
216  inhabitants.  In  the  second  census  it  is 
not  enumerated  separately,  but  in  1810  it 
contained  821  inhabitants.  Turning  west 
from  Frankfort,  twenty  one  miles  away,  the 
traveler  reached  Shelby vi lie,  in  1800  the 
seventh  town  in  the  State  in  point  of  popu- 
lation. In  1779,  it  was  the  site  of  Squire 
Boone’s  station,  and  in  1792  it  was  laid  off 
by  order  of  the  legislature  with  a plat  con- 
taining fifty-one  acres.  Purchasers  of  lots 
were  required  to  build  thereon  a hewed  Iqg 
house,  not  less  than  a story  and  a half  high, 
with  a brick  or  stone  chimney.  Its  growth  was 
steady  and  permanent;  by  the  second  census 
its  population  numbered  262,  and  424  ten 
years  later. 

Thirty  miles  farther  west,  Louisville  was 
reached,  situated  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio. 
In  1790,  this  was  the  fourth  town,  and  in 
1800,  the  fifth  town  in  the  State.  It  was 
established  as  a town,  and  made  the  seat  of 
justice  for  the  newly  formed  county  of  Jef- 
ferson in  1780;  the  lots  were  sold  by  auc- 
tion, as  was  the  common  practice,  and  pur- 
chasers were  I’equired  to  build,  within  two 
years  of  the  date  of  sale,  a dwelling 
house,  “sixteen  feet  by  twenty  at  least,  with 
a brick  or  stone  chimney.”  The  outline  of 
the  plat  started  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio, 
thirty- five  poles  above  the  mouth  of  Bear 
Grass,  I’unning  thence  to  the  mouth  of  the 
creek;  “thence  north  87,  west  120  poles,  north 
50,  west  110  poles  to  a heap  of  stones  and 
a square  hole  cut  in  the  flat  rock;  thence 
( the  division  line)  south  88,  east  769  poles  to 
a white  oak,  poplar  and  beech,  north  37, 
west  390  poles  to  the  beginning;  no  varia- 
tion.” Six  streets  running  east  and  west 


were  laid  out  in  this  area,  and  twelve  others 
crossing  them  at  right  angles.  A space  180 
feet  wide,  south  of  Green  Street,  and  extend- 
ing from  First  to  Twelfth  Street,  was  origi- 
nally reserved  for  a public  ground,  but  it  was 
eventually  disposed  of  by  the  city  authorities, 
and  the  prospective  city  robbed  of  its  park. 
The  situation  selected  for  the  new  town  was 
an  unhealthy  one,  and  in  time  gained  for 
Louisville  the  not  inappropriate  title  of 
the  “Graveyard  of  the  West.”  The  “second 
bank”  formed  a kind  of  dyke  which  pre- 
vented inundation  by  the  river,  but  also  re- 
tained the  surface  water  which  gathered  in  the 
numerous  depressions  which  characterized 
the  country  along  the  river,  so  that  the  whole 
valley  from  Bear  Grass  to  Salt  River  was 
thickly  scatered  over  with  stagnant  ponds. 
“Long  Pond”  commenced  “at  the  present 
corner  of  Sixth  and  Market  Streets,  and, 
inclining  a little  toward  the  southwest, 
extended  as  far  as  old  Hope  Distillery,  on  or 
near  Sixteenth  Street.”  This  was  long  the 
early  skating  resort  for  all  classes  in  the  city. 
“Gwathmey’s  or  Grayson’s  Pond”  was  the 
second  in  importance;  it  extended  from  Cen- 
tre Street  westwardly  half  way  to  Seventh 
Street,  and  was  preserved  by  its  owners  for 
the  fish  with  which  it  was  stocked.  Besides 
these  there  were  a great  number  of  smaller 
ponds,  which  gave  the  town  the  appearance 
of  a miniature  archipelago.  In  1805,  the 
trustees  were  authorized  by  the  legislature  to 
obviate  “those  nuisances  in  such  a manner  as 
the  majority  of  them  should  prescribe,”  but 
it  was  not  until  the  visit  of  a fearful  epi- 
demic, in  1822-23,  that  any  earnest  move- 
ment was  made  in  this  direction. 

The  military  operations  of  the  period  con- 
tributed to  bring  here  a considerable  popula- 
tion of  a transient  character,  but  such  was 
the  unwillingness  or  poverty  of  the  lot  own- 
ers that  the  period  within  which  dwellings 
were  to  be  erected  was  twice  extended  by  the 
legislature.  In  1783  the  first  store  was 
opened,  window  glass  was  first  obseiwed  in 
use  here,  and  beside  100  cabins  it  was  noted 
that  there  were  in  the  town  “sixty- three 
houses  finished,  thirty-seven  partly  finished, 
and  twenty-two  -raised  but  not  covered.” 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


293 


This  estimate  of  the  buildings  was  probably 
incorrect,  or  else  indicated  the  number  of 
lots  upon  which  purchasers  had  built  struct- 
ures to  meet  the  requirement  of  the  law,  as 
in  1790  the  census  placed  the  number  of 
inhabitants  at  only  200  persons.  In  1793  a 
more  accurate  observer  relates  that  the  houses, 
constructed  of  logs  and  boat-planks,  were  few 
and  small,  and  that  the  town  was  far  more 
noted  for  the  energy  and  social  abandon  of 
its  people  than  for  public  enterprise.  Upon 
the  authority  of  Forman’s  autobiography, 
McMasters  says:  “Travelers  from  the  more 
decorous  towns  of  the  East  were  shocked  at 
the  balls,  the  drinking,  the  fighting  and  the 
utter  disregard  paid  to  the  Sabbath  day.  But 
all  agreed  that  the  inhabitants  wei’e  the  most 
whole-souled  and  hospitable.  The  favorite 
di’ink  was  eggnog.  The  favorite  pastime 
was  billiards,  and  every  morning  numbers  of 
young  women,  escorted  by  the  young  men, 
grathered  about  the  one  billiard-table  in  the 
town.  If  a stranger  of  note  put  up  at  the 
only  tavei’n,  and  gave  out  that  he  was  come  to 
stay  some  time,  he  was  sure  to  be  called  on, 
as  the  phrase  was,  to  sign  for  a ball.  When 
the  night  came,  the  garrison  at  Fort  J efferson 
would  furnish  the  music,  and  the  managers 
would  choose  the  dances.  The  first  was  us- 
ually the  minuet,  and,  till  his  number  was 
called,  no  man  knew  with  whom  he  was  to 
dance.  This  over,  each  was  at  liberty  to 
choose  his  own  partner  for  the  first  ‘ volun- 
teer.’ ”* 

In  1796,  Louisville  is  described  as  a port 
of  entry  and  post-town;  it  consists  of  three 
principal  streets,  and  contains  about  100 
houses,  a court  house  and  jail.  It  com- 
mands a delightful  prospect  of  the  river  and 
the  adjacent  country,  and  promises  to  be  a 
place  of  great  trade,  but  its  unhealthiness, 
owing  to  stagnated  waters  back  of  the  town, 
has  considerably  retarded  its  growth.  In 
the  following  year,  a more  particular  account 
of  the  town’s  progress  is  gathered  from  the 
assessor’s  returns.  Taxes  were  levied  “on  all 
who  reside  within  the  limits  of  the  half  acre 
lots,”  at  the  rate  of  6d.  for  each  horse,  Is. 
for  each  negro,  20s.  for  each  billiard-table, 

*ITistory  of  the  People  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  II,  p.  152. 


6s.  on  each  tavern  license,  10s.  on  each 
retail  store,  2s.  per  wheel  on  all  carriages, 
6d.  on  £100  value  in  town  lots,  and  3s.  on  each 
tithable.  The  return  shows  that  there  were 
found  within  the  prescribed  limits,  50  horses, 
65  negroes,  2 billiard-tables,  5 tavern  licen- 
ses, 5 retail  stores,  6 wheels  (but  whether 
three  gigs  or  one  four-wheeled  vehicle  and  a 
gig  there  are  no  means  of  determining),  and 
80  tithables.  The  whole  assessment  amounted 
to  £31,  15s.  6d. , but  out  of  this,  £12  were 
credited  on  the  delinquent  list.  In  1800, 
the  population  had  reached  359  souls,  and 
by  an  act  of  the  legislature  of  the  same  year 
the  citizens  were  exempted  from  working 
on  the  public  ways,  out  side  of  town,  save  the 
one  to  the  “lower  landing;”  a “surveyor”  was 
authorized  to  take  charge  of  the  streets,  and 
to  summon  the  inhabitants  at  proper  times 
to  work  on  them;  and  £25  were  appropriated 
to  build  a market  house  on  the  public 
grounds.  The  latter  provision  of  the  act 
proved  of  no  effect,  as  no  such  grounds  could 
be  found,  and  in  the  following  year  the  leg- 
islature repealed  this  feature  of  the  previous 
act,  but  at  the  same  time  required  the  trustees 
to  fix  upon  a suitable  place  for  the  purpose, 
and  thereon  to  erect  a market  house.  In 
1806,  the  town  had  begun  to  engage  in  the 
river  commerce;  but  “six  keel  boats  and  two 
barges — the  one  of  thirty  tons  belonging  to 
Reed,  of  Cincinnati,  the  other  of  forty,  owned 
by  Instone,  of  Frankfort — sufficed  for  the 
carrying  trade  of  Louisville  and  Shipping- 
port.”  In  1807  the  Farmer's  Library,  a 
weekly  paper,  was  established,  and  in  the 
year  following  the  Louisville  Gazette  ap- 
peared. In  1809  the  assessor’s  returns  again 
afford  a clue  to  the  progress  of  the  town,  and 
marks  a good  degree  of  growth  in  the  interval 
since  1797 : 


$74,000  value  of  lots  at  10  per  cent $740  00 

113  white  t3"lhes,  at  oOc 56  50 

82  black  tythes  over  16  yrs.,  at  25c 20  50 

83  black  tythes  under  16  yrs.,  at  124c 10  38 

11  retail  stores,  at  $5 55  00 

3 tavern  licences,  at  $2  6 00 

30  carriage  wheels,  at  124c.  per  wheel 3 75 

2 billiard  tables,  at  $2.-50 5 00 

131  horses,  at  124c 16  37 


$913  50 


294 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


In  1808,  a theater  was  erected  in  Louis- 
ville, and  though  “ but  little  better  than  a 
barn,”  it  sufficed  the  purposes  of  the  town 
until  1818,  without  refitting,  and  after  repair- 
ing and  refurnishing,  until  1813,  when  it 
burned  down.  In  1810  a brick  court  house 
was  begun,  in  front  of  which  a lofty  “Ionic 
portico,”  supported  by  four  wooden  columns,  j 
gave  it  such  distinction  as  to  be  considered 
the  handsomest  of  its  kind  in  the  western 
country.  A variety  of  circumstances  appeared 
to  combine  to  retard  the  development  of  the 
manufacturing  interests  of  Louisville,  and  in 
1810,  with  1,357  inhabitants,  little  mention  I 
is  made  of  its  factories.  There  were,  how- 
ever, several  rope-walks  extensively  carried 
on,  and  a valuable  bagging  factory,  which 
was  burned  down  in  December,  1810.  In  the 
Navigator  of  1814,  it  is  noted  that  “ there 
have  lately  been  added  to  Louisville  a bank- 
ing company,  a {laper-mill,  a second  printing 
office,  a book  store,  a circulating  library,  a 
reading  room,  an  air  foundry  for  casting  all 
kinds  of  pot  metal,  a glass  house,  and  a grist 
and  saw  mill  by  steam,  and  cotton  manufac- 
tory by  the  same  power  were  expected  to  be 
in  operation  this  summer  (1814),  and  a num- 
ber of  handsome  buildinofs,  altogether  hav- 
ing  the  appearance  of  its  becoming  a great 
commercial  and  manufacturing  town.” 

An  early  competitor  for  metropolitan 
honors  was  Shippingport,  situated  two  miles 
below  Louisville,  at  the  foot  of  the  I’apids. 
The  plat  originally  contained  forty -five  acres, 
and  was  laid  out  on  the  plain  which  skirts 
the  Ohio  from  Beargrass  to  Salt  River.  In 
1785  it  was  established  by  the  legislature 
under  the  name  of  “Anonymous,”  in  the 
absence  of  any  other;  Campbelltown  was 
subsequently  applied,  but  the  popular  name 
eventually  prevailed — a clear  instance  of 
“ the  survival  of  the  fittest.”  It  was  regu- 
larly laid  out,  and  with  the  growth  of  river 
navigation  rapidly  developed.  In  1803  the 
whole  site  was  sold  to  James  Berthoud, 
who  three  years  later  disposed  of  the 
larger  portion  to  Messrs.  Tarascon,  two 
Frenchmen  and  brothers,  to  whose  enterpris- 
ing energy  and  pitblic  spirit  the  town  owed 
its  early  prosperity.  The  names  of  the 


streets  were  characteristic:  Front,  Market, 
Tobacco.Bengal,  Jackson,  Hemp, Mill  and  Tar- 
ascon, the  next  being  numbered  from  Second 
to  Sixteenth  Street.  During  the  early  period  of 
river  navigation  the  town  enjoyed  superior 
advantages.  After  passing  the  rapids,  boats 
put  inhere  for  supplies,where  they  found  deep 
water  and  a bold  shore.  Boats  upward 
bound  were  obliged  to  discharge  their  cargoes 
I here,  from  whence  all  good  destined  for  upper 
ports  were  wagoned  to  Beargrass  for  reship- 
ment. In  1810,  though  containing  only 
ninety-eight  inhabitants,  it  was  a place  of 
considerable  business.  Messrs.  Tarascon 
had  a large  flouring-mill  at  the  foot  of  the 
rapids,  from  which  they  shipped  considerable 
quantities  of  fiour  to  New  Orleans;  they  had 
a store  and  extensive  rope- walk  also,  and  Mr. 
Berthoud  did  a large  commission  business. 
From  1815  to  1819  the  Tarascon  brothers 
greatly  extended  their  business,  erecting  a 
mill-race  with  intention  of  affording  power 
for  a series  of  factories,  which  they  pi’ojected, 
but  never  completed.  They  did  erect  an 
immense  flouring-mill  on  a scale  that  was  the 
wonder  of  the  times.  It  was  six  stories, 
towered  102  feet  in  the  air,  and  cost  $150,- 
000;  it  was  wonderfully  complete  in  all  its 
appointments,  and  had  a capacity  of  500 
barrels  of  flour  per  day.  This  done,  the 
proprietoi's  began  experimenting  with  water- 
wheels, intending  to  erect  mills  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  cotton  on  a large  scale,  but  the 
canal  was  projected,  and  other  obstacles 
prevented  the  fulfillment  of  these  ambitious 
designs. 

The  lowness  of  the  ground  interfered  with 
its  building  up,  though  in  1819,  McMurtrie 
gives  the  average  price  of  lots  at  from 
$40  to  $50  per  front  foot.  The  same  writer 
says:  “The  population  of  Shippingport  may 
be  estimated  at  600  souls,  including  stran 
gers.  Some  taste  is  already  perceptible  in 
the  construction  of  their  houses,  many  of 
which  are  neatly  built  and  ornamented  with 
galleries,  in  which,  of  a Sunday,  are  dis- 
played all  the  beauty  of  the  place.  It  is,  in 
fact,  the  Ro/s  de  Boulogne  oi  Louisville,  it  be- 
ing the  resort  of  all  classes  on  high  davs  and 
holidays.  At  these  times,  it  exhibits  a spec- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


295 


tacle  at  once  novel  and  interesting.  The 
number  of  steamboats  in  the  port,  each  bear- 
ing one  or  two  flags,  the  tkrong  of  horses, 
carriages  and  gigs,  and  the  contented  ap- 


pearance of  a crowd  of  pedestrians,  all 
arrayed  in  their  ‘Sunday’s  best’  produce 
an  effect  it  would  be  impossible  to  describe.” 


VIEW  ON  THE  TENNESSEE  RIVER  IN  WESTERN  KENTUCKY. 


296 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 


THE  NEW  STATE  AND  ITS  PROBLEMS. 


Kentucky,  from  a county  of  Virginia, 
had  become,  as  has  been  shown,  an 
independent  commonwealth,  and  a sovereign 
member  of  the  sisterhood  of  States.  It  was 
the  first-born  of  the  new  confederation,  and 
comprised  the  fourteenth  State  of  the  Fed- 
eral Union.  The  machinery,  civil  and  polit- 
ical, was  set  in  motion,  and  the  new  member 
embarked  on  the  full  tide  of  municipal  experi- 
ment. A constitution  had  been  framed  and 
adopted,  and  in  a general  way  ratified  by  the 
people. 

Delegates  to  the  convention  which  framed 
the  constitution  of  the  new  State,  were  elected 
in  December,  1791,  and  in  the  following 
April  met  in  Danville.  The  constitution 
which  they  formed  is  an  index  of  the  state  of 
public  feeling  at  the  time  on  many  matters 
of  importance.  It  totally  abandoned  the  ar- 
istocratic features  of  the  parent  State,  so  far 
as  representation  by  counties  was  concerned, 
and  established  numbers  as  the  basis.  Suf- 
frage was  universal,  and  the  sheriffs  were 
elected  triennially  by  the  people.  But  while 
these  departures  from  the  constitution  of  Vir- 
ginia displayed  the  general  predominance  of 
the  democratic  principle  in  Kentucky,there  are 
sti’ong  indications  that  the  young  statesmen 
of  the  West  were  disposed  to  curb  the  luxu- 
riance of  this  mighty  element  by  strong 
checks.  The  executive,  the  senate  and  the 
judiciary  were  entirely  removed  from  the  di- 
rect control  of  the  people.  The  governor 
was  chosen  by  electors,  who  were  elected  by 
the  people  for  that  purpose  every  fourth  year. 
The  members  of  the  senate  were  appointed 
by  the  same  electoral  college  which  chose  the 
president,  and  might  be  selected  indifferently 
from  any  part  of  the  State.  The  judiciary 
were  appointed,  and  held  their  ofBce  during 


good  behavior.  The  supreme  court,  however, 
had  original  and  final  jurisdiction  in  all  land 
cases.  This  last  feature  was  engrafted  upon 
the  constitution  by  Col.  George  Nicholas,  and 
was  most  expensive  and  mischievous  in 
practice.* 

Col.  Nicholas  was  a master  spirit  of  the 
convention,  and  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of 
the  early  bar  of  Kentucky.  He  was  born  in 
Williamsburg,  Va. , about  the  year  1743,  and 
was  a son  of  Robert  Nicholas,  a distinguished 
lawyer  of  Virginia.  He  was  a captain  in  the 
Virginia  line  in  the  revolutionary  war,  and 
after  the  close  of  the  long  and  sanguinary 
struggle,  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law  and 
was  elected  to  the  legislature  from  Albemarle 
County,  where,  upon  his  retirement  from  the 
army,  he  had  made  his  home.  He  was  a 
prominent  and  influential  member  of  the  con- 
vention called  to  ratify  the  Federal  constitu- 
tion, and  zealously  advocated  its  adoption. 
In  1788,  he  came  to  Kentucky  and  located  in 
Mercer  County  (now  Boyle)  near  Danville. 
Of  him,  and  the  fii'st  constitutional  conven- 
tion of  the  State,  Gov.  Morehead  said;  “ It 
abounded  in  talent,  integrity  and  patriotism, 
and  George  Nicholas  was  its  brightest  lumi- 
nary. A member  of  the  convention  that  rat- 
ified the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
he  was  the  associate  of  Madison,  of  Ran- 
dolph, and  of  Patrick  Henry;  and  he  came  to 
Kentucky  in  the  fullness  of  his  fame  and  in 
the  maturity  of  his  intellectual  strength.  He 
enjoyed  in  an  eminent  degree  the  confidence 
of  the  people  of  Kentucky,  and  contributed 
largely,  by  public  speaking  and  by  essays  of 
singular  power,  to  influence  the  course  they 
took  in  the  great  political  contest  of  1798. 
Ho  was  emphatically  a great  statesman  and  a 

*ColIins,  Vol.  I,  p.  274. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


297 


great  lawyer.”  In  later  years  Col.  Nicholas 
removed  to  Lexington,  and  for  the  remainder 
of  his  life  devoted  himself  to  his  profession. 
When,  in  1799,  a law  department  was  added 
to  Transylvania  University  he  was  elected  the 
first  professor,  but  died  in  a few  months  after- 
ward, at  the  age  of  hfty-six  years. 

A late  wl’iter,  in  discussing  that  clause  of 
the  first  constitution  of  the  State  relating  to 
the  supreme  court,  says:  “This  provision  was 
introduced  by  Col.  George  Nicholas.  On  pro- 
posing it,  as  it  had  not  been  an  element  in 
his  canvass,  he  took  the  good  way  of  resign- 
ing his  seat  in  the  convention  and  asking  for 
a re-election,  which  was  unanimously  given 
him  without  contest.  This  uncontested  re- 
turn of  the  proposer  was  taken  as  evidence 
that  the  people  desired  the  arrangement. 
The  object  of  this  provision  was  to  prevent 
the  action  of  local  prejudice  in  the  settlement 
of  legislation  concemingf  land  titles.  This 
prejudice  is  always  sure  to  be  strong  in  the 
case  of  such  land  titles  as  were  growing  up 
under  the  rough  system  of  ‘location’  that  the 
laws  permitted.  Boundaries  being  unfixed, 
there  was  already  a disposition  to  disregard 
the  rights  of  original  patentees,  and  to  use 
the  unoccupied  laud  as  common  property. 
Any  jury,  drawn  from  the  neighborhood  in 
which  the  disputed  land  lay,  was  likely  to 
contain  men  who  had  a sinister  interest 
against  the  establishment  of  patent  claims. 
Thus  the  State  at  the  outset  found  itself  in 
danger,  through  defective  titles,  of  losing  a 
part  of  the  value  of  the  soil  which  had  in- 
spired the  people  to  its  conquest.  The  rem- 
edy was  unusual,  but  fully  warranted  by  the 
needs  of  the  case,  though  in  experience  it 
was  found  impracticable.” 

The  first  constitution  of  Kentucky  was 
modeled,  in  a great  degree,  after  the  con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  as  shown  by 
the  adoption  of  the  famous  “Kentucky  Res- 
olutions.”* It  has  been  characterized  as  an 
effort  to  “adapt  the  framework  of  the  law  to 

*These  resolutions  were  framed  and  adopted  by  the  Ken- 
tucky legislature  as  a protest  against  what  was  deemed  the 
“unconstitutional  action  of  the  Federal  congress  in  enacting  the 
alien  and  sedition  laws.”  In  her  protest,  Kentucky  intended  to 
manifest  her  displeasure  at  the  passage  of  these  acts,  and  also  to 
show  unmistakably  the  interpretation  which  she  put  upon  the 
Federal  compact.  These  resolutions,  for  these  reasons  have  in 
Kentucky  ever  been  held  of  great  political  importance.  (See 
Appendix  A,  Note  30.) 


the  existing  needs  of  the  community,  rather 
j than  to  seek  any  ideal  perfection,”  and  Mar- 
' shall,  the  historian,  says  the  “scheme  was 
that  of  a democracy  rather  than  that  of  a re- 
public. ” This  could  scarcely  be  considered 
an  objection,  as  the  people  were  democratic 
in  their  political  spirit,  and  their  society  was 
a pure  democracy.  Hence,  it  was  only  nat- 
ural that  their  law  should  conform  to 
their  motives  and  conditions.  Some  of  the 
features  of  the  document  deserve  more  than 
a passing  notice.  The  first  of  these  is  the 
clause  relating  to  suffrage,  which  was  given 
to  all  male  citizens  who  were  twenty-one 
years  old,  and  had  not  been  disfranchised 
through  the  conviction  of  crime.  Another  fea- 
ture, and  one  to  be  commended,  was  that  the 
j whole  body  of  the  judiciary  was  “constituted 
by  appointment,  and  without  specified  term 
of  office.”  This  was  the  custom  of  the  time, 
and  might  still  be  followed  with  advantage 
to  the  country  and  considerable  benefit  to 
society.  Another  very  good  provision  was 
keeping  “separate  church  and  state”  by  ex- 
cluding from  the  legislature  ministers  of  the 
gospel.  One  of  the  most  important  provi- 
sions was  the  clause  concerning  slavery.  It 
shows  a strong  prejudice  against  the  commer- 
cial traffic  in  slaves,  and  forbids  their  intro- 
duction “into  the  State  as  merchandise,  and 
none  were  to  be  brought  that  were  imported 
into  America  since  1789.”  It  further  rec- 
ommended the  legislature  to  pass  laws  “per- 
mitting the  emancipation  of  slaves  under  the 
limitation  that  they  shall  not  become  a 
charge  on  the  county  in  which  they  reside.” 
This  clause  is  indubitable  evidence  that  the 
slavery  problem  had  already  presented  itself 
to  the  people,  and  that  they  apprehended 
danger,  sooner  or  later,  from  its  influence. 

It  is  a singular  fact,  and  one  deserving  of 
some  criticism,  that  this  constitution  made 
no  reference  in  any  manner  to  a system  of 
public  schools.  “In  this,”  says  a recent 
writer,  “it  differs  from  the  constitution  of 
the  Northern  States.”  This  is  true.  But, 
it  must  be  remembered,  that  when  many  of 
the  Northern  and  all  of  the  Northwestern 
States  were  organized,  the  public  school  sys- 
tem was  better  understood  than  it  was  when 


IIISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


J.08 

Kentucky  became  a State  and  framed  her  first 
constitution.  This  neglect,  however,  greatly 
retarded  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the 
State,  and  resulted  in  keeping  her  in  the  rear 
of  many  of  her  younger  sisters  of  the  North- 
west. 

Gen.  Isaac  Shelby  was  elected  the  first 
governor  of  the  State,  as  already  noticed, 
and  was  a man  well  qualified  for  the  position. 
He  was  a native  of  Maryland,  born  in  1750, 
and  was  of  Welsh  descent,  his  father,  Gen. 
Evan  Shelby,  having  emigrated  from  Wales. 
In  1780,  Isaac  Shelby,  who  had  removed  to 
western  Virginia,  found  himself  a citizen  of 
North  Carolina,  by  the  extension  of  the 
boundary  line  of  that  State.  He  was  a gal- 
lant soldier  of  the  revolutionary  war,  and 
was  second  in  command  at  the  battle  of 
King’s  Mountain,  where  1,000  British  pris- 
oners were  captured — an  event  that  served  to 
greatly  revive  the  drooping  spirits  of  the 
friends  of  liberty  in  the  South.  He  came  to 
Kentucky  about  the  close  of  the  war,  and 
pre-empted  lai’ge  bodies  of  land,  some  of 
which,  lying  in  Fayette  County,  is  still  in 
possession  of  his  descendants.  His  election 
to  the  chief  magistracy  was  an  act  of  wisdom 
on  the  part  of  the  people,  and  highly  bene- 
ficial to  the  infant  commonwealth. 

The  effect  produced  in  Kentucky  by  the 
French  revolution,  and  the  extent  to  which 
prominent  Kentuckians  were  involved  in  the 
intrigue,  has  been  shown.  Many  believed 
that  Gov.  Shelby  himself  was  in  sympathy 
with  the  movement  to  open,  through  the 
means  afforded  by  the  disturbances  in  France, 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  River.  To 
this  charge  a late  writer  replies;  “ The  ultra- 
Federalists  of  Kentucky  believed  that  Gov. 
Shelby  was  conniving  with  the  French  party, 
but  it  appears,  after  a careful  reading  of  the 
evidence,  that  his  action  was  only  the  proper 
caution  of  a man  who  had  very  limited  pow- 
er to  act  under  the  cii’cumstances  of  the 
situation.  The  matter  was  really  one  that 
concerned  the  Federal  government  alone.  The 
laws  that  appeared  likely  to  be  violated  were 
Federal  and  not  State  laws;  it  would  not  j 
have  been  fit  that  the  governor  of  Kentucky  i 
should  have  strained  his  limited  powers  to 


meddle  with  the  business.  As  an  individual 
he  doubtless  sympathized  with  the  project  of 
opening  the  Mississippi  to  free  navigation; 
yet  he  held  himself  ready  not  only  to  enforce 
the  laws  of  Kentucky,  but  to  perform  what- 
ever was  constitutionally  required  of  him  as 
governor  by  the  president  of  the  United 
States.  His  letter  to  Washington  is  admira- 
ble in  its  tone  and  exhibits  more  submission 
to  the  Federal  authority  than  would  now  be 
shown  by  most  governors.”  This  seems  to  set 
at  rest  any  charge  of  unfaithfulness  on  the 
part  of  Gov.  Shelby  toward  the  general 
government. 

A great  majority  of  the  people  of  Ken- 
tucky, however,  sympathized  strongly  with 
the  French,  and  to  the  same  extent  opposed 
the  Federalist  party,  then  predominant.  They 
cherished  considerable  distrust  of  the  Federal 
government,  which  they  believed  was  tending 
toward  an  aristocracy.  Their  feelings  and 
views  were  heralded  abroad  by  the  democrat- 
ic societies  organized  in  different  parts  of 
the  State,  the  prime  object  of  which  doubt- 
less was  “ to  resist  the  increasing  encroach- 
ments of  the  Federal  authority  on  the 
province  of  the  local  governments.”  This 
was  the  almost  universal  feeling  in  Kentucky, 
when  Gen.  Wayne’s  great  victory  over  the 
Indians,  followed  shortly  after  by  news  of  the 
treaty  between  Spain  and  the  United  States, 
changed  somewhat  the  prevailing  sentiment. 
By  this  treaty  with  Spain  the  right  to  navi- 
gate the  Mississippi  River  to  the  ocean  was 
conceded  to  the  United  States,  with  other 
benefits  and  privileges,  among  which  was  the 
right  of  deposit  at  New  Orleans.  This  was 
all  that  Kentucky  had  desired,  and  yet  many 
of  her  leading  spirits  were  still  dissatisfied. 
“ So  much  more  powerful  is  passion  than 
interest,”  says  a writer  upon  the  subject, 
“ that  the  intelligence  of  this  treaty  was 
received  with  a burst  of  fury  throughout  the 
State  that  knew  no  bounds.  The  people 
regarded  it  as  a base  desertion  of  an  ancient 
friend  struggling  with  a host  of  enemies, 
and  a cowardly  truckling  to  England  from 
I cold-blooded  policy,  or  a secret  attachment  to 
! aristocratic  institutions.”  To  such  an  extent 
was  their  passions  for  a time  inflamed,  that 


ISAAC  SIIELBAA 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


2^1) 


Humphrey  Marshall,  United  States  senator 
from  Kentucky,  was  subjected  to  violence  by  j 
the  people  for  having  voted  for  the  ratifica- 
tion of  the  treaty,  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  a 
majority  of  his  constituents.  But  this  state 
of  affairs  soon  settled  down  into  tranquillity. 

Kentucky,  it  would  seem,  ought  now  to  be 
satisfied.  Peace  had  been  obtained  with  the 
Indians  by  Gen.  Wayne;  the  posts  on  the 
northwestern  frontier  had  finally  been  sur- 
rendered by  England,  and  the  free  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi  conceded  to  the  United 
States.  But  the  troubles  with  Spain  were  not 
yet  ended,  and  to  more  fully  understand  the 
intrigue,  it  is  necessary  to  go  back  prior  to  the 
conclusion  of  the  treaty.  It  is  thus  described 
by  Mr.  McClung,  in  Collins’  History  of 
Kentucky: 

Pending  the  negotiations  with  Spain,  an  intrigue 
was  commenced  between  the  agents  of  that  power 
and  certain  citizens  of  Kentucky,  which  was  not 
fully  disclosed  to  the  country  until  the  year  1806, 
and  the  full  extent  of  which  is  not  even  yet  certain- 
ly known.  In  July,  1795,  the  Spanish  governor, 
Carondelet,  dispatched  a certain  Thomas  Power  to 
Kentucky  with  a letter  to  Benjamin  Sebastian, 
then  a judge  of  the  court  of  appeals  of  Kentucky. 
In  this  communication  he  alludes  to  the  confidence 
reposed  in  the  judge  by  his  predecessor,  Gen.  Miro, 
and  the  former  correspondence  which  had  passed 
between  them.  He  declared  that  his  Catholic  maj- 
esty was  willing  to  open  the  Mississippi  to  the 
western  country;  and  to  effect  that  object,  and  to 
negotiate  a treaty,  in  relation  to  this  and  other  mat- 
ters,' Sebastian  was  requested  to  have  agents  chosen 
by  the  people  of  Kentucky,  w'ho  should  meet  Col. 
Gayoso.  a Spanish  agent,  at  New  Madrid,  when  ail 
matters  could  he  adjusted.  Judge  Sebastian  com- 
municated this  letter  to  Judge  Innes,  George  Nich- 
olas and  William  Murray,  the  latter  a very  eminent 
law3mr  of  Kentucky,  of  the  Federal  party,  and  they 
all  agi-eed  that  Sebastian  should  meet  Gayoso  at 
New  Madrid,  and  hear  what  he  had  to  propose.  The 
meeting  accordingly  took  place,  and  the  outline  of 
a treaty  was  agreed  to,  but  before  matters  were 
concluded,  intelligence  was  received  of  the  treaty 
with  Spain  by  the  United  States,  by  which  the  navi- 
gation was  effectually  and  legally  secured.  The 
Spanish  governor  broke  up  the  negotiation,  much 
to  the  dissatisfaction  of  Sebastian,  who  concluded 
that  the  regular  treaty  would  not  be  ratified,  and 
preferred  carrying  out  the  irregular  negotiation 
then  commenced. 

All  communication  then  ceased,  so  far  as  is 
known,  until  1797.  The  commissioners  were  busily 
engaged  in  marking  the  line  of  boundary  between 
Spain  and  the  United  States,  as  fixed  by  the  treaty. 


w'hen  Carondelet  again  opened  the  negotiation.  His 
former  agent,  Thomas  Power,  again  appeared  in 
Louisville,  with  a letter  to  Sebastian,  and  a request 
that  Sebastian  disclose  its  contents  to  Innes,  Nich- 
olas and  Murray.  Sebastian  positively  refused  to 
hold  any  intercourse  with  Murray,  but  instantly 
showed  the  letter  to  Judge  Innes.  The  scheme  un- 
folded in  this  letter  was,  “to  withdraw  from  the 
Federal  Union  and  form  an  independent  western 
government.  To  effect  this  object  it  was  suggest- 
ed that  these  gentlemen  should,  by  a series  of  elo- 
quently written  publications,  dispose  the  public 
mind  to  withdraw  from  any  further  connection  with 
the  Atlantic  States.  In  consideration  of  the  devo- 
tion of  their  time  and  talents  to  this  purpose,  it  was 
proposed  that  the  sum  of  §100,000  should  be  appro- 
priated to  their  use,  by  his  Catholic  majesty.  Should 
any  one  in  office,  in  Kentucky,  be  deprived  thereof, 
on  account  of  his  connection  with  Spain,  the  full 
value  of  said  office  was  to  be  paid  to  him  by  his 
majesty.”  This  article  was  inserted  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Sebastian. 

To  effect  these  great  objects,  it  was  proposed 
that  twenty  pieces  of  field  artillery,  with  a large 
supply  of  small  arms  and  munitions  of  war,  together 
with  §100,000  in  money,  should  instantly  be  fur- 
nished to  Kentucky  by  the  king  of  Spain,  as  his 
majestj^’s  quota  in  the  aid  of  the  enterprise.  Fort 
Massac  was  to  be  seized  instantlj',  and  the  Federal 
troops  were  to  be  dispossessed  of  all  posts  upon  the 
western  waters.  The  only  stipulation  for  the  bene- 
fit of  his  Catholic  majesty  wms  an  extension  of  his 
northern  boundaiy,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo,  and 
thence  due  east  to  the  Tombigbee.  For  this  miser- 
able pittance  of  desert  territory,  this  corrupt  and 
■worn  out  despotism  was  willing  to  violate  its  faith 
recentlj"  plighted  in  a solemn  treaty,  and  by 
treacherj'  and  intrigue,  to  sow  the  seeds  of  discord 
and  revolution,  where  all  was  peace  and  confidence. 
Such  -was  the  morality  of  courts  in  the  eighteenth 
century. 

This  proposal  was  received  by  Sebastian  with 
great  coolness,  and  submitted  to  Innes  for  his 
opinion.  The  testimonj-  of  Innes  himself  is  all  we 
have  to  rely  on,  as  to  the  manner  in  which  he  re- 
ceived the  proposition.  He  declares  that  he  de- 
nounced the  proposal  as  dangerous  and  improper, 
and  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  it  ought  to  be  re- 
jected. Sebastian  concurred  in  this  opinion,  but 
desired  Innes  to  see  Col.  Nicholas,  and  have  a writ- 
ten answer  prepared  for  Power,  declaring  that  what- 
ever they  concurred  in  iv'ould  be  approved  by  him. 
Innes  saw  Nicholas,  who  wrote  a refusal,  couched 
in  calm  but  decisive  language,  which  was  signed 
by  them  both,  and  delivered  to  Power,  through  the 
medium  of  Judge  Sebastian.  No  disclosure  was 
made  by  either  of  the  parties  of  this  proposal  from 
the  Spanish  government.  Po'wer  in  the  meantime 
visited  Gen.  Wilkinson,  who  still  held  a command 
in  the  regular  army,  and  then  was  stationed  in  gar- 
rison at  Detroit.  Power’s  ostensible  object  in  ■vis- 


300 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


iting  Wilkinson  was  to  deliver  to  him  a letter  of  re-  j 
monstrance  from  Gov.  Carondelet,  against  the  | 
United  States  taking  immediate  possession  of  the  [ 
posts  on  the  Mississippi.  His  real  object  was,  no 
doubt,  to  sound  him  upon  the  Spanish  proposition.  [ 
Power  afterward  reported  to  Carondelet  that  Wil- 
kinson received  him  coldly,  informed  him  that  the 
governor  of  the  Northwest  had  orders  from  the 
President  to  arrest  him  and  send  him  on  to  Philadel- 
phia, and  that  there  was  no  way  for  him  to  escape, 
hut  to  permit  himself  to  be  conducted,  under  guard, 
to  Fort  Massac,  whence  he  could  find  his  way  to 
New  Madrid.  He  states  that  in  their  first  confer- 
ence Wilkinson  observed,  bitterly  ; “We  are  both 
lost,  without  deriving  any  benefit  from  your  jour- 
ney.” He  pronounced  the  Spanish  proposal  a chi- 
merical project;  that  the  West,  having  obtained  by 
the  late  treaty  all  that  they  desired,  had  no  motive 
to  form  any  connection  with  Spain;  that  the  best 
thing  Spain  could  do  would  be  honestly  to  comply 
with  the  treaty;  that  his  personal /wnc?’ forbade  him 
to  listen  to  the  project;  that  the  late  treaty  had  over- 
turned all  his  plans,  and  rendered  his  labors  for  ten 
years  useless;  that  he  had  destroyed  his  ciphers,  and 
complained  that  his  secret  had  been  divulged;  that 
he  might  be  named  governor  of  Natchez,  and  he 
might  then,  perhaps,  have  power  to  realize  his  po- 
litical projects. 

In  his  report  to  Carondelet,  Power  represents  Se- 
bastian as  speaking  to  him  in  a more  encouraging 
tone  of  the  prospect  of  a union  of  Kentucky  with 
Spain.  Sebastian  expressed  the  opinion  that,  in 
case  of  war  with  Spain,  Kentucky  might  be  induced 
to  take  part  against  the  Atlantic  States.  In  con- 
clusion Power  gives  his  own  opinion  that  nothing 
short  of  war  with  France,  or  the  denial  of  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Mississippi,  could  induce  Kentucky  to 
separate  herself  from  the  Eastern  States,  After  vis- 
iting Wilkinson,  instead  of  returning  to  Louisville, 
as  he  had  at  first  intended,  he  was  sent  by  Wilkin- 
son under  escort  of  Captain  Shaumberg,  of  the 
United  States  army,  to  Fort  Massac,  and  thence 
returned  to  New  Madrid.  At  Massac  he  received 
from  Sebastian  the  letter  of  Nicholas  and  Innes. 
Nothing  certain  was  known  of  the  particulars  of 
this  transaction  until  1806,  when  it  became  public 
that  Sebastian  had  received  a pension  from  Spain, 
from  179.1  to  1806,  of  $2,000. 

For  the  prominent  part  taken  in  this  bit 
of  Kentucky’s  early  history,  and  particularly 
for  receiving  a pension  from  the  Spanish 
government,  Judge  Sebastian  was  arraigned  | 
by  the  legislature,  and  found  guilty  of  the 
latter  charge.  As  there  was  no  law  to  pun- 
ish him  for  this  act,  he  was  allowed  to  resign 
his  seat  as  one  of  the  judges  of  the  court  of 
appeals,  and  pass  into  obscurity.  The  fol- 
lowing sketch  of  Sebastian  has  been  given: 
“British  by  birth,  he  began  life  as  an  Episco- 


palian clergyman.  Drifting  to  this  country 
he  became  a lawyer,  and  finally  a jurist  of 
excellent  ability.  Despite  his  great  talents, 
he  seems  to  have  been  a man  always  in  straits 
for  money.  This  led  to  his  fall.  It  may  be 
said,  however,  in  extenuation,  that  the  posi- 
tion of  a foreign  pensioner  was  not  regarded 
with  the  same  abhorrence  in  the  last  century 
that  it  is  in  this,  and  that  the  beginning  of  his 
relations  with  the  Spanish  government  dates- 
from  a time  when  he  was  a private  citizen.” 
This  intrigue  with  Spain  is  one  of  the 
darkest  pages  in  the  history  of  Kentucky. 
The  moving  spirits  on  the  part  of  Kentucky 
were  some  of  the  ablest  men  and  most  pro- 
found lawyers  of  the  young  State.  Innes, 
Nicholas  and  Murray,  the  compeers  of  Sebas- 
tian, possessed  but  few  equals,  intellectually, 
in  the  commonwealth.  They  disclaimed  all 
knowledge  of  his  being  a pensioner  of  the 
Spanish  government,  and  their  greatest  error 
seems  to  have  been  their  failure  to  report  the 
whole  matter  to  the  Federal  government. 
Innes,  at  the  time,  was  judge  of  the  United 
States  Court  for  the  district  of  Kentucky, 
and  as  such  was  bound  by  his  oath  of  office 
to  guard  the  government  against  foreign  in- 
termeddling. His  conduct  was  severely  criti- 
cized, and  a committee  appointed  by  the  leg- 
islature to  inquire  into  the  charges  made 
against  him.  In  his  defense,  before  this 
committee,  he  gave  as  the  reasons  for  not 
communicating  the  subject  to  the  executive  of 
the  United  States,  the  following,  which  at 
the  time  were  considered  rather  lame:  “First 
— It  was  known  that  neither  of  us  (Col.  Nich- 
olas and  himself)  approved  Mr.  Adams’  ad- 
ministration, and  that  we  believed  that  he 
kept  a watchful  eye  over  our  actions;  that  the 
communication  must  depend  upon  his  opinion 
of  our  veracity,  and  that  it  would  have  the 
appearance  of  courting  his  favor.  Second — 
We  both  had  reason,  and  did  believe,  that 
the  then  administration  were  disposed,  upon 
the  slightest  pretext,  to  send  an  army  into 
this  State,  which  we  considered  would  be  a 
grievance  upon  the  people,  and  therefore 
declined  making  any  communication  on  the 
subject,  as  we  apprehended  no  trouble  from 
the  Spanish  government.” 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


301 


Plausible  as  this  may  seem,  few  believed 
it  to  be  the  true  reason  of  their  omission  to 
report  the  matter  to  the  president.  There 
were  other  reasons,  of  interest  to  themselves, 
which  it  was  believed  kept  them  silent  upon 
the  subject.  The  following  view  taken  of 
the  matter  by  a recent  historian  is,  perhaps, 
not  far  wrong: 

We  cannot  determine  how  far  these  men  felt 
these  propositions  to  be  attractive,  but  it  is  clear 
that  one  and  all  they  deemed  them  entirely  imprac- 
ticable, and  that  they  not  only  absolutely  refused 
the  offer,  but  kept  the  proposition  from  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  people.  Their  statements  make  it  clear 
that  they  did  not  think  that  at  this  time  it  would  be 
possible  to  form  any  party  in  Kentucky  to  advocate 
secession.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Spanish 
governor  chose  his  confederates  with  discretion,  and 
that  his  offer  of  immediate  money,  amounting  in 
value  to  about  the  equivalent  of  $500,000  in  our 
day,  and  of  place  and  p®wer  beyond,  was  tempting 
to  these  men,  who  were  poor  and  of  an  adventurous 
type  of  mind.  Its  unhesitating  rejection  shows 
clearly  that  it  was  not  a thing  that  they  deemed  in 
any  way  possible. 

John  Adams  was  elected  president,  and 
Thomas  Jefferson  vice-president,  of  the 
United  States,  in  1796.  This  election,  par- 
ticularly that  of  Mr.  Adams,  was  exceedingly 
obnoxious  to  Kentuckians.  The  people  of 
that  State,  by  a large  majority,  were  Repub- 
licans or  Democrats,  as  then  called,  and  zeal- 
ously opposed  the  Federalist  party — the  party 
to  which  Mr.  Adams  owed  his  election.  The 
struggle  between  these  rival  political  organ- 
izations raged  fiercely,  and  was  characterized 
by  all  the  bitter  invective  of  more  modern 
political  warfare.  Washington’s  adherence 
to  and  his  affiliation  with  the  Federalist 
party  made  his  administration  unpopular  in 
Kentucky,  while  that  of  Adams,  who  was 
known  to  be  a zealous  advocate  of  the  Feder- 
alist principles,  was  “ absolutely  odious  ” to 
the  people  throughout  the  State.  “ In  no 
part  of  the  Union,”  saysMcClung,  “ were  his 
measures  denounced  with  more  bitterness, 
nor  his  downfall  awaited  with  more  impa- 
tience.” When,  in  1800,  another  presiden- 
tial election  came  before  the  people,  Ken- 
tucky cast  her  electoral  vote  for  Mr. 'Jeffer- 
son, as  against  Mr.  Adams,*  thus  clearly  and 

*This  was  the  first  case  in  which  the  choice  of  a president 
went  to  the  house  of  representatives ; and  by  a singular  coinci- 


conclusively  showing  her  position  in  national 
politics. 

The  question  was  now  being  seriously  dis- 
cussed as  to  the  necessity  of  revising  the 
constitution  of  the  State.  In  May,  1797,  a 
vote  was  taken  “ for  and  against”  the  calling 
of  a constitutional  convention,  and  in  the 
following  May  a second  vote  was  taken,  and 
a majority  of  3,049  given  in  favor  of  the 
convention.  But  as  several  counties  did  not 
return  the  whole  number  of  their  votes,  and 
several  others  failed  to  vote  on  the  subject 
altogether,  some  question  arose  as  to 
whether  a majority  of  the  people  really 
desired  a revision  of  the  constitution.  The 
constitution  required  that  a majority  of  the 
votes  in  the  State  should  be  given  for  the 
successive  annual  elections,  or  a two-thirds 
majority  of  the  legislature,  to  call  a conven- 
tion for  constitutional  revision.  The  legisla- 
ture, in  the  belief  that  it  was  the  “ will  of 
the  majority  ” to  revise  the  constitution,  at 
the  session  of  1798-99,  called  a convention 
for  the  purpose.  The  convention  accordingly 
met  in  1799,  and  adopted  the  second  con- 
stitution of  the  State,  which,  upon  being 
submitted  to  a vote  of  the  people,  was  duly 
ratified.  It  remained  in  force  until  the 
adoption  of  the  present  constitution  half  a 
century  later.  The  most  important  changes 
in  the  new  document  were  in  the  mode  of 
electing  the  governor,  and  a part  of  the  leg- 
islature, in  the  jurisdiction  of  the  supreme 
court,  and  the  appointment  of  some  of  the 
county  officers,  who  had  hitherto  been  elected 


dence,  the  next  and  only  similar  case  in  the  history  of  the  gov- 
ernment, was  in  that  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  a son  of  John 
Adams,  in  1824,  who  was  elected  president  by  that  house  of  rep- 
resentatives. The  proceedings  in  the  first  case  were  as  follows: 
Of  128  electoral  votes  cast,  no  candidate  received  a majority. 
The  entire  votes  of  New  York,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  with  eight  from  Pennsylvania,  five 
from  Maryland  and  eight  from  North  Carolina — seventy-three  in 
all — were  cast  for  Mr.  Jetferson  and  Aaron  Burr  each,  making  a 
tie,  thus  devolving  the  choice  upon  the  house  of  representatives. 
John  Adams  had  sixty-five  votes,  Charles  C.  Pinckney,  sixty- 
four,  and  John  Jay,  one.  On  Wednesday,  February  11,  1801, 
the  house  of  representatives  began  balloting,  in  secret  session, 
having  resolved  to  attend  to  no  other  business  and  not  to  ad- 
journ until  a choice  should  be  effected.  Up(»u  the  first  ba.lot, 
eight  vStates — New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee — cast  their 
one  vote  each  for  Thomas  Jefferson;  six  States — New  Hainji- 
shire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Delaware  and 
South  Carolina — gave  their  six  votes  for  Aaron  Burr,  and  the 
votes  of  Vermont  and  Maryland  (because  their  representatives 
were  divided)  were  given  blank.  Neither  had  a majority  For 
seven  days  the  house  continued  in  session,  nominally  without 
adjournment,  and  balloted  thirty-five  times  with  the  same  re- 
sult. On  the  afternoon  of  February  17tb,  Mr.  Jefierson  was 
elected  president — receiving  the  votes  of  Vermont  and  Marv- 
land  in  addition  to  the  eight  above  named,  while  those  of  Dela- 
ware and  South  Carolina  were  given  blank.  Mr.  Burr  became 
the  vice-president.  (See  Collins,  Vol.  I,  pp.  367, 368.) 


302 


niSTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


by  popular  vote.  The  first  constitution, 
“ like  all  first  instruments  of  the  kind,”  was 
soon  found  to  be,  in  many  respects,  very 
defective.  Under  its  provisions,  the  govern- 
or and  the  upper  house  of  the  legislature 
were  chosen  by  an  electoral  college,  and 
sheriffs  were  elected  triennially  by  the  peo- 
23le.  The  new  constitution  changed  these; 
the  governor  and  senate  were  made  elective 
by  the  vote  of  the  people,  and  sheriffs  were 
appointed  by  the  governor,  but  in  a some- 
what roundabout  way.  The  justices  of  the 
2^eace,  or,  as  more  commonly  called,  the  mag- 
istrates, were  appointed  by  the  executive,  and 
the  oldest  in  the  county,  or  the  longest  in 
office,  became  high  sheriff,  and  when  his 
term  exjDired  he  was  succeeded  by  the  next 
oldest,  and  so  on  ad  infinitum.  A writer 
speaking  of  the  second  constitution  says: 
“ The  immediate  jurisdiction  of  the  supreme 
court  in  land  cases  was  unsatisfactory;  the 
danger  of  land  suits  caused  by  the  rude 
methods  of  survey  in  use  was  being  amj^ly 
justified.  As  the  laud  was  still  of  relatively 
slight  value,  and  the  means  of  communica- 
tion with  the  seat  of  the  court  limited,  this 
method  of  procedure  was  troublesome. 
With  action  carried  on  in  a local  court  the 
owner  and  witnesses,  even  in  case  of  appeal, 
would  have  no  occasion  for  resort  to  the 
State  capital.”  This  led  to  a change  in  the 
constitution  of  1799,  and  the  supreme  court 
was  given  only  appellate  jurisdiction. 

The  same  session  of  the  legislature  that 
called  the  convention  for  a revision  of  the 
constitution,  made  itself  memorable  by  the 
passage  of  what  has  since  been  known  in 
history  as  the  “Resolutions  of  1798,”  and 
which  have  already  been  incidentally  alluded 
to.  These  famous  resolutions  are  thus  com- 
mented on  in  a recent  work:* 

It  is  difficult  for  us  to  see  in  this  day  the  way  in 
which  people  looked  on  the  Federal  government 
during  the  tenth  decade  of  the  last  century.  The 
several  colonies  had  fought  their  war  of  separation 
from  Britain  as  separate  political  units,  each  with 
its  own  motive,  and  none  with  any  distinct  idea  of 
what  the  future  government  was  to  be.  Each  had 
fought  for  its  local  rights,  for  its  own  hand.  The 
essence  of  their  struggle  was  for  local,  as  distin- 
guished from  external  government.  The  long  politi- 


I cal  struggle  of  Kentucky  for  separation  from 
Virginia  is  in  itself  a capital  instance  of  the  feeling 
j of  this  time.  The  better  known  debates  in  the  con- 
vention that  adopted  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States  show  that  at  every  point  the  States  fought 
zealously,  even  furiously,  for  their  separate  rights. 
No  candid  person  can  read  these  debates  without 
rising  from  his  task  with  tlie  conviction  that  the 
delegates  of  this  constitutional  convention  failed  to 
determine  the  precise  relation  between  the  States 
and  the  Federal  government.  They  were  driven 
farther  than  the  people  had  gone,  or  were  then  pre- 
pared to  go,  in  the  direction  of  consolidation  by  the 
logic  of  facts  that  they  only  could  perceive  in  their 
full  meaning.  If  there  had  lieen  an  effort  to  put 
the  sedition  act  in  the  constitution,  no  one  can 
doubt  that  it  would  have  been  overwhelmingly  de- 
feated in  the  convention.  The  fate  of  the  Adams 
party  in  the  next  coming  election  shovvs  plainly 
that  even  in  the  States  that  inclined  most  strongly 
to  Federalism,  these  laws  were  generally  disap- 
proved. 

Since  the  one  distinct  object  of  the  American 
revolution  had  been  to  secure  local  government, 
it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  a people  who  more 
than  any  other  in  the  United  States  were  by  their 
history  devoted  to  this  end,  should  have  revolted 
against  the  alien  and  sedition  laws,  which  clearly 
were  very  dangerous  advances  in  the  direction  of 
that  consolidation  against  which  they  had  effectively 
protested  in  the  convention.  In  the  extremity  of 
their  conceived  need  they  naturally  turned  to  the 
patent  omissions  in  the  contract  by  which  they 
were  bound  to  the  Federal  government.  The  con- 
vention had  studiously  refrained  from  providing 
any  means  whereby  the  States  should  be  coerced 
into  submission  to  the  Union— differing  in  this  re- 
gard in  a very  suggestive  fashion  from  similar  con- 
stitutions in  other  countries;  and  this  was  no 
accidental  omission,  but  one  that  resulted  from  a 
careful  discussion  of  the  problem.  That  patriotic 
men  felt  this  doubt  about  the  conditions  of  the  con- 
stitution is  well  shown  by  the  subsequent  proceed- 
ings in  other  States — notably  in  Virginia  and 
Massachusetts — where  men,  whose  character  cannot 
be  impugned  without  casting  a shadow  on  a whole 
people,  took  the  same  view  of  the  relation  between 
the  several  States  and  the  Federal  government. 

We  must  grant  that  the  seeds  of  nullification 
and  secession  were  in  these  resolutions  of  1798,  but 
these  germs  of  trouble  were  sown  in  the  events 
that  led  to  the  Independence  of  the  colonies,  and 
were  nourished  by  the  intentional  omissions  of  the 
constitution  itself.  The  constitution,  as  we  know 
it,  an  instrument  affirmed  partly  by  assent  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  States,  then  by  the  circumstances 
of  the  South  Carolina  nullification  in  the  fourth  dec- 
ade of  this  century,  and  finally  by  the  result  of  the 
civil  war,  did  not  then  exist.  All  that  was  before 
the  minds  of  men  was  a new  and  very  debatable  in- 
strument. concerning  whose  meaning  there  was 
naturally  a great  difference  of  opinion.  The  Ken- 


*Amerieau  Commonwealths,  pp.  142, 143. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


303 


tucky  resolutions  were  the  first  production  of  the 
great  discussion  which  was  destined  to  continue  for 
two  generations,  to  be  in  the  end  decided,  by  a 
third,  ill  the  most  famous  civil  struggle  of  all  time. 

That  the  resolutions  were  intended  only  as  the 
expression  of  a sentiment,  and  not  as  the  basis  for 
any  contemplated  action,  is  shown  by  the  previous 
and  succeeding  course  of  politics  within  the  State. 
It  would  be  a distortion  of  history  to  look  upon  this 
action  as  if  it  had  been  taken  in  1860.  It  was,  in 
fact,  only  a caveat  directed  against  the  course  of  a 
party  disposed  to  take  an  even  more  unconstitu- 
tional view  of  the  Union  than  was  held  by  those 
who  voted  for  the  resolutions. 

There  has  ever  been  some  question  in  Ken- 
tucky, as  to  the  real  author  of  the  resolutions 
of  1798.  Many  attribute  them  to  the  pen  of 
Thomas  Jefferson,  while  others,  and  with 
apparent  good  reasons,  claim  their  authorship 
for  John  Breckinridge,  the  first  of  that  dis- 
tinguished family  to  settle  in  Kentucky.  Mr. 
McClung  says:  “Early  in  the  session  a series 
of  resolutions,  which  were  originally  drawn 
by  Mr.  Jefferson,  were  presented  to  the  House 
by  John  Breckinridge,  the  representative  from 
Fayette,  and  almost  unanimously  adopted.” 
The  biographer  of  Mr.  Breckinridge*  says: 
“Some  twenty  years  after  his  death,  it  began 
to  be  whispered,  and  then  to  be  intimated  in 
a few  newspapers,  that  the  Kentucky  resolu- 
tions of  1798-99,  which  he  offered,  and  which 
was  the  first  great  movement  against  the 
alien  and  sedition  laws — and  the  general 
principles  of  the  party  that  passed  them — 
were  in  fact  the  production  of  Mr.  Jefferson 
himself  and  not  of  John  Breckinridge;  and 
it  is  painful  to  reflect  that  Mr.  Jefferson  did 
certainly  connive  at  this  mean  calumny  upon 
the  memory  of  his  friend.  The  family  of 
Mr.  Breckinridge  have  constantly  asserted 
that  their  father  was  the  sole  and  true  author 
of  these  resolutions,  and  constantly  defied  the 
production  of  proof  to  the  contrary,  and  there 
seems  to  be  no  question  that  they  are  right.  ” 
The  question  of  authorship  may  never  be 
definitely  settled  in  the  minds  of  every  one, 
but  the  “preponderance  of  evidence”  seems  to 
point  to  Mr.  Breckinridge  as  the  author. 

Gen.  James  Garrard  was  elected  the  second 
governor  of  the  State  in  1796,  and  was  re- 
elected in  1800.  Under  the  first  constitution, 

^Collins,  Vol.  II,  p.  99. 


there  was  a governor’s  secretary  instead  of  a 
lieutenant-governor;  the  second  constitution 
created  the  last  named  office,  and  in  1800, 
Alexander  S.  Bullitt  was  elected  lieutenant- 
governor  on  the  ticket  with  Gen.  Garrard. 
He  was  the  first  lieutenant-governor  of  the 
State. 

Kentucky  was  thrown  into  great  excite- 
ment, in  1802,  by  the  suspension  of  the  right 
of  deposit  at  New  Orleans,  the  treaty  with 
Spain,  conceeding  the  right,  as  well  as  that 
of  navigating  the  Mississippi  River,  having 
“expired  by  limitation.”  The  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi  and  the  right  of  deposit  at 
New  Orleans,  had  been  guaranteed  by  the 
Spanish  treaty  for  three  years,  with  the  pro- 
vision, that  at  the  end  of  that  time  it  might 
be  renewed,  or  should  the  right  of  deposit  at 
New  Orleans  be  withheld,  some  other  place 
in  the  Spanish  territory  of  Louisiana  should 
be  “afforded  for  the  same  purpose,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  river.”  "While  the  excitement 
was  at  its  height,  the  news  was  received  of 
the  cession  of  Louisiana  back  to  France. 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  then  first  consul  of 
France,  and  upon  the  eve  of  war  with  Eng- 
land. Impressed  with  the  impossibility  of 
retaining  so  distant  a province  as  Louisiana, 
while  England  maintained  her  supremacy  on 
the  seas,  Napoleon  determined  to  place  it 
beyond  her  reach,  by  selling  it  to  the  United 
States.  Accordingly,  for  the  trifling  sum  of 
80,000,000  francs  he  disposed  of  this  magnifi- 
cent empire  to  the  United  States,  thereby  as- 
suring, forever,  the  free  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  River. 

Christopher  Greenup  was  elected  governor 
of  Kentucky  in  1804,  and  John  Caldwell 
lieutenant-governor,  while  Thomas  Jefferson 
was  re-elected  president  of  the  United  States, 
receiving  162  of  the  176  electoral  votes  cast. 
During  these  administrations  the  Burr  con- 
spiracy occurred,  an  event  more  intimately 
connected  with  the  history  of  Kentucky 
than  with  that  of  any  other  individual  State 
of  the  Union.  A better  sketch  of  the  affair 
could  scarcely  be  written  than  that  prepared 
by  Mr.  McClung,  for  Collins’  History  of  Ken- 
tucky. It  is  as  follows: 

Aaron  Burr,  who  had  been  elected  vice-president 


MISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


30-i 


in  1801,  liad  lost  the  confidence  of  his  party,  and 
■was  at  variance  with  the  president.  In  1805  this 
extraordinary  man  first  made  ins  appearance  in 
Kentucky,  and  visited  Lexington  and  Louisville. 
He  then  passed  on  to  Nashville,  St.  Louis,  Natchez 
and  New  Orleans,  and  again  returned  to  Lexington, 
where  he  remained  for  some  time.  Gen.  Wilkin- 
son, at  this  time,  commanded  the  United  States 
troops  in  Louisiana,  and  the  affairs  of  the  United 
States  with  Spain  were  in  an  unsatisfactory  state. 
That  miserable  power  resented  the  purcliase  of 
Louisiana  by  the  United  States,  and  assumed  a sul- 
kiness of  demeanor  soinewhat  resembling  Mexico  ^ 
in  more  modern  times.  In  the  spring  of  1806  their  | 
forces  advanced  to  the  Sabine  in  somewhat  hostile 
array,  and  Gen.  Wilkinson  had  orders  to  be  upon 
the  alert,  and  repel  them  if  they  should  cross  that 
barrier.  Such  was  the  aspect  of  affairs,  when,  in 
1806,  Col.  Burr  again  appeared  in  the  West,  spend- 
ing a large  portion  of  his  time  at  Blennerhassett’s 
Island,  on  the  Ohio  River,  but  being  seen  in  Lexing- 
ton, Nashville  and  Louisville. 

This  extraordinary  man,  having  quarreled  with 
the  president,  and  lost  caste  with  the  Republican 
party,  endeavored  to  retrieve  his  political  fortunes 
by  l)ecoming  a candidate  for  the  office  of  governor 
of  New  York,  in  opposition  to  the  regular  Demo- 
cratic candidate.  He  was  supported  by  the  mass  of 
the  Federalists,  and  a small  section  of  the  Demo- 
crats, who  still  adhered  to  him.  He  lost  his  election 
chiefly  by  the  influence  of  Alexander  Hamilton, 
who  scrupled  not  to  represent  him  as  uu'worthy  of 
political  trust,  and  deprived  him  of  the  cordial  sup- 
port of  the  Federalists.  Deeply  stung  by  his  de- 
feat, Burr  turned  fiercely  upon  his  illustrious  antag- 
onist, and  killed  him  in  a duel.  Hamilton  was  idol- 
ized by  the  Federalists,  and  even  his  political  ad- 
versaries were  not  insensible  to  his  manj"  lofty  and 
noble  qualities.  Burr  found  himself  abandoned  by 
the  mass  of  the  Democrats,  regarded  with  abhor- 
rence by  the  Federalists,  and  banished  from  all  the 
legitimate  and  honorable  walks  of  ambition.  In 
this  desperate  state  of  his  political  fortunes,  he 
sought  the  West,  and  became  deeply  involved  in 
schemes  as  desperate  and  daring  as  any  which  the 
annals  of  ill-regulated  ambition  can  furnish. 

The  groundwork  of  his  plan,  undoubtedly,  was 
to  organize  a military  force  upon  the  western 
waters,  descend  the  Mississippi,  and  wrest  from 
Spain  an  indefinite  portion  of  her  territory  adjoin- 
ing the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  southwestern  portion  of 
the  United  States,  embracing  New  Orleans  and  the 
adjacent  territory,  was,  either  by  force  or  persua- 
sion, to  become  a part  of  the  new  empire,  of  which 
New  Orleans  was  to  become  the  capital  and  Burr 
the  chief,  under  some  one  of  the  many  names  which, 
in  modern  times,  di.sguise  despotic  power  under  a 
republican  form.  These  were  the  essential  and 
indispensable  features  of  the  plan.  But  if  circum-  | 
.stances  were  favorable  the  project  was  to  extend 
much  further,  and  the  whole  country  west  of  the 
Alleghanies  was  to  be  wrested  from  the  American 


Union,  and  to  become  a portion  of  this  new  and 
magnificent  empire. 

Mad  and  chimerical  as  this  project  undoubtedly 
was,  when  the  orderly  and  law-respecting  character 
i of  the  American  people  is  considered,  yet  the  age 
j in  which  it  was  conceived  had  witnessed  wonders, 

I -ndiich  had  far  outstripped  the  sober  calculations  of 
philosophy,  and  surpassed  the  limits  of  probable 
fiction.  When  the  historian.  Gibbon,  was  closing 
his  great  work  upon  the  decline  and  fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  he  expressed  the  opinion  that  the 
age  of  great  and  startling  revolutions  had  passed 
away,  never  to  return;  that  mankind  had  sobered 
down,  by  centuries  of  experience,  to  a tame  and 
moderate  level,  which  would  not  admit  of  those 
brilliant  materials  for  history  which  the  past  had 
afforded.  Scarcely  had  this  opinion  been  recorded, 
when  the  great  drama  opened  in  France,  and  for 
twenty-five  years  the  world  stood  aghast  at  the 
series  of  magnificent  and  wonderful  pageants  which 
moved  before  them  in  the  wild  confusion  of  a 
feverish  dream.  Kings  became  beggars,  and  peas- 
ants became  kings.  Ancient  kingdoms  disappeared, 
and  new  and  brilliant  republics  sprang  up  in  their 
places.  Names,  boundaries,  ranks,  titles,  religions, 
all  were  tossed  about  like  withered  leaves  before 
the  wind.  A lieutenant  in  a French  regiment  had 
mounted  to  the  throne  of  western  Europe,  and 
drummers,  corporals  and  privates  had  become 
dukes,  princes  and  kings. 

It  was  not  wonderful,  then,  that  a man  like 
Burr,  ostracised  in  the  East,  and  desperate  in  his 
fortunes,  abounding  in  talent,  energy  and  courage, 
should  have  determined  in  the  New  World,  like  the 
Corsican  in  the  Old,  to  stand  the  hazard  of  the  die, 
for  empire  or  a grave.  The  unsettled  relations  then 
existing  with  Spain  afforded  a specious  cloak  to  his 
enterprise,  and  enabled  him  to  give  it  a character 
suitable  to  the  temper  of  the  persons  whom  he 
addressed.  To  the  daring  youth  of  the  West,  de- 
sirous of  military  adventure,  he  could  represent  it 
as  an  irregular  expedition,  to  be  undertaken  upon 
private  account,  against  the  ijossessions  of  a nation 
with  whom  the  United  States  would  shortly  be  at 
war.  It  was  upon  land  what  privateering  was  upon 
the  ocean.  He  could  hint  to  them  that  the  United 
States  government  would  connive  at  the  expedition, 
but  could  not  openly  countenance  it  until  hostilities 
actually  commenced.  There  is  little  doubt  that 
many  concurred  in  the  enterprise  without  being 
aware  of  its  treasonable  character,  while  it  is  cer- 
tain that  U others  the  scheme  was  exposed  in  its 
full  deformity. 

In  the  prosecution  of  this  object,  he  applied 
himself  with  singular  address  to  au3^one  who  could 
be  useful  to  him  in  forwarding  the  great  scheme. 
Blennerhassett’s  Island  lay  directly  in  his  path,  and 
he  fixed  his  keen  eye  upon  the  proprietor  as  one 
who  could  be  useful  to  him.  This  unfortunate  man 
was  an  Irish  gentleman,  reputed  to  be  of  great 
wealth,  married  to  a beautiful  and  accomplished 
1 woman,  secluded  and  studious  in  his  habits,  devoted 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


305 


to  natural  science,  and  as  unfitted  for  the  turbulent 
struggle  of  active,  ambitious  life  as  Burr  was  for 
those  simple  and  quiet  pursuits,  in  which  his  victim 
found  enjoyment  and  happiness.  Blennerhassett’s 
wealth,  though,  could  be  employed  to  advantage.  | 
Burr  opened  the  correspondence  by  a flattering 
request  to  be  permitted  to  examine  Blennerhassett’s  | 
grounds  and  garden,  which  had  been  improved  at 
great  expense.  Once  admitted,  he  employed  all  the 
address  and  eloquence  of  which  he  was  master,  in 
turning  the  whole  current  of  Blennerhassett’s 
thoughts  from  the  calm,  sedentary  pursuits  in 
which  he  had  hitherto  delighted,  to  those  splendid 
visions  of  empire,  greatness  and  wealth  with  which 
his  own  ardent  imagination  was  then  so  fiercely 
glowing.  No  better  evidence  of  Burr’s  power  need 
be  desired  than  the  absolute  command  ■which  he 
obtained  over  the  ■will  and  fortune  of  this  man.  He 
molded  him  to  his  purpose,  inspired  him  with  a 
frantic  enthusiasm  in  his  cause,  and  obtained  com- 
plete command  of  all  that  Blennerhassett  had  to 
offer. 

The  scheme  of  separation  from  the  Atlantic 
States  had  been  too  much  agitated  in  Kentucky  not 
to  have  left  some  material  for  Burr  to  work  upon, 
and  that  he  neglected  no  opportunity  of  rallying  the 
fragments  of  the  old  party  may  be  readily  believed. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  Gen.  Adair  concurred  in  his 
scheme,  so  far  as  an  expedition  against  the  Spanish 
provinces  was  concerned;  and  it  is  certain  that  Burr 
himself  calculated  upon  the  co-operation  of  Gen. 
Wilkinson,  and  held  frequent  intercourse  with  him. 
During  the  summer  of  1806  the  public  mind  in  Ken- 
tuckj'  became  agitated  by  rumors  of  secret  expedi- 
tions and  conspiracies,  in  which  Burr  and  others 
were  implicated,  but  all  was  wrapped  in  mystery 
and  doubt. 

At  length  a paper,  entitled  the  Western  World, 
published  in  Frankfort,  by  Wood  & Street,  came 
out  with  a series  of  articles,  in  which  the  old 
intrigue  of  Sebastian  with  Power,  and  the  present 
project  of  Burr,  were  blended  in  a somewhat  con- 
fused manner,  and  some  round  assertions  of  facts 
were  made,  and  some  names  implicated  which  cre- 
ated no  small  sensation.  Sebastian,  then  a judge 
of  the  supreme  court,  was  boldly  asserted  to  be  an 
intriguer  with  Spain  and  a pensioner  of  the  Span- 
ish crown.  Innes,  then  a judge  of  the  Federal 
court;  Brown,  a senator  in  congress  from  Kentucky; 
Wilkinson,  a general  in  the  regular  army,  were  all 
implicated.  Bm-r  was  plainly  denounced  as  a traitor, 
and  the  whole  of  his  scheme  was  unfolded.  There 
was  a mixture  of  truth  and  error  in  these  articles, 
which  no  one  was  then  able  to  separate,  and  the  pub- 
lic mind  was  completely  bewildered  at  the  number 
of  atrocious  plots  which  were  exposed,  and  at  the 
great  names  implicated.  The  friends  of  some  of  the 
parties  violently  resented  the  articles,  and  pistols 
and  dirks  were  resorted  to,  to  silence  the  accusa- 
tion. But  the  paper  sturdily  adhered  to  its  charges, 
and  an  address  was  prepared  and  published  to 
the  legislature  elected  in  1806,  praying  an  inquiry 


into  the  conduct  of  Sebastian,  which  was  circulated 
among  the  people  for  signatures,  and  was  signed  b}^ 
a great  number,  particularly  in  the  county  of 
Woodford. 

In  the  meantime  Col.  Joseph  Hamilton  Daviess, 
the  attorney  for  the  United  States,  appeared  in 
open  court  before  Judge  Innes  on  November  3d, 
and  moved  for  process  to  compel  the  attendance  of 
! Burr  before  the  court,  to  answer  to  a charge  of  a high 
misdemeanor,  in  organizing  a military  expedition 
against  a friendly  power,  from  and  within  the  ter- 
ritor}^  of  the  United  States.  This  motion  was 
grounded  upon  the  oath  of  the  attorney,  setting 
forth  with  great  accuracy  the  preparations  then 
being  made  by  Burr,  and  imputing  to  him  designs 
which  subsequent  events  proved  to  have  been  well 
understood  by  the  attorney.  This  startling  afQda- 
vit  created  immense  sensation  at  the  time.  Burr 
was  then  popular  in  Kentucky,  and  was  caressed 
and  countenanced  by  her  most  eminent  citizens. 
Daviess  was  greatly  admired  for  those  splendid  pow- 
ers of  eloquence  whichhe  possessed  in  a degree  rare- 
ly if  ever  surpassed,  but  labored  under  the  odium  of 
being  an  incurable  Federalist,  and  equally  bold  and 
eloquent  in  expressing  his  opinions.  Nine-tenths 
of  the  public  at  the  time  were  startled  at  the  bold- 
ness of  the  accusation,  and  seem  to  have  attribu- 
ted it  to  the  well-known  hatred  of  the  Federalists  to 
Col.  Burr.  Be  the  cause,  however,  what  it  might, 
the  public  feeling  was  strongly  in  favor  of  Burr  and 
against  the  attorney,  who  was  boldly  and  manfully 
discharging  his  duty.  Judge  Innes  took  time  to 
consider  the  application,  and  after  two  days  over- 
ruled the  motion. 

Col.  Burr  was  in  Lexington  at  the  time,  and  was 
informed  of  the  motion  made  by  Daviess  in  an  in- 
credibly short  space  of  time  after  it  was  made.  He 
entered  the  court  house  shortly  after  Innes  had  over- 
ruled the  motion,  and  addressed  the  judge  with  a 
grave  and  calm  dignity  of  manner,  which  increased, 
if  possible,  the  general  prepossession  in  his  favor. 
He  spoke  of  the  late  motion  as  one  which  had 
greatly  surprised  him,  insinuated  that  Daviess  had 
reason  to  believe  that  he  was  absent  upon  business 
of  a private  but  pressing  nature,  which  it  was  well 
known  required  his  immediate  attention,  that 
the  judge  had  treated  the  application  as  it  deserved, 
but  as  it  might  be  renewed  by  the  attorney 
in  his  absence,  he  preferred  that  the  judge  should 
entertain  the  motion  now,  and  he  had  vol- 
untarily appeared  in  order  to  give  the  gentle- 
1 man  an  opportunity  of  proving  his  charge.  No- 
wise disconcerted  by  the  lofty  tranquility  of 
Burr’s  manner,  than  which  nothing  could  be  more 
imposing,  Daviess  promptly  accepted  the  chal- 
lenge and  declared  himself  ready  to  proceed  as  soon 
as  he  could  procure  the  attendance  of  his  witnesses. 
After  consulting  with  the  marshal,  Daviess  an- 
nounced his  opinion  that  his  witnesses  could  attend 
on  the  ensuing  AVednesday,  and  with  the  acqui- 
escence of  Burr,  that  day  was  fixed  upon  by  the 
, com’t  for  the  investigation. 


19 


!00 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Burr  awaited  the  day  of  trial  with  an  easy  tran- 
quillity, which  seemed  to  fear  no  danger,  and  on 
Wednesday  the  court  house  was  crowded  to  suffo- 
cation. Daviess,  upon  counting  his  witnesses,  dis- 
covered that  Davis  Floyd,  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant, was  absent,  and  with  great  reluctance 
asked  a postponement  of  the  case.  The  judge  in- 
stantly discharged  the  grand  jury.  Col,  Burr  then 
appeared  at  the  bar,  accompained  by  his  counsel, 
Henry  Clay*  and  Col.  Allen.  * * * Col. 

Burr  arose  in  court,  expressed  his  regret  that  the 
grand  jury  had  been  discharged,  and  inquired  the 
reason.  Col.  Daviess  replied,  and  added  that  Floyd 
was  then  in  Indiana  attending  a session  of  the  ter- 
ritorial legislature.  Burr  calmly  desired  that  the 
cause  of  the  postponement  might  be  entered  upon  the 
record  as  well  as  the  reason  why  Floyd  did  not  at- 
tend. He  then  with  great  self-possession,  and  with 
an  air  of  candor  difficult  to  be  resisted,  addressed 
the  court  and  crowded  audience  upon  the  subject  of 
the  accusation.  His  style  was  without  ornament, 
passion  or  fervor;  but  the  spell  of  a great  mind,  and 
daring  but  calm  spirit,  was  felt  with  singular  power 
by  all  who  heard  him.  He  hoped  that  the  good 
people  of  Kentucky  would  dismiss  their  apprehen- 
sions of  danger  from  him,  if  any  such  really 
existed.  There  was  really  no  ground  for  them, 
however  zealously  the  attorney  might  strive  to 
awaken  them.  He  was  engaged  in  no  project  in- 
imical to  the  peace  or  tranquility  of  the  country,  as 
they  would  certainly  learn  whenever  the  attorney 
should  be  ready,  which  he  greatly  apprehended 
would  never  be.  In  the  meantime,  although  pri- 
vate Imsiness  urgently  demanded  his  presence  else- 
where, he  felt  compelled  to  give  the  attorney  one 
more  opportunity  of  proving  his  charge,  and  would 
patiently  await  another  attack. 

Upon  the  2.5th  of  November,  Col.  Daviess  in- 
formed the  court  that  Floyd  would  attend  on  the 
2d  of  December  following,  and  another  grand 
jury  was  summoned  to  attend  on  that  day.  Col. 
Burr  came  into  court  attended  by  the  same  counsel 
as  on  the  former  occasion,  and  cooly  awaited  the 
expected  attack.  Daviess,  with  evident  chagrin, 
again  announced  that  he  was  not  ready  to  proceed, 
<hat  John  Adair  had  been  summoned  and  was  not 
in  attendance,  and  that  his  testimony  was  indispen- 
sable to  the  prosecution.  He  again  asked  a post- 
ponement of  the  case  for  a few  days,  and  that  the 

^Before  Mr.  Clay  took  any  active  part  as  the  counsel  of  Burr 
he  required  of  him  an  explicit  disavowel,  upon  his  honor,  that 
he  was  engaged  in  no  design  contrary  to  the  laws  and  peace  of 
the  country.  This  pledge  was  promptly  given  by  Burr,  in  lan- 
guage the  most  broad,  comprehensive  and  particular.  “He  had 
no  design,”  he  said,  “ to  intermeddle  with,  or  disturb  the  tran- 
quillity of  the  United  States,  nor  its  territories,  nor  any  part  of 
them.  He  had  neither  issued  nor  signed,  nor  promised  a com- 
mission to  any  person  for  any  purpose.  He  did  not  own  a sin- 
gle musket,  nor  bayonet,  nor  any  single  article  of  military 
stores,  nor  did  any  other  person  for  him,  by  his  authority  or 
knowledge.  His  views  had  been  explained  to  several  distin- 
guished members  of  the  administration,  were  well  understood 
and  approved  by  the  government  They  were  such  that  every 
man  of  honor,  and  every  good  citizen,  must  approve.  He  con- 
sidered this  declaration  proper  as  well  to  counteract  the  chimer- 
ical tales  circulated  l»y  the  malevolence  of  his  enemies,  as  to  sat- 
isfy Mr.  Clay  that  he  had  not  become  the  counsel  of  a man  in 
i*ny  way  unfriendly  to  the  laws,  the  government  or  the  well 
being  of  his  country.” — Collins,  Vol.  I,  p.  293. 


grand  jury  should  be  kept  impaneled  until  he  could 
com])el  the  attendance  of  Adair  by  attachment. 

Burr  upon  the  present  occasion  remained  silent, 
and  entirely  unmoved  by  anything  which  occurred. 
Not  so  his  counsel.  A most  animated  and  impas- 
sioned debate  sprung  up,  intermingled  with  sharp 
and  Hashing  personalities  between  Clay  and 
Daviess.  Never  did  two  more  illustrious  orators 
encounter  each  other  in  debate.  The  enormous 
mass  whicli  crowded  to  suffocation  the  floor,  the 
galleries,  the  windows,  the  platform  of  the  judge, 
remained  still  and  lireathless  for  hours,  while  these 
renowned  and  immortal  champions,  stimulated  by 
mutual  rivalry,  and  each  glowing  with  the  ardent 
conviction  of  right,  encountered  each  other  in 
splendid  intellectual  combat.  Clay  had  the  sympa- 
thies of  the  audience  on  his  side,  and  was  the 
leader  of  the  popular  party  in  Kentucky.  Daviess 
was  a Federalist,  and  was  regarded  as  persecuting 
an  innocent  and  unfortunate  man  from  motives  of 
political  hate.  But  he  was  buoyed  up  by  the  full 
conviction  of  Burr’s  guilt,  and  the  delusion  of  the 
people  on  the  subject  and  the  very  infatuation  which 
he  beheld  around  him,  and  the  smiling  security  of 
the  traitor  who  sat  before  him,  stirred  his  great 
spirit  to  one  of  its  most  brilliant  efforts.  All,  how- 
ever, was  in  vain.  Judge  Innes  refused  to  retain 
the  grand  jury  unless  some  business  was  brought  be- 
fore them;  and  Daviess,  in  order  to  gain  time,  sent 
up  to  them  an  indictment  against  John  Adair,  which 
was  pronounced  by  the  grand  jury  “not  a true 
bill.”  The  hour  being  late,  Daviess  then  moved  for 
an  attachment  to  compel  the  attendance  of  Adair, 
which  was  resisted  by  Burr’s  counsel,  and  refused 
by  the  court  on  the  ground  that  Adair  was  not  in 
contempt  until  the  day  had  expired.  Upon  the 
motion  of  Daviess  the  court  then  adjourned  until 
the  ensuing  day. 

In  the  interval  Daviess  had  a private  interview 
with  the  judge,  and  obtained  from  him  an  expres- 
sion of  the  opinion  that  it  would  be  allowable  for 
him  as  prosecutor  to  attend  the  grand  jury  in  their 
room  and  examine  witnesses,  in  order  to  explain  to 
them  the  connection  of  the  detached  particles  of 
evidence,  whicli  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
plot  would  enable  him  to  do,  and  without  which  the 
grand  jury  would  scarcely  be  able  to  comprehend 
their  hearing.  When  the  court  resumed  its  sitting 
on  the  following  morning,  Daviess  moved  to  be 
permitted  to  attend  the  grand  jury  in  their  room. 
This  was  resisted  by  Burr’s  counsel  as  novel  and 
unprecedented,  and  refused  by  the  court.  The 
grand  jury  then  retired,  witnesses  were  sworn,  and 
sent  up  to  them,  and  on  the  5th  of  the  month  they 
returned,  as  Daviess  had  expected,  “not  a true 
bill.”  In  addition  to  this,  the  grand  jury  returned 
into  court  a written  declaration  signed  by  the  whole 
of  them,  in  which,  from  all  the  evidence  before 
them,  they  completely  exonerated  Burr  from  any 
design  inimical  to  tlie  peace  and  well-being  of  the 
country.  Col.  Allen  instantly  moved  the  court  that 
a copy  of  the  report  of  the  grand  jury  should  be 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


307 


taken  and  published  in  the  newspapers,  which  was 
granted.  The  popular  current  ran  with  great 
strength  in  his  favor,  and  the  United  States’  at- 
torney for  the  time  was  overwhelmed  with  obloquy. 

Thus  ended  one  of  the  most  renowned 
trials  recorded  in  the  annals  of  the  Kentucky 
courts.  When  we  consider  the  magnitude  of 
the  charges  against  Burr,  and  how  nearly,  at  j 
the  time,  was  the  culmination  of  his  treason- 
able plots,  the  result  of  the  trial  seems 
almost  farcical.  The  majority  of  the  people 
had  become  so  infatuated  with  Burr,  that 
they  would  scarcely  have  believed  in  his 
guilt,  “though  one  arose  from  the  dead”  to 
pi’oclaim  it;  and  to  show  their  disapproval  of 
the  “persecution  of  an  innocent  man,”  a 
grand  ball  was  given  in  Frankfort  in  his 
honor,  and  to  celebrate  his  “triumph  over  his 
enemies.”  This  ball  was  followed  by  anoth- 
er, given  by  the  friends  of  Col.  Daviess,  who 
believed  in  the  truth  of  the  charges  made 
against  Burr.  At  one  of  these  balls  the 
editor  of  the  Western  World  was  attacked, 
and  narrowly  escaped  personal  violence.  Ex- 
citement was  aroused  to  such  a height  that 
small  cause  would  have  brought  on  a collision 
between  the  parties,  disgraceful  as  it  might 
have  proved  fatal.  These  facts  show  the  tone 
of  public  feeling  at  the  time. 

The  treason  of  Burr,  the  falsehoods  he 
indulged  in  to  further  his  ends,  and  the  base 
treachery  with  which  he  treated  those  who 
trusted  him,  have  scarcely  a parallel  in 
modern  history.  His-  declaration  to  Mr. 
Clay  was  made  at  Frankfort  on  the  1st  of 
December,  1806.  On  the  29th  of  July,  pre- 
ceding, he  had  written  to  Wilkinson,  one 
of  his  associates  in  treason:  “I  have  obtained 
funds,  and  have  actually  commenced  the  en- 
terprise. Detachments  from  different  points 
and  on  different  pretenses  will  rendezvous  on 
the  Ohio  on  the  1st  of  November.  Every- 
thing internal  and  external  favors  views . 

Already  are  orders  given  to  contractors  to 
forward  six  months’  provisions  to  any  point 
Wilkinson  may  name.  The  project  is 
brought  to  the  point  so  long  desired.  Burr 
guarantees  the  result  with  his  life  and  honor, 
with  the  lives,  the  fortunes  of  hundreds — the 
best  blood  of  the  country.  Wilkinson  shall 


be  second  only  to  Burr.  Wilkinson  shall 
dictate  the  rank  of  his  officers.  Burr’s  plan 
of  operations  is  to  move  down  rapidly  from 
the  Falls  by  the  15th  of  November,  with  the 
first  five  or  ten  hundred  men,  in  light  boats 
now  constructing,  to  be  at  Natchez  between 
the  5th  and  15th  of  December,  there  to  meet 
Wilkinson  there  to  determine  whether 

it  will  be  expedient  in  the  first  instance,  to 
SEIZE  on,  or  pass  by  Baton  Rouge  ! ” When 
we  compare  this  with  his  solemn  declaration 
to  Mr.  Clay,  nearly  six  months  later,  that 
“he  had  no  design  to  intermeddle  with,  or 
disturb  the  tranquillity  of  the  United  States, 
nor  its  territories,  nor  any  part  of  them;” 
and  that,  “he  did  not  own  a single  musket, 

I nor  bayonet,  nor  any  single  article  of  militai’y 
stores,  nor  did  any  other  person  for  him,  by 
his  authority  or  knowledge,”  etc.,  etc.,  the 
treachery  and  falsehood  of  the  man  stand  re- 
vealed in  the  most  glaring  characters.  Before 
he  wrote  the  above  letter  to  Gen.  Wilkinson, 

I he  had  fully  unfolded  his  treasonable  plot  to 
Gen.  Eaton.  The  latter  gentleman,  on  the 
24th  of  July,  1806,  wi’ote  to  Gen.  Wilkinson 
in  cypher:  “Are  you  ready?  Ai’e  your 

numerous  associates  ready?  Wealth  and 
glory!  Louisiana  and  Mexico!!  ” 

President  Jefferson  issued  his  proclamation 
on  the  25th  day  of  November,  1806  (only  a 
week  before  Biut’s  declaration  to  Clay),  de- 
nouncing the  enterprise,  and  warning  the 
Western  people  against  it.  Mr.  McClung 
thus  concludes  his  sketch  of  the  Burr  con- 
spiracy; “On  the  1st  of  December  (1806),  a 
messenger  from  the  president  arrived  at  the 
seat  of  government  of  Ohio,  and  instantly 
procured  the  passage  of  a law  by  which  ten 
of  Col.  Bm'r’s  boats,  laden  with  provisions 
and  military  stores,  were  seized  on  the 
Muskingum,  before  they  could  reach  the 
Ohio.  At  the  very  moment  that  he  appeared 
in  court,  an  armed  force  in  his  service  occu- 
pied Blennerhassett’s  Island,  and  boats  laden 
with  provisions  and  military  stores  were 
commencing  their  voyage  down  the  river,  and 
passed  Louisville  on  the  16th  of  December. 
Scarcely  was  the  grand  jury  discharged,  and 
the  ball  which  celebrated  his  acquittal  con- 
cluded, when  the  president’s  proclamation 


308 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


reached  Kentucky,  and  a law  was  passed  in 
hot  haste  for  seizing  the  boats  which  had 
escaped  the  militia  of  Ohio,  and  were  then 
descending  the  river.  Burr  had  left  Frank- 
fort about  the  7th,  and  had  gone  to  Nashville. 
The  conclusion  of  this  enterprise  belongs  to 
the  history  of  the  United  States.  But  that 
portion  of  the  drama  which  was  enacted  in 
Kentucky  has  been  detailed  with  some  minute- 
ness as  affording  a rich  and  rare  example  of 
cool  and  calculating  impudence,  and  of  truth, 
loyalty  and  eloquence  most  signally  baffled 
and  put  to  shame  by  the  consummate  art  and 
self-possession  of  this  daring  intriguer.” 
It  is  only  necessary  to  add,  that  upon  the 
the  failure  of  his  designs  on  the  territory  of 
the  United  States,  Burr  continued  his  intrigue 
against  Mexico,  and  went  to  Europe  in  the 
furtherance  of  his  scheme.  Disappointed  at 
every  step,  however,  he  returned  disgusted 
to  the  United  States,  and  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  law  in  New  York.  But  he  never 
gained  his  former  prestige,  and  finally  died 
in  poverty  and  neglect. 

After  the  failure  of  Burr’s  intrigue,  there 
came  a period  of  peace  and  tranquillity,  in 
■which  the  material  growth  and  developement 
of  the  State  were  such  as  it  had  never  before 
known.  Population  rapidly  increased,  manu- 
factories sprang  up,  and  institutions  of  learn- 
ing were  established  in  the  more  thickly  set- 
tled sections.  The  political  quiet  that  fol- 
lowed the  Burr  fiasco  was  at  length  broken 
by  the  Indian  wars  of  the  Northwest,  and  our 
second  war  with  Great  Britain.  These  Indian 
wars,  which  were  carried  on  for  some  time, 
terminated  with  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  No- 
vember 7,  1811,  in  which  a number  of  Ken- 
tucky troops  took  part.  The  battle  was  a 
severe  one,  considering  the  numbers  engaged. 
Kentucky  lost  Col.  Owen  and  the  talented  and 
brave  Col.  Daviess,  who  had  taken  so  promi- 
nent a part  in  the  prosecution  of  Burr. 

Gen.  Charles  Scott  succeeded  Mr.  Greenup 
as  governor  of  Kentucky  in  1808,  and  Ga- 
briel Slaughter  became  lieutenant-governor. 
James  Madison  was  elected  president,  as  the 
successor  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  had  served 
two  terms.  The  relations  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  were  becoming  more 


and  more  critical,  and  the  storm  of  war  seemed 
to  be  rapidly  gathering.  “The  Indian  dis- 
turbances that  led  to  the  Tippecanoe  cam- 
paign,” says  a late  historian,  “were  stimu- 
lated by  the  controversies  that  presaged  the 
war  of  1812.  It  was  only  after  some  years  of 
dispute  that  trouble  came  to  blows,  but  the 
British  and  Canadians  doubtless  aroused  the 
spirit  of  depredation  in  their  willing  allies, 
the  savages,  long  before  war  actually  began.” 
The  most  intense  interest  was  awakened  in 
Kentucky.  Public  meetings  were  held,  elo- 
quent and  fiery  speeches  were  made,  and 
patriotic  resolutions  were  offered  in  great 
profusion.  When  the  attack  was  made  upon 
the  Chesapeake,  by  the  British  ship  Leopard, 
the  outrage  “exasperated  the  American  people 
almost  beyond  control,  and  was  nowhere  more 
fiercely  resented  than  in  Kentucky.” 

The  history  of  the  war  of  1812  belongs  more 
properly  to  the  history  of  the  United  States 
than  of  Kentucky,  but  a history  of  the  latter 
would  not  be  complete  or  satisfactory  with- 
out a brief  glance  at  the  incidents  which 
led  to  this  war,  and  the  part  taken  in  it 
by  Kentuckians.  Briefly  summed  up,  the 
causes  of  the  war  were  as  follows:* 

Being  the  second  maritime  power  in  the  world, 
the  United  States  became  the  carrier  on  the  ocean 
of  a large  portion  of  the  commerce  of  Europe. 
Many  English  seamen,  tempted  by  the  high  wages 
given  bj"  American  merchants,  were  employed  in 
our  commercial  marine;  and  England  claimed  and 
exercised  the  right  of  impressing  her  own  seamen 
wherever  they  might  b^  found.  The  enormous 
navy  which  she  maintained,  required  to  be  supported 
by  constant  impressment;  and  under  color  of  seizing 
her  own  citizens,  she  was  constantly  in  the  habit  of 
stopping  American  merchantmen  and  selecting  from 
the  crew  such  men  as  her  subordinate  officers  chose 
to  consider  English,  Irish  or  Scotch,  and  who  were 
frequently  native  American  citizens.  All  Americans 
upon  tlie  ocean  thus  became  liable  to  be  seized  at 
the  discretion  of  any  British  officer,  and  forced, 
under  the  discipline  of  the  lash,  to  waste  their  lives 
in  the  most  unhealthy  climates,  and  in  the  most  de- 
graded stations.  This  grievance  was  the  subject  of 
protracted  and  bitter  remonstrance,  from  the  ad- 
ministration of  Washington  to  the  opening  of  the 
war;  but  Great  Britain  constantly  refused  to  abandon 
the  right,  or  rather  the  exercise  of  the  power.  * * 
To  the  embittering  grievance  of  impressment, 
was  added,  in  1806  and  1807,  a series  of  paper  block- 
ades. by  means  of  which,  not  only  American  seamen 

*Collins,  Vol.  I,  pp.  296,  297. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


309 


but  American  merchandise  afloat,  became  subject 
to  seizure  and  confiscation  upon  the  high  seas,  under 
circumstances  which  left  the  American  government 
no  choice  but  to  abandon  the  ocean  entirely,  or  sub- 
mit to  a wholesale  plunder  upon  the  seas,  destruc- 
tive to  their  property  and  intolerable  to  national 
pride.  By  these  orders  in  council  the  whole  French 
empire,  with  its  allies  and  dependencies,  then  em- 
bracing nearly  all  of  Europe,  were  declared  in  a 
state  of  blockade.  Any  American  vessel  bound  to 
or  returning  from  any  port  in  any  of  these  countries, 
without  first  stopping  at  an  English  port  and  obtain- 
ing a license  to  prosecute  the  voyage,  was  declared 
a lawful  prize.  This  was  in  retaliation  of  Napo- 
leon’s Berlin  and  Milan  decrees,  wherein  he  had 
declared  the  British  Islands,  their  dependencies  and 
allies,in  a state  of  blockade,  and  had  rendered  every 
vessel  liable  to  confiscation,  which  either  touched 
at  a British  port,  or  was  laden  in  whole,  or  in  part, 
with  British  produce.  This  decree,  however,  was 
in  retaliation  of  a previous  decree  passed  by  the 
English  government  in  1806,  whereby  the  whole 
imperial  coast,  from  Brest  to  the  Elbe,  was  declared 
in  a state  of  blockade. 

All  these  decrees  were  haughty  and  high  handed 
violations  of  [inter] national  law,  which  allows  of  no 
mere  paper  blockades,  and  requires  the  presence  of 
a sufiicient  force  to  render  them  legal.  Between 
these  haughty  belligerents,  no  American  vessel 
could  be  free  from  liability  to  confiscation.  * * 

Both  decrees  were  equally  hostile  to  American  com- 
merce; but  the  English  had  set  the  first  example, 
and  the  practical  operation  of  their  orders  in  council 
was  far  more  destructive  than  Napoleon's  decree. 
One  thousand  American  vessels,  richly  laden,  be- 
came the  prize  of  the  British  cruisers;  irritating 
cases  of  impressment  were  constantly  occurring; 
the  language  of  American  diplomacy  became  daily 
more  angry  and  impatient,  that  of  England  daily 
more  cold  and  haughty,  and  in  June,  1812,  the 
American  congress  declared  war. 

The  Federalist  party,  the  party  to  which 
Washington  adhered,  and  to  which  Adams 
belonged,  opposed  the  war  of  1812.  Its 
great  strength  lay  in  New  England,  where 
the  principles  of  the  Puritans  were  strongly 
engrafted  upon  the  minds  of  the  people. 
This  party,  composed  at  the  time  of  the  mass 
of  intelligence  and  property,  and  a majority 
of  the  religious  strength  of  the  country, 
looked  upon  France  as  a power  hostile  to 
religion  and  freedom,  and  regarded  her 
revolution  with  horror,  and  condemned 
Bonaparte  as  a usurper  and  tyrant.  The 
Democratic  or  Republican  party,  on  the  other 
hand,  sympathized  with  Napoleon,  and 
strongly  and  zealously  advocated  and  favored 
the  war  with  England. 


When  war  was  declared  against  England, 
congress  authorized  the  president  to  levy 
100,000  men.  In  this  levy  the  quota  of 
Kentucky  was  5,500.  Fifteen  hundred  of 
the  number  were  to  be  sent  to  the  aid  of 
Hull  at  Detroit.  These  were  raised  without 
delay,  and  scarcely  had  they  crossed  the 
Ohio,  on  their  way  thither,  when  news  reached 
them  of  Hull’s  surrender.  Soon  after  this 
Gen.  William  Henry  Harrison,  then  governor 
of  the  Indiana  Territory,  was  commissioned 
by  Gov.  Scott,  of  Kentucky,  as  major-general, 
and  placed  in  command  of  the  Kentucky 
troops.  Harrison  moved  swiftly  to  the  North, 
receiving  additional  recruits  to  his  army 
daily  from  both  sides  of  the  Ohio.  The  first 
battle  in  which  the  Kentucky  troops  were 
engaged,  beyond  a few  unimportant  skir- 
mishes with  the  Indians,  was  at  the  River 
Raisin.  Most  of  the  troops  engaged  in  this 
battle  on  the  American  side  were  from  Ken- 
tucky, and  the  sad  result  of  the  engagement 
carried  mourning  to  many  a Kentucky  family. 
The  Americans  were  successful  in  the  first 
battle,  but  were  afterward  attacked  by  a 
large  force  of  British  and  Indians,  under 
Gen.  Procter,  and  though  they  fought  valiantly 
until  their  amunition  was  exhausted,  they 
were  finally  defeated  and  taken  prisoners. 
Under  promise  of  “ honorable  conditions  ” 
they  surrendered;  but  their  wounded,  who 
were  left  without  a sufficient  guard,  to  the 
shame  and  disgrace  of  Proctor  be  it  said, 
were  massacred  by  the  savages  of  his  army. 
This  melancholy  event  was  followed  by  the 
more  discouraging,  and  yet  more  disgraceful, 
campaign  against  the  Illinois  Indians.  Two 
thousand  Kentuckians  under  Gen.  Hopkins, 
in  October,  crossed  the  Wabash  into  the 
Illinois  country  and  proceeded  against  the 
Kickapoo  towns.  After  a long  and  tedious 
march,  their  provisons  gave  out,  and  there 
still  being  no  signs  of  the  Indians,  the  troops 
became  disgusted,  and,  in  spite  of  remon- 
strances of  their  officers,  they  returned  to 
Vincennes. 

Gen.  Harrison’s  defense  of  Fort  Meigs, 
and  Col.  Croghan’s*  defense  of  Fort  Stephen- 
son retrieved,  in  some  degree,  the  disaster  of 

*Pronounced  Crawn. 


310 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Raisin,  and  the  failure  of  Gen.  Hopkins’ 
expedition  against  the  Illinois  Indians.  The 
war  in  the  north,  so  far  as  it  concerned  the 
Kentucky  troops,  closed  with  Com.  Perry’s 
victory  on  Lake  Erie,  and  the  battle  of  the 
Thames.  But  150  Kentuckians  served  under 
Perry  in  his  battle  on  Lake  Erie,  and  as 
volunteers  only  for  the  battle.  In  the  battle 
of  the  Thames  the  British  and  Indians,  about 
2,000  strong,  commanded  by  Gen.  Proctor 
and  Tecumseh,  were  opposed  by  Gen.  Harri- 
son, with  about  3,000  men,  by  far  the  larger 
part  of  whom  were  Kentuckians.  The 
British  and  Indians  were  overwhelmingly 
defeated,  and  Tecumseh,  one  of  the  most 
renowned  Indian  warriors  since  the  days  of 
King  Philip,  was  killed.  Five  brigades  of 
Kentucky  troops,  under  Gens.  Trotter,  Allen, 
Chiles,  Caldwell  and  King  were  engaged  in 
the  battle.  The  brigades  of  Chiles,  Trotter 
and  King  formed  the  division  of  Maj.-Gen. 
Plenry,  those  of  Caldwell  and  Allen  the 
division  of  Maj. -Gen.  Desha.  The  venerable 
Shelby,  who  had  again  been  elected  governor 
of  Kentucky,  was  present  in  person,  and  at 
the  request  of  Gen.  Harrison  commanded  the 
Kentucky  troops.  He  I’emained  on  the  held 
during  the  engagement,  and  directed  all  their 
important  movements. 

The  theater  of  strife  was  now  transferred 
to  another  section  of  the  country.  The 
closing  scene  of  the  war  took  place  at  New 
Orleans.  On  January  8,  1815,  the  most 
brilliant  engfgement  of  the  whole  war  was 
fought  near  that  city,  between  the  British, 
under  Sir  Edward  Pakenham,  and  the 
Americans,  under  Gen.  Jackson.  The  British 
were  12,000  strong,  composed  chi ehy  of  the 


veterans  of  Wellington,  who  had  measured 
strength  with  Napoleon  on  more  than  one 
bloody  held.  Jackson’s  army  was  mostly 
militia,  ragged,  and  but  poorly  armed,  and 
numbered  less  than  6, 000  men.  The  British 
lost,  according  to  their  own  account,  2,070, 
including  Gens.  Pakenham,  Gibbs  and 
Keane,  and  a host  of  other  gallant  officers, 
while  the  American  loss  did  not  exceed  a 
dozen  men,  killed  and  wounded.  A large 
proportion  of  Jackson’s  troops  were  Ken- 
tuckians, and  it  is  only  necessary  to  say, 
they  fought  as  Kentuckians  were  wont  to 
hght,  and  covered  themselves  with  glory  in 
the  unequal  struggle  with  Pakenham’s 
veterans. 

This  was  the  last  battle  of  the  war.  Peace 
had  been  agreed  on,  and  a treaty  signed  at 
Ghent,  some  weeks  prior  to  the  battle,  but 
the  news  had  not  yet  reached  this  country. 
It  came  soon  after,  however,  and  was  hailed 
with  universal  joy,  and  ratified  without 
opposition.  The  people  returned  to  domestic 
pursuits,  and  peace  reigned  throughout  the 
land. 

In  August,  1812,  Gen.  Isaac  Shelby  was 
elected  governor  for  the  second  time, 
and  Richard  Hickman,  lieutenant-governor, 
James  Madison  was  re-elected  president  of 
the.  United  States.  He  carried  Kentucky, 
and  in  the  electoral  college  received  128  of  the 
217  electoral  votes;  the  other  89  being  cast 
for  DeWitt  Clinton.  The  clouds  of  war  that 
came  with  the  beginning  of  these  adminis- 
trations,  and  that  soon  burst  in  wrath  upon 
the  country,  cleared  away  before  their 
close,  and  left  the  country  once  more  to  the 
blessings  of  peace. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


311 


CHAPTEE  XIII. 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  FROM  THE  WAR  OF  1812  TO  1860. 


The  people  of  Kentucky  have  always 
taken  an  active  interest  in  the  political 
history  of  the  country.  They  are  naturally 
politicians.  A newspaper  article  contained 
recently  the  following  caustic  paragraph: 
“Kentuckians  are  too  fond  of  talking  poli- 
tics to  kill  off  anybody  who  can  talk  on  the 
other  side — they  would  rather  keep  him  to 
argue  with.  Give  a Kentuckian  a plug  of 
tobacco  and  a political  antagonist,  and  he 
will  spend  a comfortable  day  wherever  he  is.” 
This  may  be  tinged  with  satire,  but  is  not  al- 
together devoid  of  truth.  Nor  is  it  a re- 
proach  to  the  honesty  and  intelligence  of  the 
masses  that  it  is  true.  The  early  citizens 
were  brought  up  to  rely  upon  their  own 
judgment  in  many  things,  and  to  think  and 
act  for  themselves,  and  this  trait  has  been 
transmitted,  undiminished,  to  their  posterity. 

Political  parties  in  Kentucky  assumed  a 
distinctive  form  during  the  administration 
of  Gen.  Jackson  as  president  of  the  United 
States.  The  events  which  led  to  their  organ- 
ization, however,  may  be  traced  back  to  the 
war  of  1812.  The  old  Federal  party,  which 
bitterly  opposed  President  Jefferson  and  his 
official  acts,  became  extinct  during  that  war, 
never  more  to  be  revived  as  a political 
organization.  The  war  measures  of  President 
Madison  were  generally  and  even  earnestly 
supported  by  the  people  throughout  the 
couotry,  and  in  no  section  of  the  republic 
with  greater  zeal  than  in  Kentucky.  But 
the  close  of  the  war  found  the  country  upon 
the  verge  of  bankimptcy.  Not  alone  in 
Kentucky,  nor  in  the  United  States,  but  in 
the  whole  civilized  world,  financial  depres- 
sion reigned  supreme.  The  French  revolu- 
tion and  the  wars  which  succeeded  it,  were 
the  direct  cause  of  this  “monetary  disorder.  ” 


An  inflated  paper  currency  had  taken  the 
place  of  gold  and  silver  as  a “circulating 
medium,”  and,  as  is  ever  the  case,  greatly 
increased  nominal  values.  But  the  restora- 
tion of  peace  to  Europe,  and  a revival  of  in- 
dustrial pursuits,  together  with  a resumption 
of  specie  payments,  caused  a great  decline  in 
the  “nominal  value  of  commodities,”  and 
spread  ruin,  desolation  and  bankruptcy 
everywhere.  In  Kentucky  was  inaugui’ated 
the  bitterest  political  warfare  ever  known  in 
the  history  of  the  State. 

George  Madison  was  elected  governor  in 
I8l6,  but  died  shortly  after  his  election,  and 
before  he  had  been  installed  into  the  office. 
The  question  now  arose  whether  the  lieuten- 
ant-governor, under  the  provisions  of  the 
constitution,  became  governor,  or  whether 
the  legislature  had  the  legal  right  to  order  a 
new  election.  After  a long  and  heated  dis- 
cussion, the  question  was  decided  against 
the  calling  of  a new  election,  and  the 
lieutenant-governor- elect  (Gabriel  Slaughter) 
became  governor  for  the  full  term  of  four 
years.  Under  his  administration  commenced 
that  great  political  conflict,  which  agitated 
the  State  for  more  than  a decade,  and  ar- 
rayed men  against  each  other  in  tierce 
antagonism  scarcely  equaled  by  the  late 
civil  war.  The  long  financial  pressure  had 
loaded  the  people  with  debt,  and  their  uni- 
versal cry  was  relief  from  the  heavy  burden. 
In  answer  to  their  petition,  the  legislature  at 
a single  session  (1817—18)  chartered  forty 
independent  banks  with  an  aggregate  capital 
of  $10,000,000.  The  act  creating  these 
banks,  with  a painful  lack  of  wisdom,  per- 
mitted them  to  redeem  their  notes  with  the 
paper  of  the  bank  of  Kentucky,  which  was 
then  in  good  credit,  instead  of  in  specie. 


312 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Rev.  John  A.  McClung,*  writing  upon  the 
subject  nearly  thirty  years  later,  says:  “In 
the  summer  of  1818,  the  State  was  flooded 
with  the  paper  of  these  banks.  Their  man- 
agers were  generally  without  experience  or 
knowledge  of  flnance,  and,  in  some  instances, 
destitute  of  common  honesty.  The  conse- 
quences were  such  as  might  have  been 
anticipated.  Speculation  sprang  up  in  all 
directions.  Large  loans  were  rashly  made 
and  rashly  expended.  Most  of  these  bubbles 
exploded  within  a year,  and  few  were  alive 
at  the  end  of  two  years.  In  the  meantime 
the  pressure  of  debt  became  terrible,  and 
the  power  to  replevy  judgments  was  extended 
by  the  legislature  from  three  to  twelve 
months,  by  an  act  passed  at  the  session  of 
1819-20. t During  the  summer  of  1820, 
the  cry  for  further  relief  became  overwhelm- 
ing, and  vast  majorities  of  both  houses  stood 
pledged  to  some  measure  which  should  re- 
lieve the  debtor  from  the  consequences  of 
his  rashness.  The  reign  of  political  quack- 
ery was  in  its  glory.  The  sufferings  of  the 
patient  were  too  acute  to  permit  him  to  listen 
to  the  regular  physician  who  prescribed  time, 
industry  and  economy  as  the  only  honest  and 
just  remedy.  He  turned  eagerly  to  the 
quacks  who  promised  him  instantaneous  re- 
lief, by  infallible  nostrums  and  specifics, 
without  pain,  without  self-denial  and  with- 
out paying  the  penalty  which  nature  always 
imposes  upon  any  gross  violation  of  her 
laws.” 

Gen.  John  Adair  succeeded  Mr.  Slaughter, 
in  1820,  as  governor  of  the  commonwealth. 
He  was  a native  of  South  Carolina,  and  was 
born  in  1757.  He  grew  to  manhood  amid 
the  stirring  scenes  of  the  revolution,  and  in 
1786  came  to  Kentucky,  where  he  at  once 
took  an  active  part  in  the  Indian  wars  of  that 
period.  He  settled  in  Mercer  County.  In 
the  campaign  of  1813,  he  served  as  an  aid  to 
Gov.  Shelby,  and  as  such,  took  part  in  the 
battle  of  the  Thames.  Gov.  Shelby  after- 
ward appointed  him  adjutant-general  of  the 
Kentucky  troops,  and  in  this  position  he 
commanded  them  in  the  battle  of  New  Orleans. 

♦Collins,  Yol.  I,  p.  318. 

fA  subsequent  act  extended  the  time  to  two  years. 


He  seiwed  repeatedly  in  the  legislature,  ant 
was  several  times  elected  its  speaker.  H: 
died  May  19,  1840. 

Gov.  Adair  sympathized  with  the  people 
in  their  financial  distress,  and  recommended, 
to  the  legistature  fui’ther  measures  of  relief. 
At  the  session  of  1820-21,  that  body,  with 
the  governor’s  approval,  chartered  the  Bank 
of  the  Commonwealth.  This  new  financial 
prodigy  was  a kind  of  State  paper-mill, 
whose  chief  and  sole  business  was  to  grind 
out  money  in  endless  profusion.  Its  paper, 
with  no  guarantee  of  redemption  in  specie, 
was  made  payable  and  receivable  for  public 
and  private  debts,  and  for  taxes,  and  the 
creditor,  who  refused  to  receive  it,  in  liquida- 
tion of  his  claim,  was  forced  to  await  two 
years,  under  the  new  law  replevying  debts 
for  that  length  of  time.  Its  only  security 
was  certain  lands  owned  by  the  State,  lying 
south  of  the  Tennessee  River,  which  were 
pledged  for  the  final  redemption  of  its  notes. 
The  writer  already  quoted  from,  further  says  r 

But  these  were  not  the  only  acts  of  this  mad  ses 
sion.  They  had  already  one  bank,  the  old  Bank  of 
Kentucky,  then  in  good  credit,  its  paper  redeema- 
ble in  specie,and  its  stock  at  par,  or  nearly  so.  By  the 
terms  of  its  charter,  the  legislature  had  the  power 
of  electing  a number  of  directors  which  gave  it  the 
control  of  the  board.  This  power  was  eagerly  exer- 
cised during  this  winter.  An  experienced  conserv- 
ative president  and  board  were  turned  out  by  the 
legislature,  and  a president  and  board  elected,  who 
stood  pledged  before  their  election  to  receive  the 
paper  of  the  Bank  of  the  Commonwealth,  in  pay- 
ment of  debts  due  the  Bank  of  Kentucky.  This  was 
no  doubt  intended  to  buoy  up  their  darling  bank  and 
sustain  the  credit  of  its  paper.  But  the  effect  was 
instantly  to  strike  down  the  stock  of  the  Bank  of 
Kentucky  to  one-half  its  nominal  value,  and  to  en- 
tail upon  it  eternal  suspension  of  specie  payments. 
The  paper  of  the  new  bank  sank  rapidly  to  one-half 
its  par  value,  and  the  creditor  had  his  choice  of  two 
evils.  One  was  to  receive  one-half  his  debt  in  pay- 
ment of  the  whole,  and  the  other,  was  to  receive 
nothing  at  all  for  two  years,  and  at  the  end  of  that 
time,  to  do  the  best  he  could,  running  the  risk  of 
new  delays,  and  of  bankruptcy  of  his  securities. 
Great  was  the  indignation  of  the  creditor,  at  this 
wholesale  confiscation  of  his  property,  and  society 
rapidly  arranged  itself  into  two  parties,  called  “relief” 
and  “anti-relief.”  With  the  first  party,  were  the  great 
mass  of  debtors,  and  some  brilliant  members  of  the 
bar,  such  as  John  Rowan,  William  T.  Barry,  Solo- 
mon P.  Sharp  and  Rezin  Davidge.  A great  major- 
ity of  the  voting  population  swelled  the  ranks,  and 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


313 


was  countenanced  by  the  governor,  and  furnished 
with  plausible  arguments  by  the  eminent  lawyers 
already  named,  to  whom  may  be  added  the  name  of 
George  M.  Bibb.*  With  the  anti-relief  party,  were 
ranged  nearly  all  the  mercantile  class,  and  a major- 
ity of  the  bar  and  bench,  and  most  of  the  better 


*George  M.  Bibb,  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  relief  party,  was 
a man  noted  in  the  political  history  of  Kentucky.  As  a lawyer, 
jurist  and  statesman,  he  was  equally  distinguished.  He  was  a 
native  of  Virginia,  and  was  born  in  Prince  Edward  County,  in 
1776.  He  was  a graduate  of  both  Hampden  Sydney,  and  Will- 
iam and  Mary  Colleges.  He  studied  law  with  Richard  Venable, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Virginia.  In  179S,  he  came  to 
Lexington,  where  he  soon  distinguished  himself  as  an  able  law- 
yer. He  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Greenup,  a judge  of  the  appelate 
court  in  1808,  and  by  Gov.  Scott,  its  chief  justice  in  1809,  but 
resigned  the  next  year.  He  was  again  appointed  by  Gov.  Desha 
in  1827,  and  resigned  in  1828.  He  wastwice  elected  to  theXJnited 
States  senate,  first  in  1811,  and  again  in  1829.  From  18.35  to 
1840,  he  was  chancellor  of  the  Louisville  Chancery  Court,  but 
resigned  it  for  the  secretaryship  of  the  treasuryin  PresidentTy- 
ler's  cabinet.  From  that  time  until  his  death  in  1859,  he  prac- 
ticed law  in  the  District  of  Columbia 

William  T.  Barry,  the  chief-justice  of  the  “new  court  of 
appeals  ” was  a Virginian  by  birth,  and  came  to  Lexington  in 
early  life,  where  he  soon  became  a leading  member  of  the  bar. 
In  1820  he  was  elected  lieutenant-governor,  under  Gen.  Adair. 
While  in  this  position,  the  old  and  new  coui-t  controversy  came 
up,  and  with  all  his  energies  he  engaged  in  the  strife.  Upon  the 
reorganization  of  the  court  of  appeals,  he  was  appointed  its 
chief-justice,  and  although  his  position  proved  to  be  unpopular 
in  the  end,  he  discharged  the  duties  of  chief-justice  with  dig- 
nity and  honor.  He  was  defeated  in  1828  for  governor  by  Gen. 
Metcalfe.  Lexington  continued  to  be  his  home,  until  the  acces- 
sion of  Gen.  Jackson  to  the  presidency,  when  he  removed  to 
Washington  City,  and  became  postmaster-general  in  Jackson’s 
cabinet.  In  1835  he  was  appointed  minister  to  Spain,  and  on 
his  way  there,  was  seized  with  a sudden  illness  at  Liverpool, 
England,  which  terminated  in  his  death,  at  the  early  age  of  fif- 
ty-two years.  In  November.  18.54,  his  remains  were  interred  in 
the  State  Cemetery  at  Frankfort. 

John  Rowan,  the  able  coadjutor  of  Judge  Bibb,  in  the  re- 
lief measures,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1773.  His  father 
came  to  Louisville  in  1783,  but  the  following  year  removed  to 
Long  Falls,  on  Green  River.  Young  Rowan  received  his  educa- 
tion in  a classical  school  at  Bardstown;  studied  law  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  at  Lexington  in  1795  He  early  engaged  in 
politic^  and  was  a member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of 
1799.  Gov.  Greenup  appointed  him  secretary  of  state  in  1804, 
and  in  1806,  he  was  elected  to  congress;  also  served  sev- 
eral terms  in  the  State  legislature.  In  1819,  together  with  Henry 
Clay,  he  was  appointed  by  the  legislature  to  defend  the  “ occupy- 
ing claimant  laws”  of  Kentucky,  in  the  supreme  court  of  the 
LTnited  States.  IVith  his  characteristic  zeal,  he  threw  his  great 
talents  into  the  relief  and  anti-relief  controversy,  as  the  cham- 
pion ofthe  new  court  of  appeals,  and  with  Bibh,'Sharp  and  oth- 
ers, carried  their  cause  over  all  opposition  He  was  elected  to 
the  United  States  senate  in  1 824.  He  died  in  Louisville  in  1843, 
in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age. 

Solomon  P.  Sharp,  another  of  the  active  supporters  of  the 
new  court  of  appeals,  was  of  humble  origin,  and  his  family  poor 
and  obscure.  They  settled  in  Russellville,  when  he  was  but  a 
child,  and  where  he  grew  to  manhood  Through  his  own  e.xer- 
tions  mainly,  he  received  a good  education,  studied  law,  and  at 
the  age  of  nineteen,  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  was  elected  to  the 
legislature,  as  soon  as  his  age  would  permit  him  to  take  a seat 
in  that  body,  and  at  twenty-four,  was  considered  one  of  the  first 
{tublic  men  of  the  commonwealth.  After  several  terms  in  the 
btate  legislature,  he  was  elected  to  congress,  and  re-elected  to  a 
second  term.  He  was  the  intim.ate  friend  of  John  C.  Calhoun, 
and  stood  side  by  side  with  him  in  support  of  Mr.  Madison’s 
administration.  He  removed  to  Frankfort,  to  practice  his  pro- 
fession in  the  higher  courts,  and  in  1825,  while  still  a young 
man,  fell  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin. 

•Tohn  Trimble,  oneofthe  a.ssociate  judges  of  the  new  court 
of  appeals,  was  a native  Kentnckian,  and  was  born  December  4, 
1783.  At  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  was  appointed  secretary  to 
Robert  Evans,  governor  ofthe  Indiana  Territory,  and  resided  two 
years  at  Vincennes.  He  returned  hotue  and  studied  law  with 
George  Nicholas,  one  of  the  most  eminent  jurists  of  Kentucky. 
He  practiced  at  Paris  from  1807  to  1S!6,  when  he  was  appointed 
to  the  circuit  bench,  and  removed  to  Cynthiana.  Gov.  Desha 
appointed  him  the  third  judge  of  the  new  court  of  appeals,  but 
he  soon  resigned  the  position.  He  was  tendered  the  appoint- 
ment of  United  States  judge  for  the  district  of  Kentucky,  by 
President  John  Quincy  Adams,  but  declined  it.  He  died  in  18.52, 
at  the  age  of  sixty  years. 

Judges  Haggin  and  Davidge,  the  two  remaining  judges  oI 
the  new  court  of  appeals,  were  able  lawyers  and  jurists.  They 
never,  however,  attained  to  as  high  judicial,  orpolitical  distinc- 
tion, as  some  of  their  colleagnes  in  these  exciting  times.  Judge 
Davidge  occupied  the  circuit  bench  for  many  years,  and  died  in 
Hopkinsville,  at  an  advanced  age.  Judge  Haggin  filled  no 
prominent  public  station,  except  that  of  judge  of  the  court  of 
appeals.  He  died  in  Lexington  in  1835,  while  still  in  the  prime 
of  life. 


class  of  farmers.  The  mass  of  property  and  intel- 
ligence was  drawn  up  in  array,  against  the  mass  of 
numbers,  and  an  angry  conflict  commenced  in  the 
newspapers,  upon  the  stump,  in  the  taverns  and 
highways,  which  gradually  invaded  private  and 
domestic  circles.  Robert  Wickliffe,  of  Fayette 
County;  George  Robertson, since  chief -justiceof  Ken- 
tucky, then  an  eminent  lawyer  of  Garrard  County, 
and  Chilton  Allan,  an  eminent  lawyer  of  Clark 
County,  were  early  engaged  in  the  conflict,  and  were 
regarded  as  leaders  of  the  anti-relief  party. 

This  was  the  beginnincr  of  the  relief  and 
anti -relief  measures,  and  the  origin  of  the 
organization  known  as  the  old  court  and  new 
court  parties.  No  stronger  partisan  feeling, 
no  bitterer  political  warfare,  ever  raged  in 
Kentucky,  than  was  inaugurated  and  carried 
on  under  these  spirited  battle-cries.  The 
reckless  relief  act  of  the  legislature  was  con- 
demned by  the  more  calm  and  conservative 
element,  as  imconstitutional.  A test  case 
was  soon  brought  before  the  circuit  court, 
and  Judge  Clark,  an  able  jurist  of  Clark 
County,  in  whose  court  it  was  presented, 
decided  the  act  in  direct  violation  of  the 
constitution  and  so  rendered  his  verdict. 
This  decision  brought  down  upon  him  the 
indignation  of  the  relief  party,  and  he  was 
soon  summoned  to  appear  before  the  “ judg- 
ment bar”  of  the  legislature  to  answer  for 
the  offense.  A special  session  was  convened 
in  the  spring  of  1822,  and  strenuous  efforts 
were  made  to  remove  Judge  Clark,  but  he 
boldly  defended  his  opinion  with  reason  and 
firmness,  and  for  once,  at  least,  right  pre- 
vailed over  might.  But  his  triumph  was  of 
short  duration.  A lack  of  the  constitutional 
majority  in  the  legislature,  and  suggestions 
from  cooler  heads  to  await  the  decision  of 
the  supreme  court,  alone  saved  him  from  a 
summary  dismissal  from  his  office.  Judge 
Clark,  amid  all  this  excitement  and  pressure, 
adhered  to  his  decision,  and  stood  firmly 
upon  its  merits.  Judge  Blair,  of  Fayette 
County,  soon  came  to  his  support  in  an  able 
and  learned  opinion  of  similar  import.  This 
“refractory  spirit  of  the  inferior  judiciary” 
enraged  the  relief  people,  and  called  forth 
still  harsher  and  severer  efforts  to  carry  out 
their  views.  A recent  winter  upon  this  excit- 
ing subject  says:  “No  State  has  made  more 

serious  mistakes  in  governmental  affairs  than 


S14 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Kentucky.  We  shall  see  that,  one  by  one, 
she  exhausted  the  follies  that  it  was  possible 
for  a developing  community  to  commit,  but 
we  shall  also  see  that  they  profited  by  their 
painful  experience.”  So  it  was  in  this  case. 
The  relief  party  persisted  in  their  policy 
until  the  State  was  brought  to  the  brink  of 
ruin,  and  then  came  the  reaction. 

After  the  failure  on  the  part  of  the  legis- 
lature to  remove  Judge  Clark,  all  parties 
awaited,  with  intense  interest,  the  decision 
of  the  supreme  court.  That  august  body  was 
composed  of  John  Boyle,  chief  justicej  and 
William  Owsley  and  Benjamin  Mills,  asso- 
ciate judges.  The  friends  of  the  relief  meas- 
ures endeavored  to  frighten  them  into  a 
decision  favorable  to  their  party,  but  to  their 
credit,  be  it  spoken,  without  success.  At  the 
fall  term  of  the  coui’t  in  1823,  the  question 
came  before  them  in  the  case  of  Lapsley  vs. 
Brashear,  and  disregarding  the  threats  of 
vengeance  hurled  at  them,  should  they  dare 
to  thwart  the  “will  of  a majority  of  the  peo- 
ple,” they  delivered  separate  opinions,  but 
all  concurring  with  their  brethren  in  the 
circuit  court,  in  the  conclusion,  that  “those 
statutes,  so  far  as  they  retroacted  on  con- 
tracts depending  for  their  effect  on  the  law  of 
Kentucky,  were  inconsistent  with  that  clause 
in  the  Federal  constitution,  which  prohibits 
the  legislature  of  the  several  States  in  the 
Union  from  passing  any  act  ‘impairing  the 
obligation  of  contracts,’  and  also,  of  course, 
with  the  similar  pi’ovision  in  the  constitution 
of  Kentucky,  inhibiting  any  such  enactment 
by  the  legislature  of  this  State.  A more 
grave  and  eventful  question  could  not  have 
been  presented  to  the  court  for  its  umpirage. 
It  subjected  to  a severe,  but  decisive  ordeal, 
the  personal  integrity,  firmness  and  intelli- 
gence of  the  judges,  and  the  value  of  that 
degree  of  judicial  independence  and  stabil- 
ity contemplated  by  the  constitution.  The 
question  involved  was  new  and  vexed;  and  a 
majority  of  the  people  of  the  State  had 
approved,  and  were,  as  they  seemed  to  think, 
vitally  interested  in  maintaining  their  consti- 
tutional power  to  enact  such  remedial  stat- 
utes.”* This  opinion  was  received  by  the 


relief  party  with  a tempest  of  rage,  and  the 
conflict  was  renewed  with  greater  fury  than 
before.  Efforts  were  made  to  remove  the 
judges  by  act  of  the  legislature,  and  the 
issue  involved  in  the  election  of  1824  was 
made  upon  these  grounds 

The  judges  composing  the  court  of  appeals, 
John  Boyle,  William  Owsley  and  Benjamin 
Mills,  were  among  the  ablest  lawyers,  and 
jurists  of  Kentucky.  Of  them,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  McClung  remarked:  “These  gentlemen 
had  passed  the  meridian  of  life,  and  had 
been  drilled  for  a long  series  of  years  to  the 
patient  and  abstract  severity  of  judicial 
investigation.  In  simplicity  and  purity  of 
character,  in  profound  legal  knowledge,  and 
in  Roman -like  firmness  of  purpose,  the  old 
court  of  appeals  of  Kentucky  have  seldom 
been  surpassed.” 

John  Boyle,  the  chief  justice,  was  born  in 
Virginia,  in  1774,  and  like  many  of  the 
great  men  of  the  countiy,  he  rose  to  emi- 
nence, principally  through  his  own  exertions, 
from  the  humblest  circumstances.  His  fam- 
ily was  poor  and  obscure,  and  he  was  early 
thrown  upon  his  own  resources.  In  1779 
his  father  came  to  Whitley’s  Station  in  Ken- 
tucky, but  soon  after  removed  to  Garrard 
County.  Young  Boyle’s  education  was  good 
for  that  early  period.  He  received  instruc- 
tion in  the  languages  from  Rev.  Samuel 
Finley,  a Presbyterian  minister.  He  studied 
law  with  Thomas  Davis,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  Mercer  County.  In  1802  he  was 
elected  to  congress,  and  twice  afterward  re- 
elected, declining  the  canvass  for  a fourth 
term.  He  was  appointed  by  President  Madi- 
son the  first  governor  of  Illinois  after  its 
organization  into  a territory,  but  declined 
the  appointment.  In  1809  he  was  placed 
upon  the  appellate  bench,  and  in  1810  be- 
came the  chief  justice  of  the  appellate  court, 
which  trust  he  held  with  honor  for  sixteen 
years.  Upon  the  reorganization  of  the 
court,  and  the  accession  to  power  of  the  new 
court  party.  Judge  Boyle  resigned,  but  was 
soon  after  appointed,  by  the  national  govern- 
ment, district  judge  of  Kentucky.  This  position 
he  held  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1835. 
During  the  last  year  of  his  life  he  was  pro- 


'=^J’-.dge  Robertson  lu  C’ollins’  History,  Yol  I,  p.  495. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


315 


fessor  of  law  in  the  Transylvania  Uni- 
versity. 

William  Owsley  was  a native  of  Virginia, 
born  in  1782,  and  the  year  following,  his 
father  emigrated  to  Lincoln  County,  Ky. 
His  advantages  were  limited,  but  by  energy 
and  industry  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
good  common  school  education.  He  taught 
school,  became  deputy  county  surveyor,  dep- 
uty sheriff,  and  held  other  positions  of  im- 
portance. He  studied  law  with  Chief  Justice 
Boyle,  and  commenced  practice  in  Garrard 
County;  was  several  times  sent  from  that 
county  to  the  legislature,  and  at  the  age  of 
thirty-one  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Scott,  a 
judge  of  the  court  of  appeals.  He  resigned 
in  a short  time,  but  was  reappointed  by 
Gov.  Shelby  in  1813.  In  1844  he  was 
elected  governor  over  William  O.  Butler, 
after  a most  exciting  campaign,  and  by  the 
largest  vote  polled  in  the  State  up  to  that 
time.  He  moved  to  Frankfort  for  the  pur- 
pose of  practicing  his  profession  in  the 
higher  courts  of  the  State,  but  finally  pur- 
chased a farm  in  Boyle  County  and  retired 
from  active  life.  He  died  on  December  9, 
1862,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 

Benjamin  Mills  was  born  in  Maryland, 
1779,  and  received  a liberal  education. 
While  still  a mere  youth,  he  was  called  to 
the  presidency  of  Washington  Academy,  at 
Washington,  Penn.,  which  institution  soon 
after  became  Washington  College.  He  came 
with  his  father’s  family  to  Bourbon  County, 
and  relinquishing  the  study  of  medicine, 
which  he  had  begun  sometime  before,  took 
up  the  profession  of  the  law.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  and  commenced  practice  at 
Paris,  about  the  year  1806.  He  represented 
Botu’bou  County  several  terms  in  the  legis- 
lature, and  in  1817  was  appointed  to  the 
circuit  bench.  In  1820  he  was  appointed  a 
judge  of  the  appellate  court,  a position  he 
held  until  1828,  when  he  retired.  He  re- 
moved to  Frankfort  the  better  to  enable  him 
to  devote  his  time  to  practice  in  the  superior 
courts,  and  continued  to  reside  at  the  capital, 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1831, 
from  a stroke  of  apoplexy. 

The  great  excitement  which  followed  the 
decision  of  the  court  of  appeals  is  very 


graphically  described  by  Mr.  McClung  in 
Collins’  History,  from  which  article  quota- 
tions have  already  been  made.  The  follow- 
ing extract,  not  only  readable  but  interesting, 
is  from  the  same  source: 

The  great  majority  had  been  accustomed  to  make 
and  unmake,  to  set  up  and  pull  down,  at  its  sover- 
eign will  and  pleasure.  Presidents,  governors,  sen- 
ators, representatives,  had  long  been  the  creatures 
of  its  power,  and  the  flatterers  of  its  caprice.  James 
I,  had  not  a more  exalted  notion  of  his  divine 
prerogative  than  the  great  majority  had  of  its  un- 
doubted right  to  govern.  The  power  of  the  judi- 
ciary had  heretofore  been  so  unobtrusive,  that  its 
extent  and  importance  had  escaped  attention,  and 
the  masses  were  startled  to  find  three  plain  citizens 
could  permanently  arrest  the  action  and  thwart  the 
wishes  of  that  majority,  before  which,  presidents, 
governors,  and  congresses,  bowed  with  implicit 
submission.  Many  good,  honest  citizens  looked 
upon  it  as  monstrous,  unnatural,  unheard-of,  in  a 
Republican  government.  It  shocked  all  the  notions 
of  liberty  and  democracy  which  had  grown  with 
their  growth,  and  violently  wounded  that  sense  of 
importance  allied  to  arrogance,  wliich  always  at- 
tends a long  exercise  of  unresisted  power. 

The  judiciary,  by  the  constitution,  held  their 
ofiices  during  good  behavior.  Nothing  less  than 
two-thirds  of  both  houses  could  remove  them. 
Could  they  hope  to  obtain  this  majority?  The  can- 
vass of  1824  was  conducted  with  the  hope  of  such 
result.  Gen.  Joseph  Deslia  was  the  candidate  of 
the  relief  party  for  governor,  and  canvassed  the 
State  with  that  energj'  and  partisan  vehemence,  for 
which  he  was  remarkable.  He  was  elected  by  an 
overwhelming  majority.*  A vast  majority  of  both 
houses  were  of  the  relief  party.  The  governor  and 
the  legislature  met  in  December  with  passion  heated 
by  the  fierce  canvass  through  which  they  had 
passed,  and  the  unsparing  wounds  which  they  had 
received  from  their  enemies.  The  sword  was  fairly 
drawn,  and  the  scabbard  had  been  thrown  away  by 
both  parties.  So  exasperated  were  the  passions, 
that  the  minority  was  as  little  disposed  to  ask  quar- 
ter, as  the  majority  was  to  give  it.  The  three 
judges  were  summoned  before  the  legislative  bar, 
and  calmly  assigned  reasons  at  length,  for  their  de- 
cision. These  reasons  were  replied  to  with  great 
speciousness  and  subtlety;  for  the  great  talents  of 
Rowan,  Bibb  and  Barry  were  at  the  command  of 
the  relief  party,  and  their  manifestoes  were  skill- 
fully drawn.  A vote  was  at  length  taken,  and  the 
constitutional  majority  of  two-thirds  could  not  be 
obtained.  The  minority  exulted  in  the  victor}’  of 
the  judges. 

But  their  adversaries  were  too  much  inflamed  to 
be  diverted  from  their  purpose  by  ordinary  impedi- 


*Gen.  Desha  received  .38,378  votes,  and  his  opponent,  Chris- 
topher Thompson,  22,499  votes. 


31G 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


ments.  The  edict  “Delenda  est  Carthago, ” had 
gone  forth,  and  the  party,  rapidly  recovering  from 
their  first  defeat,  renevred  the  assault  in  a formida- 
ble direction,  which  had  not  been  foreseen,  and 
when  success  was  clearly  within  their  reach.  The 
majority  could  not  remove  the  judges  by  impeach- 
ment or  address,  because  their  majority,  though 
large,  was  not  two-thirds  of  each  house.  But  they 
could  repeal  the  act  by  which  the  court  of  appeals 
had  been  organized,  and  could  pass  an  act  organiz- 
ing the  court  anew.  The  judges  would  follow  the 
court,  as  in  the  case  of  the  district  court  and  court 
of  quarter  sessions,  and  a bare  majority  would 
suffice  to  pass  the  act.  A bill  to  this  effect  was 
drawn  up,  and  debated  with  intense  excitement, 
during  three  days  and  three  proti-acted  night  ses- 
sions. Wickliffe  denounced  the  party  with  fierce 
and  passionate  invective,  as  trampling  upon  the 
constitution,  deliberately,  knowingly  and  wickedly. 
Rowan  replied  with  cold  and  stately  subtlety,  per- 
plexing, when  he  could  not  convince,  and  sedulously 
confounding  the  present  act  with  the  repeal  of  the 
district  court,  and  with  the  action  of  congress,  in 
repealing  the  Federal  court  system,  and  displacing 
its  judges  by  a bare  majority.  On  the  last  night 
the  debate  was  protracted  until  past  midnight.  The 
galleries  were  crowded  with  sjrectators  as  strongly 
excited  as  the  members.  The  governor  and  Lieut. - 
Gov.  McAfee  were  present  upon  the  floor,  and 
mingled  with  the  members.  Both  displayed  intense 
excitement,  and  the  governor  was  heard  to  urge  the 
calling  of  the  previous  question.  Great  disorder 
prevailed  and  an  occasional  clap  and  hiss  were  heard 
in  the  galleries.  The  bill  was  passed  by  a large 
majority  in  the  house  of  representatives,  and  by  a 
nearly  equal  majority  in  the  senate.  No  time  was 
lost  in  organizing  the  new  court,  which  consisted  of 
four  judges.  William  T.  Barry  was  chief  justice, 
and  John  Trimble,  James  Haggin  and  Rezin 
Davidge  were  associate  justices.  Francis  P.  Blair 
was  appointed  clerk,  and  took  forcible  possession  of 
the  records  of  Achilles  Sneed,  the  old  clerk.  The 
old  court,  in  the  meantime,  denied  the  constitution- 
ality of  the  act,  and  still  continued  to  sit  as  a court 
of  appeals  and  decide  such  causes  as  were  brought 
before  them.  A great  majority  of  the  bar  of  Ken- 
tucky recognized  them  as  the  true  court,  and 
brought  their  causes  by  appeal  before  their  tribunal. 
A great  majority  of  the  circuit  judges,  also,  obeyed 
their  mandates  as  implicitly  as  if  no  organizing  act 
had  passed.  A certain  proportion  of  cases,  how- 
ever, were  taken  by  the  new  court,  and  some  of  the 
circuit  judgesobeyed  their  mandates  exclusively,  re- 
fusing to  recognize  the  old  court.  A few  judges 
obeyed  both,  declining  to  decide  which  was  the  true 
court. 

This  judicial  anarchy  could  not  possibly  endure. 
The  people,  as  the  final  arbiter,  was  again  appealed 
to  by  both  parties,  and  the  names  of  relief  and 
anti-relief  became  merged  in  the  title  of  old  court 
and  new  court.  Great  activity  was  exerted  in  the 
canvass  of  1825,  and  never  were  the  passions  of  the  I 


people  more  violently  excited.  The  result  was- 
the  triumph  of  the  old  court  party  by  a large 
majority  in  the  popular  branch  of  the  legislature, 
while  the  senate  still  remained  attached  to  the  new 
court;  the  new  popular  impulse  not  having  had  time 
to  remove  it.  In  consequence  of  this  difference* 
between  the  political  complexion  of  the  two  houses, 
the  reorganizing  act  still  remained  unrepealed,  and 
the  canvass  of  1826  saw  both  jiarties  again  arrayed 
in  a final  struggle  for  the  command  of  the  senate. 
The  old  court  party  again  triumphed,  and  at  the  en- 
suing session  of  the  legislature,  the  obnoxious  act 
was  repealed,  the  opinion  of  the  governor  to  the 
contrary,  notwithstanding,*  and  the  old  judges  re- 
established, de  facto  as  well  as  de  jure.  Their 
salaries  were  voted  to  them,  during  the  period  of 
their  forcible  and  illegal  removal,  and  all  the  acts 
of  the  new  court  have  ever  been  treated  as  a nullity. 

Thus,  after  a brief  season,  peace  and  tran- 
quillity had  been  restored.  For  months  the 
State  was  trembling  upon  the  brink  of  a 
heaving  volcano,  and  but  for  the  “consider- 
ate prudence”  of  the  old  court  leaders,  there 
might  have  been  precipitated  upon  the  peo- 
ple a bloody  revolution.  The  struggle 
between  the  contending  elements  had  certain 
very  important  effects  upon  the  political  life 
of  the  commonwealth.  Upon  this  exciting 
and  agitating  question,  Chief  Justice  Robert- 
son said;  “The  memorable  contest  between 
the  constitution  and  the  passions  of  a popu- 
lar majority — between  the  judicial  and  legis- 
lative departments — proves  the  efficacy  of 
Kentucky’s  constitutional  structure,  and  il- 
lustrates the  reason  and  the  importance  of 
that  system  of  judicial  independence,  which 
it  guarantees.  It  demonstrates  that,  if  the 
appellate  judges  had  been  dependent  on  a 
bare  majority  of  the  people,  or  their  repre- 
sentatives, the  constitution  would  have  been 
paralyzed,  justice  dethroned  and  property 
subjected  to  rapine  by  tumultuary  passions 
and  numerical  power.  And  its  incidents  and 
results  not  only  commend  to  the  gratitude  of 
the  living  and  unborn  the  proscribed  judges 
and  the  efficient  compatriots  who  dedicated 
their  time  and  talents  for  years  to  the  rescue 
of  the  constitution,  but  also  impressively  il- 
lustrate the  object  and  efficacy  of  the  funda- 
mental limitations  of  the  will  of  the 
majority — that  is,  the  ultimate  prevalence  of 
reason  over  passion,  of  truth  over  error. 


*The  act  was  passed  over  Gov.  Desha’s  veto. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


317 


’which,  in  popular  governments,  is  the  sure 
offspring  only  of  time  and  sober  delibera- 
tion, which  it  is  the  object  of  constitutional 
checks  to  insure.  ” Another  writer  upon  the 
subject,  nearly  forty  years  later,  says:  “The 
question  before  the  court,  in  its  legal 
aspect,  turned  upon  the  clause  of  the  Federal 
constitution  that  forbade  the  impairment  of 
contracts,  though  the  immediate  victory  was 
gained  on  other  and  more  special  legal 
grounds.  But  there  was  a nearer  and  sim- 
pler question,  one  of  honesty  in  the  manage- 
ment of  public  affairs,  which  was  the  part 
debated  before  the  people,  and  on  which  they 
gave  their  decision  in  an  unmistakable  way. 
This  debate  may  be  fairly  regarded  as  a 
turning  point  in  the  politics  of  the  State. 
The  election,  which  gave  the  relief  party  its 
overwhelming  majority  in  the  legislature  of 
1824,  and  elected  Desha  governor  by  a vote 
of  38,000  to  22,000  for  his  opponent,  repre- 
sents the  uninformed  and  rash  state  of  public 
opinion.  The  reversal  of  this  vote  in  the 
following  year  shows  an  extraordinary  revo- 
lution of  sentiment.  It  shows  a moral 
awakening  which  was  full  of  promise,  and 
one  that  time  has  justified.  From  this  time 
on,  the  State  has  always  inclined  to  conser- 
vative ways.  In  the  end  the  controversy 
between  the  old  and  new  courts  was  very 
wholesome,  since  it  showed  the  people  the 
way  in  which  grave  dangers  lay.  That  the 
people  of  the  commonwealth  met  the  emer- 
gency in  a manly  fashion,  promptly  recon- 
sidering their  first  steps  when  they  had  a 
chance  to  see  whereto  they  led,  and  in  the 
end  found  a position  on  firm  ground,  is  a 
matter  of  satisfaction  to  all  who  hold  the 
name  of  Kentucky  dear.” 

George  Robertson  and  Robert  Wickliffe 
were  among  the  most  eminent  and  zealous 
advocates  of  the  anti-relief  party,  and  to 
their  exertions  was  due,  in  no  small  degree, 
its  ultimate  success.  Mr.  Robertson  was  a 
native  of  the  State,  and  was  born  in  1790,  in 
Mercer  County.  After  receiving  a liberal 
education  he  studied  law  with  Samuel  McKee, 
and  in  1809  was  licensed  to  practice  by 
Judges  Boyle  and  "Wallace.  He  served  re- 
peatedly in  the  State  legislature,  and  in  the 


lower  house  of  the  Federal  congress,  and  de- 
clined many  high  and  important  positions, 
preferring  to  devote  his  talents  to  the  prac- 
tice of  his  chosen  profession,  rather  than  to 
breast  the  storms  of  political  life.  For 
fourteen  years  he  was  chief  justice  of  the 
court  of  appeals,  and  his  judicial  decisions 
are  the  embodiment  of  profound  learning 
and  research.  Says  his  biographer:  “His 
law  lectui’es  and  political  essays,  his  legal 
opinions  as  contained  in  the  Kentucky 
Reports,  speak  for  themselves,  evincing  at 
once  depth  of  thought,  laborious  research, 
accurate  discrimination  and  sound  philoso 
phy.”  He  was  a member  of  the  legislature 
during  the  relief  and  anti-relief  party. 
Judge  Robertson  was  a great  lawyer,  a pro- 
found jurist  and  a wise  statesman.  He  died 
at  his  home  in  Lexington,  May  16,  1874,  in 
the  eighty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 

Robert  Wickliffe  belonged  to  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  families  of  Kentucky. 
He  was  born  in  1775  at  Redstone,  Penn.,  dur- 
ing the  stay  of  his  parents  there,  on  their 
way  from  Prince  William  County,  Va.,  to 
Kentucky.  He  studied  law  with  George 
Nicholas,  was  admitted  to  practice,  and  soon 
became  a leading  lawyer  at  the  bar.  He,  like 
Judge  Robertson,  preferred  the  practice  of 
law  to  the  excitement  of  political  life,  and  so 
far  as  possible  shunned  its  fitful  honors.  But 
notwithstanding  his  distaste  for  polities,  he 
was  elected  to  the  legislature  from  Fayette 
County  several  successive  terms,  and  to  the 
State  senate.  In  the  latter  body,  he  served 
from  1825  to  1833.  His  legislative  service 
embraced  one  of  the  stormiest  periods  in  the 
political  history  of  the  State — the  relief  and 
anti-relief  warfare.  Mr.  Wickliffe  distin- 
guished himself  as  a leader  and  champion  of 
the  anti-relief  and  old  court  parties,  and  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  overthrow  of  the  new 
court  of  appeals.  He  was  an  able  and  suc- 
cessful lawyer,  and  amassed  a handsome 
fortune.  He  died  in  1859  at  an  advanced  age. 

The  final  triumph  of  the  old  court  party 
occasioned  a feeling  of  relief  and  satisfaction 
throughout  the  State.  The  factions  quietly 
acquiesced  in  the  verdict  of  the  people,  and 
for  some  time  party  lines  stood  near  where 


318 


HISTOR'S  OF  KENTUCKY. 


they  had  been  placed  by  this  spirited  conflict. 
But  the  people  soon  turned  their  attention 
from  local  questions  to  the  more  extended 
field  of  national  politics.  The  presidential 
campaign  of  1824  had  been  the  most  exciting 
since  the  formation  of  the  republic,  except- 
ing perhaps  that  of  1800,  which  resulted  in 
the  election  of  Mr.  Jefferson  over  the  elder 
Adams,  and  to  the  questions  awakened  by 
that  campaign  they  now  turned  with  an 
interest  but  little  diminished  from  that  they 
had  displayed  in  the  contest  between  the  old 
and  new  courts.  The  candidates  for  presi- 
dent in  the  election  of  1824  were  Henry 
Clay,  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson,  John  Quincy 
Adams  and  William  H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia. 
Each  of  these  distinguished  gentlemen  had 
his  friends,  who  supported  their  favorite  can- 
didate from  personal  preference  and  not  from 
party  predilection.  None  of  them,  however, 
had  a majority  of  the  votes  of  the  electoral 
college,*  and  under  the  constitutional  rule, 
upon  the  house  of  representatives  devolved 
the  duty  of  making  choice  of  president,  each 
State,  by  its  delegation  in  congress,  casting 
one  vote.  Gen.  Jackson  led  Mr.  Adams  in 
the  electoral  college  by  a small  plurality; 
Mr.  Crawfoz’d  was  third  on  the  list  of  candi- 
dates, and  Mr.  Clay,  who  was  the  hindmost 
man,  was  dropped  from  the  canvass.  Mr. 
Adams  was  chosen  president  by  the  casting 
vote  of  the  State  of  Kentucky.  Mr.  Clay  was 
a member  of  the  national  house  of  represen- 
tatives, and  its  speaker,  and  it  was  at  once 
claimed  by  many  of  his  political  enemies 
that  it  was  through  the  influence  of  the  State 
of  Ohio,  which,  as  well  as  his  own  State,  Mr. 
Clay  had  carried  in  the  presidential  contest, 
that  the  delegation  from  Kentucky  was  in- 
duced to  cast  the  vote  of  the  State  for  Mr. 
Adams,  an  eastern  man,  in  preference  to  Gen. 
Jackson,  a southern  and  western  man.  By 
that  coup  d’etat,  Mr.  Clay  was  instrumental 

*The  electoral  vote  stood,  .Tacksou  99;  Adams  84;  Crawford 
41;  Clay  37;  Delaware  gave  one  vote  for  Adams  and  two  for  Craw- 
ford; Maryland  divided  the  vote  between  Adams  and  Jackson; 
Virginia  cast  her  vote  for  Crawford  ; Kentucky  cast  hers  for  Mr. 
Clay;  Maine  gave  nine  votes  to  Adams ; New  Hampshire  and 
Vermont  voted  the  same  way;  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania 
cast  their  vote  for  Jackson  ; Georgia  voted  for  Crawfoid;  North 
and  South  Carolina  voted  for  Jackson  ; Massachusetts,  Rhode 
Island  and  Connecticut  voted  for  Adams ; New  York  gave  Jack- 
son  one  vote,  Adams  twenty-six,  Crawford  five  and  Clay  four  ; 
Tennessee,  Indiana,  Mississippi,  Alabama  and  Louisiana  voted 
for  Jackson  ; Illinois  gave  two  votes  to  Jackson  and  one  to  Adams ; 
Ohio  gave  sixteen  and  Missouri  three  votes  to  Clay. 


in  organizing  political  parties  that  survived 
the  generation  of  people  to  which  he  belonged, 
and  ruled  in  turn  the  destinies  of  the  repub 
lie  for  more  than  a quarter  of  a century. 

Mr.  Clay  was  not  a native  of  this  State, 
yet  he  was  so  long  identified  with  its  politi- 
cal history,  as  to  become  more  warmly  en- 
deared to  the  people  than  any  other  citizen 
of  the  commonwealth.  He  was  born  in  Han- 
over County,  Va.,  April  12,  1777,  and  was 
the  son  of  a Baptist  clergyman.  His  early 
years  were  marked  by  poverty  and  toil,  and 
his  educational  facilities  confined  to  a limit- 
ed attendance  at  the  log  schoolhouse  of  the 
neighborhood.  About  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
was  appointed  to  a deputy  clerkship  in  the 
clerk’s  office  of  the  high  court  of  chancery, 
where  he  attracted  the  attention  of  the  chan- 
cellor, Wythe.  That  gentleman  engaged  him 
as  an  amanuensis,  and  assisted  him  in  mental 
culture  and  improvement.  Through  his  in- 
fluence, Clay  studied  law  in  the  office  of 
Robert  Brooke,  then  attorney-general  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  in  due  time  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  by  the  Virginia  court  of  appeals.  He 
came  to  Kentucky  in  1797,  and  at  once  entered 
the  political  arena  of  the  State.  An  impor- 
tant election  was  approaching — an  election  for 
delegates  to  a convention  to  frame  a new  con- 
stitution. One  feature  or  clause  of  the  plan 
presented  to  the  people  was  a provision  for 
the  final  emancipation  of  the  slave  population. 
The  measure  was  vigorously  opposed  in  every 
part  of  the  State,  but  Mr.  Clay,  regardless  of 
his  popularity,  boldly  took  ground  in  its 
favor,  and  exerted  his  influence  toward  the 
election  of  men  to  the  convention  who  would 
contend  for  the  eradication  of  negro  slavery. 
His  efforts,  however,  failed,  and  the  young 
champion  of  “liberty  and  equal  rights”  be- 
came somewhat  unpopular  on  account  of  the 
part  he  had  acted.  But  this  partial  unpopu- 
larity did  not  last  long.  His  position  on 
the  alien  and  sedition  laws  of  1798-99,  and 
his  zealous  advocacy  of  the  rights  of  the 
people,  restored  him  to  their  confidence  and 
affection,  and  obtained  for  him  the  title  of 
the  “great  commoner.”  In  1803  Mr.  Clay 
was  elected,  for  the  first  time,  a representa- 
tive in  the  legislature,  and  was  re-elected 


ItENIlY  CLAY. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


319 


every  succeeding  term  until  1806,  when  he 
was  chosen  United  States  senator  to  fill  out 
the  unexpired  term  of  Gen.  Adair,  who  had 
resigned.  He  was  elected  to  the  legislature 
again  in  1807,  and  chosen  speaker;  he  re- 
mained a member  of  the  house  until  1809, 
when  he  was  again  elected  to  the  United 
States  senate,  this  time  to  fill  out  the  unex- 
pired term  of  Buckner  Thurston. 

In  1811,  Mr.  Clay  was  elected  to  the  nation- 
al house  of  representatives  and  entered  upon 
the  great  political  period  of  his  life,  which 
commenced  with  his  election  as  speaker  of 
that  body,  and  terminated  with  his  death 
forty  years  later.  He  had  never  before  been 
a member  of  the  lower  house  of  congress,  and 
this  fact  renders  it  still  more  remarkable 
that  he  should  have  been  elected  its  speaker, 
on  the  day  he  took  his  seat,  by  a majority  of 
nearly  two  to  one  over  two  opposing  candi- 
dates. This  was  an  honor  that  body  had 
never  before  bestowed  on  any  individual,  nor 
has  it  done  so  to  the  present  day.  He  was 
elected  speaker  six  times,  and  after  occupy- 
ing the  i^osition  for  about  thirteen  years,  he 
resigned  it,  in  1825,  to  become  secretary  of 
State  in  Mr.  Adams’  cabinet. 

Mr.  Clay,  as  we  have  seen,  had  been  a pres- 
idential candidate  in  the  contest  of  1824, 
and  when  his  own  defeat  was  assured,  had 
been  instrumental  in  the  election  of  Mr. 
Adams.  Accepting,  then,  the  first  place  in 
his  cabinet  gave  rise  to  the  charge  of  _ “bar- 
gain and  sale”  between  the  president  and  his 
chief  secretary,  that  caused  great  excitement 
throughout  the  country.  These  aspersions 
were  without  foundation  in  truth,  and  at  this 
day  no  one  will  dare  to  question  Mr.  Clay’s 
patriotism  or  honesty.  But  so  persistent 
were  the  charges  made  by  the  partisans  of  Gen. 
J ackson  that  they  injured  Mr.  Clay,  somewhat, 
in  the  public  estimation,  and  contributed 
largely  to  the  General’s  success  in  the  next 
presidential  contest.  In  1828,  party  lines 
were  closely  drawn  between  Gen.  Jackson 
and  Mr.  Adams,  and  the  result  of  a hot  and 
bitter  canvass  was  the  triumphal  election  of 
the  hero  of  New  Orleans,  both  by  the  electo- 
ral and  popular  vote.  The  defeat  of  Mr. 
Adams  at  this  time  was  a severe  blow  to  the 


popularity  of  Mr.  Clay,  and  tkreatened 
to  end  forever  his  political  career.  But  the 
personal  and  moral  intrepidity  that  made 
him  a leader  by  right  soon  recovered  for  him 
his  wonted  place  in  the  affections  of  his  peo- 
ple. It  has  been  thought  by  some  of  his 
friends,  that,  in  the  presidential  contest  of 
1828,  Mr.  Clay  was  by  far  the  strongest  can- 
didate in  his  party,  and  that  in  the  substitu- 
tion of  John  Quincy  Adams  he  lost  the  most 
favorable  opportunity  of  his  life  of  becoming 
the  chief  magistrate  of  the  nation.  The  re- 
vulsion of  sentiment  evoked  by  a mature  con- 
sideration of  the  charges  brought  against 
him,  for  his  action  in  the  election  of  Adams 
in  1824,  was  at  the  flood  tide,  and  would 
more  probably  have  contributed  to  his  suc- 
cess at  this  time  (1828)  than  fom’  years  later, 
when  he  again  opposed  and  was  defeated  by 
Gen.  Jackson.  It  was  the  custom — and  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  the  elder  Adams  had  been 
observed  up  to  this  time — to  elect  a presi- 
dent to  a second  term  as  an  “endorsement  of 
his  administration,’’  and  to  this  questionable 
custom  may  be  attributed  the  substitution  of 
Ml’.  Adams  as  a candidate  in  this  campaign. 

The  old  court  party  had  now  assumed  the 
name  of  “National  Republicans,”  and  had, 
at  the  August  election  of  this  year,  put  for- 
ward Gen.  Thomas  Metcalfe,  known  through- 
out the  State  as  “Old  Stone  Hammer”  (from 
the  fact  of  his  being  a “stone  mason”)  for 
governor.  The  opposition,  or  new  court 
party,  adopted  the  name  of  “Democratic 
Republicans”  and  selected  as  their  standard- 
bearer  in  the  gubernatorial  contest,  against 
Gen.  Metcalfe,  William  T.  Barry,  late  chief 
justice  of  the  new  court  of  appeals.  Met- 
calfe had  been  a representative  in  congress 
several  terms.  He  possessed  great  popularity 
— having  risen  from  the  humblest  walks  of 
life — and  was  a man  of  more  than  ordinary 
ability.  He  was  born  in  Fauquier  County, 
Va.,  in  1780,  and  five  years  later  his  parents 
immigrated  to  Kentucky.  They  were  poor 
but  highly  respectable  people,  and  young 
Thomas,  after  a few  years’  attendance  at  the 
neighborhood  schools,  was  apprenticed  to  an 
elder  brother  who  was  a stone  mason.  He 
became  a proficient  in  the  trade,  and  built 


320 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


■many  of  the  early  court  bouses,  both  in 
Kentucky  and  Ohio.  He  was  elected  to  the 
legislature  in  1812,  and  re-elected  five  times 
thereafter.  He  was  a captain  in  the  war  of 
1812,  and  served  with  gallantry.  In  1818, 
he  was  elected  to  congress,  serving  six  terms 
consecirtively.  He  resigned  in  1828,  before 
the  close  of  his  last  term,  to  make  the  race 
for  governor,  in  which  he  was  successful,  de- 
feating his  opponent,  Mr.  Barry,  by  709 
votes.  But  Joseph  li.  Underwood,  who  was 
associated  with  him,  was  defeated  by  John 
Breathitt  for  lieutenant-governor,  thus  pre- 
senting the  novel  situation  of  a governor  and 
lieutenant-governor  of  opposite  political 
principles.  The  Democratic  Republicans 
secured  a majority  in  the  legislature.  In 
November  following,  Jackson  carried  the 
State  by  a popular  majority  of  7,934  over 
Mr.  Adams. 

The  old  court  party  thus  drifted  into  Na- 
tional Republicans,  and  the  new  court  party 
into  Democratic  Republicans.  The  latter  be- 
came the  zealous  supporters  of  Gen.  Jackson, 
and  for  several  years  succeeded  in  maintain- 
ing supremacy  in  the  legislature,  and  of  elect- 
ing a majority  of  the  representatives  to  con- 
gress from  the  State.  During  the  period 
from  1828  to  1832,  they  were  most  generally 
known  in  Kentucky  as  the  “Jackson  party,” 
while  the  National  Republicans  were  called 
the  “Clay  party.”  Throughout  the  country 
at  large,  they  became,  during  the  campaign 
of  1832,  the  “Jackson”  and  “anti -Jackson” 
parties.  In  1831  the  Jackson  party  lost 
control  of  the  State  legislature,  but  retained 
a majority  of  the  members  of  congress  from 
Kentucky.  As  a result  of  the  success  of 
the  Clay  party  or  National  Republicans,  Mr. 
Clay  was  elected  to  the  United  States  senate 
in  1831  over  Richard  M.  Johnson,  a strong 
adherent  of  Gen.  Jackson. 

The  gubernatorial  and  presidential  cam- 
paigns of  1832  were  spirited,  and  hotly  con- 
tested in  Kentucky.  The  Clay,  or  National 
party  put  forward  Judge  Buckner  for  gov- 
ernor, while  the  Jackson  or  Democratic  party 
nominated  John  Breathitt,  the  then  lieuten- 
ant-governor. He  was  elected  over  Buckner 
by  1,242  majority.  The  presidential  candi- 


dates were  Mr.  Clay  and  Gen.  Jackson. 
Although  the  Jackson  party  was  successful 
in  the  State  election  in  August,  in  November 
following  Mr.  Clay  carried  the  State  over 
Jackson  by  a popular  majority  of  7,324 
votes.  But  in  the  national  contest  he  was 
defeated  by  a large  majority,  Jackson  re- 
ceiving 219  of  the  286  electoral  votes.  Mr. 
Clay  was  defeated  for  the  presidency,  but  he 
now  held  his  own  commonwealth  in  the 
“hollow  of  his  hand,”  as  it  were,  and  he 
long  ruled  it  wisely  and  well.  Says  a re- 
cent writer:  “In  founding  and  strengthen- 

ing the  conservative  spirit  that  began  to 
come  with  the  OTeater  wealth  and  culture  of 

O 

the  State,  he  did  a great  work.  From  the 
time  of  his  local  victory  over  Gen.  Jackson 
to  the  present  day,  the  conservative  element 
of  Kentucky  has  never  lost  its  hold  upon  the 
State.  Parties  have  changed  names,  politi- 
cal issues  have  come  and  gone,  but  the  con- 
servative power,  that  came  from  the  bank 
question  and  was  affirmed  by  Clay,  still 
firmly  holds  the  commonwealth.”  The  Clay 
party  for  many  years,  with  but  one  or  two 
exceptions,  carried  the  State  in  all  important 
political  contests,  and  became,  after  the 
election  of  1832,  the  Whig  party,  while  the 
Jackson  became  the  Democratic  party. 

But  now  another  dark  era  in  the  financial 
history  of  Kentucky  was  at  hand,  second 
only  to  that  of  the  relief  and  anti-relief 
period.  The  repeal  of  the  charter  of  the 
United  States  Bank,  without  any  “provision 
for  its  replacement  in  the  system  of  American 
commerce,”  was  a blow  from  which  the  State 
did  not  soon  recover.  Upon  the  eve  of  this  cri- 
sis the  campaign  of  1836  opened.  J ames  Clark 
was  the  Whig  candidate  for  governor.  He 
it  was  whose  decision  from  the  circuit  bench 
created  such  an  intense  excitement  during  the 
relief  and  anti-relief  war,  and  whom  the  relief 
party  strove  so  hard  to  displace  for  that  de- 
cision. He  was  a native  of  Virginia,  and 
came  to  Kentucky  with  his  father’s  family  in 
an  early  day,  and  located  in  Clark  County. 
He  studied  law  with  his  brother,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  Virginia,  when  he  re- 
turned to  Kentucky  and  began  practice.  He 
served  several  terms  in  the  legislature  and  in 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


3-21 


congress,  and  in  1817  was  appointed  to  the 
circuit  bench.  He  was  elected  governor  over 
Matthew  Flournoy,  the  Democratic  candidate, 
by  8,096  majority.  Gen.  William  H.  Har- 
rison was  the  presidential  candidate  of  the 
Whigs,  and  carried  the  State  by  3, 520  votes 
over  Martin  Van  Buren,  but  was  defeated  in 
the  national  election.  The  financial  policy 
of  the  administration,  inaugurated  during 
President  J ackson’s  last  term,  had  resulted  in 
a return  to  the  worthless  paper  money  of  the 
relief  and  anti-relief  period.  Hundreds  of 
banks  were  started  up,  and  the  mania  for 
speculation  again  ran  riot.  There  was  no 
difficulty  in  finding  banks  to  lend  money  to 
those  who  desired  to  borrow,  for  “the  more  of 
their  paper  they  could  set  afloat,  the  larger 
would  be  their  profits.”  The  matter  culmin- 
ated i-n  1837,  and  all  the  banks  of  the  Unit- 
ed States  were  forced  into  a “suspension  of 
payments.”  Not  only  were  the  people  in- 
volved in  debt,  but  the  State  had  undertaken 
a vast  system  of  internal  improvement  on  its 
own  credit,  and  was  as  deeply  involved  as  the 
people  themselves.  The  following  extract, 
from  a sketch  written  upon  this  gloomy  pe- 
riod, shows  the  critical  state  of  the  tlme^: 
“Nearly  every  business  man  of  the  State  and 
many  of  the  farmers  were  rendered  bankrupt 
or  burdened  by  debt  to  the  point  of  virtual 
insolvency.  In  this  time  of  trial  the  people 
showed  the  profit  of  the  lessons  of  the  pre- 
ceding ten  years.  There  was  a general  ef- 
fort to  mitigate  the  evils  by  mutual  help, 
rather  than  by  legislation.  The  State  re- 
fused to  forfeit  the  charters  of  the  suspended 
banks,  or  to  compel  them  to  resume  specie 
payments.  The  brief  breathing-time  of 
1838,  when  for  a few  months  the  banks  tried 
to  resume  payment,  revived  the  hopes  of  the 
people;  but  the  burden  of  unliquidated  debt 
rested  too  heavily  on  them  for  an  enduring 
revival  of  business,  so  that  the  banks  were 
compelled  again  to  suspend  their  proper 
functions.  The  years  1840-41-42  were 
the  most  hopeless  this  people  ever  have 
known.  * * * 

It  is  not  surprising  that  this  time  of  trial 
led  to  the  revival  of  the  ‘relief  party,’  which 
grew  rapidly  to  formidable  dimensions.  But 


the  conservative  element  was  bold,  and  readi- 
i ily  met  their  scheme.  The  legislature  re- 
fused to  take  any  unreasonable  steps.  The 
I most  they  did  was  to  modify  the  system  of 
! the  courts,  so  as  to  give  the  creditor  a little 
more  time  in  which  to  meet  the  actions 
brought  against  him.  Gradually,  through 
infinite  suffering  that  is  recorded  in  the  long 
dockets  of  the  courts  of  that  time,  and  the 
cloud  of  judgments  that  fell  on  all  forms  of 
property,  the  people  won  their  way  back  to 
commercial  prosperity.  ” 

The  “hard  cider”  campaign  of  1840  came 
on  in  the  midst  of  this  financial  depression. 
In  the  State  election,  which  took  place  in 
August,  Robert  P.  Letcher  was  the  "Whig 
candidate  for  governor,  and  was  elected  over 
Judge  Richard  French  by  15,720  majority. 
Gen.  William  Henry  Harrison  was  again  at 
the  head  of  the  Whig  ticket  for  president, 
with  John  Tyler  for  vice-president.  Martin 
Van  Buren  and  Richard  M.  Johnson,  presi- 
dent and  vice-president,  were  the  Democratic 
candidates  for  re-election.  The  contest  was 
an  exciting  one,  and  created  Intense  interest 
throughout  the  State,  as  well  as  the  country 
at  large.  Like  the  first  campaign  (successful 
one)  of  Gen.  Jackson,  it  was  decided  princi- 
pally on  the  memories  of  the  war  of  1812. 
Harrison  was  a great  favorite  with  the  people 
i of  Kentucky,  and  had  been  called  to  lead  the 
j Kentucky  troops — contrary  to  the  law,  which 
required  that  the  militia  of  the  State  should 
be  commanded  by  one  of  its  own  citizens — to 
Detroit,  after  the  disgraceful  surrender  of 
I Hull,  to  defend  our  northern  frontier.  Col. 
Johnson,  the  Democratic  candidate  for  vice- 
president,  was  a Kentuckian,  a man  of  great 
popularity,  and  the  supposed  slayer  of  the 
renowned  Indian  chief,  Tecumseh,  in  the 
battle  of  the  Thames.  He  was  a lawyer, 
statesman  and  soldier,  and  in  each  profession 
j had  won  fame.  He  was  born  in  1781,  edu- 
I cated  in  Transylvania  University,  and  studied 
j law  with  the  celebrated  George  Nicholas. 

I He  served  in  the  State  legislature,  in  con- 
gi’ess,  in  the  national  senate  and  as  vice- 
president,  and  in  all  these  positions  acquitted 
himself  with  honor  and  credit.  It  was  prob- 
ably owing  to  these  considerations  that  Gen. 

20 


322 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Harrison’s  majority  in  the  State  was  not 
larger.  The  vote  was  Harrison  and  Tyler, 
58,489;  Van  Buren  and  Johnson,  32,610; 
majority,  25,873  for  the  Whig  candidates. 

No  presidential  campaign  since  that  of 
1824  had  so  excited  the  people  as  the  present 
one.  Gen.  Harrison  had  been  defeated  by 
Van  Buren  in  1836,  and  now  they  were 
arrayed  against  each  other  a second  time. 
Edward  Stan  wood,  in  his  history  of  presi- 
dential elections,  says:  “ The  Whig  party 

went  into  the  campaign  of  1840  without 
positive  principles  or  definite  policy.  The 
platform  was  opposition  to  the  party  in 
power,  without  any  specific  promises  of 
something  better,  and  the  appeal  for  support 
was  based  on  the  theory  that  they  had  tired 
of  the  long  continuance  of  Democratic  rule. 
Clay  was  set  aside  because  he  was  a Free- 
Mason,  and,  therefore,  objectionable  to  an 
element  the  opposition  wanted  in  the  East, 
and  because  he  favored  the  protective  tariff, 
which  was  unpopular  in  the  soiith  Atlantic 
States.  Gen.  Harrison  was  open  to  neither 
of  these  objections,  and  the  convention 
nominated  him  by  a vote  of  148  to  90  for  Mr. 
Clay,  and  16  for  Gen.  Scott.  At  the  end  of 
four  days  the  convention  adjourned  without 
formulating  any  platform.  In  all  the  speech- 
making  there  was  no  assertion  of  distinctive 
principles,  nothing  but  expressions  of  hatred 
and  opposition  to  “Van  Buren  and  the 
locofocos.”  Indeed,  the  “old  hero  of  Tippe- 
canoe” was  put  forward  as  the  candidate  of 
the  “Anti- Van  Buren  party.”  The  campaign 
which  followed  was  marked  by  extraordinary 
enthusiasm  among  young  men  for  a candidate 
who  was  nearly  seventy  years  old.  It  was  a 
campaign  of  noise  and  demonstrations.  There 
were  endless  processions,  with  representations 
of  “Old  Tip,”  log-cabins,  coon  skins,  the 
candidate  drinking  mugs  of  cider,  etc.  Van 
Buren  was  renominated,  and  a long  declara- 
tion of  principles  set  forth  against  assumption 
of  State  debts,  against  a United  States  bank, 
against  “fostering  one  branch  of  industry  to 
the  detriment  of  another,”  against  a policy  of 
general  internal  improvements,  in  favor  of 
economy,  against  interfei’ence  with  slavery, 
and  so  on.  The  Democrats  had  been  in 


power  since  the  beginning  of  the  century, 
unless  the  four  years  of  the  second  Adams  be 
excepted.  Their  party  was  closely  organized. 
They  were  intrenched  in  the  offices,  and  used 
the  public  patronage  without  scruple.  They 
affected  contempt  for  the  shouting  campaign 
of  the  Whigs,  and  met  the  noise  and  demon- 
strations with  ridicule,  declaring  Harrison 
was  so  ignorant  that  the  Whigs  had  to  shut 
him  up  in  a log-cabin,  and  dare  not  give  him 
pen  and  ink.  The  Whigs,  however,  kept  up 
their  songs: 

Farewell,  old  Van, 

You're  not  the  man; 

To  guide  the  ship 
We’ll  try  old  Tip,  etc.  etc. 

The  popular  vote  stood:  Harrison,  1,275,- 
016;  VanBuren,  1,129,102;  James  G.  Birney 
(the  Abolition  candidate),  7,069.  The 
electoral  vote  was  much  more  significant. 

o 

Mr.  Van  Buren  carried  only  the  States  of  New 
Hampshire,  Virginia,  South  Carolina,  Ala- 
bama, Missouri,  Arkansas  and  Illinois — sixty 
electoral  votes.  Harrison  carried  nineteen 
States,  and  received  234  electoral  votes.” 

In  the  gubernatorial  contest  of  1844,  Will- 
iam O.  Butler  was  the  Democratic  candidate 
and  William  Owsley  the  Whig  candidate. 
Mr.  Owsley  was  elected  by  a majority  of 
4,624.  Archibald  Dixon,  his  associate,  re- 
ceived a majority  of  11,081  for  lieutenant- 
governor  over  William  S.  Pilcher,  the  Dem- 
ocratic candidate.  In  the  presidential  cam- 
paign Mr.  Clay  was  again  put  forward  by 
the  Whigs,  while  the  Democrats  nominated 
James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee.  As  soon  as 
the  latter  nomination  was  made  Mr.  Clay 
predicted  his  own  defeat,  and  when  asked 
upon  what  grounds,  replied  that  his  opponent 
was  “unknown  as  a public  man.”  The  result 
of  the  election  in  November  proved  the  truth 
of  his  prophecy.  He  carried  the  State  by  a 
majority  of  9,267  over  Mr.  Polk,  but  was 
defeated  by  a majority  of  sixty-five  votes  in 
the  electoral  college. 

j The  defeat  of  Mi’.  Clay  in  1844  may  be 
I attributed  mainly  to  his  opposition  to  the 
annexation  of  Texas,  which  was  the  most 
j important  question  involved  in  the  campaign. 
Mr.  Polk’s  indorsement  of  that  issue  secured 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY 


323 


to  him  the  presidency.  Mr.  Clay  believed 
that  the  annexation  of  Texas  would  involve 
the  country  in  foreign  war,  and  create  inter- 
nal discord  by  the  extension  of  slavery,  and 
his  great  energies  were  aroused  to  avert  such 
dreaded  evils.  His  defeat  was  the  final  blow 
to  the  long  deferred  hopes  of  his  friends  of 
seeing  him  president.  He  still  remained 


nomination  of  the  Whigs.  Mr.  Clay’s  polit- 
ical career  now  seemed  closed  forever.  He 
was  growing  old.  The  storms  of  political 
life  had  battered  his  ‘‘decaying  tabernacle,” 
and  the  twilight  shadows  were  gathering 
around  him.  For  fifty  yeai’s  he  had  served 
the  State  and  nation,  and  much  desired  to 
spend  the  remainder  of  his  life  with  his  family 


“ASHLAlST)”— THE  HOME  OF  IIENKY  CLAY 


first  in  the  hearts  of  his  people,  but  this  de- 
feat considerably  lessened  his  influence 
among  them,  and  when  the  presidential  con- 
vention of  1848  was  held,  Gen.  Zachary 
Taylor,  the  old  “ rough  and  ready  ” soldier, 
the  hero  of  Buena  Vista,  received  the 


and  friends.  But  this  was  to  be  denied  him. 
Already  the  low  mutterings  of  the  storm  that 
burst  upon  the  country  in  1800-01  could  be 
heard  in  the  distance,  and  all  eyes  were  once 
more  turned  to  Mr.  Clay,  the  great  pacificator. 
Says  his  biographer,  Conwell:  ‘‘He  had 


324 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


calmed  the  storm  raised  by  the  Missouri 
question;  his  wisdom  had  avei’ted  the  civil 
war  proffered  by  the  Nullifiers,  and  it  was 
believed  he  could  again  tranquilize  and  re- 
store peace  and  harmony  to  the  country.  He 
yielded  to  the  voice  of  patriotism,  and  his 
State  I'eturned  him  to  the  theater  of  his  past 
glories.” 

Mr.  Clay  was  again  elected  to  the  United 
States  senate,  and  in  December,  1849,  took 
his  seat  in  that  body.  The  compromise 
measures*  of  1849-50  were  the  all-absorbing 
questions  before  the  senate,  and  he  entered 
into  their  discussion  heart  and  soul.  He 
undoubtedly  cut  his  life  short  by  this  last 
mighty  and  triumphant  effort  in  behalf  of 
his  country.  After  the  close  of  the  session 
he  visited  his  home  at  Ashland,  near  Lexing- 
ton, and  returned  in  1851  to  Washington, 
“broken  with  the  storms  of  state  and 
scathed  with  many  a fiery  conflict.”  Early 
in  the  next  year  he  commenced  to  fail  rap- 
idly. During  the  spring  he  gradually  sank, 
and  for  weeks  lay  patiently  awaiting  the 
stroke  of  death,  which  came  June  29,  1852, 
and  the  “ Sage  of  Ashland”  was  no  more. 

We  tell  tby  doom  without  a sigh, 

For  thou  art  Freedom’s  now  and  Fame’s; 

One  of  the  few  immortal  names 

That  were  not  born  to  die. 

His  funeral  obsequies  and  the  honors  paid  to 
his  memory  throughout  the  country  are  a 
part  of  the  nation’s  history.  His  remains 
repose  in  the  cemetery  at  Lexington,  and  a 
lofty  monument  tells  to  the  passer-by  where 
the  great  “ commoner  ” sleeps. 

In  1848,  John  J.  Crittenden  was  the  Whig 
candidate  for  governor,  with  John  L.  Helm 
upon  the  ticket  with  him  for  lieutenant- 
governor.  Next  to  Henry  Clay,  no  man, 
living  or  dead,  perhaps,  possessed  a larger 
share  of  the  affections  of  the  people  of  Ken- 
tucky than  Mr.  Crittenden.  He  was  a na- 
tive of  the  State,  and  was  born  in  Woodford 
County,  in  1786.  He  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  Kentucky,  completing  his  studies 
in  Washington  Academy  and  William  and 

*The  admission  of  California  into  the  Union  without  the 
restrictions  of  slavery,  and  the  extension  of  the  Missouri  line 
of  36°  30'  through  the  new  territories — north  of  which  slavery 
was  interdicted,  and  south  of  which  the  people  were  permitted, 
in  organizing  their  State  governments,  to  decide  the  question 
for  themselves.— Hodge.  (See  Collins,  Vol.  1,  p.  332  ) 


Mary  College  in  Virginia.  On  his  return  to 
Kentucky,  he  began  the  study  of  law  with 
Hon.  George  M.  Bibb,  and  after  being  li- 
censed to  practice  located  at  Russellville,  then 
the  center  of  the  Green  River  bar.  As  early 
as  1811,  he  was  elected  to  represent  Logan 
County  in  the  legislature,  serving  six  terms 
from  that  county,  and  the  last  term  as  speak- 
er. During  his  last  year  in  the  legislature 
from  Logan  County,  he  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  senate,  and  was  the  youngest 
member  of  that  august  body.  He  removed 
to  Frankfort  in  1819,  to  practice  his  profes- 
sion in  the  higher  courts  of  the  State.  He 
was  several  times  elected  to  represent  Frank- 
lin County  in  the  legislature,  and  was  a mem- 
ber during  the  old  and  new  court  controversy, 
and  was  an  able  and  zealous  champion  of  the 
old  court.  In  1835,  he  was  elected  for  the 
second  time  to  the  United  States  senate, 
which  position  he  held  until  President  Har- 
rison appointed  him  attorney-general  of  the 
United  States.  Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Har- 
rison he  resigned,  and  was  soon  after  elected 
to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term  of  Henry  Clay 
in  the  Federal  senate.  In  1843  he  was  re- 
elected to  a full  term,  but  resigned  in  1848 
to  make  the  race  for  governor.  He  was  op- 
posed in  this  contest  by  Lazarus  W.  Powell, 
an  able  Democratic  statesman,  and  whom  he 
defeated  by  8,521  majority.  Upon  the  death 
of  Gen.  Taylor  and  the  reorganization  of  the 
cabinet  under  Mr.  Fillmore,  Mr.  Crittenden 
was  appointed  attorney-general,  and  resigned 
as  governor  to  accept  the  position.  Mr. 
Helm,  the  lieutenant-governor,  filled  out  his 
unexpired  term.  At  the  close  of  Fillmore’s 
administration,  he  was  again  elected  to  the 
United  States  senate,  and  served  until  1861. 
Upon  the  dissolution  of  the  Whig  party,  Mr. 
Crittenden  acted  with  the  Know-nothing  or 
American  party,  and  in  opposition  to  the 
Democrats.  He  was  elected  to  the  lower 
house  of  congress  in  1861,  and  was  serving 
in  that  body  when  the  war  commenced.  He 
opposed  the  secession  of  the  Southern  States, 
and  was  one  of  the  stanchest  Union  men  of 
Kentucky.  He  made  strenuous  efforts  to  ef- 
fect a compromise  whereby  the  war  might  be 
averted,  but  failed  in  its  accomplishment. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


325 


He  died  in  Louisville,  July  25,  1863,  while 
still  a member  of  congress. 

Following  the  election  of  Mr.  Crittenden 
as  governor  in  1848,  Gen.  Taylor  received  a 
majority  of  17,524  in  the  State  for  president 
over  Gen.  Lewis  Cass,  the  Democratic  candi- 
date. Gen.  Taylor  was  recognized  as  a Ken- 
tuckian, though  really  born  in  Virginia,  and 
brought  to  Kentucky  by  his  parents  when  but 
an  infant.  With  the  laurels  of  Buena  Vista 
— in  which  battle  the  Kentucky  troops  dis- 
tinguished themselves — blooming  upon  his 
brow,  he  was  highly  esteemed  throughout  the 
commonwealth.  Gen.  William  O.  Butler,  a 
gallant  soldier  of  the  Mexican  war,  and  an 
honored  citizen  of  Kentucky,  was  the  Dem- 
ocratic candidate  for  vice-president,  and 
doubtless  to  some  extent  reduced  the  Whig 
vote  in  the  State.  Gen.  Taylor  was  elected 
by  a majority  of  thirty-six  electoral  votes. 

A new  era  was  now  approaching  in  the 
political  history  of  Kentucky.  After  the 
lapse  of  nearly  half  a century,  the  question 
of  revising  the  State  constitution  began  to  be 
seriously  agitated  by  the  leading  men  and 
politicians.  The  constitution  adopted  in 
1799  was  objectionable  in  some  of  its  fea- 
tures, and  to  remedy  apparent  evils  it  was 
proposed  to  form  a new  one.  Under  the 
law,  the  question  calling  a convention  for  the 
purpose  had  to  be  submitted  to  the  people  at 
two  annual  elections,  and  a majority  of  the 
legal  voters  cast  their  ballots  in  its  favor. 
The  legislature,  at  its  session  of  1846-47, 
authorized  the  submission  of  the  question  to 
the  people,  and  at  the  August  election,  in 
1847,  out  of  a total  of  137,311  votes,  92,639 
were  cast  in  favor  of  a constitutional  con- 
vention. In  Augusi,,  1848,  the  question  was 
again  submitted,  and  canned  by  a majority 
of  39,792  in  favor  of  the  convention.  In 
1849  (at  the  August  election),  members  to  the 
convention  were  chosen,  and  the  result  was 
forty-eight  Whigs  and  tifty-two  Democrats. 
They  met  on  the  1st  of  October  following, 
and  continued  their  deliberation  to  the  21st 
of  December.  On  May  7,  1850,  the  new 
constitution  was  submitted  to  the  people  for 
their  approval,  and  was  adopted  by  a major- 
ity of  51,351  out  of  a total  of  91,995  votes 


cast.  The  convention  assembled  again  on 
the  3d  of  June,  and  adopted  some  amend- 
ments to  the  newly  constructed  document, 
and  on  the  11th  adjourned,  after  having 
“proclaimed  the  present  or  third  constitu- 
tion.”* 

The  most  important  changes  made  in  the 
revision  of  the  constitution  regarded  the 
judiciary,  the  finances,  and  further  changes 
or  amendments  to  it.  It  is  a matter  of  grave 
doubt  whether  or  not  all  these  changes  were 
well  advised.  The  great  “underlying  cause 
of  dissatisfaction”  with  the  constitution  of 
1799,  was  that  of  filling  the  most  lucrative 
offices,  such  as  judges  and  clerks  of  the 
courts,  justices  of  the  peace,  and  through 
them  the  sheriffs, f etc.,  etc.,  by  appointment, 
and  not  by  popular  vote  of  the  people. 
Chancellor  Kent  said  that  the  great  danger  to 
this  country  is  “the  too  frequent  recurrence 
to  popular  election.”  This  is  made  more 
manifest  every  passing  year.  No  longer  the 
office  seeks  the  man,  but  the  man  the  office, 
and  it  is  often  the  case,  that  the  man  with 
no  qualification  for  the  place  he  seeks,  save 
his  money-bags,  is  the  successful  competitor 
for  public  position,  over  men  much  better 
qualified  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office. 
Should  the  fabric  of  this  government  ever  fall, 
it  will  require  but  little  wisdom  to  trace  the 
cause  of  its  wreck  to  the  corruption  of  popular 
elections.  The  appointing  power,  although 
anti -Republican  in  principle,  seems  to  be, 
judging  from  the  experience  of  the  past,  the 
best  calculated  to  secure  efficiency  and  compe- 
tency in  office.  The  first  constitution  (1792) 
made  the  office  of  sheriff  elective;  the  framers 
of  the  second  abrogated  that  clause,  believing, 
as  Mr.  Butler  in  his  History  of  Kentucky 
expresses  it,  “that  such  elections  are  almost 
sure  to  make  the  sheriff  and  his  securities 
the  victims  of  indulgence,  inconsistent  with 
private  safety  and  the  punctual  collection  of 
taxes.”  Another  authority^  says:  “Under 

that  plan  (the  elective)  it  was  found,  in  nu- 
merous instances,  that  the  public  revenue 
was  continually  squandered,  and  thousands 

*See  Appendix  A,  Note  31. 

tErery  two  years  the  oldest  justice  of  the  peace  in  each 
county,  by  right  of  seniority,  became  high  sheriff. 

jAllen’s  History  of  Kentucky,  p.  438. 


326 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


of  dollars  annually  lost  to  the  State;  and  I 
have  heard  it  said,  by  men  of  those  days,  that 
there  were  a gi’eater  number  of  defaulters 
among  sheriffs  during  that  period  than  there 
was  under  the  second  constitution  during  the 
whole  time  of  its  existence.  I believe  with 
Mr.  Butler,  when  he  says  ‘that  the  necessary 
courting  of  the  people  for  their  favor  for  ev- 
ery public  employment,  eventuates  in  corrup- 
tion.’ There  are  hundreds  in  Kentucky,  at 
this  day,  who  can  bear  testimony  to  the  fact 
in  the  operations  of  the  present  constitution.” 
Under  the  appointing  power  (the  second  con- 
stitution) the  offices  were  generally  filled  by 
faithful  and  competent  men,  and  the  records 
of  that  period  show  but  few  changes.  Strik- 
ing instances  of  this  fact  are  found  in  the 
cases  of  Jo  Allen,  who  held  the  offices  of 
county  and  circuit  clerks  of  Breckinridge 
County  successively  for  over  fifty  years,  and 
of  Judge  Benjamin  Shackelford,  of  Christian 
County,  who  occupied  the  circuit  bench  of 
the  Seventh  Judicial  District  uninterruptedly 
for  thirty-six  years. 

The  strongest  objection  to  the  elective 
clause  of  the  present  constitution  regards  the 
judiciary.  Mr.  Allen,  in  his  History  of  Ken- 
tucky, published  in  187‘2,  upon  this  subject 
says:  “I  was  ever  opposed  to  an  elective 

judiciary;  and  more  so  since  the  test  which 
has  been  made  under  our  present  constitution 
than  before.  Opinions  expressed  by  me 
twenty  years  ago  have  been  fully  verified.  I 
then  believed,  and  still  believe,  that  impar- 
tial justice  will  not  at  all  times  be  adminis- 
tered by  those  who  depend  for  their  stations 
upon  the  sycophancy  which  they  breathe 
toward  the  wealthy,  influential  and  the  pow- 
erful; and  who,  instead  of  reading  their 
books  and  qualifying  themselves  for  the  sta- 
tions, are  electioneering  and  swaggering  in 
grog-shops  and  groceries.  The  judiciary,  as 
one  of  the  three  great  departments  of  the 
government,  deserves  as  much,  if  not  more, 
to  be  preserved  than  either  of  the  other  two. 
Unlike  the  legislative  or  executive  depart- 
ment, it  possesses  neither  power  nor  patron- 
age; neither  sword  nor  purse.  Of  all  the 
departments  it  is  the  feeblest  by  far;  for  it 
neither  makes  laws  nor  does  it  execute  them. 


Its  powers  are  merely  to  decide  and  declare 
what  the  law  is,  when  proper  cases  are 
brought  berore  them  by  others ; and  yet  feeble 
j as  their  power  is,  it  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
j portant  stations  in  our  government;  and  to 
insure  justice,  all  must  admit,  should  be  the 
' most  independent.  Their  independence  is 
the  strongest  support  to  our  liberty,  and  the 
safest  guard  to  our  happiness;  nay,  it  is  the 
best  armor  and  ablest  tower  of  protection  to 
any  government.  The  independence  of  the 
judiciary  alone  preserved  the  liberty  of  Eng- 
land amidst  divers  changes ; it  has  preserved 
our  country,  and  it  will  ever  do  so  whilst  its 
independence  is  maintained.  My  observa- 
tion and  experience  within  the  last  twenty 
years  have  satisfied  my  mind  that  the  election 
of  judges  by  the  popular  vote  is  not  the  surest 
protection  to  the  poor  or  to  the  fallen  in 
fortune;  a leaning  is  often  discoverable  on  the 
side  of  wealth  and  influence.  Under  the 
former  constitution,  though  salaries  were  far 
lower  than  at  present,  the  wisest  and  the  best 
men  of  the  legal  profession  occupied  seats  on 
the  bench,  especially  of  the  court  of  appeals. 
It  is  not  always  the  case  now;  nay,  it  is  but 
seldom  the  case;  and  it  is  to  be  feared  that  no 
better  condition  can  exist  in  Kentucky  as  long 
as  the  present  system  continues.”  Upon  the 
same  subject  a more  recent  writer  says:  “It 

seems  impossible  to  resist  the  conviction  that 
the  system  of  appointing  the  judiciary 
machinery  is,  on  the  whole,  the  best  that  can 
be  contrived;  yet  it  is  perfectly  clear  that  it 
does  not  recommend  itself  to  the  mass  of 
American  citizens.  One  by  one  the  States 
have  fallen  away  from  it,  until  at  present 
there  are  but  two  that  retain  this  feature, 
which  they  inherited  from  their  British 
ancestors.  ” 

The  powers  of  the  legislature  under  the 
former  constitution,  “ to  raise  money  on  the 
credit  of  the  State,”  had  led  to  the  accumula- 
tion of  debt,  which,  in  1849  (at  the  time  of 
revising  the  constitution)  amounted  to 
$4,500,000.  The  greater  part  of  this  sum 
had  been  squandered  on  internal  improve- 
ments of  no  practical  value,  which  had  been 
inaugurated  during  the  speculative  period  of 
the  preceding  ten  or  fifteen  years.  To  extin- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


327 


guish  this  debt  and  guard  against  a repeti- 
tion of  it,  some  very  stringent  clauses  were 
engrafted  in  the  new  constitution,  that  have 
proved  of  great  value,  and  been  the  means  of 
clearing  away  the  burden  placed  upon  the 
people  by  the  reckless  spirit  of  internal  im- 
provement, so  that  at  the  present  time  there 
is  no  actual  State  debt. 

To  call  a “ revising  convention  ” the  new 
constitution  provides,  that  after  a resolution 
to  that  effect  has  been  adopted  by  both  houses 
of  the  general  assembly,  the  question  shall  be 
submitted  to  a vote  of  the  people  at  two  an- 
nual elections  for  representatives  to  the  leg- 
islature; and  at  each  of  these  elections,  a 
majority  of  the  votes  cast  for  representatives 
at  the  preceding  election  shall  be  required  to 
call  “ the  revising  convention  into  existence.  ” 
This  is  a wise  provision,  as  it  compels  the 
people  to  continue  in  one  mind  for  at  least 
two  years  regarding  the  necessity  of  changes, 
and  hence  avoids  any  risk  of  hasty  action. 

With  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution 
the  State  entered  upon  a short  season  of  pros- 
perity. Indeed,  it  has  been  said,  that  from 
1848  to  the  panic  of  1857,  it  saw  its  richest 
years,  and  the  most  prosperous  period  of  its 
existence. 

The  first  election  of  State  officers  under  the 
new  constitution  occurred  in  August,  1851. 
There  were  three  tickets  for  governor  and 
lieutenant-governor  placed  before  the  people, 
viz. : Archibald  Dixon  and  John  B.  Thomp- 
son were  the  Whig  candidates;  Lazarus  W. 
Powell  and  Robert  N.  Wickliffe,  Democratic 
candidates,  Cassius  M.  Clay  and  George  D. 
Blakey,  “Liberty”  or  emancipation  candi- 
dates. Powell,  the  Democratic  candidate, 
was  elected  over  Dixon  by  850  majority, 
while  Thompson,  the  Whig  candidate  for 
lieutenant-governor,  was  elected  over  Wick- 
liffe by  6, 145  majority — thus  giving  the  State 
a Democratic  governor  and  a Whig  lieutenant- 
governor.*  Clay,  the  anti -slavery  candidate, 

*Lazarus  W.  Powell  was  born  in  Henderson  County,  October 
6,  1812.  He  graduated  with  honor  from  St.  Joseph  College, 
Bardstown,  a renowned  Catholic  institution  of  Kentucky ; 
studied  law  with  John  Rowan,  and  attended  a course  of  law 
lectures  at  Transylvania  University.  In  183C  he  was  elected  to 
the  legislature,  and  in  1844  was  a Democratic  elector  for  Polk  and 
Dallas.  He  was  defeated  for  governor  in  1848  by  John  J.  Crit- 
tenden, but  in  1851  was  elected  the  first  governor  under  the 
new  constitution  of  the  State  The  most  eventful  episode  in 
his  life,  was  his  service  in  the  United  States  senate.  He  was 
elected  to  that  body  in  18-19,  and  participated  in  the  most 


received  3,621  votes  in  the  State,  and  in  this 
vote  is  partially  explained  the  defeat  of  Dixon. 
The  Whigs  as  a party  opposed  the  extension 
of  slavery,  and  favored  final  emancipation. 
This  led  many  of  the  more  ultra  to  vote  for 
Clay,  while  those  who  conscientiously  sup 
ported  the  institution  of  slavery,  deserted 
the  party  and  voted  with  the  Democrats.  Al- 
though the  “ Liberty  ” party  had  been  organ- 
ized in  1840,  it  cut  no  figure  in  Kentucky 
politics  until  at  this  election,  when  its  candi- 
date for  governor — Cassius  M.  Clay— received 
over  3,000  votes  in  the  State.  At  this  elec- 
tion five  Whigs  were  elected  to  congress  from 
the  State,  and  five  Democrats,  while  the  legis- 
lature, on  joint  ballot,  counted  75  Whigs  to  63 
Democrats.  Kentucky,  at  the  presidential 
election  in  1852,  again  showed  her  loyalty  to 
the  Whig  party  by  giving  Gen.  Winfield 
Scott  and  William  A.  Graham  (Whigs)  a 
majority  of  3, 262  over  Franklin  Pierce  and 
William  R King  (Democrats).  John  P.  Hale 
and  George  W.  Julian,  the  anti-slavery  can- 
didates, received  265  votes  in  the  State. 
Pierce  and  King  were  elected,  receiving  a 
majority  of  212  electoral  votes.  This  was 
the  last  national  contest  in  which  the  Whig 
party  was  known.  Four  years  later  it  ap- 
peared under  the  name  of  the  Know-nothing 
or  American  party. 

The  organization  of  the  Know-nothing 
party  presents  an  interesting  phase  in  the 
political  history,  not  only  of  the  State,  but 
of  the  nation.  A late  writerf  says:  “The 

curious  student,  who  will  take  the  trouble, 
may  easily  trace  something  of  a connection 
from  the  old  Federal  party  down  totheKnow- 
nothingism  of  half  a centuiy  later.  The 
former  culminated  under  the  elder  Adams  in 
disaster  and  disgrace,  by  the  enactment  of 
the  alien  and  sedition  laws  and  its  final 
overthrow  in  the  election  of  Mr.  Jefferson. 
From  that  time,  however,  nativist  organiza- 
tions existed  more  or  less  in  the  larger  cities 
of  the  Union,  where  their  contests  were 

important  discussions  incident  to  the  late  civil  war.  He  was  of 
undoubted  loyalty,  but  his  colleague,  Garrett  Davis,  questioned 
his  good  faith,  and  presented  a resolution  to  the  senate  to  expel 
him.  The  judiciary  committee  reported  against  the  resolution, 
but  Mr.  Davis  strongly  advocated  it;  the  resolution  was  defeated, 
and  Davis  afterward  retracted  the  charge.  Mr.  Powell  was 
defeated  for  a second  term  in  thesenate.  He  died  July  3,  1867, 
at  his  home  in  Henderson. 

tStuve.in  History  of  Illinois,  p.  646. 


328 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


mostly  personal  and  local,  meeting  with 
varying  success  and  iailure.  Later,  in  State 
and  national  elections,  they  mostly  co-oper- 
ated with  the  Whig  party,  and  occasionally 
sought  to  commit  it  to  their  narrow  doctrines. 
Upon  the  dissolution  of  the  Whig  party  this 
element  devised  a new  secret  organization 
more  subtle  in  its  operations,  and  by  its 
mysterious  ways  enticing  the  young  and  un- 
wary (for  the  human  mind  loves  mystery) 
with  principles  proscriptive  of  foreigners 
and  intolerant  of  Catholics.  The  dark  cere- 
monies of  the  order,  conducted  with  mysteri- 
ous secrecy,  were  peculiarly  impressive.  In 
this  feature  of  the  institution  is  found  the 
meaning  of  the  name  ‘Know-nothing.’  It 
w'as  significant  of  their  obligations.  The 
local  organizations  were  denominated  lodges, 
the  meetings  of  which  were  usually  held 
under  cover  of  night,  as  if  their  deeds  were 
evil,  by  aid  of  dark  lanterns  in  lonely  and 
unfrequented  places,  in  the  recesses  of  for- 
ests, hollows,  deserted,  or  untenanted  build- 
ings, unhnished  attics,  etc.,  repairing  thither 
stealthily,  though  none  pursued — conduct 
most  unbecoming  patriotic  citizens  of  a free 
country.  Lodges  sent  delegates  to  the  coun- 
cil, which  nominated  candidates,  designated 
other  delegates  to  other  councils  or  conven- 
tions, issued  orders,  etc.,  all  of  which,  the 
members  had  solemnly  sworn  to  implicitly 
support  and  obey,  under  penalty  of  expulsion, 
proscription,  personal  indignity,  if  not  out- 
rage. At  fii’st  their  uominations  were  made 
from  the  other  ]>olitical  parties,  and  by  their 
secret  and  united  weight  they  would  generally 
turn  the  scale  as  to  them  seemed  meet.  Thus 
emboldened,  the  operations  of  the  order 
were  extended,  and  finally  its  own  distinctive 
nominations  openly  announced  for  either 
local  or  other  offices.  Advancing  with  clan- 
destine and  rapid  strides,  it  attained  political 
supremacy  in  several  States,  and  cast  a large 
vote  in  many  others.  Still  aspiring,  in 
1856  a presidential  ticket  was  put  forth. 
But  it  may  be  said  that  the  Know-nothing 
order  lost  power  so  soon  as  it  openly  made 
separate  nominations  from  its  own  party, 
and  quit  secretly  e, spousing  the  nominations 
of  other  parties.  While  many  of  the  pi’e- 


tensions  of  all  parties  are  hollow — advanced 
to  make  political  capital  among  the  masses--  1 

the  cry  of  ‘ Americans  to  rule  America  ’by  ^ 

the  ostracism  of  foreign  born  citizens  and  ^ 

proscription  in  religion,  the  two  cardinal 
tenets  of  the  party,  was  both  unrepublican 
and  unconstitutional — unrepublican,  because  j 

in  conflict  with  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence; and  unconstitutional,  because  that 
instrument  says:  ‘No  religious  test  shall  !- 

ever  be  required  as  a qualification  to  any  ^ 

office  of  public  trust  under  the  United 
States.’  Further,  the  constitution  not  only  * 

permits,  but  fosters  the  freest  discussion. 

With  frequent  appeals  to  the  people,  a tri- 
bunal than  which  none  is  higher,  with  the 
duty  of  the  citizen  to  arraign  and  investi- 
gate the  conduct  of  government,  and  sgrutin- 
ize  the  operation  of  the  laws,  what  can 
justify  political  organizations  which  avoid 
the  open  day,  meet  in  darkness  and  seclusion, 
which  offer  no  ground  to  open  combat,  whose 
principles  are  a sealed  book,  and  whose 
adherents,  under  sworn  obligations,  ‘ know 
nothing?’  It  tended  to  segregate  foreign 
born  and  Catholic  residents  into  communities 
distinct  in  feeling  and  in  political  and  re- 
ligious interests,  and  to  excite  in  their 
breasts  the  animosities  and  hatreds  of  race 
by  fastening  upon  them  politically  the  brand 
of  ‘Helots.’”  j 

In  no  part  of  the  Union  was  the  feeling  J 
against  the  Catholics  or  the  foreign  element  | 

more  pronounced  than  in  Kentucky.  This  is  ;i 

rather  a strange  phase  in  the  political  history  ^ i 
of  the  State,  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  - 

foreign  population  was  few  in  numbers,  j 

and  the  great  majority  of  native  Catholics 
among  the  most  honorable  and  respectable 
citizens  of  the  commonwealth.  At  the  Au- 
gust election,  in  1854,  which  was  for  county 
officers  only,  the  Whigs,  under  the  new  name  ' 
of  Know-nothings,  were  victorious  throughout 
the  State,  with  few  exceptions.  In  August, 

1855,  the  election  was  for  State  officers, 
members  of  congress  and  of  the  legislature, 
and  partisan  feeling  was  at  fever  heat.  The 
Know-nothing,  or  American  party,  elected  six 
members  of  congress,  and  the  Democrats 
elected  four;  while  the  general  assembly 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


329 


stood:  senate,  thix’teen  Americans  and  seven 
Democrats;*  representatives,  sixty-one  Amer- 
icans and  thirty-nine  Democrats.  Charles 
S.  Morehead  was  elected  governor  on  the 
Know-nothing  or  American  ticket,  by  a 
majority  of  4,403,  over  Beverly  L.  Clarke, 
Democrat.  He  was  a man  of  wide  popu- 
larity, and  in  every  position  he  tilled  gained 
honorable  distinction.  He  was  a native  of 
Kentucky,  and  was  born  in  1802  in  Nelson 
County.  He  graduated  from  Transylvania 
University  with  the  highest  honors,  studied 
law  and  was  duly  admitted  to  practice.  He 
served  in  the  legislature  and  in  congress  sever- 
al terms,  and  in  all  his  public  acts  a sense 
of  duty  guided  him  above  selfish  and  per- 
sonal considerations.  After  the  expiration 
of  his  term  as  governor  he  retired  from  pub- 
lic service,  and  declined  all  further  official 
honors  until  the  war  clouds  of  1861  began  to 
gather,  when  he  accepted  the  responsible 
position  of  a delegate  from  Kentucky  to  the 
“ Peace  Conference”  at  W ashington.  Mr. 
Morehead  died  in  1868  in  his  sixty  sixth 
year. 

On  the  day  of  the  election  (August  6, 
1855)  the  most  disgraceful  riot  took  place 
ever  known  in  the  city  of  Louisville.  The 
day  is  still  “painfully  remembered,”  and 
quoted  in  the  annals  of  the  city  as  “Bloody 
Monday.”  Twenty-two  persons  were  killed 
outright,  or  died  of  wounds  received,  many 
others  were  injured,  while  some  twenty 
houses  or  more  were  burned,  and  a great 
deal  of  other  property  destroyed.  The  riot 
was  precipitated  by  the  rough  element  of  the 
Know-nothing  party,  who,  laboring  under 
intense  political  excitement,  occasioned  by 
distorted  reports  that  the  Catholic  people 
meditated  serious  disturbances  on  election 
day,  attacked  them  in  various  parts  of  the 
city,  but  more  fiercely  in  the  First  and  Eighth 
Wards.  The  most  deplorable  scenes  were  en- 
acted, and  violence  and  bloodshed  followed 
the  track  of  the  ruffians.  They  paraded  along 
the  streets  with  a cannon  at  their  head,  and 
set  fire  indiscriminately  to  the  houses  of  for- 
eigners. Several  persons,  who  were  con- 

'^Eighteen  senators  held  over,  one-half  being  elected  every 
tour  years. 


cealed  in  the  fated  buildings,  or  fled  to 
them  for  safety  from  the  infuriated  mob, 
were  burned  to  death,  while  others  were 
shot  while  attempting  to  escape  from  the 
flames.  The  riot  continued  far  into  the 
night,  and  serious  fears  were  entertained 
of  the  total  destruction  of  the  city.  But 
through  the  exertions  of  the  mayor,  police, 
and  influential  citizens,  such  a catastrophe 
was  prevented.  The  disgraceful  affair  brought 
considerable  discredit  to  the  Know-nothing 
party  and  contributed  in  no  small  degree 
to  its  ultimate  defeat  in  KentuckJ^  In  the 
campaign  of  1856  the  Whig  element  was  not 
strong  enough  iu  it,  or  past  mistakes  had  so 
enfeebled  the  party,  that  the  Democrats  car- 
ried the  State.  The  result  of  a spirited  con- 
test  was  that  James  Buchanan  and  John  C. 
Breckinridge,  Democratic  candidates  for 
president  and  vice-president,  received  a ma- 
jority (in  the  State)  of  6,118  over  Millard  Fill- 
more and  Andrew  J.  Donelson,  the  American 
candidates.*  John  C.  Fremont  and  William 
1 L.  Dayton,  Republicans,  received  314  votes. 
At  the  State  election,  in  1858,  the  Democrats 
were  victorious  by  an  overwhelming  major- 
ity, electing  eight  Democrats  to  two  Amer- 
icans to  congress;  sixty-one  Democrats  to 
thirty-nine  Americans  to  the  State  legisla- 
ture, and  thirteen  Democrats  to  seven  Amer- 
icans to  the  State  senate.  The  power  of  the 
American  party,  which,  under  its  first  organ- 
ization, carried  everything  in  Kentucky,  was 
now  broken.  The  Democrats  were  again 
successful  in  1859,  and  elected  Beriah  Ma- 
goffin governor,  over  Joshua  F.  Bell,  the 
American  candidate,  by  8,904  majority.  Linn 
Boyd,  the  Democratic  candidate  for  lieuten- 
ant-governor, was  elected  over  Alfred  Allen 
(American)  by  11,713  majority.  The  delega- 
tion to  congress  was  divided,  five  of  each 
party  being  elected. 

The  dark  clouds,  that  had  long  been  gath- 
ering on  the  political  horizon,  were  soon  to 
overshadow  the  country  and  plunge  it  in  civil 
war.  North  and  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon’s 
line  the  low  rumbling  of  the  thunder 

*Buchanan  and  Breckinridge  were  elected  president  and 
vice-president  by  173  electoral  votes,  to  114  cast  for  Fremont 
and  Dayton,  and  8 for  Fillmore  and  Donelson,  the  latter  carry- 
ing only  the  State  of  Maryland. 


330 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


could  be  heard.  With  prophetic  knowl- 
edge, Prentice  had  beheld  the  coming  storm 
long  before  it  broke,  and  strove  to  avert  it. 
Clay,  bowed  in  body  beneath  the  weight  of 
years,  but  as  erect  in  soul  as  “any  spire  that 
ever  rose  from  a temple  of  God  toward 
heaven,”  had  stepped  forward,  and  by  Titanic 
strength  and  exertion  turned  aside,  for  the 
time,  the  fury  of  the  tempest.  But  with 
deeper  gloom  and  more  portentous  threaten- 
ings  the  clouds  were  again  closing  over,  and 
there  seemed  to  be  none  to  rise  up  and  com- 
mand— “Peace,  be  still.”  In  1860  the  storm 
came. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to 
enter  upon  a discussion  of  the  issues  that  led 
up  to  the  civil  war,  nor  to  paint  the  hoiTors 
of  its  dismal  and  shifting  scenes.  These 
questions  are  treated  at  length  in  their  proper 
places.  The  presidential  election  of  1860 
from  the  beginning  was  contemplated  by  all 
men  of  reflection  with  the  most  profound 
solicitude.  The  canvass  opened  with  quite 
a medley  of  political  parties.  Four  able 
tickets,  any  of  w'hom  were  eminently  capa- 
ble of  administering  the  affairs  of  the  nation, 
were  put  forward  by  the  respective  parties 
and  factions,  viz.:  John  Bell  and  Edward 
Everett,  were  the  American  candidates;  John 
C.  Breckinridge  and  Joseph  Lane,  Southern 
Democrats;  Stephen  A.  Douglas  and  Herschel 
V.  Johnson.  Western  Democrats;  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  Hannibal  Hamlin,  Republicans. 
Owing  to  the  split  in  the  Democratic  party. 
Bell  and  Everett  carried  Kentucky,  the  vote 
in  the  State  being  as  follows : Bell  and  Everett, 
66,016;  Breckinridge  and  Lane,  52,836; 
Douglas  and  Johnson,  25,644;  Lincoln  and 
Hamlin,  1,366.  Bell’s  majority  over  Breck 
inridge  was  13,180;  over  Douglas,  40,372. 
Breckinridge’s  majority  over  Douglas  was 
27, 102.  Lincoln  and  Hamlin  were  elected, 
receiving  in  the  electoral  college,  180  of  the 
303  votes.  Bell  received  the  electoral  votes 
of  Tennessee, Kentucky  and  Virginia,  amount- 
ing to  39;  Breckinridge  received  those  of 
Delaware,  Maryland,  the  Carolinas,  Florida, 
Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana, 
Texas  and  Arkansas,  72;  Douglas,  although 


receiving  the  largest  popular  vote  next  to 
Lincoln,*  carried  but  one  State,  Missouri, 
in  the  electoral  college;  Lincoln  received  the 
electoral  votes  of  all  the  other  States — eight- 
een in  number. 

The  Whig  party,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the 
ruling  party  in  Kentucky  from  its  organization 
to  the  time  of  its  change  of  name  to  the  Know- 
nothing  or  American  party.  The  “Liberty” 
or  anti-slavery  party  was  organized  in  1840, 
and  a presidential  ticket  placed  in  the  field. 
The  small  vote  polled  by  this  ticket  through- 
out the  country  was  drawn  mainly  from  the 
Whigs.  The  Temperance  party,  even  then 
quite  an  element  in  politics,  drew  its  greater 
number  of  adherents  also  from  the  Whig  party. 
But,  notwithstanding  all  these  drains  upon 
the  Whig  masses,  it  continued  one  of  the 
great  ruling  parties  of  the  country,  as  well  as 
the  dominant  party  in  this  State,  until  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  in  1854, 
which  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Republican 
party.  The  latter,  in  its  organization,  ab- 
sorbed the  Whig  and  Liberty  or  Abolition 
parties.  With  the  election  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln to  the  presidency  in  1860,  the  national 
government  passed  into  the  control  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  so  remained  until 
1884,  when  the  Democrats,  after  having  been 
out  of  power  for  a quarter  of  a century, 
again  triumphed. 

The  Democratic  party  dates  its  birth  back 
to  that  of  the  Whigs.  It  originated  or 
assumed  a distinctive  form  during  the  presi- 
dency of  Gen.  Jackson,  and  is  still  one  of 
the  great  ruling  parties  of  the  country.  Since 
its  triumph  over  the  Know-nothing  party,  in 
1856,  it  has  been  the  dominant  party  in  Ken- 
tucky. For  fifty  years,  or  more,  it  has  main- 
tained its  organization  without  change  of 
name,  a fact  remarkable  in  the  history  of 
political  creeds  in  America.  The  discord  in 
its  ranks,  which,  in  1860,  lost  it  national 
control,  had  well  nigh  resulted  in  its  total 
disruption.  But  after  twenty-four  years  of 
defeat  and  disaster  it  is  again  restoi’ed  to 
power. 

*The  popular  vote  of  the  United  States  stood:  Lincoln,. 
1.866,452;  Douglas,  1,375,157;  Breckinridge,  847,953;  Bell,  590,631. 


JOHN  C.  BRECKINRIDGE. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


331 


OHAPTEE  XIV. 


THE  ANNEXATION  OF  TEXAS,  AND  WAR  WITH  MEXICO. 


Texas,  during  the  Mexican  revolution 
and  the  civil  wars  of  that  period,  as- 
sumed its  independence  and  set  up  a govern- 
ment of  its  own.  Its  territory  extended 
from  the  Sabine  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  was 
an  empire  in  itself.  Situated  in  the  mildest 
part  of  the  temperate  zone,  it  presented 
attractions  that  allured  in  vast  numbers 
adventurous  pioneers  to  its  rich  domain. 
Most  of  these  early  colonists  had  been  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States,  born  and  bx'ed 
amid  the  wild  scenes  of  the  western  frontier 
and  of  the  far  south  mainly,  and  were 
dependent  on  the  trusty  rifle  for  their  very 
subsistence.  The  trapper,  the  buffalo  hunter, 
the  restless,  roving  backwoodsman,  who,  like 
the  Indian,  moved  westward  as  civilization 
encroached  on  his  solitudes,  and  a few 
master-spirits  were  there  grouped  together 
in  one  heterogeneous  mass.  They  formed  a 
community  that  was  not  perfect  in  its  moral 
symmetry,  but  all  powerful  in  its  rough 
strength,  as  proven  in  the  contest  with  the 
veteran  soldiers  of  Santa  Anna.  There  were 
those  of  every  national  prejudice.  All  the 
marked  characteristics  of  men  met  their  oppo- 
sites, and  there  was  no  law  to  restrain  or 
govern  either,  except  that  public  judgment 
that  was  crystallized  into  a resistless  force. 
This  wonderful  alembic,  where  were  fused 
normal  and  abnormal  humanities,  thoughts, 
false  educations  and  prejudices  into  a molten 
stream,  scorched  everything  along  its  way,  as 
the  volcanic  eruption  does  the  debris  over 
which  it  flows.  It  was  the  untrammeled 
school  of  attrition  of  every  variety  of  mind 
with  mind — the  rough  diamond  that  gleams 
and  dazzles  with  beauty  only  when  rubbed 
with  diamond  dust. 

The  adventurers,  who  flocked  to  Texas 


from  the  States,  increased  rapidly,  until 
they  became  more  numerous  than  the  Mexi- 
cans, who  previously  inhabited  the  country. 
The  difference  of  race,  religion  and  laws 
was  soon  apparent  in  diversities  of  sentiment 
and  objects  between  the  old  and  new  inhabit- 
ants. “The  Texan  of  the  United  States 
brought  with  him,  not  only  greater  energy 
and  industry,  but  a wild  and  restless  ambi- 
tion— a more  intense  and  speculative  pursuit 
of  future  objects.  "When  differences  so  deep 
and  original  as  these  exist  among  different 
classes  of  people,  they  will  soon  become 
manifested  in  external  action.  The  new  in- 
habitants soon  seized  the  direction  of  all 
public  affairs,  and  Texas  became,  in  fact,  the 
possession  of  these  adventurers  from  a 
foreign  land,  rather  than  of  those  ancient 
citizens,  to  whose  government  it  had  once 
professed  allegiance.  The  power  thus  ob- 
tained was  soon  manifested  in  other  acts. 
It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  things,  that  a 
country  should  change  its  inhabitants  and 
not  also  change  its  government.  The  new 
possessors  will  assume  the  laws  and  institu- 
tions to  which  their  habits  have  been  used 
and  their  sentiments  assimilated.”*  So  it 
was  with  Texas.  The  American  population 
had  increased,  in  1831.  to  about  20,000,  and 
though  immigration  from  the  United  States 
had  been  prohibited  by  Mexico,  it  still  con- 
tinued to  increase.  Steps  were  taken  to 
separate  Texas  from  Coahuila,  which  was 
accomplished  in  1833, f and  application  made 
to  the  Mexican  government  as  a distinct 
State,  and  for  admission  as  such  into  the 

^Mansfield’s  History  of  the  Mexican  War. 

tXexas,  from  1727  to  1824,  was  a separate  province,  and  in  no 
wise  connected  with  any  other  political  division  of  Mexico. 
But  in  1824  it  was,  as  a province,  united  with  Coahuila,  neither 
being  sufficiently  populous  to  form  a State  of  itself.  From  this 
time  to  1833  the  combination  was  known  as  the  "State  of  Coa- 
huila and  Texas.’’ — H.  Yoakum. 


332 


HISTORY  OR 

Mexican  Union.*  But  tbeir  petition  was  j 
unheeded,  and  their  commissioner — Stephen 
F.  Austin — detained  at  the  Mexican  capital 
awaiting  the  answer  of  the  dilatory  govern- 
ment. Austin,  wearied  with  the  delay, 
wrote  home  to  the  people,  advising  them  to 
organize  their  State  government  without 
waiting  further  consent  of  the  Mexican 
authorities.f  His  letter  was  intercepted, 
himself  seized  and  thrown  into  a dungeon, 
where  he  remained  incarcerated  nearly  a year 
without  even  knowing  the  cause  of  his  arrest 
and  imprisonment.  Austin  was  among  the 
early  immigrants  to  Texas,  a man  of  more 
than  average  ability,  and  the  ablest  leader 
the  Texans  then  had.  His  father,  Moses 
Austin,  had  obtained  a large  grant  of  land 
fi’om  Mexico,  to  which,  at  his  death,  Stephen  ] 
succeeded.  For  the  latter’s  eminent  services, 
and  in  recognition  of  his  exertions  in  plant- 
ing a colony  in  Texas,  his  name  has  been 
attached  both  to  a county  and  to  the  capital 
of  the  State.  He  was  finally  released  by  the 
Mexican  government  and  permitted  to  return 
home.  Such  in  general  was  the  condition  of 
Texas,  when  it  knocked  for  admission  at  the 
door  of  the  American  Union. 

In  the  meantime,  Mexico  had  been  reduced 
to  a military  despotism,  with  Santa  Anna  at  its 
head.  In  September,  1835,  he  sent  Glen.  Cos 
into  Texas  with  a large  force  to  coerce  the 
rebellious  Texans  into  submission  to  his  will. 
A battle  was  fought  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio 
Guadalupe,  in  which  a part  of  the  Mexican 
force  was  defeated.  Soon  after  the  Texans  capt- 
ured Goliad,  and  with  it  a large  quantity  of 
arms  and  military  stores.  Gen.  Austin,  at  the 
head  of  the  Texan  army,  in  October  laid  siege 
to  the  strong  town  of  Antonio  de  Bexar.  Dur- 
ing the  progress  of  the  siege  Cols.  Fannin 
and  Bowie,  with  less  than  a hundred  men, 
gained  a brilliant  victory  over  400  Mexicans. 
Gen.  Austin’s  army  was  poorly  equipped. 
He  was  without  cannon  suitable  for  the  re 
duction  of  so  strong  a place,  but  he  stormed 
it  on  the  5th  of  December,  forcing  Gen.  Cos 
with  his  garrison  to  retire  within  the  fortress 

*This  was  several  years  prior  to  any  advances  being  made 
by  Texas  toward  the  United  States  government. 

f-Yoakum's  History  of  Texas. 


KENTUCKAb 

of  the  Alamo,  where  he  was  at  length  obliged 
to  capitulate.* 

Santa  Anna  now  determined  to  proceed 
against  the  Texans  in  person.  With  an  army 
of  10,000  men  and  a large  train  of  artillery, 
he  entered  their  country,  early  in  1836,  and 
on  the  21st  of  February  arrived  before  the 
town  of  Bexar.  He  surprised  the  garrison 
and  drove  them  into  the  Alamo  without  pro- 
visions. They  numbered  but  150  men,  includ- 
ing a re- enforcement  of  thirty-two  received 
from  Gonzales.  The  battle  which  followed 
is  thus  described  by  Frost,  in  his  history  of 
the  war  between  Texas  and  Mexico;  “For 
ten  days  the  air  was  darkened  by  the  shot 
and  shells  poured  into  the  fort  by  Santa  Anna, 
yet  not  a man  of  the  Texans  had  fallen, 
while  the  ground  was  strewed  with  hundreds 
of  their  enemies,  pierced  by  the  ball  of  the 
unerring  rifie.  At  length,  on  the  night  of  the 
5th  of  March,  they  beheld  the  enemy  advanc- 
ing to  assault  the  place.  With  their  artil- 
lery the  gallant  defenders  beat  whole  battal- 
ions to  the  earth,  yet  the  Mexican  pushed  on 
his  men,  confident  of  ultimate  success.  The 
scaling-ladders  were  planted,  and  the  Mexi- 
cans poured  into  the  fortress.  The  men  of 
the  garrison,  looking  more  like  specti’es  than 
men,  still  dealt  death  upon  the  enemy.  They 
sold  their  lives  dearly,  but  the  immense  num- 
bers of  their  assailants  made  their  destruction 
certain.  Seven  of  them,  finding  their  com- 
panions all  dead,  asked  for  quarter,  but  were 
refused.  They  retired  to  a corner  of  the 
fortress,  placed  their  backs  to  the  walls  and 
fell,  each  upon  a pile  of  his  fallen  foes.  Such 
was  the  victory  of  the  Alamo,  the  Thermopylae 
of  Texas,  which  cost  the  victor  1,500  of  his 
bravest  men.” 

Thus  the  Texan  revolution  raged.  The 
war  continued  with  varying  fortune  until  the 
battle  of  San  Jacinto,  on  the  21st  of  April, 
1836,  when  the  Mexican  power  was  broken, 
resulting  in  their  authority  over  the  Texans 
being  finally  destroyed.  This  was  the  most 
remarkable  battle  of  the  war,  and  the  most 
important  in  its  results.  Santa  Anna’s  army 
numbered  more  than  1,500  men,  and  was  com- 
posed of  veterans  who  had  grown  gray  in  the 

*History  of  the  Texan  Revolution,  p.  167. 


HISTORY  OF  KEHTUCKT. 


333 


numerous  wars  of  Mexico.  Gen.  Houston, 
who  commanded  the  Texans,  had  700  infant- 
ry and  sixty-one  cavalry.  But,  nothing 
daunted,  “the  gallant  Texans  charged  the 
enemy’s  lines  until  within  a few  yards,  when 
they  delivered  their  tire  with  dreadful  effect, 
shouted  their  war-cry,  ‘Remember  the  Alamo,’ 
and  rushed  upon  the  foe  with  the  bayonet  — 
and  the  contest  was  decided.”* 

The  battle  was  disastrous  to  the  Mexicans, 
and  the  destruction  of  their  army  was  com- 
plete. More  than  600  were  killed  in  the 
tight,  280  wounded  and  730  captured.  Gens. 
Cos  and  Almonte  were  among  the  prisoners, 
as  well  as  Santa  Anna,  who  was  taken  the 
next  day  after  the  battle.  A treaty  was  now 
effected  between  the  two  countries,  and  Santa 
Anna  as  president  of  Mexico,  signed  it  on 
the  14th  of  May,  acknowledging  “the  full, 
entire  and  perfect  independence  of  Texas.” 
By  this  treaty,  the  boundaries  of  the  new 
republic  were  defined  as  follows:  “Begin- 
ning at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande;  thence 
up  the  principal  stream  of  the  said  river  to 
its  source;  thence  due  north  to  the  forty- 
second  degree  of  north  latitude;  thence  along 
the  boundary  line  as  defined  in  the  treaty 
between  the  United  States  and  Spain  (Febru- 
ary, 1819)  to  the  beginning.  ”f 

It  was  agreed  on  the  part  of  the  Texans  that 
the  lives  of  their  prisoners  should  be  spared, 
and  that  Santa  Anna  should  be  sent  to  Vera 
Cruz,  and  thence  to  the  United  States.  He 
an-ived  in  the  latter  country  in  December, 
1836,  and  visited  the  president  at  Washing- 
ton. He  returned  to  Mexico  in  1837,  and 
retired  in  solitude  to  his  hacienda  of  Magno 
de  Clava. 

In  violation  of  every  principle  of  honor, 
the  republic  of  Mexico  disregarded  the  treaty 
with  Texas,  and,  as  before,  continued  to  treat 
the  Texans  as  rebels.  It  was  contended  that 
the  treaty  had  been  made  by  Santa  Anna 
while  under  constraint,  and  was,  therefore,  of 
no  effect  until  ratified  by  the  government  of 
Mexico.  Taking  advantage  of  the  existing 
dificulties,  Bustamente,  who  had  been  ban-  ' 

*Texan  Eevolution,  p.  169. 

fXhese  boundaries  constituted  one  of  the  grounds  of  claim  | 
against  Mexico,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  in  the  subse- 
quent troubles  between  those  powers.  1 


ished  from  Mexico,  now  returned  and  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  affairs.  Having  seized 
upon  the  presidency,  he  repudiated  the  Texan 
treaty  and  recommenced  the  war.  It  was 
continued  in  predatory  incursions  on  both 
sides  until  Texas  became  one  of  the  United 
States,  and  thus  engaged  the  attention  of 
Mexico  at  home. 

Texas,  at  a very  early  period  of  her  strug- 
gle, expressed  a desire  to  be  admitted  as  a 
State  into  the  American  Union.  She  had 
applied  for  admission  into  the  Mexican  con- 
federation in  1833,  and  on  August  4,1837^ 
made  a formal  proposition  to  the  United 
States.  Most  of  the  early  citizens  were  from 
the  States,  and  had  imbibed  the  principles 
of  liberty  in  their  broadest  sense;  so  it  is  but 
natural  that  they  should  desire  to  remain 
politically  and  socially  connected  with  the 
land  of  their  birth.  They  had  battled,  ap- 
parently, not  so  much  for  absolute  independ  • 
ence,  as  for  emancipation  from  Mexican 
tyranny,  and,  in  order  to  secure  this  object, 
they  had  laid  less  stress  on  national  sover- 
eignty, than  upon  a state  of  dependence, 
which  would  insui’e  them  safety.  Of  a gov- 
ernment of  rigid  laws  and  stern  police  regu- 
lations, they  knew  nothing,  but  they  were 
shrewd,  active,  alert  and  rich  in  animal  life 
and  energy.  Among  the  denizens  of  the 
forest  they  were  irresistible,  but  to  meet  in 
organized  convention  to  form  laws  for  a new 
nation,  were  labors  utterly  above  their  abili- 
ties. With  some  few  allowances  for  manner 
of  life  they  could  accommodate  themselves  to 
almost  any  old  government,  but  to  originate  a 
new  one,  or  to  execute  it  after  its  origination, 
was  the  point  at  which  they  failed.  This 
disposition  in  a people  whom  past  adversi- 
ties or  future  hopes  had  impelled  to  this  new 
region  in  pursuit  of  fortune  or  adventure, 
seems  a little  strange.  Most  nations,  how- 
ever small,  glory  in  their  independence  of 
foreign  control,  especially  if  that  independ- 
ence has  been  achieved  by  their  own  efforts. 
But  the  biu'den  of  self-government,  it  was 

' thought  by  the  Texans,  was  too  great  for  a 
young  and  irregularly  settled  country.*  The 

I proposition  of  Texas  to  become  a member  of 

I =^Frost’s  History  of  the  Mexican  AVar. 


334 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


the  American  Union  was  declined  by  Presi- 
dent Van  Buren,  on  the  ground  that  it  would 
be  “an  act  of  injustice  to  a sister  republic.” 
He  declared  that  so  long  as  we  were  bound 
by  a treaty  of  amity  and  commerce  with 
Mexico,  to  annex  Texas  would  necessarily 
involve  the  question  of  war,  and  that  a dis- 
position to  espouse  the  quarrel  with  Mexico 
was  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  the  treaty, 
and  with  the  policy  and  welfax’e  of  the  United 
States.*  The  application  was  not  pressed  at 
that  time,  and  Texas  still  remained  exposed 
to  the  guerrilla  warfare  carried  on  by  Mexico. 
But  negotiations  were  continued  with  the 
United  States,  and  with  England  and  France, 
for  loans  and  troops,  the  object  of  which  was 
to  force  from  Mexico  an  acknowledgement  of 
Texan  independence. 

This  unsettled  state  of  affairs — a partial 
war  at  one  time,  and  a series  of  negotiations 
at  another — continued  to  exist  in  Texas  until 
the  accession  of  Mr.  Tyler  to  the  presidency 
revived  the  plan  of  annexation.  The  ques- 
tion, though  very  cautiously  handled  by  the 
politicians  of  that  day,  was  a growing  one,  and 
did  not  fail  to  impress  its  importance  upon  a 
number  of  leading  men,  among  whom  was 
the  president  himself.  Mr.  Tyler  had  begun 
his  administration  with  the  settled  intention 
of  making  Texas  a part  of  the  United  States 
as  soon  as  circumstances  would  permit.  Dur- 
ing the  first  two  years  of  his  term,  however, 
his  time  was  too  much  taken  up  with  the 
tariff  question,  and  other  important  subjects 
causing  acrimonious  discussion,  to  allow  him 
to  force  the  issues  of  the  Texan  question. 
Circumstances  continued  unfavorable,  and 
Mr.  Webster,  the  secretary  of  state,  was  op- 
posed to  the  policy.  In  1842,  Texas,  hav- 
ing once  more  applied  for  admission,  the 
danger  became  imminent  lest,  disgusted  with 
her  treatment,  she  might  never  again  pro- 
pose terms  for  annexation.  From  this  time 
it  became  the  leading  question  in  the  mind 
of  the  president,  resulting  in  the  withdrawal 
of  Mr.  Webster,  in  May,  1843,  from  the  cab- 
inet, though  on  every  other  question  he 
agreed  with  the  executive. f The  position  of 

* State  Papers. 

•[■Americaii  History,  Yol.  VIII,  p.  380. 


Mr.  Tyler,  at  this  time,  attracted  the  notice  of 
both  the  great  political  parties,  and  drew  out 
the  opinions  of  leading  men  and  the  criti- 
cisms of  the  press.  As  his  official  term 
approached  its  close,  it  became  more  and 
more  evident  that  annexation  would  be  one 
of  the  rallying  points  on  which,  during  the 
national  election,  the  opposing  masses  would 
test  their  strength.  Mr.  Upshur,  who  had 
succeeded  Mr.  Webster  as  secretary  of  State, 
was  killed  on  February  28,  1844,  by  an  ex- 
plosion on  board  the  steamer  “Princeton,”  and 
the  president  appointed  John  0.  Calhoun, 
with  whom  the  annexation  of  Texas  was  a 
favorite  project,  to  succeed  him.  Together, 
the  president  and  his  secretary  labored  as- 
siduously to  accomplish  annexation. 

Mexico,  in  the  meantime,  had  aroused  her- 
self to  action.  Fearful  of  losing  so  larp^e  a 

o o 

portion  of  her  ancient  territory,  she  awoke  to 
the  necessity  of  protecting  her  interests  and 
of  defending  her  honor,  though  it  should  be 
at  the  expense  of  war.  On  August  23,  1843, 
Mr.  Bocanegra,  the  Mexican  minister  of 
foreign  relations,  addressed  a note*  to  Waddy 
Thompson,  our  minister  to  Mexico,  from 
which  the  following  is  taken:  “If  a party  in 
Texas  is  now  endeavoring  to  effect  its  incor- 
poration with  the  United  States,  it  is  from  a 
consciousness  of  their  notorious  incapability 
to  form  and  constitute  an  independent  nation 
without  their  having  changed  their  situation, 
or  acquired  any  right  to  separate  themselves 
from  their  mother  country.  His  excellency, 
the  provisional  president,  resting  on  this  deep 
conviction,  is  obliged  to  prevent  an  agression, 
unprecedented  in  the  annals  of  the  world, 
from  being  consummated,  and  if  it  be  indis- 
pensable for  the  Mexican  nation  to  seek 
security  for  its  rights  at  the  expense  of  the 
disasters  of  war,  it  will  call  upon  God,  and 
rely  on  its  own  efforts  for  the  defense  of  its 
just  cause.”  As  if  to  pi’event  any  misunder- 
standing of  the  meaning  of  Mexico,  Gen. 
Almonte,  Mexican  minister  at  Washington, 
wrote  to  the  secretary  of  state,  under  date  of 
November  3d  as  follows:  “But  if,  contrary 
to  the  hopes  and  wishes  entertained  by  the 
government  of  the  undersigned  for  the 

*State  Papers. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


335 


preservation  of  tlie  good  understanding  and 
harmony  which  should  reign  between  the  two 
neighboring  and  friendly  republics,  the 
United  States  should,  in  defiance  of  good 
faith,  and  the  principles  of  justice  which 
they  have  constantly  proclaimed,  commit  the 
unheard-of  act  of  violence  of  appropriating 
to  themselves  an  integrant  pai’t  of  the  Mexi- 
can territory,  the  undersigned,  in  the  name 
of  his  nation,  and  now  for  them,  protests  in 
the  most  solemn  manner  against  such  an 
aggression;  and  he  moreover  declares,  by 
express  order  of  his  government,  that  on 
sanction  being  given  by  the  executive  of  the 
Union  to  the  incorporation  of  Texas  into  the 
United  States,  he  will  consider  his  mission 
ended,  seeing  that,  as  the  secretary  of  state 
will  have  learned,  the  Mexican  government  is 
resolved  to  declare  war  as  soon  as  it  receives 
intimation  of  such  act.” 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  United  States 
did  not  enter  blindly  into  negotiations  with 
Texas,  nor  in  ignorance  of  what  the  result  of 
annexation  would  be.  Long  prior  to  the 
admission  of  Texas,  she  had  been  officially 
informed  by  the  Mexican  government  that 
war  must  inevitably  follow  such  act.  Un- 
heeding the  solemn  protest  of  Mexico,  nego- 
tiations were  continued  and  even  pressed  to 
an  experimental  test.  Gen.  xllmonte’s  letter 
of  remonstrance  had  been  written  to  the  sec- 
retary of  state  in  November,  1843.  On  April 
22,  1844,  President  Tyler  submitted  to  the 
senate  a “treaty  of  annexation,”  accompanied 
by  an  elaborate  message.  It  was  the  signal 
for  a violent  explosion  against  the  adminis- 
tration, and  the  result  was.  after  a bitter 
debate,  the  rejection  of  the  treaty  by  a vote 
of  thirty-five  to  sixteen.*  The  question  was 
thus  left  open  for  discussion,  and  was  one  of 
the  leading  issues,  as  predicted,  before  the 
people  in  the  presidential  contest  of  1844. 
“Polk,  Dallas  and  Texas”  was  the  battle-cry 
of  the  Democrats,  and  their  candidates,  Polk 
and  Dallas,  being  elected  by  a large  majority, 
this  was  taken  as  a public  declaration  on  the 
subject.  President  Tyler  now  directed  all 
his  efforts  to  effect  another  treaty  before  the 
close  of  his  official  term,  and  so  successfully, 

^Public  Documents  of  1844. 


that,  on  March  1,  1845,  congress  passed  the 
joint  resolution  annexing  Texas  to  the  United 
States.  _On  the  same  day  the  president 
affixed  his  official  signature  to  the  document, 
and  on  the  4th  of  July  following,  the  treaty 
was  ratified  by  the  Texan  government.  Thus 
the  signal  was  given  for  one  of  the  most  un- 
just and  unnecessary  wars  of  modern  times — 
a war  that  proved  but  the  prelude  of  another 
far  more  dreadful.  Had  the  war  with  Mex- 
ico been  avoided,  as  it  well  might  have  been, 
by  a refusal  to  recognize  the  “Lone  Star” 
republic,  and  receive  it  as  a State  into  the 
American  Union,  it  is  possible  that  the  civil 
war,  which  followed  a decade  and  a half  later, 
might  not  have  occurred.  Thus  one  event 
leads  to  another,  and 

One  woe  doth  tread  upon  another’s  heel. 

So  fast  they  follow. 

Time  has  healed  the  breach  made  by  this 
national  robbery,  and  years  of  peace  have 
softened  the  angry  feelings  then  aroused. 
The  annexation  of  Texas  precipitated  the 
war  betweeu  Mexico  and  the  United  States, 
but  there  were  mure  important  questious  in- 
volved, which  the  unjust  act  developed.  An 
eminent  American  statesman  has  said  that. 
“ the  commencement  of  the  Mexican  war  was 
the  opening  of  a new  volume  of  American 
history.”  This  is  quite  true.  The  contest 
with  Mexico  is  merely  the  preface  to  that 
volume — the  production  of  the  civil  war  of 
1861-65.  To  protect  slavery,  and  to  extend 
the  baleful  institution,  was  the  ruling  idea 
with  the  great  majority  of  those  in  the 
United  States,  and  particularly  in  the  South, 
who  favored  annexation,  and  may  thus  be 
considered  the  direct  cause  of  the  Mexican 
war,  and  which  culminated  finally  in  the  war 
between  the  States.  The  Whig  party  in  pol- 
itics opposed  annexation  on  the  ground  that 
the  acquisition  of  new  territory  would  but 
result  in  the  extension  of  slavery.  One  of 
the  great  exponents  of  the  party  thus  ex- 
pressed its  general  sentiment  * on  the  sub- 
ject: 

If  further  acquisitiou  of  territory  is  to  be  the 
result  either  of  conquest  or  treatj%  then  I scarcely 
know  which  should  be  preferred,  eternal  war  with 

* Thomas  Corwin  in  a speech  in  the  United  .States  senate 
opposing  the  Mexican  war. 


330 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Mexico,  or  the  hazards  of  internal  commotion  at 
home,  -which  last,  I fear,  may  come  if  another  prov- 
ince is  to  he  added  to  our  territory.  There  is  one 
topic  connected  -with  this  subject  which  I tremble 
when  I approach,  and  yet  I cannot  forbear  to  men- 
tion it.  It  meets  you  in  every  step  you  take.  It 
threatens  you  which  way  soever  you  go  in  the 
prosecution  of  this  war.  I allude  to  the  question  of 
slavery.  Opposition  to  its  further  extension,  it 
must  be  obvious  to  every  one,  is  a deeply  rooted 
determination  with  men  of  all  parties  in  what  we 
call  the  non-slaveholding  States.  New  York.  Penn- 
sylvania and  Ohio,  three  of  the  most  powerful,  have 
already  sent  their  legislative  instructions  here — so  it 
will  be,  I doubt  not,  in  all  the  rest.  It  is  vain  now 
to  speculate  about  the  reason  of  all  this.  Gentlemen 
of  the  South  may  call  it  prejudice,  passion,  hypoc- 
risy, fanaticism.  I shall  not  dispute  with  them  now 
on  that  point.  The  great  fact  that  it  is  so,  and  not 
otherwise,  is  what  it  concerns  us  to  know.  You 
nor  I cannot  change  this  opinion  if  we  w'ould. 
These  people  only  say,  we  will  not,  cannot  consent 
that  you  shall  carry  slavery  where  it  does  not  al- 
ready exist.  They  do  not  seek  to  disturb  you  in 
that  institution,  as  it  exists  in  your  States.  Enjoy 
it  if  you  will  and  as  you  will.  This  is  their  lan- 
guage, this  their  determination.  How  is  it  in  the 
South?  Can  it  be  expected  that  they  will  expend 
in  common  their  blood  and  their  treasure,  in  the 
acquisition  of  immense  territory,  and  then  willingly 
forego  the  right  to  carry  thither  their  slaves,  and 
inhabit  the  conquered  country  if  they  please  to  do 
so?  Nay,  I believe  they  would  contend  to  any  ex- 
tremity for  the  mere  right,  had  they  no  wish  to 
exert  it.  I believe,  and  I confess  I tremble  when 
the  conviction  presses  upon  me,  that  there  is  equal 
obstinacy  on  both  sides  of  this  fearful  question.  If, 
then,  we  persist  in  war,  which,  if  it  terminate  in 
anything  short  of  a mere  wanton  waste  of  blood  as 
well  as  money,  must  end  (as  this  bill  proposes)  in 
the  acqisition  of  territory,  to  which  at  once  this 
controversy  must  attach — this  bill  would  seem  to 
be  nothing  less  than  a bill  to  produce  internal  com- 
motion. Should  we  prosecute  this  war  another 
moment,  or  expend  $1  in  the  purchase  of  a single 
acre  of  Mexican  land,  the  North  and  the  South  are 
brought  into  collision  on  a point  where  neither  will 
yield.  Who  can  foresee  or  foretell  the  result? 

This  was  the  position,  these  the  senti- 
ments, of  one  of  Ohio’s  greatest  statesmen,  and 
like  views  were  entertained  by  a majority  of 
his  people  and  his  party.  Henry  Clay,  the 
great  “commoner,”  took  the  same  ground,  as 
did  Daniel  Webster  and  most  of  the  lead- 
ing Whigs  of  the  country.  They  opposed 
the  extension  of  slavery  as  a national  evil, 
and  to  avert  such  evil,  they  opposed  the  an- 
nexation of  Texas.  Had  slavery  not  become 
aggressive  for  territorial  expansion,  it  would 


doubtless  have  taken  a long  time  for  the  slow 
pi’ocess  of  political  policy  to  have  accom- 
plished its  final  ejxtinction. 

Upon  the  passage  of  the  joint  act  admit- 
ting Texas  into  the  sisterhood  of  States, 
Mexico  immediately  broke  off  all  diplomatic 
intercourse  with  the  American  government, 
called  home  her  minister,  and  began  prepar- 
ations for  war.  War  soon  followed.  “The 
army  of  occupation,  under  Gen.  Zachary 
Taylor,  was  ordered  to  Corpus  Christi,  in 
July,  and  during  the  winter  following,  it 
was  ordered  to  a point  opposite  Matamoras, 
to  take  possession  of  the  territory  in  dispute.* 
* * * The  Mexicans  occupied  the  ter- 

ritory at  the  time,  with  a military  force 
stationed  at  Brazos  Santiago,  which,  on  the 
approach  of  Gen.  Taylor  to  Point  Isabel, 
withdrew  west  of  the  Rio  Grande.  * * * 

On  the  28th  of  March,  1846,  Taylor,  with 
about  4,000  men,  took  position  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Rio  Grande,  opposite  Matamoras, 
and  within  cannon  shot  of  that  place.  April 
24th,  Gen.  Arista  arrived  in  Matamoras  and 
assumed  command  of  the  Mexican  forces. 
On  the  same  day  Gen.  Taylor,  having  learned 
that  a large  body  of  Mexicans  had  crossed 
the  river  twenty  miles  above,  dispatched 
Capts.  Thornton  and  Hardee  with  sixty  men 
to  reconnoiter  their  movements.  They  fell  in 
with  what  they  supposed  was  a scouting 
party,  but  which  proved  to  be  the  advance 
guard  of  a strong  force  of  the  enemy  posted 
in  the  chaparral.  The  Americans  charged 
and  pursued  the  guard  across  the  clearing, 
and  in  an  instant  their  forces  were  surround- 
ed by  the  main  body  of  Mexicans,  who  fired 
upon  them,  killing  sixteen  and  taking  the 
remainder  prisoners.”f 

Although  it  had  been  more  than  a year 
since  the  passage  of  the  act  of  annexation, 
this  slight  skirmish  may  be  regarded  as  the 
commencement  of  hostilities  between  Mexi- 
co and  the  United  States.  The  report  of  the 
capture  of  Thornton  and  Hardee  did  not 
reach  Washington  until  the  9th  of  May,  one 

*The  Texans  claimed  the  -whole  country  east  of  the  Rio 
Grande.  Mr.  Slidell  -was  appointed  an  envoy  by  the  United 
States  and  sent  to  the  Mexican  government  to  settle  all  ques- 
tions of  boundary  bet-ween  the  two  countries,  but  his  mission 
was  unsuccessful. 

fStuve’s  sketch  of  the  Mexican  war  in  History  of  Illinois. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


337 


day  after  the  opening  battle  of  Palo  Alto. 
As  the  news  spread  over  the  country  it  creat- 
ed the  most  intense  excitement.  Public 
meetings  were  held,  and  the  indignation  of 
the  people  gave  vent  to  warlike  speeches  and 
resolutions.  Governors  tendered  the  services 
of  their  militia  to  the  president,  and  issued 
proclamations  to  their  people  to  organize  and 
enroll  themselves  in  readiness  for  emergen- 
cies. The  excitement  was  at  fever  heat. 
The  president  sent  in  a special  message  to 
congress,  and  two  days  later  that  body  passed 
an  act  authorizing  him  to  accept  the  services 
of  50,000  volunteers,  and  appropriating  $10,- 
000,000  to  carry  on  the  war.  Military 
organizations  began  now  in  earnest.  But 
while  these  scenes  were  transpiring  in  the 
United  States,  more  thrilling  ones  were  being 
enacted  in  Mexico.  The  battle  of  Palo  Alto, 
the  first  actual  battle  of  the  war,  occurred 
on  the  8th  of  May,  1846,  followed  on  the 
next  day  by  the  battle  of  Resaca  de  la  Palma, 
in  both  of  which  the  Americans,  though  con- 
fronted by  largely  superior  numbers,  were 
victorious. 

A call  for  volunteers  soon  followed,  and  in 
the  apportionment  of  troops  among  the  States, 
the  South  and  West  came  in  for  the  largest 
quotas.  The  patriotism  of  Kentucky  blazed 
out  from  one  end  of  the  commonwealth  to 
the  other.  The  governor,  anticipating  the 
call,  issued  his  proclamation  for  volunteers, 
and  more  than  13,000  responded.  Under 
the  first  requisition  for  troops,  the  State  was 
required  to  furnish  2,400  men — two  regi- 
ments of  infantry  and  one  of  cavalry.  Not- 
withstanding the  ascendancy  of  the  Whig 
party  in  Kentucky,  and  the  general  opposition 
of  that  party  to  the  war,  10,000  more  volun- 
teers reported  for  duty  than  could  be  accept- 
ed. The  quota  was  filled,  and  the  surplus 
companies  were  disbanded  and  furnished 
transportation  to  their  homes  at  the  expense 
of  the  State. 

The  Louisville  Legion,  a military  organ- 
ization now  nearly  half  a century  old,  were 
among  the  first  troops  to  tender  their  services 
to  the  governor.  Composed  of  the  flower  of 
Louisville  manhood,  the  Legion,  ten  compa- 
nies strong,  commanded  by  Col.  Ormsby,  was 


accepted  by  the  State,  and  became  the  First 
Kentucky  Infantry.  It  was  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service,  and  at  once  em- 
barked for  the  seat  of  war. 

The  history  of  the  Louisville  Legion  dates 
back  to  1837.  In  that  year  a company  was 
organized,  called  the  “ Louisville  Guards,  ” 
Thomas  Anderson,  captain,  and  Charles 
Tilden  and  John  Barbee,  lieutenants.  The 
“Washington  Blues,”  under  Capt.  W.  L. 
Ball;  the  “ Kentucky  Riflemen,”  under  Capt. 
Thomas  J.  Martin,  and  the  “ Louisville 
Grays,”  under  Capt.  J.  Birney  Marshall, 
were  organized  in  1838  and  1839.  These 
four  companies,  in  1840,  were  formed  into  a 
battalion  under  the  charter  of  the  “ Louis- 
ville Legion,”  with  Thomas  Anderson, 
colonel;  Jason  Rogers,  lieutenant- colonel ; 
Humphrey  Marshall,  major,  and  John  Barbee, 
adj  utant. 

In  1846,  after  war  had  been  declared 
against  Mexico,  the  strength  of  the  Louis- 
ville Legion  was  increased  to  nine  companies 
of  infantry  and  one  of  artillery,  thus  forming 
a full  regiment.  Upon  the  offer  of  their 
services  to  the  governor,  they  were  accepted, 
and  in  four  days  were  on  the  way  to  Mexico. 
They  were  mustered  into  service  on  the  17th 
of  May,  1846,  with  the  following  regimental 
officers:  Stephen  Ormsby,  colonel;  Jason 
Rogers,  lieutenant-colonel;  John  B.  Shep- 
herd, major;  William  Riddel,  adjutant,  and 
T.  L.  Caldwell  and  J.  J.  Matthews,  surgeons. 
The  company  commanders  were:  First  Com- 
pany— C.  H.  Harper,  captain;  Second  Com- 
pany   Sanders,  captain;  Third  Company 

— E.  B.  Howe,  captain;  Fourth  Company — F. 
Kern,  captain;  Fifth  Company  — Godfrey 
Pope,  captain;  Sixth  Company — John  Fuller, 
captain;  Seventh  Company — Com’ad  Schroe- 
der,  captain;  Eighth  Company — F.  F.  C. 
Triplett,  captain;  Ninth  Company — W.  L. 
Ball,  captain;  Tenth  Company — C.  W. 
Bullen,  captain. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  the  Legion,  as 
an  orgfanization,  became  somewhat  lukewarm, 
if  it  did  not  wholly  disband,  and  at  the  out- 
break of  the  civil  war,  many  of  the  surviving 
members  entered  into  the  service,  some  into 

the  Federal  and  some  into  the  Confederate 

21 


338 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


ai’my.  During  the  labor  troubles  of  1877, 
when  it  became  evident  to  the  people, 
throughout  the  country,  that  effective  State 
organization  was  necessary  at  times  to  pre- 
serve the  civil  authorities,  the  Louisville 
Legion  was  reorganized  and  put  on  an 
effective  footing.  The  Mexican  veterans  of 
the  old  Legion  turned  over  their  charter  to 
the  new  organization,  and  since  then  its 
history  is  familiar  to  the  people  of  the  city 
and  the  State.  The  two  regiments  addition- 
al to  the  Legion,  embraced  in  the  first  call 
for  ti’oops,  were  officered  as  follows:  Second 
Infantxy — AVilliam  R.  McKee,  of  Lexington, 
colonel;  Henry  Clay,  Jr.,  of  Louisville, 
lieutenant-colonel;  Cary  H.  Fry, of  Danville, 
major;  First  Company — William  H.  Maxey, 
of  Green  County,  captain;  Second  Company 
—Franklin  Chambers,  of  Franklin  County, 
captain;  Third  Company — Phil  B.  Thomp- 
son, of  Mercer  County,  captain;  Fourth 
Company  — Speed  Smith  Fry,  of  Boyle 
County,  captain;  Fifth  Company — George 
W.  Cutter,  of  Kenton  County,  captain;  Sixth 
Company — William  T.  Willis,  of  Jessamine 
County,  captain ; Seventh  Company — Will- 
iam Dougherty,  of  Lincoln  County,  captain; 
Eighth  Company — William  M.  Joiner,  of 
Kenton  County,  captain;  Ninth  Company — 
AViikerson  Turpin,  of  Montgomery  County, 
captain;  Tenth  Company — George  W.  Kava- 
naugh,  of  Anderson  County,  captain. 

First  Cavalry — Humphrey  Marshall,  of 
Louisville,  colonel;  E.  H.  Field,  of  Wood- 
ford County,  lieutenant-colonel;  John  P. 
Gaines,  of  Boone  County,  major;  and  E.  M. 
Vaughn,  of  Fayette  County,  adjutant.  First 
Company — William  J.  Heady,  of  Jefferson 
County,  captain;  Second  Company — A.  Pen- 
nington, of  Jefferson  County,  captain;  Third 
Company — Cassius  M.  Clay,  of  Fayette 
County,  captain;  Fourth  Company — Thomas 
F.  Marshall,  of  Woodford  County,  captain; 
Fifth  Company — J.  C.  Stone,  of  Madison 
County,  captain;  Sixth  Company — J.  Price, 
of  Garrard  County, captain;  Seventh  Company 
— G.  L.  Postlethwaite,  of  Fayette  County, 
captain;  Eighth  Company — J.  S.  Li  Hard,  of 
Gallatin  County,  captain;  Ninth  Company  — 
John  Shawhan,  of  Harrison  County,  captain; 


Tenth  Company— B.  C.  Milam,  of  Franklin 
County,  captain. 

A company  had  been  recruited  by  John  S. 
Williams,  in  Clark  County,  but,  through  some 
misunderstanding  between  the  goveimor  of 
Kentucky  and  the  United  States  secretary  of 
war,  it  had  been  excluded  from  regimental 
organization.  Capt.  Williams  applied  at 
once  to  the  war  department  to  have  it  mus- 
tered into  service  as  an  independent  company. 
While  this  application  was  pending,  Capt. 
Williams  marched  them  to  the  rendezvous  at 
Louisville,  and  uniformed  them,  and  where 
an  order  was  soon  received  by  Gen.  Wool  to 
muster  it  in.  It  was  accordingly  mustered 
into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  and 
ordered  to  report  to  the  colonel  of  the  Sixth 
United  States  Regular  Infantry,  then  en  route 
for  Mexico.  It  served  with  this  resiment 
until  its  term  (one  year)  expired,  and  partic- 
ipated in  the  battle  of  Cerro  Gordo,  where  it 
received  the  highest  praise  for  its  bravery. 
Capt.  Williams  was  soon  after  appointed 
colonel  of  the  Fourth  Kentucky  Infantry,  a 
regiment  organized  under  the  second  call  for 
troops. 

On  the  31st  of  August,  1847,  a second 
requisition  was  made  on  Kentucky  for  troops, 
and  two  regiments  asked  for.  They  were 
organized  and  ready  for  service  by  the  20th  of 
September,  and  were  numbered  and  officered  as 
follows:  Third  Infantry — ManliusV.Thomson, 
of  Georgetown, colonel;  Thomas  L. Crittenden, 
of  Frankfort,  lieutenant-colonel;  John  C. 

Breckinridge,  of  Lexington,  major; 

Bradly,  adjutant.  First  Company — A.  T. 
Caldwell,  of  Laurel  County,  captain;  Second 
Company — W.  P.  Childs,  of  Estill  County, 
captain;  Third  Company — Thomas  Todd,  of 
Shelby  County,  captain;  Fourth  Company — 
William  E.  Simms,  of  Bourbon  County,  cap- 
tain; Fifth  Company — John  R.  Smith,  of 
Scott  County,  captain;  Sixth  Company — 
James  Ewing,  of  Bath  County,  captain; 
Seventh  Company- — Leander  M.  Cox,  of 
Fleming  County,  captain ;*Eighth  Company — 
Leonidas  Metcalfe,  of  Nicholas  County,  cap- 
tain; Ninth  Company — J.  A.  Pritchard,  of 

*It  is  reported  of  Capt.  Cox’s  company,  that  twenty-five  of 
his  men  were  over  .six  feet  high. 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


339 


Boone  County,  captain;  Tenth  Company — 
L.  B.  Robinson,  of  Fayette  County,  captain. 

Fourth  Infantry — John  S.  Williams,  of 
Winchester,  colonel;  William  Preston,  of 
Louisville,  lieutenant- colonel;  William  T. 
W’^ard,  of  Greensburg,  major;  William  E. 
Woodruff,  of  Louisville,  adjutant.  First 
Company — J.  S.  Corum,  of  Caldwell  County, 
captain;  Second  Company — G.  B.  Cook,  of 
Livingston  County,  captain;  Third  Company 
— D.  McCreery,  of  Daviess  County,  captain; 
Fourth  Company — P.  H.  Gardner,  of  Hart 
County,  captain;  Fifth  Company— T.  Keat- 
ing, of  Jefferson  County,  captain;  Sixth  Com- 
pany— John  C.  Squires,  of  Adair  County, 
captain;  Seventh  Company— John  G.  Lair, 
of  Pulaski  County, captain;  Eighth  Company 
— M.  R.  Hardin,  of  Washington  County, 
captain;  Ninth  Company — B.  Rowan  Hardin, 
of  Nelson  County,  captain;  Tenth  Company 
— A.  W.  Bartlett,  of  Henry  County,  captain. 

Twelve  other  full  companies  reported,  one 
from  each  of  the  following  counties:  Mason, 
Montgomery,  Fayette,  Madison,  Bullitt, 
Campbell,  Hardin,  Harrison  and  Franklin, 
and  three  from  Louisville,  besides  several 
fragmentary  companies  that  were  never  com- 
pleted, the  filling  of  the  quota  rendering 
fm'ther  recruiting  unnecessary.  Prior  to  the 
second  call  being  made,  four  companies  for 
the  war  were  enlisted  in  Kentucky,  and 
March  1,  1847,  mustered  into  the  regular 
army  of  the  United  States. 

Gen.  Zachary  Taylor,  commander-in-chief 
of  the  army  in  Mexico,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  war,  is  claimed  as  a Kentuckian, 
though  really  born  in  Virginia.  His  father 
removed  to  Kentucky,  in  1785,  when  Zachary 
was  but  nine  months  old,  and  settled  in  the 
present  county  of  Jefferson.  Born  at  the 
close  of  the  revolution,  young  Taylor  grew 
to  manhood  amid  the  Indian  wars,  which 
raged  for  years  upon  the  frontiers,  and  were 
particularly  severe  in  Kentucky,  As  he  gi’ew 
up  he  developed  a fondness  for  arms,  and  at 
the  age  of  twenty-three  was  commissioned  a 
lieutenant  in  the  United  States  army.  From 
this  subordinate  position  he  rose  by  regular 
gradation  to  the  rank  of  major-general,  and 
second  in  command  in  the  regular  army. 


He  was  no  “carpet  knight,”  but  his  pro- 
motions were  all  won  by  hard  service  in  the 
field.  He  was  one  of  the  foremost  soldiers 
of  the  age,  and  his  biographer  does  him  but 
justice  when  he  says:  “No  man  but  Gen. 

Taylor  could  have  won  the  victory  of  Buena 
Vista.”  Shortly  after  Gen.  Scott  was  ordered 
by  the  government  at  Washington  to  Mexico, 
to  take  command  of  the  army,  Gen.  Taylor 
resigned  and  returned  to  the  United  States. 
He  was  elected  president  in  1848,  by  the 
Whig  party,  over  Gen.  Lewis  Cass,  but  died 
in  July,  1850,  a little  more  than  a year  after 
his  inauguration.  He  lies  buried  near  Louis- 
ville, where  recently  a handsome  monument 
has  been  placed  at  his  grave,  to  mark  the 
spot  where  the  old  hero  sleeps. 

William  O.  Butler  was  commissioned  a 
major-general  by  President  Polk,  June  29, 
1846,  for  service  in  the  Mexican  war.  He 
was  born  in  Jessamine  County,  Ky.,  in  1791, 
and  was  educated  in  Transylvania  University. 
He  entered  the  ai’my  before  he  was  twenty- 
one  years  old,  and  served  in  the  war  of  1812. 
He  was  at  the  battle  of  the  river  Raisin, 
where  he  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner. 
Subsequently  he  was  with  Gen.  Jackson  in 
the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  and  for  his  gal- 
lantry received  the  commendation  of  his 
commanding  general.  He  studied  law  and 
i was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  CaiToll  County, 
Ky.  In  1844  he  was  the  Democratic  candi- 
j date  for  governor,  but  was  defeated.  He 
served  with  distinction  in  the  Mexican  war 
and  was  severely  wounded  at  the  siege  of 
Monterey.  When  the  troubles,  arose  between 
Gen.  Scott  and  his  officers,  after  the  capture 
of  the  city  of  Mexico,  Gen.  Butler  was  pro- 
moted to  the  chief  command  of  the  army, 
which  position  he  retained  until  the  conclu- 
sion of  peace.  He  was  a candidate  for  vice- 
president  of  the  United  States  in  1848,  on 
the  ticket  with  Gen.  Cass,  but  they  were 
defeated  by  Taylor  and  Fillmore.  He  was 
one  of  the  six  commissioners  from  Kentucky, 
in  1861,  to  the  “Peace  Conference”  at  Wash- 
ington. He  died  at  his  home,  in  Carroll 
County,  a few  years  ago. 

Of  the  field  and  staff  officers  of  the  Ken- 
tucky regiments  many  of  them  attained  to 


340 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  highest  distinction,  civil  and  military. 
They  were  the  very  flower  of  Kentucky  chiv- 
alry, and  those  still  sm^viving  bore  a promi- 
nent part  (most  of  them)  in  the  late  civil  war, 
both  in  the  Federal  and  Confederate  armies. 

Humphrey  Marshall  was  a member  of  one 
of  the  most  noted  families  of  Kentucky.  He 
was  a lawyer,  statesman  and  soldier,  and  in 
each  ju’ofession  he  was  pre-eminently  great. 
He  served  in  the  United  States  congress,  and 
was  a major-general  in  the  Confederate 
army.  William  R.  McKee  and  Henry  Clay, 
Jr.,  the  latter  the  favorite  son  of  the  “sage 
of  Ashland,”  were  killed  in  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista.  M.  V.  Thomson  was  lieuten- 
ant-governor of  the  State  under  Gov.  Letcher, 
from  1840  to  1844.  Thomas  L.  Crittenden 
is  a son  of  the  Hon.  John  J.  Crittenden — 
Kentucky’s  distinguished  senator — was  a 
major  general  in  the  Federal  army,  and  is 
now  an  officer  in  the  United  States  army. 
John  C.  Breckinridge  was  vice-president  of 
the  United  States  under  James  Buchanan, 
was  a candidate  for  the  presidency  in  1860, 
was  defeated  and  afterward  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate  ; he  resigned  to  enter 
the  Confederate  army,  became  a major- 
general,  and  subsequently  was  chosen 
secretary  of  war  for  the  Confederate 
States.  John  S.  Williams  was  a major-gen- 
eral in  the  Confederate  army  and  has  since 
served  with  distinction  in  the  United  States 
senate — his  services  terminating  March  4, 
1885.  William  Preston  has  been  a member 
of  congress,  was  a member  of  the  constitu- 
tional convention  of  1849,  minister  to  Spain 
under  President  Buchanan,  and  was  a major- 
general  in  the  Confederate  army.  Stephen 
Ormsby  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  and 
public-spirited  men  of  Jefferson  County,  but 
was  neither  statesman  nor  politician.  He 
loved  the  Louisville  Legion  as  his  children, 
and  his  affection  was  fully  returned  by  them. 
William  E.  Woodruff  is  a lawyer,  still 
resides  in  Louisville,  was  colonel  of  the 
Second  Kentucky  (Federal)  Infantry,  and 
was  promoted  to  brigadier -general.  He  and 
Gen.  Preston,  Senator  Williams  and  Gen. 
Crittenden,  are  all  of  the  list  (the  field  and 
staff)  known  to  be  now  living. 


It  is  impossible  to  follow  the  Kentucky 
troops  all  through  their  service  in  Mexico. 
The  record  of  both  officers  and  men  was  such 
as  to  cast  no  reflection  upon  the  high  standard 
of  excellence  attained  by  the  soldiers  of  the 
commonwealth  in  the  early  Indian  wars  and 
the  war  of  1812.  There  were  but  few  battles 
or  even  skirmishes  of  any  importance,  in  the 
early  part  of  the  war,  in  which  Kentucky 
troops  did  not  participate,  but  by  far  their 
largest  representation  was  in  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista.  Their  decimated  ranks  were 
an  eloquent  but  mournful  tribute  to  the  part 
they  bore  in  that  terrible  and  unequal  struggle. 

The  Kentucky  volunteers, except  the  Legion, 
which  had  already  left  for  the  front,  rendez- 
voused at  Louisville,  and  on  the  9th  of  June, 
1846,  were  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service  by  Col.  George  Croghan.  On  the  4th 
of  July  following  they  embarked  for  Memphis, 
and  from  there  proceeded  overland  to  Little 
Rock,  thence  through  Texas  to  Camargo,  on 
the  Rio  Grande,  where  they  crossed  into 
Mexico.  They  did  not  reach  the  scene  of 
active  operations  until  several  months  after 
the  battle  of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Pal- 
ma, and  the  fall  of  Matamoras. 

The  first  fighting  in  which  any  of  the  Ken- 
tucky troops  were  engaged  was  at  the  siege  of 
Monterey,in  September  (1846),  and  but  few  of 
them,  except  the  Louisville  Legion,  were  en- 
gaged there.  The  Legion  was  posted  to 
guard  a battery,  and  for  twenty-four  hours 
maintained  its  position,  holding  the  enemy 
in  check  without  being  able  to  return  their 
fire,  and  exhibiting  the  courage  of  tried  veter- 
ans. For  the  part  they  took  in  the  protract- 
ed fighting  around  this  stronghold  of  the 
enemy,  the  Kentucky  legislature  passed  reso- 
lutions complimentary  to  them,  and  voted 
thanks  to  Gens.  Taylor  and  Butler,  and  a 
sword  to  each  of  these  officers.  Maj.  Philip 
N.  Barboui’  of  the  Third  United  States  Regular 
Infantry,  a gallant  Kentuckian,  was  killed 
during  the  siege,  thus  marring  the  joy  of  his 
victorious  comrades  in  arms.  He  was  a brave 
officer,  and  the  legislature,  on  the  23d  of 
February,  1847,  ordered  his  remains  brought 
home,  and  interred  in  the  State  cemetery  at 
Frankfort. 


HUMPHREY  MARSHALL 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


341 


Maj.  Gaines  and  Capt.  Clay,  of  the  First 
Kentucky  Cavalry,  with  thirty  men,  were  sur- 
prised on  the  22dof  January  (1847)  by  a large 
force  of  the  enemy  at  Encarnacion,  and  cap- 
tured. Five  days  later  Capt.  Heady  and 
Lieut.  Churchill,  of  the  same  regiment,  with 
seventeen  men,  were  captured.  The  prisoners 
were  marched  off  to  the  City  of  Mexico, 
where  most  of  them  remained  in  captivity 
rintil  their  comrades  had  served  out  their  term 
of  enlistment  and  returned  home.  About  a 
month  after  his  capture,  Maj.  Gaines  with- 
drew his  parole  as  a prisoner  of  war,  and  suc- 
ceeded finally  in  making  his  escape  to  the 
American  Army.  He  gained  the  lines  in 
time  to  take  a gallant  part  in  the  battles  of 
Churubusco,  Chapultepec,  and  in  the  fighting 
around  the  walls  of  the  Mexican  capital. 

After  the  fall  of  Monterey,  the  next  im- 
portant military  operations  were  at  Buena 
Vista.  On  the  12th  of  November  (1846) 
Gen.  Worth  was  ordered  from  Monterey  to 
Saltillo  with  two  regiments  of  infantry,  a 
company  of  volunteers,  eight  companies  of 
artillery  and  a field  battery.  About  the  17th 
of  December,  Gen.  Taylor  received  a dispatch 
from  Worth,  stating  that  Santa  Anna  threat- 
ened an  attack  upon  Saltillo.  Gens.  Butler 
and  Wool  were  ordered  to  re-enforce  Worth, 
and  Gen.  Taylor  set  out  a few  days  later 
himself  for  the  same  point.  Saltillo  is  the 
capital  of  the  State  of  Coahuila  and  an  im- 
portant place,  and,  once  in  possession  of  the 
Americans,  it  was  highly  necessary  to  hold 
it.  Gen.  Taylor  had  proceeded  but  a short 
distance  on  his  march,  when  he  was  met  by 
a messenger  from  Worth  announcing  that 
the  rumored  attack  of  Santa  Anna  was  un- 
founded. Deeming  his  presence  there  now 
unnecessary,  Taylor  returned  to  Monterey,  but 
soon  after,  accompanied  by  Gen.  Twiggs’ 
division,  moved  toward  Victoria,  where  he 
arrived  on  the  4th  of  January.* 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Gen.  Taylor  re- 
ceived a demand  from  Gen.  Scott  for  a part 
of  his  troops  to  aid  him  in  his  operations 
against  Vera  Cruz.  He  immediately  returned 
to  Monterey  to  comply  with  the  request  of 
Gen.  Scott,  though  to  do  so  deprived  him  of 

^Frost’s  Mexican  War,  p.  341. 


nearly  all  his  regulars,  and  the  volunteer  di- 
visions of  Worth  and  Twiggs,  and  the  brig- 
ades of  Quitman  and  Patterson.  In  the  lat- 
ter part  of  January,  Taylor  received  informa- 
tion from  Gen.  Wool,  encamped  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Saltillo,  that  rumors  were  again 
prevalent  of  an  attack  on  that  place  by  Santa 
Anna.  Leaving  1,500  men  at  Monterey, 
Gen.  Taylor,  on  the  31st  of  January, 
marched  for  Saltillo,  determined,  if  practi- 
cable with  his  small  force,  to  anticipate  the 
attack  of  Santa  Anna.  He  reached  the  strong 
mountain  pass  of  La  Angostura,  three  miles 
from  Buena  Vista,  and  after  a short  halt  pro- 
ceeded to  the  camp  of  Gen.  Wool,  now  at 
Saltillo.  Upon  concentrating  the  troops, 
Gen.  Taylor  found  he  had  an  effective  force 
of  less  than  5,000 — all  volunteers,  except 
about  500.  This  handful  of  comparatively 
raw  troops  was  confronted  by  Santa  Anna 
with  an  army  of  20,000  veterans.  Frost  thus 
describes  the  field  of  Buena  Vista: 

Buena  Vista  is  a small  village  or  rancho,  situated 
five  miles  southwest  of  Saltillo,  on  the  road  between 
that  place  and  San  Luis  Potosi.  The  American 
and  supply  train  were  here  stationed  during  the 
whole  battle,  and  upon  the  small  force  left  to  guard 
it,  a portion  of  the  Mexican  cavalry  from  their  right 
wing  charged  late  on  the  23d.  On  each  side  of  the 
San  Luis  Potosi  road,  precipitous  mountains  rose  to  a 
great  height,  thus  forming  a narrow  valley  very 
difficult  for  the  movements  of  a large  cavalry  force. 
On  the  west  side  of  the  road,  and  extending  to  the 
foot  of  the  mountains,  was  a labyrinth  of  deep  and 
impassable  gullies,  which  rendered  all  traveling  on 
that  part  of  the  valley  impossible.  Three  miles 
below  Buena  Vista  these  gullies  approached  so  near 
the  base  of  the  eastern  ridge  of  the  mountains,  as  to 
narrow  the  valley  to  the  width  of  the  road,  from 
which  it  received  the  name  of  the  pass  La  Angos- 
tura, or  the  narrows.  A small  force  placed  at  this 
spot  would  be  utterly  inaccessible  from  the  west, 
almost  equally  so  from  the  mountains  of  the  east, 
and  could  hold  the  road  against  a direct  attack  from 
a vastly  superior  foe.  In  this  strong  defile  was 
placed  Washington’s  battery  of  three  guns,  sup- 
ported by  two  companies  of  the  First  Illinois  Vol- 
unteers. West  of  this  pass  the  right  wing  of  the 
American  army  was  drawn  up  on  the  sides  of  the 
mountains,  their  eastern  extremity  stretching  to- 
ward the  pass.  On  a broad  plateau  or  table-land 
formed  by  extensions  of  the  eastern  mountain  chain 
was  the  left  of  the  army,  their  east  flank  covered 
by  cliffs,  and  their  west  by  Washington’s  battery. 
On  the  extreme  east,  among  the  high  mountains, 
were  situated,  on  the  evening  of  the  22d,  the 


342 


niSTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


American  light  troops,  with  whom  and  the  Mexi- 
can light  infantry  the  skirmish  of  that  day  took 
place. 

Two  months  before  the  battle  of  Buena 
Vista,  Gen.  Wool, on  a trip  to  Saltillo,  pointed  ! 
out  this  defile  as  the  spot  of  all  others  for  a 
small  army  to  fight  a large  one.  It  was  upon 
his  suggestion  that  Gen.  Taylor,  on  the  21st 
of  February,  fell  back  to  the  cliffs  and  gorges 
of  Buena  Vista,  there  to  measure  strength 
with  the  greatest  general  of  Mexico.  Gen. 
Taylor  had  an  able  and  eflicient  second  in 
Gen.  Wool  In  his  report  of  the  battle,  he 
thus  recognized  the  ability  of  Wool  as  a com- 
mander and  his  valor  as  a soldier:  “The  high 
state  of  discipline  and  instruction  of  several 
of  the  volunteer  regiments  was  attained  under 
his  command,  and  to  his  vigilance  and  arduous 
services  before  the  action,  and  his  gallantry 
and  activity  on  the  field,  a large  share  of  our 
success  may  justly  be  attributed  ” He  in- 
trusted the  immediate  command  of  the  Amer- 
ican army  to  W^ool,  who  planned  the  action, 
and  stationed  the  troops  in  their  respective 
positions,  which  was  somewhat  as  follows: 
On  a plateau,  directly  east  of  Washington’s 
battery,  were  six  companies  of  Col.  Hard- 
in’s First  Illinois  Regiment,  flanked  on  the 
left  by  the  Second  Kentucky  Infantry  under 
Col.  McKee,  and  the  Second  Illinois  Infantry, 
covering  Sherman’s  battery.  East  of  these 
troops,  on  another  plateau,  was  the  Kentucky 
and  Arkansas  cavalry.  North  of  these,  on 
the  broad  table-land.  Col.  Davis’  Mississippi 
riflemen  were  drawn  up  in  battle  array,  with 
artillery  in  the  center  and  on  each  flank.  On 
the  afternoon  of  the  22d,  the  enemy  attacked 
the  American  light  troops,  stationed  on  the 
left,  with  considerable  spirit.  Gen.  Wool 
immediately  sent  information  to  Gen.  Taylor, 
who  was  at  Saltillo,  and  ordered  tbe  troops 
stationed  in  the  village  of  Buena  Visra  to  be 
brought  forward.* 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Taylor  upon  I 
the  field  he  received  a summons  from  Santa  i 
Anna  to  surrender.  The  following  is  the  ; 
note  of  the  Mexican  commander:  “You  are 
surrounded  by  20,000  men  and  cannot,  in  i 
any  human  probability,  avoid  suffering  a rout 


and  being  cut  to  pieces  with  your  troops;  but 
as  you  deserve  consideration  and  particular 
esteem,  I wish  to  save  you  from  a catasti’ophe, 
and  for  that  purpose  give  you  this  notice,  in 
order  that  you  may  surrender  at  discretion, 
under  the  assurance  that  you  will  be  treated 
with  the  consideration  belonging  to  the  Mex- 
ican  character,  to  which  end  you  will  be 
granted  one  hour’s  time  to  make  up  your 
mind,  to  commence  from  the  moment  when 
my  flag  of  truce  arrives  in  your  camp.  W’ith 
this  view,  I assure  you  of  my  consideration.” 
To  this  imperious  summons  Gen.  Taylor 
responded:  “In  reply  to  your  note  of  this 
date,  summoning  me  to  surrender  my  forces 
at  discretion,  I beg  leave  to  say  that  I decline 
acceding  to  your  request.  ” * 

The  American  commander  now  expected 
that  an  attack  upon  him  would  immediately 
begin,  and  preparations  were  made  to  meet 
it.  Changes  were  ordered  in  the  positions 
occupied  by  the  Kentucky  and  Illinois  troops, 
so  as  to  secm’e  the  plateau  east  of  Washing- 
ton’s battery,  which  commanded  the  road  to 
Saltillo,  the  key  to  the  position  of  the  Amer- 
ican army.  Contrary  to  the  general  expec- 
tation, however,  no  attack  was  made  beyond 
light  skirmishing,  and  about  sunset  Gen. 
Taylor,  with  Col.  Davis’  regiment  of  Mis- 
sissippi riflemen  and  a squadron  of  dragoons, 
returned  to  Saltillo,  leaving  Gen.  Wool  in 
command. 

The  heaviest  fighting  on  the  22d  occurred 
on  the  American  left,  where  were  stationed 
the  First  Kentucky  Cavalry,  under  Col.  Mar- 
shall, the  Arkansas  Cavalry,  under  Col.  Yell, 
and  a battalion  of  Indiana  riflemen,  all  under 
the  immediate  command  of  Col.  Marshall. 
Santa  Anna  early  in  the  afternoon  of  the  22d 
pushed  forward  a large  force  of  infantry 
against  these  troops,  while  at  the  same  time 
he  made  a feint  upon  the  American  right. 
Gen.  Wool  in  his  official  report  thus  describes 
the  engagement  that  ensued:  “At  2 o’clock, 
as  the  enemy’s  light  infantry  were  moving 
up  the  side  of  the  mountain,  and  in  the  ra- 
vines, they  opened  fire  on  our  riflemen  from 
a large  howitzer  posted  on  the  road,  and  be- 
tween 3 and  4 o’clock  Col.  Marshall  engaged 


^Mansfield’s  History  Mexican  W'ar. 


*Gen.  Taylor’s  Report. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


343 


the  Mexican  infantry  on  the  side  of  the  moun- 
tain, and  the  firing  continued  on  both  sides 
at  intervals  until  dark.  In  this  our  troops 
sustained  no  loss,  while  that  of  the  enemy  is 
known,  by  subsequent  inspection  of  the 
ground,  to  be  considerable.”  This  skirmish 
closed  the  battle  of  February  22.  To  the 
greater  part  of  the  Americans  it  was  their 
first  experience  in  actual  war.  Although  the 
night  was  cold,  they  slept  on  their  arms, 
ready  for  a renewal  of  the  fight  in  the  morn- 
ing. Without  fires,  they  bivouacked  on  the 
bleak  rocks,  around  which  rose  tall  cliffs 
almost  shutting  out  the  twinkling  of  the  stars. 
A highly  descriptive  writer  speaks  of  their 
situation  in  the  following  terms:  “Thick 

darkness  gathered  around  the  little  army,  the 
air  seemed  clothed  with  vapors,  and  a silence, 
that  pained  the  ear  more  than  the  jarring  of 
cannon,  hung  around.  Now  and  then  a solitary 
vulture  moved  heavily  through  the  gloom, 
making  the  stillness  more  awful  by  his  fore- 
boding scream.  Many  a young  soldier,  whose 
heart  beat  high  with  the  longings  of  ambi- 
tion,  looked  up  fearfully  that  night  through 
the  frowning  shade,  and  turned  away  to  dream 
of  home  and  sleep  his  last  sleep.” 

Few  great  battles  have  been  won  under 
more  unfavorable  circumstances  than  that  of 
Buena  Vista.  Gen.  Taylor’s  army  had  been 
reduced  to  a few  thousand  raw  troops,  and  a 
few  hundred  regulars, by  the  requisition  made 
upon  him  by  Gen.  Scott.  Deprived  of  the 
veterans  who  had  stood  by  him  at  Palo  Alto, 
Resaca  de  la  Palma,  and  at  Monterey,  he  pon- 
dered anxiously  the  chances  against  him. 
Says  an  eloquent  writer*  on  the  subject: 
“ Santa  Anna,  whom  he  was  to  meet  for  the 
first  time,  had  a world  wide  fame  for  courage 
and  for  strategy;  he  was  supported  by  Ampudia, 
who  had  already  proved  himself  determined 
and  crafty;  by  Arista,  who  with  his  magnetic 
physique  and  strong  personal  influence,  ce- 
mented many  conflicting  elements  in  the 
Mexican  army;  by  Lombardini,  his  second  in 
command,  whom  he  greatly  trusted;  by 
Pacheco  and  Perez;  by  Mora  y Villamil, 
whose  scornful  dispatch  to  Gen.  Taylor  some 
weeks  earlier  stung  the  old  soldier  into  an 


indignant  reply;  by  Ortega,  whose  division 
was  to  be  held  like  a whip  with  which  Santa 
Anna  would  scourge  the  defeated  Americans 
from  the  soil  of  Mexico;  and  Minon,  whose 
cavalry  should  drive  the  fugitives  back  to  the 
lash  of  Ortega.  He  had,  too,  Torrejon,  with 
' his  brilliant  lancers,  the  pride  of  the  Mex- 
ican forces.  It  was,  indeed,  a fine  army,  offi- 
cers and  men  treading  their  own  soil,  inspired 
by  sentiments  of  patriotism  and  religion, 
while  their  confidence  in  the  skill  and  cour- 
age of  their  leader,  Santa  Anna,  gave  stabil- 
ity to  their  enthusiasm.  The  little  army 
awaiting  them  may  be  viewed  at  a glance: — 
j the  commander-iu-chief,  resolute  to  obstina- 
cy, careless  of  life  in  the  heat  of  action,  both 
I for  himself  and  for  his  soldiers,  yet  tender- 
I hearted  and  self-sacrificing;  liable  to  make 
' mistakes,  yet  cool,  I’eady  and  invincible  in 
his  ability  to  escape  from  their  effects.  Wool, 
his  second  in  command,  an  experienced  sol- 
dier, brave,  ambitious  and  sanguine;  Lane, 

I an  untried  brigadier-general  of  volunteers; 
besides  these  a few  colonels,  captains  and 
lieutenants.  As  events  proved,  each  of  these 
minor  officers  became  in  turn  a commander, 
j and  few  generals  of  the  line  could  have  ex- 
i celled  them  in  bravery,  skill  and  discretion. 
Capts.  Bragg  and  Sherman,  and  Lieut. 
O’Brien,  with  their  batteries,  seemed  ubiqui- 
; tons  during  the  whole  contest,  w'hile  Wash- 
j ington,  with  his  few  guns,  held  the  left  wing 
I of  the  Mexican  army  in  check  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  end  of  the  battle.  Col.  May’s 
name  became  a synonym  for  dashing  bravery; 
Gen.  Lane,  wounded,  but  still  fighting,  led 
his  heroic  Indiana  men  on;  Col.  Davis  dis- 
played ability  that  was  considered  an  evi- 
dence of  military  genius;  McKee  and  Clay, 
in  one  of  the  Kentucky  regiments,  were 
graduates  of  West  Point,  and  fulfilled  the 
expectations  that  their  training  inspired; 
Cols.  Marshall  and  Yell  led  their  mounted 
I men  with  great  gallantry.  Yell  had  left  his 
seat  in  congress  for  the  dangers  of  the  field. 
Bissell,  a former  member  of  congress,  was  a 
man  of  fine  attainments  and  excellent  judg- 
ment; Hardin  had  stimulated  the  pride  and 
I interest  with  which  Col.  Churchill,  inspector 
general.  United  States  army,  had  regarded 


*American  History,  Vol.  Ill,  p 714. 


344 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  Illinois  regiments.  His  name  had 
been  urged  at  Washington  for  brigadier-gen- 
eral of  volunteers,  but  his  political  antece- 
dents prevented  sixch  an  appointment.  He  had 
seen  service  in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  and  for 
several  years  was  general- in-chief  of  the  Illi- 
nois militia  at  a time  when  it  was  not  merely 
a nominal  position.”  Such  was  the  personnel 
of  the  opposing  armies  on  the  eve  of  the 
battle  of  Buena  Vista. 

The  battle  was  continued  on  the  morning  of 
the  23d — where  it  had  closed  on  the  previous 
evening — in  front  of  Col.  Marshall’s  posi- 
tion. Dm’ing  the  night  a re-enforcement  of 
about  1,500  of  the  enemy  had  been  thrown 
forward,  and  at  2 o’clock  in  the  morning, 
they  drove  in  Marshall’s  pickets.  At  dawn 
of  day  the  action  began  in  earnest.  Hard 
pressed  by  the  immense  masses  of  the  enemy, 
the  intrepid  riflemen,  animated  by  their  com- 
mander, received  them  with  coolness,  and 
poured  into  them  the  contents  of  their  uner- 
ring rifles,  which  heaped  the  hillside  with 
piles  of  the  slain.  At  an  opportune  moment 
Marshal]  was  re-enforced  by  Maj.  Trail,  of  the 
Second  Illinois  Volunteers,  with  a battalion 
from  that  regiment, and  with  this  addition  to 
his  force  he  continued  to  hold  the  enemy  in 
check.  Covering  themselves  behind  rocks 
and  ridges  of  the  mountain  the  troops  were 
secure  from  artillery,  and  met  every  charge  of 
the  enemy  with  advantage.  No  part  of  the 
fleld  was  more  sternly  contested.  More  than 
300  Mexican  dead  strewed  the  ground  in 
front  of  Marshall’s  position,  thus  showing 
the  deadly  aim  of  his  riflemen.  From  day- 
break until  10  o’clock  they  fought,  in  the 
rugged  passes  of  the  mountains,  often  ten  times 
their  own  force,  never  quailing  before  the 
superior  numbers  assailing  them.  When 
the  Second  Indiana  Infantry  gave  way,  Col. 
Marshall  was  compelled  to  fall  back  to  pre- 
vent being  cut  off  from  the  main  army.  In 
the  encounter  with  Torrejon’s  lancers  at  the 
village  of  Buena  Vista,  he  fought  with  the 
same  courage  and  with  less  than  400  Ken- 
tuckians and  Arkansians,  defeated  and  routed 
1,500  of  the  enemy. 

At  9 o’clock  Santa  Anna  formed  his  army 
in  three  columns  of  attack,  to  overwhelm 


Taylor  and  his  little  band  of  Spartans.  The 
first  column  under  Gen.  Mora  y Villamil, 
composed  of"  a number  of  the  finest  regiments 
in  the  Mexican  army,  was  ordered  to  move 
down  the  road  and  carry  the  Angostura  Pass. 
A battery  of  eighteen  guns  was  placed  upon, 
the  eminence  above  to  assist  in  this  move- 
ment. The  second  column  comprised  Lom- 
bardini’s  and  Pacheco’s  heavy  infantry, 
ordered  to  advance  in  two  divisions;  Lom- 
bardini’s  over  the  base  of  the  southern  hill 
and  around  the  head  of  the  front  ravine  to 
gain  the  plateau,  while  Pacheco  was  to  push 
up  through  the  ravine,  and  unite  with  Lom- 
bardini,  when  they  were  to  attack  in  force 
the  left  of  the  American  center.  The  third 
column,  Ampudia’s  light  infantry,  was  sent 
to  the  support  of  the  force  already  engaged 
on  the  mountain  with  the  Kentucky,  Illinois, 
Arkansas  and  Indiana  troops.  The  reserves, 
under  Ortega,  remained  in  the  rear  on  the 
road.  * 

From  Frost’s  history  of  the  Mexican  war, 
one  of  the  best  on  the  subject  extant,  is  taken 
the  remainder  of  the  sketch  of  this  battle. 
Commencing  with  the  struggle  on  the  Ameri- 
can left,  it  is  described  as  follows: 

The  position  of  affairs  was  most  critical,  for  if 
the  Mexicans  succeeded  in  forcing  the  American 
position  the  day  was  theirs.  There  being  no  artil- 
lery opposed  to  them  but  O’Brien’s  section  and 
another  piece,  it  was  all  important  for  him  to  main- 
tain his  ground  until  guns  could  come  round  the 
ravine  to  join  him.  He  determined,  therefore,  to 
hold  this  position  until  the  enemy  reached  the  muz- 
zles of  his  guns.  The  struggle  was  a terrible  one. 
Each  party  put  forth  its  utmost  strength,  and  the 
feelings  of  the  soldier  were  wound  to  a pitch  of 
enthusiasm,  that  made  him  reckless  of  death  itself. 
The  enemy  sunk  down  by  scores,  and  a body  of 
lancers  charging  the  Illinois  troops  were  compelled 
to  fall  back.  Still  the  main  body  rushed  on,  shak- 
ing the  mountain  passes  with  the  trampling  of  their 
armed  thousands,  and  shouting  above  the  uproar  of 
battle.  The  wounded  and  dying  were  crushed  in 
their  furious  charge,  and  soon  their  horses  were 
within  a few  yards  of  O’Brien’s  pieces.  Here  they 
received  the  last  discharge,  and  as  the  driving  hail 
smote  their  columns,  a groan  of  anguish  followed 
and  horse  and  rider  sank  down  and  rolled  over  the 
rocky  surface  in  the  arms  of  death.  It  was  a 
dreadful  moment,  and  as  the  column  swayed  to  and 
fro  beneath  the  shock,  and  then  sternly  united  for 

*E.  H.  Walworth’s  sketch  in  American  History,  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  726. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


U5 


the  headlong  leap,  companies  that  were  mere  spec- 
tators grew  pale  for  the  result.  Although  O’Brien 
was  losing  men  and  horses  with  alarming  rapidity, 
he  gave  orders  to  again  fire,  when  suddenly  the  few 
recruits  who  were  fit  for  duty  lost  their  presence  of 
mind,  and  with  all  his  efforts  they  could  not  be  kept 
to  the  guns.  After  staying  at  his  post  to  the  last, 
he  retired  slowly  and  sullenly.  He  lost  his  pieces, 
but  by  his  gallant  stand  he  had  kept  the  enemy  in 
check  long  enough  to  save  the  day. 

About  the  same  time  the  Second  Illinois  Infan- 
try, under  Col.  Bissell,  having  become  completely 
out  flanked,  were  compelled  to  fall  back.  Col. 
Marshall’s  light  troops,  on  the  extreme  left,  came 
down  from  the  mountainous  position,  and  joined 
the  American  main  army.  Masses  of  cavalry  and 
infantry  were  now  pouring  through  the  defiles  on 
the  American  left,  in  order  to  gain  the  rear  north 
of  the  large  plateau.  At  this  moment  Gen.  Taylor 
arrived  upon  the  field  from  Satillo.  As  the  Mexican 
infantry  turned  the  American  flank,  they  came  in 
contact  with  Col.  Davis’  Mississippi  riflemen,  posted 
on  a plateau,  north  of  the  principal  one.  The  Sec- 
ond Kentucky  Infantry,  under  Col.  McKee,  and  a 
section  of  artillery,  under  Capt.  Bragg,  had  pre- 
viously been  ordered  to  this  position  from  the  right, 
and  arrived  at  a most  important  crisis.  As  the 
masses  of  the  enemy  emerged  from  the  defiles,  to 
the  table-land  above,  they  opened  upon  the  rifle- 
men, and  the  battle  became  deeply  interesting.  Tlie 
lancers,  meanwhile,  were  drawing  up  for  a charge. 
The  artillery  on  each  side  was  in  an  incessant  blaze, 
and  one  sheet  of  sparkling  fire  flashed  from  the 
small  arms  of  both  lines.  Then  the  cavalry  came 
dashingdown  ina  dense  column,  their  dress  and  arms 
glittering  in  the  sun,  seemingly  in  strange  contrast 
with  the  work  of  death.  All  around  was  clamor  and 
hurry,  drowning  the  shouts  of  command,  and  groans 
of  the  dying.  Davis  gave  the  order  to  fire;  a report 
from  hundreds  of  rifles  rang  along  his  line,  and 
mangled  heaps  of  the  enemy  sank  to  the  ground. 
Struck  wiih  dismay,  the  lacerated  host  heaved  back, 
while,  in  mad  confusion,  horse  trod  down  horse, 
crushing  wounded  and  dying  beneath  their  hoofs 
in  the  reckless  rushing  of  retreat.  The  day  was 
once  more  saved. 

At  the  same  time  Col.  McKee’s  Kentucky  regi- 
ment, supported  by  Bragg’s  artillery,  had  driven 
back  the  enemy’s  infantry,  and  recovered  a portion 
of  the  lost  ground.  The  latter  otflcer  then  moved 
nis  pieces  to  the  main  plateau,  where,  in  company 
with  Capt.  Sherman,  he  did  much  execution,  partic- 
ularly upon  the  masses  that  were  in  the  rear.  Gen. 
Taylor  placed  all  the  regular  cavalrj^  and  Capt. 
Pike’s  squadron  of  horse  under  the  orders  of 
Lieut. -Col,  May,  with  directions  to  hold  in 
check  the  enemy’s  column,  still  advancing  to  the 
rear  along  the  base  of  the  mountain.  May  posted 
himself  north  of  the  ravine,  through  which  the 
enemy  were  moving  toward  Buena  Vista,  in  order 
to  charge  them  as  they  approached  that  place. 
The  enemy,  however,  still  continued  to  advance, 


until  almost  the  whole  American  ai’tillery  were 
playing  upon  them.  At  length,  unable  to  stand  the 
fearful  slaughter,  their  ranks  fell  into  confusion, 
some  of  the  corps  attempting  to  effect  a retreat 
upon  their  main  line  of  battle.  To  prevent  this, 
the  general  ordered  the  first  dragoons,  under  Lieut. 
Rucker,  to  ascend  the  deep  ravine,  which  these 
corps  were  endeavoring  to  cross,  and  disperse  them. 
The  squadron,  however,  were  unable  to  accomplish 
their  object,  in  consequence  of  a heavy  fire  from  a 
battery  covering  the  enemy’s  retreat. 

Meanwhile,  a large  body  of  lancers  assembled 
on  the  extreme  left  of  the  Americans,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  charging  upon  Buena  Vista.  To  support 
that  point,  Gen.  Taylor  ordered  forward  May,  with 
two  pieces  of  Sherman’s  battery.  The  scattered 
force  at  the  hacienda  were  collected  by  Majs.  Mon- 
roe and  Morrison,  and  uniting  with  some  of  the 
troops  of  the  Indiana  regiment  they  were  posted  to 
defend  the  position.  Before  May  could  reach  the 
village,  the  enemy  had  begun  the  attack.  They 
were  gallantly  opposed  by  the  Kentucky  and  Ar- 
kansas cavalry,  under  Cols.  Marshall  and  YeU. 
The  shock  was  a heavy  one.  Col.  Yell  fell  at  the 
head  of  his  column,  and  the  Kentuckians  lost 
Adjt.  Vaughn,  a young  officer  of  much  promise. 
The  enemy’s  column  was  separated  into  two  por- 
tions, one  sweeping  by  the  American  depot  under  a 
destructive  fire  from  the  Indiana  troops,  until  they 
gained  the  mountains  opposite,  the  other  portion 
regaining  the  base  of  the  mountain  to  the  west. 
Lieut. -Col.  May  now  reached  Buena  Vista,  and  ap- 
proaching the  base  of  the  mountain,  held  in  check 
the  enemy’s  right  flank,  upon  whose  masses, 
crowded  in  the  narrow  gorges,  and  ravines,  the  ar- 
tillery was  doing  fearful  execution.  The  position 
of  that  portion  of  the  Mexican  army  which  had 
gained  the  American  rear,  was  now  so  critical  as  to 
induce  the  belief  that  it  would  be  forced  to  surren- 
der. At  the  moment,  however,  when  the  artillery 
was  thinning  its  ranks  and  May,  after  much  maneu- 
vering, was  about  charging  their  flank,  a white  flag 
was  observed  approaching  the  American  head-quar- 
ters, and  Gen.  Taylor  ordered  the  firing  to  cease. 
The  message  was  simply  a demand  from  Santa 
Anna,  requesting  to  know  what  the  American  gen- 
eral wanted.  Gen.  "Wool  was  sent  to  have  a per- 
sonal interview  with  the  Mexican  general,  but  on 
reaching  his  lines  was  unable  to  stop  his  further 
advance,  and  returned  to  head-quarters.  The  ob- 
ject of  the  Mexicans  had,  however,  been  accom- 
plished—their  extreme  right  moving  along  the  base 
of  the  mountains,  and  joining  the  main  army. 

The  roar  of  artillery,  which  had  lasted  from  be- 
fore sunrise,  now  partially  ceased  on  the  prin- 
cipal field,  the  enemy  apparently  confining  his  ef- 
forts to  the  protection  of  his  artillery.  Gen.  Taylor 
had  just  left  the  main  depot,  when  he  was  unexpect- 
edly recalled  by  a heavy  fire  of  musketry.  On  re- 
gaining his  position,  a stirring  scene  was  presented. 
The  Illinois  troops  and  the  Second  Kentucky  Infant- 
ry, had  been  attacked  in  a rugged  defile  by  an  over- 


346 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


whelming  force  of  both  cavalry  and  infantry,  and 
were  now  struggling  alone  against  fearful  odds. 
Could  the  enemy  succeed  in  defeating  these  troops, 
they  might  renew  the  main  attack  with  gi-eat  advan- 
tage, and  perhaps  gain  the  day.  To  prevent  the 
catastrophe,  Capt.  Bragg,  who  had  just  arrived  from 
the  left,  was  immediately  ordered  into  battery. 
Feeling  how  important  was  every  moment,  that 
brave  officer  abandoned  some  of  his  heaviest  car- 
riages, and  pushed  forward  with  those  that  could 
move  most  rapidly.  Gaining  a point  from  which  they 
could  be  used,  he  placed  them  in  battery,  and  loaded 
with  canister.  His  position  was  one  of  imminent 
peril.  The  supporting  infantry  had  been  routed 
by  the  superior  numbers  hurled  against  it,  the 
advanced  artillery  captured,  and  the  enemy,  flushed 
with  victory,  were  tlirowing  their  masses  toward 
him.  lie  appealed  to  the  commanding-general  for 
help — none  was  to  be  had.  Nerving  himself  for  his 
terrible  duties,  he  returned  to  the  battery,  and  spoke 
a few  low,  hurried  words  to  his  men.  Silently,  but 
firmly,  they  gathered  around  their  pieces,  and 
awaited  orders.  The  commanding-general  sat  on 
horseback,  gazing  with  thrilling  intensity  upon  that 
handful  of  troops.  After  all  the  losses  and  triumphs 
of  the  day,  victory  had  eluded  their  grasp  to  hang 
upon  the  approaching  struggle.  The  cavalry  were 
almost  near  enough  to  spring  upon  his  guns,  when 
Bragg  gave  the  order  to  fire.  Suddenly  they  halted, 
staggered  a few  paces,  and  then  closed  for  the 
charge.  The  shouts  of  their  supporting  infantry 
followed  the  roar  of  artillery,  and  they  again 
advanced.  The  cannoneers  had  marked  the  effect 
with  feelings  too  intense  to  admit  of  outward  expres- 
sion, and  rapidly  reloading,they  again  poured  forth  a 
shower  of  grape.  The  effect  was  fearful;  and  Gen. 
Taylor,  as  he  beheld  the  bleeding  columns,  felt  that 
the  day  was  his  own.  A third  discharge  completed 
the  rout.  Discipline  gave  way  among  tlie  enemy  to 
the  confused  flight  of  terrified  hosts,  as,  pouring 
through  the  rugged  passes,  they  trod  each  other 
down  in  their  hurried  course.  One  wild  shout  went 
up  from  the  American  army,  broken  at  short  inter- 
vals by  the  thunder  of  Bragg’s  artillery. 

This  final  repulse  was  not  accomplished  without 
a melancholy  loss.  It  fell  heaviest  on  the  Kentuc- 
kians, of  whom  Cols.  McKee  and  Clay,  of  the  Second 
Infantry,  were  both  killed.  The  former  fell  amid 
some  rocks,  pierced  with  a mortal  wound,  and  was 
subsequently  hacked  and  mutilated  by  the  enemy’s 
bayonets.  Lieut.-Col.  Clay  was  wounded  in  the  leg, 
and  sat  down  near  a rock.  But  his  sorrowing  fol- 
lowers rushed  from  their  ranks,  amid  the  enemy’s 
fire,  and  bore  him  in  their  arms.  Although  the 
Mexicans  pressed  closely  behind,  the  soldiers  carried 
him  until  the  road  became  so  rugged,  that  two  could 
scarcely  walk  together.  He  then  begged  them  to 
leave  him  and  take  care  of  themselves,  which  they 
were  at  length  compelled  to  do;  two  brave  fellows 
remaining  with  him  and  sharing  his  fate.  The  Mex- 
icans surrounded  them,  and  as  Clay  defended  him- 
self with  his  sword,  was  stabbed  to  death  with  bay- 


onets. The  brave  Col.  Hardin,  the  pride  of  the  Ill- 
inois troops,  was  killed  in  the  same  charge  with  Mc- 
Kee and  Clay. 

In  the  retreat  of  the  enemy,  a portion  of  the 
American  infantry  pursued  them  through  a ravine 
so  far,  that  they  got  out  of  supporting  distance.  On 
seeing  this,  the  Mexicans  suddenly  wheeled  round 
and  attacked  them.  The  infantry  were  in  their  turn 
driven  back,  taking  the  course  of  anotner  ravine,  at 
the  end  of  which  a body  of  the  enemy  were  waiting 
to  intercept  them.  Fortunately,  while  the  cavalry 
were  pursuing,  they  came  within  range  of  Washing- 
ton’s battery,  which  opening  upon  them  with  grape, 
drove  back  their  column  in  confusion,  and  saved 
the  exhausted  fugitives. 

This  was  the  last  struggle  on  the  well-fought 
field  of  Buena  Vista.  For  ten  hours  the  battle  had 
raged  with  unmitigated  fury,  and  yet,  strange  to 
say,  each  array  occupied  the  ground  that  it  had  early 
in  the  morning.  As  night  crept  among  the  rocky 
gorges,  the  wearied  soldiers  sank  down  on  their  arms 
upon  the  field.  Although  the  air  was  very  cold, 
the  American  army  slept  without  fires,  expecting  a 
renewal  of  the  attack  early  on  the  following  morn- 
ing. The  night  was  one  of  horror.  On  every  rock 
and  in  every  defile,  piles  of  dead  and  wounded  lay, 
the  latter  writhing  in  torture,  their  wounds  stiff  and 
clotted  with  the  chill  air,  while  their  piercing 
shrieks  for  aid,  and  supplications  for  water,  made 
the  night  hideous.  The  whole  medical  staff  were 
busy  until  morning,  dressing  wounds,  amputating 
limbs,  and  removing  the  dead  to  Saltillo.  The 
wolves  and  jackals  stole  from  the  caverns  of  the 
mountains,  and  howled  in  startling  chorus  over  the 
banquet  prepared  for  them  by  man. 

The  forces  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Buena 
Vista,  according  to  the  official  reports,  were, 
to  be  exact,  on  the  American  side,  4,760  men, 
of  whom  344  were  officers.  The  entire  regu- 
lar force  was  two  squadrons  of  cavalry,  and 
three  batteries  of  light  artillery — in  all 
about  450  men.  Mexican  force,  as  stated  by 
Santa  Anna  himself,  was  20,000.  The  Ameri- 
cans lost  267  killed,  456  wounded,  and  23 
missing.  Santa  Anna  admitted  a loss  of 
1,500,  which  doubtless  was  far  below  the 
actual  number.  More  than  500  of  his  dead 
were  left  upon  the  field  unburied.  A writer, 
speaking  of  the  loss  sustained  in  the  battle 
by  the  Americans,  said:  “The  list  of  the 

killed  and  wounded  on  the  American  side, 
is  a mournful  proof  of  the  ferocity  and  vio- 
lence which  characterized  this  severe  conflict, 
and  a sad  testimonial  of  the  chivalry  and 
fearlessness  of  the  American  soldiery.  Sixty- 
five  commissioned  officers  killed  and  wounded 
in  so  small  an  armj’  exhibits  a proportion 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


347 


and  result  unparalleled  in  the  history  of 
war.  ” 

Considerable  space  has  been  devoted  to  the 
battle  of  Buena  Vista.  This  is  deemed 
appropriate,  and  but  a simple  act  of  justice 
to  the  large  number  of  Kentucky  soldiers 
who  participated  in  it.  No  troops  bore  a 
more  prominent  and  important  part  in  the 
stubbornly  contested  struggle,  than  the  First 
Kentucky  Cavalry,  and  the  Second  Kentucky 
Infantry.  The  first  left  its  brave  young  ad- 
jutant dead  on  the  field,  and  the  latter  its 
first  and  second  officers  in  command,  while 
the  rank  and  file  were  piled  in  slaughtered 
heaps.  The  charge  in  which  McKee  and 
Clay  fell  was  the  saddest  event  in  results  of 
the  battle-fatigued  day,  and  their  death  was 
a melancholy  blow  to  their  comrades,  and  a 
serious  loss  to  their  State.  Of  Col.  Mar- 
shall’s cavalry,  Oen.  Taylor,  in  his  official 
report  of  the  battle,  said : “ The  Kentucky 

cavalry,  under  Col.  Marshall,  rendered  good 
service,  dismounted,  acting  as  light  troops 
on  our  left,  and  afterward,  with  a portion  of 
the  Arkansas  regiment,  in  meeting  and  dis- 
persing the  column  of  Mexicans  at  Buena 
Vista  village.”  Of  the  same  regiment,  Gen. 
Wool  in  his  report  said:  “Col.  Marshall 

rendered  gallant  and  important  service  both 
as  commander  of  the  riflemen  in  the  mountain, 
where  he  and  his  men  were  very  effective,  and 
as  the  commander  of  his  own  regiment,  in  con- 
nection with  those  of  the  Arkansas  regiment, 
under  Col.  Yell,  after  the  latter’s  death  under 
Lieut- Col.  Roane,  in  their  operations  against 
the  enemy’s  lancers.”  But  Kentucky  troops 
need  no  argument  to  prove  their  valor — it  has 
been  tested  upon  too  many  bloody  fields.  In 
Marshall’s  regiment  (330  strong)  27  were 
killed,  and  34  wounded;  in  Me  Kee’s  regiment 
(571  strong)  44  were  killed,  57  wounded. 
This  sad  record  tells  the  story  of  their  part 
in  the  battle. 

While  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista  was  raging 
a portion  of  the  Louisville  Legion  and  a por- 
tion of  Col.  Morgan’s  Second  Ohio  Infantry 
was  fighting  Gen.  Urrea  at  Mier,  twenty-five 
miles  from  Monterey.  The  Mexican  general 
had  attempted  to  cut  off  and  destroy  a heavy 
wagon  train  belonging  to  the  army  at  Buena 


Vista,  and  the  Kentucky  and  Ohio  troops  had 
been  ordered  to  its  rescue.  The  Mexicans 
succeeded  in  capturing  and  burning  300 
wagons,  but  the  re-enforcements  arrived  in 
time  to  save  the  balance  of  the  train. 

After  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  the  Ken- 
tucky troops  took  no  active  part  in  the  Mexi- 
can war,  except  the  company  of  Capt. 
Williams,  which  was  attached  to  the  Sixth 
United  States  Infantry.  It  participated  in 
the  battle  of  Cerro  Gordo,  and  for  its  gallant 
conduct  and  that  of  its  commander,  won  the 
highest  praise.  He  attained  and  still  bears  the 
sobriquet  of  “old  Cerro  Gordo”  Williams. 
The  term  of  service  of  the  first  regiments 
expired  some  time  after  the  battle  of  Buena 
Vista,  while  those  recruited  under  the  last 
call  for  troops  did  not  arrive  in  Mexico  until 
the  hard  fighting  was  over.  Hence  the 
remainder  of  the  war  has  but  little  interest 
in  the  history  of  Kentucky.  The  city  of 
Mexico  fell  in  September,  1847,  but  the 
treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  was  not  con- 
summated until  February  2,  1848,  and  peace 
reigned  once  more  between  the  two  countries. 

On  their  return  home  the  soldiers  were  re- 
ceived with  every  mark  of  affection,  and  ten- 
dered, as  they  well  deserved,  the  enthusiastic 
welcome  of  the  people.  Public  dinners,  old- 
fashioned  barbecues,  flattering  eulogiums 
and  patriotic  speeches  were  profusely  show- 
ered upon  them;  the  press  vied  with  the 
orators  of  the  period  in  praises  of  the  heroic 
deeds  of  our  volunteer  soldiery.  But  the 
joy  of  the  returned  warriors  was  marred  by 
the  absence  of  many  of  their  comrades  who 
came  not  back;  whose  bones  they  had  left  to 
molder  into  dust  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  at  Monterey,  in  the  gorges  of  Buena 
Vista,  on  the  heights  of  Cerro  Gordo,  and 
around  the  walls  of  the  City  of  Mexico. 
Most  of  the  Kentucky  dead,  however,  were 
afterward  brought  home  for  interment,  espe- 
cially those  who  fell  at  Buena  Vista,  under  an 
act  of  the  legislature.  In  the  summer  of 
1847,  they  were  biu’ied  in  the  State  Cemetery 
at  Fankfort,  with  the  honors  of  war.  Included 
in  the  proceedings,  was  the  recitation  of  a 
poem  written  especially  for  the  occasion  by 
Theodore  O’Hara,  and  which  has  since  im- 


348 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


mortalized  his  name.  The  first  stanza  of 
this  poem  (which  is  entitled  “ The  Bivouac 
of  the  Dead”)  is  familiar  to  thousands  of 
people  throughout  the  country,  who  do  not 
know  its  origin  or  author.  It  is  as  follows; 

The  muffled  drum’s  sad  roll  has  beat 
The  soldier’s  last  tattoo; 

No  more  on  life’s  parade  shall  meet 
The  brave  and  daring  few. 

On  fame’s  eternal  camping  ground 
Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 

And  glory  guards  with  solemn  round 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead. 


A magnificent  monument — ^one  of  the 
handsomest  soldiers’  monuments  in  the 
United  Staiies — has  been  erected  to  their  mem  - 
ory  and  that  of  other  Kentucky  heroes,  by 
the  State  in  the  public  cemetery.  Upon  the 
four  sides  of  the  stately  column  are  inscribed 
the  names  and  battles  of  the  heroic  dead, 
whose  graves  are  grouped  around  its  base. 
The  monument  stands  upon  one  of  the  love- 
liest spots  in  the  cemetery  (a  high  bluflf)  and 
overlooks  the  beautiful  river  which  bears  the^ 
name  of  the  State.  It  is  a loving  tribute  to 
heroic  worth. 


soldiers’  monument,  FRANKFORT. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


349 


CHAPTER  XY. 


FIRST  PHASES  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  IN  KENTUCKY. 


The  “ cause  ” which  led  to  the  war  of  the 
rebellion  has  been  so  elaborately  dis- 
cussed by  its  friends  and  opponents  as  to  em- 
balm it  in  the  minds  of  the  whole  people. 
However  fallacious  may  have  been  the  argu- 
ments used  by  the  prime  movers  to  bring 
about  the  secession  of  those  States  which  de- 
clared themselves  free  and  independent  prior 
to  the  inauguration  of  President  Lincoln, 
they  proved  effective  in  producing  that  result. 
Thenceforth  the  “cause”  was  the  cause  of 
State  sovereignty,  and  those  who  favored  as 
well  as  those  who  opposed  secession  as  a 
means  for  redressing  grievances,  were  united 
in  the  attempt  to  form  a confederacy  in  order 
that  they  might  the  more  effectually  resist 
coercion. 

Thus  the  primal  evil,  slavery,  depending 
upon  the  principle  of  State  sovereignty  and 
the  right  of  secession,  was  followed  by  the 
organization  of  the  Confederacy,  and  when,  in 
resistance  to  the  pi’oclamation  of  the  president 
of  the  United  States  commanding  them  to  re- 
turn to  their  allegiance,  they  defied  his  author- 
ity, the  “cause”  assumed  the  name  and 
character  of  a war  for  independence. 

It  is  worse  than  folly  to  ridicule  the  upris- 
ing of  a great  people  to  assert  their  indepen- 
dence, and,  if  need  be,  to  die  in  the  defense 
of  their  homes  and  firesides.  Hallowed  in 
the  memories  of  thousands  of  hearts  by  the 
blood  of  loved  ones  sacrificed  upon  its  altar, 
the  “lost  cause”  is  to-day,  after  the  lapse  of 
many  years,  loved  as  fondly  and  enshrined  as 
truly  as  when  its  brave  and  devoted  adherents 
bore  its  tattered  banner  through  four  years  of 
carnage,  furling  it  at  last  amid  the  desolation 
of  ruined  homes  and  fair  fields  laid  waste, 
and  embalming  it  in  the  tears  of  a proud 
though  prostrate  people. 


It  is  the  purpose  of  the  pages  which  follow 
to  confine  the  narrative  strictly  to  the  relation 
of  events  in  the  order  in  which  they  occurred, 
relying  for  their  accuracy  upon  contempora- 
neous records  now  on  file  in  the  war  depart- 
ment at  Washington.  The  history  of  these 
events  cannot  be  written  without  bringing 
into  prominence  the  courage  and  fidelity  of 
Kentuckians,  whose  graves  billow  nearly 
every  battle-field  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
sea;  but  the  object  will  be  to  allow  their 
glorious  record  to  speak  for  itself,  confident 
that  the  highest  praise  that  can  be  awarded 
them  will  be  a faithful  chronicle  of  their 
heroic  achievements.  While  many  will  doubt- 
less regret  that  the  lives  of  the  Kentuckians 
sacrificed  in  the  cause  of  the  Confederacy  were  ^ 
not  given  to  the  Union,  and  that  the  Bi’eckin- 
ridges,  Marshalls,  Johnstons,  Clays,  Williams- 
es and  Buckners,  names  illustrious  in  the 
annals  of  the  State  and  nation,  did  not  pre- 
sent themselves,  a living  wall,  against  the  tide 
of  secession,  which  beat  against  but  never 
submerged  Kentucky,  still,  in  the  picture,  as 
it  presents  itself,  they  will  recognize  the  well 
known  features  of  Nelson,  Crittenden,  Jack- 
son,  Harlan,  Watkins,  Rousseau,  Whitaker, 
Price,  Croxton,  Kelly  and  a host  of  others, 
who  stood  in  solid  phalanx,  breasting  the  as- 
sault until  the  State  took  its  place  in  line  in 
favor  of  the  Union;  while  outlined  against  the 
sky,  at  the  head  of  the  nation,  struggling  to 
establish  its  authority  over  are-united  country, 
is  the  loved  and  honored  form  of  that  other 
Kentuckian,  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Fondness  for  military  distinction  has  always 
been  a characteristic  of  the  American  people. 
Service  in  her  armies  at  all  periods  having  been 
voluntarily  performed,  the  uniform  of  the  sol- 
dier had  come  to  be  regarded  as  the  insignia  of 


350 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


heroism,  rather  than  the  badge  of  servitude. 
The  national  flag  had  waved  over  many  a 
hotly  contested  fleld,  but  had  always  pointed 
to  ultimate  victory,  and  wars  had  been  suffi- 
ciently frequent  to  secure  to  the  survivors  of 
one,  promotion  in  the  one  succeeding,  and  to 
preserve  the  traditions  of  military  prowess 
fresh  in  the  memory  of  a brave  and  grateful 
populace.  The  commander  in-chief  of  the 
United  States  army  was  himself  the  hero  of  two 
wars,  and  many  of  his  comrades  in  arms  were 
still  living,  the  honored  patriarchs  of  cities 
and  towns  that  had  succeeded  the  savage  wil- 
derness in  which  many  of  their  deeds  of  prow- 
ess had  been  performed. 

The  period  which  followed  the  war  with 
Mexico  had  witnessed  the  organization  of 
militaiy  companies  in  all  parts  of  the  country, 
fostered  by  the  State,  and  commanded  by  the 
veterans  of  Buena  Vista,  Cerro  Goi’do  and 
Chapultepec  which,  in  point  of  discipline, 
drill  and  martial  bearing,  were  the  pride  and 
glory  of  the  people  at  large.  To  these 
organizations  the  thoughts  of  the  people  of 
both  sections  now  naturally  turned,  and  their 
confidence  was  not  misplaced,  for  many  a 
regiment,  which  gained  distinction  in  either 
army  for  efficiency  upon  the  field  and  good 
conduct  in  the  camp,  owes  its  success  to  the 
faithful  drilling  it  received  at  the  hands 
of  the  officers  furnished  by  the  militia  of  the 
States.  Every  State  was  provided  with  a 
staff  department,  appointed  by  the  governor, 
and  an  arsenal  of  military  stores. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  John  C. 
Breckinridge  was  the  favorite  son  of  Ken- 
tucky, a member  of  one  of  its  prominent 
and  influential  families,  and  a man  of  most 
winning  address  and  persuasive  eloquence, 
the  official  record  of  the  votes  polled  in  his 
native  State,  when  he  was  a candidate  for 
the  presidency,  shows  that  the  people  had 
already  begun  to  distrust  the  wing  of  the 
party  of  which  he  was  the  especial  champion. 
The  vote  stood : 


For  Bell 65,913 

For  Douglas 25,442 

For  Breckinridge 52,936 

For  Lincoln 1,366 


Total 145,657 


— a majority  of  nearly  two  to  one  against  him. 
The  proclamation  of  President  Lincoln, 
calling  for  75,000  men  to  suppress  the  rebell- 
ion, had  the  effect  to  determine  the  political 
bias  of  every  thinking  mind  in  the  United 
States,  except  in  Kentucky.  Yet  the  facts 
were  unmistakable  that  a rebellion  had  been 
inaugurated  by  the  secession  of  six  States; 
that  the  flag  at  Fort  Sumter  had  been  fired 
upon;  and  that  the  president  of  the  United 
States  had  determined  to  restore  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  national  government  over  all  the 
territory  of  the  United  States.  In  response 
to  the  call  upon  the  State  for  its  quota  of 
troops,  on  the  15th  of  April,  1861,  Gov. 
Magoffin  said:  “Kentucky  will  furnish  no 

troops  for  the  wicked  purpose  of  subduing 
her  sister  Southern  States.”  This  action  of 
the  governor  was  endorsed  at  an  immense 
meeting  held  on  the  20th,  at  Louisville, 
where  speeches  were  made  by  the  Hon. 
James  Guthrie,  Hon.  Archie  Dixon,  Hon. 
John  Young  Brown,  Judge  Bullock  and 
Judge  Nicholas,  and  a resolution  was  unani- 
mously adopted  encouraging  him  to  resist  the 
general  government.  On  the  24th,  Gov. 
Magoffin  issued  a proclamation  calling 
on  the  State  to  place  herself  in  a condition 
of  defense,  and  convening  the  legislature  on 
the  6th  of  May  following,  “to  take  such  action 
as  may  be  necessary  for  the  general  welfare.” 
A period  of  intense  anxiety  intervened 
between  the  date  of  the  proclamation  of 
the  governor,  convening  the  legislature,  and 
its  meeting  on  the  6th  of  May.  Public 
meetings  were  held  at  Lexington  and  other 
places,  at  which  members  of  the  legislature 
were  instructed  as  to  the  wishes  of  their 
constituents,  while  the  question  of  union  or 
secession  became  the  all  absorbing  topic  of 
conversation  at  every  fireside.  The  position 
as  idle  spectators  of  a conflict  in  which  each 
had  an  interest,  a position  they  were  com- 
pelled to  occupy  by  the  action  of  the  apostles 
of  peace,  was  exceedingly  distasteful  to  the 
youth  of  the  State,  whose  martial  tastes  were 
inherited  from  a bold,  spirited  ancestry. 
They  were  the  descendants  of  the  pioneers 
whose  inflexible  courage  in  wresting  Ken- 
tucky from  the  grasp  of  the  savages  had  been 


IIISTOliY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


351 


displayed  in  deeds  of  daring,  fresh  in  the 
memories  of  men  still  living.  Their  sires  ' 
had  borne  an  honorable  part  in  all  the  strug- 
gles in  which  their  country  had  engaged,  [ 
and  to  be  kept  at  home  like  women,  while 
their  neighbors  in  other  States  were  winning 
fame  at  the  cannon’s  mouth,  was  a position  | 
which  they  regarded  as  pusillanimous  and 
unworthy  of  a Kentuckian. 

Fearing  that  their  native  State  might  suc- 
ceed in  maintaining  its  neutrality,  large  num- 
bers of  young  men  about  this  time,  instigated 
by  the  leaders  of  the  secession  movement, 
left  the  State  under  command  of  Thomas 
Taylor  and  Blanton  Duncao,  and  offered 
their  services  to  the  Confederate  States. 
They  were,  for  the  most  part,  sons  of  slave- 
holders, whose  interest  in  the  institution  of 
slavery  prompted  in  their  minds  a profound 
distrust  of  the  party  at  the  north,  whose 
chief  design  they  believed  to  be  to  subdue 
the  Southern  States,  hold  them  as  conquered 
provinces,  and  liberate  the  slaves.  In  wealth, 
courtesy  of  manner,  and  social  standing,  they 
were  the  peers  of  any  in  the  land,  while  in 
intellectual  endowments  they  ranged  from  the 
alumni  of  Yale  and  Harvard  down  to  the 
youngster,  whose  most  noteworthy  accom- 
plishments were  to  read  and  write  and  ride  a 
horse.  They  had  many  of  the  attributes  of 
knight-errantry.  Brave,  even  to  reckless- 
ness, faithful  to  the  cause  they  espoused,  and 
true  to  their  leaders,  they  followed  the  for 
tunes  of  the  Confederacy,  from  the  opening 
gun  at  Fort  Donelson  to  the  surrender  of 
Johnston’s  army,  with  a steadfastness  of  pur- 
pose never  excelled. 

Viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  uncondi- 
tional loyalty  to  the  national  government,  it 
appears  incredible  that  intelligent  men  should 
have  held  the  opinion  and  openly  proclaimed 
it,  that  a single  State  could  be  able  to  hold 
700  miles  of  border,  lying  between  two  im- 
mense contending  forces,  sacred  from  the 
tread  of  hostile  feet.  Yet  facts  war- 
rant the  belief  that  some  regarded  the 
position  tenable.  Encouraged  by  the  at- 
titude assumed  alike  by  friends  of  the 
Union  and  of  the  Confederacy,  united  upon 
a platform  of  neutrality  in  the  approaching 


struggle.  Gov.  MagofiQn,  on  the  20Lh  of 
May,  issued  a proclamation  forbidding  any 
movement  of  troops  upon  Kentucky  soil,  or 
the  occupation  of  any  part  or  place  therein 
for  any  purpose  whatever.  The  Kentucky 
senate  indorsed  the  position,  taken  by  the 
governor  on  the  24th,  by  resolving  that  “the 
State  will  not  sever  her  connection  with  the 
general  government,  nor  take  up  arms  for 
either  belligerent  party,  but  will  arm  herself 
for  the  protection  of  peace  within  her  borders, 
and  tender  her  services  as  a mediator  to  effect 
a just  and  honorable  peace.”  But  the  advo- 
cates of  neutrality  at  the  capital  “builded 
wiser  than  they  knew.”  Time  was  gained  by 
the  Union  men  to  place  themselves  in  a posi- 
tion of  defense  against  any  forcible  means 
that  might  be  adopted  by  the  governor  and 
his  secession  advisers  to  consummate  their 
designs. 

The  latter,  headed  by  John  C.  Breckinridge 
and  other  prominent  men,  were  untiring  in 
their  efforts  to  induce  the  legislature  to 
inaugurate  the  measures  which  had  proved 
effectual  in  other  States,  conhdent  that  if  the 
question  could  be  brought  for  decision  at  the 
polls,  the  State  militia,  under  command  of 
Gen.  S.  B.  Buckner,  would  secure  favorable 
action.  Meanwhile  the  people  of  eastern 
Kentucky,  unlike  the  masses  in  the  Gulf 
States,  accustomed  to  think  and  act  for  them- 
selves, had  ignored  the  neutral  position 
adopted  by  the  politicians,  and  had  taken  sides 
either  with  the  Union  or  the  Confederacy, 
and  an  overwhelming  majority  were  uncondi- 
tionally in  favor  of  the  national  government. 
The  eyes  of  these  people  had  turned  with 
grave  apprehension  to  the  position  of  their 
neighbors  in  east  Tennessee,  whose  steadfast 
loyalty  no  threats  had  been  able  to  shake, 
and,  profiting  by  the  experience  of  that  State, 
determined  that  Kentucky  should  not  be 
bound  hand  and  foot  before  she  had  had  an 
opportunity  to  assert  herself  at  the  polls. 

On  the  27th  a border  State  convention, 
composed  of  leading  men  from  Kentucky  and 
Missouri,  met  at  Frankfort,  Ky. , and  on  the 
8th  of  June  issued  two  addresses:  one  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  and  the  other  to 
the  people  of  Kentucky.  In  the  address  first 


352 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


mentioned  the  convention  said:  “The  obli- 

gation exists  to  maintain  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States,  and  to  preserve  the  Union 
unimpaired,”  and  suggested  that  something 
ought  to  be  done  to  “quiet  apprehension  in 
the  slave  States  that  already  adhere  to  the 
Union.”  The  address  was  signed  by  Hon.  J. 
J.  Crittenden,  president,  and  James  Guth- 
rie, R.  K.  Williams,  Archibald  Dixon,  F. 
M.  Bristow,  Joshua  F.  Bell,  C.  A.  Wickliffe, 
G.  W.  Dunlap,  J.  F.  Robinson,  John  B. 
Huston,  and  Robert  Richardson,  of  Ken- 
tucky; H.  R.  Gamble,  W.  A.  Hall,  J.  B. 
Henderson  and  W.  G.  Pomeroy, of  Missouri; 
and  John  Caldwell,  of  Tennessee. 

The  Kentucky  members  then  united  in  an 
address  to  the  people  of  their  own  State. 
After  endorsing  the  action  of  the  governor 
and  the  legislature,  and  denying  that  the 
position  of  neutrality  resulted  from  timidity, 
for  proof  of  which  they  appealed  to  history, 
the  delegates  say:  “It  is  a proud  and  grand 
thing  for  Kentucky  to  say,  as  she  can  truth- 
fully in  the  face  of  the  world — ‘we  had  no 
hand  in  this  thing,  our  skirts  are  clear,’  and 
asks:  ‘Is  this  not  an  attitude  worthy  of  a 
great  people,  and  do  not  her  position  and 
safety  require  her  to  maintain  it  ? ’ ” But  the 
people  were  fast  deciding  the  question  other- 
wise. Families  were  divided  in  sentiment, 
fathers  against  sous,  brothers  against  broth- 
ers, and  ties  of  friendship,  which  had  ex- 
isted for  a life-time,  were  powerless  to  restrain 
the  demon  of  discoi'd  that  reigned  supreme. 
Self  constituted  r-ecruiting  officers  for  each 
side  hoisted  the  banner  of  their  choice,  often 
in  the  same  town,  and  the  strange  and  un- 
natural spectacle  was  presented  of  brothers 
enlisting  under  oj^posing  flags.  In  fact, 
there  is  scarcely  a family  of  prominence  in  the 
State  that  did  not  contribute  soldiers  to  both 
armies.  It  has  been  well  said  that  “the  out- 
posts of  an  army  mark  the  lines  where  the 
sphere  of  party  politics  ends.”  The  time 
for  action  had  come;  the  people  had  chosen 
sides. 

The  anomalous  position  of  the  neutrality 
party  in  Kentucky,  in  1861,  has  made  it  the 
subject  of  much  unfavorable  comment.  As 
a party  it  never  had  an  existence.  The  dis- 


cordant elements  that  composed  it  in  April 
and  May  had  produced  disintegration  in 
June.  Its  waxen  wings,  union  and  secession, 
had  melted  beneath  the  penetrating  sunlight 
of  a heated  political  contest  for  control  of 
the  legislature,  and,  while  both  thereafter 
used  it  as  a shield,  neither  had  any  confi- 
dence in  the  ability  of  the  State  to  maintain 
her  neutrality  by  force  of  arms.  The  Union 
portion  again  divided  after  the  election — 
which  resulted  in  seating  a majority  of  Union 
men  in  the  legislature— into  active  and  pas- 
sive Union  men.  The  former  were  willing 
to  make  any  sacrifice  to  support  the  national 
government  in  the  struggle  for  life,  while  the 
latter,  preferring  the  Union  to  the  Confed- 
eracy were  still  anxious  to  preserve  the  State 
from  the  horrors  of  civil  war.  Chief  among 
the  former  were  Hon.  Garrett  Davis,  Dr.  Rob- 
ert J.  Breckinridge,  Lieut.  William  Nel- 
son, James  S.  Jackson,  S.  G.  Burbridge, 
Hon.  John  W.  Finnell,  Thomas  L.  Critten- 
den, Joshua  F.  Speed,  Hon.  Joseph  Holt, 
Judge  Goodloe,  Hon.  C.  C.  Burton,  W.  T. 
Ward,  J.  T.  Boyle,  John  B.  Bruner,  John  M. 
Harlan,  James  Speed,  Speed  S.  Fry,  L.  H. 
Rousseau,  W.  C.  Whitaker,  and  many  others. 

Hon.  John  J.  Crittenden,  a life  long  Whig, 
the  cherished  friend  of  Henry  Clay,  was  the 
acknowledged  leader  of  the  peace  party.  As 
a man  he  was  loved  and  honored,  and  as  a 
statesman  he  was  held  in  reverence  by  the 
people  of  his  State  and  nation.  During  a 
long  public  career  his  voice  had  never 
sounded  an  uncertain  note  when  the  honor 
of  his  country  had  been  involved.  Untainted 
by  the  political  atmosphere  of  the  capitol  at 
Washington,  he  had  preserved  his  integrity 
and  led  a blameless  life  in  the  midst  of  a 
conspiracy  that  impatiently  bided  its  time  to 
accomplish  its  ends.  The  siren  songs  of  the 
secessionists,  that  had  ensnared  many  weaker 
men  from  the  border  States,  had  no  charms  for 
this  incorruptible  patriot;  the  dogma  of 
“State  rights,”  which  precipitated  ten  States 
into  rebellion  against  the  authority  of  the 
national  government,  formed  no  part  of  his 
political  creed.  He  loved  the  Union  as  only  a 
great-hearted  statesman  can  love  his  country, 
recognizing  no  section  as  paramount  in  his 


I 


JOHN  J.  CRITTENDEN. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


353 


night  of  rebellion,  which  now  enveloped  the 
South,  his  influence  had  been  exerted  toward 
conciliating  the  men  whom  he  still  regarded 
as  his  misguided  brethren.  Animated  solely 
by  the  lofty  purpose  of  reuniting  the 
North  and  South,  Mr.  Crittenden  and  his  co- 
workers hoped  and  believed  that  a general 
war  could  be  avoided.  That  they  continued 
to  believe  so  long  after  the  fact  was  patent 
to  every  one  else  that  the  war  had  actually 
begun  must  be  attributed  to  the  inflexibility 
of  purpose  that  had  always  been  a character- 
istic of  the  courageous  leader.  The  war  was 
deemed  so  causeless,  so  wicked,  and  without 
the  shadow  of  provocation,  that  the  masses 
that  followed  Mr.  Crittenden  believed,  with 
him,  that  something  might  be  done  to  avert 
the  horrible  calamities  that  all  felt  must  fol- 
low a general  war;  but  there  was  a time  when 
these  men  hesitated  as  to  the  duty  of  Ken- 
tucky and  her  purpose,  when  the  time  for 
action  should  come,  if  come  it  must.  The 
following  extract  from  a recent  letter,  writ- 
ten by  Gen.  John.  W.  Finnell  to  the  author, 
conveys  an  intelligent  idea  of  the  estimation 
in  which  the  followers  of  Mr.  Crittenden  are 
still  held: 

The  love  for  the  IFnion.  which  filled  the  hearts  of 
the  old  Whig  or  Union  and  Douglas  democrats  of 
Kentucky,  was  unspeakably  ardent  and  earnest,  and 
at  no  period  was  it  more  intense  and  abiding  than  at 
this  time.  The  position  of  the  Union  men  in  Ken- 
tucky was  exceptional,  the  entire  military  organiza- 
tion of  the  State  was  under  the  control  of  the  rebel 
interest;  and  with  the  exception  of  5,000  muskets, 
furnished  by  the  government,  they  were  without 
arms,  and  totally  without  organization. 

They  were  strangers  to  war.  While  their  faith 
in  the  good  sense  and  patriotism  of  the  great  mass 
of  the  people  had  been  realized  at  the  polls,  the  con- 
viction that  the  war  was  a strugglefor  the  existence 
of  the  nation  came  upon  them  but  slowly.  Besides, 
it  very  soon  became  manifest  that,  to  a vast  number 
of  Union  men,  it  meant  the  sacrifice  of  nearly  every 
tie  of  interest  and  consanguinity.  Neutrality,  there- 
fore, was  an  expedient,  and  deemed  of  value,  in  the 
hope — in  the  poetic  and  fervid  imagination  of  that 
day — that  there,  “on  the  bosom  of  the  first  born  of 
the  Union,  unstained  by  fratricidal  blood,  the  altar 
might  be  built  upon  which  the  mad  passions  of  both 
sections  might  be  burned  to  ashes;”  and  it  is  alto- 
gether possible  that  less  imaginative  patriots  re- 
garded it  as  an  exceedingly  proper  thing,  until  they 
could  obtain  another  supply  of  “Lincoln  guns,” 


There  never  was  in  all  history  a more  heroic 
spirit  of  self-sacrifice  than  that  which  animated  the 
Union  people  of  Kentucky  in  that  struggle,  from 
the  attack  upon  Fort  Sumter  to  the  surrender  of 
Fort  Donelson.  There  never  was  a wiser  states- 
manship or  more  masterlj'  diplomacy  than  was  dis- 
played by  the  Union  leaders  during  the  long  season 
of  doubt  in  the  summer  of  1861.  Nothing  was 
clearer,  even  then,  than  that,  if  the  war  became 
general,  national  success  meant  the  sacrifice  of  an 
immense  property  interest;  that  the  position  of  the 
State  with  the  national  government  involved  the 
sacrifice  of  friends,  the  separation  of  families,  pos- 
sibly to  the  Union  people  a surrender  of  their  homes, 
the  work  of  a lifetime  of  care  and  labor,  and  with 
that,  expatriation  from  the  land  they  dearly  loved. 

Stigmatized  as  Abolitionists  and  Submissionists, 
and  with  every  epithet  made  hateful  by  their  educa- 
tion, history  and  traditions,  the  Union  men  worked 
steadily  on, until  by  their  wisdom  and  courage  they 
were  able  at  last  to  encircle  the  commonwealth  with- 
in the  arms  of  her  loyal  people,  and  thus  save  her 
to  the  nation. 

Another  formidable  class  of  people,  by 
reason  of  their  wealth  and  influence,  was 
composed  of  citizens  who,  while  they  had  no 
intention  of  taking  up  arms  for  the  secession 
of  the  State  or  for  the  Southern  Confederacy, 
sympathized  with  the  cause  for  which  the 
South  had  rebelled,  and  were  styled  South- 
ern-rights people.  This  class  comprised  a 
large  portion  of  the  slaveholders  in  central 
Kentucky,  and  became  more  numerous  toward 
the  southwest,  until  in  that  portion  of  the 
State  bordering  upon  Tennessee,  and  lying 
between  the  Tennessee  and  Mississippi 
Eivers,  known  as  the  “Purchase,”  almost  the 
entire  population  were  in  full  sympathy  with 
the  rebellion.  To  this  class  either  govern- 
ment was  acceptable,  .provided  their  right  to 
hold  slaves  was  guaranteed.  The  establish- 
ment of  a southern  confederacy,  based  upon 
this  right,  had  at  first  presented  the  attract- 
ive feature  of  permanent  protection  to  this 
species  of  property.  The  conciliatory  meas- 
ures adopted  by  State  and  national  legislative 
assemblies  toward  the  South,  followed  by 
the  spontaneous  uprising  of  the  northern 
people  in  response  to  the  call  of  the  presi- 
dent, without  regard  to  the  former  political 
alliances,  convinced  many  that,  in  the  event 
of  a general  war,  self-interest  pointed  to  a 
passive  resistance  to  the  appeals  of  either 
party  to  the  contest. 


22 


354 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


A proclamation  of  emancipation  at  that 
time  would  have  precipitated  Kentucky  into 
secession,  with  no  power  in  the  hands  of  the 
Union  men  to  avert  it.  But  thus  far,  the 
slavery  question  had  been  ignored  in  the 
measures  adopted  by  Mr.  Lincoln  for  the 
suppression  of  the  rebellion,  and  the  belief 
that  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  national 
government  would  leave  slavery  untouched, 
at  least  in  those  States  that  had  not  taken  up 
arms  against  the  government,  prompted 
many  slaveholders  to  remain  neutral,  and 
even  to  discourage  enlistments  in  the  Confed- 
erate army,  while  they  cordially  sympathized 
wdth  the  cause  for  which  the  Southern  States 
contended. 

This  belief,  however,  was  by  no  means 
general.  The  prophetic  soul  of  Mr.  Yancey 
and  other  southern  orators,  who  from  time 
to  time  visited  Kentucky,  aided  by  native 
secessionists,  scouted  the  idea  that  the  Re- 
publican party  of  the  North,  having  elected 
a president  by  an  overwhelming  majority, 
would  accept  half-way  measures  in  dealing 
with  slavery,  if  they  should  in  the  end  hnd 
themselves  in  position  to  dictate  terms  of 
peace  to  a vanquished  enemy.  The  advo- 
cates of  secession,  appealing  to  the  chivalric 
impulses  of  their  hearers,  urged  upon  them 
their  duty  to  stand  by  their  “ southern  breth- 
ren who  were  engaged  in  battling  for  rights 
that  were  as  dear  to  Kentuckians  as  to  them- 
selves,” and  asked  if  they  were  indeed  degen- 
erated sons  of  the  brave  pioneers  who  had 
shouldered  their  trusty  rifles  and  marched 
through  the  pathless  wilderness  northward 
to  the  great  lakes  to  avenge  the  atrocities  of 
the  Indians  commited  upon  the  infant  settle- 
ments in  Ohio. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  people  in  this 
portion  of  the  State  were  divided  into  dis- 
cordant factions.  The  masses,  distracted  by 
alternate  hopes  and  fears,  doubtful  as  to 
their  duty,  were  subjected  by  the  constant 
harangues  of  some  who  pleaded  with  them  to 
stand  by  the  national  government  at  all  haz- 
ards, and  of  others  to  join  the  fortunes  of 
the  young  Confederacy,  in  whose  cause  they 
had  an  equal  interest.  They  were  urged  by 
the  secession  wing  of  the  neutrality  party  to 


maintain  an  attitude  of  armed  resistance  to 
national  authority,  but  to  remain  in  the 
Union  wing  of  the  same  party,  to  remain 
true  to  the  Union  and  to  the  government, 
but  to  abstain  from  any  act  that  would  invite 
invasion  of  the  State  from  either  side. 

It  now  became  the  fixed  purpose  of  the 
general  government  to  protect  the  loyal  citi- 
zens of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  in  their  con- 
stitutional rights,  and  to  this  end,  on  the 
27th  of  June,  an  order  was  issued  at  the  war 
department  forming  the  States  of  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee  into  a military  district,  under 
command  of  Brig-Gen.  Robert  Anderson, 
who  was  directed  to  send  an  officer  to  east 
Tennessee  to  muster  into  the  service  of  the 
United  States  10,000  men.  Arms  and  ac- 
coutrements and  an  ample  supply  of  ammu- 
nition were  ordered  to  Cincinnati,  for  the  use 
of  that  number  of  men;  and  to  transport 
their  equipments  to  their  destination,  he  was 
authorized  to  muster  into  the  service  of  the 
United  States  four  regiments  in  southeast 
Kentucky.  The  officer  designated  for  this 
dirty  was  Lieut.  William  Nelson,  of  the 
United  States  navy. 

After  conference  with  prominent  national 
Union  men  in  the  adjoining  counties.  Nelson 
determined  to  locate  his  camp  of  instruction 
in  Garrard  County,  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Dick 
Robinson  (a  firm  adherent  to  the  government), 
at  the  junction  of  the  Danville  turnpike, 
with  the  pike  leading  from  Nicholasville  to 
Crab  Orchard,  in  the  direction  of  Cumber- 
land Gap.  A rich  and  fertile  country  under 
a high  state  of  cultivation  surrounded  the 
camp.  A fair  proportion  of  the  inhabitants 
were  friendly  to  the  enterprise,  many  of 
whom  were  ardent  supporters  of  the  national 
government.  Nicholasville,  eight  miles  dis- 
tant, was  the  southern  terminus  of  the  Ken- 
tucky Central  Railroad,  connecting  it  with 
Cincinnati,  while  only  twelve  miles  farther 
north,  on  the  line  of  the  same  road,  is  the 
city  of  Lexington,  located  in  the  center  of 
that  beautiful  portion  of  Kentucky  known  as 
“the  Blue  Grass  Region.” 

From  Lexington,  two  railroads  were  in 
operation — the  one  to  Louisville  and  the 
other  to  Cincinnati — while  broad  turnpike 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


355 


roads  led  by  various  routes  to  the  Ohio  River. 
With  these  separate  routes  for  the  trans- 
portation of  supplies,  communication  with 
the  base  at  Cincinnati  was  regarded  as  secure. 
In  case  the  railroad  bridges  should  be  burned 
by  the  secessionists,  the  turnpikes  to  Mays- 
ville  and  other  points  afforded  access  to  the 
north.  Between  the  camp  and  Nicholasville 
is  the  Kentucky  River,  the  precipitous  banks 
and  deep  gorges  of  which  afforded  many 
good  positions  for  successful  resistance  in 
case  an  attack  from  a superior  force,  advanc- 
ing from  the  southeast,  made  it  necessary  j 
for  the  recruits  to  fall  back  before  they  were 
sufficiently  well  organized  to  protect  them- 
selves in  the  open  country. 

Lieut.  William  Nelson,  United  States  navy, 
the  officer  chosen  to  perform  the  delicate  and 
difficult  task  of  establishing  a camp  and  or- 
ganizing a brigade  of  Union  soldiers  on  Ken- 
tucky soil  in  opposition  to  the  judgment  of 
avowed  Union  men,  was  a man  eminently  fit- 
ted for  the  undertaking.  The  times  were  tur- 
bulent; murder,  unwhipt  of  justice,  stalked 
through  the  land.  The  State  guard,  10,000 
strong,  under  the  leadership  of  Gen.  Simon 
Bolivar  Buckner,  was  under  a high  state  of  dis- 
cipline, thoroughly  equipped  and  ably  com- 
manded. Many  of  the  companies  comprised 
in  the  organization  would  have  responded 
to  the  call  of  the  commander  to  disperse 
the  newly  organized  camp,  and  this  order 
doubtless  would  have  been  issued  if  troops 
from  the  northern  States  had  joined  the 
camp. 

By  virtue  of  authority  vested  in  him  by 
the  war  department,  Nelson  issued  commis- 
sions, bearing  date  July  15,  1861,  to  William 
J.  Landrum,  of  Lancaster,  Ky.,  to  raise  a 
cavalry  regiment,  and  to  Theophilus  T.  Gar- 
rard, Thomas  E.  Bramlette  and  Speed  S. 
Fry  to  raise  three  regiments  of  infantry. 
Messrs.  W.  A.  Hoskins,  G.  C.  Kniffin  and 
George  L.  Dobbins  were  subsequently  com- 
missioned as  staff  officers. 

Soon  after  the  preliminary  meeting  at 
Lancaster,  where  the  above-named  gentlemen 
were  empowered  to  raise  regiments  for  the 
United  States  service.  Nelson  retmmed  to 
Cincinnati  to  make  arrangements  for  supplies 


for  his  camp,  and  active  preparations  for  re- 
cruiting were  immediately  begun  by  the 
officers  named,  and  the  subordinates  selected 
by  them  to  assist  in  their  work. 

Not  long  after  the  work  was  commenced, 
an  effort  was  made,  upon  the  part  of  several 
' prominent  politicians  in  different  parts  of  the 
State,  to  postpone  the  whole  movement  upon 
the  ground  of  its  inexpediency,  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  it  might  be  construed  as  a 
menace  by  the  States  then  in  rebellion,  and 
precipitate  an  invasion  of  Kentucky  by  the 
forces  then  known  to  be  assembled  near  the 
State  line  in  Tennessee.  Col.  Landrum  was 
notified  that,  at  a meeting  of  those  having 
authority  to  act  in  the  matter,  it  was  agreed 
to  postpone  the  organization  of  the  troops, 
and  he  was  requested  to  notify  the  other 
officers  accordingly.  Lieut.  Nelson  was  noti- 
fied promptly  of  this  movement,  and  in  a let- 
ter dated  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  July  28,  1861,  he 
wrote  Col.  Landrum  as  follows:  “the  expedi- 
tion is  neither  postponed  nor  abandoned. 
So  far  from  suspending  operations,  I ear- 
nestly desire  that  they  may  be  urged  on  with 
the  utmost  energy.  If  the  idea  of  postpone- 
ment or  abandonment  has  been  spread 
among  your  people,  that  idea  must  be  cor- 
rected. I shall  assemble  the  brigade  and 
muster  it  into  service  as  soon  as  possible.” 

Immediately  on  receipt  of  this  letter.  Col. 
Landrum  communicated  its  contents  to  the 
other  officers,  the  work  of  recruiting  was  re- 
sumed, and  on  the  day  after  the  August  elec- 
tion the  troops  began  to  arrive  at  camp  Dick 
Robinson.  Bramlette,  Fry  and  Garrard 
were  on  hand  to  take  command  of  their 
respective  regiments;  while  Landrum,  pre- 
fen-ing  the  infantry  to  the  cavalry,  concluded 
to  tiurn  his  regiment  over  to  Lieut. -Col. 
W'olford,  and  to  raise  an  infantry  regiment 
at  Harrodsburg,  Ky.,  in  the  meantime  acting 
as  adjutant-general  for  Gen.  Nelson  for 
several  weeks  after  his  arrival. 

The  officers  named,  with  the  assistance  of 
recruiting  officers  throughout  the  country  in 
which  the  camp  was  located,  prosecuted  the 
business  intrusted  to  them  with  such  energy 
and  success  that  by  the  middle  of  August 
the  required  number  to  fill  each  regiment 


356 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


were  in  camp  ready  for  muster  into  the  serv- 
ice. The  difficulty  in  obtaining  clothing 
and  camp  and  garrison  equipage  now  began. 
The  equipment  of  the  immense  armies  of 
the  United  States,  now  numbering  500,000 
men,  had  caused  such  demands  upon  the 
manufacturing  establishments  of  the  country, 
that  it  was  impossible  to  fill  the  oft-repeated 
requisitions  made  by  Nelson  upon  the  quar- 
termaster’s department.  In  the  absence  of 
tents,  the  recruits  were  assigned  quarters 
under  the  wide-spreading  branches  of  a 
grove  of  maples,  where  exposure  to  the  ele- 
ments rendered  it  necessary  to  erect  a hos- 
pital at  an  early  date.  The  light  clothing 
they  had  worn  to  camp  in  the  expectation  of 
■exchanging  it  for  the  blue  uniform  of  the 
army  soon  succumbed  to  the  wear  and  tear  of 
camp  life,  and  flags  of  truce  were  displayed 
by  many  a doughty  warrior,  who  would 
have  been  the  last  to  exhibit  it  if  confronted 
by  the  enemy. 

Recruiting  in  the  country  southward  and 
eastward  from  the  camp  was  comparatively 
easy.  The  country  is  mountainous,  and  the 
inhabitants  were  on  equal  terms  with  refer- 
ence to  wealth  and  social  standing.  There 
were  few  slaveholders,  and  the  people,  accus- 
tomed to  independence  of  thought,  word,  and 
deed,  had  exercised  the  right  to  form  their 
own  conclusions  upon  the  question  of  seces- 
sion. The  latent  loyalty  existing  in  the  breast 
of  every  true  American,  being  untrammeled 
by  interest  in  the  institution  of  slavery,  or 
by  the  influence  of  secession  orators,  who 
early  found  themselves  confronted  by  Union 
men  possessing  greater  power  with  the  people, 
asserted  itself.  Ready  to  engage  in  an  enter- 
prise that  promised  relief  to  their  loyal  neigh- 
bors accross  the  Tennessee  border,  whose  per- 
secution by  the  State  authorities  at  this  time 
had  awakened  a thrill  of  indignation  through- 
out the  country,  they  em’olled  their  names 
under  the  banner  of  their  country.  Owing 
to  this  fact,  it  came  about  that  the  regiments 
of  Wolford,  Garrard  and  Bramlette  were  re- 
cruited largely  from  the  counties  adjacent  to 
the  northern  line  of  Tennessee. 

The  traditional  courage  of  the  mountain- 
eers of  all  countries  was  exhibited  by  these 


splendid  regiments  in  their  subsequent  career. 
They  participated  in  nearly  all  the  battles 
fought  by  the  armies  of  the  Cumberland 
and  the  Tennessee,  and  whether  with  Rose- 
crans  at  Stone  River  and  Chickamauga,  with 
Grant  at  Black  River  Bridge  and  Vicksburg, 
or  with  Sherman  through  100  days  of  battle 
to  the  capture  of  Atlanta,  they  were  every- 
where complimented  for  courage  and  en- 
durance. 

In  Kentucky,  the  act  of  the  legislature 
which  united  the  military  companies  of  the 
State,  many  of  which  had  been  for  years 
under  a high  state  of  drill  and  military  dis- 
cipline, into  a homogeneous  whole,  became  a 
law  in  March,  1860,  by  the  approval  of  the 
governor.  The  act  was  drafted  by  Simon 
Bolivar  Buckner,  a graduate  of  West  Point, 
whose  military  tastes  and  education  eminently 
qualified  him  to  become  the  leader  of  the  or- 
ganization. By  the  provisions  of  the  act, 
the  citizens  of  the  State,  capable  of  bearing 
arms,  were  divided  into  three  classes,  enti- 
tled, respectively,  “The  Militia  of  Reserve,” 
“The  Enrolled  Militia,”  and  “The  Active  or 
Volunteer  Militia.”  The  first  named  em- 
braced all  white  male  persons  under  eighteen 
and  over  forty-five;  the  second,  all  able-bodied 
white  men  between  those  ages;  and  “The 
Volunteer  Militia  or  State  Guard,”  were  or- 
ganized into  companies,  battalions,  brigades, 
divisions,  and  army  corps,  with  uniforms  and 
equipments  complete.  The  organization  soon 
embraced  all  the  independent  military  com- 
panies of  the  State,  regardless  of  the  political 
opinions  of  the  members.  The  time  had  not 
yet  come  for  any  interference  with  the  choice 
of  the  companies  as  to  their  commanders,  and, 
in  some  instances,  the  opening  of  hostilities 
found  some  of  the  most  efficient  companies 
commanded  by  strong  Union  men.  In  Lex- 
ington there  were  three  companies,  com- 
manded respectively  by  Capts.  S.  W.  Price, 
Sanders  Bruce  and  John  H.  Morgan.  The 
two  former  became  colonels  in  the  Union 
army,  while  the  latter  became  renowned  as  a 
commander  of  a division  of  southern  cavalry. 

Gen.  Buckner,  as  inspector-general,  had 
power  to  disband  all  such  companies  as  failed 
to  conform  to  his  view  of  military  propriety. 


HISTORY  OF  IvENTUCKY. 


357 


thus  concentrating  in  him  a power  of  subor- 
dinating all  officers  to  his  will.  Thomas  L. 
Crittenden,  a gallant  officer  in  the  Mexican 
war  and  son  of  Hon.  John  J.  Crittenden,  was 
elected  brigadier- general. 

Another  military  organization,  though  less 
imposing  in  its  form,  was  destined  to  wield 
a powerful  influence  in  shaping  the  destiny 
of  Kentucky  in  the  impending  struggle. 
This  was  “The  Home  Guard.”  Loosely  organ- 
ized military  companies  sprang  into  exist- 
ence in  nearly  every  neighborhood  and  in 
many  of  the  large  towns.  The  imminence  of 
revolution  induced  the  city  authorities  of 
Louisville  to  take  the  initiative  in  the  matter, 
and  an  ordinance  was  passed  by  the  city 
council,  approved  by  Mayor  Delph,  based 
upon  a vague  provision  of  the  city  charter, 
which  authorized  the  organization  of  the 
First  Home  Guard  Battalion,  in  May,  1861. 
Lovell  H.  Rousseau  was  first  appointed  brig- 
adier general,  but  preferring  service  in  the 
United  States  army,  he  was  succeeded  by 
James  Speed.  The  ordinance  provided  for 
two  regiments,  with  the  necessary  compliment 
of  field  and  staff  officers.  The  regiments 
soon  filled  to  their  maximum  strength.  The 
Marion  Rifles,  a company  in  the  State  Guard, 
joined  the  Home  Guard,  and  the  brigade  held 
the  field  against  all  comers. 

There  was  an  element  of  weakness  in  the 
State  Guard  that  the  Home  Guard  was  not 
called  upon  to  encounter.  In  the  former 
there  was  no  settled  principal  of  action.  Its 
ranks  were  filled  with  men  embracing  conflict- 
ing opinions  upon  union  and  secession. 
The  Home  Guai’d  was  a unit  in  favor  of 
the  Union,  and  in  its  readiness  to  fight  for 
it.  In  addition  to  this,  Gen.  Buckner  had 
found  difficulty  in  supplying  his  men  with 
arms.  Dr.  Blackburn,  since  governor  of 
the  State,  purchased  a quantity  in  the 
south,  but  they  proved  to  be  worthless,  and 
notwithstanding  his  assertion  that,  “they 
were  good  enough  for  neutrals,”  the  men 
refused  to  receive  therq.  Gen.  Speed  was 
supplied  by  Lieut.  Nelson,  and  the  array  of 
bayonets  on  the  streets  of  Louisville,  borne 
by  a brigade  of  men,  whose  pluck  and  will- 
ingness to  use  them  was  well  known,  had  an 


exceedingly  quieting  effect  upon  the  turbulent 
spirits. 

Thus  was  the  position  of  the  Union  party 
in  Kentucky  strengthened  by  its  adherents  to 
the  policy  of  neutrality,  while  yet  the 
machinery  of  the  State  government  was 
manipulated  by  men  who  were  inimical  to  the 
United  States  government,  and  in  sympathy 
with  that  of  the  Confederate  States.  Falla- 
cious and  almost  ridiculous  as  that  policy 
was,  and  as  it  was  admitted  to  be,  even  then, 
by  men  who  only  awaited  the  result  of  the 
August  elections  to  declare  their  allegiance 
to  one  flag  or  the  other,  it  served  its  purpose 
in  preventing  hostilities  within  the  State,  and 
in  securing  to  the  Union  men  time  for  organi- 
zation and  preparation  to  resist  secession  in 
case  the  election  should  result  in  seating  a 
majority  of  “southern-rights”  men  in  the 
legislature. 

This  view  of  the  situation  was  plainly 
stated  to  Presiden  t Lincoln,  and  received  his 
cordial  sanction,  and,,  while  he  made  no 
movement  to  acquiesce  in  the  views  of  the 
timid  Union  men  who  urged  the  removal  of 
the  troops  in  course  of  enlistment  and  organ- 
ization at  camp  Dick  Robinson,  he  left  the 
management  of  Kentucky  affairs  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  the  Union  men  of  the  State. 

On  the  4th  of  June,  Gen.  Scott  telegraphed 
McClellan  that  it  was  “deemed  unwise  by  the 
government  to  send  to  Kentucky  a commander 
of  troops,  not  native  or  resident  of  the  State,” 
and,  probably  owing  to  the  physical  disability 
of  Gen.  Anderson,  suggested  Col.  L.  H. 
Rousseau,  commander  of  the  Louisville 
Home  Guard,  and  to  take  command  of  the 
Kentucky  department.  To  this  communica- 
tion McClellan  replied  as  follows:  “In  view 

of  the  necessity  of  managing  affairs  in  Ken- 
tucky with  great  delicacy  until  the  election 
shall  have  passed  and  a Union  legislature  is 
in  power,  I would  respectfully  suggest  that 
for  the  present,  at  least,  no  sucessor  be  ap- 
pointed to  Gen.  Anderson,  and  that,  as  I am 
in  quite  close  communication  with  the  prin- 
cipal men,  the  matter  be  left  for  a time  in 
my  hands.” 

Gen.  McClellan  had,  as  early  as  the  8th  of 
May,  met  Gen.  S.  B.  Buckner,  inspector- 


358 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


genera]  and  real  commander  of  the  Kentucky 
State  Guards,  and  entered  into  an  agreement 
with  him  to  respect  the  neutrality  of  Ken- 
tucky so  far  as  to  agree  not  to  occupy  any 
portion  of  the  State  except  to  respond  to  the 
call  of  the  governor  to  assist  in  expelling 
the  rebels  from  the  State,  incase  they  should 
attempt  to  occupy  points  within  its  borders. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  motives  that 
actuated  Gen.  Buckner  in  making  the  treaty, 
it  is  evident  from  the  following  correspond- 
ence that  Gen.  McClellan  fully  intended  to 
abide  by  it. 

McClellan  to  Townsend,  June  1 1 : 

* * * * “Gen.  Buckner  came 

to  see  me  on  Friday  last.  We  sat  up  all 
night  talking  about  matters  of  common  in- 
terest. Buckner  gave  me  his  word  that 
should  any  Tennessee  troops  cross  the  frontier 
of  Kentucky,  he  would  use  all  the  forces  at 
his  disposal  to  drive  them  out,  and,  failing  in 
that,  would  call  on  me  for  assistance.  He 
went  to  Tennessee,  after  leaving  me,  to  pre- 
sent that  view  to  Gov.  Harris.”  * * * * 

Buckner  to  Magoffin,  June  10: 

“On  the  8th  inst. , at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  I 
entered  into  an  arrangement  with  Gen.  George 
B.  McClellan,  commander  of  all  the  United 
States  troops  north  of  the  Ohio  River,  to  the 
following  effect:  The  authorities  of  the  State 
of  Kentucky  are  to  protect  the  United  States 
property  within  the  limits  of  the  State;  to 
enforce  the  laws  of  the  United  States  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  interpretation  of  the  United 
States  courts,  as  far  as  those  laws  may  be  ap- 
plicable to  Kentucky,  and  to  enforce,  with  all 
the  power  of  the  State,  our  obligations  of 
neutrality  as  against  the  southern  States,  as 
long  as  the  position  we  have  assumed  shall 
be  respected  by  the  United  States.  Gen. 
McClellan  stipulates  that  the  territory  of 
Kentucky  shall  be  respected  on  the  part  of 
the  United  States,  even  if  the  southern 
States  should  occupy  it;  but.  in  the  latter 
case,  he  will  call  upon  the  authorities  of 
Kentucky  to  remove  the  southern  forces.  I 
have  stipulated  in  that  case  to  advise  him  of 
the  inability  of  Kentucky  to  comply  with  her 
obligations,  and  to  invite  him  to  dislodge  the 
Southern  forces.  He  stipulates  that,  if  suc- 


cessful in  so  doing,  he  will  withdraw  his 
forces  from  the  territory  of  the  State  as  soon 
as  the  southern  forces  shall  be  removed. 
Should  the  administration  hereafter  adopt  a 
different  policy,  he  is  to  give  me  timely  no- 
tice of  the  fact.” 

McClellan  to  Lieut.  Nelson,  United  States 
navy,  June  26: 

“My  interview  with  Buckner  was  personal, 
not  official.  It  was  solicited  by  him  more 
than  once.  I made  no  stipulation  on  the 
part  of  the  general  government,  and  regarded 
his  voluntary  promise  to  drive  out  the  Con- 
federate troops  as  the  only  result  of  the  in- 
terview. His  letter  gives  his  own  views,  not 
mine.  ” 

An  opportunity  soon  occurred  to  test  the 
sincerity  of  each  of  the  high  contracting  par- 
ties, as  explained  in  the  letters  which  follow. 

McClellan  to  Buckner,  June  11: 

“ I have  information,  apparently  reliable, 
that  at  least  two  Tennessee  regiments  had 
orders  to  move  last  night  from  camp  Cheat- 
ham to  Union  City,  thence,  on  being  re-en 
forced,  to  occupy,  at  once,  Island  No.  1,  six 
miles  below  Cairo.  I notify  you  of  this  in 
accordance  with  our  understanding  that  you 
would  not  permit  Tennessee  troops  to  cross 
your  frontier.  Please  reply  at  once  whether 
you  consider  the  island  on  the  Kentucky  side 
of  the  channel  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
Kentucky.” 

The  same  day  he  wrote  Gov.  Magoffin  as 
follows: 

“ I have  received  information  that  Tennes- 
see troops  are  under  orders  to  occupy  Island 
No.  1,  six  miles  below  Cairo.  In  accordance 
with  my  understanding  with  Gen  Buckner,  I 
call  upon  you  to  prevent  this  step.” 

Magoffin  to  McClellan.  June  11; 

‘ ‘ Gen.  Buckner  has  gone  to  Paducah  and 
Columbus;  his  orders  are  to  carry  out  his 
understanding  with  you.  Am  investigating 
the  question  of  jurisdiction  over  the  island 
to  which  you  allude.” 

The  following  letter  indicates  that  McClel- 
lan had  determined  to  respect  the  neutral 
position  of  Kentucky,  even  before  the  inter- 
view with  Buckner.  On  the  7th  of  May  he 
wrote  Hon.  John  J.  Crittenden  as  follows: 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


359 


“The  papers  this  morning  state  that  Gen. 
Prentiss,  commanding  the  United  States 
forces  at  Cairo,  111.,  has  sent  troops  across 
the  Ohio  River  into  Kentucky.  I have  no 
official  notice  of  such  a movement,  but  I at 
once  telegraphed  Gen.  Prentiss  for  the  facts, 
and  stated  to  him  that  if  the  report  were  true 
I disapproved  his  course,  and  ordered  him  to 
make  no  more  such  movements  without  my 
sanction  previously  obtained.” 

The  establishment  of  a camp  of  United 
States  soldiers  on  the  soil  of  Kentucky  natur- 
ally provoked  a vigorous  protest  on  the  part 
of  the  governor  of  the  State.  In  his  anxiety 
to  prevent  hostilities  within  the  State,  which 
would  inevitably  bring  upon  it  an  army  of 
troops  from  the  northwest,  he  determined 
upon  a simultaneous  appeal  to  the  Presidents 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Confederate 
States  to  aid  him  in  averting  the  catastrophe. 
On  the  19th  of  August,  therefore.  Gov.  Ma- 
goffin accredited  Messrs.  W.  A.  Dudley  and  F. 
K.  Hunt  as  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the 
State  of  Kentucky  to  visit  Washington  and 
confer  with  President  Lincoln  in  regard  to 
the  removal  of  the  troops  at  Camp  Dick  Rob- 
inson. They  were  the  bearers  of  a lengthy 
communication  from  Gov.  Magoffin,  asking 
that  the  troops  should  be  removed  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  State.  To  this  President  Lin- 
coln replied  in  the  following  characteristic 
letter : 

Washington,  D.  C.,  August  24,  1861. 

To  HIS  Excellency  B.  Magoffin,  Gm"ERNOR 
OF  THE  State  of  Kentucky. 

Sir: — Your  letter  of  the  19lh  inst.,  in  which  you 
“urge  the  removal  from  the  limits  of  Kentucky  of 
the  military  force  now  organized,  and  in  camp 
within  said  State,”  is  received. 

I may  not  possess  full  and  precisely  accurate 
knowledge  upon  this  subject,  but  I believe  it  is  true 
that  there  is  a military  force  in  camp  within  Ken- 
tucky, acting  by  authority  of  the  United  States, 
which  force  is  not  very  large,  and  is  not  now  being 
augmented. 

I also  believe  that  some  arms  have  been  furnished 
to  this  force  by  the  United  States. 

I also  believe  that  this  force  consists  exclusively 
of  Kentuckians,  having  their  camp  in  the  immedi- 
ate vicinity  of  their  own  homes,  and  not  assailing 
or  menacing  any  of  the  good  people  of  Kentucky. 

In  all  I have  done  in  the  premises,  I have  acted 
upon  the  urgent  solicitation  of  many  Kentuckians, 
and  in  accordance  with  what  I believed,  and  still 


believe,  to  be  the  wish  of  a majority  of  all  the 
Union-loving  people  of  Kentucky. 

While  I have  conversed  on  this  subject  with 
man}^  eminent  men  of  Kentucky,  including  a large 
majority  of  her  members  of  congress,  I do  not  re- 
member that  any  one  of  them,  or  any  other  person, 
except  your  Excellency  and  the  bearers  of  your 
Excellency’s  letter,  has  urged  me  to  remove  the 
military  force  from  Kentucky,  or  to  disband  it.  One 
other  very  worthy  citizen  of  Kentucky  did  solicit 
me  to  have  the  augmenting  of  the  force  suspended 
for  a time. 

Taking  all  the  means  within  my  reach  to  form  a 
judgment  I do  not  believe  it  is  the  popular  wish  of 
Kentucky  that  this  force  should  be  removed  beyond 
her  limits,  and,  with  this  impression,  I must  re- 
spectfully decline  to  so  remove  it. 

I most  cordiall}’'  sympathize  with  your  Excellency 
in  the  wish  to  preserve  the  peace  of  m}"  own  native 
State,  Kentuck\%  but  it  is  with  regret  I search,  and 
cannot  find,  in  your  not  very  short  letter  any  declar- 
ation or  intimation  that  you  entertain  any  desire 
for  the  preservation  of  the  Federal  Union. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

A.  Lincoln. 

j\L’.  George  W.  Johnson  was  at  the  same 
time  accredited  to  the  government  of  the  Con- 
federate States  at  Richmond,  bearing  a 
lengthy  epistle  from  Gov.  Magoffin,  in  answer 
to  which  Mr.  Davis  sent  the  following  exceed- 
ingly diplomatic  note: 

Richxiond,  August  28,  1861. 

To  THE  Hon.  B.  Magoffin,  Governor  of  Iaen- 

TUCKY,  ETC. 

Sir: — I have  received  your  letter  informing  me 
that  “since  the  commencement  of  the  unhappy  diffi- 
culties yet  pending  in  the  countiy,  the  people  of 
Kentucky  have  indicated  a steadfast  desire  and  pur- 
pose to  maintain  a position  of  strict  neutrality  be- 
tween the  belligerent  parties.”  In  the  same  com- 
munication 3’ou  express  your  desire  to  elicit  “an 
authoritative  assurance  that  the  government  of  the 
Confederate  States  will  continue  to  respect  and  ob- 
serve the  neutral  position  of  Kentuckj’.” 

In  reply  to  this  request,  I lose  no  time  in  assur- 
ing you,  that  the  government  of  the  Confederate 
States  of  America  neither  intends  nor  desires  to  dis- 
turb the  neutrality  of  Kentucky.  The  assemblage 
of  troops  in  Tennessee,  to  which  you  refer,  had  no 
other  object  than  to  repel  the  lawless  invasion  of 
that  State  by  the  forces  of  the  United  States,  should 
their  government  seek  to  approach  it  through  Ken- 
tuckj'  without  respect  for  its  position  of  neutrality. 
That  such  apprehensions  were  not  groundless  has 
been  proved  bj'  the  course  of  that  government  in 
the  States  of  Maiyland  and  Missouri,  and  more  re- 
centlj'  in  Kentuckj'  itself,  in  which,  as  }'Ou  inform 
me,  “a  militar}'  force  has  been  enlisted  and  quartered 
by  the  L'nited  States  authorities.” 


300 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


The  government  of  the  Confederate  States  has 
not  only  respected  most  scrupulously  the  neutrality 
of  Kentucky,  but  has  continued  to  maintain  the 
friendly  relations  of  trade  and  intercourse  which  it 
has  suspended  with  the  people  of  the  United  States 
generally. 

In  view  of  the  history  of  the  past,  it  can  scarce- 
ly be  necessary  to  assure  your  Excellency  that  the 
government  of  the  Confederate  States  will  continue 
to  respect  the  neutrality  of  Kentucky  so  long  as  her 
people  will  maintain  it  themselves. 

But  neutrality,  to  be  entitled  to  respect,  must  be 
strictly  maintained  between  both  parties;  or  if  the 
door  be  opened  on  the  one  side  for  aggressions  of 
one  of  the  belligerent  parties  upon  the  other,  it 
ought  not  to  be  shut  to  the  assailed  when  they  seek 
to  enter  it  for  the  purpose  of  self-defense. 

I do  not,  however,  for  a moment  believe  that 
your  gallant  State  will  suffer  its  soil  to  be  used  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  an  advantage  to  those  who 
violate  its  neutrality  and  disregard  its  rights,  over 
others  who  respect  them  both. 

In  conclusion,  I tender  to  your  Excellency  the 
assurance  of  my  high  consideration  and  regard. 
And  am.  Sir,  very  respectfully,  yours,  etc., 

Jefferson  Davis. 

During  the  month  of  August,  recruiting 
in  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  progressed 
but  slowly  in  comparison  with  the  needs  of 
the  hour.  While  a force,  magnified  by  rumor 
into  colossal  proportions,  was  gathering  on 
her  southern  border,  the  Union  men  of  Ken- 
tucky beheld  with  dismay  a feeling  of  apathy 
taking  the  place  of  the  early  enthusiasm  in 
the  people  north  of  the  Ohio.  This  was  the 
condition  of  affairs  when  the  Union  men  of 
Kentucky  threw  off  the  mask  and  avowed 
their  determination  to  support  the  United 
States  government  in  the  impending  struggle. 

The  formation  of  the  first  Union  camp  on 
Kentucky  soil  was,  as  has  been  before 
remarked,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a force 
to  guard  munitions  of  war  to  the  loyal  peo- 
ple of  east  Tennessee,  and  any  account  of 
the  operations  of  the  Union  forces  in  Ken- 
tucky, in  1861,  would  be  incomplete  without 
a reference  to  the  uprising  of  the  Unionists 
in  that  region. 

Early  in  June,  a convention  of  Union  citi- 
zens met  in  Greenville,  east  Tennessee,  the 
home  of  Andrew  Johnson,  to  devise  ways 
and  means  to  oppose  the  schemes  of  the  seces- 
sionists. A committee  of  safety  was  ap- 
pointed and  resolutions  of  unalterable  fealty 
to  the  national  government  adopted.  Lieut. 


Samuel  P.  Carter,  United  States  navy,  a na- 
tive of  Elizabethtown,  in  Carter  County,  east 
Tennessee,  while  serving  on  board  the  United 
States  ship;  “Seminole,”  on  the  Brazil  sta- 
tion, had,  in  March  preceding,  written  sev- 
eral letters  to  prominent  citizens  of  his  native 
State,  urging  them  to  stand  by  the  old  flag, 
and  had  thus,  by  his  expressions  of  devoted, 
loyalty  to  his  country,  brought  himself  into 
prominence  as  a Union  man,  and  increased  the 
respect  in  which  he  was  already  held  as  a 
United  States  officer. 

The  committee  of  safety  named  Lieut. 
Carter  for  appointment  by  the  president  as 
brigadier-general,  and  asked  that  he  be 
assigned  to  command  in  east  Tennessee  in 
case  United  States  troops  should  be  organ- 
ized. In  compliance  with  this  request,  pre- 
sented by  Hon.  Andrew  Johnson,  Lieut.  Car- 
ter was  immediately,  on  the  arrival  of  his 
ship  at  Philadelphia,  in  July,  ordered  by  Sec- 
retary Wells  to  report  to  Secretary  Cameron 
for  special  duty. 

On  the  10th  of  July,  orders  were  issued 
from  the  adjutant-general’s  office,  to  Lieut. 
Carter,  to  proceed  to  east  Tennessee,  and 
organize  a camp  of  instruction  of  United 
States  volunteers.  A sum  of  money  sufficient 
for  temporary  expenses  was  placed  to  his 
credit  in  New  York,  and  on  the  day  follow- 
ing the  defeat  of  the  Union  army  at  Bull  Bun, 
he  took  his  departure  from  Washington,  for 
his  new  field  of  service.  On  his  arrival  at 
Cincinnati,  he  met  his  old  friend,  Lieut. 
William  Nelson,  United  States  navy;  the 
officer  designated  by  the  war  department,  to 
organize  a force  in  Kentucky,  to  convey  the 
munitions  of  war  designed  for  use  by  Cai'ter’s 
command,  through  that  State  to  east  Tennes- 
see. In  the  conference  that  ensued  between 
these  two  officers,  to  whose  skill  and  courage 
the  important  enterprise  had  been  intrusted, 
it  was  agreed  that  Lieut.  Carter  should  make 
his  way  to  east  Tennessee,  via  Cumberland 
Gap,  or  through  one  of  the  adjacent  gaps  in 
the  mountains,  organize  his  force,  arm  them 
as  best  he  could  with  rifles  and  shot  guns, 
take  up  a strong  position  in  the  mountains, 
and  there  await  the  arms  and  army  supplies 
placed  to  his  order  in  Cincinnati. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


361 


Alike  in  the  requisites  of  courage  and  in- 
trepidity, no  two  men  could  have  been  more 
unlike  in  other  personal  characteristics,  than 
Nelson  and  Carter.  While  both  were  distin- 
guished for  the  possession  of  that  polish  and 
ease  of  manner,  that  comes  from  association 
with  the  first  society  at  home  and  abroad, 
Nelson  was  boisterous  and  impetuous,  impa- 
tient of  restraint  and  contradiction,  and 
utterly  intolerant  of  the  slighest  infraction  of 
discipline.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  manly 
beauty.  A massive  head,  covered  with  a lux- 
uriant growth  of  black,  curly  hair,  was  car- 
ried erect,  and  his  herculean  frame  was  firmly 
knit.  Full  of  tireless  energy,  he  seemed  to  re- 
quire neither  sleep  nor  rest.  The  sentinel,  pac- 
ing his  beat,  was  often  startled  long  after  mid- 
night, by  the  colossal  foi'm  of  the  commander 
looming  up  in  the  darkness,  and  approaching 
the  camp  from  a direction  whence  he  was  least 
expected.  Always  an  early  riser,  he  took  his 
bath,  followed  by  a light  breakfast,  and  was 
ready  for  the  day’s  duties  before  the  camp 
was  astir. 

Toward  those  of  the  officers,  who  dis- 
played a disposition  to  acquire  a knowledge 
of  militai’y  tactics  and  zeal  in  the  perform- 
ance of  their  duties,  he  was  the  most  affable  of 
commanders;  but  woe  betide  the  careless  and 
inefficient.  If  there  was  a good  deal  of  the 
martinet  in  his  dealing  with  the  embryo  col- 
onels and  generals  who  flocked  to  his  stand- 
ard, it  must  be  confessed  that  there  was  ample 
reason  for  it.  A more  patient  and  forbear- 
ing man  might  have  been  more  popular  with 
the  officers,  but  the  efficiency  of  the  command 
would  have  suffered  in  proportion.  Always 
ready  to  sacrifice  his  own  comfort  to  the  de- 
mands of  duty,  he  required  a like  zealous  per- 
formance on  the  part  of  his  subordinates. 
Many  of  them  were  gentleman  of  high  social 
standing,  and  unaccustomed  to  yield  their 
opinions,  or  sacrifice  their  ease  at  the  bidding 
of  another,  and  the  full  truth,  that  they  were 
henceforth  to  have  no  will  of  their  own  that 
clashed  with  that  of  the  commanding  general, 
dawned  upon  them  but  slowly.  Nelson  re- 
garded the  drilling  and  disciplining  of  the 
regiments  as  of  paramount  importance,  and 
had  a sailor’s  horror  of  political  discussions. 


The  camp  soon  filled  with  visiting  states- 
men from  the  adjoining  counties,  each  of 
whom  had  his  own  plan  for  saving  the  Union 
without  the  effusion  of  blood.  Most  of  them 
were  Union  men,  and  when  the  time  came  for 
action,  enlisted  unhesitatingly  in  the  Union 
army.  Speech-making  was  the  order  of  the 
day,  and  Kentuckians  are  natural  orators.  If 
it  had  been  possible  to  talk  down  the  rebell- 
ion it  would  have  met  its  death  at  camp 
Dick  Robinson.  As  might  be  expected,  all 
this  found  little  favor  at  the  hands  of  the 
commander.  He  had  been  assigned  to  the 
performance  of  a specific  duty,  and  the  idea  of 
discussing  the  wisdom  or  practicability  of  the 
order  never  entered  his  mind.  Political  dis- 
cussions exasperated  him,  and  it  was  not 
uncommon  to  see  them  broken  up  by  the  use 
of  language  more  forcible  than  polite,  and 
the  participants  set  about  their  business  in  a 
very  summary  manner.  Thus  it  came  about 
that  he  conceived  a violent  antipathy  toward 
the  officers  who  preferred  talking  politics  to 
drilling  their  detachments,  while  he  trusted 
more  fully  and  became  more  strongly  attached 
to  those  who  devoted  all  their  time  to  military 
duties. 

Lieut.  Carter  was,  in  most  regai’ds,  the 
opposite  of  Nelson.  He  was  a tall,  graceful 
and  very  affable  gentleman  of  the  most  win- 
ning address,  coupled  with  dignity  and  self- 
restraint.  His  appearance  at  the  camp  had  a 
soothing  effect  upon  his  comrade  of  the  navy, 
and  it  was  observed  that  the  expletives  in 
which  the  latter  was  wont  to  indulge  on  the 
most  trivial  occasions  were  more  mild  in  tone 
and  uttered  more  rarely  than  formerly.  Long 
service  in  the  navy  had  imparted  to  an  other- 
wise pleasing  address  an  expression  of  stern- 
ness and  gravity.  The  habit  of  command  sat 
easily  upon  him,  and  the  control  which  he 
speedily  acquired  over  the  turbulent  spirits 
who  flocked  to  his  standard  increased  to  ven- 
eration, as  events  crowding  rapidly  upon  each 
other  brought  into  requisition  the  qualities 
of  patience,  courage  and  discipline  with  which 
he  was  eminently  endowed. 

It  was  thought  at  the  time  he  started  from 
Cincinnati  that  if  he  could  reach  the  upper 
counties  of  east  Tennessee  he  might  arm  a 


362 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


sufficient  force  of  mountaineers  with  country 
rifles  to  enable  him  to  maintain  his  position 
until  the  promised  supply  of  arms  and  equip- 
ments could  reach  them.  On  arriving  at 
Loudon,  Ky. , on  the  1st  of  August,  he  for- 
tunately met  his  brother,  James  P.  T.  Carter, 
who  was  on  his  way  to  W ashington.  He  had 
just  effected  his  escape  from  east  Tennessee, 
where  he  had  gone  at  the  instance  of  the 
president  and  Secretaiy  Stanton,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  consulting  with  the  loyal  citizens 
and  making  arrangements,  if  he  found  it 
practicable,  for  Unionists  who  desired  to  enter 
the  service  of  the  United  States  to  cross  into 
the  borders  of  Kentucky  and  receive  their 
arms  and  equipments. 

By  the  advice  of  his  brother,  who  repre- 
sented that  his  appearance  in  east  Tennessee 
would  inevitably  lead  to  his  capture  and  im- 
prisonment by  the  Confederate  authorities, 
Lieut.  Carter  established  his  headquarters  at 
Barboursville,  in  Knox  County,  Ky. , thirty 
miles  from  Cumberland  Gap,  and  determined 
there  to  await  events  and  to  receive  such  refu- 
gees as  might  arrive.  A comjjany  of  Col. 
Garrard’s  Kentucky  regiment  was  there  in 
coui’se  of  organization.  By  the  3d  of  August 
nearly  100  refugees  arrived  at  Boston,  Ky., 
and  Barboursville,  followed  in  a few  days  by  a 
considerable  body,  who  appeared  bearing  the 
United  States  flag  at  the  head  of  the  column. 
Some  were  armed  with  hunting  rifles,  others 
with  rude  knives  made  by  country  black- 
smiths, and  many  with  stout  cudgels.  All 
were  foot-sore  and  half  famished.  Their  tat- 
tered garments  and  lacerated  limbs  bore  un- 
mistakable evidence  of  the  hardships  they 
had  endured.  But  hunger  and  suffering  had 
not  dimmed  their  enthusiasm,  and  their  only 
demand  was  to  be  armed  and  led  against  the 
enemy,  that  they  might  deliver  their  families 
from  the  oppression  of  Confederate  rule. 

Lieut.  Carter’s  camp  was  established  two 
miles  east  of  Bai-boursville,  and  there,  under 
the  temporary  shelter  of  brush  and  rude  huts, 
the  men  were  cared  for  as  well  as  possible. 
Cooking  utensils  and  provisions  were  collected 
from  the  surrounding  country,  but  the  men 
were  shoeless  and  nearly  all  poorly  clad  and 
without  blankets.  The  work  of  organization 


was  pushed  forward.  Companies  were  formed 
and  mustered  into  service  for  three  years  or 
dm-ing  the  war,  by  Lieut.  Carter,  who,  hav- 
ing no  assistant,  performed  the  duties  of 
commander  as  well  as  those  belonging  to  the 
field  and  staff.  By  the  middle  of  August 
the  First  Tennessee  Infantry,  numbering  800 
men,  was  organized  under  command  of  Col. 
R.  K.  Byrd;  but  was,  thus  far,  without  arms, 
clothing,  or  camp  and  garrison  equipage. 
As  time  passed,  the  necessity  for  these  things 
became  more  pressing,  and  Lieut.  Carter  vis- 
ited camp  Dick  Robinson  and  obtained  the 
promise  from  Lieut.  Nelson  that,  if  trans- 
portation was  furnished,  the  arms  and  am- 
munition should  be  sent  to  camp  Andy  John- 
son. Lieut.  Carter  hastened  back  to  his  camp 
and  at  once  dispatched  the  necessary  number 
of  wagons,  guarded  by  two  companies  of  the 
First  Tennessee.  After  waiting  the  necessary 
length  of  time  for  the  train  to  return,  Lieut. 
Carter  was  surprised  by  the  information  that 
Nelson  not  only  declined  to  send  the  arms 
but  had  kept  the  men.  The  hostility  of  the 
State  authorities  to  Nelson’s  camp  had  deep- 
ened to  such  an  extent  that  military  necessity 
compelled  the  commandant  to  retain  the  two 
companies  and  to  request  Lieut.  Carter  to 
bring  the  remainder  of  his  force  to  assist  in  its 
defense  in  case  it  should  be  attacked.  In  the 
last  week  of  August  the  regiment,  then  up- 
ward of  1,000  strong,  broke  camp  and  marched 
to  camp  Dick  Robinson. 

What  would  have  been  the  effect  upon  the 
campaign  that  followed,  if  Lieut.  Carter  had 
been  permitted  to  carry  out  his  design  to 
move  upon  Cumberland  Gap,  capture  and 
fortify  it  and  there  establish  his  camp,  within 
easy  distance  from  the  homes  of  the  adher- 
ents to  the  United  States  government  in 
east  Tennessee,  cannot  be  known.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  the  removal  of  Nelson’s  camp  to 
that  point  might  have  resulted  in  holding 
that  important  gateway  against  the  Confeder- 
ate forces  then  organized  in  east  Tennessee, 
who  were  soon  after  in  possession  of  the  place. 

The  removal  to  camp  Dick  Robinson  was  a 
bitter  disappointment  to  the  east-Tennesse- 
ans,  but  they  were  destined  to  still  greater 
trials  before  they  were  permitted  to  cross  the 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


363 


mountains  to  the  rescue  of  their  families. 
Refugees  from  east  Tennessee  continued  to 
pour  into  the  camp,  and  in  a short  time  the 
Second  Tennessee  Infantry  was  organized 
and  mustered  into  service  under  command  of 
Col.  J.  P.  T.  Carter.  Cols.  Wolford,  Bram- 
lette,  Fry  and  Garrard  completed  the  organi- 
zation of  their  respective  regiments,  and  an 
artillery  company,  under  command  of  Capt. 
Abram  Hewitt,  was  mustered  into  service. 

Whilst  these  events  were  transpiring  in 
eastern  and  central  Kentucky,  affairs  had 
culminated  in  the  establishment  of  military 
camps  on  Green  River,  and  at  a point  in  In- 
diana, opposite  Louisville,  Ky.  Lovell  H. 
Rousseau,  whose  bold  advocacy  of  the  sover- 
eignity of  the  general  government,  when  a 
member  of  the  legislature,  had  attracted  pub- 
lic attention,  after  organizing  the  Home 
Guard  at  Louisville  set  about  the  organiza- 
tion of  a brigade  of  United  States  troops. 

Conference  with  leading  Union  men  in  the 
State  led  to  the  establishment  of  his  campon 
the  Indiana  shore,  opposite  Louisville,  al- 
though recruiting  was  openly  carried  on  in 
Kentucky.  Col.  Rousseau  named  his  camp 
in  honor  of  that  patriotic  citizen  of  Kentucky, 
Hon.  Joseph  Holt,  who,  while  a member  of 
President  Buchanan’s  cabinet,  stood  faithful 
to  the  Union  after  it  had  been  deserted  by 
nearly  every  one  of  his  colleagues. 

From  the  one  end  of  the  State  to  the  other 
the  work  went  bravely  on,  and  soon  twenty- 
eight  regiments  of  infantry,  six  regiments  of 
cavalry,  and  three  batteries  of  artillery  were 
organized,  and  as  soon  as  possible  mustered 
into  the  service  of  the  United  States.  The 
regiments  were  numbered  arbitrarily,  with  no 
reference  to  the  time  when  they  were  tilled, 
and,  in  several  cases,  none  as  to  the  date  of 
their  muster,  and  several  of  them  were  en- 
gaged in  important  actions  before  they  were 
fully  organized.  Skirmishes  with  predatory 
bands  of  Confederate  cavalry  were  of  fre- 
quent occm’rence,and  those  whose  rendezvous 
was  south  of  Louisville  were  in  constant  dan- 
ger of  surprise  and  capture  from  detachments 
of  cavalry  sent  out  from  the  military  encamp- 
ments south  of  Green  River  for  the  express 


purpose  of  breaking  up  Union  camps  and 
capturing  military  stores  and  equipments. 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  practical  of 
all  the  unconditional  Union  men  in  the  State 
was  William  T.  Ward.  Early  in  August  he 
visited  the  counties  of  Metcalfe,  Green,  Tay- 
lor, Hart  and  Adair,  and  sent  messages  into 
Cumberland,  Clinton  and  Russell  Counties, 
urging  the  citizens,  many  of  whom  had  joined 
home-guard  companies,  to  disband  those  or- 
ganizations, on  the  ground  that  it  placed  them 
under  control  of  the  governor,  whom  he  re- 
garded as  disloyal  to  the  national  govern- 
ment. He  succeeded  in  inducing  twenty- 
eight  companies  to  promise  to  enlist  in  the 
United  States  service,  as  soon  as  the  neces- 
sary authority  to  organize  a brigade  could  be 
obtained.  Mr.  Ward  then  went  to  Washing- 
ton, where  he  was  commissioned  a brigadiei’- 
general  on  the  I8th  of  September. 

Returning  to  Kentucky,  he  proceeded  at 
once  to  the  organization  of  his  brigade,  com- 
missioning  the  officers  by  virtue  of  authority 
vested  in  him  by  the  war  department.  On 
the  20th  of  September  he  reported  for  duty 
to  Gen.  iknderson,  giving  him  the  same  in- 
formation that  he  had  given  the  war  depart- 
ment at  Washington.  Gen.  Anderson  directed 
him  to  select  a suitable  place  to  organize  his 
brigade,  but  was  compelled  to  retain  at  Louis- 
ville 2,500  out  of  the  4,000  stands  of  arms 
furnished  Gen.  Ward  by  the  general  govern- 
ment. Col.  E.  H.  Hobson  and  Mr.  John  A. 
Ward,  a son  of  the  general,  and  afterward  a 
lieutenant- colonel  of  the  Twenty- seventh  In- 
fantry, had,  during  the  absence  of  Gen.  Ward, 
collected  the  men  together  at  Greensburg  and 
Sulphur  Well,  in  Barren  County.  These 
men,  about  1,000  in  number,  unarmed  and 
unorganized,  were  dispersed  by  Buckner  when 
he  advanced  to  Green  River  bridge,  but  were 
reunited  at  Lebanon,  where  they  remained 
until  arms  could  be  procured. 

The  proposal  of  Gov.  Morton  to  send  troops 
to  Kentucky,  as  expressed  in  his  telegram  of 
September  2d,  to  the  assistant  secretary  of  war, 
seconded  by  Messrs.  Boyle  and  Speed,  of 
Kentucky,  was  endorsed  by  the  Union  peo- 
ple, but  they  strenuously  opposed  any  ad- 


IG4 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


vance  into  Kentucky  by  their  friends  from  | 
the  north,  until  after  some  portion  of  Ken-  ^ 
tucky  soil  had  been  occupied  by  southern 
troops. 

Threats  had  already  been  made  by  the  lat- 
ter to  occupy  Columbus,  Ky.  This  town,  lo- 
cated on  the  Mississippi  River,  about  equal 
distance  from  Cairo,  111.,  and  the  northern 
boundary  of  Tennessee,  was  recognized  as  a 
point  of  great  strategic  importance  by  both 
the  United  States  and  Confederate  States 
commanders.  The  former  had  been  deterred 
from  occupying  it  with  troops  from  other 
States  by  the  strenuous  appeals  of  the  Union 
men  of  Kentucky,  who  felt  that  an  overt  act 
on  the  part  of  the  national  government,  in 
violation  of  the  promise  of  Gen.  McClellan 
to  respect  the  neutrality  of  Kentucky,  would 
be  construed  by  the  people  into  a termination 
of  that  agreement.  The  city  was  practically 
in  the  hands  of  the  Confederate  authorities, 
most  of  the  population  of  the  town  and  the 
adjacent  country  being  in  full  sympathy  with 
the  rebellion,  and  its  formal  occupation  was 
only  deferred  until  a pretext  could  be  found 
in  the  movements  of  the  United  States  forces 
at  Cairo.  This  was  afforded  on  the  23d  of 
August,  by  the  capture  of  a little  steamer 
named  “W.  B.  Terry,”  running  in  the  Con- 
federate service,  by  the  United  States  gun- 
boat Lexington,  at  Paducah,  Ky.,  fifty  miles 
above  Cairo,  on  the  Ohio  River,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Tennessee.  Accordingly,  Columbus 
and  Hickman,  Ky.,  were  occupied  on  the  3d 
of  September  by  order  of  Gen.  Leonidas  Polk, 
commanding  the  Confederate  military  de- 
partment No.  2;  and  on  the  0th  Brig. -Gen. 
U.  S.  Grant,  commanding  the  district  of 
Southwestern  Missouri,  occupied  Paducah 
with  United  States  troops  from  Cairo,  Gen. 
Grant  commanding  the  expedition  in  person. 

The  occupation  of  Paducah  and  Smith  land, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland,  gave  the 
national  government  control  of  the  two  im- 
portant rivers  of  the  State  of  Tennessee,  and 
effectually  closed  water  communication  with 
the  South.  The  occupation  of  Columbus 
gave  rise  to  a spirited  correspondence  between 
Gen.  Polk  and  President  Jeff.  Davis,  Gov. 
Harris  and  Gov.  Magoffin,  in  which  Polk, 


writing  to  Magoffin,  claimed  that  he  had  re- 
liable information  that  the  Federal  forces  in- 
tended to  occupy  Columbus,  referred  to  the 
danger  of  west  Tennessee  from  such  a move- 
ment, and  offered  to  withdraw  from  Ken- 
tucky if  the  Federal  troops  were  simultane- 
ously withdrawn.  On  September  1st  he  had 
written  that  he  “regarded  it  of  essential  im- 
portance that  he  should  be  ahead  of  the 
‘enemy’  in  occupying  Columbus.”  Gov. 
Harris,  on  hearing  that  Gen.  Pillow  had  oc- 
cupied Hickman,  had  written  to  Polk,  re- 
questing the  instant  withdrawal  of  his  com- 
mand, on  the  ground  that  he  and  Mr.  Davie 
were  pledged  to  respect  the  neutrality  of 
Kentucky.  Polk,  in  reply,  regretted  the 
necessity  of  the  movement,  but  claimed  that, 
under  plenary  powers  delegated  to  him  by 
the  Confederate  government,  he  was  author- 
ized to  move  from  his  late  position  at  Madrid 
to  Columbus.  On  the  4th,  Secretary  Walker^ 
Confederate  States  army,  ordered  the  prompt 
withdrawal  of  Pillow  from  Hickman.  In  re- 
ply to  this,  Polk  appealed  to  President  Davis, 
who  responded  that  “the  necessity  justified 
the  action.” 

Mr.  George  C.  Taylor,  and  a number  of 
other  citizens  of  Columbus,  welcomed  Polk 
in  a long  address,  in  which,  after  referring 
to  “the  tyranny  of  the  general  government” 
in  ignoring  the  neutrality  of  Kentucky  in 
levying  a tax  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on 
a cruel  war  against  the  South,  to  which  Ken- 
tucky would  be  called  upon  to  contribute,  he 
assured  him  that  the  entire  community  wel- 
comed his  army  with  “the  liveliest  delight.” 
But  the  Confederate  army  was  not  destined 
to  receive  the  same  cordial  welcome  at  the 
hands  of  the  State  government.  On  the  9th 
of  September,  Hon.  JohnM.  Johnston,  chair-, 
man  of  the  committee,  transmitted  to  Gen 
Polk  resolutions  of  the  senate,  introduced  by 
Hon.  Walter  C.  Whitaker,  a member  of  that 
body,  requesting  the  prompt  withdrawal  of 
his  troops  from  Kentucky  soil.  Replying  to 
Mr.  Johnston,  Gen.  Polk  claimed  that  cause 
for  the  seizure  of  Columbus  had  been  given  by 
the  capture  of  the  “W.  B.  Terry ’ by  the  vote 
of  members  of  congress  from  Kentucky  for 
supplies  of  men  and  money  to  carry  on  the 


HISTOEY  or  KENTUCKY. 


365 


war,  and  by  the  establishment  of  a United 
States  camp  in  Garrard  County,  and  con- 
cluded by  an  offer  to  withdi’aw  his  troops 
Avhen  the  United  States  resumed  its  former 
attitude  toward  Kentucky.  On  the  13th,  the 
senate  concurred  in  the  house  resolution  re- 
quiring the  governor  of  Kentucky  to  issue  a 
proclamation  ordering  the  Confederate  troops 
to  withdraw  from  the  State. 

On  September  7th,  Brig. -Gen.  R.  C.  Fos- 
ter and  Messrs.  Brown,  Bailey  and  Harding, 
of  Nashville,  in  the  absence  of  Gov.  Harris, 
telegraphed  Mi’.  Davis  that  troops  from 
Paducah  could  reach  Bowling  Green,  Ky., 
in  less  than  twenty- four  hours,  and  asked 
what  should  be  done.  To  which  Adjt. -Gen. 
Cooper  intimated  that,  as  the  Confederate 
forces  would,  in  view  of  the  Federal  occupa- 
tion of  Paducah,  be  required  for  duty  at  that 
point,  Bowling  Green  should  be  occupied  by 
Tennessee  troops. 

On  September  10th,  Gen.  Albert  Sidney 
Johnston  superseded  Gen.  Polk  in  command 
of  Department  No.  2,  the  latter  retaining 
command  at  Columbus,  besides  being  charged 
with  the  defenses  on  the  Mississippi  River 
below  Cairo. 

Three  regiments  of  Kentucky  infantry, 
which  had  gone  south  and  were  stationed  at 
camp  Boone,  together  with  2,500  men  at 
camp  Trousdale  and  a Tennessee  regiment, 
were  organized  into  a force  for  the  occupa- 
tion of  Bowling  Green,  under  command  of 
Brig. -Gen.  Simon  B.  Buckner.  With  this 
force,  numbering  5,000  men  and  a battery  of 
artillery,  he  was  ordered,  September  15th,  to 
proceed  to  Bowling  Green  and  secure  and 
hold  that  “important  line  of  defense.”  The 
importance  of  Bowling  Green  as  a strategic 
position  had  occurred  to  the  Union  men.  who 
were  engaged  in  recruiting  in  that  section  of 
Kentucky.  Col.  S.  G.  Burbridge,  who  was 
at  Russellville  raising  a regiment  under 
authority  from  Nelson,  at  once  proceeded  to 
Uouisville  to  induce  Col.  Rousseau  to  move 
his  camp  from  Jeffersonville  to  Bowling 
Green,  representing  that,  with  the  nucleus 
thus  formed,  a brigade  of  not  less  than  5,000 
men  could  be  organized  in  a few  weeks. 
Rousseau  accepted  the  invitation  at  once,  and 


a night  was  fixed  when  the  telegraph  wires 
were  to  be  cut,  and  his  entire  command 
embarked  upon  trains  on  the  Louisville  & 
i Nashville  Railroad  for  Bowling  Green.  Unfor- 
: tunately  for  the  success  of  the  expedition. 
Col.  Burbridge  visited  Frankfort  to  obtain 
the  sanction  of  Mr.  Crittenden,  who  consid- 
ered the  movement  premature.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  had  the  movement  been  promptly 
made  the  region  of  country  south  of  Green 
River  and  east  of  the  Cumberland,  which  for 
! the  next  five  months  was  given  over  to  the 
control  of  the  Confederates,  would  have 
remained  inside  of  the  Federal  lines. 

The  two  leading  papers  of  Louisville,  the 
Journal  and  Democrat,  both  of  which  had 
hitherto  advocated  neutrality  from  a Union 
standpoint,  now  came  out  strongly  in  favor 
of  the  national  government. 

The  occupation  of  Bowling  Green,  al- 
though intended  by  Gen.  Johnston  as  the 
northern  line  of  his  defense,  had  the  appear- 
ance to  Gen.  Anderson  of  an  advance  on 
Louisville.  He  immediately  dispatched  a 
messenger  to  Gov.  Morton,  asking  if  he  could 
I depend  upon  him  for  assistance,  and  on 
September  I8th,  Rousseau’s  brigade  and  the 
Sixth  Indiana  Infantry,  Col.  T.  T.  Critten- 
den; the  Thirty-eighth  Indiana,  Col.  Scrib- 
ner; the  Forty-ninth  Ohio,  Col.  Gibson;  with 
the  Home  Guard  companies — the  expedition 
commanded  by  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman — 
advanced  and  occupied  Muldrow’s  Hill,  on 
the  line  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Rail- 
road, in  the  direction  of  Elizabethtown,  at 
which  place  Buckner’s  advance  was  reported 
to  be.  On  reaching  the  Rolling  Fork  of 
Salt  River,  a deep  stream,  Gen.  Sherman 
found  the  railroad  bridge  burned,  which 
stopped  the  progress  of  the  trains,  and  the 
I men  were  disembarked.  Col.  Rousseau,  in 
! command  of  a picket  of  400  men,  was  sent 
forward,  but  was  soon  afterward  recalled. 
On  Sunday  morning,  the  22d,  Gen.  Sherman 
regarding  the  position  at  Muldi’ow’s  Hill 
of  great  importance,  determined  to  advance. 
Col.  Rousseau,  with  his  brigade,  took  the 
lead,  followed  by  the  Thirty-eighth  Indiana, 
the  Forty-ninth  Ohio,  and  a detachment  of 
regulars,  under  Capt.  Swain,  which  had 


366 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


joined  the  expedition.  The  command  moved 
through  Elizabethtown,  and  out  on  the  Leba-  j 
non  Road,  whence  it  proceeded  to  Mulclrow’s  : 
Hill,  where  it  was  soon  after  I’e-enforced  by  j 
the  Thirty-ninth  Indiana,  under  Col.  Harrison. 
The  Sixth  Indiana  was  stationed  at  Eliza- 
bethtown, and  Col.  Hecker’s  Twenty- fourth 
Illinois  at  Colesburg,  to  guard  the  railroad. 

Muldrow’s  Hill  is  a range  of  hills  sep- 
arating the  waters  of  Rolling  Fork  from 
Green  River,  but,  in  a country  abounding  in 
turnpike  roads,  was  not  a strong  position, 
and  of  little  importance  as  a defense  to 
Louisville.  Gen.  Sherman  reported  to  Gen. 
Anderson  that  Buckner’s  force  was  variously 
estimated  from  7,000  to  20,000  men,  and 
did  not  doubt  that  he  had  15,000,  all  actuated 
by  a common  purpose  to  destroy  him.  In 
concluding  his  report,  he  says: 

I am  fully  alive  to  the  danger  of  our  position  and 
to  all  its  disadvantages  especially  that  of  supplies. 
Our  provisions  have  been  hauled  up  the  rugged  val- 
ley of  Cedar  Creek  by  hired  wagons  and  by  some 
which  were  brought  along  by  the  Tliirty-ninlh  In- 
diana. We  can  barely  supply  our  wants  and  are 
liable  at  any  moment  to  have  those  wagons  seized. 
The  reason  I came  to  Muldrow’s  Hill  was  for 
effect.  Had  it  fallen  into  the  hands  of  our  enemies, 
the  cause  would  have  been  lost,  and  even  with  it  in 
our  possession  a week,  nobody  has  rallied  to  our 
support.  I expected,  as  we  had  reason  to,  that  the 
people  of  Kentucky  would  rally  to  our  support;  hut 
on  the  contrary,  none  have  joined  us,  while  hun- 
dreds, we  are  told,  are  going  to  Bowling  Green. 
The  railroad  from  Bowling  Green  toward  us  is 
broken  at  Nolin,  ten  miles  miles  off,  and  at  another 
trestle  beyond,  some  seven  miles.  I doubt  if  this 
was  done  by  Buckner’s  orders,  but  rather  by  the 
small  parties  of  guards  left  to  protect  them,  and  who 
were  scared  at  our  approach.  I have  from  time  to 
time  given  you  telegraphic  notice  of  these  events, 
and  must  now  await  the  development.  We  should 
have  here  at  least  20,000  men;  but  that  has  been  an 
impossibility.  Truly  yours, 

W.  T.  Sherman,  Brigadier- General. 

If  the  general  could  have  captured  the 
following  dispatch  on  its  way  to  Gen. 
Johnston’s  headquarters  soon  after,  it  might 
have  allayed  his  anxiety: 

Bowling  Green,  October  4,  1861. 

W.  W.  Mackall,  a.  a.  G.  ; 

I have  not  been  able  to  obtain  accurate  returns 
of  the  strength  of  the  regiments  here  since  my 
return.  My  effective  strength  at  all  points  does  not 
exceed  6,000.  The  enemy,  with  their  last  re-enforce- 
ments number  not  less  than  13,000  or  14,000.  It  is 


stated  that  they  will  advance  in  a few  days  on  Green 
River.  I need  re-enforcements  at  this  place  very 
much.  When  can  I receive  them?  Please  reply. 

S,  B.  Buckner,  Brigadier-  General. 

It  may  as  well  be  stated  here,  as  elsewhere, 
that  Buckner’s  effective  strength,  at  Bowling 
Green,  Hopkinsville,  and  including  all  the 
cavalry  that  rendered  to  him  a nominal  rec- 
ognition, as  commander  of  ihe  Central 
Kentucky  Division,  including  Hardee’s  di- 
vision, up  to  the  arrival  of  Floyd’s  brigade 
from  West  Virginia  on  Christmas  eve,  never 
exceeded  13,000  men.  Polk’s  forces  num- 
bered, on  September  30th,  20,000  present  for 
duty. 

President  Lincoln  appears  to  have  placed 
a high  estimate  upon  the  ability  of  the 
inspector-general  of  the  Kentucky  State 
Guard,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  ten- 
der of  a commission: 

Executive  Mansion,  August  17,  1861. 
Hon.  Secretary  of  War; 

My  Bear  Sir: — Unless  there  be  reason  to  the 
contrary  not  known  to  me,  make  out  a commission 
for  Simon  (B)  Buckner,  of  Kentucky,  as  a brigadier- 
general  of  volunteers.  It  is  to  be  put  into  the 
hands  of  Gen.  Anderson,  and  delivered  to  Gen. 
Buckner  or  not,  at  the  discretion  of  Gen.  Anderson. 
Of  course  it  is  to  remain  a secret  unless  and  until 
the  commission  is  delivered.  Yours  truly, 

A.  Lincoln. 

When  we  reflect  upon  the  sublime  audac- 
ity of  this  plucky  rebel  who,  for  five  months, 
with  his  force  numbering  less  than  one-half 
of  that  opposed  to  him  at  Nolin,  Elizabeth- 
town and  Calhoun,  poorly  armed  and  afflicted 
with  measles,  not  only  maintained  his  line 
100  miles  in  extent,  between  Polk  on  his 
left  and  Zollicoffer  on  his  right,  but  ren- 
dered efficient  aid  to  the  latter  in  his  opera- 
tions in  east  Tennessee,  it  cannot  but  be 
regretted  that  the  brigadier-general’s  com- 
mission (which,  however,  was  never  offered 
him)  had  not  saved  him  to  the  Union  cause. 

On  the  8th  of  October  Gen.  Anderson, 
finding  that  continued  ill  health  unfitted  him 
for  active  duty,  in  obedience  to  orders  from 
Gen.  Scott,  relinquished  the  command  of  the 
“Department  of  the  Cumberland”  to  Gen. 
Sherman,  who  at  once  assumed  its  duties. 
His  first  act  was  to  direct  Brig.  Gen.  Thomas 
L.  Crittenden,  who  had  recently  been  com- 


HISTOEY  OF  IFENTUCIvY. 


3G7 


missioned,  by  the  president,  to  proceed  to 
Owensboro,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  Cols. 
Jackson,  Burbridge,  McHeniy,  Hawkins, 
Grider,  Shackelford  and  Hobson  were  recruit- 
ing regiments  for  the  United  States  service. 
He  subsequently  established  his  camp  at 
Calhoun  and  organized  what  was  afterward 
known  as  the  Fifth  Division.  During  the 
time  in  which  the  regiments  were  perfecting 
their  organization,  they  had  several  severe 
skirmishes  with  the  enemy,  the  first  of  which 
took  place  at  Woodbury,  in  Butler  County. 
Col.  S.  G.  Bui’bridge,  who  had  obtained  re- 
peating rifles  for  the  use  of  his  men,  and 
Col.  Jackson,  with  his  cavalry,  were  fearless 
and  vigilant  in  guarding  the  country  lying 
immediately  north  of  Green  River  against 
incursions  from  the  opposite  shore. 

Col.  J.  H.  McHenry,  whose  camp  was 
located  at  Hartford,  hearing  that  a force  of 
Confederate  cavalry  at  Woodbury,  twenty- 
five  miles  above,  on  the  south  side  of  Green 
River,  meditated  an  attack  upon  his  camp, 
notified  Col.  Burbridge,  who,  with  his  force, 
was  encamped  thirty  miles  distant.  Col. 
Biu’bridge,  with  125  of  his  regiment,  100  of 
the  Third  Kentucky  Cavalry  under  Capt. 
Breathitt,  and  a section  of  artillery  under 
Capt.  Somebry,  proceeded  at  once  to  Mc- 
Henry’s camp,  and,  on  Monday,  the  28th  of 
October,  encamped  near  Cromwell,  thinking 
to  attack  next  morning.  Col.  McHenry, 
with  his  force  and  a part  of  the  cavalry, 
crossed  the  river  and  attacked  a small  picket 
of  the  enemy  at  Morgantown,  wounding 
several  and  losing  one  of  his  own  men. 
Capt.  Netter,  of  Burbridge’s  regiment,  fol- 
lowed McHenry  with  twenty  men,  and  passed 
through  Morgantown,  coming  up  with  the 
Confederates  one  mile  distant  from  the  town. 
In  the  meantime,  Col.  Burbridge  passed  up 
the  river  twenty  miles,  and  there  found  the 
main  body  of  the  Confederates  occupying  an 
eminence  upon  the  opposite  side.  The  lat- 
ter immediately  formed  in  line,  but  were 
thrown  into  consternation  by  a few  well 
directed  shots  from  a six-pound  cannon,  and 
a feny  flat  upon  the  opposite  side  being 
brought  over.  Col.  Burbridge  crossed  with 
Lieut.  Ashley,  Capts.  Belt,  Shacklett  and 


Porter,  with  135  men  and  one  piece  of  artil- 
lery. Capt.  Belt  immediately  occupied  the 
position  from  which  the  Confederates  were 
driven.  Their  second  position,  being  their 
encampment,  was  first  shelled,  then  chai’ged, 
whereupon  they  fell  back,  leaving  their  dead 
upon  the  field.  Knowing  that  a camp  of 
Confederate  cavalry  was  located  a few  miles 
above,  Col.  Burbridge  destroyed  the  aban- 
doned camp  and  joined  Col.  McHenry  at 
Morgantown. 

On  the  31st,  Capt.  IVhittinghill,  with  one 
company  of  the  Seventeenth  Infantry,  and 
Capt.  Porter,  commanding  a company  of 
30  Home  Guards  at  Cromwell,  repulsed 
an  assault  of  200  Confederate  cavalry,  in- 
flicting heavy  loss  upon  them.  Cols.  Jack- 
son  and  Burbridge  went  to  the  relief  of 
McHenry  from  Owensboro,  but  no  further 
molestation  was  offered.  On  the  26th  of 
September,  Gen.  Buckner  destroyed  the 
locks  on  Green  River  at  the  mouth  of  Muddy 
River,  and  on  the  29th  occupied  Hopkins- 
ville, after  a skirmish  with  the  Union  Home 
Guard,  resulting  in  a loss  to  him  of  one 
killed  and  one  wounded,  and  to  the  Home 
Guard  of  several  wounded  and  two  taken 
prisoners. 

Brig.-Gen.  Alcorn,  with  his  Mississippi 
brigade  was  placed  in  command  at  Hopkins- 
ville. He  soon  after  became  disgusted  with 
the  lack  of  respect  exhibited  toward  him  by 
the  Union  people  of  the  town,  aiTested  sev- 
eral, and  asked  permission  of  Buckner  to 
make  examples  of  them.  He  was  relieved 
in  the  coui’se  of  a few  weeks  by  Brig.-Gen. 
Tilghman,  and  with  that  event  his  name  dis- 
appears from  these  annals.  Gen.  Tilghman 
was  obliged  to  spend  a greater  portion  of  his 
time  and  use  a large  portion  of  his  force  in 
movincr  the  sick,  the  measles  having  done 
that  which  the  Union  forces  never  did — 
attacked  his  camp. 

On  the  9th  of  October,  Brig.-Gen.  Rous- 
seau, who  had  in  the  meantime  received  his 
commission,  pursuant  to  orders  from  depart- 
ment-headquarters, removed  his  camp  to  the 
vicinity  of  Nolin  Creek  and  named  it  camp 
Kevin,  in  compliment  to  an  old  friend  in 
Louisville.  Brig.-Gen.  Alexander  McDowell 


3G8 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


McCook,  having  reported  at  department  head- 
quarters, in  compliance  with  a request  previ- 
ously made  for  him  by  Gen.  Anderson,  was 
assigned  by  Gen.  Sherman  to  command  of 
all  the  forces  at  Nolin  Creek.  Here  he  was 
soon  after  joined  by  Brig.- Gens.  Thomas  J. 
AVood  and  R.  AT.  Johnson.  Dividing  his 
command  into  brigades,  he  assigned  these 
officers  to  command,  which,  with  the  brigade 
of  Pennsylvanians  under  command  of  Brig.- 
Gen.  Negley,  which  arrived  on  October  22, 
increased  his  force  to  13, 195  effectives. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring  in 
southern  Kentucky,  Lieut.  Nelson  was  using 
his  utmost  exertions  to  organize  his  brigade  at 
camp  Dick  Robinson.  The  men  were  still 
without  sufficient  clothing,  and,  but  for  the  fer- 
tility of  the  country  in  which  the  camp  was 
located,  would  have  been  equally  destitute 
of  subsistence.  He  even  found  difficulty  in 
obtaining  the  arms  designated  for  his  use  at 
Cincinnati.  The  town  of  Cynthiana,  sixty 
miles  from  Covington,  on  the  line  of  the 
Kentucky  Central  Railroad,  was  in  posses- 
sion of  a company  of  Confederate  recruits, 
xvho  were  preparing  to  join  their  companions 
at  camp  Boone,  and  the  Confederate  States 
flag  floated  from  the  spire  of  the  court  house. 
Hon.  Garrett  Davis,  whose  experience  in  the 
distribution  of  arms  to  the  Union  men  of 
central  Kentucky  encouraged  him  to  antici- 
pate success,  undertook  to  deliver  the  arms 
at  camp  Dick  Robinson.  Proceeding  to  Cin- 
cinnati, he  obtained  possession  of  them, 
packed  in  boxes,  and  loaded  them  upon  a 
train  which  he  accompanied.  On  the  arrival 
of  the  train  at  Cynthiana,  the  rebel  company 
before  mentioned,  who  had  been  notifled  by 
telegraph,  was  seen  stationed  beyond  the 
depot  to  stop  the  train.  The  engineer,  see- 
ing the  danger,  immediately  reversed  his 
engine  and  returned  to  Covington. 

Col.  John  M.  Harlan,  now  associate  jus- 
tice of  the  United  States  Supreme  Coiu’t, 
and  Gen.  James  Speed,  of  Louisville,  hear- 
ing of  the  occurrence,  wrote  Mr.  Davis  to 
send  the  arms  on  the  mail  boat  to  that  city, 
and  they  would  forward  them  to  that  point. 
Knowing  that  the  boat  would  arrive  at  mid- 
night, they  at  once  called  upon  Mr.  Sam 


I Gill,  superintendent  of  the  Louisville,  Frank- 
fort & Lexington  Railroad,  a Union  man, 
and  made  known  their  plan,  which  was  that 
they  should  have  an  engine  and  car  ready  at 
the  depot  to  which  the  arms  could  be  trans- 
ferred immediately  upon  their  arrival  at  the 
wharf.  Mr.  Gill  entered  heartily  into  the  ar- 
rangement. The  boxes  tilled  with  arms  were 
loaded  in  wagons,  and  in  the  dead  of  night 
conveyed  to  the  waiting  train,  which  at  once 
sped  with  its  precious  freight  into  the  dark- 
ness on  its  way  to  Lexington,  where  it  ar- 
rived at  5 o’clock  in  the  morning.  The  ar- 
rival of  a railroad  train  at  that  unusual  hour 
aroused  the  suspicion  of  a lounger  about  the 
station,  who  peered  into  the  car  and  discov- 
ered the  boxes.  He  ran  at  once  to  the  fire- 
engine  room,  and  rang  the  bell  for  the  as- 
sembly of  Capt.  John  Morgan’s  company  of 
State  Guards. 

On  the  same  day  in  which  Messrs.  Harlan 
and  Speed  had  written  Mr.  Davis,  they  had 
dispatched  a messenger  to  Col.  Dudley,  who 
was  recruiting  his  regiment,  the  Twenty-first 
Kentucky,  at  Lexington,  and  to  Lieut.  Nelson, 
at  camp  Dick  Robinson,  to  inform  them  that 
the  train  containing  the  arms  would  reach 
Lexington  early  on  this  morning.  Immedi- 
ately on  the  reception  of  this  welcome  intel- 
ligence, Gen.  Nelson  dispatched  Col.  Bram- 
lette  to  Lexington,  and  oi’dered  Lieut. - 
Col.  Letcher,  with  300  of  AVolford’s  cavalry, 
to  follow  him.  Col.  Dudley,  hearing  the 
alarm  sounded  from  Morgan’s  arsenal,  im- 
mediately called  out  his  men  and  marched  to 
j the  depot,  where  Morgan’s  men  had  already 
assembled.  No  attempt  was  made  on  the 
part  of  either  party  to  gain  possession  of  the 
arms,  but  Morgan,  acting  under  the  instruc- 
tions of  Hon.  John  C.  Breckinridge,  was  de- 
termined to  prevent  the  transportation  of  the 
arms  through  Lexington  to  camp  Dick  Rob- 
inson, while  Dudley  was  equally  determined 
to  defend  them.  They  were  both  brave  men, 
and  their  forces,  well  armed,  were  about 
equal  in  numbers,  and  eager  for  the  fray. 
Suddenly  the  head  of  Letcher’s  battalion  ap- 
I peared  upon  the  hill  approaching  the  city. 
They  were  armed  with  Sharpe’s  repeating 
rifles,  and,  for  effect,  had  affixed  the  frightful 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


369 


looking  sword  bayonets,  which,  as  the  column 
descended  the  hill,  glittered  in  the  rays  of  the 
rising  sun.  Col.  Bramlette  in  the  meantime 
had  met  Mr.  Breckinridge,  and  had  vainly 
endeavored  to  convince  him  of  the  folly  of 
opposing  the  removal  of  the  arms  to  camp 
Dick  Robinson.  At  the  moment  the  cavalry 
appeared  in  view.  Col.  Bramlette  remarked: 
Very  well.  Mi’.  Breckinridge,  the  responsi- 
bility of  a battle  rests  with  you,  and  it  is  my 
opinion  ihat  the  guns  will  go  to  camp  Dick 
Robinson.”  From  this  argument  there  was 
no  appeal.  Morgan  and  his  men  disappeared 
from  the  scene,  and  the  arms  were  quietly 
transported  to  their  destination. 

On  the  15th  of  September,  Brig. -Gen. 
George  H.  Thomas  reported  for  duty  at 
Louisville,  and  was  ordered  to  relieve  Lieut. 
Nelson,  in  command  of  the  troops  at  that 
point.  Lieut.  Nelson  was  directed  to  report 
at  department-headquarters,  when  he  soon  re- 
ceived orders  to  repair  to  Maysville,  Ky.,  on 
the  Ohio,  fifty  miles  above  Cincinnati,  and  or- 
ganize a force  to  meet  the  enemy,  who  were 
advancing  under  command  of  Col.  John  S. 
Williams,  from  Virginia  into  eastern  Ken- 
tucky. 

In  the  order  relieving  Nelson,  the  general 
commanding  commended  the  “zeal  and  untir- 
ing energy  be  had  displayed  in  providing  and 
distributing  arms  to  the  Union  men  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  in  collecting  and  organizing  troops 
at  camp  Dick  Robinson.”  It  was,  no  doubt,  ow- 
ing to  the  possession  of  these  qualities,  as  well 
as  his  success  in  organizing  a camp  in  spite  of 
the  opposition  of  the  State  authorities,  that 
it  was  deemed  expedient  to  again  employ  him 
in  the  same  capacity.  Maysville  was  the 
home  of  his  boyhood  and  the  residence  of  a 
host  of  his  warmest  friends,  and  no  officer 
could  have  been  selected  to  whom  this  duty 
could  have  been  entrusted  with  greater 
chances  of  success.  He  expi’essed  no  word 
of  dissent  to  an  order  that  separated  him 
from  an  army  whose  organization  owed  its 
existence  to  his  courage  and  energy.  To  a 
nature  as  noble  as  his,  jealousy  was  impossi- 
ble. Congratulating  his  men  upon  the  ac- 
quisition of  an  experienced  army  officer  who 
would  perfect  the  work  which  he  had  begun. 


he  bade  adieu  to  his  trusty  followers,  and 
left  the  scene  of  his  triumphant  vindication 
of^the  power  of  the  national  government. 

Gen.  Thomas  found,  on  assuming  command 
at  camp  Dick  Robinson,  on  the  15th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1861,  very  little  that  enters  into  the 
formation  of  a military  camp,  except  men. 
A few  boxes  of  clothing  had  arrived  and  had 
been  distributed  promiscuously  where  the 
articles  were  the  most  needed.  A pair  of 
pants  here  and  a blouse  there ; a hat  here,  and 
there  a pair  of  shoes;  and,  to  add  to  the  gro- 
tesque appearance  of  the  command,  an  occa- 
sional army  overcoat  might  be  seen,  whose 
accommodating  skirts,  concealed,  to  some 
extent,  the  total  absence  of  pantaloons.  Gen. 
Thomas  found  ample  need  of  the  patience 
and  fortitude  with  which  he  was  endowed, 
in  forming  an  army  from  the  crude  material 
at  his  command.  Accustomed  to  the  meth- 
ods of  the  regular  army,  and  to  the  disci- 
pline of  its  soldiery,  he  had  never, until  now, 
had  command  of  a brigade  composed  exclu- 
sively of  volunteer  troops.  The  buff-colored 
shoulder-straps  of  a colonel  of  cavalry  had 
not  been  replaced  by  the  star  of  the  briga- 
dier, to  which  he  was  entitled  when  he  ar- 
rived at  camp  Dick  Robinson.  He  was 
accompanied  by  Capt.  George  E.  Flynt,  the 
accomplished  and  efficient  adjutant-general, 
who  remained  until  the  close  of  the  war  his 
trusted  confidential  adviser  and  friend. 

For  twenty-five  years  Gen.  Thomas  had 
been  accustomed  to  martial  scenes.  He  had 
fought  the  Seminoles  in  the  everglades,  and 
the  fierce  Comanches  on  the  plains.  He  had 
won  distinction  in  the  war  with  Mexico,  and 
at  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war  found 
himself  major  of  a regiment  of  cavalry,  of 
which  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  was  colonel, 
Robert  E.  Lee  lieutenant-colonel,  and  W.  J. 
Hardee  major.  Promoted  to  a colonelcy  on 
the  3d  of  May,  1861,  he  served  a few  months 
in  the  eastern  army  before  being  commis- 
sioned a brigadier-general  in  the  volunteer 
army,  and  sent  to  report  to  Gen.  Anderson 
at  Louisville.  In  every  position  in  which  he 
had  been  placed,  throughout  his  military  ca 
reer,  he  had  borne  himself  as  a man,  modest, 
brave,  and  incorruptible;  and  now,  at  the  age 

23 


370 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


of  forty-five,  the  real  drama  of  his  life  was 
to  begin. 

The  hitherto  insurmountable  difficulty  in 
equipping  this  command,  for  its  exj^edition 
in  east  Tennessee,  had  been  to  obtain  the  nec- 
essary supplies.  Week  after  week  the  im- 
petuous Nelson  had  been  compelled  to  wait, 
until  hope  and  patience  were  alike  ex- 
hausted. Gen.  Thomas  lost  no  time  in  intro- 
ducing military  system  into  the  camp,  and 
in  imparting  to  it  the  character  of  a camp  of 
instruction.  Company  and  battalion  drill 
became  apart  of  the  daily  duties, and  a laud- 
able desire  to  excel  in  the  discipline  of  their 
regiments  animated  the  officers. 

The  patience,  dignity  and  self-control, 
which  never  forsook  him  in  the  most  trying 
emergencies,  and  which  afterward  gave  him 
the  unbounded  control  of  the  army,  were  at  no 
jaeriod  of  his  life  more  manifest  than  now. 
Fully  alive  to  the  importance  of  the  ex- 
pedition into  east  Tennessee,  which  con- 
templated the  permanent  occupation  of  Knox- 
ville and  control  of  the  Virginia  & East 
Tennessee  Railroad,  he  was  powerless  to 
obtain  even  the  clothing  necessary  to  preserve 
the  lives  of  his  men.  He  had  no  wagons  and 
could  not  obtain  them,  while  hundreds  were 
being  shipped  to  Rosecrans  in  western  Vir- 
ginia. The  orders  of  Fremont  were  on  file 
in  all  the  manufactories  at  Cincinnati  and 
were  being  filled  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

Finding  that  no  assistance  could  be 
rendered  by  the  quartermaster’s  department 
at  Louisville  or  Cincinnati,  and  that  Gen. 
Thomas,  by  the  very  fact  of  his  military 
education,  was  committed  to  regular  army 
methods  for  obtaining  supplies  through  the 
regular  channels,  the  writer,  then  a member 
of  his  staff,  conceived  the  idea  of  procuring 
them  by  the  same  means  that  had  proved 
successful  in  the  hands  of  Gen.  Fremont. 
Making  out  a requisition  upon  Capt.  Dicker- 
son,  assistant- quartermaster  at  Cincinnati,  for 
a large  quantity  of  clothing,  tents  and  other 
camp  equipage,  and  having  it  approved  by 
Gen.  Thomas,  he  proceeded  to  Cincinnati  and 
presented  it  to  Capt.  Dickerson.  He  was  in- 
formed that  the  quartermaster’s  department 
was  powerless  to  furnish  the  articles  enumer- 


ated, and  that,  being  indebted  to  the  clothing 
I manufacturers  over  $1,000,000,  his  credit 
with  them  was  exhausted.  He  then  applied 
j to  Col.  Swords,  assistant  quartermaster -gen- 
j eral  at  Louisville,  to  know  at  what  time  he 
might  expect  to  receive  funds,  for  the  equip- 
j ment  of  camp  Dick  Robinson,  to  which  Col. 

I Swords  responded,  designating  the  middle  of 
October  as  the  probable  date.  Knowing  that 
j the  uncertainty  as  to  the  time  fixed  would 
debar  him  from  competing  in  open  market  for 
I goods  with  the  agents  of  Gen.  Fremont,  who 
were  able  to  pay  cash  on  delivery,  and  feeling 
deeply  the  necessities  of  the  men  whom  he 
had  left  shivering  in  their  rags  in  camp,  he 
determined  to  purchase  the  goods,  if  possible, 
and  agree  to  pay,  the  15th  of  October,  on 
delivery  at  Nicholasville. 

He  visited  several  of  the  largest  establish- 
ments and  found  large  quantities  of  clothing. 
Tempting  piles  of  warm  flannel  shirts, 
blankets,  blouses  and  overcoats,  pantaloons 
and  woolen  hosiery  greeted  his  eyes,  while 
accommodating  clerks  stood  ready  to  sell  them 
— cheap  for  cash.  Exhibiting  the  requisition 
as  his  credentials,  he  left  copies  of  it  at  sev- 
eral places,  requesting  the  proprietors  to 
mark  opposite  each  article  the  price  at  which 
they  would  sell  it  for  cash  on  delivery  and 
hand  it  to  him  the  next  day  as  a sealed  pro- 
posal. 

The  plan  worked  admirably.  The  cloth- 
ing was  purchased  in  accordance  with  the 
bids,  and  the  officer  returned  highly  elated 
with  his  success.  But  his  triumph  was  of 
short  duration.  The  next  evening  a stranger 
alighted  from  the  stage  at  the  camp,  and,  in- 
quiring for  the  acting  quartermaster,  was 
shown  to  his  quarters.  “ I have  never 
visited  a camp,”  he  said,  “and  I came  to  see 
one.”  The  officer  welcomed  him  and  ex- 
pressed his  willingness  to  render  his  stay  as 
agreeable  as  possible.  “When  our  house 
heard  that  I wished  to  visit  your  camp,”  said 
the  stranger,  “the  proprietors  made  me  super- 
cargo of  a little  invoice  of  clothing  that  com- 
prises a part  of  the  goods  you  purchased 
yesterday.”  The  officer  glanced  at  the  bill 
and  found  that  it  was  from  one  of  the  houses 
with  whom  he  had  contracted;  he  compared 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


371 


it  item  by  item  with  the  proposal  and  found 
no  variation  in  prices;  he  added  it  and  found 
it  correct;  he  examined  the  checks  of  the 
receiving  clerk  at  Nicholasville  and  found 
that  the  packages  had  all  arrived  at  the 
depot.  There  was  no  reason  why  he  should 
not  pay  the  bill,  except  that  he  had  no 
money. 

He  knew,  as  well  as  he  knew  his  name,  that 
a draft  had  been  sent  with  a small  quantity 
of  goods  to  test  his  ability  to  meet  his  en- 
gagements. Taking  down  a check -book  on  a 
banking  house  at  Lexington  (where  he  had 
no  account),  he  deliberately  wrote  a check  for 
the  amount,  and,  handing  it  to  the  stranger, 
took  his  receipted  bill,  excused  himself  and 
mounted  his  horse  for  a ride  to  Lexington. 
It  may  well  be  imagined  that  the  emotions  of 
the  officer  were  not  of  the  most  pleasurable 
description  during  that  lonely  night  ride  of 
twenty  miles.  For  the  first  time  in  his  life, 
he  had  been  guilty  of  a flagrant  crime,  and 
one  which  he  feared  Gen.  Thomas  would  not 
condone.  Arriving  at  Lexington,  he  sought 
rest  at  a hotel,  but  could  not  sleep.  Rising 
early  in  the  morning,  he  rang  the  bell  at  the 
residence  of  the  late  D.  A.  Sayre,  for  it  was 
necessary  to  ai’range  if  possible  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  check  without  being  seen  by  the 
bearer.  The  banker  came  down  and  the 
officer  at  once  introduced  himself.  He  stated 
the  condition  of  the  camp,  and  that  the  half- 
clad  troops  stationed  there  constituted  the 
only  defense  of  Lexington  against  the  enemy, 
who  was  reported  to  be  advancing  into  Ken- 
tucky from  east  Tennessee.  He  then  exhib- 
ited the  telegram  from  Col.  Swords,  and 
asked  him  if  he  (the  banker)  would  advance 
money  upon  it,  provided  Col.  Swords  verified 
the  dispatch.  “Yes,”  said  the  old  man,  “to 
the  extent  of  my  ability.”  “I  am  glad  to 
hear  it,”  said  the  overjoyed  officer;  “for  I 
have  already  drawn  a check  upon  your  bank.” 
“The  check  shall  be  paid,”  said  the  banker. 

The  homeward  ride,  through  the  crisp  Sep- 
tember morning  air,  was  a pleasanter  trip 
than  the  one  of  the  previous  night.  The 
troops  were  soon  better  clad  and  in  more 
comfortable  quarters,  and  the  loan  was 
promptly  paid  by  Col.  Swords.  It  is,  per- 


haps, a trivial  incident,  but  it  will  serve  to 
explain  the  delay  in  carrying  out  the  design 
of  the  national  government  to  occupy  east 
Tennessee.  Having  ordered  the  expedition 
in  July,  the  war  department  seemed  to  have 
forgotten  it,  and  no  means  were  provided  to 
carry  it  into  execution.  On  the  20th  of  Sep 
tember  Captain  Dickerson  telegraphed  Gen. 
Thomas  that  he  had  commenced  the  ship- 
ment of  wagons  to  him,  but  before  he  had 
fairly  gotten  under  way  he  had  orders  from 
western  Virginia  for  400,  which  took  prece- 
dence. In  fact  every  army  movement  seemed 
to  take  precedence  of  that  which  Gen.  Nelson 
had  inaugurated,  which  Gen.  Thomas  was 
straining  every  means  to  carry  forward,  and 
which  the  stout  hearts  and  wilUng  hands  of 
1,500  loyal  east  Tennesseans  were  pledged 
to  assist  in  accomplishing. 

Yet  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a more  im- 
portant movement  than  that  of  the  early  oc- 
cupation of  east  Tennessee  by  a strong  force. 
The  effect  would  have  been  to  cut  off  all 
railroad  communications  between  the  eastern 
and  western  portions  of  the  Confederacy, 
except  by  the  long  and  devious  routes  south 
of  the  Appalachian  chain  of  mountains,  and 
to  add  to  the  army  of  the  United  States  fully 
10,000  hardy  mountaineers  inured  to  toil 
and  hardship,  besides  performing  a solemn 
duty  in  protecting  a loyal  people  against 
persecaition  by  the  enemies  of  the  Union.  A 
tithe  of  the  troops,  arms  and  camp  equipage 
lying  idle  upon  the  banks  of  the  Potomac, 
transferred  to  Gen.  Thomas  in  September, 
would  have  enabled  him  to  puncture  the 
shell  which  the  Confederates  managed  by  a 
show  of  strength  to  maintain,  far  outside  of 
the  real  bounds  of  their  territory,  for  nearly 
two  years  longer. 

East  Tennessee  is  separated  from  Kentucky 
by  the  Cumberland  Mountains  and  from 
western  Virginia  by  the  Iron  and  Alleghany 
Mountains.  The  country  is  watered  by  the 
Holston  and  Clinch  Rivers,  which,  flowing 
from  the  north  and  east,  unite  at  Kingston 
and  form  the  Tennessee  River.  The  east 
Tennessee  & Georgia  Railroad,  130  miles 
long,  connects  Chattanooga  at  the  southern 
end  of  the  valley  with  Knoxville  on  the 


372 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


north,  from  which  place  the  Virginia  & Ten- 
nessee Railroad  runs  to  Lynchburg,  Va.  The 
population,  similar  in  character  to  that  in 
eastern  Kentucky  and  western  Virginia, 
earnestly  protested  against  the  secession  of 
the  State,  casting  30,903  votes  against  it  to 
5,507  votes  in  favor  thereof.  A subsequent 
election  resulted  in  a vote  of  32,923  votes 
against,  to  14,780  in  favor  of  the  measure. 
Encouraged  by  the  prospect  of  aid  from  the 
general  government  the  Union  men  were  act- 
ively engaged  in  organizing  themselves  into 
companies  and  regiments,  with  which  to  re- 
enforce the  troops  that  were  expected  from 
Kentucky,  and  were  so  largely  in  the  major- 
ity in  most  of  the  counties  as  to  render  con- 
cealment of  their  designs  unnecessary. 

The  Knoxville  Whig,  published  by  W.  G. 
Brownlow,  breathed  out  threatening  and 
slaughter  against  the  southern  Confederacy, 
and  the  lack  of  arms  only  prevented  an  open 
resistance  to  its  measures.  Gen.  Felix  K. 
Zollicoffer,  an  ex-member  of  congress  and 
editor  of  a Nashville  paper,  a man  of  high 
personal  character  and  an  ardent  secessionist, 
was,  in  accordance  with  the  recommendation 
of  Gen.  Polk,  selected,  July  26th,  to  com- 
mand the  Confederate  forces  in  east  Tennes- 
see— the  Tennessee  troops  having  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  Confederacy. 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  Gen.  Zolli- 
coffer, upon  assuming  command  of  the  dis- 
trict of  east  Tennessee,  really  desired  to 
overlook  the  past  offenses  of  the  Union  men, 
and  to  prevent,  by  a wise  administration  of 
the  power  with  which  he  had  been  clothed, 
the  atrocities  which  were  being  perpetrated 
upon  them.  He  granted  a readj"  audience  to 
the  persecuted  citizens  and  issued  orders 
against  interference  with  the  rights  of  prop- 
erty, and  thus,  but  for  his  taking  the  field 
against  the  expected  advance  of  the  forces  at 
camp  Dick  Robinson,  and  leaving  the  work  of 
reconciliation  that  he  had  commenced  to 
other  hands,  the  annals  of  this  period  would 
not  be  stained  by  tales  of  rapine  and  mur- 
der. 

The  approach  to  east  Tennessee  from  the 
north  is  guarded  by  a high  range  of  mount- 
ains, through  which  there  are  three  prin- 


cipal gaps  or  depressions,  viz. : Pound  Gap, 
100  miles  northeast  from  Knoxville;  Jimtown 
Gap,  eighty  miles  northwest,  and  Cumber- 
land Gap,  sixty-five  miles  northward,  A turn- 
pike extends  from  Nicholasville,  Ky.,  south- 
east to  Crab  Orchard,  sixty-five  miles  from 
Cumberland  Gap,  and  from  that  point 
through  the  gap  there  is  a dirt  road,  practi- 
cable until  late  in  the  fall  for  heavy  wagons, 
but  almost  impassable  in  the  winter.  Along 
this  road,  for  many  years  previous  to  the 
building  of  the  Virginia  & Tennessee,  and 
the  Kentucky  Central  Railroads,  merchan- 
dise to  supply  the  people  of  east  Tennessee 
had  been  transported  fi’om  Maysville,  Ky.,on 
the  Ohio  River.  Fully  alive  to  the  impor- 
tance of  defending  these  gaps  against  the 
approach  of  the  Union  forces,  Gen.  Zollicof- 
fer, early  in  August,  disposed  his  available 
force,  thirty-three  infantry  companies,  along 
the  base  of  the  mountains  at  the  various  gaps 
and  bridle  paths,  to  intercept  communication 
between  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  Union  men. 

Using  six  cavalry  companies  as  scouts  be- 
tween the  different  posts,  he  placed  a section 
of  light  artillery  in  position  at  Cumberland 
Gap,  and  held  a battery  in  reserve  at  Knox- 
ville. Besides  the  infantry  above  referred  to, 
he  had  one  regiment  and  sixteen  companies 
stationed  along  the  line  of  the  East  Tennes- 
see & Georgia  Railroad,  guarding  bridges 
which  had  been  threatened  by  the  Union  men. 
Notwithstanding  the  large  amount  of  arms 
and  ammunition  which  the  seceded  States  had 
seized  in  the  United  States  forts  and  arsenals, 
and  which  had  been  surrendered  to  them  in 
almost  every  engagement  since  the  beginning 
of  the  war,  these  important  equipments  for 
an  army  were,  even  so  early  as  this,  deplor- 
ably lacking  and  continued  to  be  the  “long- 
felt  want”  of  the  Confederacy  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  The  search  for  arms  ordered  by 
Gov.  Harris  in  Tennessee  had  resulted  in 
bringing  together  a vast  quantity  of  firearms, 
consisting  of  a heterogeneous  mass  of  squirrel 
rifles,  shot-guns  and  pistols,  useless  at  long 
range,  and  these  were  supplemented  with 
huge  knives,  intended  to  be  used  in  carving 
the  backs  of  the  retreating  enemy;  for  the 
pleasing  illusion  that  “the  Yankees  would 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


373 


aot  tight”  was  not  yet  dispelled.  August  29, 
Zollicoffer  wrote  to  Adjt.-Gen.  Cooper:  “Re- 
liable news  just  in  from  Hoskins’  Cross 
Roads  (Nelson’s  camp).  Four  thousand  well- 
armed  men  there,  and  coming  in  400  or  500 
per  day.  Plenty  arms.  One  thousand  men  at 
Barboursville;  700  at  Williamsburg,  without 
arms.  East  Tennesseans  going  on  to  Hoskins’ 
for  arms.”  The  next  week  he  received  the 
unwelcome  information  from  the  way  depart- 
ment at  Richmond  that  no  arms  could  be 
furnished  him. 

Early  in  September,  he  took  military  con- 
trol of  the  railroads  in  east  Tennessee  to 
facilitate  the  transportation  of  supplies  to  the 
army  in  Virginia,  and  on  the  9th  announced 
a forward  movement  into  Kentucky  via  Cum- 
berland  Gap.  On  the  21st  he  had  taken  posi- 
tion at  the  Gap,  and  finding  himself  unable 
to  hold  it  with  the  means  at  his  command  if 
he  should  be  attacked,  made  requisition  for 
more  artillery.  He  complained  of  the  diffi- 
culty in  obtaining  accurate  information,  ow- 
ing to  the  hostility  of  the  country,  and  was 
unable  to  push  his  scouts  but  a short  distance 
from  camp. 

Receiving  orders  from  Gen.  Johnston  to 
await  further  orders,  and  time  his  movements 
by  the  advance  of  Buckner  on  the  south,  he 
tmmed  his  attention  to  strengthening  his 
position.  He  soon  found  that  the  subsist- 
ence of  a large  force  in  a mountainous  and 
hostile  region  was  even  a greater  obstacle  to 
his  advance  than  the  lack  of  artillery.  On 
the  24th,  he  was  out  of  bread.  At  this  time 
his  command  at  Cumberland  Ford  consisted 
oi  the  Eleventh,  Seventeenth,  Nineteenth, 
and  Twentieth  Tennessee,  and  the  Fifteenth 
Mississippi  Infantry  regiments,  and  the  First, 
Second  and  Third  Tennessee  Cavalry  regi- 
ments, which,  with  Rutledge’s  battery  of 
light  artillery,  numbered  3,549  present  for 
duty — aggregate  present  4, 578;  besides  3,600 
other  troops,  armed  and  unarmed,  left  behind 
in  east  Tennessee.  On  the  -following  day, 
receiving  supplies  from  his  rear,  he  moved 
the  Eleventh  Tennessee  Infantry,  Col. 
Raines,  and  the  First  Tennessee  Cavalry, 
Col.  McNairy,  forward,  with  six  days’  ra- 
tions, to  dislodge  the  Union  force  at  Laurel 


i Bridge  to  cover  an  expedition  to  the  salt 
j works  in  Clay  County,  Ky.  This  movement 
j was  entirely  successful.  The  Union  force,  a 
j picket  of  Wolford’s  cavalry,  fell  back,  and 
I the  salt,  about  200  barrels,  found  at  the 
1 works,  was  captured  and  conveyed  to  the 
camp. 

On  the  20th  of  September,  Gen.  Thomas 
directed  Col.  T.  T.  Garrard  to  proceed  with 
his  regiment,  the  Seventh  Kentucky  Infantry, 
to  Rockcastle  Hills,  beyond  Crab  Orchard, 
on  the  Cumberland  Gap  road,  and  take  a 
strong  position,  fortifying  it  so  as  to  enable 
him  to  defend  himself  against  any  force  that 
might  be  sent  against  him.  He  had  orders 
to  build  huts  for  his  men,  keep  out  intruders, 
to  obtain  all  the  information  possible  of  the 
enemy’s  movements,  and  report  the  same  to 
headquarters  every  day;  to  keep  up  communi- 
cation with  Col.  Sidney  M.  Barnes  at  Irvine, 
whose  regiment,  the  Eighth  Kentucky  Infan- 
try, had  been  placed  in  position  to  intercept 
communication  with  the  south  via  Pound 
Gap,  and  to  capture  any  parties  trying  to 
escape  into  the  Confederate  lines. 

Col.  Bramlette,  with  his  regiment  (Third 
Kentucky  Infantry),  was  stationed  at  Lexing- 
ton, and  on  the  23d,  by  request  of  5Ir.  Fisk,  of 
the  senate,  he  took  300  of  his  men  to  Frank- 
fort to  guard  the  capital  against  an  attack 
which  seemed  impending,  leaving  350  men, 
under  command  of  Lieut.-Col.  Scott,  at  Lex- 
ington. The  movements  of  the  State  Guard 
companies  at  this  time  were  exceedingly  mys- 
terious, and  gave  rise  to  startling  rumors  of 
intended  attack  upon  State  or  municipal 
property. 

The  event  proved,  however,  that  they  were 
only  desirous  to  get  away  to  the  Confederate 
lines  with  their  arms,  which  necessitated 
stealthy  movements.  On  the  26th  Brig. -Gen. 
O.  M.  Mitchell,  who  had,  on  the  19th,  as- 
sumed command  of  the  ‘‘Department  of  the 
Ohio,”  which  embraced  Ohio,  Indiana,  and 
fifteen  miles  into  Kentucky  opposite  Cincin- 
nati, by  invitation  of  Gen.  Anderson  and 
the  Kentucky  legislature  took  possession  of 
the  Kentucky  Central  Railroad  as  far  south 
as  Lexington.  He  directed  Col.Yandever  to 
station  the  companies  of  his  regiment  (the 


374 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Thirty  fifth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry)  at  the 
various  bridges  along  the  line  of  the  road, 
and  sent  Col.  J.  B.  Steedman,  with  the  Four- 
teenth Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  to  take  his 
position  on  the  Louisville,  Frankfort  and 
Lexington  Eailroad. 

Gen.  Thomas,  having  been  informed  by  his 
outpost  that  the  Confederates  in  heavy  force 
had  occupied  London,  felt  that  he  could  no 
longer  risk  the  safety  of  his  command,  which, 
de23leted  by  the  absence  of  two  regiments  and 
Wolford’s  cavalry,  left  only  the  Fourth  Ken- 
tucky Infantry  and  the  Tennessee  regiments 
at  camp  Dick  Robinson.  Col.W.  A.  Hoskins 
at  Somerset,  on  the  Cumberland  River;  Col. 
Barnes  at  Irvine,  and  Col.  W.  J.  Landrum 
at  Big  Hill,  on  the  I’oad  leading  from  Lon- 
don into  Central  Kentucky,  via  Richmond, 
were  all  actively  engaged  in  recruiting  and 
at  the  same  time  performing  services  as  out- 
posts. 

On  the  22d  of  September,  he  wrote  Gen. 
Andersou,  strongly  urging  that,  to  enable  him 
to  advance  upon  the  enemy  with  any  show  of 
success,  he  should  be  supplied  with  4,000 
well  drilled  troops,  consisting  of  four  infant- 
ry regiments  and  a battery  of  artillery.  He 
was  constantly  beset  with  importunities  from 
citizens  on  both  sides  of  the  border  to 
advance  to  their  relief;  but  he  was  far  too 
wise  a commander  to  heed  their  appeals,  no 
matter  how  much  his  heart  might  have  been 
stirred  by  the  recital  of  their  wrongs.  To 
this  requisition,  Gen.  Anderson  replied  that 
Louisville  was  strongly  threatened,  and  for 
the  pi'esent  no  troops  could  be  spared  for  the 
purpose  for  which  they  were  required.  Gen. 
Anderson  wrote,  however,  to  the  president, 
and  to  the  governors  of  Ohio  and  Indiana, 
stating  the  immediate  necessity  for  compli- 
ance with  the  request  of  Gen.  Thomas.  Fail- 
ing to  receive  the  required  re-enforcements 
from  his  department  commander,  Gen. 
Thomas  dispatched  the  writer  to  confer  with 
Gen.  Mitchell,  at  Cincinnati,  who  at  once 
ordered  the  Thirty-third  Indiana,  Col.  John 
Coburn;  the  Thirty-first  Ohio,  Col.  M.  B. 
Walker;  the  Seventeenth  Ohio,  Col.  Connel; 
the  Thirty-eighth  Ohio,  Col  Bradley;  the 
Twenty-first  Ohio,  Col.  Norton,  and  two  batter- 


ies of  artillery,  under  Maj.  Lawrence,  to  re- 
port for  duty  to  Gen.  Thomas. 

Although  greatly  hampered  in  field  opera- 
tions by  the  lack  of  wagons,  Gen.  Thomas 
now  determined  upon  an  active  campaign 
against  Gen.  Zollicoffer.  On  the  1st  of  October, 
he  wrote  Gen.  Mitchell,  thanking  him  for  his 
prompt  response  to  the  call  for  troops,  stating, 
at  the  same  time,  the  pressing  need  for  means  of 
transportation,  and  closed  as  follows:  “ If  you 
could  send  a column  of  about  four  regiments 
up  the  Big  Sandy  and  move  it  south  through 
the  counties  of  Floyd,  Letcher  and  Harlan, 
in  co-operation  with  my  advance  by  Barbours- 
ville,  I believe  that  we  might  easily  seize  the 
railroad,  and  cut  off  all  communication  be- 
tween Virginia  and  the  south  through  Ten- 
nessee, before  the  enemy  will  have  time  to  re- 
enforce Zollicoffer  sufficiently  to  prevent  it.” 

This  was  practically  the  scheme  contem- 
plated in  the  order  directing  the  organization 
of  troops  at  camp  Dick  Robinson  in  July, 
and  toward  the  consummation  of  which  both 
Nelson  and  Thomas  had  bent  their  most 
strenuous  efforts.  But  the  government  was 
yet  to  learn  the  ability  of  Gen.  Thomas  to 
conduct  great  enterprises.  His  army  train- 
ing rendered  him  incapable  of  resorting  to 
the  means  used  by  many  other  commanders 
to  bring  himself  into  prominence.  He  had 
no  political  friend  at  the  national  capital  to 
sound  his  praises  in  the  ear  of  the  president, 
and  he  would  have  regarded  it  as  a breach  of 
discipline  to  open  correspondence  with  the 
war  department,  except  through  the  regular 
channels.  He  was  almost  unknown  to  the 
press  of  the  country.  With  the  present 
knowledge  of  the  weakness  of  the  Confeder- 
ate lines,  and  the  great  administrative  abil- 
ity of  Gen.  Thomas,  there  is  no  doubt,  had 
the  departments  of  the  Ohio,  and  of  the 
Cumberland,  been  united  under  his  command, 
that  the  15th  of  October  would  have  found 
him  at  the  head  of  a strong  force  at  Knox- 
ville, while  the  Confederate  lines  in  Kentucky 
would  have  been  compelled  to  resume  their 
old  position  south  of  the  Cumberland  River. 

Of  all  the  regiments  that  had  been  sent  to 
Kentucky,  but  one,  the  Thirty-third  Indiana, 
was  supplied  with  wagons,  and  this  regiment 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKYY 


375 


was  immediately  sent  to  the  front.  The  for- 
ward movement  was  retarded  by  the  lack  of 
transportation  for  the  great  quantity  of 
camp  equipage  necessary  for  the  proper  care 
of  men  not  yet  inured  to  exposure,  and  for 
the  organization  of  supply  trains  to  transport 
subsistence  stores  from  Nicholasville  to  the 
front,  and  to  transport  arms  and  army  sup- 
plies to  the  imorganized  regiments  awaiting 
them  in  east  Tennessee.  Five  hundi’ed  wag- 
ons (he  had  plenty  of  mules)  would  have 
enabled  him  to  move  forward  at  once,  via 
Richmond  and  Crab  Orchard,  to  London, 
where  the  two  roads  unite,  and  thence  to 
Knoxville,  with  an  army  twice  as  large  as 
that  with  which  he  afterward  defeated  Zol- 
licoffer  at  Mill  Springs,  augmented  by  the 
organization  of  at  least  ten  regiments  of 
troops  in  east  Tennessee.  But  the  golden 
opportunity  was  allowed  to  pass.  His  re- 
peated requests  for  means  of  transportation 
were  unheeded  until  the  winter  I'ains  had  con- 
verted the  clay  roads  into  mud,  so  stiff  and 
sticky  that  the  strength  of  six  mules  was  re- 
quired to  pull  an  empty  wagon. 

The  records  of  the  outbreak  of  the  rebell- 
ion in  Kentucky,  as  presented  in  the  con-e- 
spondence  between  the  commanding  officers 
of  the  Union  and  Confederate  forces  and 
their  respective  governments,  exhibits  the 
unprepared  state  of  both  sections  of  the 
country  to  enter  upon  a civil  war  of  such 
magnitude  as  that  of  1861.  Both  armies 
were  in  need  of  everything,  except  provis- 
ions, which,  owing  to  the  fertility  of  the 
soil,  were  plentiful.  Each  was  able  to  keep 
up  a line  of  defense  against  the  encroach- 
ment of  the  other,  but  were  powerless  for 
offensive  operations. 

In  compliance  with  the  urgent  requisitions 
of  Gen.  Sherman,  a large  number  of  regi- 
ments from  the  northwest  arrived  in  October 
and  November,  and  took  position  along  the 
lino  extending  from  Nelson’s  Camp,  atMays- 
ville,  around  the  borders  of  the  Blue  Grass 
region  at  camp  Dick  Robinson,  Lebanon, 
and  camp  Nevin,  where  McCook  was  sta- 
tioned with  four  brigades. 

Nearly  all  these  regiments  came  without 
camp  and  garrison  equipage  or  baggage 


wagons,  and  the  necessity  for  these  increased 
as  the  season  advanced.  The  impossibility 
of  making  any  forward  movement  in  the 
direction  of  Cumberland  Gap  without  ade- 
quate transportation  was  again  and  again 
urged  upon  the  authorities  at  Washington, 
but  no  heed  was  paid  to  the  repeated 
requests.  The  condition  of  the  Unionists  in 
east  Tennessee  was  growing  more  unbearable, 
and  the  m-gent  appeals  of  Johnson,  Maynard, 
Carter  and  others  for  an  advance,  made  to 
the  president,  induced  him  to  attach  blame 
to  the  commander  of  the  troops  designated 
from  the  first  for  this  special  movement. 
The  war  had  not  progressed  far  enough  to 
show  the  utter  helplessness  of  an  army  of 
men  when  moved  from  its  base  with  no 
means  of  transportation  for  supplies.  This 
knowledgfe  came  later  and  was  gained  at 
frightful  cost. 

Gen.  Thomas  had  no  sooner  completed  his 
plans  for  a forward  movement  from  camp 
Dick  Robinson  in  the  direction  of  east  Ten- 
nessee than  he  found  himself  superseded  by 
Gen.  Mitchell.  Even  at  this  early  period  of 
the  war  he  was  doomed  to  suffer  the  penalty 
that  attached  to  every  movement  which  from 
any  cause  was  delayed  beyond  the  expecta- 
tion of  the  war  department — the  same  pen- 
alty paid  by  McClellan,  Buell,  Grant,  Rose- 
crans,  and  nearly  every  commander  of  promi- 
nence from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the 
war,  and  which,  four’  years  later,  came  near 
causing  him  to  be  relieved  on  the  eve  of  his 
last  great  battle. 

Andrew  Johnson,  of  east  Tennessee,  eager 
for  an  advance,  and  knowing  nothing  of  the 
imperative  needs  of  the  army,  before  a for- 
ward movement  could  be  undertaken  with 
any  prospect  of  success,  growing  impatient 
of  delay,  secured  the  following  order  for 
Gen.  Mitchell  to  command  the  expedition  in 
person : 

CixcixN-XTi,  Ohio,  Oct.  10,  1861. 
Brig. -Gen.  O.  M.  Mitchell, 

Commanding  Department  of  the  Ohio,  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio. 

General : — By  the  direction  of  the  secretary  of 
war  you  are  hereby  assigned  to  duty  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  riimberland,  and  wdll  repair  to  camp 
Dick  Robinson,  and  there  prepare  the  troops  for  an 


376 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


outward  movement,  the  object  being  to  take  pos- 
session of  Cumberland  Ford  and  Cumberland  Gap, 
and  ultimately  seize  the  East  Tennessee  and  Vir- 
ginia Railroad,  and  attack  and  drive  the  rebels 
from  that  region  of  the  country.  You  will  report 
your  instructions  to  Brig.  Gen.  Sherman,  in  com- 
mand of  this  department,  and  be  governed  by  such 
further  orders  as  be  may  give. 

I have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your 
obedient  servant,  L.  Thomas, 

Adjutant  - General. 

On  the  reception  of  this  order,  Gen. 
Mitchell  wrote  Gen.  Thomas  as  follows: 

Headquarters  Depart.ment  op  the  Ohio,  } 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Oct.  10,  1861.  f 
Brig. -Gen.  Thomas, 

Camp  Dick  Robinson. 

General  :—Umlev  orders  from  the  secretary  of 
war  of  this  date,  I am  directed  to  repair  to  camp 
Dick  Robinson,  and  there  prepare  the  troops  for  an 
outward  movement,  the  object  being  to  take  pos- 
session of  Cumberland  Ford  and  Cumberland  Gap, 
and  ultimately  seize  the  East  Tennessee  & Virginia 
Railroad. 

In  compliance  with  these  orders,  I desire  you  to 
move  the  tliree  Ohio  regiments  now  in  camp  Dick 
Robinson  to  some  convenient  point  beyond  your 
camp,  in  the  hope  that  they  may  thus  escape  the 
epidemic  now  prevailing  among  your  men.  You 
will  order  the  regiments  at  Nicholasville  to  remain 
there  until  their  transportation  shall  arrive. 

I beg  you.  General,  to  make  every  preparation  in 
your  power  for  this  expedition  in  which  we  are 
about  to  be  united. 

It  is  my  purpose  to  leave  for  the  camp  as  soon  as 
I am  assured  that  supplies,  transportation,  ammu- 
nition and  other  necessaries  are  certain  to  be  sent 
forward. 

In  the  hope  of  soon  greeting  you  in  camp,  I 
have  the  honor  to  be,  very  truly,  your  obedient 
servant,  0.  M.  Mitchell, 

Brigadier-  General,  Commanding . 

Gen.  Thomas  replied: 

Headquarters,  Camp  Dick  Robinson,  ) 
G.^rrard  County,  Ky.,  October  11,  1861.  S 
Brig. -Gen.  0.  M.  Mitchell, 

Commanding  Department  of  the  Ohio,  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio. 

General: — Your  communication  of  the  10th 
inst.  was  received  to-day  at  the  hands  of  Gov. 
Johnson,  of  Tennessee. 

I have  been  doing  all  in  my  power  to  prepare 
the  troops  for  a move  on  Cumberland  Ford  and  to 
seize  the  Tennessee  & Virginia  Railroad,  and  shall 
continue  to  do  all  I can  to  assist  you  until  your 
arrival  here;  but  justice  to  myself  requires  that  I 
ask  to  be  relieved  from  duty  with  these  troops, 
since  the  secretary  has  thought  it  necessary  to 
supersede  me  in  the  command,  without,  as  I con- 
ceive, any  just  cause  for  so  doing. 


I have  already  sent  one  regiment  forward,  and 
shall  send  the  others  as  soon  as  I can  get  the  trans- 
portation. It  was  my  desire  to  have  advanced  two 
regiments  and  a battery  about  six  miles  beyond 
London,  to  secure  the  road  to  Barboursville  and  to 
protect  a large  tract  of  country  abounding  in  for- 
age, but  up  to  this  time  have  not  been  able  to  get 
the  transportation. 

I have  also  been  very  much  embarrassed  in  my 
operations  from  the  want  of  funds,  not  having  re- 
ceived any  since  my  arrival  here,  nearly  a month 
ago.  I hope  the  government  will  be  more  liberal 
with  you. 

I am,  General,  respectfully,  etc., 
your  obedient  servant. 

Geo.  H.  Thomas, 

Brigadier- General  U.  8.  Vole.,  Commanding, 

The  order  to  supersede  Gen.  Thomas,  how- 
ever, was  never  carried  out,  owing  to  the  pro- 
test of  Gen.  Sherman,  whose  confidence  in  the 
ability  and  patriotism  of  Gen.  Thomas  was 
unshaken  during  this  trying  period,  and  re- 
mained so  during  the  eventful  years  that 
were  to  follow.  Gen.  Thomas,  having  writ- 
ten him  with  reference  to  the  proposed  action 
of  Gen.  Mitchell,  received  the  following 
letter : 

Louisville,  Ky.,  October  13,  1861. 
Brig. -Gen.  George  H.  Thomas, 

Commanding  Camp  Dick  Robinson. 

Sir: — Your  letters  of  the  11th  and  12th  of  Octo- 
ber were  received  last  night.  I would  start  for  your 
camp  at  once,  but  am  notified  by  the  secretary  of 
war  that  he  will  be  here  to  meet  me.  The  paymas- 
ter is  here  with  funds.  Col.  Swords,  quartermaster, 
has  just  reported,  and  I am  assured  that  ample 
funds  will  be  provided  for  all  necessaries.  I myself 
was  compelled  to  endorse  a draft  to  get  money  in 
bank.  The  fact  is,  the  arrangement  for  the  supply 
of  money  promised  us  before  leaving  Washington 
has  not  been  promptly  kept,  but  I am  certain  that 
very  soon  we  will  be  supplied,  and  your  loan  of  the 
bank  shall  be  paid,  if  my  order  will  accomplish  it. 
In  like  manner  I authorize  you  to  go  and  prepare 
your  command  for  active  service. 

Gen.  Mitchell  is  subject  to  my  orders,  and  I will, 
if  possible,  give  you  the  opportunity  of  completing 
what  you  have  begun.  Of  course  I would  do  any- 
thing in  my  power  to  carry  out  your  wishes,  hut 
feel  that  the  affairs  of  Kentucky  will  call  for  the 
united  action  of  all  engaged  in  the  cause  of  pre- 
serving our  government. 

I am,  with  great  respect, 

your  obedient  servant, 

W.  T.  Sherman. 

Brigadier-  General,  Commanding. 

On  the  21st  of  October  Gen.  Zollicoffer 
appeared  before  Garrard’s  position  which  wai5 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


377 


fortified  well  toward  the  front,  but  it  was  so 
located  as  to  be  easily  tui-ned  by  a force 
moving  from  the  valley  in  its  front,  out  the 
Winding  Blades  road,  and  thence  upon  its 
rear.  Round  Hill,  standing  between  his 
works  and  this  road,  had  been  occupied  by  a 
small  squad  of  Home  Guards.  The  country 
is  rugged  and  covered  with  dense  under- 
brush. Col.  Garrard’s  regiment,  the  Sev- 
entn  Kentucky  Infantry,  was  600  strong; 
Col.  John  Coburn’s  regiment,  the  Thirty- 
third  Indiana,  was  posted  on  Round  Hill, 
with  250  of  Wolford’s  calvary  as  a support. 
Brig. -Gen.  Schoepf,  who  had  reported  a few 
days  previously  to  Gen.  Thomas,  commanded 
the  brigade.  In  obedience  to  G-en.  Schoepf’s 
order.  Col.  Coburn  deployed  350  of  his  men 
around  the  hill  as  skirmishers.  Col.  Coburn 
says  in  his  report  of  the  battle: 

In  less  than  twenty  minutes  the  rebels,  who  were 
concealed  in  the  woods,  commenced  firing,  when  at 
almost  the  first  fire  Private  McFarren,  of  Company 
D,  was  killed.  In  ten  minutes  more  the  enemy 
appeared  in  front  of  our  position  at  the  south,  at  a 
distance  of  half  a mile,  in  the  valley.  They  were 
in  large  numbers,  and  were  over  half  an  hour  in 
passing  by  an  open  space  in  the  woods,  when  they 
formed  again  in  line.  They  soon  came  near  us 
under  cover  of  a wood,  which  entirely  concealed 
their  approach  until  we  were  apprised  of  their  pres- 
ence by  the  firing  of  musketry.  At  this  time  we 
were  re-enforced  by  a portion  of  the  Kentucky  cav- 
alry, dismounted,  under  Col.  Wolford,  about  250 
strong,  who  immediately  formed  and  took  part  in 
the  engagement.  The  firing  at  this  time  was  very 
severe,  which  caused  the  cavalry  to  waver  and  re- 
treat. They  were  soon,  however,  rallied,  and 
formed  again  in  order,  and  fought  with  good  spirit. 
The  enemy  engaged  was  composed  of  a portion  of 
Gen.  Zollicoffer’s  command,  and  consisted  of  two 
regiments  of  Tennesseans,  under  the  command  of 
Cols.  Newman  and  Cummings.  They  charged  up 
the  hill  upon  us,  and  were  met  by  a galling  and 
deadly  fire,  which  wounded  and  killed  many  of 
them.  The  front  of  their  column  approached 
within  a few  rods  of  us  with  their  bayonets  fixed, 
declaring  themselves  “Union  men”  and  “all 
right,”  at  the  next  moment  leveling  their  guns  at  us 
and  firing.  After  being  engaged  nearly  an  hour  the 
enemy  retreated,  bearing  off  a portion  of  their  dead 
and  wounded  in  their  arms.  Our  men  have  buried 
their  dead  left  on  the  field  and  taken  the  wounded 
to  the  hospitals.  Thirty  corpses  have  been  found 
up  to  this  time.  A large  number  of  their  wounded 
and  dead  were  carried  off  in  their  wagons.  It  is 
safe  to  estimate  the  loss  of  the  enemy  at  least  100 
killed. 


While  the  regiments  above  mentioned 
were  engaged  in  the  assault  upon  Round 
Hill,  the  remainder  of  Zollicoffer’s  force 
made  a furious  attack  upon  G-arrard’s  posi- 
tion, but  were  repulsed  after  a brief  en- 
gagement. In  the  following  report  of  Gen. 
Zollicoffer,  it  will  be  observed  that  he  set  the 
example,  which  was  closely  followed  by  com- 
manding officers  of  both  sides  during  the 
war,  of  callmg  an  unsuccessful  attack  a 
“ reconnaissance ; ” 

C.V3IP  AT  Flat  Lick,  Knox  Co.,  ) 
Ky.,  via  Knoxville,  October  26,  1861.  \ 

On  the  21st  I reached  the  enemy’s  entrenched 
camp  on  Rockcastle  Hills,  a natural  fortification 
almost  inaccessible.  Having  recounoitered  it  in 
force  under  heavy  fire  for  several  hours  from  heights 
on  the  right,  left  and  in  front,  I became  satisfied 
that  it  could  not  be  carried  otherwise  than  by  an 
immense  exposure,  if  at  all.  The  enemy  received 
large  re-enforcements. 

Our  loss  was  forty-two  wounded  and  eleven 
killed  and  missing.  We  captured  twenty-one  pris- 
oners, about  one  hundred  guns  and  four  horses. 
The  loss  of  the  enemy  in  killed  and  wounded  un- 
known. 

The  country  is  so  poor  we  have  exhausted  the 
forage  along  the  road  for  fifteen  miles  back  in  twen- 
ty-four hours.  Our  subsistence  nearly  exhausted. 
Under  these  circumstances  I deemed  it  proper  the 
next  day  to  fall  back.  Enemy’s  camp  said  to  be 
7,000  strong,  with  large  reserves  near  at  hand. 

F.  K.  Zollicoffer. 

Adjt.  Gen.  Cooper. 

The  Union  loss  in  the  engagement  was 
four  killed  and  eighteen  wounded,  but  Col. 
Cobuim  claims  to  have  buried  thirty  of  the 
enemy. 

The  Seventeeth  and  Fourteenth  Ohio  now 
appeared,  accompanied  by  Capt.  Standart’s 
battery.  Four  companies  of  the  Seventeenth, 
under  Maj.  Durbin  Ward,  advancing  rapidly, 
arrived  in  time  to  deliver  a parting  shot  at 
the  retreating  foe. 

Gen.  Schoepf  was  anxious  to  pursue  the 
Confederates,  and  asked  that  depots  of  sup- 
plies be  established  for  the  use  of  his  com- 
mand at  Crab  Orchard  and  Wild  Cat,  ex- 
pressing the  opinion  that  he  could  scatter 
Zollicoffer’s  force  and  occupy  Cumberland 
Gap.  In  compliance  with  this  request,  Gen. 
Thomas  immediately  forwarded  to  the  front 
supplies  of  provisions  and  ammunition;  or- 
dered the  Tennessee  regiments  to  report  to 


378 


HLSTORT  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Gen.  Schoepf,  and  directed  him  to  clear  the 
road  of  obstructions  preparatory  to  a forward 
movement.  He  at  the  same  time  moved  his 
headquarters  to  Crab  Orchard,  leaving  the 
Thirty-first  Ohio  to  guard  stores  at  camp  Dick 
Robinson.  Everything  now  looked  favora- 
ble for  a forward  movement.  The  troops, 
elated  by  an  easy  victory,  were  jubilant  at 
the  prospect  of  another  engagement,  while 
the  time,  which  had  hung  heavily  upon  the 
hands  of  the  Tennesseans,  separated  by 
only  a few  days’  march  from  their  homes, 
seemed  to  fly  on  golden  wings. 

Although  still  embarrassed  from  he  lack  of 
transportation,  Gen.  Thomas  had  determined 
if  possible  to  carry  forward  the  campaign, 
depending  upon  hiring  wagons  from  the 
farmers,  when,  on  the  25th  of  October,  he 
received  the  following  letter  from  Gen. 
Sherman,  who  had  succeeded  Gen.  Anderson 
in  command  of  the  department: 

•Headquartebs  Dept,  op  the  Cumberland,  1 
Louisville,  Ky.,  October  25,  1801.  J 
Gen.  George  H.  Thomas, 

Camp  Dick  Robinson. 

Sir: — Don’t  push  too  far  Your  line  is  already 
long  and  weak.  I cannot  now  re-enforce  you. 
Nelson  has  got  into  ditQculty  with  the  militia,  and 
I have  no  person  to  send  there.  An  interruption  of 
the  railroad,  by  an  incursion  from  Prestonburg, 
would  cut  , you  off  from  that  source  of  supply. 
Call  to  your  assistance  the  regiment  from  Irvine. 
The  State  board  is  impressed  with  the  necessity  of 
engaging  in  the  organization  of  the  volunteers,  but 
we  are  still  embarrassed  for  the  want  of  clothing 
and  arms.  Promises  are  a poor  substitute  for  them, 
but  are  all  we  have. 

I will  again  urge  on  the  department  the  pressing 
necessity  for  more  good  officers  and  large  re-en- 
forcements of  men.  Yours,  etc., 

W.  T.  Sherman, 
Brigadier-  General,  Commanding. 

The  bugbear  of  Buckner  at  Bowling  Green, 
ever  present  to  the  vision  of  the  commander 
of  the  department,  was  sufficient  to  keep 
twenty- four  regiments  on  duty  to  prevent 
him  from  suddenly  pouncing  down  upon  the 
fair  city  of  Louisville.  On  the  28th  Gen. 
Thomas,  on  his  return  to  headquarters  from 
the  front,  wrote  Gen.  Sherman  that  he  had 
moved  his  advance  to  the  point  of  junction 
with  the  Richmond  road,  and  would  make 
arrangements  to  supply  it  from  Lexington. 
He  asked  for  four  more  regiments  as  a re- 


serve in  case  of  disaster,  and  proposed  to 
take  two  months’  supply  of  sugar  and  coffee, 
and  other  small  stores,  and  thought  he  could 
get  along  without  serious  difficulty.  At  the 
same  time,  he,  with  the  instinctive  obedience 
of  a true  soldier,  expressed  a willingness  to 
fall  back  if  his  superior  thought  he  had  ad- 
vanced too  far. 

On  the  9th  of  November,  Sherman  wrote 
Thomas  as  follows: 

I wish  I could  make  your  communications  per- 
fectly safe,  and  the  cost  would  he  nothing.  There 
should  be  at  least  ten  good  regiments  to  your  rear, 
capable  of  sustaining  the  head  of  your  column  at 
London,  but  I am  unable  to  provide;  and  hereabouts 
the  army  should  be  such  as  to  prevent  all  idea  of 
attack;  but  Buckner  and  Hardee  have  across  Green 
River  a very  large  force,  and  may  advance  at  their 
pleasure.  In  this  state  of  the  case  I can  only  repeat 
my  former  orders,  for  you  to  hold  in  check  the 
force  of  Zollicoffer,  and  await  events.  The  road  by 
Richmond,  depending  on  the  ferry,  appears  to  be 
less  safe  to  you  than  the  one  crossing  Kentucky 
River  by  the  bridge. 

And  again  on  the  11th: 

I have  daily  and  constantly  increased  evidence 
of  a vast  force  in  our  front,  and  that  they  are 
assembling  wagons  preparing  for  a move ; and  it  is 
probable  an  advance  on  their  part  from  Cumberland 
Gap  along  the  line  will  be  concentric  and  simulta- 
neous. It  was  my  judgment  of  the  case  when  Secre- 
tary Cameron  was  here,  and  I begged  him  to  pre- 
pare for  it,  but  they  never  have  attached  the  im- 
portance to  Kentucky  in  this  struggle  that  it  merits. 

My  expression  of  dissatisfaction  at  the  publica- 
tion of  Adjt.-Gen.  Thomas’ report,  and  request  to  be 
relieved  from  this  charge,  has  led  to  the  assignment 
of  Gen.  Buell,  of  whom  I have  not  yet  heard. 

You  should  have  at  least  10,000  more  men,  and 
could  I give  them  they  should  be  there,  but  I cannot 
get  them. 

The  new  regiments  arrive  without  notice,  and 
perfectly  raw. 

All  that  I can  do  now  is  to  say  that  I will  ap. 
prove  of  your  course,  let  the  result  be  what  it  may. 

If  you  can  hold  in  check  the  enemy  in  that  di- 
rection, it  is  all  that  can  be  attempted;  or  if  you 
must  fall  back,  your  line  is  toward  Lexington;  or 
if  outnumbered,  you  are  not  bound  to  sacrifice  the 
lives  of  your  command. 

Zollicoffer’s  withdrawal  from  Cumberland 
Ford  seemed  to  have  reference  to  a move- 
ment along  the  whole  of  Johnston’s  line. 
Gen.  Sherman’s  idea  was  that  Johnston  had 
concentrated  a force  of  45,000  men  at  Bow- 
ling Green  for  a forward  movement;  that 
Zollicoffer  was  to  act  in  concert  with  him  by 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


879 


placing  his  army  between  Thomas  and  Mc- 
Cook; and,  by  gaining  Thomas’  rear,  compel 
him  to  fall  back  from  Crab  Orchard  to  pro- 
tect his  base  at  Nicholasville  and  Lexington. 
He  believed,  with  Thomas,  that  the  force  of 
the  latter  was  far  too  small  for  offensive  op- 
erations in  eastern  Tennessee,  and  had  no 
confidence  in  his  receiving  any  considerable 
acquisition  to  his  force  from  enlistment  in 
that  region.  On  the  22d  of  November,  Col. 
Hoskins,  at  Somerset,  informed  Gen.  Thomas 
that  Zollicofifer,  with  a force  estimated  at 
20,000,  was  at  Monticello,  advancing  upon 
him.  On  the  3d  Gen.  Schoepf,  in  command 
at  London,  wrote  that  his  forage  was  nearly 
exhausted,  and  that  the  Rockcastle  River,  be- 
tween his  camp  and  the  rear,  was  liable  at 
any  moment  to  rise  and  cut  him  off  from  sup- 
plies. The  limited  transportation  with  which 
the  army  was  supplied  had  rendered  it  im 
possible  to  accumulate  a surplus.  He  corrob- 
orated the  report  that  the  enemy  had  with- 
drawn from  the  front.  Previous  to  the 
reception  of  this  intelligence,  Gen.  Sherman 
wrote  Thomas,  but  subsequently  determined 
to  withdraw  the  forces  under  Thomas  back 
to  a point  within  striking  distance  of  either 
route,  through  the  mountains,  that  Zollicoffer 
might  select.  This  retrograde  movement  met 
with  indignant  protests  from  the  east  Ten- 
nessee regiments,  and  Andrew  Johnson  lost 
no  time  in  informing  the  authorities  at 
Washington.  Mr.  Maynard  visited  Louis- 
ville and  endeavored  to  get  the  order  coun- 
termanded, but  in  vain.  Gen.  Sherman  pos- 
itively refused  to  advance  into  east  Tennes- 
see until  he  could  supply  Thomas  with  trans- 
portation and  a reserve  of  at  least  10,000 
men.  Gen.  Thomas  still  desired  to  carry  out 
the  object  of  the  expedition,  and  replied 
that  he  would  give  orders  for  a retrograde 
move,  but  was  sure  that  the  enemy  was  not 
moving  between  them;  all  his  information 
indicated  that  the  forces  under  Johnston 
were  moving  south. 

Thomas  accordingly  sent  the  following 
order  from  Crab  Orchard  to  Gen.  Schoepf: 
“Gen.  Sherman  has  just  dispatched  me  that 
Gen.  McCook  sends  him  word  that  the  enemy 
have  disappeared  from  Green  River,  and 


there  is  a rumor  that  Buckner  is  moving  in 
foi’ce  toward  Lexington,  between  us,  and  or- 
dered me,  if  not  engaged  in  front,  to  withdi’aw 
my  force  back  to  the  Kentucky  River,  and 
act  according  to  the  state  of  facts  then. 

“As  soon  as  you  receive  this,  break  up 
camp  at  London  and  join  me  here  or  at  Nich- 
olasville with  all  your  troops.  Hii-e  trans- 
portation enough  to  bring  your  ammunition, 
and  bring  your  camp  equipage  and  three 
days’  rations.” 

The  November  rains  had  commenced  fall- 
ing, and  the  clay  roads,  kneaded  by  passing 
trains  of  wagons  into  the  consistency  suitable 
for  the  potter’s  use,  were  knee-deep  with  mud. 
The  Tennesseans,  disappointed  and  cha- 
grined at  the  failure  of  the  enterprise  in  which 
they  had  staked  their  lives,  mutinied,  and 
refused  to  return.  In  vain  their  officers 
implored  them  to  obey  an  order  that  they  had 
been  the  first  to  denounce.  They  threw 
themselves  upon  the  ground,  and  in  their  rage 
cursed  everybody  who  had  any  connection 
with  their  misfortunes,  from  the  president 
down  to  Gen.  Schoepf.  At  last,  yielding  to 
the  advice  of  their  beloved  commander,  Lieut. 
Samuel  P.  Carter,  they  sullenly  followed.  It 
was  a scene  never  to  be  forgotten  by  those 
who  witnessed  it.  Strong  and  brave  men 
cried  like  children,  and  with  good  reason. 
They  were  in  sight  of  the  mountains  that 
separated  them  from  their  dear  ones,  whose 
very  lives  were  in  jeopardy  from  the  lawless 
bands  of  freebooters,  whose  deeds  of  violence 
were  rehearsed  to  them  upon  the  arrival  of 
every  refugee;  they  had  nursed  their  wrath 
while  held  like  hounds  in  the  leash,  planning 
sweet  revenge  upon  their  ruthless  enemies, 
and  now,  after  months  of  weary  waiting,  the 
cup  of  vengeance  was  dashed  from  their  lips. 

Could  the  Union  commanders  have  known 
the  facts,  as  the  records  now  show  them  to 
have  been,  that  the  Confederate  forces  under 
Buckner  and  Hardee  did  not  exceed  12,500 
men,  and  that  Johnston  could  not,  in  the  face 
of  Grant’s  force  operating  on  the  Mississippi, 
re-enforce  Bowling  Green  beyond  5,000  ad- 
ditional; that  Zollicoffer’s  brigade  did  not 
exceed  6,000  for  offensive  purposes,  and  that 
Humphrey  *lMarsha  11  was  so  weak  as  to  con- 


!80 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


stitute  no  factor  in  the  calculation  of  the 
Confederate  strength,  they  would  have  had 
less  reason  to  expect  Johnston  to  assume  the 
offensive.  Nothing  indeed  was  further  from 
his  intention.  While  Sherman  was  calling 
for  more  troops,  ammunition  and  supplies, 
every  day’s  mail  carried  to  Richmond  the 
same  importunities  from  Johnston,  Polk, 
Harris,  and  Zollicoffer.  Through  the  in- 
numerable spies  that  infested  the  Union  camps, 
Johnston  was  kept  accurately  informed  of 
Sherman’s  strength,  while  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  the  same  spies,  in  the  guise  of 
Union  men,  acting  in  the  Confederate  interest 
vastly  over-estimated  the  force  of  the  enemy 
to  Gen.  Sherman,  who  was  not  alone  in 
overstating  the  strength  of  the  enemy.  Gen. 
C.  F.  Smith,  in  command  at  Paducah,  writing 
to  Adjt. -Gen.  Townsend,  on  the  6th  of  No- 
vember, says;  “At  Columbus  and  vicinity 
Gen.  Pillow  has  10,000  men;  on  the  opposite 
shore,  2,000;  near  Mayfield,  2,500;  at  Mem- 
phis, 3,000,  and  at  Bowling  Green  40,000. 
The  enemy  can  concentrate  at  Columbus  at 
any  time  30,000  men.”  He  had  received 
this  information  from  a “ northern  gentleman 
who  had  recently  left  there.” 

Thus  ended  the  Tennessee  expedition. 
Projected  in  wisdom,  prosecuted  against  al- 
most insurmountable  obstacles  with  vigor 
and  courage  until  success  was  in  view,  and 
then  abandoned.  Had  it  succeeded,  as  it 
might  have  done  if  the  hands  of  Gen.  Nelson 
or  Gen.  Thomas  had  been  strengthened,  the 
subsequent  campaigns  of  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland  would  have  had  far  different 
objective  points.  There  would  have  been  no 
invasion  of  Kentucky  in  1862,  with  its  retreat 
from  Cumberland  Gap  and  more  disastrous 
battle  at  Perryville,  and  a mighty  wall  of 
partition  would  have  been  erected  in  east 
Tennessee,  separating  the  Confederate  armies 
and  offering  protection  to  the  people  of  a 
vast  territory  whose  loyalty,  by  its  failure, 
was  subjected  to  the  severest  test. 

Gen.  Sherman  never  regarded  the  move- 
ment in  any  other  light  than  as  a humanita- 
rian idea  which  had  been  urged  upon  Mr. 
Lincoln,  as  both  just  and  feasible,  by  Andrew 
Johnson,  Horace  Maynard,  and  other  loyal 


men  from  Tennessee.  When  he  feared  that 
Thomas  might  be  superseded  unless  a forward 
movement  \»'as  made,  he  immediately  ordered 
it,  but  after  the  repulse  of  Zollicoffer  at 
Wild  Cat  demonstrated  that  the  object  of  the 
expedition  could  be  carried  out,  he  threw 
obstacles  in  its  way.  In  justice  to  Sherman 
it  is  but  right  to  take  into  consideration  the 
vast  responsibility  resting  upon  him  as  a 
commander  of  all  the  United  States  forces 
between  the  Confederate  lines  and  the  rich 
cities  of  Louisville,  Cincinnati,  Frankfort 
and  Lexington.  To  allow  Thomas  to  march 
into  east  Tennessee  beyond  his  reach,  would 
seem  to  invite  Buckner  to  advance,  by  way  of 
Lebanon,  into  the  “Blue  Grass  Region”  and 
take  possession  of  the  capital;  and  there  was 
good  reason  to  believe  that  the  same  force 
would,  if  driven  out  by  Mitchell — for  Sher- 
man could  not  uncover  Louisville — take  the 
route  pursued  by  Gen.  Thomas,  thus  cutting 
him  off  from  his  base  of  supplies. 

The  Confederate  forces  assembled  near 
Bowling  Green,  called  the  “Central  Army  of 
Kentucky,”  under  command  of  Buckner  and 
Hardee,  numbered,  on  November  15,  accord- 
ing to  the  statement  made  by  Gen.  Albert 
Sidney  Johnston  to  the  war  department,  at 
Richmond,  12,500  effective  men.  The  First 
Division,  Western  Department,  under  com- 
mand of  Gen.  Polk,  as  reported  in  his  re- 
turns for  November  16,  was  as  follows:  Pres- 
ent for  duty,  10.235  infantry,  579  artillery,. 
659  cavalry,  total  13,142;  aggregate  present, 
13,866.  In  addition  to  these  forces.  Col. 
Stanton  had  a cavalry  command  consisting  of 
his  own  regiment  and  various  battalions  op- 
eratingr  between  Buckner  and  Zollicoffer,. 
about  Jamestown,  estimated  at  about  2,000, 
and  an  equal  force  under  Humphrey  Marshall 
held  possession  of  the  counties  of  western 
Virginia,  with  a base  of  supplies  at  Wythe- 
ville,  on  the  Virsrinia  & Tennessee  Railroad. 

Against  the  latter  force  an  expedition  was 
planned  by  Gen.  Anderson  in  September,  and 
its  execution  entrusted  to  Gen.  Nelson.  Col. 
Harris,  with  the  Second  Ohio  Infantry  sta- 
tioned at  Olympian  Springs,  was  ordered  by 
Gen.  Anderson  to  report  to  Nelson  for  duty. 
He  had  been  joined  at  that  place  by  Col. 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


381 


Origsby  with  300  men  of  the  Twenty-fourth 
Kentucky  Infantry,  whose  rendezvous,  camp 
Gill,  was  near’  by.  In  the  absence  of  arms 
for  the  Kentucky  regiments,  it  became  neces- 
sary for  Gen.  Thomas  to  detach  two  more 
Ohio  regiments  to  re-enforce  Nelson, who,  on 
the  18th  of  October,  moved  Harris  and 
Grigsby  forward,  via  Hazel  Green,  to  take 
possession  of  McCormick’s  Gap.  He  had 
heard  that  the  enemy,  1,500  strong,  were  at 
Hazel  Green,  and  that  500  more  were  at 
West  Liberty,  five  miles  distant.  Col.  Sill, 
with  the  Thirty-third  Ohio,  pushed  forward 
by  forced  marches  to  reach  Harris  in  time 
to  re-enforce  him  if  necessary. 

Gen.  Nelson  marched  on  the  23d  with  the 
Twenty-first  Ohio,  Col.  Norton;  the  Fifty- 
ninth  Ohio,  Col.  Fyffe,  and  Marshall’s  bat- 
talion. The  same  day  Maj.  Robinson,  with 
two  companies  of  the  Thirty-third  Ohio  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  by  a rapid  march  reached 
Hazel  Green  at  4 o’clock  in  the  morning  of 
the  23d.  The  march  of  Col.  Harris  on  West 
Liberty  was  resisted  by  Capt.  May  with  a few 
hundred  men,  who  were  easily  driven  off. 
Awaiting  the  arrival  of  his  artillery  and  bag- 
gage train  at  Hazel  Green,  Nelson  moved 
forward  to  Prestonburg,  arriving  November  5. 

The  following  extract  from  Gen.  Nelson’s 
report  gives  an  account  of  the  engagement  at 
Ivy  Mountain: 

At  1 P.  M.  the  column  had  advanced  along  the 
narrow  defile  of  the  mountain  that  ends  at  Ivy 
Creek.  The  mountain  is  highest  along  the  river 
and  very  precipitous  and  thickly  covered  with  tim- 
ber and  undergrowth,  and  the  road,  which  is  but 
seven  feet  wide,  is  cut  along  the  side  of  it  about 
twenty-five  feet  above  the  river,  which  is  close  over 
the  road.  The  ridge  descends  in  a rapid  curve,  and 
very  sharp,  to  the  creek,  or  rather  gorge,  where  it 
makes  a complete  elbow.  Behind  this  ridge  and  all 
along  the  mountain  side,  the  enemy,  700  strong,  lay 
in  ambush,  and  did  not  fire  until  the  head  of  Col. 
Marshall's  battalion,  himself  leading,  was  up  to  the 
elbow.  The  skirmish  was  very  sharp.  The  moun- 
tain side  was  blue  with  puffs  of  smoke,  and  not  an 
enemy  to  be  seen.  The  first  discharge  killed  four 
and  wounded  thirteen  of  Marshall's  men.  I ordered 
the  Kentuckians  to  charge.  Col.  Harris,  whose 
regiment  was  immediately  behind  me,  led  Ins  men 
up  the  mountain  side  most  gallantly,  and  deployed 
them  along  the  face  of  it. 

Col.  Norton,  whose  regiment  had  just  reached  I 
the  defile,  anticipating  an  order  from  me,  led  his  j 


men  up  the  northern  ridge  of  the  mountain  and 
deployed  them  along  the  face  of  it  and  along  the 
crest,  and  went  at  them.  Two  pieces  of  artillery 
were  got  in  position  in  the  road  and  opened  upon 
them.  Owing  to  the  steepness  of  the  mountain  all 
this  required  time.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  which  here  is  narrow,  deep  and  swift,  there 
were  also  rebels  who  annoyed  us.  In  an  hour  and 
twenty  minutes  the  rebels  were  beaten  and  fled,  leav- 
ing a number  of  killed  and  wounded  on  the  ground, 
and  six  prisoners  unhurt.  As  I marched  immedi- 
ately in  pursuit,  I do  not  report  what  their  loss  was. 

I am  told  to-day  that  thirty-two  dead  were  found. 
Among  the  wounded  in  our  hands  is  H.  M.  Rust, 
late  State  senator  from  Greenup  County,  Ky.  Our 
loss  is  six  killed  and  twenty-four  wounded.  If  I 
had  here  any  cavalry  I would  have  taken  or  slain 
the  whole  of  them;  as  it  was,  the  enemy  retreated, 
cutting  down  trees  across  the  narrow  road,  and 
burning  or  cutting  all  the  bridges,  which  are  nu- 
merous. I bivouacked  four  miles  beyond  Ivy  Creek.  ^ 
It  rained,  and  the  men  waded  through  mud  and  in 
a heavy  rain  all  day  of  the  9th,  the  march  being 
heavy  and  slow  on  account  of  the  trees  across  the 
roads,  and  the  necessity  of  repairing  the  bridges. 
Last  night  we  again  bivouacked  in  the  November 
rain,  and  entered  this  place  this  morning  at  9 A.M., 
where  I found  Col.  Sill,  who  had  arrived  the  night 
previously,  and  fired  on  the  enemy  as  they  were  re- 
treating. 

Meantime  Gen.  Sherman  had  exhausted  the 
language  in  petitioning  the  war  department 
to  equip  his  army.  Gen.  Fremont  had  sig- 
nalized his  advent  to  the  army  by  the  pur- 
chase, in  Europe,  of  a large  quantity  of  Bel- 
gian rifles,  which,  with  an  ingenuity  in  fraud 
that  would  have  caused  the  maker  of  the 
original  wooden  nutmeg  to  blush  for  shame, 
had  been  altered  from  flint-locks  to  percus- 
sion by  the  simple  device  of  driving  in  a tube. 
Like  Hodges’  razors,  they  were  good  enough 
to  sell,  but  in  practice,  the  tubes  not  being 
screwed  in,  had  the  unpleasant  habit  of 
blowing  out  into  the  faces  of  the  men  who 
pulled  the  triggers.  Spurned  with  contempt 
from  one  army  to  another,  10,000  of  these 
hermaphrodite  arms  found  their  way  to  Sher- 
man; the  authorities  probably  considering 
that  the  guns  were  as  pronounced  in  charac- 
ter as  the  people  were  in  their  loyalty. 

Of  all  people  in  the  Union  there  were  none 
more  competent  to  judge  of  the  value  of  hre- 
arms  than  Kentuckians.  Accustomed  to  field 
sports,  their  skill  in  the  use  of  rifles  was 
proverbial,  and  they  no  sooner  saw  the  wea- 


382 


HISTORT  OF  KENTUCKY. 


pons  designed  for  their  use  than  they  indig- 
nantly refused  to  accept  them.  Gen.  Sher- 
man was  totally  unsupplied  with  money,  and 
on  one  occasion  was  obliged  to  indorse  a 
note  in  bank  to  obtain  a small  amount  to 
meet  minor  expenses.  He  had  neither  chief 
quartermaster  nor  chief  commissary,  and  in 
point  of  quartermaster  and  subsistence  stores 
he  would  have  been  as  deficient  as  in  ord- 
nance stores  but  for  the  richness  of  the  coun- 
try in  which  his  army  was  located,  and  the 
willingness  of  the  inhabitants  to  accept  gov- 
ernment vouchers  in  exchange  for  their  prod- 
uce. In  a recent  interview  with  Gen.  Sherman, 
he  related  to  the  writer  the  following  incident: 
“Some  time  after  I had  superseded  Gen. 
Anderson  in  command  of  the  department,  I 
one  day  confided  to  Hon.  Joshua  F.  Speed, 
a true-hearted  Union  man  of  Louisville, 
the  embarrassments  under  which  I labored, 
soundly  berating  the  war  department,  which 
had  placed  me  in  command,  while  it  with- 
held the  means  necessary  to  make  my  force 
effective.  ‘What  do  you  want?’  said  Mr. 
Speed.  ‘Everything,’  said  I;  ‘arms,  wagons, 
tents,  bread  and  meat,  money  and  a compe- 
tent staff.’  ‘Name  what  you  want  on  paper, 
and  gi  ve  it  to  me,  ’ said  Mr.  Speed.  I did  as 
requested,  and  handed  it  over.  Nothing 
more  was  seen  of  Mr.  Speed  for  several  days, 
when  he  entered  my  room  and  handed  me 
copies  of  orders  directing  Col.  Thomas 
Swords,  assistant  quartermaster-general,  and 
Capt.  H.  C.  Symonds,  commissary  of  subsist- 
ence, to  report  to  me  for  duty.  The  order 
directed  Col.  Swords  to  draw  for  present 
needs  |100,000.  . He  had  also  a copy  of  an 
order,  drawn  by  President  Lincoln  himself, 
upon  the  ordinance  department  for  10,000 
Springfield  rifles  of  the  latest  design.  ‘How 
is  this,’  I exclaimed,  ‘that  more  attention  is 
paid  to  the  requests  of  you,  a citizen,  than  of 
me,  a general  in  the  army  ? You  had  better 
take  command  here.  ’ ‘I  can  explain  it,’ 


said  Mr.  Speed.  ‘Many  years  ago  I was 
engaged  in  business  in  Springfield,  Illinois. 
I had  a little  store  where  I kept  a miscella- 
neous stock  of  calico,  horse-collars,  molasses, 
nails,  hair-brushes,  quinine,  and  other  arti- 
cles of  daily  use  in  the  community.  I had 
a clerk,  and  had  fitted  up  for  our  joint  occu- 
pancy, a room  over  the  store,  to  be  used  as  a 
bed-room.  Having  a stove  in  the  back  part 
of  the  store,  the  space  around  it  naturally 
became  a snug  lounging  place  for  the  young 
men  of  the  village.  Among  these  were  two 
young  lawyers,  who  were  eking  out  a preca- 
rious livelihood  at  the  bar,  and  who  I remem- 
ber usually  chose  their  position  in  proximity 
to  the  sugar  barrel.  The  names  of  these  two 
young  men  were  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Ste- 
phen A.  Douglas.  One  day  Mr.  Lincoln, 
sitting  with  his  feet  on  the  stove,  asked  me 
the  price  of  a bedstead,  mattress,  pillow  and 
bed  clothing,  saying  in  reply  to  my  inquiry 
that  he  thought  of  fixing  up  a bed  in  his 
office,  thereby  economizing  in  bis  expenses. 
I figured  up  the  cost,  but  told  him  that  I had 
a better  plan,  that  my  clerk  had  lost  his  health, 
and  gone  back  to  Kentucky  to  regain  it,  and 
that  I would  be  glad  to  have  him  for  a room- 
mate. He  at  once  went  up  stairs  on  a pros- 
pecting tour,  came  down,  went  over  to  his 
office,  and  returning  with  a pair  of  saddle- 
bags he  carried  them  up  stairs.  Presently 
he  came  down  and  resumed  his  seat,  saying, 
‘Well,  Speed,  I’ve  moved.’  He  lived  with  me 
a long  time,  long  enough  for  me  to  love  and 
admire  him,  and  to  watch  his  upward  course 
with  certainty  that  it  would  not  stop  short  of 
the  White  House,  and  I was  not  surprised 
when  he  reached  it.  I took  your  memoranda, 
and  went  to  Washington.  I immediately 
called  upon  the  president  and  made  known 
our  wants  in  Kentucky.  He  complied  read- 
ily with  every  request  I made,  and  the  only 
mistake  you  made.  General,  was  in  not  asking 
for  more.’  ” 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


38& 


OHAPTEE  XYI. 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  IN  KENTUCKY,  TENNESSEE  AND  MISSISSIPPI. 


The  visit  of  Secretary  Cameron  and 
Adjt.  -Gen.  Thomas  to  Loirisville,  on  Oc- 
tober 16,  1861,  resulted  in  the  removal  of 
Gen.  Sherman  from  the  command  of  the 
Department  of  the  Cumberland.  Of  this 
interview,  Gen.  Sherman  says,  in  his 
“Memoirs”;  “I  remember  taking  a large  map 
of  the  United  States,  and,  assuming  the 
whole  South  to  be  in  rebellion,  and  that  our 
task  was  to  subdue  them,  showed  that  Mc- 
Clellan was  on  the  left,  having  a frontage  of 
less  than  100  miles,  and  Fremont  on 
the  right  about  the  same,  whereas  I,  the 
center,  had,  from  Big  Sandy  to  Paducah, 
over  300  miles  of  frontier;  that  McClellan 
had  100,000  men,  Fremont  60,000,  while  to 
me  had  been  allotted  only  18,000.  I argued 
that  for  purpose  of  defense  we  should  have 
60,000  men  at  once,  and  for  offense  would 
need  200,000  before  we  were  done.  Mr. 
Cameron,  who  lay  on  the  bed,  threw  up  his 
hands  and  exclaimed : ‘ Great  God ! where 
are  they  to  come  from.’  I asserted  that 
there  were  plenty  of  men  at  the  north  ready 
and  willing  to  come  if  he  would  only  accept 
their  services,  for  it  was  notorious  that  regi- 
ments had  been  formed  in  all  the  north- 
western States  whose  services  had  been 
refused  by  the  war  department,  on  the  ground 
that  they  would  not  be  needed.  We  dis- 
cussed all  these  matters  fully,  in  the  most 
friendly  spirit,  and  I thought  I had  aroused 
Mr.  Cameron  to  a realization  of  the  great 
war  that  was  before  us,  and  was,  in  fact, 
upon  us.  I heard  him  tell  Gen.  Thomas  to 
make  a note  of  our  conversation,  that  he 
might  attend  to  my  requests  on  reaching  { 
Washington.” 

After  the  war  was  over  Gen.  Thomas  J. 
Wood,  who  was  present,  prepared  a state- 


ment, addressed  to  the  public,  describing ' 
this  remarkable  interview,  in  which  he  refers 
as  follows  to  Gen.  Sherman’s  demand  for  a 
sufficient  force  to  enable  him  to  assume  the 
offensive:  “Ascending  from  the  considera- 
tion of  the  narrow  question  of  the  political 
and  military  situation  in  Kentucky,  and  the 
extent  of  force  necessary  to  redeem  the  State 
from  rebel  thralldom,  forecasting  in  his 
sagacious  intellect  the  grand  and  daring 
operations  which  three  years  afterward  he 
realized  in  a campaign,  taken  in  its  entirety, 
without  a parallel  in  modern  times,  Gen. 
Sherman  expressed  the  opinion  that,  to  carry 
the  war  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  destroy 
all  armed  opposition  to  the  government  in 
the  entire  Mississippi  Valley,  at  least  200,000 
troops  were  absolutely  required.  ” 

Although,  in  the  light  of  the  records  now 
attainable,  it  is  true  that  both  Gens.  Sherman 
j and  Smith  overestimated  the  forces  under 
! Johnston,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  im- 
mense re-enforcements  demanded  by  Sherman 
in  his  interview  with  Adjt.-Gen.  Thomas 
were  required  merely  for  operations  against 
the  enemy  in  his  immediate  front.  The 
clamor  of  the  people  in  the  north  for  our 
! immediate  advance  along  the  entire  line 
could  not  remain  long  unheeded.  They  had 
contributed  their  best  blood  to  the  army  of  the 
Union.  They  had  sent  their  sons,  brothers, 
fathers  and  husbands  to  fight  the  enemy,  and 
1 had  received  them  back  to  their  homes,  or 
found  them  in  hospitals,  not  suffering  from 
wounds  received  in  glorious  war,  but  wasted 
by  disease  contracted  in  camp. 

Hitherto  victory  had  perched  upon  the 
Confederate  banners.  Gen.  Sherman  knew 
that  the  people  were  ready  with  lairrels  to 
deck  the  brow  of  the  first  victorious  general. 


38i 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


and  he  also  knew  that  the  prize  of  victory 
could  not  be  gained  over  Johnston,  for  whose 
military  character  he  had  the  roost  profound 
respect,  without  the  sacrifice  of  many  lives 
in  a general  engagement.  To  place  a force 
in  east  Tennessee  sufficient  for  offensive 
purposes  upon  his  left,  to  leave  an  army  of 
■occupation  in  Kentucky  to  guard  his  lines  of 
transportation  back  to  his  base  of  supplies, 
and  still  leave  him  a sufficient  force  to  fol- 
low up  his  victory  over  Johnston  by  a bold 
advance  into  the  heart  of  the  Confederacy, 
he  asked  for  200,000  men. 

This  astounding  proposition  was  met  only 
by  ridicule.  Transmitted  by  the  adjutant- 
general  to  the  war  department,  whence  it 
found  its  way  into  the  newspapers,  it  was 
everywhere  received  with  jeers  of  contempt, 
until  one,  more  witty  than  his  fellows,  sug- 
gested that  a man  who  could  be  guilty  of 
such  stupendous  folly  must  be  insane.  In- 
stantly the  cry  was  taken  up  by  hundreds, 
and  evidence  sufficient  to  convince  a jury 
was  published  to  the  world.  He  had  ordered 
a newspaper  reporter  to  go  back  to  Louisville 
as  fast  as  his  legs  could  carry  him  when  he 
made  the  advance  to  Muldrow’s  Hill  in 
September,  and  threatened  to  have  him  shot; 
then,  suddenly  relenting,  had  invited  him  to 
dinner.  He  had  sworn  vociferously  at  the 
war  department  for  paying  no  heed  to  his 
requisitions,  and  had  displayed  unjustifiable 
temper  on  many  occasions.  He  had  granted 
leaves  of  absence  to  officers,  and  before  the 
term  was  half  expired  had  ordered  them  back 
to  camp. 

These  and  a thousand  other  charges  were 
gravely  repeated;  and,  gathering  strength  as 
they  went,  reached  the  ears  of  Gen.  Mc- 
Clellan, who  relieved  him  of  his  command 
and  ordered  him  to  report  to  Gen.  Halleck,  at 
St.  Louis,  where  he  could  do  no  further  harm. 
The  forces  asked  for  by  Gen.  Sherman,  when 
stripped  of  its  sick  after  three  months’ 
drilling  in  camp,  would  probably  have 
diminished  one-fourth.  Three  additional 
months’  exposm’e  to  battle,  marching  and 
disease  would  have  left  him  with  not  more 
than  100,000  men  present  for  duty.  But 
the  people  were  not  yet  ready  for  their  Sher- 


man and  Thomas  and  Grant.  They  had  to 
learn  their  needs  in  the  school  of  experience 
before  they  were  ready  to  intrust  the  same 
officer  whom  they  had  ignorantly  rejected 
with  the  command  of  an  army  of  equal 
strength  for  the  performance  of  the  same 
service. 

Gen.  Johnston  had  experienced  equal  diffi- 
culty with  Gen.  Sherman  in  obtaining  means 
to  take  the  offensive.  His  array  east  of  the 
Mississippi',  in  round  numbers  50,000  strong, 
had  been  reduced  by  sickness  and  death  inci- 
dent to  the  formation  of  an  army  from  a 
citizen  populace  to  36, 500,  occupying  a line 
stretching  from  western  Virginia  around  the 
eastern  and  southern  borders  of  Kentucky  to 
the  western  borders  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas. 
Relying  upon  the  augmentation  of  his  forces 
by  recruiting  from  the  States  in  his  military 
department,  he  had,  in  compliance  with  the 
unwise  advice  of  leading  men,  issued  calls 
upon  the  governors  for  50,000  men,  to  serve 
for  only  one  year.  While  this  force  was  in 
process  of  formation  it  was  arrested  by  an 
order  from  the  war  department,  the  author- 
ities at  Richmond  wisely  declining  to  arm 
and  equip  men  whose  term  of  service  would 
probably  expire  at  a time  when  their  service 
would  be  most  needed.  Failing  to  obtain  a 
sufficient  number  of  three  years’  men,  or 
even  arms  and  equipments  for  those  already 
recruited,  he  was  compelled  to  withdraw 
Hardee’s  division,  4,000  strong,  from  Ar- 
kansas to  re-enforce  Buckner  at  Bowling 
Green. 

Precisely  as  the  authorities  at  Washington 
in  1861  turned  a deaf  ear  to  the  repeated  req- 
uisitions of  Sherman  for  men  and  army 
supplies,  using  the  vast  resources  of  the  gov- 
ernment for  the  equipment  of  an  army  for 
the  defense  of  the  capital,  so  the  Confederate 
authorities  regarded  the  operations  in  the 
west  as  of  secondary  importance  as  compared 
with  the  defense  of  their  capital,  which,  with 
Quixotic  zeal,  to  recompense  Virginia  for 
joining  the  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy,  they 
had  located  at  Richmond.  In  the  game  of 
war  at  which  each  were  playing,  the  “ kings  ” 
were  placed  at  the  front,  and  all  the  smaller 
pieces  were  used  to  defend  them. 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


38.5 


The  vain-glorious  boasting  of  southern 
newspapers  and  orators,  which  had  aided  in 
procuring  the  secession  of  the  States  and  the 
early  enlistment  of  volunteers  in  the  Confed- 
erate armies,  now,  coupled  with  a few  Con- 
federate victories,  served  the  unexpected  pur- 
pose of  discouraging  enlistments.  Ignorant 
of  the  requirements  of  the  hour,  and  lulled 
by  the  constant  reports  of  success  to  their 
arms,  the  people  of  the  south  allowed  the 
period,  that  was  being  utilized  by  the  North 
in  active  preparation  for  war,  to  pass  without 
lifting  a hand  to  re-enforce  the  armies  in  the 
front.  On  the  29th  of  November,  Gen.  John- 
ston wrote  to  the  secretary  of  war,  after  having 
called  upon  the  governors  for  the  State  mili- 
tia: “We  ai'e  making  every  effort  to  meet 

the  forces  the  enemy  will  soon  array  against 
us.  Had  the  exigency  for  my  call  of  50,000 
men  in  September  been  better  comprehended 
and  responded  to,  om’  preparations  for  this 
great  emergency  would  now  be  complete.  ” 

Both  Gen.  Johnston  and  Gen.  Buckner  were 
disappointed  in  the  number  of  recruits  who 
joined  their  standard  from  Kentucky.  A 
force  double  that  of  Buckner  had  by  this 
time  been  em’olled  in  Kentucky  under  the 
banner  of  the  Union,  and  were  utilizing 
every  moment  in  perfecting  themselves  in 
drill  at  the  various  encampments.  Most  of 
the  Kentuckians  who  had  accepted  service  in 
the  southern  army,  up  to  this  date,  were  com- 
prised in  one  brigade  at  Bowling  Green, 
commanded  by  Col.  Roger  Hanson,  a brother 
of  Lieut.  -Col.  Charles  S.  Hanson,  of  the 
Twentieth  Kentucky  Infantry  United 
States  Volunteers.  They  were  the  Second, 
Third,  Fom-th  and  Fifth  Kentucky  Infantry, 
commanded  by  Cols.  Hanson,  Thompson, 
Trabue,  Hunt  and  Lewis,  and  the  regiment 
of  cavalry,  commanded  by  Col.  Helm.  Brig.- 
Gen.  John  C.  Breckinridge  was  on  the  14th 
of  November  assigned  to  the  command  of 
this  brigade.  The  First  Kentucky,  under  Col. 
Thomas  Taylor,  served  in  Virginia. 

Brig.-Gen.  Don  Carlos  Buell  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  Department  of  the  Ohio,  which 
was  made  by  consolidation  of  the  Depart- 
ments of  the  Ohio,  Cumberland  and  the  West, 
on  the  15th  of  November,  1861.  The  States 


comprised  in  the  new  department  were  Ohio, 
Michigan,  Indiana,  and  that  portion  of  Ken- 
tucky lying  east  of  the  Cumberland  River 
and  Tennessee.  The  southwest  corner,  in 
which  the  towns  of  Paducah,  Mayfield, 
Columbus  and  Hickman  were  located,  known 
as  the  Jackson  Purchase,  belonged  to  the  De- 
partment of  the  Missouri,  commanded  by 
Maj.-Gen.  Halleck.  Gen.  Buell  graduated 
at  West  Point  in  the  class  of  1841.  Assigned 
to  the  Third  Infantry,  he  bore  his  part  in 
the  Mexican  war  with  honor,  and,  remaining 
in  the  army,  rose  by  regular  promotion  to 
the  rank  of  major  and  assistant  adjutant- gen- 
eral in  1861.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  he 
was  on  the  staff  of  Brevet  Brig.-Gen.  Albert 
Sidney  Johnston,  commanding  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Pacific.  Appointed  brigadier- 
general  of  volunteers  May  17,  1861,  he 
spent  the  summer  on  the  heights  of  Arling- 
ton in  command  of  a division  in  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac. 

Twenty  years’  constant  service  in  the  army, 
much  of  which  had  been  spent  in  the  adju- 
tant-general’s department,  peculiarly  fitted 
him  for  the  duty  of  organizing  an  army.  His 
mind,  clear  and  comprehensive  in  its  grasp 
of  the  minute  details  incident  to  such  a task, 
as  well  as  of  planning  great  campaigns,  en- 
abled him  to  quickly  arrive  at  a just  concep- 
tion of  the  magnitude  of  the  operations  be- 
fore him,  and  to  note  the  deficiencies  that 
had  plagued  his  predecessor.  In  the  letter 
of  instructions  appointing  Buell  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  department,  written  by  Gen. 
McClellan,  two  points  were  emphasized,  viz.: 
1st — the  people  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee 
were  to  be  assured  that  the  institution  of 
slavery  was  as  secure  in  the  Union  as  it  could 
be  in  the  Confederacy;  and,  2d — the  objective 
point  of  Buell’s  first  campaign  was  to  be 
Knoxville,  in  east  Tennessee. 

Operations  in  W est  Virginia  having  reached 
a point  where  a part  of  the  troops  could  be 
spared  from  that  department,  several  well- 
disciplined  regiments  were  now  ordered  to 
report  to  Gen.  Buell  for  duty.  Among  these 
troops  were  the  First  and  Second  Kentucky 
Infantry.  Capt.  Simmon’s  company  had  been 
detached  from  the  First  Infantry  and  con- 

24 


386 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


verted  into  an  artillery  company,  soon  after 
the  arrival  of  these  regiments  in  West  Vir- 
ginia in  July,  and  still  remained  there,  as- 
signed to  the  division  of  Gen.  W.  S.  Rose- 
ci’ans,  and  stationed  at  Gauley  Bridge.  The 
Kentucky  regiments  had  participated  in  sev- 
eral engagements  under  Gen.  Cox,  in  one  of 
which  Col.  Woodruff  and  Lieut. -Col.  Neff, 
of  the  Second,  riding  in  advance  of  their 
regiments,  were  captured.  The  two  regi- 
ments, commanded  by  Cols.  Sedgwick  and 
Enyart,  were,  on  their  arrival,  stationed  at 
Bardstown,  Ky. 

On  relinquishing  command,  Gen.  Sherman, 
on  the  16th,  telegraphed  the  fact  to  Gen. 
Thomas,  and  directed  him  to  remain  at  Crab 
Orchard.  In  withdrawing  the  troops  of  his 
command  from  London,  Gen.  Thomas  had 
left  the  Tennessee  regiments  and  Seventh 
Kentucky  Infantry  under  command  of  Gen. 
Carter,  at  that  point,  and  he  now  telegraphed 
Gen.  Biiell,  asking  if  the  order  to  fall  back 
contemplated  the  withdrawal  of  that  brigade, 
as  it  would  be  difficult  to  subsist.  On  the 
I9th  Buell  directed  him  to  withdraw  his  en- 
tire force  to  a point  where  they  could  be  sup- 
plied from  Louisville.  Carter,  therefore,  re- 
moved to  Somerset,  and  Thomas,  with  the 
main  force,  to  Lebanon. 

The  consolidation  of  the  Departments  of 
the  Ohio  and  Cumberland  gave  Gen.  Buell 
an  advantage  which  had  never  been  enjoyed 
by  either  Gens.  Anderson  or  Sherman.  It 
gave  him  the  control  of  the  new  levies  being 
raised  in  the  States  north  of  the  Ohio  as  well 
as  the  vast  quantity  of  military  stores  in  that 
region.  Gen.  Buell  had  formed  a plan  of 
campaign  that  he  confided  to  McClellan, 
which  involved  the  movement  upon  east 
Tennessee,  via  Somerset,  near  which  place 
Zollicoffer  was  encamped,  to  be  made  simul- 
taneously with  an  advance  upon  Nashville, 
via  Gallatin,  passing  Bowling  Green  on  the 
east,  while,  at  the  same  time,  a demonstration 
was  to  be  made  against  Columbus,  and  a 
heavy  force  ascending  the  Cumberland  was 
to  unite  with  the  land  force  at  Nashville. 
He  proposed  that  while  those  active  move- 
ments were  in  progress,  to  hold  Buckner  in 
check  by  a heavy  force  in  his  front.  This 


was  substantially  the  same  as  that  carried  out 
three  months  later  by  Halleck,  in  which 
Buell  was  allowed  only  the  subordinate  part 
of  contributing  troops. 

His  practical  eye  saw  so  many  deficiencies 
in  the  organization  of  his  army,  which  time 
alone  could  remedy;  he  was  so  anxious  that 
his  movements  should  bear  the  stamp  of 
military  genius,  and  that  defeat  should  not 
mar  his  fortunes,  that  he  delayed  his  move- 
ment until  the  plan  of  a campaign,  the  suc- 
cess of  which  would  have  stamped  him  as  the 
hero  of  1861,  was  imparted  to  Gen.  Halleck, 
a rival  dei)artment  commander,  whose  only 
title  to  military  renown  rests  upon  carrying 
it  out  by  the  successful  ascent  of  the  Cum- 
berland and  the  capture  of  Nashville.  Buell 
and  Halleck  were  in  command  of  separate 
departments,  and  could  neither  give  nor  re- 
ceive orders  from  each  other;  they  could  only 
act  in  concert,  and  to  produce  concert  of  ac- 
tion, orders  must  be  given  from  the  general - 
in-chief  of  the  United  States  army,  Gen. 
McClellan,  or  the  war  department.  Gen. 
Buell  endeavored  to  procure  orders  to  that 
effect,  and  so  far  succeeded  as  to  divert 
attention  from  the  east  Tennessee  campaign, 
which,  although  persistently  urged,  was  not 
positively  ordered. 

On  the  5th  of  December  he  received  the 
following  dispatch  from  army  headquarters: 

Washington,  December  5,  1861. 
Gen.  Buell,  Louisville: 

I have  again  telegraphed  Maj.-Gen.  Halleck  for 
information  as  to  his  gun-boats  and  disposable 
troops.  As  soon  as  I receive  reply  I will  arrange 
details  with  you.  Send  me  draft  of  water  in  Cum- 
berland River  to  Nashville,  and  in  Tennessee  River. 

Your  letter  of  the  30th  received. 

George  B.  McClellan. 

Gen.  Buell  now  proceeded  to  dispose  his 
forces  with  reference  to  an  advance  in  con- 
junction with  Halleck.  One  column  was 
placed  at  Munfordsville,  on  Green  River,  in 
Buckner’s  immediate  front;  one  column  at 
Green  River  on  the  turnpike  leading  from 
Bardstown  to  Glasgow;  one  at  Columbia  and 
one  at  Lebanon,  and  one,  guarding  the  lower 
Green  River,  was  stationed  at  Owensboro. 
He  had  been  promised  re- enforcements  from 
Missouri,  and  everything  looked  promising 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


387 


for  an  early  advance,  when  operations  were 
suspended  by  the  illness  of  Gen.  McClellan. 

Gen.  Hal  leek  had  in  his  command  two 
restless  spirits,  whose  ambition  to  strike  a 
blow  which  should  redound  to  their  ad- 
vantage, rendered  them  impatient  of  restraint. 
One  was  Brig.-Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  in  command 
of  the  district  in  which  the  proposed  expedi- 
tion was  to  be  fitted  out,  and  the  other  Brig.- 
Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman,  but  recently  in  com- 
mand of  the  Department  of  the  Cumberland, 
and,  it  may  be  supposed,  not  over  zealous  for 
the  honor  and  glory  of  his  successor.  He  had 
a vivid  recollection  of  the  contumely  with 
which  he  had  been  treated  when  he  tried  to 
collect  a force  to  break  the  long  truce  that 
had  existed  along  his  southern  line,  and  now 
that  there  was  a prospect  for  an  advance  he 
naturally  urged  his  new  department  com- 
mander to  make  the  most  of  his  opportunities. 
Gen.  Sherman,  however,  had  no  command, 
and  could  only  urge  the  Tennessee  River  as 
the  point  of  attack,  leaving  the  laurels  to  be 
gathered  by  Gen.  Grant,  who,  having  tested 
the  fighting  qualities  of  his  men  at  Belmont, 
was  eager  to  advance.  Buell,  on  the  other 
hand,  knew  Johnston  well.  He  had  had 
ample  opportunity  to  judge  of  his  prudence 
and  forethought,  and  doubtless  credited  the 
reports  made  to  him  of  the  strength  of 
Johnston’s  army  the  more  readily  because  of 
this.  Knowing  the  general  with  whom  he 
had  to  contend,  he  utilized  the  delay  caused 
by  the  sudden  illness  of  Gen.  McClellan  in 
brigading  his  troops  and  placing  them  under 
command  of  the  most  efficient  officers  at  his 
disposal.  The  time  thus  occupied  was  by  no 
means  wasted,  as  the  future  record  of  his 
army  amply  testifies. 

On  the  9th  of  November  Gen.  Johnston  di- 
rected Gen.  Hardee  to  send  a force  of  1,200 
men,  with  a squadron  from  Terry’s  command, 
to  Jamestown,  Ky.,  and  Tompkinsville,  Ky., 
to  attack  and  destroy  Union  camps,  and  to 
look  out  for  any  demonstration  on  the  part 
of  the  enemy  toward  cutting  the  railroad  in 
the  rear  of  Bowling  Green.  Col.  Pat  Cle- 
burne was  entrusted  with  the  command  of 
this  expedition.  The  command  reached 
Jamestown  on  the  11th,  from  which  place 


Cleburne  reported  that  they  “found  the  in- 
habitants bitterly  hostile;  nearly  every  house 
has  some  friend  in  the  Lincoln  army.”  He 
was  informed  that  there  were  “ 3,000  troops 
at  Campbellsville,  and  an  equal  number  at 
Columbia  and  Lebanon.”  The  expedition 
reached  Tompkinsville  on  the  12th,  where  an 
old  lady  met  him  with  an  open  Bible  in  her 
hand,  saying  she  was  prepared  and  ready  to  die. 
Ordering  his  band  to  the  front,  colors  open, 
bayonets  fixed,  the  march  at  attention  was  re- 
sumed, for  the  purpose  of  making  as  fine 
a display  as  possible.  But  his  play  was  to 
empty  benches;  even  the  streets  of  Coventry 
were  not  more  deserted  when  the  good  lady 
Godiva  rode  through  them  clothed  only  in  her 
shining  hair.  The  inhabitants  had  probably 
entertained  these  Confederate  strangers  be- 
fore. After  searching  the  houses  of  Col. 
Frame  and  other  Union  men  for  arms,  and 
hearing  that  Rousseau  with  10,000  or  15,000 
men  was  advancing,  he  returned  by  the  same 
route  he  had  advanced. 

On  the  17th  Gen.  Hindman,  in  command 
of  1,100  infantry,  250  cavalry,  and  four 
pieces  of  artillery,  was  sent  to  dislodge  Col. 
Willich,  with  the  Thirty-second  Indiana  In- 
fantry, from  Woodsonville  (or  Rowlett’s  Sta- 
tion), on  the  south  side  of  Green  River. 
Advancing  through  a dense  forest  Hindman 
was  able  to  approach  unseen  to  within  three- 
quarters  of  a mile  of  the  rivex’. 

Four  companies  of  the  regiment,  under 
Lieut. -Col.  Van  Ti’ebra,  wei’e  on  duty  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  and  received  the  first 
charge  of  the  cavalry,  under  Col.  Tei’ry. 
They  defended  themselves  gallantly  until  re- 
enforced by  the  remaining  companies  from 
the  north  side.  Hindman’s  infantry  now  ad- 
vanced with  loud  yells,  and  were  I’eceived 
with  such  a deadly  volley  of  musketiy  as  to 
cause  them  to  waver  and  fall  back.  Terry’s 
cavalry  charged  again  and  again,  only  to  be 
driven  back  in  confusion.  At  length  Teriy 
rallied  seventy-five  men,  and  fell  upon  a body 
of  the  Thirty-second,  deployed  as  skii’mishers, 
under  command  of  Capt.  Welschbilling.  The 
veteran  coolness  of  the  skirmish  line  enraged 
him,  and,  charging  tuo  far,  followed  by  only 
six  of  his  men,  he  was  killed.  The  enemy 


388 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


now  opened  with  his  artillery,  but  with  little 
effect,  and  the  sudden  appearance  on  his 
flank  of  a company  of  the  Thirty-second, 
hitherto  held  in  reserve,  caused  the  belief 
that  re-enforcements  had  arrived  for  the 
Union  forces,  when  he  hastily  retired.  Col. 
Willich  arrived  upon  the  field  during  the 
progress  of  the  engagement,  and  took  charge 
of  the  right  wing.  His  entire  force  present 
upon  the  field  numbered  only  414  officers  and 
men,  of  which  he  lost  ten  killed,  twenty-two 
wounded  and  five  missing.  Hindman  ac- 
knowledged a loss  of  only  four  killed  and  ten 
wounded,  but  his  estimate  of  Willich’s  loss — 
“seventy-five  killed,  and  wounded  unknown” 
— entitles  his  report  to  be  received  with  con- 
siderable allowance.  Gen.  Buell’s  official 
report  claims  the  Confederate  loss  to  have 
been  thirty-three  killed  and  about  fifty 
wounded,  which  sounds  better  for  the  courage 
of  Hindman’s  men. 

Col.  N.  B.  Forrest,  a citizen  of  Memphis, 
who  early  in  the  summer  had  undertaken  to 
oi’ganize  a cavalry  regiment,  rendezvoused  at 
Fort  Donelson,  in  October,  with  eight  com- 
panies— 650  men.  At  his  own  request  he 
was  assigned  to  Tilghman’s  command  at 
Hopkinsville.  A remarkable  prediction  in 
regard  to  Forrest  appears  in  a letter  from  Mr. 
Sam.  Tate  to  Gen.  Johnston,  dated  Novem- 
ber 4th;  “Give  Forrest  a chance,  and  he  will 
distinguish  himself.  ’’  How  well  the  prophecy 
of  Samuel  was  verified  is  prominently  set 
forth  in  both  Union  and  Confederate  his- 
tories, and  four  years  later  received  the 
sanction  of  one  of  the  greatest  of  American 
generals,  George  H.  Thomas. 

Forrest’s  cavalry  was  actively  employed 
on  picket  duty  during  the  month  of  Decem- 
ber. The  debatable  ground,  lying  between 
the  front  of  Tilghman  at  Hopkinsville  and 
Crittenden  at  Calhoon,  was  the  scene  of 
almost  daily  skirmishes  between  small  bodies 
of  cavalry  from  adjacent  camps.  Villages 
were  occupied  altermately  by  Union  and  Con- 
federate troopers,  and  the  inhabitants  kept 
constantly  on  the  alert  to  change  their  poli- 
tics in  time  to  welcome  the  intruders.  On 
the  26th  of  December,  Gen.  Johnston  ordered 
a cavalry  reconnaissance  toward  Crittenden’s 


camp,  and  Forrest,  at  the  head  of  300  men, 
reached  Greenville  on  the  28th. 

Col.  James  S.  Jackson  had  by  this  time 
completed  the  organization  of  his  regiment 
(the  Third  Kentucky  Cavalry)  at  Calhoon, 
and  a young  major  in  command  of  a battal- 
ion, Eli  H.  Murray,  now  governor  of  Utah, 
burning  with  patriotic  ardor  and  fearful  that 
the  war  would  end  before  he  could  have  an 
opportunity  to  dint  his  bright  new  sword  in 
conflict  with  the  enemy,  hearing  of  Forrest’s 
advance,  craved  permission  to  meet  him  with 
his  battalion,  numbering  168  men.  The 
engagement  took  place  at  Sacramento,  near 
which  place  Forrest  was  met  by  a young  lady 
equally  filled  with  Confederate  enthusiasm, 
and  whose  beauty,  Forrest  reported,  caused 
him  to  burn  with  knightly  zeal,  who  gal- 
loped down  the  road  to  point  out  Murray’s 
position.  Forrest  charged  immediately  with 
150  men,  but  was  met  by  Murray  with  forty- 
five  of  his  men  with  so  much  spirit  that  he 
was  compelled  to  retire.  Maj.  Murray 
behaved  with  great  gallantry  and  would  have 
repulsed  the  second  charge  made  by  Forrest 
with  his  entire  force  had  not  a dastard  of 
his  command  shouted,  “ Retreat  to  Sacra- 
mento!” Most  of  the  men  fled  at  once  in 
defiance  of  the  orders  of  their  commander, 
and  Forrest,  seeing  the  retreat,  now  charged 
down  upon  the  fugitives,  converting  the 
retreat  into  a rout.  Murray’s  loss  was  six 
killed,  among  whom  was  Capt.  Albert  Bacon, 
of  Frankfort,  Ky.,  whose  courage  and  sol- 
dierly conduct  was  noticed  by  Forrest  in  his 
report,  and  seven  privates  wounded  and  cap- 
tured. Capt.  Davis,  whose  conspicuous 
courage  led  him  too  far  within  the  Confeder- 
ate lines,  was  captured  by  Forrest  in  person. 
Forrest’s  loss,  as  stated  by  himself,  was  two 
killed,  one  of  whom  was  Capt.  Meriwether, 
and  three  were  woiinded.  Forrest  returned 
at  once  to  Hopkinsville,  where  ho  remained 
until  February  7,  when  he  covered  the  retreat 
of  the  Confederate  brigade  to  Clarksville. 
Jackson,  on  hearing  of  the  skirmish  at  Sac- 
ramento, immediately  started  with  500  of  his 
regiment  in  pursuit  of  Forrest,  but  did  not 
overtake  him. 

The  battle  of  Mill  Springs,  or  Fishing 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


389 


oUi-eek,  as  it  is  termed  by  Confederate  writers, 
carried  a gleam  of  sunshine  into  the  war 
department  at  Washington,  and  created  cor- 
responding gloom  in  the  Confederate  camp. 
It  was  the  first  movement  against  the  enemy 
that  had  succeeded.  Intended  merely  as  a 
diversion,  it  demolished  an  army.  The  Union 
army,  east  and  west,  had  hitherto  been  en- 
gaged in  fruitless  skirmishes  or  in  inglorious 
repulses,  such  as  those  of  Stone,  on  the 
Potomac,  or  Grant,  at  Belmont.  The  presi- 
dent, sick  at  heart  by  reason  of  the  masterly 
inactivity  displayed  by  his  generals  all  along 
the  line,  from  the  Mississippi  to  tide  water, 
held  firmly  to  the  helm  of  the  ship  of  state, 
hoping,  sometimes  possibly  with  the  facts 
airainst  him,  that  he  would  outride  the  storm. 

O 

Gen.  Thomas  had  removed  his  headquar- 
ters to  Lebanon,  Ky.,  in  December,  and  at 
once  set  about  the  formation  of  his  division, 
numbering  10,000  men.  Gen.  Schoepf’s 
brigade,  stationed  at  Somerset,  was  joined 
early  in  January,  1862,  by  acting  Brig. -Gen. 
S.  P.  Carter’s  brigade,  consisting  of  the 
First  and  Second  Tennessee  Regiments,  the 
Seventh  Kentucky  having  been  left  at  camp 
Calvert,  near  London,  to  guard  that  avenue 
of  approach  from  Cumberland  Gap.  The 
effective  strength  of  these  regiments  was 
1,041.  Gen.  Buell,  full  of  his  plan  of  opera- 
tions against  the  main  force  of  the  enemy  in 
his  front,  which  involved  the  active  co-oper- 
ation of  Gen.  Halleck,  by  an  attack  upon  the 
left  flank  of  the  enemy  at  Forts  Henry  and 
Donelson,  while  he  should,  by  a rapid  move- 
ment, flank  the  force  at  Bowling  Green,  was 
still  obliged  to  give  attention  to  the  menace 
upon  his  rear  offered  by  Humphrey  Marshall, 
and  upon  his  left  by  Zollicoffer.  Against 
the  first  he  dispatched  Garfield;  and  Gen. 
Thomas,  on  the  29th  of  December,  was  di- 
rected to  strike  a vigorous  and  decided  blow 
upon  the  latter.  In  his  instructions  to 
Thomas,  Gen.  Buell  directed  that  he  should 
move  upon  Zollicoffer’s  left  and  endeavor  to 
cut  him  off  from  his  line  of  retreat  across 
the  river,  while  Schoepf  attacked  him  in 
front.  The  result,  he  said,  ought  to  be  at 
least  a severe  blow  to  the  enemy  or  a hasty 
flight  across  the  river.  Having  accomplished 


this  object,  Thomas  was  to  be  ready  to  move 
in  any  direction;  but  unless  circumstances 
required  him  to  act  without  delay,  he  was  to 
await  further  orders.  The  command  of  Gen. 
j Thomas  constituted  an  important  portion  of 
the  flanking  column  before  referred  to,  and 
it  was  to  be  kept  in  condition  to  move 
promptly  when  ordered. 

One  condition  existing  at  this  season  of  the 
year,  constituted  an  insurmountable  obstacle 
to  celerity  of  movement.  The  clay  subsoil 
of  Kentucky — an  invaluable  factor  in  the 
fertility  of  the  agricultural  regions — when 
soaked  with  rains,  which  drench  the  ground 
during  the  winter  months,  is  of  about  the 
consistency  of  thick  mortar.  The  roads, 
when  not  turnpiked  and  much  traveled, 
become  almost  impassable.  The  depth  of 
mud  is  measured  by  the  length  of  the  horses 
legs  or  the  spokes  in  the  wheels  of  passing 
vehicles.  It  was  over  a road  of  this  charac- 
ter that  the  course  of  Gen.  Thomas’  army 
lay  from  Columbia  to  Logan’s  Cross-Roads. 
There  was  a turnpike  from  Lebanon  to 
Columbia,  to  which  point  a supply  of  sub- 
sistence stores  was  sent  a few  days  previous 
to  the  march. 

The  movements  of  Gen.  Thomas  are  best 
given  in  his  own  language: 

Headquarters  First  Dmsiox,  Department  ) 

OP  THE  Ohio.  Camp  near  Webb’s  Cross-  }- 
Roads,  Kt..  January  13,  1862.  ) 

Brig.-Gen.  Schoepf,  Commanding  at  Somerset: 

I received  yours  of  the  11th  to-day,  by  Capt.  Hale. 
When  I last  wrote  to  you  I was  in  the  hopes  of 
being  near  Somerset  by  this  time,  but  the  heavy 
rains  have  injured  the  roads  so  much  that  it  will  be 
impossible  to  say  now  when  I can  be  in  your  vicin- 
ity. We  have  already  been  three  days  in  making 
sixteen  miles,  and  our  ammunition  and  provisions  are 
far  behind  now — probably  will  not  be  up  b}"  to-mor- 
row night.  Should  I ever  succeed  in  getting  near 
you,  I will  send  a messenger  to  let  you  know.  I 
wrote  to  Gen.  Buell  five  days  since,  submitting  your 
proposition  of  crossing  the  river,  and  attacking 
from  the  bluffs  of  Meadow  Creek,  but  have  received 
no  reply  from  him  up  to  this  time.  As  soon  as  I 
hear  I will  write  you  the  result. 

I have  not  had  time  to  converse  fully  with  the 
men  you  sent  me,  but  if  it  be  possible  to  approach 
the  enemy  by  the  way  of  White  Oak  Creek  I should 
like  to  have  them  as  guides. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

George  H.  Thomas. 

Brigadier- General,  United  States  Army,  com- 
manding. 


390 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Gen.  Zollicoffer,  having  fortified  the  gaps 
in  the  Cumberland  range,  had,  as  has 
been  stated,  moved  southvpard,  and,  by  direc- 
tion of  Gen.  Johnston,  taken  position  at 
Mill  Springs,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Cum- 
berland, five  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Fish- 
ing Creek.  This  stream,  flowing  southward 
in  a deep  ravine,  crosses  the  roads  leading 
from  Somerset  to  the  ferry  at  Mill  Springs. 
On  the  9th  of  December,  Zollicoffer  crossed 
the  river  and  erected  fortifications  on  the 
north  bank  at  a place  called  Beech  Grove,  an 
eminence  protected  on  its  rear  and  flanks  by 
the  river,  and  with  only  about  1,200  yards  of 
fighting  front  to  defend.  The  slope  ascend- 
ing from  the  valley  to  the  intrenchments  he 
covered  with  an  abatis  of  fallen  trees,  and 
communication  was  kept  up  with  Mill  Springs 
by  means  of  a small  steamboat  and  two  flats. 

Gen.  George  B.  Crittenden  arrived  at  Mill 
Springs  and  assumed  command  about  the  1st 
of  January.  Although  he  did  not  like  Zolli- 
coffer’s  position,  “with  an  enemy  in  front  and 
a river  behind,”  he  took  no  measures  to  recall 
him  to  the  south  bank,  and,  regardless  of  the 
instructions  of  Gen.  Johnston  to  remain 
strictly  on  the  defensive,  he  removed  his  en- 
tire force  to  Beech  Grove.  Crittenden’s 
weekly  report  of  the  strength  of  his  command, 
on  the  7th  of  January,  shows  an  aggregate 
present  and  absent  of  9,417  men;  present  for 
duty,  6,444.  This  force  was  organized  as 
follows:  Four  battalions  (seven  companies) 
of  cavalry,  two  batteries  of  artillery,  and 
eight  regiments  of  infantry,  amply  sufficient 
to  guard  the  front  of  the  entrenched  position, 
provided  the  infantry  were  well  armed  and 
well  disciplined,  and  the  guns  of  sufficiently 
heavy  caliber  to  keep  the  light  artillery  of 
an  assaulting  force  at  a distance. 

But  in  these  requisites  for  successful  de- 
fense, his  array  was  almost  as  deficient  as  that 
of  Humphrey  Marshall,  while  his  facilities 
for  escape,  if  hard  pressed,  were  totally  in- 
adequate. With  the  knowledge  that  he  pos- 
sessed of  the  forces  concentrating  in  his  front,  | 
there  is  no  doubt  that  Crittenden  would  have  | 
lost  no  time  in  removing  his  command  to  the 
south  bank  of  the  Cumberland,  but  for 
the  unwise  decision  of  a council  of  war, 


held  at  his  headquarters,  that  the  forces 
of  Gen.  Thomas  should  be  attacked  and 
defeated  in  detail  before  they  could  con- 
centrate for  an  assault  upon  his  position. 
The  eloquence  of  Zollicoffer  had  imbued  his 
men  with  some  degree  of  his  own  impetuous 
bravery,  and  had  created  an  ardor  to  meet  the 
Union  foi’ces  in  the  open  field,  where  they 
were  led  to  believe  that  a bold  and  rapid 
charge  would  carry  everything  before  it. 
Gen.  Crittenden,  who  was  an  utter  stranger 
to  the  men,  found  himself  in  a position  where, 
to  obey  the  dictates  of  his  judgment,  he  must 
antagonize  the  warlike  spirit  that  had  been 
instilled  into  the  minds  of  his  troops,  who 
demanded  to  be  led  against  the  enemy,  and, 
fearing  to  withdraw  without  offering  battle 
would  jeopardize  his  standing  in  the  com- 
mand and  demoralize  his  men,  he  consented 
to  hazard  everything  upon  the  issue  of  a 
battle. 

He  had  the  following  troops  at  his  disposal: 

Weekly  return  of  the  command  of  Gen  Zollicoffer, 
Camp  Beech  Grove,  Ky.,  for  the  week  ending  Jan- 
uary 7,  1862.  Present  for  duty; 

Troops.  Officers.  Men. 

Col  W.  B.  Wood,  16th  Alabama 22  356 

Col.  W.  B.  Statham,  15th  Mississippi 34  820 

Col.  T.  W.  Newman,  17th  Tennessee 31  307 

Col.  D.  H.  Cummings,  19th  Tennessee 31  645 

Col.  J.  A.  Battle,  20th  Tennessee 32  662 

Col.  S.  S.  Stanton,  25th  Tennessee 30  653 

Col.  S.  Powell,  29th  Tennessee 31  462 

Col.  J.  P.  Murray,  28th  Tennessee 44  704 

Lieut. -Col.  McNairy,  1st  Battalion,  Ten- 
nessee  15  197 

Lieut. -Col.  Brazelton,  two  companies  of 

the  3d  Battalion,  Tennessee 6 133 

Lieut. -Col.  Branner,  4th  Battalion,  Tennes- 
see  22  314 

Lieut. -Col.  McClellan, five  companies  of  5th 

Tennessee 18  297 

Capt.  T.  C.  Sanders’  Independent  Cavalry 

Company 4 67 

Capt.W.  S.  Bledsoe’s  Independent  Cavalry 

Company 4 80 

Capt.  H.  M.  Eutledge’s  Artillery  Company.  5 135 

Capt.  H.  L.  W.  McClung’s  Artil’ery  Com- 
pany  4 79 

j Total 333  6,111 

The  force  with  which  Gen.  Thomas  met 
the  attack,  and  drove  the  Confederate  forces 
from  the  field,  consisted  of  the  following: 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


391 


Second  Battalion,  1st  Kentucky  Cavalry,  Col. 


Wolford 350 

First  Ohio  Artillery,  Capt.  Kenny 110 

First  Ohio  Artillery,  Capt.  Standart 122 

First  Artillery,  Capt.  Wetmore 104 

Twelfth  Brigade,  Gen.  Carter  (not  seriously 
engaged): 

First  Tennessee,  Col.  Byrd 610 

Second  Tennessee,  Col.  Carter 442 

Twelfth  Kentucky,  Col.  Hoskins 478 

Second  Brigade,  Col.  Manson: 

Tenth  Indiana,  Lieut. -Col.  Kise 710 

Fourth  Kentucky,  Col.  S.  S.  Fry 400 

Third  Brigade,  Col.  McCook: 

Ninth  Ohio,  Lieut. -Col.  Kammering 628 

Second  Minnesota,  Col.  Van  Cleve 600 

Effective  strength  present  for  duty 4,454 

Battalion  of  Michigan  Engineers  and  one  com- 
pany Thirty-eighth  Ohio,  detached  to 
guard  the  camp 375 

Total 4,829 


The  following  report  of  the  battle  by  Gen. 
Thomas  is  so  complete  in  details  that  we  give 
it  entii’e: 

Hdqrs.  First  Division,  Dept,  op  the  Ohio,  ) 
Somerset,  Ky.,  January  31,  1862.  f 

Captain: — I have  the  honor  to  report  that  in  car- 
rying out  the  instructions  of  the  general  command- 
ing the  department,  contained  in  his  communication 
of  the  29th  of  December,  I reached  Logan’s  Cross- 
Roads,  about  ten  miles  north  of  the  intrenched 
camp  of  the  enemy  on  the  Cumberland  River,  on 
the  17th  inst.,  with  a portion  of  the  Second 
and  Third  Brigades,  Kenny’s  battery  of  artillery, 
and  a battalion  of  Wolford’s  cavalry.  The  Fourth 
and  Tenth  Kentucky,  Fourteenth  Ohio,  and  the 
Eighteenth  United  States  Infantry  being  still  in  the 
rear,  detained  by  the  almost  impassable  condition 
of  the  roads,  I determined  to  halt  at  this  point  to 
await  their  arrival  and  to  communicate  with  Gen. 
Schoepf. 

The  Tenth  Indiana,  W olford’s  cavalry,  and  Ken- 
ny’s battery  took  position  on  the  road  leading  to  the 
enemy’s  camp.  The  Ninth  Ohio  and  Second  Min- 
nesota (part  of  Col.  McCook’s  brigade)  encamped 
three-fourths  of  a mile  to  the  right,  on  the  Robert’s 
post-road.  Strong  pickets  were  thrown  out  in  the 
direction  of  the  enemy  beyond  where  the  Somerset 
and  Mill  Springs  Road  comes  into  the  main  road 
from  my  camp  to  Mill  Springs,  and  a picket  of  cav- 
alry some  distance  in  advance  of  the  infantry.  Gen. 
Schoepf  visited  me  on  the  day  of  my  arrival,  and, 
after  consultation,  I directed  him  to  send  to  my 
camp  Standart’s  battery,  the  Twentieth  Kentucky, 
and  the  First  and  Second  Tennessee  regiments,  to 
remain  until  the  regiments  in  the  rear  should  come 
up. 

Having  received  information,  on  the  evening  of 
the  17th,  that  a large  train  of  wagons  with  its 


escort  were  encamped  on  the  Robert’s  post  and 
Danville  Road,  about  six  miles  from  Col.  Steedman’s 
camp,  I sent  an  order  to  him  to  send  his  wagons 
forward  under  a strong  guard,  and  to  march  with 
his  regiment  (the  Fourteenth  Ohio)  and  the  Tenth 
Kentucky  (Col.  Harlan),  with  one  day’s  rations  in 
their  haversacks,  to  the  point  where  the  enemy 
were  said  to  be  encamped,  and  either  capture  or 
disperse  them. 

Nothing  of  importance  occurred  from  the  time 
of  our  arrival  until  the  morning  of  the  19th, 
except  a picket  skirmish  on  the  night  of  the 
17th.  The  Fourth  Kentucky,  the  battalion  of 
Michigan  engineers,  and  Wetmore’s  battery  joined 
us  on  the  18th. 

About  6.30  o’clock  on  the  morning  of  the  19th, 
the  pickets  from  Wolford’s  cavalry  encoun- 
tered the  enemy  advancing  on  our  camp,  re- 
tired slowly,  and  reported  their  advance  to  Col.  M. 
D.  Manson,  commanding  the  Second  Brigade.  He 
immediately  formed  his  regim  'nt  (the  Tenth  In- 
diana) and  took  a position  on  the  road  to  await  the 
attack,  ordering  the  Fourth  Kentucky  (Col.  S.  S. 
Fry)  to  support  him,  and  then  informed  me  in  person 
that  the  enemy  were  advancing  in  force  and  w'hat 
disposition  he  had  made  to  resist  them.  I directed 
him  to  rejoin  his  brigade  immediately  and  hold  the 
enemy  in  check  until  I could  order  up  the  other 
troops,  which  were  directed  to  form  immediately 
and  were  marching  to  the  field  in  ten  minutes  after- 
ward. The  battalion  of  Michigan  engineers  and 
Company  A,  Thirty-eighth  Ohio  (Capt.  Greenwood), 
were  ordered  to  remain  as  a guard  to  the  camp. 

Upon  my  arrival  on  the  field  soon  afterward  I 
found  the  Tenth  Indiana  formed  in  front  of  their 
encampment,  apparently  awaiting  orders,  and  or- 
dered them  forward  to  the  support  of  the  Fourth 
Kentucky,  which  was  the  only  entire  regiment  then 
engaged.  I then  rode  forward  myself  to  see  the 
enemy’s  position,  so  that  I could  determine  ivhat 
disposition  to  make  with  my  troops  as  they  arrived. 
On  reaching  the  position  held  by  the  Fourth  Ken- 
tucky, Tenth  Indiana  and  Wolford’s  cavalry,  at  a 
point  where  the  roads  fork,  leading  to  Somerset,  I 
found  the  enemy  advancing  through  a corn  field 
and  evidently  endeavoring  to  gain  the  left  of  the 
Fourth  Keutuck}'  regiment,  which  was  maintaining 
its  position  in  a most  determined  manner.  I di- 
rected one  of  my  aids  to  ride  back  and  order  up  a 
section  of  artillery  and  the  Tennessee  brigade  to 
advance  on  the  enem}^’s  right,  and  sent  orders  for 
Col.  McCook  to  advance  vvith  his  two  regiments 
(the  Ninth  Ohio  and  Second  Minnesota)  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  Fourth  Kentucky  and  Tenth  Indiana. 

K section  of  Capt.  Kenny’s  battery  took  a posi- 
tion on  the  edge  of  the  field  to  the  left  of  the  Fourth 
Kentucky  and  opened  an  effective  fire  on  a regiment 
of  Alabamians,  wUich  were  advancing  on  the 
Fourth  Kentucky.  Soon  afterward  the  Second 
Minnesota  (Col.  H.  P.  Van  Cleve)  arrived,  the  Col- 
onel reporting  to  me  for  instructions.  I directed 
: him  to  take  the  position  of  the  Fourth  Kentucky 


392 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


and  Tenth  Indiana,  whose  regiments  were  nearly 
out  of  ammunition.  The  Ninth  Ohio,  under  the 
immediate  command  of  Maj.  Kammerling,  came 
into  position  on  the  right  of  the  road  at  the  same 
time. 

Immediately  after  these  regiments  had  gained 
their  position  the  enemy  opened  a most  determined 
and  galling  fire,  which  was  returned  by  our  troops 
in  the  same  spirit;  and  for  nearly  half  an  hour  the 
contest  was  maintained  on  both  sides  in  the  most 
obstinate  manner.  At  this  time  the  Twelfth  Ken- 
tucky (Col.  W.  A.  Hoskins)  and  the  Tennessee 
brigade  reached  the  field  to  the  left  of  the  Minne- 
sota regiments,  and  opened  fire  on  the  right  flank 
of  the  enemy,  who  then  began  to  fall  back.  The 
Second  Minnesota  kept  up  a most  galling  fire  in 
the  front,  and  the  Ninth  Ohio  charged  the  enemy 
on  the  right  with  bayonets  fixed,  turned  their 
flank,  and  drove  them  from  the  field,  the  whole  line 
giving  way  and  retreating  in  the  utmost  disorder 
and  confusion. 

As  soon  as  the  regiments  could  be  formed  and 
refill  their  cartridge  boxes  I ordered  the  whole 
force  to  advance.  A few  miles  in  the  rear  of  the 
battle-field  a small  force  of  cavalry  was  drawn  up 
near  the  road,  hut  a few  shots  from  our  artillery  (a 
section  of  Standart’s  battery)  dispersed  them,  and 
none  of  the  enemy  were  seen  again  until  we 
arrived  in  front  of  their  intrenchments.  As  we 
approached,  the  division  was  deployed  in  line  of 
battle  and  steadily  advanced  to  the  summit  of  the 
hill  at  Moulden’s.  Prom  this  point  I directed  their 
intrenchments  to  be  cannonaded,  which  was  done 
until  dark  by  Standart’s  and  Wetmore’s  batteries. 
Kenny’s  battery  was  placed  in  position  on  the  ex- 
treme left  at  Russell’s  house,  from  which  point 
he  was  directed  to  lire  on  their  ferry,  to  deter  them 
from  attempting  to  cross. 

On  the  following  morning  Capt.  Wetmore’s 
battery  was  ordered  to  Russell’s  house  and  assisted 
with  his  Parrott  guns  in  firing  upon  the  ferry.  Col. 
Manson’s  brigade  took  possession  on  the  left  nearKen- 
ny’s  battery,  and  every  preparation  was  made  to  as- 
sault their  intrenchments  on  the  following  morning. 
The  Fourteenth  Ohio  (Col.  Steedman)  and  the 
Tenth  Kentucky  (Col.  Harlan),  having  joined  from 
detached  service  soon  after  the  repulse  of  the 
enemy,  continued  with  their  brigade  in  the  pur- 
suit, although  they  could  not  get  up  in  time  to 
join  in  the  fight.  These  two  regiments  were 
placed  in  front  in  my  advance  on  the  intrench- 
ments the  next  morning  and  entered  first.  Gen. 
Schoepf  also  joined  me  the  evening  of  the  19th 
with  the  Seventeenth,  Thirty-first  and  Thirty- 
eighth  Ohio.  His  entire  brigade  entered  with  the 
other  troops. 

On  reaching  the  intrenchments  we  found  the 
enemy  had  abandoned  everything  and  retired  dur- 
ing the  night.  Twelve  pieces  of  artillery,  with 
their  caissons  packed  with  ammunition;  one  battery- 
wagon  and  two  forges;  a large  amount  of  ammu- 
nition; a large  number  of  small  arms,  mostly  the 


old  flint-lock  muskets;  150  or  160  wagons,  and 
upward  of  1,000  horses  and  mules;  a large  amount  ^ 
of  commissary  stores,  intrenching  tools,  and  camp 
and  garrison  equipage,  fell int®  our  hands.  A cor- 
rect list  of  all  the  captured  property  will  be  for- 
warded as  soon  as  it  can  be  made  up  and  property 
secured. 

The  steam  and  ferry  boats  having  been  burned 
by  the  enemy  in  their  retreat,  it  was  fsund  im- 
possible to  cross  the  river  and  pursue  them;  besides, 
theii' command  was  completely  demoralized,  and 
retreated  with  great  haste  and  in  all  directions, 
making  their  capture  in  any  numbers  quite  doubt- 
ful, if  pursued.  There  is  no  doubt  but  what  the 
moral  effect  produced  by  their  complete  dispersion 
will  have  a more  decided  effect  in  re-establishing 
Union  sentiments  than  though  they  had  been  cap- 
tured. 

It  affords  me  much  pleasure  to  be  able  to  testify 
to  the  uniform  steadiness  and  good  conduct  of  both 
officers  and  menduringthe  battle,andl  respectfully 
refer  to  the  accompanying  reports  of  the  different 
commanders  for  the  names  of  those  officers  and 
men,  whose  good  conduct  was  particularly  noticed 
by  them. 

The  enemy’s  loss,  as  far  as  known,  is  as  follows: 
Brig. -Gen.  Zollicoffer,  Lieut.  Bailie  Peyton,  and 
190  officers,  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates, 
killed;  Lieut. -Col.  M.  B.  Carter,  Twentieth  Tennes- 
see; Lieut.  J.  W.  Allen,  Fifteenth  Mississippi; 
Lieut.  Allen  Morse,  Sixteenth  Alabama  and  five  of- 
ficers of  the  medical  staff,  and  eighty- one  non-com- 
mission officers  and  privates  taken  prisoners;  Lieut. 

J.  E.  Patterson,  Twentieth  Tennessee;  and  A.  .1. 
Knapp,  Fifteenth  Mississippi,  and  sixty-nine  non- 
commissioned officers  atld  privates  wounded;  mak- 
ing 192  killed,  eighty-nine  prisoners  not  wounded, 
and  sixty-eight  wounded;  a total  of  killed, wounded 
and  prisoners  of  349.  Our  loss  was  as  follows: 

KILLED.  WOUNDED. 


Officers. 

Men. 

Officers. 

Men. 

Tenth  Indiana - 

10 

3 

72 

First  Kentucky  (Cav)  1 

2 

- 

19 

Fourth  Kentucky. . . - 

8 

4 

48 

Second  Minnesota. . - 

12 

2 

31 

Ninth  Ohio - 

6 

4 

24 

Total 1 

38 

13 

194 

A complete  list  of  the  names  of  our  killed  and 
wounded  and  of  the  prisoners  is  herewith  attached. 

I am.  Sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  serv- 
ant, George  H.  Thomas, 

Brig.-Qen.  United  States  Volunteers,  Commanding. 
Capt.  J.  B.  Fry,  A.  A.  G.,  chief  of  staff,  headquar- 
ters Department  Ohio,  Louisville,  Ky. 

The  following  extract  from  Gen.  Critten- 
den’s official  report  furnishes,  if  any  were 
needed,  evidence  of  the  disaster  to  the  Con- 
federate troops: 

On  the  evening  of  the  18th  I called  in  council 
Brig. -Gens.  Zollicoffer  and  Carroll,  and  the  com- 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


393 


manding  officers  of  regiments,  and  of  cavalry  and 
artillery,  and  there  it  was  determined,  without 
dissent,  to  march  out  and  attack  the  enemy 
under  Gen.  Thomas  on  the  next  morning.  Accord- 
ingly, Gens.  Zollicoffer  and  Carroll  were  ordered  to 
remove  their  brigades  at  midnight  in  the  following 
order: 

First — The  brigade  of  Gen.  Zollicoffer,  in  the  fol- 
lowing order:  In  front,  the  independent  cavalry 
companies  of  Capts.  Saunders  and  Bledsoe;  then 
the  Fifteenth  Mississippi  Regiment,  commanded  by 
Lieut.-Col.  Walthall;  then  the  Nineteenth  Tennes- 
see, commanded  by  Col.  D.  H.  Cummings;  then  the 
Twentieth  Tennessee,  commanded  by  Col.  Battle; 
then  the  Twenty-fifth  Tennessee,  commanded  by 
Col.  S.  S.  Stanton;  then  four  guns  of  Rutledge's 
battery,  commanded  by  Capt.  Rutledge. 

Second— The  brigade  of  Gen.  Carroll  in  this  or- 
der: In  front,  the  Seventeenth  Tennessee,  com- 
manded by  Lieut.-Col.  Miller;  then  the  Twenty- 
eighth  Tennessee,  commanded  by  Col.  Murray; 
then  the  Twenty-ninth  Tennessee,  commanded  by 
Col.  Powell;  then  two  guns  of  McClung’s  battery, 
commanded  by  Capt.  McClung. 

In  the  rear  were  the  Sixteenth  Alabama,  as  a re- 
serve, commanded  by  Col.  W.  B.  Wood  and  the 
cavalry  battalions  of  Lieut.-Col.  Branner  and  Lieut.- 
Col.  McClellan. 

Soon  after  daylight,  on  the  morning  of  .Tanuary 
19th,  the  cavalry  advance  came  in  contact  with  the 
pickets  of  the  enemy,  after  a march  of  near  nine 
miles  over  a deep  and  muddy  road.  With  a few 
shots  the  enemy’s  pickets  were  driven  in,  retiring 
about  a quarter  of  a mile  to  a house  on  the  left  of 
the  road.  From  this  house,  and  woods  in  the  rear  of 
it,  quite  a brisk  firing  was  opened  upon  the  head  of 
the  column.  Skirmishers  had  been  thrown  forward, 
Gen.  Zollicoffer’s  brigade  was  formed  inline  of  bat- 
tle, and  ordered  to  advance  upon  the  enemy,  who, 

1 supposed, would  come  out  from  their  camp,  which 
we  were  now  approaching,  to  take  position.  The 
road  here  extended  straight  in  front  for  near  a mile 
toward  the  north. 

A company  of  skirmishers  from  the  Mississippi 
regiment,  advancing  on  the  left  of  the  road  after 
sharp  firing,  drove  a body  of  the  enemy  from  the 
house  and  the  woods  next  to  it,  and  then,  under  or- 
ders, crossing  the  road,  fell  in  with  their  regiment. 
Following  this  company  of  skirmishers  on  the  left 
of  the  road  to  the  point  where  it  crossed  to  the  right, 
the  regiment  of  Col.  Cummings  (Nineteeth  Tennes- 
see) kept  straight  on.  and,  crossing  a field  about  250 
yards  wide  at  a double-quick,  charged  into  the 
woods  where  the  enemy  was  sheltered,  driving  back 
the  Tenth  IndianaRegiment  until  it  was  re-enforced. 

At  this  time  Gen.  Zollicoffer  rode  up  to  the 
Nineteenth  Tennessee  and  ordered  Col.  Cummings 
to  cease  firing,  under  the  impression  that  the  fire 
was  upon  another  regiment  of  his  own  brigade. 
Then  the  general  advanced,  as  if  to  give  an  order  to 
the  lines  of  the  enemy  within  bayonet  reach,  and 


was  killed  just  as  he  discovered  his  fatal  mistake.* 
Thereupon  a conflict  ensued,  when  the  Nineteenth 
Tennessee  broke  its  lines  and  gave  back.  Rather 
in  the  rear  and  near  to  this  regiment  was  the 
Twenty-fifth  Tennessee,  commanded  by  Col.  Stan- 
ton, which  engaged  the  enemy,  when  the  colonel 
was  wounded  at  the  head  of  his  men;  but  this  regi- 
ment, impressed  with  the  same  idea  which  had 
proved  fatal  to  Gen.  Zollicoffer — that  it  was  engaged 
with  friends — soon  broke  its  lines  and  fell  into  some 
disorder. 

At  this  time,  the  fall  of  Gen.  Zollicoffer  having 
been  announced  to  me,  I went  forward  in  the  road 
to  the  regiments  of  Col.  Cummings  and  Stanton, 
and  announced  to  Col.  Cummings  the  death  of  Gen. 
Zollicoffer,  and  that  the  command  of  the  brigade 
devolved  upon  him. 

There  was  a cessation  of  firing  for  a few  mo- 
ments, and  I ascertained  that  the  regiment  of  Col. 
Battle  was  on  the  right  and  the  Mississippi  regi- 
ment in  the  center,  neither  as  yet  having  been 
actively  engaged,  and  the  enemy  in  front  of  the 
entire  line.  I had  ordered  Gen.  Carroll  to  bring  up 
his  brigade,  and  it  was  now,  in  supporting  distance, 
displayed  in  line  of  battle. 

I now  repeated  my  orders  for  a general  advance, 
and  soon  the  battle  raged  from  right  to  left.  When 
I sent  my  aid  to  order  the  Fifteenth  Mississippi  to 
charge,  I sent  by  him  an  order  to  Gen.  Carroll  to 
advance  a regiment  to  sustain  it.  He  ordered  up 
for  that  purpose  Col.  Murray’s  (Twenty-eighth  Ten- 


* Col.  Fry  in  a letter  to  the  writer  gives  the  following  ac- 
count of  the  death  of  Gen.  Zollicoffer: 

“In  order  to  ascertain  more  certainly  the  exact  state  of 
affairs,  ihe  tiring  having  nearly  ceased,  1 rode  from  the  right  of 
my  regiment  some  fifteen  or  twenty  paces  down  to  the  fence 
behind  which  we  had  been  fighting,  and,  discovering  no  enemy 
in  that  direction,  I turned  my  horse  and  rode  slowly  back  to 
the  place  I had  just  left.  As  I neared  the  road  I saw  an  officer 
riding  slowly  down  the  road  on  a wdiite  horse  and  within  twenty 
paces  of  the  right  of  my  regiment.  His  uniform  was  concealed, 
except  the  extremities  of  his  pantaloons,  which  I observed  w’ere 
of  the  color  worn  by  Federal  officers,  by  a long  green  overcoat. 
His  near  approach  to  my  regiment,  his  calm  manner,  my  close 
proximity  to  him,  indeed  everything  I saw  led  me  to  believe  he 
was  a Federal  officer  belonging  to  one  of  the  regiments  just 
arriving.  So  thoroughly  was  I convinced  that  he  was  one  of  our 
men,  I did  not  hesitate  to  ride  up  to  his  side  so  closely  that  our 
knees  touched.  He  was  calm,  self-possessed  and  dignified  in 
manner.  Hesaidto  me  “Wemust  not  shoot  our  own  men,”to 
which  I responded,  “Of  course  not;  I would  not  do  so  inten- 
tionally,” then  turning  his  eyes  to  his  left  and  pointing  in  the 
same  direction  he  said,”  those  are  our  men.”  I could  not  see 
the  men  from  my  position,  but  I now  suppose  they  were  there. 
I immediately  moved  otf  to  the  right  of  my  regiment,  perhaps 
some  fifteen  or  twenty  paces  from  the  spot  on  which  I met  him. 
His  language  oonvinced  me  more  than  ever  that  he  was  a Fed- 
eral officer.  How  it  is  that  he  did  not  discover  that  I was  one  I 
cannot  tell,  as  my  uniform  was  entirely  exposed  to  view,  hav- 
ing on  nothing  to  conceal  it.  As  soon  as  I reached  my  regi- 
ment, I paused,  turning  my  horse  a little  to  the  left,  and*  across 
the  road,  looked  back  to  see  what  was  going  on,  when,  to  my 
great  surprise,  another  officer  whom  I had  not  seen  rode  out 
from  behind  a large  tree  near  the  place  of  my  meeting  with  the 
first  officer,  and,  with  pistol  in  hand,  leveleil  it  directly  at  me, 
fired,  and  paused  for  a moment,  doubtless  to  observe  the  effect 
of  his  shot.  Instead  of  striking  the  object  at  which  it  was 
aimed,  the  ball  struck  ray  horse  just  above  the  hip  bone  making 
a flesh  wound.  I immediately  drew  my  Colt’s  revolverfrom  the 
holster,  and  was  about  to  fire,  when  he  retreated  behind  a tree. 
Not  until  this  time  was  I aware  that  I had  been  in  conversation 
with  an  officerof  the  opposingarmy.  In  an  instant  the  thought 
hashed  across  my  mind  that  the  officer  with  whom  I had  met 
and  conversed  had  attempted  to  draw  me  into  the  snare  of  death 
or  secure  my  capture  by  a false  representation  of  his  position, 
and,  feeling  thus,  I aimed  at  him  and  fired.” 

Gen.  Zollicofter  fell  pierced  by  three  bullets,  for  at  the  same 
moment  several  men  of  the  Fourth  Kentucky  fired  upon  him. 


394 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


nessee)  regiment,  which  engaged  the  enemy  on  the 
left  of  the  Mississippi  regiment  and  on  the  right  of 
Stanton’s  (Tennessee)  regiment.  I ordered  Capt. 
Rutledge,  with  two  of  his  guns,  forward  in  the  road 
to  an  advanced  and  hazardous  position,  ordering 
Col.  Stanton  to  support  him,  where  I hoped  he 
might  bring  them  to  play  effectively  upon  the 
enemy;  but  the  position  did  not  permit  this,  and  he 
soon  retired,  under  my  order.  At  this  point  the 
horse  of  Capt.  Rutledge  was  killed  under  him. 

Very  soon  the  enemy  began  to  gain  ground  on 
our  left  and  to  use  their  superior  force  for  flanking 
in  that  quarter.  I was  in  person  at  the  right  of  the 
line  of  Stanton’s  regiment;  the  battle  was  still 
raging,  and  I did  not  observe  this  so  soon  as  it  was 
observed  by  Gen.  Carroll,  who  moved  the  regiment 
of  Col.  Cummings,  then  commanded  by  Lieut. -Col. 
Walker,  to  the  left,  to  meet  this  movement  of  the 
enemy,  and  formed  the  Seventeenth  Tennessee, 
commanded  by  Lieut. -Col.  Miller,  to  support  the 
regiments  on  the  left.  The  regiments  of  Murray, 
Stanton  and  Cummings  were  driven  back  by  the 
enemy,  and,  while  reforming  in  the  rear  of  the 
Seventeenth  Tennessee,  that  well-disciplined  regi- 
ment met  and  held  in  check  for  some  time  the  entire 
right  wing  of  the  northern  army.  These  regiments 
on  my  left  and  on  the  left  of  the  road  retired  across 
the  field  a distance  of  about  250  yards,  and  there, 
for  a time,  repulsed  the  advancing  enemy.  Espe- 
cially the  regiment  of  Col.  Stanton,  partially  rallied 
by  its  gallant  field  officers,  formed  behind  a fence, 
and,  pouring  volleys  into  the  ranks  of  the  enemy 
coming  across  the  field,  repulsed  and  drove  them 
back  for  a time  with  heavy  loss. 

For  an  hour  now  the  Fifteenth  Mississippi  under 
Lieut.-Col.  Walthall,  and  the  Twentieth  Tennessee, 
under  Col.  Joel  A.  Battle,  of  my  center  and  right, 
had  been  struggling  with  the  superior  force  of  the 
enemy. 

I cannot  omit  to  mention  the  heroic  valor  of 
these  two  regiments,  officers  and  men.  When  the 
left  retired  they  were  flanked  and  compelled  to  leave 
their  position.  In  their  rear,  on  the  right  of  the 
road,  was  the  regiment  of  Col,  Powell  (Twenty- 
ninth  Tennessee)  which  had  been  formed  in  the  rear 
and  ordered  forward  by  me  some  time  before.  Gen. 
Carroll  ordered  this  regiment  to  face  the  flanking 
force  of  the  enemy,  which  was  crossing  the  road 
from  the  left  side;  this  it  did,  checking  it  with  a 
raking  fire  at  thirty  paces.  In  this  conflict  Col. 
Powell,  commanding,  was  badly  wounded. 

The  Sixteenth  iVlabama,  which  was  the  reserve 
corps  of  my  division,  commanded  by  Col.  Wood, 
did  at  this  critical  juncture  most  eminent  service. 
Having  rushed  behind  the  right  and  center  it  came 
to  a close  engagement  with  the  pursuing  enemy,  to 
protect  the  flanks  and  rear  of  the  Fifteenth  Missis- 
sippi and  Twentieth  Tennessee  when  they  were  the 
last,  after  long  fighting,  to  leave  the  front  line  of 
the  battle,  and,  well  led  by  its  commanding  officer, 
in  conjunction  with  portions  of  other  regiments,  it 


effectually  prevented  pursuit  and  protected  my 
return  to  camp. 

Owing  to  the  formation  and  character  of  the 
field  of  battle  I was  unable  to  use  my  artillery  and 
cavalry  to  advantage  in  the  action.  During  much 
of  the  time  the  engagement  lasted,  rain  was  falling. 
Many  of  the  men  were  armed  with  flint-lock  mus- 
kets and  they  became  soon  unserviceable. 

On  the  field  and  during  the  retreat  to  camp  some 
of  the  regiments  became  confused  and  broken  and 
great  disorder  prevailed.  This  was  owing,  in  some 
measure,  to  a want  of  proper  drill  and  discipline  of 
which  the  army  had  been  much  deprived  bj^  reason 
of  the  nature  of  its  constant  service  and  of  the 
country  in  which  it  had  encamped. 

During  the  engagement,  or  just  prior  to  it,  the 
force  under  Gen.  Thomas  was  increased  by  the  ar- 
rival, on  a forced  march,  of  a brigade  from  his  rear, 
which  I had  hoped  would  not  arrive  until  the  en- 
gagement was  over.  This  made  the  force  of  the 
enemy  about  12,000  men.  My  effective  force  was 
4,000.  The  engagement  lasted  three  hours. 

My  loss  was  125  killed,  309  wounded,  and  95  miss- 
ing, as  follows; 

Killed.  Wounded  Missing. 


15th  Mississippi  Regiment 44  153  29 

20th  Tennessee  (Battle) 33  59  18 

19th  Tennessee  (Cummings). . . 10  22  2 

25th  Tennessee  (Stanton) 10  28  17 

17th  Tennessee  (Newman) 11  25  2 

28th  Tennessee  (Murray) 3 4 5 

29th  Tennessee  (Powell) 5 12  10 

16th  Alabama 9 5 12 

Capt.  Saunder’s  cavalry — 1 — 

Total 125  309  95 


The  loss  of  the  enemy,  from  the  best  information 
I have  and  statements  made  by  themselves,  may  be 
e.5timated  at  700  killed  and  wounded.  It  was  larger 
than  mine  from  the  fact  that  my  regiments  on  the 
left,  after  first  being  driven  back,  fired  from  the 
cover  of  woods  and  fences  upon  the  large  numbers 
advancing  upon  them  through  the  open  field,  in- 
flicting heavy  loss  and  sustaining  but  little. 

Crittenden’s  position  at  Beech  Grove  was 
extremely  perilous,  and  as  soon  as  possible 
he  prepared  to  cross  the  river  with  his  re- 
maining troops,  now  reduced  to  a disorganized 
mass  of  panic-stricken  men,  whose  only 
desire  was  to  secure  personal  safety.  He  got 
them  all  across  to  the  south  bank  under  cover 
of  darkness,  except  some  who  attempted  to 
swim  the  river  on  their  horses  and  were 
drowned.  The  condition  of  these  fugitives 
was  indeed  pitiful.  They  had  marched  nine 
miles  on  the  night  of  the  18th  through  rain 
and  mud;  had  fought  a battle  and  been 
beaten,  and  fallen  back  in  utter  rout  to  their 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


395 


position  only  to  leave  it,  and,  without  rest  or 
food,  take  up  the  line  of  march  to  a more 
secure  retreat.  Through  Monticello  and  Liv- 
ingston to  Gainesboi’o  they  plodded  their 
weary  way,  subsisting  upon  the  scanty 
supplies  of  a wasted  country,  until  starvation 
caused  the  wholesale  desertion  of  several 
regiments  and  the  disintegi’ation  of  almost 
the  entire  command.  They  had  fought  well; 
many  had  displayed  the  highest  personal 
courage,  and  deserved  better  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  their  commanders  than  to  be  brand- 
ed as  deserters.  Their  loss  upon  the  field 
had  been  gi-eat,  but  it  was  not  one-tenth  of 
that  by  desertion  on  the  retreat  to  Gainesboro. 

The  loss  of  Gen.  Zolli coffer  was  ’a  severe  blow 
to  the  Confederates.  Although,  owing  to  his 
lack  of  military  experience,  his  repeated 
attempts  to  enter  Kenbacky  had  cost  them  an 
army,  they  cherished  his  memory  with  tender- 
ness for  many  years  after  his  death.  His 
body  was  embalmed  and  sent  through  the 
lines  under  a flag  of  truce.  Crittenden’s  lot 
was  even  worse  than  that  of  his  dead  com- 
rade; he  was  charged  with  being  a traitor, 
with  drunkenness  upon  the  field,  and  with 
incapacity  to  command.  Although  the  first, 
he  was  not  the  only,  Kentuckian  destined  to 
feel  the  serpent  tooth  of  ingratitude  from  a 
people  from  whom  he  had  sacrificed  home 
and  country  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the 
southern  people.  He  was  a gentleman,  sim- 
ple, true  and  brave,  whose  proper  place  was 
with  his  noble  father  and  heroic  brother, 
fighting  for  the  honor  of  his  State  and  nation. 

Gen.  Thomas  dispatched  Schoepf  with  his 
brigade  to  pursue  Crittenden’s  broken  column. 
They  followed  him  through  the  deep  mud  as 
far  as  Monticello,  but  finding  that  his  brig- 
ade, cumbered  with  knapsacks,  guns  and 
blankets,  were  no  match  for  the  fleet-footed 
Tennesseans,  who  had  thrown  away  every- 
thing that  would  impede  their  flight,  he 
retmmed  to  Gainesville.  Col.  Manson’s  brig- 
ade took  charge  of  the  deserted  camp  and  its 
abandoned  property,  buried  the  dead,  and 
nursed  the  wounded  of  both  armies. 

Thus  the  flrst  battle  fought  by  the  troops 
of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  like  the  last 
one  in  which  that  army  was  engaged  in  the 


west,  was  equally  crushing  in  its  effect  upon 
the  enemy,  and  the  same  calm,  wise,  cour- 
ageous commander  presided  upon  both  occa- 
sions. The  Fourth  and  Twelfth  Kentucky 
participated  in  both  engagements. 

•The  region  of  country  known  as  eastern  I 
Kentucky,  bordering  upon  Virginia  and 
separated  from  it  by  the  Big  Sandy  River,  is  ! 
rough  and  sparsely  populated.  At  the  out-  I 
break  of  the  rebellion  the  inhabitants,  like 
their  neighbors  in  western  Virginia  and  east ' 
Tennessee,  clung  instinctively  to  the  Union,  u 
Frugal  and  industrious,  brave  and  indepen-  j 
dent,  they  possessed  many  of  the  characteris-/ 
tics  of  the  pioneers  of  Kentucky,  whose  deeds 
of  valor  in  the  wilderness  have  for  genera- 
tions formed  the  traditionary  lore  about  the 
firesides  of  their  descendants.  Taking  little 
interest  in  national  affairs,  they  were  slowtc\ 
comprehend  the  cause  of  difference  between  the 
noi’thern  and  southern  States  of  the  Union. 
When  at  last  the  truth  was  forced  upon  them 
by  the  presence  of  the  armed  troops,  that  the 
theater  of  war  was  at  their  very  doors,  the  I 
occasion  of  hostilities  was  expounded  to  them] 
by  two  men  whose  exploits  in  the  field  had!^ 
been  more  than  equaled  by  their  eloquence 
upon  the  stump.  These  were  Hon.  Humphrey 
Marshall  and  John  S.  Williams,  familiarly 
known  as  “ Cerro  Gordo,  ” for  his  courageous 
conduct  exhibited  on  the  occasion  of  that 
battle  in  Mexico.  It  i^not  sm'prising  that 
two  orators  of  this  character,  backed  by  the 
persuasive  logic  of  troops  of  armed  men, 
should  have  lured  a considerable  number  of 
the  mountaineers  away  from  their  allegiance 
to  the  national  flag.  But  the  number  who 
joined  their  standard  was  ridiculously  small 
in  proportion  to  those  who  joined  Union 
regiments. 

For  many  months  the  ark  of  safety  of 
these  people  lay  in  the  Confederate  camp,  and 
that  so  few  availed  themselves  of  the  security 
of  person  and  property  offered  by  enlisting  in 
the  southern  army  is  the  strongest  possible 
evidence  of  the  inherent  loyalty  of  the  Ken- 
tucky mountaineers  to  the  government  at 
Washington.  Not  one  of  them  had  voted 
for  Abraham  Lincoln.  They  still  held  to  the 
creed  of  the  Whig  and  Democratic  parties  as 


39G 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


taught  by  Clay  and  Jelferson,  and  represented 
by  John  Bell,  of  Tennessee,  on  the  one  side, 
and  Stephen  A.  Douglas  or  John  0.  Breckin- 
ridge on  the  other.  They  cared  little  for  the 
institution  of  slavery,  for  few  of  them  were 
slaveholders.  By  far  the  greater  number  were 
poor  and  dependent  upon  their  own  labor  for 
means  with  which  to  support  their  families; 
but  all  were  landholders,  and,  unlike  the 
poor  whites  in  the  cotton  States,  tilled  their 
own  soil,  and  were  masters  of  their  own  time 
and  opinions.  School-houses  were  scarce, 
and  many  could  neither  read  nor  write; 
but  if  unlearned  in  the  sophistry  of  politics, 
they  were  well  grounded  in  the  belief  that 
the  United  States  was  the  greatest  and 
gi’andest  country  on  the  earth,  and  every  at- 
tempt to  destroy  it  met  with  their  unalterable 
opposition.  Such  was  the  country  in  which 
Brig. -Gen.  Marshall  had  established  his 
camp  in  the  winter  of  1861-62. 

Brig-Gen.  William  Nelson,  having  driven 
the  Confederate  forces  out  of  eastern  Ken- 
tucky in  October,  1861,  returned  to  Louis- 
ville in  November,  sending  the  Sixteenth 
Kentucky  back  to  Maysville  and  the  Twenty- 
fourth  to  Lexington,  to  complete  their  organ- 
ization. The  Ohio  regiments  were  embarked 
on  transports  at  Louisa  on  the  Big  Sandy 
Rivet’,  and  taken  to  Louisvile,  where  they  were 
incorporated  into  the  main  army  of  the  Ohio. 
The  abandoned  territory  was  speedily  occupied 
by  Gen.  Humphrey  Marshall,  whose  base  was 
at  Wytheville,  Va.,  on  the  line  of  the  Virginia 
& Tennessee  Railroad,  within  easy  supporting 
distance  from  Knoxville,  or  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia. 

The  same  troubles  that  all  army  commanders 
both  north  and  south  had  to  encounter  assailed 
Gen.  Marshall.  He  found  the  troops  under 
Williams  half  clad  and  mostly  unarmed,  and 
several  regiments  that  had  joined  him  in 
western  Virginia  were  in  the  same  condition. 
The  undisciplined  and  destitute  condition  of 
his  command  rendered  it  better  qualified  to 
be  sent  to  a camp  of  instruction  than  for  active 
operations  against  an  organized  force,  but  its 
zealous  commander  determined  to  advance 
into  his  native  State,  even  if  he  was  only  per- 


mitted to  remain  long  enough  to  issue  a 
proclamation  to  the  inhabitants. 

On  December  14th,  Col.  James  A.  Garfield, 
commanding  the  Forty- second  Ohio  Infantryj- 
stationed  at  camp  Chase,  Ohio,  received  or- 
ders from  Gen.  Buell  to  proceed  with  all  pos- 
sible dispatch  to  Prestonburg,  which  was  re- 
ported to  be  occupied  by  Gen.  Marshall. 
Sending  his  regiment  by  steamer  from  Cin- 
cinnati to  Catlettsburg,  at  the  mouth  of  Big 
Sandy  River,  in  obedience  to  orders,  he  re- 
ported at  department  headquarters  for  further 
instructions.  Gen.  Buell  probably  desired  a 
personal  interview  with  an  inspection  of  the 
man  whom  he  was  about  to  intrust  with  the 
command  of  a brigade,  as  deficiency  in  the 
number  of  brigadier-generals  assigned  him 
(in  which  regard  the  war  department  had 
treated  him  with  marked  clemency),  rendered 
it  necessary  for  him  to  place  his  brigades  un- 
der command  of  the  ranking  colonels.  Care 
had  to  be  used  in  brigading  regiments  to  see 
that  the  colonel  whose  commission  antedated 
all  the  others  in  the  brigade  was  fit  to  com- 
mand it.  It  was  owing  to  this  necessity  that 
nearly  all  the  general  officers  who  afterward 
distinguished  themselves  in  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland  won  their  promotion  by  merito- 
rious service  in  the  field,  and  it  is  no  slight 
evidence  of  Gen.  Buell’s  insight  into  the 
character  and  ability  of  men,  that  most  of 
them  were  started  in  the  line  of  promotion 
by  their  appointments  as  brigade  comman- 
ders at  this  period. 

By  Special  Order,  No.  35,  issued  Decem- 
ber 17th,  the  Eighteenth  Brigade  was  organ- 
ized, consisting  of  the  Forty-second  Ohio 
Infantry,  Col.  J.  A.  Garfield;  Fortieth  Ohio 
Infantry,  Col.  J.  Cranor;  Fourteenth  Ken- 
tucky Infantry,  Col.  L.  T.  Moore;  Twenty-  ' 
second  Kentucky  Infantry,  Col.  D.  W.  Lind- 
sey; two  companies  of  Ohio  Cavalry,  Maj. 
McLaughlin,  and  six  companies  of  the  First 
Kentucky  Cavalry,  Lieut. -Col.  Letcher.  This 
brigade  was  placed  under  command  of  Col. 

J.  A.  Garfield,  who  was  ordered  to  proceed  at 
once  by  steamers  to  Catlettsburg,  thence  up 
the  Big  Sandy  with  three  regiments,  and 
drive  the  enemy  back,  leaving  the  Fortieth 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


397 


Ohio  at  Lexington  and  Paris  to  give  moral 
support  to  his  movements  in  eastern  Ken- 
tucky. As  artillery  would  be  of  little  use  in 
the  rugged  country  through  which  his  course 
lay,  it  was  believed  it  would  only  embari’ass 
his  operations. 

As  Piketon,  on  the  Big  Sandy,  was  the  ob- 
jective point  of  his  campaign,  supplies  for 
his.  brigade  could  be  transported  by  steamer, 
thus  saving  the  necessity  of  cumbersome  wag- 
on trains.  It  will  be  observed  that  times  had 
changed  vastly  for  the  better,  since  Thomas 
had  only  a few  weeks  before  asked  in  vain 
for  a reserve  of  only  four  regiments  to  enable 
him  to  move  forward  from  London  to  the  oc- 
cupation of  Knoxville.  Now  a thoroughly 
organized  brigade  could  be  put  in  motion  for 
a distant  expedition  at  the  will  of  the  depart- 
ment commander.  In  addition  to  his  brigade, 
as  organized,  the  Sixteenth  Ohio  Infantry 
at  Lexington  was,  in  case  of  necessity,  or- 
dered to  co-operate.  Col.  Garfield  ordered 
the  Fortieth  Ohio  and  Letcher’s  cavalry  to 
move  eastward  via  Mount  Sterling  and  Mc- 
Cormick’s Gap  to  Presto nbm-g. 

Col.  Garfield  arrived  at  Catlettsburg  De- 
cember 21st,  and  found  the  Forty-second 
Ohio,  Fourteenth  Kentucky  and  McLaugh- 
lin’s squadron  of  Ohio  Cavalry  awaiting  his 
arrival,  with  which  he  moved  at  once  up  the 
river  to  Louisa.  The  Twenty- second  Ken- 
tucky, not  being  fully  equipped,  was  ordered 
to  join  the  column  on  the  march.  Leaving 
two  companies  to  guard  his  supplies  and 
hospital  at  Louisa,  he  continued  up  the  river, 
and  on  the  25th  reached  George’s  Creek, 
where  he  remained  two  days,  receiving  sup- 
plies from  below,  when  he  continued  his 
iliarch  over  Tom’s  Mountain  to  the  forks  of 
Tom’s  Creek.  Here  he  learned  that  Gen. 
Humphrey  Marshall  had  fortified  himself  two 
miles  south  of  Paint  Creek,  occupying  Paints- 
ville  and  a line  extending  along  Paint  Creek 
for  two  miles  from  its  junction  with  the  Big 
Sandy,  and  that  his  outposts  were  established 
two  miles  in  front. 

From  Garfield’s  camp  there  were  three 
routes  leading  to  Paintsville,  one  leading 
along  the  left  bank  of  the  Sandy  to  the 
mouth  of  Paint  Creek,  thence  up  the  creek  to 


Paintsville;  another  directly  southward, 
thence  by  a very  rugged  road  over  the  hills, 
and  the  third  southward  along  a branch  of 
Tom’s  Creek,  and  over  a heavy  ridge,  striking 
Paint  Creek  at  the  mouth  of  Jennie’s  Creek, 
a mile  above  Paintsville.  On  the  morning 
of  January  5th  Col.  Garfield  sent  a small 
force  of  infantry  and  cavalry  to  advance 
along  the  first  of  these  routes  to  reconnoiter 
the  enemy’s  position.  Two  hours  later  he 
sent  another  force  with  similar  orders  along 
the  middle  route,  and  two  hours  later  still  an- 
other with  the  same  directions  along  the  third 
route.  The  second  and  third  of  these  detach- 
ments were  ordered  to  return  and  join  the 
main  force,  with  which  Garfield  moved  rapid- 
ly along  the  first-named  route.  As  he  had 
calculated,  Marshall  considered  the  first  and 
second  advances  as  feints,  and  withdrawing 
the  forces  near  the  mouth,  concentrated  them 
higher  up  the  stream  against  a force  that  he 
supposed  to  be  advancing  via  Jennie’s  Creek. 
This  left  the  way  clear  for  the  Union  troops 
to  secure  possession  of  the  mouth  of  Paint 
Creek,  where  they  were  joined  by  Lieut. -Col. 
Bolles  with  300  of  the  Second  Virginia  Cav- 
alry, which  had  been  sent  to  Garfield  by  Gen. 
Cox  in  West  Virginia.  On  the  afternoon  of 
the  6th  of  January  Paintsville  was  occupied 
by  the  Union  forces.  Col.  Garfield  now  sent 
Bolles  with  his  cavalry  to  attack  the  enemy’s 
cavalry  at  the  mouth  of  Jennie’s  Creek,  and, 
throwing  a temporary  bridge  across  Paint 
Creek  at  Paintsville,  Garfield  crossed  with 
1,000  men,  and  at  9 o’clock  at  night  entered 
the  entrenched  camp  of  Marshall,  which  he 
had  just  deserted.  In  the  meantime  Bolles 
had  driven  the  cavalry  from  the  mouth  of 
Jennie’s  Creek  and  pursued  them  five  miles, 
killing  and  wounding  a considerable  number. 

Gen.  Marshall  moved  eastward  to  Preston- 
bui’g,  and  Col.  Cranor,  who,  with  the  Fortieth 
Ohio  and  Letcher’s  detachment  of  we  First 
Kentucky  Cavalry,  was  moving  on  that  place, 
hearing  that  he  was  there,  turned  their  course 
northward  and  joined  Garfield  at  Paintsville 
on  the  7 th. 

On  the  9th  Garfield  advanced  with  1,500 
of  his  command  toward  Prestonburg,  leaving 
orders  for  the  remainder  to  follow  immedi- 


398 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY 


ately  upon  the  arrival  of  supplies  from  the 
depot  at  Louisa.  He  reached  the  mouth  of 
Abbott’s  Creek,  near  Prestonburg,  at  8 
o’clock  the  same  evening,  and  found  Mar- 
shall encamped  on  the  same  creek  three 
miles  above  him.  He  immediately  ordered 
all  his  available  force  at  Paintsville  to  join 
him  as  soon  as  possible.  The  rain  and  sleet 
poured  down  on  the  advancing  column  strug- 
gling through  the  mud  in  the  pitchy  dark- 
ness, while  their  comrades  on  the  banks  of 
Abbott’s  Creek  bivouacked  upon  the  soaked 
earth,  awaiting  their  arrival.  At  4 o’clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  10th  the  command 
moved  forward,  crossing  Abbott’s  Creek  a 
mile  from  its  mouth,  and  soon  after  attacked 
and  drove  the  Confederate  rear  guard.  At 
8 o’clock  Garfield  had  crossed  the  ridge  that 
separated  Abbott’s  Creek  from  Middle  Creek, 
when  his  advance  again  encountered  Mar- 
shall’s rear. 

Advancing  about  two  miles  up  the  stream, 
the  tired  troops  reached  the  forks  about 
noon,  where  they  found  Marshall’s  men  oc- 
cupying a strong  position  on  a steep  wood- 
ed hill  between  the  forks  of  the  stream. 
Meanwhile,  Gen.  Marshall  had  intercepted  a 
letter  from  Garfield  to  Cranor,  and,  in  hope 
of  cutting  off  the  Fortieth  at  Prestonburg, 
had  fallen  back  to  Abbott’s  Creek.  Finding 
that  Cranor  had  effected  a junction  with  the 
main  force,  he  then  sought  and  found  a se- 
cure position  in  which  to  await  the  attack. 
Sending  his  wagon  train  ahead,  he  halted  at 
the  summit  of  the  wooded  hill  before  men- 
tioned. His  brigade  consisted  of  the  follow- 
ing organizations:  Col.  Trigg’s  Fifty-fourth 

Virginia  regiment,  effectives,  578;  Col. 
Williams’  Kentucky  regiment,  594;  Col. 
Moore’s  Twenty- ninth  Virginia  regiment, 
317;  Col.  Simm’s  mounted  battalion,  360; 
Capt.  Jeffries’  battery  of  light  artillery,  58; 
Capt.  Worsham’s  company  of  cavalry,  50; 
total,  1,967.  Beside  the  above,  Marshall 
doubtless  had  a militia  force,  as  he  claimed 
after  his  defeat  by  Garfield  that  the  pris- 
oners taken  from  his  force  were  “not  soldiers, 
but  citizens,  who  have  been  running  like 
frightened  hares  ever  since  the  war  began, 
and  if  pressed  to  it  would  submit  to  have 


their  ears  cropped  to  show  they  had  a 
master.  ” 

The  regiments  of  Cols.  Williams  and 
Moore  and  a part  of  the  mounted  battalion 
occupied  the  spurs  and  heights  upon  the 
right.  Trigg’s  regiment  occupied  a height 
covering  his  battery,  behind  which  were 
stationed  Witcher’s  and  Holliday’s  companies 
as  support.  Capts.  Thomas’  and  Clay’s 
companies,  dismounted  and  armed  with  Bel- 
gian rifles,  were  thrown  forward  to  the 
heights  commanding  the  plain  of  Middle 
Creek.  A day  or  two  previous  Garfield  had 
received  from  Gen.  Buell  an  intercepted  let- 
ter from  Marshall  to  Gen.  Johnston,  stating 
his  effective  strength  as  between  4,000  and 
5,000  men. 

Col.  Garfield  drew  up  his  force  of  900  in- 
fantry on  the  sloping  point  of  a semi-circular 
hill,  and  at  12  o’clock  sent  forward  twenty 
mounted  men  to  make  a dash  across  the  plain. 
This  drew  Marshall’s  fire,  and  in  part  dis- 
closed his  position.  Trigg’s  Virginia  regi- 
ment was  placed  behind  the  further  point  of 
the  same  ridge  which  Garfield  occupied. 
Capt.  Williams,  with  four  companies  of 
Ohio  and  Kentucky  troops,  crossed  the  creek 
nearly  waist  deep,  and  took  position  on  the 
high,  rocky  I’idge  in  front  and  to  the  left  of 
the  main  force. 

The  enemy  now  opened  fire  with  two  guns 
of  six  and  twelve-pound  caliber;  a shell  from 
one  of  them  fell  among  Garfield’s  skirmish- 
ers, but  did  not  explode.  Capt.  Williams’ 
detachment  engaged  Trigg’s  regiment,  and 
Maj.  Burke,  of  the  Fourteenth  Kentucky, 
with  two  companies,  and  Maj.  Pardee,  of 
the  Forty-second  Ohio,  with  ninety  men, 
were  sent  to  re-enforce  him,  which  caused 
Marshall  to  withdraw  the  Virginians  across 
the  creek,  and  to  send  strong  re  enforcements 
to  the  hills  on  the  left.  About  2 o’clock 
Col.  Cranor,  with  150  men  from  the  Fortieth 
and  Forty-second  Ohio  and  Twenty-second 
Kentucky,  was  sent  to  re-enforce  Maj.  Par- 
dee. Meanwhile  Marshall  had  occupied  the 
ridge  to  a point  nearly  opposite  to  Garfield’s 
right,  and  opened  a heavy  fire  on  his  reserve. 
Lieut. -Col.  Monroe,  at  the  head  of  120  of 
the  Twenty-second  and  Fourteenth  Kentucky, 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


399 


now  crossed  the  creek,  and  gallantly  drove  the 
Confederates  from  their  position;  the  latter, 
resisting  stubbornly,  lost  several  of  their  num- 
ber killed  at  this  point,  whom  they  left  upon 
the  field.  Retiring  slowly,  and  contesting 
every  foot  of  ground,  the  Confederate  troops 
were  driven  up  the  steep  ridge,  nearest  the 
creek,  by  the  troops  under  Cranor  and  Par- 
dee. At  4 o’clock,  Lieut. -Col.  Sheldon, 
with  his  re-enforcements,  arrived  upon  the 
field,  increasing  Garfield’s  force  to  2,300,  en- 
abling him  to  send  forward  the  remainder  of 
his  reserve  under  Lieut. -Col.  Brown. 

During  the  fight,  the  Confederate  gun- 
ners had  worked  their  pieces  industriously, 
firing  over  thirty  rounds,  but  they  were  ut- 
terly useless.  But  one  of  their  shells  ex- 
ploded, and  none  of  their  shots,  not  even 
canister,  took  effect.  Their  small  arms 
were  equally  ineffectual  at  long  range. 
Brown,  with  his  reserves,  passed  around  to 
the  right,  and  endeavored  to  capture  the  ar- 
tillery, but  Marshall  ordered  a retreat,  and  by 
5 o’clock  had  completely  evacuated  his  po- 
sition, and  fallen  back  to  his  camp  in  the 
rear.  Soon  afterward  a brilliant  light 
streamed  upward  from  the  valley.  He  was 
burning  his  stores  preparatory  to  retreat. 
Twenty  five  of  his  dead  left  upon  the  field 
told  how  bravely  his  men  had  contended 
with  shot-guns  and  squirrel  rifles  against  the 
inevitable  logic  of  “Lincoln’s  muskets.” 
In  the  entire  action  they  had  killed  only  one, 
and  wounded  twenty  of  their  assailants. 

Letcher  with  his  cavalry,  having  been  de- 
tached on  special  service,  did  not  reach  the 
field  in  time  to  participate  in  the  action,  but 
he  started  next  morning  in  pursuit.  They 
followed  the  trail  six  miles  and  took  a few 
prisoners,  but  were  obliged  to  return  through 
lack  of  provisions.  The  total  number  of 
prisoners  taken  was  twenty-five,  among  whom 
was  one  officer.  The  Union  troops  bivouacked 
upon  the  field,  and  the  next  day  crossed  the 
river  and  occupied  Prestonburg.  Garfield 
found  the  place  almost  deserted  and  stripped 
of  everything  like  supplies  for  an  army.  He 
was  obliged  to  send  his  cavalry  at  once  to 
Paintsville  for  forage,  to  which  place  he  re- 
turned soon  after  with  his  entire  force,  find- 


ing that  he  could  not  take  proper  care  of  his 
command  in  the  region  about  Prestonburg. 
In  less  than  twenty  days  he  had  driven  Mar- 
shall with  his  command  from  two  chosen  po- 
sitions, and  returned  to  his  depot  of  sup- 
plies with  a loss  of  only  three  killed  and 
twenty-eight  wounded,  for  which  he  was 
rewarded  by  the  government  with  a briga- 
dier-general’s commission,  and  by  the  legis- 
lature of  Kentucky  with  a vote  of  thanks. 

The  wretched  condition  of  the  roads  com- 
pelled Garfield  to  establish  his  camp  at 
Paintsville,  and  Marshall’s  exhausted  sup- 
plies made  it  necessary  for  him  to  continue 
his  retreat  toward  Pound  Gap,  whence  mea- 
sles, mumps  and  starvation  soon  drove  him 
to  Virginia.  The  events  of  the  campaign 
had  taught  him  that  his  undisciplined,  and 
almost  unfed  and  unarmed  troops,  however 
well  endowed  with  the  quality  of  com’age, 
j were  no  match  for  Garfield’s  brigade  of  well- 
I equipped  soldiers,  and  a further  stay  in 
Kentucky  could,  as  he  asserted,  only  result 
in  the  disintegration  and  demoralization  of 
his  command. 

On  the  22d  of  February,  Gen.  Garfield 
moved  his  brigade  twenty- five  miles  further 
up  the  Big  Sandy  to  Piketon.  Col.  Mar- 
shall’s Sixteenth  Kentucky  Infantry  had 
been  assigned  to  Garfield’s  command  on  the 
20th  of  January,  and  Gen.  Cox  had  sent  two 
j of  his  companies  of  the  Fourth  Virginia  to 
I Louisa  to  protect  the  stores  at  that  point 
On  the  15th  of  March,  Gen.  Garfield  left 
Piketon  with  600  infantry  and  100  cavalry, 
for  Pound  Gap,  reaching  the  foot  of  the 
mountains  late  at  night.  Sending  his  caval- 
ry by  the  plain  road  into  the  gap  to  attract 
attention,  he  led  his  infantry  by  an  unfre- 
quented route  to  the  crest  of  the  mountain, 
whence  he  surprised  the  camp,  which  was 
occupied  by  a regiment  commanded  by  MaJ. 
J.  B.  Thompson,  which,  after  a few  minutes’ 
resistance,  retreated  down  the  Virginia  slope 
with  the  cavalry  in  hot  pursuit.  They  lost 
seven  in  killed  and  wounded,  and  abandoned 
everything  that  would  impede  their  flight. 
After  destroying  the  camp  and  burning  the 
buildings  that  had  been  erected  for  the  stor- 
age of  military  supplies,  the  command 


400 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


returned  to  Piketon  without  the  loss  of  a 
man. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Tennessee  cam- 
paign, which  Buell  had  so  persistently  urged 
on  assuming  command  of  the  Department  of 
the  Ohio,  had  been  opened.  Fort  Henry, 
on  the  Tennessee  Kiver,  had  been  cap- 
tured by  the  gun-boats  on  the  6th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1862,  and  the  week  following  was 
devoted  to  reconnoitering  the  approaches 
and  moving  the  land  forces  to  the  next  point 
of  attack. 

The  army  concentrated  by  Gen.  Grant  on 
the  ground  in  front  of  Fort  Donelson,  on  the 
Cumberland  River,  was  permitted,  on  the 
morning  of  the  13th  of  February,  to  move 
into  position  without  hindrance  from  the 
Confederates,  who,  confident  of  their  strength, 
did  not  venture  from  behind  the  cover  of 
their  intrenchments.  The  garrison  allowed 
its  position  to  be  invested  by  a force  but 
little  larger  than  itself,  but  on  the  arrival  of 
re-enforcements  from  Cumberland  City,  the 
innocent- looking  log  piles  became  a line  of 
artillery  fire.  Gen.  C.  F.  Smith  made  an 
attempt  to  carry  the  works  in  his  front,  but 
was  repulsed  by  Hanson’s  Confederate  Ken- 
tucky regiment  and  the  Thirteenth  Tennessee 
with  considerable  loss.  McClernand  moved 
against  Heiman’s  elevated  position,  but  after 
two  bold  attempts  to  carry  it  was  compelled 
to  fall  back,  while  the  batteries  upon  the 
crest  of  the  hills  blazed  away  at  each  other 
with  noisy  zeal.  Gen.  McClernand’s  divis- 
ion took  position  on  the  right  of  the  line  of 
investment,  and  Gen.  Smith’s  brigades  as 
they  came  occupied  the  left,  in  front  of 
Buckner’s  line.  The  division  of  Gen.  Lew 
Wallace  was  assigned  to  the  center  of  the 
line  only  500  yards  in  front  of  the  Confed- 
erate works. 

The  Confederate  forces,  under  command  of 
Maj.-Gen.  John  B.  Floyd,  consisted  of  Gen. 
Pillow’s  division,  1,000  cavalry  under  Col. 
Forrest,  Buckner’s  division,  and  two  water 
batteries  on  the  hillside,  commanding  the 
river.  The  strength  of  the  contending 
foi’ces  was:  Grant’s,  24,400;  Floyd’s,  16,970. 
The  Seventeenth  and  Twenty-fifth  Kentucky 
Infantry,  commanded  by  Cols.  John  H.  Mc- 


Henry and  James  M.  Shackelford,  and  the 
Thirty-first  and  Forty-fourth  Indiana  formed 
the  first  brigade  of  Wallace’s  division,  which, 
under  command  of  Col.  Charles  Cruft, 
Thirty-first  Indiana,  was  detached  from  Crit- 
tenden’s division  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio 
by  order  of  Gen.  Buell,  and  sent  by  boat  to 
re-enforce  Grant  in  his  operations  against 
Fort  Donelson. 

The  day  following  the  battle  of  the 
Trenches,  so  called  by  Gen.  Floyd,  the  gun- 
boats which  had  proved  effective  in  the  reduc- 
tion of  Fort  Henry,  appeared  in  front  of 
Fort  Donelson,  but  their  stay  was  brief.  The 
elevation  of  the  batteries  overcame  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  gunboats  in  weight  of  guns, 
and  sent  their  bolts  crushing  through  the 
fleet  with  resistless  force,  carrying  destruc- 
tion in  their  course.  But  a few  moments 
suflBced  to  send  the  disabled  boats  drifting 
down  the  stream,  while  inside  the  works  not 
a gun  was  disabled  nor  a man  hurt.  Thus 
the  first  two  days  of  the  siege  ended  in 
repulses  by  land  and  water,  while  the  un- 
sheltered troops  of  both  armies  lay  down 
upon  the  ground,  in  the  midst  of  a storm  of 
rain  and  sleet  that  raged  with  unwonted  fury, 

Notwithstanding  the  success  of  the  Con- 
federates in  maintaining  their  position,  a 
feeling  of  insecurity  pervaded  the  minds  of 
both  Pillow  and  Floyd.  Gen.  Buckner,  more 
practical  than  either,  devised  a plan  of 
escape  by  the  Winn’s  Ferry  road,  in  the 
direction  of  Nashville,  which,  provided  he 
could  have  had  the  execution  of  it,  would 
doubtless  have  succeeded.  This  was  to  make 
a vigorous  assault  upon  McClernand,  drive 
him  back  upon  the  center,  and  hold  him 
there  while  the  main  portion  of  the  Confed- 
erates marched  out  of  the  trenches  and  pur^ 
sued  their  way  toward  Nashville.  The  first 
part  of  the  programme  was  carried  out,  but 
in  the  nick  of  time  when  everything  should 
have  been  in  readiness  to  move  promptly  to 
the  rear,  Floyd  grew  irresolute  and  concluded 
to  wait.  Delays  are  proverbially  dangerous, 
and  in  this  instance  proved  fatal  to  the  Con- 
federates. 

McClernand  was  not  driven  back  without  a 
stubborn  fight,  and  withdrew  only  after  hav- 


BOONESBOKOUGII  FORT, 


KENTl'CKY  JITLITARV  INSTITUTE,  NKAII  FKANKFOKT— SEE  PAGE  507. 


i 


\ 


S-.W 


K, 


•\ 


7^ 


HI8T0KY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


401 


ing  exhausted  his  ammunition.  Even  then 
pursuit  by  the  Confederates  was  checked  by 
the  prompt  action  of  Gen.  Wallace,  who 
threw  his  division  in  front  of  McClernand 
and  took  up  the  battle  where  it  had  fallen 
from  his  hands.  In  this  emergency  Col. 
Cruft  was  ordered  to  the  front.  The  brigade 
moved  at  double  quick  over  the  rugged  road, 
the  Twenty-fifth  Kentucky  in  advance,  press- 
ing onward  to  engage  the  Confederates.  A 
staff  officer  of  Gen.  McClernand  led  the 
head  of  the  column  too  far  to  the  right, 
when  suddenly,  before  a line  of  battle  could 
be  formed,  the  Twenty-fifth  found  itself  con- 
fronted by  a superior  force  of  the  Confeder- 
ates, which  formed  a flanking  column,  mov- 
ing around  by  a ravine  to  captm’e  Taylor’s 
battery.  Shackelford  immediately  formed 
his  line  under  a murderous  fire,  supported  on 
the  left  by  the  Thirty-first  Indiana.  The 
Seventeenth  Kentucky  and  Forty-fourth  In- 
diana hurriedly  formed  a line  against  which 
the  Confederates  again  and  again  hurled 
heavy  masses  of  troops  in  a vain  attempt  to 
break  it.  Not  a man  left  the  ranks.  Know- 
ing the  terrible  responsibilities  resting  upon 
them,  animated  by  a common  impulse  to 
stem  the  tide  of  disaster,  they  poured  volley 
after  volley  into  the  ranks  of  the  Confeder- 
ates. 

At  this  juncture  one  of  those  blunders 
which  sometimes  neutralize  the  effect  of  the 
most  heroic  courage  was  committed  by  an  un- 
known officer,  who,  approaching  the  right  of 
Shackelford’s  regiment,  ordered  it  to  take 
position  further  to  the  right.  The  order  was 
immediately  obeyed  under  heavy  fire.  , The 
first  volley  from  the  new  position  took  effect 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Eighth  and  Twenty- 
ninth  Illinois  in  their  front,  but  concealed 
from  view  by  the  thick  underbrush.  The 
latter,  supposing  themselves  attacked  from 
the  rear,  immediately  fell  back  through 
Cruft’s  ranks,  threatening  for  a moment  the 
integrity  of  his  command.  In  the  meantime 
Shackelford  and  Osborne,  of  the  Thirty-first 
Indiana,  at  the  right  of  the  line,  were  cut 
off  with  a small  portion  of  the  Twenty-fifth 
Kentucky  and  Thirty-first  Indiana,  and  were 
compelled  to  carry  on  an  unequal  combat 


against  great  odds  before  they  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  rejoining  the  command. 

The  retreat  of  McClernand’s  entire  division 
now  left  Cruft’s  brigade  “in  the  air,”  without 
support  on  the  right  or  left,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Eleventh  Illinois,  which  occupied 
a position  in  support  of  Taylor’s  battery  vaca- 
ted by  Logan’s  regiment.  The  Forty-fourth 
Indiana,  on  the  left,  could  not  fire  without 
imperiling  this  regiment,  and  was  obliged  to 
remain  in  line  and  receive  the  Confederates’ 
fire  without  responding.  The  brigade  was 
in  good  fighting  trim,  and  by  order  of  its 
intrepid  commander  fell  back  in  good  order 
to  the  top  of  the  next  ridge.  A heavy  fire 
was  poured  into  it  by  the  advancing  foe,  who, 
pushing  forward,  made  a determined  attack 
upon  the  whole  line.  This  was  no  sooner 
repulsed  than  it  was  repeated  with  the  same 
result.  Following  the  second  repulse.  Cruft 
ordered  his  brigade  to  charge,  which  it  did 
with  such  effect  as  to  drive  the  Confederates 
back  some  distance.  In  this  charge  the  Sev- 
enteenth Kentucky,  led  by  its  gallant  officers. 
Col.  McHenry  and  Lieut.  Col.  A.  M.  Stout, 
greatly  distinguished  itself.  At  this  juncture 
a flank  movement  was  detected  upon  his 
right,  beyond  which  he  had  no  support. 
Directing  a company  of  the  Thirty-fii’st  Indi- 
ana to  be  deployed  as  skirmishers  in  that 
direction.  Col.  Cruft  was  obliged  to  give  his 
attention  to  the  movements  upon  his  left, 
where  heavy  columns  of  the  Confederates 
could  be  seen  moving  in  pursuit  of  McCler- 
nand. 

The  Eleventh  Illinois,  out  of  ammunition, 
was  slowly  falling  back,  exposing  his  left 
flank  to  a constant  fire  from  the  Confederates, 
advancing  in  force  against  him.  The  posi- 
tion of  the  plucky  little  brigade  was  now 
indeed  perilous,  but  being  new  to  the  business 
of  war  the  men  were  not  aware  of  the  full 
extent  of  their  danger.  It  was  soon  attacked 
by  a superior  force  of  cavalry  and  infantry 
on  its  left,  menaced  by  a flank  movement 
against  its  right,  the  object  of  which  was 
evidently  to  compel  its  siUTender,  but  the 
brigade  remained  intact,  turning  its  fire 
upon  the  nearest  enemy,  at  the  same  time 
moving  slowly  to  the  right  and  rear,  when 

25 


402 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


it.  soon  came  upon  a commanding  ridge  front- 
ing the  Confederates,  where  it  planted  its 
colors  and  prepared  for  the  final  assault, 
which  came  at  once. 

The  advancing  troops,  Hushed  with  success, 
rushed  up  the  hill  with  the  light  of  victory 
upon  their  faces  to  meet  a force  of  equal 
courage  and  determination.  Out  of  reach  of 
support,  with  none  to  witness  their  heroic 
defense,  they  prepared  to  meet  their  assail- 
ants. The  front  of  their  line  speedily  became 
a sheet  of  flame  from  which  the  leaden  missiles 
flew  into  the  ranks  of  the  Confederates,  who 
wavered  before  the  shock,  and  at  length  fell 
back,  leaving  their  dead  upon  the  hillside. 
The  brigade,  now  greatly  reduced  by  losses 
in  killed  and  wounded,  drew  off  toward  the 
right  of  Thayer’s  brigade,  with  which  com- 
munication was  soon  opened  through  the 
medium  of  a line  of  skirmishers.  After  a 
three  hours’  engagement,  during  much  of 
which  time  the  brigade  had  been  isolated,  it 
had  saved  McClernand’s  division  from  the 
effect  of  a strong  Hank  movement  upon  his 
right  wing,  then  defending  itself  against  a 
continuous  and  determined  attack,  which,  but 
for  the  courage  and  discipline  of  officers  and 
men,  would  have  demolished  it. 

The  beleagured  garrison  had  thus,  after 
six  hours’  Hghting,  driven  the  investing  force 
away  from  their  left  and  rolled  it  back  upon 
the  center,  uncovering  three  roads  that  led 
southward  to  liberty.  Having  thus  accom- 
plished the  first  move  in  the  plan  of  escape 
agreed  upon,  and  in  momentary  expectation  of 
being  called  upon  to  act  as  rear  guard  to  the 
retreating  army,  Buckner  was  astonished  by 
the  reception  of  an  order  to  march  back  to 
his  old  position  in  the  intrenchments.  There 
should  have  been  nothing  in  the  way  of  a 
rapid  retreat  by  every  practicable  route.  But 
no  preparations  for  this  last  act  in  the  tragic 
performance  of  the  day  had  been  made.  The 
troops,  to  whom  had  been  assigned  the  brave 
work  of  clearing  avray  the  right  wing  of  the 
Union  army,  had  very  properly  been  left  un- 
fettered in  their  movements,  by  burdensome 
haversacks  and  knapsacks,  and  when  the  door 
of  escape  was  open  they  were  unable  to  avail 
themselves  of  it  through  lack  of  any  provision 


for  the  march.  Eight  regiments  had  been 
allowed  to  remain  idle  spectators  of  the  scene 
within  the  intrenchments,  where  every  moment 
should  have  been  utilized  in  removing  pro- 
visions to  the  rear.  Night  closed  upon  the 
scene.  The  Union  lines,  pressing  forward 
closely  upon  the  heels  of  the  garrison,  with- 
drawn  within  the  intrenchments,  formed  their 
lines  across  the  Winn’s  Ferry  Road  and  closed 
the  only  avenue  by  which  the  Confederates 
could  escape. 

The  two  commanding  generals,  through 
whose  inefficiency  the  withdrawal  from  Fort 
Donelson  had  been  rendered  impossible,  made 
their  escape,  leaving  the  task  of  surrender  to 
G-en.  Buckner,  who,  with  what  grace  he  could 
command,  accepted  the  only  terms  offered — 
unconditional  surrender.  This  occurred  on 
the  16th  of  February;  on  the  4th  of  March, 
Gen.  Grant  was  temporarily  relieved  from 
duty,  and  the  troops,  under  the  direction  of 
Gen.  Halleck,  the  department  commander, 
were  placed  under  the  command  of  Gen. 
C.  F.  Smith,  who,  proceeding  to  the  Tennes- 
see, ascended  that  river  to  Savannah,  where  a 
part  of  the  army  was  stationed.  The  rest 
was  advanced  to  Pittsburg  Landing,  about 
nine  miles  above,  and  placed  on  the  west 
side  of  the  river.  On  the  13th  of  March,  Gen. 
Grant  was  restored  to  his  command,  and, 
before  any  marked  changes  were  made  in  the 
position  of  the  army,  was  attacked  by  Gens. 
Johnston  and  Beam'egard. 

The  battle  of  Shiloh,  fought  on  April  6th 
and  7th,  1862,  was  the  apprenticeship  of  a 
large  majority  of  the  regiments,  on  both 
sides,  to  the  art  of  war.  With  more  courage 
than  discipline,  and  more  zeal  than  knowl- 
edge, they  were  brought  into  the  conflict  by 
commanders  as  inexperienced  as  themselves, 
where  they  offered  a soldier’s  last  sacrifice 
in  defense  of  their  country. 

The  Union  forces  under  command  of  Gen. 
Grant,  present  upon  the  field,  consisted  of 
five  divisions  commanded  by  Gens.  McCler- 
nand,  W.  H.  L.  Wallace,  Hurlbut,  Sherman 
and  Prentiss.  The  total  effective  strength 
of  these  organizations  by  the  returns  of  the 
4th  of  April  was  37,330.  On  the  morning  of 
the  attack  by  the  Confederate  army,  under 


HISTORY  OP  KENTUCKY. 


403 


Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  numbering 
37,589,  infantry  and  artillery,  the  several 
divisions  were  encamped  at  will,  with  no  ref- 
erence to  a line  of  battle,  upon  the  hills 
above  the  Tennessee  Eiver  at  Pittsburg 
Landing;  not  a spadeful  of  earth  was  thrown 
up  as  a defense,  and  the  divisions  were  with- 
out a common  commander.  Of  course  defeat 
was  the  inevitable  result,  and  that  it  was  not 
final  and  crushing  in  its  effect  was  owing  to 
the  arrival  of  Maj.-Gen.  Don  Carlos  Buell, 
with  the  Army  of  the  Ohio. 

The  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  however, 
fought  with  the  same  desperate  courage  that 
later  on  led  it  to  victory  on  many  hotly  con- 
tested fields;  the  fault  lay  not  with  the  troops, 
but  with  the  lack  of  generalship  which 
allowed  them  to  be  taken  at  cruel  disadvan- 
tage. A year  later  not  a subaltern  in  the 
army  would  have  permitted  his  command  to 
rest,  even  for  a day,  in  the  presence  of  a 
superior  force  of  the  enemy  without  erecting 
a barricade  of  some  sort  behind  which  to 
fight  at  advantage. 

Like  those  youthful  surgeons  whose  knowl- 
edge of  the  art  was  derived  from  books,  and 
who  finally  became  perfect  through  the  suf- 
fering of  others,  the  lesson  had  to  be  learned 
by  our  generals,  and  it  was  as  well  that  it 
should  be  given  by  the  grim  instructors  at 
Shiloh  as  elsewhere.  The  value  of  earth- 
works was  taught  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee 
at  Shiloh.  It  was  the  dying  gift  of  Albert 
Sidney  Johnston,  but  it  remained  for  Bragg 
to  impart  the  lesson  to  the  Army  of  the  Ohio, 
when  eight  months  later  McCook’s  veterans 
fled  in  panic  from  the  battle-field  of  Stone 
River. 

The  Kentucky  Infantry  regiments  engaged 
on  the  Union  side  on  the  second  day  of  the 
battle  were  the  following:  First,  Col.  D.  A. 
Enyart;  Second,  Col.  T.  D.  Sedge  wick;  Fifth, 
Col.  H.  M.  Buckley;  Sixth,  Col.  W.  C.  Whit- 
aker; Ninth,  Col.  B.  C.  Grider;  Eleventh, 
Col.  P.  B.  Hawkins;  Thirteenth,  Col.  E.  H. 
Hobson;  Twentieth,  Lieut. -Col.  Charles  S. 
Hanson;  Twenty-sixth,  Lieut. -Col.  Cicero 
Maxwell:  Seventeenth,  Col.  J.  H.  McHenry; 
Twenty-fifth,  Lieut. -Col.  B.  H.  Bristow. 

The  last  two  mentioned  were  the  only  Ken- 


tucky regiments  engaged  in  the  battle  of  the 
6th  of  April. 

Gen.  Lauman,  having  reported  for  duty 
the  previous  day,  was  assigned  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  brigade,  which,  under  the  gal- 
lant leadership  of  Col.  Charles  Cruft,  received 
its  seasoning  in  the  heat  of  battle  at  Fort 
Donelson,  where  its  heroic  defense  in  front 
of  Lew  Wallace’s  division  had  withstood  the 
onset  of  Pillow’s  corps,  while  McClernand 
reformed  his  shattered  brigades  in  its  rear. 
It  consisted  of  the  Seventeenth  and  Twenty- 
fifth  Kentuckj",  reduced  by  battle  and  disease 
to  less  than  600  men;  the  Thirty-first  and 
Forty-foui’th  Indiana,  1,100  more — making 
an  aggregate  strength  of  1,717  effectives. 
This  brigade  belonged  to  the  Army  of  the 
Ohio,  and  had  been  dispatched  by  Gen. 
Thomas  L.  Crittenden,  at  the  order  of  Gen. 
Buell,  to  Fort  Henry  on  the  the  1st  of  Feb- 
ruary. It  had  joined  Grant’s  army  with  over 
2,500  men,  and  was  returned  to  Buell  after 
participating  in  the  battles  of  Fort  Donelson 
and  Shiloh,  with  an  effective  strength  of  little 
over  1,200.  Nearly  700  men  had  been  killed 
and  wounded  when  it  rejoined  the  Army  of 
the  Ohio. 

The  first  assault  fell  upon  this  brigade  at 
about  10:30  o’clock.  Prentiss  and  Stuart 
having  fallen  back,  all  that  portion  of  the 
battle-field  for  which  they  had  so  stub- 
bornly contended  was  in  possession  of  the 
enemy. 

The  skirmishers  wei’e  driven  in  and  the 
gleam  of  bayonets  beyond  showed  the  ad- 
vance of  a long  line  of  Confederate  troops. 
Gen.  Lauman  says,  in  his  report:  “I  waited 
until  I could  distinctly  see  them  advancing, 
by  the  gleam  of  their  bayonets,  about  100 
yards  distant,  when  I gave  the  order  to  fire. 
The  first  volley  checked  their  advance.  They 
held  their  ground  for  some  time,  however, 
when  they  moved  off  to  the  right,  where  they 
had  planted  a battery,  and  under  cover  of 
which  they  attempted  to  cross  the  open  field. 
I immediately  ordered  the  left  wing  to  move 
up  to  the  fence,  and  as  soon  as  they  came 
within  short  range  opened  fire  on  them,  which 
soon  caused  them  to  fall  back.  Their  loss 
here  and  in  the  front  was  very  heavy;  the 


404 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


ground  was  literally  covered  with  their  dead 
and  wounded.  The  rebels  continuing  to 
move  to  the  left,  I received  your  orders  to 
move  the  brigade  to  the  left,  so  as  to  check 
their  movements  in  that  direction.  The 
movement  was  executed  in  line  order,  and 
here  we  held  our  position  until  4 o’clock, 
lighting  against  vastly  superior  numbers, 
until  the  batteries  to  right  and  left  of  us  had 
retired.” 

Col.  J.  M.  Shackelford  having  resigned  in 
March,  Lieut.  -Col.  Benjamin  H.  Bristow  and 
Maj.  Wall,  each  successively  in  command 
of  the  Twenty-fifth  Kentucky,  were  wounded, 
and  Col.  McHenry,  of  the  Seventeenth,  as- 
sumed command  of  both  regiments,  Lieut. - 
Col,  A.  M.  Stout,  in  command  of  the  latter. 
The  consolidation  was  made  permanent  by 
the  military  board  of  Kentucky,  after  the 
close  of  the  battle.  Col.  McHenry  says: 

Many  of  my  best  men  fell,  killed  and  wounded, 
and  the  gallant  Capt.  Morton,  of  Company  A,  re- 
ceived at  this  place  a fatal  wound,  whilst  he  was  in 
front  of  his  company,  setting  them  a daring  exam- 
ple, which  he  was  ever  ready  to  manifest  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  enemy.  We  had  been  constantly  en- 
gaged for  five  hours.  All  of  the  ammunition  in  the 
cartridge-boxes  of  my  men  was  exhausted  to  the 
second  round,  and  the  enemy  made  a renewed  at- 
tack upon  our  whole  line,  which  ^vas  met  with  de- 
termined resistance  on  the  part  of  our  troops  at  this 
place.  We  were  ordered  to  draw  back,  and  did  so, 
under  your  eye,  slowl}^  and  without  confusion.  My 
regiment  was  again  ordered  into  line,  in  the  rear  of 
the  heavy  and  light  artilleiy,  which  opened  fire 
upon  the  Confederates,  severely  and  unexpectedly, 
and  which  wuas  kept  up  unceasingly  until  night 
closed  the  struggle  of  the  day,  in  which  your  whole 
brigade  had  acted  a conspicuous  and  gallant  part. 

We  were  moved  to  the  front  of  the  line  of  artill- 
ery, above  alluded  to,  and  bivouacked  during  the 
night  in  the  rain,  weary  and  worn,  and  without 
food  or  protection  from  the  heavy  rain  that  fell  upon 
us.  Without  sleep,  we  aro.se  with  the  dawn,  and  I 
found  that  my  regiment,  in  killed,  wounded,  sick 
and  disabled,  had  been  reduced  to  less  than  half  of 
the  small  number  of  men  who  had  occupied  the 
ranks  on  the  day  and  night  of  the  6th. 

About  10  o’clock  on  the  7th,  we  were  led  near 
the  extreme  right  of  our  forces,  and  participated  in 
a desperate  charge  of  our  column  upon  the  Confed- 
erates, which  resulted  in  driving  them  back,  and 
gave  the  victory,  glorious  and  dearly  bought,  once 
more  to  the  beloved  flag  of  our  country.  Lieut. - 
Col.  Stout,  on  account  of  an  extremely  painful  wound 
in  the  arm,  received  in  the  gallant  devotion  to  his 
duty  on  the  6th,  at  mj’  urgent  request,  did  not  go 


with  the  regiment  on  the  second  day.  Maj.  Isaac 
Calhoon  was  during  both  of  these  two  eventful  days 
to  he  found  at  all  times  where  bis  duty  called  him, 
fearless  and  bold  in  the  discharge  of  it.  Both  of 
these  ofiicers’  horses,  as  well  as  that  of  my  own, 
were  wounded  by  musket-balls  from  the  Confeder- 
ates on  the  6th.  Capt.  Robert  Vaughan,  Company 
I,  after  having  fought  bravely  during  the  whole  day 
was  severely  wounded  on  the  evening  of  the  6th. 
Cajit.  Davison,  Company  B,  behaved  with  his  usual 
coolness  and  courage,  with  his  excellent  Lieut. 
Byers  executing  all  orders  upon  the  field  with  zeal 
and  devotion  to  the  cause. 

Lieut.  Keith,  in  command  of  Company  G;  Lieut. 
Nall,  Company  F;  Sergt.  Landrum,  Company  H; 
Lieut.  Brown,  Company  K;  Capt.  Beckham,  Com- 
pany C;  Capt.  Hudson,  Company  D;  Lieuts.  Camp- 
bell, Bratcher,  Ferguson,  Little,  Heston  and  Adjt. 
Starling,  were  to  be  found  constantly  at  their 
posts  on  the  6th,  with  their  respective  commands, 
cheering,  encouraging,  and  sustaining  the  gallant 
soldiers  of  the  Seventeenth  Kentucky  Regiment, 
who  now  mourn  the  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  out 
of  their  reduced  ranks  of  eighty-eight  of  their  com- 
rades. 

The  First  and  Second  Infantry  Regiments 
returned  to  Kentucky  from  western  Virginia 
in  January,  1862,  and  were  assigned  to  the 
4th  division.  Army  of  the  Ohio,  commanded 
by  Brig.-Gen.  William  Nelson.  They  had 
participated  in  the  several  minor  engage- 
ments in  West  Virginia.  Col.  Bruce  refers 
as  follows  to  the  part  taken  by  the  First,  Sec- 
ond and  Twentieth  Kentucky  Regiments  in 
the  battle  of  Shiloh  on  the  7th  of  April: 

After  the  engagement  became  general,  the  col- 
onel commanding  the  brigade  was  ordered  to  assist 
the  Nineteenth  Brigade,  Col.  Hazeu.  He  ordered 
the  First  Kentucky  Regiment  to  change  direction  to 
the  right  and  advance  to  the  support  of  Col.  Hazen’s 
left.  This  regiment  sustained  a galling  fire  of  grape 
and  canister  while  carrying  out  these  orders.  The 
Twentieth  Kentucky  was  ordered  up  to  support  the 
First  Kentuck,v  in  this  movement,  which  it  did  under 
a very  severe  fire.  Both  these  regiments  deserve 
the  highest  commendations  for  the  manner  in  which 
they  executed  their  orders. 

Between  9 and  10  o’clock,  A.  M.,  the  Second  Ken- 
tucky Regiment  was  ordered  to  charge  a battery  on 
our  right,  which  was  playing  on  our  left  flank.  The 
fight  of  the  regiment  in  executing  this  order  became 
almost  hand  to  hand,  and  was  of  the  most  terrific 
character.  Capt.  Spellmeyer  was  instantly  killed. 
Capts.  Bodine  and  Smith,  Adjt.  Weinedel,  Lieuts 
Miller  and  Alms,  were  carried  to  the  rear, 
all  seriousW  wounded.  Lieut.  Miller  died  on  the 
field.  Within  a very  small  compass,  where  this  reg- 
iment charged,  could  be  counted  over  200  of  the 
enemy  lying  dead  upon  the  field.  This  regiment 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


405 


succeeded  in  taking  one  of  the  enemy’s  guns,  but 
was  able  to  hold  it  for  only  a few  minutes,  being 
overpowered  by  much  greater  numbers.  During 
the  entire  day  the  Twenty-second  Brigade  rendered 
the  most  effecient  service  in  repelling  the  desperate 
assaults  on  the  left  flank  of  our  army. 

In  the  afternoon,  the  First,  Second  and  Twen- 
tieth Kentucky  Regiments  steadily  maintained  the 
positions  assigned  them,  and  did  their  part  toward 
securing  the  imperishable  glory  reflected  upon  the 
general  commanding  his  division.  The  Second 
Kentucky  at  one  time  during  the  afternoon  charged 
a battery,  took  it,  spiked  one  of  the  guns,  and  turned 
another  upon  the  Confederates,  but  were  unable  to 
hold  it,  being  flercely  charged  in  return  by  their  reg- 
iments. The  Twentieth  Kentucky,  acting  in  reserve, 
placed  in  position  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  the 
First  Kentucky,  was  in  full  range  of  the  Confede- 
rates’fire,  and  at  all  times  maintained' their  forma- 
tion with  the  steadiness  and  tenacity  becoming  vet- 
erans. Where  every  officer  and  soldier  displayed 
such  distinguished  courage,  it  seems  almost  invid- 
ious to  particularize.  The  colonel  commanding  the 
brigade  desires  to  make  particular  mention  of  the 
following  gentlemen : 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Leiper,Maj.  Cahill  (who  was 
wounded),  and  Adjutant  Wright  deserve  great  praise 
for  the  manner  in  which  they  discharged  their 
duties.  Col.  Sedgewick,  Lieutenant-  Colonel  Spen- 
cer and  Maj.  Hurd  displayed  the  greatest  courage, 
and  daring.  Col.  Sedgewick  was  stricken  down  by 
a spent  round  shot  while  discharging  the  duties  of 
his  position.  Late  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  Con- 
federates made  their  last  desperate  attempt  upon 
our  left  flank,  the  First  and  Twentieth  Kentucky 
regiments  moved  up  to  the  support  of  Terrill’s  bat- 
tery, repulsed  the  attack  and  held  the  position, 
while  the  assailants  retired  from  the  contest. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Hanson,  commanding  the 
Twentieth,  deserves  very  high  commendation  for 
the  manner  in  which  he  managed  his  regiment  at 
this  crisis.  Lieutenant  Bachus,  of  the  same  regi- 
ment, while  fighting  bravely  in  the  lead  of  his  com- 
pany, received  a very  severe  wound.  Lieutenant 
Cooper,  aid-de-camp  to  the  colonel  commanding, 
deserves  high  praise  for  the  brilliant  manner  in 
which  he  rallied  the  Forty-first  Ohio  regiment  (Col. 
Hazen’s  brigade)  when  badly  disordered.  Through 
the  entire  duration  of  this  terrible  battle  the  Twenty- 
second  brigade  deported  themselves  in  a manner  of 
which  their  government  and  the  State  may  well  be 
proud. 

The  Fifth  Kentucky  was  one  of  the  gallant 
regiments  led  by  Gen.  Eousseau  at  Shiloh, 
which  drew  from  Gen.  Sherman  the  high 
commendation  of  Kentucky  troops  found  in 
his  official  report; 

The  Confederates  had  one  battery  close  by  Shiloh 
and  another  near  the  Hamburg  road,  both  pouring 
grape  and  canister  upon  any  column  of  troops  that 


advanced  toward  the  green  point  of  water-oaks. 
Willich’s  regiment  had  been  repulsed,  but  a whole 
brigade  of  McCook’s  division  advanced  beautifully, 
deployed,  and  entered  this  dreaded  woods.  I 
ordered  my  Second  brigade,  then  commanded  by 
Col.  T.  Kilby  Smith,  (Col.  Stuart  being  wounded) 
to  form  on  its  right,  and  my  Fourth  brigade.  Col. 
Buckland,  on  its  right,  all  to  advance  abreast  with 
this  Kentucky  brigade  before  mentioned,  which  I 
afterward  found  to  be  Rousseau’s  brigade  of  Mc- 
Cook’s division.  I gave  personal  direction  to  the  24, 
pounder  guns,  whose  well-directed  fire  silenced  the 
enemy’s  guns  to  the  left,  and  afterward  at  the 
Shiloh  Meefing-House.  Rousseau’s  brigade  moved 
in  splendid  order  steadib^  to  the  front,  sweeping 
everything  before  it,  and  at  4 P.  M.  we  stood  upon 
the  ground  of  our  original  line  and  the  enemy 
were  in  full  retreat. 

Gen.  Rousseau  says: 

I at  once  decided  to  move  forward  the  whole 
brigade  to  the  open  ground,  except  the  Sixth  Indiana 
which  held  a most  important  position  on  our  left 
flank,  which  position  the  enemy  had  menaced  in 
strong  force  for  several  hours.  I ordered  Ccl. 
Buckley,  with  the  Louisville  Legion,  to  move  up  to 
the  right  and  front  and  engage  the  enemy,  who  had 
rallied  all  their  available  forces  and  were  moving 
down  upon  us.  At  the  same  time  Majs.  King  and 
Carpenter  and  Col.  Smith  were  ordered  to  advance 
in  line  with  Col.  Buckley. 

The  advance  was  admirably  made,  and  with 
alacrity  the  brigade  steadily,  briskly,  and  in  excel- 
lent order,  moved  forward.  We  advanced  about  200 
yards  to  the  front,  when  we  came  in  collision  with 
the  enemy.  They  were  stronger  at  this  point  than 
in  either  of  the  previous  encounters.  I afterward 
learned  from  wounded  prisoners  that  the  force  at 
this  time  opposed  to  us  consisted  of  the  Third, 
Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth  Kentucky  (Confederate)  and 
several  others  from  various  States.  Tiie  fire  of 
musketry  was  the  heaviest  I ever  heard.  My  line 
when  fired  on  halted  of  itself  and  went  to  work. 

The  issue  was  important,  as  my  brigade  was 
directly  in  the  road  of  the  enemy  to  the  Landing, 
and  they  were  evidently  pressing  for  that  point.  I 
was  the  more  fully  impressed  with  the  importance 
of  driving  them  from  this  position  by  your  words 
to  me  when  you  ordered  a change  to  the  front  of 
your  original  line  of  battle,  which  were,  in  substance,, 
that  my  position  was  in  the  center,  and  must  be 
held  at  every  hazard,  and  that  you  would  support 
me  with  the  balance  of  your  division  as  it  arrived 
on  the  field. 

The  fight  lasted  about  forty  minutes,  when  the 
enemy  gave  way  and  were  at  once  pursued  by  the 
whole  line  up  to  the  open  ground  in  front,  my  brig- 
ade capturing  several  cannon,  retaking  a battery 
of  ours  captured  the  previous  day,  and  retaking  the 
headquarters  of  Gen.  McClernand.  We  also  took 
three  flags  from  the  enem}'.  At  this  time  the  40 


40G 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


rounds  of  cartridges  in  the  boxes  of  the  men  were 
exhausted  and  the  line  was  halted. 

The  Sixth  Kentucky  served  in  Hazen’s 
brigade  of  Nelson’s  division,  at  Shiloh,  and 
bore  a conspicuous  part  in  that  engagement. 
Gen.  Whitaker  in  his  report  refers  as  follows 
to  the  courage  of  his  officers  and  men; 

At  10  o’clock  Mendenhall’s  batteiy,  which  had 
rendered  efficient  service,  was  assailed  by  a large 
fource  of  the  enemy.  It  was  supported  by  three 
companies  of  the  Sixth  Kentucky,  under  command 
of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cotton.  They  were  severely 
pressed,  and  a charge  was  made  by  the  remainder  of 
the.  Sixth  regiment  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
headed  by  Col.  Wlihaker  and  Adjt.  Shackelford. 
The  acting  brigader-general.  Col.  Hazen,  most  gal- 
lantly accompanied  them  in  the  charge.  The  enemy 
were  routed  from  their  cover  behind  logs  and  trees 
with  terrific  slaughter.  The  pursuit  and  figlit  were 
continued  by  Col.  Hazen’s  brigade  until  the  enemy 
were  driven  beyond  their  batteries,  Whilst  the 
entire  regiment,  with  some  miserable  exceptions, 
behaved  most  gallantly,  sustaining  the  reputation 
of  Kentucky,  and  in  conjunction  with  the  Ninth 
Indiana  and  Forty-first  Ohio  boldly  maintaining  the 
credit  of  the  Nineteenth  brigade  and  Gen.  Nelson’s 
division,  it  is  only  justice  to  refer  especially  to  the 
gallant  conduct  of  Adjt.  Shackelford,  Lieutenants 
McGraw  and  Rockingham,  Sergeant-Major  Dauks, 
Company  A,  and  Private  Floyd,  of  Company  D. 
The  regimental  color-bearer,  Richard  T.  Tliorntou, 
was  shot  down,  and,  true  to  his  duty,  died  with  the 
flag  of  his  country  on  his  breast.  It  was  taken  by 
the  colonel,  who  carried  it  some  distance  and  gave 
it  to  Sergeant  Schmidt,  of  Company  C,  who  bore  it 
through  the  balance  of  the  fight.  Private  Irving,  of 
Company  A (wounded  and  since  dead),  killed  five  of 
the  enemy.  Lieutenant  Chilton  was  taken  prisoner 
by  six  rebels.  Two  or  three  friends  rallied  to  his 
aid.  The  enemy  were  all  killed  and  he  rescued,  the 
lieutenant  killing  one  of  his  captors  with  his  pistol. 

Brig. -Gen.  J.  T.  Boyle,  commanding  the 
Eleventh  Brigade  of  Gen.  T.  L.  Crittenden’s 
division,  in  his  report  to  that  officer  refers  as 
follows  to  the  conduct  of  the  Ninth  and  Thir- 
teenth Regiments: 

The  Nineteenth  Ohio,  Col.  Beatty,  formed  the 
right  of  my  brigade;  the  Thirteenth  Regiment,  Col. 
Hobson,  the  center,  and  the  Ninth  Kentucky,  Col. 
Grider,  on  the  left,  with  the  Fifty-ninth  Ohio,  Col. 
FyEe,  in  the  rear,  as  a supporting  reserve.  In  pur- 
suance of  orders,  we  marched  steadily  forward 
upon  the  center,  the  Fourteenth  brigade  being  still 
in  advance  on  the  left.  I halted  my  command  in 
sight  of  the  open  field  in  front  of  the  right  wing  of 
my  brigade,  and,  by  order  of  Gen.  Buell,  given  in 
person,  I threw  forward  four  flanking  companies 
of  the  Nineteenth  Ohio  and  Thirteenth  Kentuckj^ 


as  skirmishers,  to  advance  to  the  open  field,  or  to 
where  the  skirmishers  could  find  and  engage  the 
enemy,  or  await  the  advance  of  our  line.  After 
capturing  a prisoner  and  sending  him  in,  the  skir- 
mishing companies  of  the  Nineteenth  Ohio  were 
fired  upon  and  driven  back,  and  I ordered  up  Col. 
Beatty,  of  the  Nineteenth  Ohio,  to  take  position 
along  the  edge  of  the  open  field  to  repel  the  ad- 
vance of  the  enemy  in  that  direction.  At  this  junc- 
ture the  enemy  turned  their  forces  in  the  direction 
of  the  position  occupied  by  you  with  the  Fourteenth 
brigade,  evidently  with  the  view  of  driving  back 
our  forces  and  capturing  our  guns.  The  Fourteenth 
brigade,  encouraged  and  led  on  by  you  in  person  at 
their  head,  made  an  impetuous  attack  upon  the 
enemy,  driving  them  back  with  great  loss,  saving 
our  guns,  and  advancing  our  lines.  As  the  regi- 
ments of  that  brigade  were  withdrawn,  I ordered 
up  the  Thirteenth  Kentucky  to  their  position,  and 
ordered  the  Ninth  Kentucky  and  Forty-ninth  Ohio 
to  my  left,  where  they  were  placed  in  position  by 
you.  The  Thirteenth  Kentucky,  led  on  by  Col.  Hob- 
son in  a gallant  charge  upon  the  enemy,  drove  them 
back  with  great  slaughter,  forcing  them  to  desert 
their  guns,  to  which  they  had  rallied  after  having  been 
driven  back  by  the  Fourteenth  brigade,  under  your 
command.  In  this  charge  Col.  Hobson,  Maj.  Hob- 
son, acting  lieutenant-colonel,  Capt.  Towles,  acting 
major,  and  Acting  Adjt.  Stewart,  of  the  Thirteenth 
Kentucky,  behaved  with  great  coolness  and  courage, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  a recoil,  caused  by  a 
portion  of  the  Wisconsin  troops  breaking  through 
their  lines,  creating  some  disorder,  they  steadily 
led  their  brave  men  forward,  driving  the  enemy 
before  them.  Maj.  Hobson  had  his  horse  shot 
dead  under  him  in  this  charge.  Lieut. -Col.  Ed- 
munds, of  the  rebel  army,  was  killed  in  the  attack. 
**■!{•*** 

Tlie  enemy  seemed  to  be  deflecting  their  forces 
and  making  their  attack  upon  the  left  of  the  center, 
in  the  direction  of  Capt.  Mendenhall’s  battery, 
which  had  shelled  them  with  fearful  destruction, 
when  Gen.  Buell,  in  person,  ordered  the  Ninth 
Kentucky,  Col.  Grider,  and  Fifty-ninth  Ohio,  Col. 
Fyffe,  to  advance  rapidly,  and  engage  and  drive 
back  the  enemy.  Col.  Grider  led  his  men  gallantly 
in  the  attack,  well  supported  by  most  of  his  officers 
and  men.  The  youthful  Lieut.  Underwood,  of  that 
regiment,  behaved  with  the  gallantry  of  a veteran 
soldier,  going  in  advance  of  his  men,  and  was  shot 
through  the  sword-arm,  and  lost  his  sword.  In  his 
attack  Col.  Grider  had  three  of  his  commissioned 
officers  killed,  and  ten  wounded. 

Col.  Hobson  says: 

A heavy  firing  commenced  on  our  left.  Gen. 
Crittenden  ordered  me  to  hold  my  regiment  in 
readiness  to  charge  the  enemy’s  battery,  which  I 
did,  in  connection  with  Col.  Hawkin’s  Eleventh 
Kentucky,  both  regiments  advancing  in  order  and 
occasionally  meeting  the  enemy,  driving  them  be- 
fore us  until  we  arrived  at  a section  of  battery  in 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


407 


our  front,  ■which  had  been  abandoned  by  the  Con- 
federates, they  falling  hack  in  confusion.^  A sec- 
tion of  battery  on  our  left  was  captured  about  the 
same  time  by  Col.  Fyffe's  Fifty-ninth  Ohio,  and 
Col.  B.  C.  Grider’s  Xinth  Ken luck}^  they  moving 
on  the  left,  and  my  regiment  and  Eleventh  Ken- 
tucky, Col.  Hawkins,  on  the  right,  supporting  Capt. 
Bartlett’s  battery. 

The  Fourteenth  brigade  entered  the  tight 
on  therio-ht  of  Nelson’s  division,  and  became 

O ^ 

at  once  engaged.  Col.  William  S.  Smith, 
Thirteenth  Ohio,  commanding  the  brigade, 
thus  alludes  to  the  part  taken  by  the  Eleventh 
and  Twenty- sixth  Infantry: 

The  Fourteenth  Wisconsin  Volunteers,  tempo- 
rarily attached  to  my  brigade,  was  drawn  up  in 
line  of  battle  on  the  right,  the  Thirteenth  Ohio  on 
the  left,  and  the  Twenty-sixth  Kentucky  in  the 
center.  The  Eleventh  Kentucky  was  held  in  re- 
serve, and  placed  200  j^ards  in  the  rear  of  the  cen- 
ter of  our  line  of  battle,  in  a position  covered  by 
the  crest  of  a hill,  along  which  our  line  of  battle 
extended.  Two  companies  of  skirmishers,  one 
from  the  Eleventh  and  one  from  the  Twenty-sixth 
Kentucky,  were  then  deployed  to  the  front.  The 
skirmishers  on  our  right  soon  charged  those  of  the 
enemy  in  an  open  field  in  front  of  the  right  of  our 
line.  The  enemy’s  skirmishers  retired,  and  all  was 
quiet  in  front  of  our  line  for  nearly  one  hour,  when 
our  skirmishers  again  engaged  those  of  the  ene- 
my, and  this  was  soon  followed  by  a furious  at- 
tack upon  our  whole  front.  The  right  recoiled, 
while  the  left  and  center  stood  firm.  The  Twenty- 
sixth  Kentucky  was  then  sent  forward  to  support 
our  right,  and  a heavy  cross  fire  to  our  front  was 
opened  from  Bartlett’s  battery,  which  was  in  posi- 
tion on  our  right.  The  enemy  soon  yielded,  when 
a running  fight  commenced,  which  extended  for 
about  one  mile  to  our  front,  where  we  captured  a 
battery  and  shot  the  horses,  and  many  of  the  can- 
noneers. Owing  to  the  obstructed  nature  of  the 
ground,  the  enthusiastic  courage  of  the  majority  of 
our  men,  the  laggard  discharge  of  their  duty  bj" 
many,  our  line  had  been  transformed  into  a column 
of  attack,  representing  the  various  grades  of  cour- 
age, from  reckless  daring  to  ignominous  fear. 

At  the  head  of  this  column  stood  a few  heroic  | 
men,  not  adequately  supported,  when  the  enemy  ! 
returned  to  the  attack  with  three  fresh  regiments  in 
good  order.  We  were  driven  back  by  these  neai  ly 
to  the  first  position  occupied  by  our  line,  when  we 
again  rallied  and  moved  forward  toward  the  battery.  I 
Reaching  a ravine  to  the  right,  and  about  600  paces 
from  the  battery,  we  halted  and  awaited  the  assist- 
ance of  ^Mendenhall’s  battery,  which  was  brought  ^ 
into  action  on  a knoll  within  a half  mile  of  the 
enemy’s  battery,  which  it  immediatelj^  silenced. 
We  then  advanced  and  captured  it  the  second  time, 
and  succeeded  in  holding  it,  despite  the  efforts  of 


the  enemy  to  repulse  us.  One  of  the  guns  was  at 
I once  turned  upon  the  enemy,  and  Mendenhall’s 
I battery  was  advanced  to  nearly  the  same  position, 
and  opened  fire  upon  the  flank  of  the  Confederate 
column,  then  retiring  before  Gen.  ilcCook’s  divis- 
ion on  our  right.  This  occurred  at  about  half  past 
3 o’clock,  P.  1\I.,  and  up  to  this  time,  from  8 o’clock 
in  the  morning,  mj'  brigade  had  been  almost  con- 
stantly engaged. 

The  Thirteenth  Ohio  and  Eleventh  and  Twenty- 
sixth  Kentucky  regiments  seemed  to  vie  with  each 
other  in  determined  valor,  and  while  they  each 
have  cause  to  regret  and  detest  the  conduct  of  a 
few  of  their  officers  and  men,  they  may  proudl}' 
exult  over  the  glorious  part  which  they  took  as  reg- 
iments in  the  bloody  engagements  of  Shiloh 
fields. 

I beg  leave  to  make  a special  mention  of  the 
gallant  conduct  of  the  field  and  staff  officers  of  the 
Thirteenth  Ohio,  and  Eleventh  and  Twent3’-sixth 
Kentucky  Regiments,  who,  without  exception,  bore 
themselves  as  true  soldiers  and  efficient  officers 
through  the  dangers  of  the  da}',  and  Lieut.  R.  E. 
Hackett,  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Kentucky,  acting 
aid-de-camp,  whose  conduct  throughout  the  day 
was  marked  by  great  coolness  and  courage. 

In  the  subsequent  operations  of  the  Army 
of  the  Ohio  before  Corinth  these  regiments 
bore  a conspicuous  part,  performing  with 
coolness  and  courage  every  duty  assigned 
them.  The  Confederate  army  having  ad- 
vanced through  eastern  and  middle  Ten- 
nessee into  Kentucky,  Gen.  Buell  moved  his 
army  to  Louisville  and  thence  to  Perryville. 

Gen.  George  W.  Morgan  who  was  assigned 
to  the  command  of  the  Seventh  Division  of 
the  Army  of  the  Ohio  assumed  command  of 
the  forces  in  eastern  Kentucky  early  in 
April,  1862.  Collecting  the  military  com- 
mands at  his  disposal  he  formed  them  into 
four  brigades,  under  Gens.  S.  P.  Carter,  A. 
Baird,  J.  G.  Spears  and  Col.  DeCoursey,  in 
which  the  Seventh,  Fourteenth,  Nineteenth 
and  Twenty-second  Kentucky  Infantries  were 
incorporated.  Maj.  Munday’s  battalion  of 
the  Sixth  Kentucky  Cavalry  and  Capt.  Pat- 
terson’s company  of  Engineers  and  Mechanics 
reported  directly  to  headquarters. 

Gen.  Morgan  determined  at  once  upon  the 
capture  of  Cumberland  Gap.  By  bold  stra- 
tegical movements,  crossing  the  mountains  by 
unfrequented  roads  south  of  the  gap,  he 
moved  through  Powell’s  Yalley  and  was  in- 
formed that  the  Confederates  had  not  awaited 


408 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Lis  arrival,  but  Lad  evacuated  tLe  strongLold, 
leaving  Morgan  to  take  peaceable  possession. 
Maj.-Gen.  E.  Kirby  Smith  was  in  command 
of  the  Confederate  department  of  east  Ten- 
nessee and  his  small  force  was  kept  busy 
along  Lis  extensive  front  from  the  gap  to 
Chattanooga. 

Cumberland  Gap  was  held  until  the  ad- 
vance of  the  Confederate  forces  under  Bragg 
and  Smith  rendered  it  necessary  for  the  lat- 
ter to  turn  it  by  the  same  route  taken  by 
Morgan  in  gaining  possession,  thus  proving 
its  uselessness  as  a strategic  position.  Find- 
ing his  communications  with  his  base  of  sup- 
plies at  Lexington,  Ky.,  cut  off,  and  his  sup- 
plies running  short,  Morgan  determined  to 
withdraw.  This  was  successfully  accom- 
plished in  the  presence  of  the  Confederates. 
After  a weary  march  of  200  miles  through 
mountain  passes,  harassed  by  Confederate 
cavalry  and  suffering  from  lack  of  provis- 
ions, the  division  reached  the  Ohio  Eiver. 
Previous  to  leaving  the  gap  Gen.  Morgan 
was  obliged  to  dispense  with  cavalry  and 
artillery  horses  for  want  of  forage.  Maj. 
Munday,  with  his  cavalry  and  400  of  the 
Seventh  Kentucky  Infantry  mounted  upon 
artillery  horses,  was  sent  under  command  of 
Col.  Garrard  to  report  to  Gen.  Nelson,  where 
they  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Richmond 
and  Perry ville. 

The  first  of  these  battles,  fought  against 
orders  given  by  Gen.  Nelson  to  his  subordi- 
nate, Gen.  M.  D.  Manson,  resulted  in  defeat 
to  the  Union  troops.  Gen.  William  Nelson, 
to  whom  the  command  of  all  the  troops  in 
Kentucky  was  entrusted  by  Gen.  Buell,  had 
two  brigades  of  the  new  levy  stationed  in  the 
vicinity  of  Richmond  and  two  more  near 
Stanford.  Gen.  James  S.  Jackson,  in  com- 
mand of  two  regiments  of  cavalry  thrown 
well  forward  on  the  Crab  Orchard  Road, 
reported  the  advance  of  a heavy  force  from 
the  direction  of  Cumberland  Gap.  Gen. 
Nelson  at  once  issued  orders  for  the  concen- 
tration of  his  command  at  Stanford,  believ- 
ing that  Gen.  Smith  would  not  attempt  to 
cross  the  Kentucky  River  while  so  large  a 
force  was  on  his  flank.  Gen.  Smith  was,  in 
the  meantime,  pushing  forward  toward  Lex- 


ington by  the  Richmond  Road,  and  on  August 
30th,  came  upon  Manson’s  brigade  three 
miles  in  advance  of  Richmond. 

The  Seventh  Kentucky  Cavalry  and  a 
detachment  of  the  Third  Tennessee  Infantry 
had  been  brushed  away  from  Big  Hill  by 
Smith’s  cavalry  several  days  previously.  In 
the  first  encounter  with  Smith’s  advance  the 
Union  troops  were  victorious,  which  embold- 
ened Manson  to  advance  a mile  farther,  to 
Rogersville,  where  he  formed  line  of  battle 
and  bivouacked  for  the  night.  Early  on  the 
following  morning  Smith  attacked  and  drove 
Manson’s  line  back  in  confusion.  Gen. 
Cruft,  commanding  a brigade  consisting  of 
the  Eighteenth  Kentucky,  Ninety- fifth  Ohio, 
and  the  Twelfth  and  Sixty-sixth  Indiana, 
hearing  the  roar  of  battle,  moved  forwai’d 
from  Richmond  and  soon  met  a cornier  from 
Manson  with  orders  to  re-enforce  him  at  once. 
The  Eighteenth  Kentucky  pushed  forward, 
and  formed  under  a heavy  fire  on  the  right 
of  the  line,  the  Ninety-fifth  Ohio  on  the 
left,  leaving  the  two  Indiana  regiments  in 
reserve.  In  the  second  attack  the  center  gave 
way  in  confusion,  followed  by  the  left,  but 
the  Eighteenth  Kentucky  held  its  ground. 
Col.  Warner’s  horse  was  shot,  but  procuring 
another  he  continued  to  cheer  on  his  men, 
until,  struck  down  by  a musket-ball,  he  was 
borne  from  the  field.  Lieut. -Col.  Landrum 
had  no  sooner  assumed  command  than  he 
too  received  a fearful  wound  in  his  face,  and 
the  command  devolved  upon  Maj.  Bracht. 

Referring  to  the  conduct  of  his  brigade  at 
this  time,  Gen.  Cruft  says  in  his  report: 

The  Eighteenth  Kentucky  made  a gallant  fight, 
and  hy  its  brave  stand  broke  the  force  of  the  enemy's 
attack  and  prevented  the  retreat  at  this  time  frona. 
becoming  a rout. 

The  men  and  officers  of  most  of  the  regi- 
ments, however,  fled  in  confusion  through 
the  fields  to  the  rear.  This  was  at  10:30, 
in  the  morning.  No  appeals  availed  to 
stop  the  panic-stricken  men  until  the  re- 
serve was  reached,  when,  a considerable 
number  having  been  rallied,  a new  line  was 
formed  and  the  two  brigade  commanders  de- 
termined to  risk  another  fight.  The  attack 
came  in  due  time;  Gen.  Smith  waiting  long 
enough  to  allow  the  cavalry  which  he  had 


GEN.  .TAMKS  S.  JACKSON. 


niSTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY'. 


409 


sent  by  a detour  to  the  rear  of  Richmond  to 
get  well  on  its  way,  before  scattering  the 
force  in  his  front. 

The  retreat  which  followed  the  third  at- 
tack was  soon  converted  into  a rout.  Gen. 
Nelson  arrived  on  the  field  at  this  juncture, 
and  by  strenuous  exertions  succeeded  in 
getting  some  2,000  men  in  line,  hoping  to 
form  of  them  a rear  guard  to  cover  the  re- 
treat of  the  command.  A few  moments 
sufliced  to  show  the  utter  uselessness  of  this 
undertaking.  The  line  broke  at  the  first  fire, 
when,  with  one  impulse  of  disgraceful 
cowardice,  officers  and  men,  mules  and 
wagons,  crowded  the  road  toward  Lexington. 
It  was  a fair  field  for  a cavalry  charge,  and 
the  Confederates  made  the  most  of  it.  YIen 
were  killed,  wounded  or  taken  prisoners. 
Gen.  Nelson,  severely  wounded,  barely  made 
his  escape.  Ylaj.  Bracht  collected  about  800 
of  his  regiment,  together  with  stragglers 
from  other  commands,  and,  being  well 
acquainted  with  the  country,  left  the  main 
road,  and  by  hard  marching  reached  Lexing- 
ton by  way  of  Boonesboro.  The  loss  of  the 
Eighteenth  Kentucky,in  this  its  first  engage- 
ment, was  three  officers  and  forty-seven  men 
killed,  six  officers  and  sixty-four  men  wounded, 
and  nine  officers  and  230  men  missing.  Gen. 
Kirby  Smith  was  soon  after  joined  in  Ken- 
tucky by  Gen.  Bragg,  and  foraging  and  re- 
cruiting commenced  on  a large  scale. 

The  possibility  that  Gen.  Bragg  would  be 
able  to  make  good  his  promise  to  hold  pos- 
session of  the  State  induced  several  hundred 
men  to  join  the  Confederate  standard.  Ylean- 
while  Gen.  Buell  had  reached  Louisville,  and 
as  soon  as  his  army  was  reorganized  by  the 
incorporation  of  a large  number  of  new  reg- 
iments into  it,  he  moved  at  once  upon  Bragg. 
While  the  main  army,  divided  into  three 
grand  divisions  under  Gens.  Thomas  L.  Crit- 
tenden, Alex.  YIcD.  McCook  and  C.  C.  Gil- 
bert, moved  by  parallel  routes  in  the  direc- 
tion of  PeiTyville — in  the  vicinity  of  which 
place  Bragg’s  army  was  reported  to  be — two 
divisions  under  Gens.  Sill  and  Dumont  were 
sent  toward  Frankfort.  By  a singular  mis- 
take Smith  was  led  to  believe  that  the  force 
advancing  on  the  Frankfort  road  was  Buell’s 


main  army,  and  so  impressed  Bragg  with  his 
view  of  the  matter  as  to  induce  him  not  only 
to  allow  Smith  to  retain  all  his  own  forces, 
but  to  re  enforce  him  with  two  divisions  of 
his  own.  By  this  means  it  came  about  that 
the  main  Union  army  encountered  but  about 
one-third  of  the  Confederate  army  at  Perry- 
ville,  while  that  portion  under  Sill  and 
Dumont  was  permitted  to  march  unmolested 
into  the  capital  of  the  State,  where  they 
interrupted  the  interesting  ceremony  of  the 
inauguration  of  a governor  by  the  Confed- 
erates. Had  the  two  armies  met  in  a gen- 
eral engagement,  their  respective  strength 
being  so  nearly  equal,  a decisive  battle  must 
have  ensued. 

The  Fifteenth  Kentucky  received  its 
baptism  of  fire  at  Perry ville.  Lytle’s  brig- 
ade of  Rousseau’s  division  occupied  the  right 
of  YIcCook’s  line  of  battle,  where  for  several 
hours  it  held  its  position  in  the  face  of  an 
attack,  which  for  courage  and  endui’ance  has 
few  parallels  in  history.  Late  in  the  after- 
noon the  Confederates  determ'ned  upon  a 
last  and  overwhelming  assault.  Yloving 
around  where  they  could  easily  be  concealed 
by  the  undulations  of  the  ground,  they  fell 
upon  the  right  and  rear  of  Lytle’s  brigade 
and  forced  it  to  retire.  Col.  Lytle  was 
severely  wounded,  and,  refusing  to  be  taken 
from  the  field,  was  captured.  Hearing  of 
this,  Gen.  Rousseau  rode  rapidly  to  that  part 
of  the  field  where  the  right  of  the  brigade, 
the  Fifteenth  Kentucky,  under  command  of 
the  gallant  Col.  Pope,  was  resting  upon  a 
hill  immediately  in  front  of  Loomis’  battery. 

Gen.  Rousseau  says:  “While  near  the  Fif- 
teenth Kentucky,  I saw  a heavy  force  of  the 
enemy  advancing  upon  our  right,  the  same 
that  had  turned  Lytle’s  right  flank.  It  was 
moving  steadily  up,  in  full  view  of  where 
Gen.  Gilbert’s  army  corps  had  been  during 
the  day,  the  left  flank  of  which  was  not  more 
than  400  yards  from  it.  On  approaching 
the  Fifteenth  Kentucky,  though  broken  and 
shattered,  the  regiment  rose  to  their  feet  and 
cheered,  and,  as  one  man,  moved  to  the  top 
of  the  hill  where  they  could  see  the  enemy; 
I ordered  them  to  lie  down,  at  the  same  time 
ordering  Loomis’  battery  to  open  upon  the 


410 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


advancing  enemy.”  At  this  moment  re-en- 
forcements, tardily  sent,  appeared  upon  the 
field  from  Gilbert’s  corps,  and  the  Confed- 
erates were  forced  to  retire  from  the  field. 
The  loss  of  the  Fifteenth  Kentucky  in  this 
engagement  was  sixty-six  killed,  and  130 
wounded,  and  four  taken  prisoners.  Col. 
Pope  received  a mortal  wound,  from  which 
he  died  a month  later.  Lieut. -Col.  Jouett 
and  Maj.  Campbell  were  killed,  and  three 
other  officers  were  wounded.* 

The  Army  of  the  Ohio,  under  Gen.  Buell, 
comprised  all  Kentucky  regiments.  After 
the  Confederate  forces  retired  from  the  State, 
and  Buell,  returning  from  their  pursuit, 
turned  the  head  of  his  columns  toward 
Nashville,  he  was  relieved  of  command  by 
Maj. -Gen.  William  S.  Rosecrans.  The 
Department  of  the  Cumberland  was  to  be 
carved  out  of  the  southern  Confederacy,  and 
that  portion  of  the  State  of  Kentucky  lying 
east  of  the  Cumberland  River  was  embraced 
in  the  Department  of  the  Ohio  under  Maj.- 
Gen.  H.  G.  Wright.  Several  regiments 
which  had  participated  in  the  campaigns  of 
Buell  were  retained  by  Gen.  W right.  These 
were  the  Twelfth,  Thirteenth,  Twentieth, 
Twenty- fourth  and  Twenty-sixth  Infan- 
try. The  Seventh,  Fourteenth,  Sixteenth, 
Nineteenth,  Twenty-second,  Twenty-seventh 
and  Thirty-fourth  also  remained  in  the 
Department  of  the  Ohio,  leaving  the  First, 
Second,  Third,  Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth,  Eighth, 
Ninth,  Tenth,  Eleventh,  Fifteenth,  Seven- 
teenth, Eighteenth,  Twenty-first,  Twenty- 
third  and  Twenty-eighth  Infantries  in  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland.  The  cavalry  reg- 
irqents  were  also  divided  between  the  two 
departments,  the  First,  Eighth,  Ninth, 
Tenth,  Eleventh,  Twelfth,  Thii’teenth,  Fif- 
teenth and  Seventeenth,  all  but  the  first 
newly  raised  regiments,  remained  in  Ken- 
tucky, while  the  Second,  Third,  Fourth, 
Fifth,  Sixth  and  Seventh  were  assigned  to 
Gen.  Rosecrans,  and  thenceforth  shared  the 
fortunes  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland. 
The  Seventh,  Nineteenth  and  Twenty- second 
Infantries  and  Patterson’s  engineers  repre- 
sented the  Kentucky  troops  in  the  Army  of 

*See  Appendix  B,  Battle  of  Perryville,  page  736. 


the  Tennessee,  where,  under  their  old 
commander’,  Gen.  George  W.  Morgan,  they 
participated  in  the  assault  upon  Chickasaw 
Bluffs,  near  Vicksburg,  in  December,  1862. 

The  movement  by  Maj. -Gen.  William  S. 
Rosecrans  with  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland 
against  the  Confederate  Army  of  the  Ten- 
nessee, under  Gen.  Bragg,  commenced  on 
Christmas  day,  1862. 

The  following  Kentucky  organizations  were 
engaged  in  the  battle  that  ensued  December 

O O 

31st,  at  Stone  River. 

Second  Cavalry,  Maj.  T.  F.  Nicholas,  on  detached 
duty  at  headquarters;  Third  Cavalry,  Col.  Eli  H. 
Murray,  First  Cavalry  Brigade;  Battery  A,  Light 
Artillery;  Third  Brigade,  First  Division,  center; 
First  Infantry,  Col.  D.  A.  Enyart,  First  Brigade, 
Second  Division,  left  wing;  Second  Infantry,  Col. 
T.  G.  Sedgewick,  First  Brigade,  Second  Division, 
left  wing;  Third  Infantry,  Lieut. -Col.  Samuel 
McKee,  First  Brigade,  First  Division,  left  wing 
Fifth  Infantry,  Lieut. -Col.  W.  W.  Berry,  Third 
Brigade,  Second  Division,  right  wing;  Sixth  In- 
fantry, Col.  W.  C.  Whitaker,  Second  Brigade,  Sec- 
ond Division,  left  wing;  Eighth  Infantry,  Lieut.- 
Col.  R.  May,  Third  Brigade,  Third  Division,  left 
wing;  Ninth  Infantry,  Col.  B.  C.  Grider,  First 
Brigade,  Third  Division,  left  wing;  Eleventh  Infant- 
ry, Lieut. -Col.  E.  L.  Mottley,  First  Brigade, Third  Di- 
vision, left  wing;  Fifteenth  Infantry,  Col.  J.  B. 
Foreman,  Second  Brigade,  First  Division,  center; 
Twenty-First  Infantry,  Lieut. -Col.  J.  C.  Evans, 
Third  Brigade,  Third  Division,  left  wing;  Twen- 
ty-Third Infantry,  Maj.  T.  II.  Hamrick,  Third  Brig- 
ade, Second  Division,  left  wing;  Maj. -Gen.  George 
H.  Thomas,  commanding  the  center;  Maj. -Gen.  A. 
McD.  McCook,  commanding  the  right  wing;  Maj  - 
Gen.  Thomas  L.  Criltenden,  commanding  the  left 
wing;  Brig.-Gen.  David  S.  Stanley,  commanding  the 
cavalry. 

Gen.  Palmer’s  division  occupied  the  right 
of  Crittenden’s  corps  and  Cruft’s  brigade 
held  the  right  of  the  line,  adjoining  Negley’s 
division  of  Thomas’  corps.  'ITue  attack  made 
at  dawn  by  the  Confederates,  commencing  on 
the  right,  swept  the  right  of  McCook’s  corps 
from  the  field,  and  swelling  toward  the  left  was 
met  sturdily  by  Sheridan  and  Negley  who  were 
at  length  compelled  to  fall  back,  when  the  force 
of  the  assault  fell  upon  Palmer.  Gen.  Cruft’s 
brigade  was  formed  in  two  lines,  the  Second 
Kentucky  and  Thirty -first  Indiana  under 
c’narge  of  Col.  Sedgewick  in  front,  and  the 
First  Kentucky  and  Ninetieth  Ohio  command- 
ed by  Col.  Enyart  in  the  rear  support.  Gen. 
Cruft  says  in  his  report  of  the  battle  of 


HISTORY  or  IvEHTUCKY. 


411 


Stone  River:  “My  troops  fought  withheroism; 
every  officer  and  soldier  acted  well  and  seeroed 
to  me  to  accomplish  more  than  could  be  ex- 
pected of  him.  For  stm’dy  endurance,  stal- 
wart bravery  and  manly  courage,  it  does  not 
seem  to  me  that  the  conduct  of  these  two 
regiments  here  could  be  surpassed.  The 
enemy  was  driven  back,  although  superior  in 
numbers.  His  charge  was  made  in  two  lines 
with  the  appearance  of  a four  rank  formation 
and  in  most  admirable  order  and  discipline. 
After  the  first  repulse  and  before  my  line 
could  be  advanced,  the  enemy  made  a second 
charge  more  furious  than  before.  The  Second 
Kentucky  and  Thirty-first  Indiana  nobly 
held  their  ground,  and  after  some  thirty 
minutes’  well  directed  fire  drove  him  back  for 
a short  distance.”  The  rear  line  consisting 
of  the  Second  Kentucky  and  Ninetieth  Ohio 
was  now  advanced  to  the  front,  and  became 
immediately  engaged.  Gen.  Cruft  continues: 
“I  attempted  with  it  to  assail  the  enemy  and 
ordered  an  advance.  The  First  Kentucky, 
Col.  Enyart,  on  the  right  of  the  line,  made  a 
gallant  charge  and  drove  the  enemy  before  it, 
rushing  forward  to  the  crest  of  the  hill,  clear 
beyond  and  to  the  right  of  the  burnt  house. 
The  fire  was  so  severe  from  the  enemy’s  force 
at  the  burnt  house  on  the  left  that  the  order 
to  move  up  the  Ninetieth  Ohio  was  counter- 
manded, not,  however,  until  many  of  the 
officers  and  men  of  this  gallant  regiment  had 
pressed  forward  over  the  fence  in  line  with 
the  old  First  Kentucky.”  The  sad  list  of 
killed  and  wounded,  in  the  First  and  Second 
Kentucky,  attest  the  courage  with  which 
these  regiments  held  their  ground  on  this 
eventful  day.  . At  length  forced  to  fall  back, 
the  Second  Kentucky  brought  off  three  pieces 
of  artillery  abandoned  by  Negley’s  division 
just  as  they  were  being  seized  by  the  Confed- 
erates. The  loss  in  the  First  and  Second 
Kentucky  Regiments  in  this  engagement  was 
173  in  killed,  and  wounded  and  missing. 

Although  on  constant  duty  during  the  first 
year  of  its  service,  the  Third  Kentucky  Infant  ■ 
ry  had  no  opportunity  to  test  its  metal  in  a 
general  engagement  until  the  31st  of  Decem- 
ber, 1862,  when  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland 
met  the  Confederate  Army  under  Gen.  Bragg 


on  the  field  of  Stone  River.  The  regiment 
under  Col.  Samuel  McKee  served  in  Has- 
call’s  brigade  of  Wood’s  division  in  the  left 
wing,  and  its  opportunity  came  when  the 
Confederates,  under  Donelson,  attacked 
Palmer’s  division  in  front  of  the  Cowan  House. 
Col.  A.  F.  Stevenson,  of  Sheridan’s  staff,  in 
his  history  of  Stone  River,  refers  as  follows 
to  the  splendid  conduct  of  the  Third  Ken- 
tucky and  its  lamented  commander:  “Sud- 

denly an  aid  sent  by  Gen.  Palmer  dashed 
across  the  open  space  toward  Gen.  Hascall, 
whose  command  was  a short  distance  in  the 
rear,  and  informed  him  that  Gen.  Palmer’s 
division  needed  help  immediately.  After  a 
moment’s  consulation  with  Gen.  Wood,  Has- 
call sent  the  grand  old  Third  Kentucky, 
and  in  double  quick  time  this  regiment  rirshed 
to  the  rescue  and  took  its  position  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Nashville  pike.  A terrible 
fight  took  place.  Scarcely  had  the  Third 
Kentucky  been  in  its  position  ten  minutes 
when  a mini^  bail  struck  its  brave  command- 
er, Lieut. -Col.  Samuel  McKee,  above  the 
eye,  and  he  fell  from  his  horse,  while  the 
regiment  lost  one- fourth  its  number  in  killed 
and  wounded.  The  courageous  Maj.  Collier, 
though  wounded  in  the  leg  and  breast, 
refused  to  leave  the  field  and  stayed  with  his 
men  to  the  end.  Seeing  that  the  Third 
Kentucky  had  suffered  so  severely,  Gen. 
Hascall  ordered  the  Fifty-eighth  Indiana  and 
Twenty-sixth  Ohio  to  their  relief  as  a second 
line;  then  placing  Estepp’s  battery  between 
them  a little  way  to  the  rear,  he  kept  the 
One  Hundredth  Illinois  further  back  in  the 
rear.”  The  slaughter  was  frightful,  and  Gen. 
Donelson,  after  losing  fifty  per  cent  of  .his 
effective  strength,  finding  himself  unable  to 
break  the  line  in  his  front,  ordered  his  men 
to  move  into  the  cedars  west  of  the  Cowan 
House,  and  finally  retired  toward  the  Wil- 
kinson pike.  The  loss  of  the  Third  Kentucky 
in  killed,  wounded  and  missing  in  the  en- 
gagement was  133,  out  of  a total  of  313 
taken  into  action. 

In  the  disaster  which  befel  the  right  wing 
at  Stone  River  the  Fifth  Kentucky  was  in- 
volved, but  all  that  heroic  courage  on  the 
part  of  officers  and  men  could  do  to  eompen- 


412 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


sate  for  the  blunders  of  superior  officers,  was 
most  gallantly  done.  Col.  Berry  took  into 
the  action  320  men,  and  of  this  number 
lost  nineteen  killed  and  eighty  woueded, 
Capt.  Ferguson  among  the  former,  and 
Lieut. -Col.  Berry,  Maj.  Forman,  Capts. 
Speed  and  Lovett,  and  Lieuts.  Dissell,  Shej)- 
pard  and  Powell  among  the  latter;  twenty- 
six  were  missing.  During  the  engagement 
the  color- bearer  was  shot,  and  down  went  the 
flag,  but  in  a moment  it  gleamed  aloft  again 
in  the  hands  of  three  men  struggling  who 
should  have  it.  Sergt.  Baker  bore  it  through- 
out the  remainder  of  the  day. 

The  old  Nelson  division  was  commanded  by 
Maj. -Gen.  John  M.  Palmer,  and  Hazen’s  brig- 
ade, formed  in  two  tines  with  the  Sixth  Ken- 
tucky and  Forty-first  Ohio  in  front,  formed 
the  center  of  the  division.  Gen.  Hazen, 
referring  to  the  assault  made  by  the  Confed- 
erates upon  Cruft’s  brigade,  mentioned,  says: 
“ The  Sixth  Kentucky  was  not  immediately 
under  my  observation  from  the  first  assault 
until  late  in  the  day,  but  the  portion  of  time 
it  was  with  me,  and  I have  reason  to  believe 
at  all  other  times,  it  fought  unflinchingly, 
and  is  deserving  of  all  praise.  It  repelled 
three  assaults  of  a rebel  brigade  from  the 
Cowan  House  endeavoring  to  reach  the  wood, 
and  only  retired  when  its  ammunition  was 
exhausted.  The  loss  of  the  regiment  In  the 
engagement  was,  in  killed,  two  officers  and 
eleven  enlisted  men;  in  wounded,  six  officers 
and  eighty- eight  enlisted  men.  Among  the 
killed  was  Lieut.  -Col.  George  T.  Cotton,  a 
brave  and  efiicient  officer,  and  Capt.  Charles 
S.  Todd,  who  fell  while  pressing  his  men  on 
to  victory.  Among  the  wounded  officers 
were  Lieuts.  Bates,  Dawkins,  Ai’mstrong  and 
Frank.” 

On  the  march  of  the  army  northward  in 
September,  Col.  Stanley  Matthews’  brigade, 
in  which  the  Eighth  and  Twenty-first  Ken- 
tucky were  serving,  moved  to  Louisville, 
where,  in  October,  it  was  assigned  to  the  old 
Crittenden  division,  then  under  command  of 
Gen.  Van  Cleve.  In  the  battle  of  Perry- 
ville  the  right  wing,  under  Maj. -Gen. 
Thomas  L.  Crittenden,  had  no  opportunity 
to  participate,  and  the  first  battle  of  import- 


ance in  which  these  regiments  took  part  was 
Stone  River.  Van  Cleve’s  division,  consist- 
ing in  part  of  the  Eighth,  Ninth,  Eleventh 
and  Twenty-first  Kentucky  Infantry,  was 
ordered  to  move  at  7 A.  M.  on  the  morning 
of  the  31st  of  December,  to  attack  Breckin- 
ridge’s division  on  the  right  of  the  Confed- 
erate army.  Before  this  movement  could 
be  carried  out,  the  Confederate  attack  came 
with  the  force  of  a cyclone  upon  the  right  of 
the  Union  line.  Van  Cleve  was  at  once  re- 
called, and  the  Third  Brigade,  commanded  by 
Col.  S.  W.  Price,  Twenty-first  Kentucky, 
assigned  to  the  defense  of  the  ford.  “ Who 
commands  this  brigade  ? ” asked  Gen.  Rose- 
crans,  appearing  suddenly  upon  the  scene.  “I 
do,”  replied  Col.  Price.  “Will  you  hold 
this  ford?  ” “ I will  try,”  was  the  modest  re- 
sponse. “Will  you  hold  this  ford?”  “I 
will  die  here,  sir.”  “Will  you  hold  this 
ford?"  “Yes,  sir.”  “ That  will  do,”  said 
the  general,  as  he  plunged  the  spurs  into  his 
horse,  and  dashed  into  the  thick  of  the  fray- 
The  Eighth  and  Twenty-first  remained  at 
the  ford,  which  was  held  according  to  prom- 
ise, while  the  Ninth  and  Eleventh  Kentucky, 
commanded  by  Cols.  Grider  and  Mottley,  ac- 
companied the  First  Brigade  to  the  rescue  of 
the  right  wing.  The  tide  of  battle  had  set 
in  with  disaster  to  the  Union  arms.  The 
line  of  battle  suddenly  improvised  by  Gen. 
Rosecrans  from  the  reserve  and  the  left 
wing  lined  the  turnpike,  waiting  for  the 
cloud  of  stragglers  from  McCook’s  command 
to  emerge  from  the  cedars  and  pass  through 
the  line.  Rarely  had  greater  responsibility 
rested  upon  a single  line  of  battle.  Defeat 
meant  the  rout  of  the  Union  army  and  the 
undisputed  march  of  the  Confederates 
through  Kentucky,  from  which  they  had  just 
been  driven.  It  was  a thrilling  moment  when 
the  order  was  given  to  advance.  Steadily  as 
if  on  parade  the  line  moved  forward  in  ir- 
resistible strength.  The  Confederates  fell 
back,  and  the  shock  of  battle  came  after  the 
Confederate  skirmish  line,  retiring  upon  the 
main  body,  rallied  to  defend  the  ground 
they  had  won.  Col.  Beatty  formed  his  brig- 
ade with  the  Ninth  Kentucky  and  Nine- 
teenth Ohio  in  the  first  line,  and  the  Eleventh 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


413 


and  Seventy-ninth  Indiana  in  support.  In 
the  engagement  which  ensued,  the  Second 
Brigade  was  driven  back,  leaving  the  First 
Brigade  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  fight.  It 
was  in  a dangerous  position,  and  a charge 
was  necessary  to  save  it  from  terrible  loss. 
This  was  effected  with  the  skill  and  precision 
characteristic  of  this  model  brigade,  and  the 
battle  raged  with  redoubled  fury,  resulting 
in  the  triumph  of  the  Union  arms.  During 
the  fight  the  men  of  the  Ninth  and  Eleventh 
Kentucky  bore  themselves  like  heroes.  Gen. 
Van  Cleve  having  been  wounded  while  the 
battle  was  in  progress,  Col.  Beatty  assumed 
command  of  the  division,  and  the  command 
of  the  brigade  devolved  upon  Col.  Ben  C. 
Grider,  Ninth  Kentucky.  New  Year’s  day 
was  occupied  by  both  armies  in  caring  for 
the  wounded  and  moving  into  new  positions. 
The  division  was  advanced  across  Stone 
River,  where  its  commander  was  directed  to 
take  position  on  the  elevated  ground  beyond 
the  ford,  with  the  tacit  understanding  that 
his  post  was  more  one  of  observation  of  the 
Confederates’  movements  than  that  of  an 
army  on  the  defensive. 

The  assault  of  Breckinridge’s  division  on 
the  2d  of  January  is  more  fully  described 
in  the  sketch  of  the  Confederate  Kentucky 
brigade.  Beatty’s  entire  division,  sadly 
decimated  by  the  fight  of  the  31st  of  Decem- 
ber, numbered  little  over  2,000  bayonets.  To 
attempt  to  hold  the  position  was  folly,  but 
receiving  no  orders  to  fall  back,  the  sturdy 
commander  held  his  position  as  long  as  pos- 
sible, when,  finding  that  to  remain  longer 
must  result  in  the  loss  of  his  command,  the 
order  was  reluctantly  given  to  retreat.  It 
was  delayed  too  long  and  a hand-to-hand 
fight  ensued.  The  Ninth  and  Eleventh  re- 
tired in  as  good  order  as  possible,  the  Eighth 
and  Twenty-first  after  a desperate  battle 
were  forced  back  and  all  reformed  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  river.  The  success  of  the 
Confederates  was  short  lived.  Fifty-four 
pieces  of  artillery  sent  a shower  of  iron 
among  them.  Volleys  of  musketry  plowed 
through  their  ranks  and  they  were  compelled 
to  retire. 

Gen.  Rousseau  refers  to  Col.  Forman,  who 


fell  at  Stone  River  while  bravely  leading  his 
men  in  action,  as  “ My  brave  boy -colonel  of 
the  Fifteenth  Kentucky.”  Col.  John  Beatty 
commanding  the  brigade  says:  “Col.  For- 
man, Fifteenth  Kentucky,  was  killed  in  the 
cedar  woods  on  the  morning  of  the  31st. 
He  was  a brave  man  and  an  excellent  oflficer. 
Capt.  Bayne  of  the  same  regiment  fell  at  the 
same  time  while  urging  his  men  forward.” 

In  the  desperate  struggle  between  Rous- 
seau and  Cleburne  for  the  possession  of  the 
cedars,  Beatty’s  brigade  moved  up  in  line 
with  the  regular  brigade,  Scribner’s  brigade 
following  as  support.  Filled  with  exultation 
by  their  victory  over  Johnston  on  the  extreme 
right  the  Confederates  rushed  forward  upon 
the  solid  columns  of  Rousseau  and  VanCleve, 
only  to  be  hurled  back  torn  and  bleeding  in 
the  conflict.  Brigade  after  brigade  was 
brought  up  only  to  share  the  fate  of  the  first. 
The  Union  line  was  never  broken  after  the 
first  assault,  for  the  heroic  men  who  com- 
posed it  realized  the  immense  responsibility 
of  the  situation. 

The  officers  killed  and  mortally  wounded 
at  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  in  Kentucky 
regiments,  were : 

Capt.  Miller  R.  IMcCullock,  Second  Cavalry; 
Col.  Samuel  McKee,  Lieut.  Daniel  Sevei-ance,  Lieut. 
Mathew  Cullen,  Third  Infantry;  Capt.  Alexander  B. 
Ferguson,  Lieut.  Frank  Dissell,  Fifth  Infantry; 
Lieut. -Col.  George  T.  Cotton,  Capt.  Charles  S. 
Todd,  Sixth  Infantiy;  Capt.  Robert  B.  Hickman, 
Eighth  Iiifantiy,  Capt.  John  B.  Benton.  Eighth 
Infantry;  Capt.  Landon  C.  Minter,  Eighth  Infantry; 
Lieut.  Wade  B.  Cox,  Eighth  Infantry;  Capt.  Will- 
iam T.  Bryan,  Ninth  Infantry;  Capt.  Demetrius  B. 
Coyle,  Ninth  Infantry;  Lieut.  Algernon  S.  Leggett, 
Ninth  Infantry;  Lieut.  Frederick  F.  Carpenter, 
Ninth  Infantry;  Col.  James  B.  Forman,  Fifteenth 
Infantry;  Capt. Aaron  S.  Bayne,  Fifteenth  Infantry; 
Lieut.  L.  Frank  Todd,  Fifteenth  Infantry;  Lieut. 
Sebastian  Stone,  Twenty-first  Infantry;  Lieut, 
John  'H.  Bevill,  Twenty -first  Infantry. 

The  stupendous  preparations  for  the  cap- 
ture of  Vicksburg  drew  toward  Memphis,  in 
November  and  the  early  part  of  December, 
1862,  the  two  divisions  commanded  by  Gens. 
Morgan  and  A.  J.  Smith,  largely  re-enforced 
by  regiments  of  the  new  levy,  together  with 
a large  number  of  regiments  not  brigaded. 
To  this  force  was  added  the  division  of 
Morgan  L.  Smith,  and  Gen.  William  T, 


414 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Sherman  was  assigned  to  command.  That 
portion  of  Gen.  Curtiss’  troops  stationed  on 
the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi  was  directed 
to  join  him.  Admiral  Porter’s  gun-boat 
fleet  was  directed  to  co-operate,  and  when 
the  expedition  sailed  from  Memphis,  on  the 
25th  of  December,  its  effective  strength  was 
estimated  at  40,000  men.  The  flotilla  en- 
tered the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo  and  the  troops 
disembarked  on  the  27th. 

Gen.  Steele’s  division  of  Curtiss’  army  had 
been  taken  on  at  Helena,  Ark.,  and  two 
brigades  under  Hovey  and  Thayer  were  land- 
ed above  the  mouth  of  Chickasaw  bayou 
with  orders  to  feel  their  way  along  its  eastern 
bank.  Blair’s  brigade  of  this  division  was 
assigned  to  Morgan  who,  with  his  three  brig- 
ades commanded  by  De  Coursey,  Lindsay 
and  Sheldon,  landed  below  the  bayou.  Mor- 
gan L.  Smith  was  on  his  left — his  two  brigades 
under  Gens.  A.  J.  Smith  and  Stuart  on  the 
main  road  from  Johnston’s  plantation  to 
Vicksburg,  with  orders  to  bear  to  the  left  and 
cross  the  bayou  about  one  mile  south  of 
where  Morgan  struck  it.  The  division  of  A. 
J.  Smith  was  delayed  one  day  at  Milikin’s 
Bend  awaiting  the  return  of  Gen.  Stephen 
G.  Burbridge’s  brigade,  which  was  detached 
at  that  point  on  an  expedition  to  destroy  the 
Vicksburg  & Shreveport  Kailroad.  On 
their  arrival,  the  two  brigades  of  this  division 
under  Gen.  Burbridge  and  Col.  W.  J. 
Landrum,  formed  the  extreme  right  of  the 
line  of  battle,  and  during  the  night  of  the 
27th  the  ground  in  front  was  strongly 
reconnoitered. 

Gen.  Martin  L.  Smith,  the  commander  of 
the  defenses  at  Vicksburg,  whose  successful 
repulse  of  the  gun-boats  the  previous  sum- 
mer had  entitled  him  to  the  confidence  of  the 
Confederate  government,  surmising  that  the 
next  attack  would  be  made  from  the  northern 
side  to  gain  access  to  his  rear,  had  applied 
himself  to  strengthening  his  position  along 
the  Chickasaw  Blufi’s  for  a distance  of  thir- 
teen miles.  A line  of  works  extended  to 
Haine’s  Bluffs,  manned  by  about  1,200  men, 
with  abundant  artillery  planted  along  the 
sinuosities  of  the  ridge,  so  as  to  gain  a cross 
fire  upon  every  available  point  of  attack. 


Gen.  Pemberton,  confronted  by  Grant  at 
Grenada,  was  unable  to  spare  a man  to  re-en- 
force Vicksburg  until  the  opportune  arrival 
of  Stevenson’s  division  from  east  Tennessee, 
when  Vaughn’s  brigade  was  at  once  detached 
and  placed  by  Smith  in  the  trenches  on  the 
left.  Having  aligned  his  troops  Gen.  Sher- 
man announced  that  the  signal  for  a simul- 
taneous rush  upon  the  works  would  be  a 
volley  of  artillery  in  Morgan’s  front.  Strug- 
gling through  the  water  and  mud  of  the 
sluggish  bayou,  Blair’s  and  De  Coursey’s 
brigades  plunged  forward.  The  water  was 
too  deep  for  the  main  portion  of  the  line  to 
cross  and  the  position  was  stormed  by  a por- 
tion of  these  two  brigades.  Reaching  the 
opposite  bank  the  Forty- second  Ohio  was 
detained  under  cover  by  Col.  De  Coursey, 
but  the  Twenty-second  Kentucky,  led  by  the 
brave  Monroe,  rushed  forward  with  a cheer 
to  join  their  comrades  in  the  charge.  Their 
leader  fell,  but  they  pressed  on  through  a 
tangled  abatis,  over  dead  and  wounded  men, 
under  a storm  of  grape  and  canister  shot 
raining  down  upon  them  from  the  works 
above  their  heads.  Of  the  whole  force,  but 
eight  regiments  reached  the  second  line  of 
works.  They  had  struggled  over  ground,  to 
enter  upon  which  was  to  encounter  death. 

Lieut. -Col.  Dustin  led  his  Fifty-eighth 
Ohio  to  the  foot  of  the  last  line  of  works 
and  fell  dead  upon  the  parapet.  Near  him 
lay  the  brave  major  of  the  Thirty-first 
Missouri,  dying  of  a mortal  wound.  For  a 
few  minutes  the  situation  was  such  as  to  ap- 
peal to  the  stoutest  heart,  but  the  line  stood 
firm,  rapidly  melting  away  under  an  enfilad- 
ing fire  that  swept  every  square  yard  of  the 
ground  in  front  of  the  works.  No  support 
was  anywhere  in  sight;  of  40,000  men  but 
this  handful  was  sent  into  the  jaws  of  death. 
The  works  above  their  heads  were  manned  by 
a disciplined  force,  thrice  their  number, 
whose  well -aimed  rifles  dealt  death  at  every 
discharge.  If  there  is  a limit  to  human  en- 
durance the  men  of  Blair’s  and  De  Coursey’s 
brigades  showed  no  signs  of  having  reached 
it.  With  courage  undaunted  they  still 
strove  to  reach  the  summit  of  the  works, 
where  as  many  as  succeeded  were  received 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


415 


upon  the  points  o£  bayonets  and  thrust  back. 
All  along  the  base  their  bodies  lay  in 
ghastly  heaps,  the  life-blood  welling  from 
gaping  wounds.  Each  man  fought  for  his 
life,  officers  and  men  intermingled  in  the 
strife,  and  recognized  no  rank  but  that  which 
valor  gives.  The  brief  carnival  of  death 
was  closed  only  by  the  order  to  retreat,  but 
to  retire  was  as  hazardous  as  to  go  forward; 
to  hesitate  was  to  be  lost.  They  finally 
withdrew,  however,  leaving  behind  them  a 
trail  of  dead  and  wounded  to  be  cared  for 
by  the  victorious  Confederates. 

The  following  regiments  were  in  this 
assault,  which  must  remain  in  history  as  one 
of  the  bloodiest  on  record:  The  Twenty- 
ninth  and  Thirty- first  Missouri,  Thirteenth 
Illinois,  Fifty-eighth,  Sixteenth  and  Fifty- 
fourth  Ohio,  and  the  Twenty- second  Ken- 
tucky. Landrum  and  Burbridge  on  the 
right  of  the  line  performed  the  duty  assigned 
them,  which  was  to  engage  the  troops  in 
their  front,  and  by  a vigorous  fusilade  they 
prevented  Vaughn  from  adding  his  force  to 
that  already  in  front  of  Blair  and 
De  Coursey. 

The  attempt  upon  Vicksburg  having 
failed,  Gen.  McClernand,  who  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  corps  on  its  arrival  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Yazoo,  determined  upon  the 
capture  of  Arkansas  Post,  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Arkansas  River,  fifty  miles  above  its 
mouth.  It  was  garrisoned  by  a division  of 
infantry,  3,000  strong,  under  command  of 
Gen.  Churchill;  and  the  fort,  a full  bastioned 
earthwork,  was  manned  by  three  nine-inch 
columbiads  in  the  casemates  commanding:  the 
river,  and  smaller  guns  facing  landward.  An 
earthwork  extending  inland  700  yards  to  a 
bayou  was  defended  by  infantry  and  light 
artillery.  Above  the  fort  the  river  was  open 
to  navigation,  and  into  it  the  “Blue  Wing,” 
a steamer  laden  with  arms  and  ammunition 
for  Sherman’s  army,  after  its  capture  by 
Confederate  gun-boats,  was  taken.  On  his 
way  down  the  river  to  assume  command  of 
the  corps,  Gen.  McClernand  had  heard  of 
this  exploit,  and  on  reaching  his  command, 
finding  that  nothing  further  could  be  ac- 
complished in  that  direction,  turned  the 


prows  of  his  boats  up  stream  in  search  of 
game  more  easily  bagged.  His  fii’st  duty 
was  to  organize  the  army  into  two  corps. 
Gen.  Morgan  was  assigned  to  command  of 
the  Thirteenth  Corps,  consisting  of  A.  J. 
Smith’s  division  and  his  own  now  under 
Gen.  Osterhaus.  Steele’s  division  and  that 
of  Morgan  L.  Smith,  now  commanded  by 
Gen.  Stuart  (Smith,  having  been  wounded), 
constituted  the  Fifteenth  Corps,  under  com- 
mand of  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman. 

By  passing  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas  and 
ascending  the  White  River  as  far  as  the 
canal  connecting  the  two  rivers,  the  Con- 
federates were  thrown  off  their  guard,  and 
the  fleet  appeared  within  a few  miles  of  the 
fort  before  its  presence  was  known  to  the 
garrison.  Gen.  Churchill  was  informed  by 
his  pickets  that  a powerful  fleet  had  entered 
the  Arkansas  from  White  River  on  the  9th  of 
January,  and  rightly  surmising  that  the  fort 
was  the  objective  point,  he  disposed  his 
troops  to  meet  the  attack.  Of  his  three 
brigades,  he  sent  Deshler’s  and  Dunning- 
ton’s  into  the  trenches  below  the  fort,  re- 
taining Garland’s  in  reserve. 

The  forenoon  of  the  10th  was  spent  in  de- 
barking from  the  boats,  three  miles  below, 
whence  Gen.  Sherman  moved  rapidly  toward 
the  rear  of  the  fort,  with  orders  to  move  for- 
ward until  his  right  rested  on  the  river  above 
it.  Morgan  followed,  taking  position  on 
Sherman’s  left,  completing  the  line  of  invest- 
ment, while  Col.  Lindsay  was  sent  with  his 
three  regiments,  the  Seventh  Kentucky,  Forty- 
ninth  Indiana,  and  One  Hundred  and  Four- 
teenth Ohio,  and  a battery  of  artillery,  across 
the  river  to  take  position  opposite  to  and 
above  the  fort,  to  cut  off  escape  in  that 
direction.  These  movements  were  as  nearly 
executed  as  circumstances  would  permit, 
when  night  set  in  and  the  shivering  troops 
bivouacked  without  shelter,  and  with  no  food 
but  that  found  in  their  haversacks. 

While  the  troops  were  moving  to  their 
allotted  positions  in  the  line  of  investment, 
the  gun-boats  opened  upon  the  troops  within 
the  works  below  the  fort,  which  caused  their 
withdrawal  under  cover  of  the  heavy  guns, 
i when  Adm.  Porter  at  once  advanced  to 


416 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


test  the  metal  of  the  guns  within  the  fort. 
During  the  night  Churchill  received  a tele- 
gram  from  Gen.  Holmes,  his  department 
commander,  directing  him  to  hold  out  until 
re- enforcements  arrived,  or  until  all  were 
dead,  “which  order,”  says  Churchill,  “I 
communicated  to  my  brigade  commanders 
with  orders  to  carry  it  out  in  spirit  and  in 
letter.” 

Gen.  Steele’s  division  resting  on  the  bayou 
in  rear  of  the  fort  formed  the  extreme  right 
of  the  line  of  battle  and  Osterhaus  the  left, 
De  Coursey  in  reserve  and  Stuart  and  A.  J. 
Smith  in  the  center.  Eight  batteries  of 
artillery  were  stationed  at  intervals  along  the 
line  and  a section  of  twenty-pounder  Parrotts 
was  posted  on  the  river  bank  concealed  from 
the  fort  by  fallen  trees  to  dismount  the  gun 
in  the  lower  casemate.  The  cavalry  was  dis- 
posed in  the  rear  with  orders  to  force  strag- 
glers to  the  front,  a vocation  peculiarly 
agreeable  to  the  men  on  horseback.  Lindsay’s 
battery  had  an  enfilading  fire  across  the  river 
upon  the  Confederate  line  which  carried  away 
a battle  flag  and  killed  several  men.  “Eager 
to  do  still  more,”  says  McClernand,  “the  Sev- 
enth Kentucky  Infantry  embarked  on  one  of 
the  gun-boats,  that  had  passed  the  fort,  to 
cross  the  river,  but  before  the  regiment  could 
get  over  the  enemy  had  surrendered.” 

In  the  fight  that  ensued  the  entire  line 
moved  forward  gallantly  and  gained  the  cover 
of  a belt  of  woods.  The  twenty-pounder 
Parrotts  demolished  the  casemate  and  silenced 
a nine-inch  columbiad,  and  by  4 P.  M.  every 
gun  except  a six- pounder  Parrott  on  the  land 
side  had  yielded  to  Porter’s  artillery.  Two 
boats  passed  up  the  river  and  joined  Lindsay 
in  enfilading  the  Confederate  line,  which 
still  held  out  in  obedience  to  Holmes’  iron- 
clad order.  Two  attacks  made  on  the  right 
were  repulsed  and  on  the  left  every  charge 
made  was  driven  back  with  heavy  loss.  A.  J. 
Smith  now  deployed  nine  regiments  of  Bur- 
bridge’s  and  Landrum’s  brigades,  supported 
by  three  regiments  in  reserve,  and  moving 
steadily  forward  drove  the  Confederates 
toward  the  open  ground  in  front  of  the  right 
of  the  rifle  pits.  Sheldon’s  brigade  dashed 
forward  upon  the  fort,  but  was  halted  by  the 


deep  ravine  on  the  lower  side.  De  Coursey 
advanced  against  a galling  fire.  The  Nine- 
teenth Kentucky  and  two  other  regiments 
were  sent  to  re-enforce  Sherman.  Burbridge’s 
brigade  went  forward,  following  its  gallant 
leader,  who,  mounted  upon  a swift  and  pow- 
erful steed,  calling  upon  his  escort  to  follow 
him,  dashed  forward  and  came  suddenly  upon 
the  fosse  surrounding  the  fort.  Behind  him 
were  his  troops  hotly  engaged.  There  was  not 
time  to  rein  up,  and,  leaping  the  ditch,  the 
general  found  himself  alone  in  presence  of 
the  enemy. 

The  men  took  aim  at  his  head,  but  the  ad- 
dress of  the  officer  saved  his  life.  “Recover 
arms,”  he  shouted,  and  with  instinctive 
obedience  the  soldiers  brought  their  guns  to 
a perpendicular.  Before  they  had  time  to 
recover  their  senses,  the  general  had  dis- 
mounted and  was  about  to  surrender,  when 
he  caught  sight  of  a white  flag  floating  from  a 
bastion  of  the  fort.  Calling  the  attention  of 
the  guard  to  it,  he  passed  within  the  fort; 
drawing  a small  United  States  flag  from  his 
pocket  he  mounted  to  the  top  of  the  fort, 
and,  securing  a ramrod  for  a flag  staff,  gave 
it  to  the  breeze.  The  sight  of  a white  flag 
floating  from  the  fort  brought  Churchill  in 
hot  haste  to  the  spot.  It  had  not  been  raised 
by  his  order,  and  the  irate  commander,  en- 
countering a Federal  officer  within  the  fort, 
hardly  knew  what  to  make  of  the  situation. 
Gen.  Burbridge  immediately  called  upon  him 
to  surrender,  but  remarked  jocularly  “I  do 
not  know  whether  I am  your  prisoner  or  you 
mine.”  Outside  the  fort  the  storm  of  battle 
that  had  raged  unceasingly  for  four  hours 
had  nearly  ceased  and  the  entrance  of  several 
of  Burbridge’s  staff,  led  by  the  faithful  Lieut. 
John  Throckmorton,  decided  the  question. 
Col.  Dunnington  now  appeared  upon  the 
scene  from  an  angle  of  the  fort  opposite  the 
entrance.  Both  officers  offered  their  swords 
but  were  referred  to  Gen.  McClernand,  who 
entering  at  this  moment  received  their  sur- 
render. The  loss  in  the  Union  troops  was 
129  killed,  831  wounded  and  seventeen  miss- 
j ing;  total  977.  That  of  the  Confederates, 
sixty  killed,  eighty  wounded  and  nearly  6,000 
prisoners.  The  spoils  consisted  of  seventeen 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


417 


pieces  of  artillery,  5,000  stand  of  arms,  130 
swords  and  a large  quantity  of  ammunition. 

In  the  Vicksburg  campaign,  the  Seventh 
Kentucky  Inf antry,  under  command  of  Lieut. - 
Col.  J.  Lucas  and  Col.  R.  B.  May,  served  in 
the  First  Brigade  of  Osterhaus,  Ninth  Divis- 
ion, Thirteenth  Corps.  The  brigade  was  com- 
manded by  Brig.  Gen.  T.  T.  Garrard,  the 
former  colonel  of  the  regiment,  until  June, 
when  Col.  Keigwin  was  assigned  to  command. 
The  Nineteenth  Kentucky  Infantry,  under 
Lieut.-Col.  J.  Cowan,  was  in  Col.  Landrum’s 
(Second)  brigade  of  A,  J.  Smith’s  (Tenth)  di- 
vision, Thirteenth  corps,  and  the  Twenty-sec- 
ond Kentucky,  under  Lieut.-Col.  Monroe,  was 
in  Col.  Lindsay’s  (Second)  brigade  of  Ostei’- 
haus’  division.  Col.  Sheldon  relieved  Col. 
Lindsay  in  command  of  the  brigade  in  June, 
when  the  latter  assumed  command  of  the 
division,  retaining  it  until  after  the  fall  of 
Vicksburg.  The  First  Brigade  of  the  Tenth 
Division  was  commanded  by  Gen.  S.  G.  Bur- 
bridge,  formerly  colonel  of  the  Twenty-sixth 
Kentucky  Infantry.  Thus  four  brigades  of 
the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  were  commanded 
by  Kentuckians.  They  took  part  in  all  the 
battles  of  Gen.  Grant’s  movement  to  the  rear 
of  Vicksburg,  and  won  the  following  glowing 
tribute  from  the  corps  commander. 

Headquarters  Thirteenth  Army  Corps,  ) 
Near  Vicksburg,  June  5,  1863.  ( 

Governor  : — I have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that 
there  are  two  general  officers  and  three  regiments, 
the  Seventh,  Nineteenth  and  Twenty-second  Ken- 
tucky, in  the  Thirteenth  Army  Corps,  Department 
of  the  Tennessee,  under  my  command,  who  crossed 
the  Mississippi  River  with  me  at  Bruiusburg,  below 
Grand  Gulf,  on  the  30th  day  of  April,  and  who  took 
part  in  the  battles  of  Thompson’s  Hill  on  the  1st  of 
May;  Champion  Hills  on  the  16th;  Big  Black 
Bridge  on  the  ITth  of  May;  and  at  Vicksburg, 
beginning  on  the  19th  of  May  and  continuing  up 
to  the  present  time. 

I am  most  happy,  sir,  to  congratulate  you,  and, 
through  you,  your  noble  State  for  the  victories  won 
by  the  common  effort  of  her  brave  sons  -with  those 
of  sister  States,  and  to  bear  testimony  to  the  gal- 
lantry,’ bravery  and  good  conduct  of  her  officers 
and  men  in  all  these  bloody  struggles.  They  bore 
themselves  with  the  unflinching  steadiness  of  vet- 
erans, both  under  galling  fires  of  artillery  and  mus- 
ketry, and  in  making  charges  upon  fortifications. 

They  have  shown  themselves  compeers  and  fit 
companions  in  arms  with  brave  men  of  sister 


States  in  a series  of  battles,  in  which  it  has  become 
impossible  to  make  particular  mention  of  those 
who  distinguished  themselves,  without  mentioning, 

I individually,  both  officers  and  men. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  John  A.  McClernand, 

Major-General,  Commanding  Thirteenth  Army 
Corps,  Department  of  the  Tennessee. 

His  Excellency, 

James  F.  Robinson,  Governor  of  Kentucky. 

The  limits  of  this  work  will  not  permit 
more  than  the  merest  outline  of  Gen.  Grant’s 
operations  in  rear  of  A^icksburg.  By  a series 
of  bold  movements  his  army,  under  skillful 
corps,  division  and  brigade  commanders, 
often  acting  independently,  succeeded  in  sep- 
arating the  army  under  Gen.  Pemberton  from 
that  commanded  by  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston, 
and  confininir  it  to  the  works  at  Vicksbursf. 

Both  Gens.  Bragg  in  Tennessee  and  Pem- 
berton in  Mississippi  were  nominally  under 
command  of  Gen.  Johnston,  but  in  the 
exercise  of  their  discretion  disobeyed  his 
orders  whenever  in  their  judgment  occasion 
demanded.  If  implicit  obedience  had  been 
yielded  to  him  the  Vicksburg  campaign 
would,  beyond  doubt,  have  had  a different 
result.  Bragg,  resting  quietly  behind  his 
works  at  Tullahoma,  was  repeatedly  urged  to 
send  strong  re-enforcements  to  Johnston  to 
enable  him  to  attack  Grant’s  investing  line 
from  the  rear  and  compel  him  to  abandon  the 
siege.  AVith  the  railroad  communications  at 
his  command  this  movement  need  not  have 
occupied  but  a few  days,  and  the  increase  of 
Johnston’s  army  by  30,000  men  would  have 
been  sufficient  to  crush  Grant  between  the 
forces  in  his  front  and  rear. 

After  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  cut  a chan- 
nel for  the  gun-boats  across  the  peninsula, 
formed  by  a bend  in  the  Mississippi  River 
opposite  Vicksburg,  the  problem  was  solved 
by  Adm.  Porter  on  the  night  of  the  16th 
of  April,  when  with  his  fleet  and  three  trans- 
ports he  ran  the  blockade,  followed  a week 
later  by  six  more  transports,  each  towing  two 
barges  laden  with  forage  and  rations.  After 
live  hours’  bombardment  of  the  works  at 
Grand  Gulf,  it  became  evident  that  they 
could  not  be  carried,  when  the  blockade  at 
i this  point  was  run,  and  the  troops,  marching 


26 


418 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


to  Hard  Times  Landing,  were  ferried  across 
the  river  to  Bruinsburg. 

As  soon  as  the  Thirteenth  Corps  was  landed 
and  could  draw  thi’ee  days’  rations  in  haver- 
sacks, the  troops  were  started  on  the  road  to 
Port  Gibson,  near  which  place,  on  the  1st  of 
May,  the  advance  of  the  Confederates  was 
met,  and  after  a hard  fight  defeated  and  pur- 
sued toward  Port  Gibson.  Col.  S.  A.  Shel- 
don, commanding  the  Second  Brigade  at  the 
time,  says:  “The  Sixteenth  Ohio  and  the 
Twenty-  second  Kentucky  obliquing  to  the 
left  entered  the  ravine  on  the  front  and  left 
of  the  enemy’s  position,  and  advanced  under 
cover  very  near  the  enemy,  and  maintained 
their  position  until  near  night,  doing  consid- 
erable damage  to  the  enemy  by  a continuous 
and  well  directed  fire.”  He  mentions  among 
other  officers  Maj.  Worthington,  commanding 
the  Twenty-second  Kentucky,  as  behaving 
ably  and  gallantly. 

The  next  two  weeks  were  occupied  in  bring- 
ing up  supplies  and  advancing  into  the  inte- 
rior as  far  as  Raymond,  which  was  garrisoned 
by  Osterhaus’  division,  but  in  obedience  to 
orders  from  Gen.  Grant  the  division  moved 
north,  and  on  the  15th,  captured  Bolton’s 
Station  with  several  prisoners.  Smith’s 
division  bivouacked  north  of  Raymond; 
Hovey’s,  Carr’s  and  Blair’s  divisions  were 
near  at  hand,  all  fronting  toward  Edward’s 
Station,  whei’e  the  Confederate  army  was 
supposed  to  be  in  force.  Early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  15th,  Smith  advanced  supported 
by  Blair  on  the  southern  road.  Osterhaus 
moved  on  the  middle  road  followed  by  Carr, 
while  Hovey  marched  by  the  northern  road. 
Thus  McClernand’s  corps  moving  on  parallel 
roads  encountered  Pemberton’s  advance 
about  7.30  A.  M.  and  the  battle  of  Champion 
Hill  ensued.  Gen.  McPherson  was  in  support 
of  Hovey’s  division  with  his  entire  corps;  a 
line  of  skirmishers  connected  with  Smith’s 
and  Osterhaus’  divisions;  Blair  moved  a 
brigade  to  the  support  of  the  right,  while 
Ransom’s  brigade  performed  a like  service 
upon  the  left.  At  10  A.  M.  Gen.  Hovey 
advanced  upon  the  Confederates,  who  were 
posted  on  a wooded  hill  some  sixty  or  seventy 
feet  in  height,  midway  between  Vicksburg 


and  Jackson,  known  as  Champion  Hill. 
The  appearance  of  Hovey’s  division  at  the 
base  of  the  hill  was  the  signal  for  opening  a 
galling  fire  of  artillery  and  musketry,  but  the 
brave  fellows  pressed  forward  and  by  11 
o’clock  the  engagement  was  general  along 
the  entire  line,  which  continued  with  increas- 
ing fury  until  noon,  when  the  Confederates 
fell  back,  leaving  300  prisoners  in  the  hands 
of  the  Union  troops. 

Quickly  rallying,  however,  the  Confeder- 
ates, re-enforced  by  fresh  troops,  poured  down 
the  road  and  renewed  the  conflict,  directing 
their  attack  upon  Hovey,  who  was  borne  back 
until  the  ground  taken  by  desperate  fighting 
was  lost.  The  advance  of  the  Confederates, 
however,  was  checked  by  a heavy  enfilading 
fire  of  artillery,  under  which  they  were  driven 
back  to  the  cover  of  the  woods,  followed  by 
Hovey’s  and  Crocker’s  divisions,  which  push- 
ing forward  reached  the  crest  of  the  hill,  and 
the  day  was  won.  In  little  over  four  hours 
nearly  one- third  of  Hovey’s  division  were 
killed  or  wounded.  Meanwhile,  Osterhaus’ 
division  had  advanced  against  the  right  of 
the  Confederate  line,  Garrard’s  brigade  on 
the  right  and  Lindsay’s  on  the  left,  and  soon 
both  brigades  were  hotly  engaged,  and  the  re- 
serves were  brought  up.  Lindsay’s  brigade 
charged  a battery,  shooting  down  men  and 
horses  and  capturing  two  pieces  of  artil- 
lery. Garrard,  in  the  meantime,  was  pushing 
his  lines  forward  on  the  right.  The  Seventh 
Kentucky,  the  Forty-ninth  Indiana,  and  one 
section  of  Lanphere’s  battery,  formed  the 
advance,  and,  driving  the  Confederate  skir- 
mishers fi’om  one  ravine  to  another,  they 
pushed  forward  toward  the  main  position  in 
a fierce  charge  that  brought  them  under  the 
fire  of  the  guns  upon  the  hill,  where  they 
were  obliged  to  halt. 

Finding  that  a further  stay  at  Champion 
Hill  would  place  the  army  in  jeopardy,  Gen. 
Pemberton  now  detei’mined  to  fall  back  upon 
Vicksburg,  which  he  did,  followed  by  Oster- 
haus and  Smith.  “Thousands  of  the  enemy,” 
says  Osterhaus  in  his  report,  “were  found 
scattered  everywhere  and  fell  into  our  hands 
as  prisoners.  In  one  instance  Col.  Lindsay 
with  the  Sixteenth  Ohio  and  Twenty-second 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


419 


Kentucky  Infantry  alone  took  more  prisoners 
than  the  whole  number  of  his  brigade  com- 
bined.” The  pursuit  was  kept  up  as  far  as 
Edward’s  Station,  where  McClernand’s  corps 
bivouacked  for  the  night.  The  lines  were 
pushed  forward,  however,  at  other  points  and 
especially  by  Gen.  Lawler,  whose  division 
dashed  forward  under  a severe  hre,  and  with 
fixed  bayonets  drove  the  Confederates  from 
their  works,  but  not  until  they  had  succeeded 
in  burning  the  bridge  across  Big  Black  River. 
During  the  following  night  and  morning, 
the  bridge  was  rebuilt  by  Patterson’s  Engi- 
neers, and  the  army  crossed  and  took  up  the 
line  of  march  for  Vicksburg. 

In  the  alignment  of  his  troops  before 
Vicksburg  Gen.  Grant  assigned  McClernand’s 
corps  to  the  left.  The  right  of  the  corps 
stretched  across  the  raih’oad,  and  the  left, 
reaching  southward,  closed  the  roads  leading 
into  city. 

On  the  22d  of  May,  an  attempt  was  made 
to  carry  the  works  by  storm,  the  three  corps 
acting  simultaneously.  In  this  movement  the 
divisions  of  Gens.  Osterhaus  and  Smith  bore 
a prominent  part.  Gen.  Osterhaus  formed 
the  column  with  the  Twenty- second  Ken- 
tucky and  Forty-second  Ohio  on  the  right, 
the  One  Hundred  and  Fourteenth  Ohio, 
Forty-ninth  and  Sixty-ninth  Indiana  in  the 
center,  and  the  Seventh  Kentucky  and  One 
Hundred  and  Eighteenth  Illinois  on  the  left, 
the  Sixteenth  and  One  Hundred  and  Twenti- 
eth Ohio  deployed  as  skirmishers.  Gen. 
Osterhaus  says Precisely  at  10  o’clock  the 
column  advanced  against  a terrific  fire  from 
the  rifle-pits  and  forts.  The  Seventh  Ken- 
tucky, leading  the  left  column,  advanced 
to  the  top  of  the  hill  and  marched  over  the 
naked  brow  of  it  through  a murderous  fii’e 
from  the  great  redoubt  on  the  left;  they  suf- 
fered heroically.  All  the  columns  reached  the 
top  of  the  hill,  and  came  within  so  short  a 
distance  from  the  works  that  all  orders  and 
commands  given  on  the  enemy’s  side  could  be 
distinctly  understood  by  our  men.” 

Here  the  division  remained  during  the 
day,  unable  to  advance  or  retreat  until  night- 
fall, when  it  was  withdrawn.  They  kept  up 


a rattling  fire,  however,  and  aided  materially 
in  the  success  of  their  comrades  on  the  left. 
McClernand  gives  a graphic  account  of  the 
chai’ge  made  by  Landrum’s  brigade. 

Five  minutes  before  10  o’clock  the  bugle  sounded 
the  charge;  at  10  o’clock  my  columns  of  attack 
moved  foiward,  and  within  fifteen  minutes  Lawler’s 
and  Landrum's  brigades  had  carried  the  ditch,  slope 
and  bastion  of  a fort.  Some  of  the  men,  emulous 
of  each  other,  rushed  into  the  fort,  finding  a piece 
of  artillery,  and  in  time  to  see  the  men  who  had 
been  serving  and  supporting  it  escape  behind  an- 
other defense  commanding  the  interior  of  that  they 
were  in.  All  of  this  daring  and  heroic  party  were 
shot  down  except  one,  who  recovering  from  the 
stunning  effect  of  a shot  seized  his  musket  and  cap- 
tured and  brought  in  thirteen  rebels  who  had  re- 
turned and  fired  their  guns.  The  captor  was  Sergt. 
Joseph  Griffin,  who  I am  happy  to  say  has  since  been 
promoted.  Within  fifteen  minutes  after  Lawler’s 
and  Landrum’s  success,  Benton’s  and  Burbridge’s 
brigades,  fired  by  their  example,  rushed  forward  and 
carried  the  ditch  and  slope  of  another  heavy  earth- 
work and  planted  their  colors  upon  the  latter. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  if  McClernand 
had  been  promptly  supported  at  this  juncture 
the  works  could  have  been  carried  and  the 
day  won.  His  troops  were  the  only  troops 
who  gained  a momentary  foothold  within  the 
intrenchments,  and  a heavy  column  pushed 
forward  in  support  would  doubtless  have 
forced  its  way  to  the  rear  of  the  Confederate 
lines.  It  was  not  done,  however,  and  the 
many  valuable  lives  lost  in  the  useless 
slaughter  were  wasted  to  no  purpose.  The 
loss  in  McClernand’s  corps  alone  was  1,487 
in  killed,  wounded  and  missing. 

In  the  siege  that  followed,  the  Kentucky 
regiments  and  Patterson’s  Engineers  were 
constantly  on  duty,  winning  by  their  corn-age 
and  constancy  the  highest  encomiums  frora 
their  commanding  officers.  After  the  sur- 
render of  Pemberton  on  the  4th  of  July,  they 
were  sent  to  Louisiana,  where  they  remained 
on  duty  during  the  continuance  of  the  war. 
The  men  of  these  splendid  regiments  have 
good  reason  to  be  proud  of  their  record, 
undimmed  as  it  is  by  a single  act  of  coward- 
ice or  insubordination. 

The  names  of  officers  of  Kentucky'  regi- 
ments who  were  killed  in  battle  or  died  of 
wounds,  received  in  the  two  campaigns 
against  Vicksburg,  are  as  follows: 


420 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Seventh  Infantry. — Capt.  Levi  Pennington, 
in  action  at  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  December  28, 
1862;  Capt.  Thomas  Wilson,  in  battle  of 
Chaplin  Hills;  Lieut.  Thomas  Buchannan, 
Chaplin  Hills,  May  16,  1863. 

Nineteenth  Infantry. — Maj.  Morgan  V. 


Evans,  in  action  before  Vicksburg,  May  22, 

186.3. 

Twenty-Second  Infantry. — Capt.  Daniel 
Garrard,  Capt.  William  B.  Hogan  and  Lieut. 
Jabez  Truitt,  in  action  at  Chickasaw  Bluffs, 
December  29,  1862. 


COLOEED  DEPAETMENT  DEAF  AND  DUMB  ASYLUM — DANVILLE. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


421 


CHAPTER  XYIL 


KENTUCKY  TKOOPS  IN  TENNESSEE  AND  GEORGIA  CAMPAIGNS. 


The  four  days’  struggle  in  front  of  Mur- 
freesboro (December  31, 1862 — January  3, 
1863),  known  as  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  was 
succeeded  by  a period  of  inactivity  in  middle 
Tennessee.  Rosecrans  had  immediately  taken 
possession  of  the  town,  while  Bragg  had  re- 
tired to  Tullahoma,  strongly  fortifying  his 
position  there,  as  well  as  an  advanced  position 
at  Shelby vi lie.  Here  the  two  armies  closely 
watched  each  other;  the  Federal  general,  by 
his  threatening  attitude,  preventing  his  antag- 
onist from  sending  needed  re- enforcements 
to  Johnston,  who  was  vainly  striving  to  raise 
Grant’s  siege  of  Vicksburg.  Early  in  June, 
however,  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  moved 
from  its  position,  and  in  August  found  its  way 
over  the  mountains  to  Stevenson  and  Bridge- 
port, necessitating  the  withdrawal  of  Bragg, 
first  to  Chattanooga,  and  in  the  early  part  of 
September  to  Lafayette,  Georgia.  On  the 
10th  instant  the  national  troops  entered  Chat- 
tanooga. 

This  brilliant  campaign,  which  resulted  in 
wresting  middle  Tennessee  from  the  Confed- 
erates, was  obscured  by  the  more  bloody,  but 
not  more  successful,  capture  of  Vicksburg, 
and  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  in  comparison 
with  these  events  attracted  less  attention  than 
its  real  importance  merited.  The  movement 
would  have  been  made  much  earlier  but  for 
the  certainty  that  in  case  of  success,  which 
was  never  doubted  by  the  brave  commander, 
the  defeated  army  of  Gen.  Bragg  would  have 
joined  Gen.  Johnston  at  Jackson,  Miss.,  and 
enabled  him  by  the  augmentation  of  his 
strength  to  imperil  the  operations  before 
Vicksburg. 

But  the  campaign  was  not  to  close  without 
a savage  struggle.  The  Confederate  general, 
receiving  re-enforcements  from  the  army  in 


Virginia,  determined  to  contest  the  possession 
of  Chattanooga  in  a pitched  battle  in  the 
valley  of  the  Chickamauga,  and  having  at- 
tempted on  the  17th  and  18th  to  fall  upon 
detatched  corps  of  Rosecrans’  army,  without 
securing  any  advantage,  he  prepared  for  a 
grand  attack  on  the  next  day. 

The  Fourth,  Tenth  and  Eighteenth  Ken- 
tucky Infantry  Regiments,  although  among 
the  first  mustered  into  the  service,  missed  the 
opportunity  of  distinguishing  themselves  in 
the  battles  of  Shiloh,  Perryville  and  Stone 
River. 

The  Fourth,  Lieut. -Col.  P.  B.  Hunt,  and 
the  Tenth,  Col.  William  H.  Hays,  formed  a 
portion  of  the  second  brigade  of  Brannan’s 
division  commanded  by  that  superb  soldier, 
Col.  John  T.  Croxton,  which  had  the  honor 
of  opening  the  battle  of  Chickamauga.  A 
Confederate  brigade  was  reported  to  have 
crossed  Chickamauga  Creek  and  to  be  cut  off 
from  the  main  body  by  the  Union  cavalry. 
Croxton’ s brigade  was  ordered  forward  to 
attack  it.  Advancing  about  one  mile  on  the 
Ringgold  Road,  the  brigade  halted  and 
formed  in  line  of  battle,  the  Fourth  Ken- 
tucky on  the  left,  Seventy- fourth  Indiana  on 
the  right,  the  Tenth  Indiana  on  the 
center,  and  the  Tenth  Kentucky  and  Four- 
teenth Ohio  in  reserve.  The  skirmish  line 
was  at  once  attacked  by  Forrest’s  cavalry  and 
fell  back  to  their  place  in  line,  which  opened 
fire  and  caused  a hasty  retreat  by  the  venture- 
some cavalry.  Resuming  the  march  in  line 
of  battle  the  brigade  soon  came  upon  the 
Confederate  infantry,  which  developed  into 
an  overwhelming  force.  Finding  that  the 
force  in  his  front  far  exceeded  a brigade  and 
was  in  fact  an  army  corps,  Croxton  at  once 
ordered  a retreat,  which  was  successfully 


422 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


effected.  In  this  fight  the  brave  commander 
of  the  Fourth  Kentucky  was  severely  wound- 
ed, and  Maj.  R.  M.  Kelly,  of  the  regiment, 
inspector-general  of  Brannan’s  division, 
assumed  command.  Having  taken  position 
on  a ridge,  the  brigade  held  its  position  until 
relieved  by  King’s  brigade,  when  it  fell  back, 
replenished  its  cartridge-boxes  and  returned 
to  the  right  of  King’s,  now  severely  pressed. 

The  Confederates,  three  lines  deep,  were 
advancing  in  force,  when,  a charge  being 
ordered,  the  two  brigades  sprang  forward 
drove  them  back  and  captured  five  pieces  of 
artillery  which  they  brought  from  the  field. 
After  a desperate  struggle,  in  which  the 
Fourth  and  Tenth  fought  with  courage  and 
determination,  the  Union  troops  were  flanked 
and  driven  back.  They  fell  back,  however, 
slowly,  and  in  good  order,  and  seizing  the 
first  favorable  position  held  it  until  relieved 
by  Johnson’s  division.  On  the  morning  of 
the  20th,  the  brigade  crossed  the  Chattanooga 
Road  toward  the  front  and  took  position  near 
Kelly’s  house.  Rude  fortifications  were 
thrown  up,  and  every  preparation  made  to 
resist  the  attack  that  all  loiew  to  be  impend- 
ing. In  the  terrible  battle  that  ensued,  Col. 
Croxton  was  seriously  wounded,  and  was 
compelled  to  relinquish  the  command  to  Col. 
C.  M.  Chapman,  Seventy -fourth  Indiana. 
The  brigade  became  separated  when  the 
charge  of  Longstreet  fell  upon  the  right 
center  of  the  main  line,  but  the  organizations 
clung  together  and  rendered  good  service  in 
repulsing  the  assault  upon  the  ridge.  Gen. 
Turchin’s  brigade  of  Reynold’s  division,  to 
which  the  Eighteenth  Kentucky  was  attached, 
took  part  in  the  engagement  of  the  I9th,  at 
the  point  where  Cruft’s  and  Hazen’s  brigades 
being  heavily  pressed  called  for  assistance, 
Gen.  Cruft  refers  to  the  timely  aid  rendered 
by  the  Eighteenth  Kentucky,  Col.  Milward, 
and  the  Ninety-second  Ohio. 

Gen.  Turchin  was  in  the  rear  of  his 
column  at  the  time  when  these  two  advance 
regiments  of  his  brigade  were  ordered  by 
Gen.  Reynolds  to  re-enforce  Palmer,  and 
coming  up  soon  after  brought  up  the  remain 
ing  portion  of  his  command  and  took  posi- 
tion between  Palmer  and  Johnson,  where, 


about  4:30,  P.  M.,  he  met  a charge  by  Law’s 
brigade  of  Hood’s  division  with  a counter 
charge  which  drove  them  back.  In  this  he 
was  joined  by  Cruft’s  brigade,  after  which, 
as  related  by  both  brigade  commanders,  they 
withdrew  to  their  original  position. 

In  the  fight  of  the  20th,  the  Eighteenth 
Kentucky  was  in  reserve  most  of  the  day, 
but  joined  in  the  timely  charge  made  by  the 
brigade,  when,  flushed  with  success.  Long- 
street’s  troops  were  driving  the  dissevered 
fragments  of  Brannan’s  division.  It  was  a 
forlorn  hope,  but  the  intrepid  brigade  was 
equal  to  it.  Turchin  says:  “The  command 
‘Forward!’  was  given,  and  with  a yell  the 
brigade  rushed  forward  and  broke  to  pieces 
the  confronting  columns  of  the  rebels.  They 
fled  pell-mell,  and  notwithstanding  the  fire 
of  artillery  on  front  and  flank  they  pushed 
forward  and  took  the  guns.”  Col.  Milward, 
of  the  Eighteenth  Kentucky,  being  wounded, 
Maj.  Hall  took  command.  The  loss  in  the 
Kentucky  regiments  was  as  follows: 


Killed.  Wounded.  Missing.  Total. 


Fourth  Kentucky  .... 

25 

1.53 

12 

190 

Tenth  Kentucky 

21 

134 

10 

165 

Eighteenth  Kentucky. 

7 

45 

33 

85 

The  Third  Kentucky,  under  Col.  H.  C. 
Dunlap,  was  in  Harker’s  brigade  of  Wood’s 
division,  Twenty-first  Army  Corps,  and  formed 
a portion  of  the  command  of  Col.  Harker, 
which  made  a bold  reconnaissance  from  Chat- 
tanooga to  Gordon’s  Mills  in  the  wake  of  the 
retreating  army  of  Gen.  Bragg  on  September 
11th.  On  this  march  the  brave  Lieut. -Col. 
Bullitt,  with  eight  companies  of  the  Third 
Kentucky,  formed  the  skirmish  line  which 
drove  the  straggling  cavalry  and  infantry 
through  the  defile  in  the  mountains  and 
across  the  Chickamauga  Creek,  where,  the 
Confederates  making  a stand,  Col.  Dunlap 
was  ordered  to  re-enforce  them  with  the 
I’emainder  of  the  regiment.  So  promptly 
was  this  done,  that  the  regiment  was  dubbed 
“Harker’s  cavalry.”  On  the  morning  of  the 
12th,  Hazen’s  brigade,  advancing  from  Pea- 
vine  Valley,  formed  a junction  with  Harker 
The  two  brigades  remained  at  Gordon’s  Mills 
until  the  arrival  of  the  corps,  the  main  body 
of  which  marched  via  Ringgold  from  Chatta- 
nooga. In  the  battles  of  the  19th  and  20th, 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


4-23 


ihe  Third  Kentucky  won  the  especial  com- 
mendation of  the  brigade  and  division  com- 
manders for  soldierly  conduct  and  steadiness 
under  the  most  trying  circumstances.  Col. 
Dunlaj?  refers  as  follows  to  the  action  of  his 
regiment  at  the  moment  of  Longstreet’s 
attack  upon  the  right  center  of  the  Union 
line  of  battle:  “Lieut. -Col.  Bullitt  and  Adjt. 
Hunt  behaved  gallantly  in  gathering  from 
the  retreating  mass  some  400  stragglers, 
which  they  rallied  upon  the  hill,  that  de- 
veloped itself  as  part  of  the  important  key 
to  the  safety  of  the  army.” 

The  loss  of  the  Third  Kentucky  in  the  bat- 
tle was  113  killed,  wounded,  and  missing. 

The  Seventeenth  Kentucky  replaced  the 
Eleventh  in  Col.  Samuel  Beatty’s  brigade, 
after  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  and  at  Chick- 
amauga  the  Kentucky  regiments  engaged  in 
Van  Cleve’s  division  were  the  Eighth,  Lieut.- 
Col.  James  D.  Mayhew;  the  Ninth,  Col. 
George  H.  Cram,  and  the  Seventeenth, 
Col.  Alex.  M.  Stout;  the  first  named  in  Barnes’ 
and  the  two  latter  in  Beatty’s  brigades.  The 
Twenty-first  under  its  intrepid  commander 
was  left  at  Shell  Mound  to  look  after  the 
rear  and  protect  communications  with  Bridge- 
port when  Crittenden’s  corps  marched  into 
Chattanooga,  and  so  it  came  about  that  one 
of  the  best  fighting  regiments  in  the  army 
took  no  part  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga, 
other  than  as  anxious  listeners  to  the  can- 
nonading on  the  other  side  of  Lookout 
Mountain.  “Left  behind  and  forgotten,” 
was  the  angry  comment  of  Col.  S.  W.  Price, 
as  he  returned  from  his  perch  on  a spur  of 
Raccoon  Mountain,  where  he  had  gone  to 
gain  from  the  roar  of  the  battle  some  idea 
of  how  it  fared  with  his  comrades  in  the 
fight. 

While  Harker  and  Hazen  were  feeling  for 
the  Confederates  in  the  direction  of  Lafayette, 
Beatty,  who  had  moved  with  the  main  por- 
tion of  the  Twenty-first  Corps  to  Ringgold, 
was  sent  with  his  brigade  on  a reconnaissance 
in  the  direction  of  Dalton,  the  object  of 
Gen.  Rosecrans  being  to  ascertain  beyond 
doubt  the  position  of  Bragg’s  main  army. 
The  result  was  to  locate  him  at  Lafayette,  a 
belief  which  subsequently  developed  into  a 


certainty.  On  the  13th,  the  corps  having 
moved  to  Gordon’s  Mills,  Van  Cleve’s  division 
advanced  on  a reconnaissance  toward  Lafay- 
ette, Beatty  in  advance.  The  Confederates, 
consisting  of  three  regiments  of  Wheeler’s 
cavalry  and  a section  of  artillery,  were  driven 
some  three  miles,  when,  no  considerable  force 
appearing,  the  division  returned  to  camp. 
At  10  A.  M.,  the  19th  instant.  Palmer’s 
division  being  heavily  engaged,  Van  Cleve 
was  ordered  with  the  First  and  Second  brig- 
ades to  his  support.  In  this  movement  the 
Ninth  and  Seventeenth  Kentucky  were  in  the 
second  line  of  Beatty’s  brigade.  In  the 
charge  that  ensued,  the  brigade  captured  a 
battery.  The  Confederate  line  overlapping 
the  division  to  the  right  and  continuing  to 
advance,  made  it  necessary  for  Van  Cleve  to 
fall  back  to  a new  position  in  the  rear.  On 
the  morning  of  the  20th,  the  two  brigades 
moved  by  order  of  Gen.  Rosecrans,  in 
response  to  Gen.  Thomas’  request  for  re  en 
forcements,  to  the  left.  Barnes’  brigade  had 
been  detached  on  the  previous  day,  and  was 
engaged  near  the  extreme  left  of  the  line. 

The  First  Brigade,  followed  by  the  Second, 
marched  by  the  left  flank,  in  the  rear  of 
Brannan’s  division,  with  the  general  order  to 
fill  any  vacant  place  in  the  line,  but  finding 
none,  the  men  were  ordered  to  lie  down  to 
avoid  the  effects  of  a fire  they  could  not  re- 
turn. While  in  this  position  the  attack  by 
Gen.  Longstreet  came  with  the  force  of  an 
avalanche,  sweeping  through  a gap  in  the  line, 
made  by  the  withdrawal  of  Wood’s  division 
from  its  position  in  line,  on  the  right  of 
Brannau,  and  left  of  Sheridan.  In  response 
to  the  repeated  calls  of  Gen.  Thomas  for  re- 
enforcements to  the  left,  which  was  greatly 
imperiled,  and  which  it  was  agreed  must  be 
held  at  all  hazards,  Brannan’s  division  was 
ordered  to  move  in  rear  of  Reynolds,  and  re- 
port to  Gen.  Thomas.  Gen.  Wood,  next  in 
line,  was  ordered  to  move  to  the  left,  and 
connect  with  Reynolds,  while  Davis  and  Sher- 
idan, of  McCook’s  corps,  were  directed  to 
move  to  the  left,  and  close  the  gap  formed  by 
this  movement.  When  the  order  was  given, 
there  was  no  appearance  of  danger  in  the 
front  of  the  center  and  right,  but  there  was 


424 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


heavy  fighting  on  the  left.  When  Brannan 
and  Wood  received  the  order  the  advance  of 
the  Confederates  from  the  woods  was  plainly 
visible.  Brannan,  who  was  near  Reynolds, 
turned  to  him,  and  said  : “ I have  an  order  to 
withdi’aw  my  division;  shall  I do  so  in  the 
face  of  this  attack  ?”  Gen.  Reynolds’  reply, 
as  stated  to  the  writer,  was  : “ Remain  where 
you  are,  and  I will  assume  the  responsibility 
of  countermanding  the  order.”  Gen.  Wood 
obeyed  the  order,  as  to  moving  to  the  left,  but 
finding  Brannan  still  on  his  left,  moved  in 
rear  of  his  division,  and  was  caught  in  Hank 
by  the  assault.  Wood  had  but  two  brigades, 
George  P.  Buell’s  and  Harker’s;  his  second 
brigade,  Wagner’s,  being  at  Chattanooga. 

The  military  reader  will  readily  imagine 
the  scene  of  confusion  which  followed. 
Wood’s  veteran  brigades  were  scattered  like 
chaff  before  the  wind.  The  right  of  Bran- 
nan’s  division,  being  without  support,  crum- 
bled away.  The  head  of  Sheridan’s  column, 
moving  rapidly  to  carry  out  the  order  to 
close  up  on  Wood,  wa^  caught  in  the  flank, 
and  Gen.  Lytle,  the  brave  commander  of  the 
leading  brigade,  fell  with  a mortal  wound. 
The  line  was  rent  in  twain,  and  each  side  of 
the  gap  recoiling  before  the  storm  of  mus- 
ketry fell  back  in  disorder.  There  was  no 
panic,  however,  such  as  was  witnessed  at 
Stone  River,  when  the  right  wing  melted 
away  as  if  by  magic.  Detached  companies 
and  regiments  clung  together,  and  at  the  first 
appearance  of  a nucleus,  rallied  around  the 
flag.  The  Seventeeth  Kentucky,  under  the 
masterly  leadership  of  Col.  A.  M.  Stout,  re- 
mained nearly  intact,  and  formed  on  the 
ridge,  which  formed  one  side  of  the  ravine 
through  which  Longstreet’s  victorious  army 
marched  after  passing  through  the  line.  It 
was  the  wish  of  Gen.  Longstreet,  as  expressed 
years  later,  to  the  writer,  to  move  on  without 
halting  upon  Chattanooga,  and  it  was  so 
evidently  the  right  thing  to  do,  that  Gen. 
Rosecrans  believed  he  would  do  it,  and  made 
his  dispositions  to  meet  the  changed  condition 
of  affairs.  This  involved  the  necessity  of 
looking  after  his  rear;  burrjdng  the  army 
trains  to  Chattanooga  ahead  of  Longstreet, 
placing  the  reserve  artillery,  supported  by 


Wagner’s  Posts  and  Spear’s  brigades,  in  po- 
sition to  defend  the  place,  and  thus  forming 
a rallying  point  for  the  broken  columns  of 
his  army.  It  was  easy  to  give  the  oi’ders  for 
these  things  to  be  done,  but  everything  de- 
pended upon  their  prompt  execution,  and 
turning  to  Gen.  Garfield  he  rapidly  enumer- 
ated the  various  movements  necessary  to  in- 
sure the  defense  of  Chattanooga,  until  the 
main  army  could  be  brought  off  the  field. 
Gen.  Garfield  replied  that  he  could  much 
easier  be  the  bearer  of  the  general’s  orders 
to  Gen.  Thomas,  which  was  agreed  to,  and 
under  these  circumstances  Rosecrans  rode 
rapidly  away,  to  make  arrangements  for  the 
safety  of  his  army. 

Meantime,  a strong  line  was  formed  at 
right  angles  with  Brannan’ s,  facing  toward 
the  right,  along  the  crest  of  the  ridge,  com- 
posed of  troops  of  Wood’s,  Van  Cleve’s  and 
Brannan’s  divisions,  strengthened  by  such 
troops  as  could  be  spared  from  the  main  line, 
which  defeated  the  flank  movement  of  Long- 
street. His  intention  to  move  upon  Chatta- 
nooga was  frustrated  by  Bragg,  who,  antici- 
pating danger  from  the  detachment  of  so 
large  a portion  of  his  army,  ordered  him  to 
move  upon  the  flank.  In  the  defense  of  the 
right  flank,  as  now  formed,  the  Third,  Sixth, 
Ninth  and  Seventeeth  Kentucky  Regiments 
took  a prominent  part.  Eighty  officers  and 
enlisted  men  of  the  Third  Kentucky  were 
wounded, within  fifteen  minutes,  in  the  angle 
formed  by  Brannan’s  division  and  the  new 
line.  A portion  of  the  reserve  corps,  under 
Gens.  Granger,  Steedman  and  Whitaker,  ap- 
peared in  the  nick  of  time  upon  the  right, 
and  went  into  action  with  a fury  that  nothing 
could  withstand,  and  the  day  was  saved.  At 
the  same  time  the  Eighth  Kentucky  was  act- 
ively engaged  on  the  right,  and,  though 
flanked  and  compelled  to  fall  back,  main- 
tained its  organization,  and  fought  bravely 
during  both  days  of  battle,  and  was  the  last 
to  leave  the  field. 


The  loss  in  the  Kentucky  regiments  of  Van 
Cleve’s  division  was  as  follows; 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Missing. 

Total. 

Eighth  Kentucky 3 

31 

2 

36 

Ninth  Kentucky 2 

45 

13 

60 

Seventeenth  Kentucky. 6 

105 

15 

126 

HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


425 


Baldwin’s  brigade  of  Johnson’s  division, 
Twentieth  Army  Corps,  with  the  division, 
moved  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  from  the 
corps,  and  took  position  on  the  extreme  left 
of  the  general  line  of  battle,  three  miles  east 
of  Crawfish  Springs.  The  Fifth  Kentucky, 
Col.  W.  W.  Beny,  was  posted  on  the  left  of 
the  front  line  of  Baldwin’s  brigade.  A charge 
being  ordered,  the  line  advanced  rapidly 
against  a galling  fire  of  musketry  and  artil- 
lery, driving  the  Confederates  over  a mile. 
Half  an  hour  later,  being  heavily  re-enforced, 
they  returned  the  attack.  The  Ninty-third 
Ohio  formed  on  the  left  of  the  Fifth  Ken- 
tucky, but,  the  Confederate  lines  extending 
beyond  the  left  of  the  brigade,  the  Ninety- 
third  staggered  under  the  blow.  Col.  Bald- 
win, with  heroic  courage,  seized  the  colors 
and  shouting  “Rally  round  the  flag,  boys,” 
the  regiment  sprang  forward  with  such  im- 
petuosity as  to  repulse  the  charge  and  cap- 
ture two  guns.  The  Fifth  Kentucky,  stand- 
ing in  line,  swept  its  front  with  continuous 
volleys  of  musketry. 

Quiet  then  reigned  for  an  hour  and  a half 
when  the  storm  again  burst  with  renewed 
fury.  Baldwin’s  brigade  withstood  the 
shock,  but  a regiment  on  its  right  broke,  and 
the  Confederates  rushing  into  the  gap  com- 
menced a furious  assault  upon  Baldwin’s 
right.  Here  Col.  Baldwin  was  shot,  leaving 
the  brigade  without  a commander.  The 
Fifth  Kentucky  and  the  Ninety-third  Ohio 
were  completely  cut  off,  the  Confederate 
line  being  between  them  and  the  reserve. 
But  darkness  came  to  their  relief,  and  silent- 
ly, on  double  quick,  the  two  regiments  passed 
the  Confederate  flank,  joined  the  reserve, 
faced  about  and  for  half  an  hour  the  most 
terrific  fighting  of  the  day  took  place.  The 
two  lines  were  but  a few  yards  apart  and  a hand 
to  hand  fight  followed.  It  was  a desperate 
struggle,  but  the  Confederates  Avere  drawn 
back  and  the  line  was  held.  At  this  moment 
Col.  Berry,  as  ranking  officer,  assumed  the 
command  of  the  brigade,  and  Gen.  Baird’s 
division,  coming  up,  formed  on  the  extreme 
left  of  the  main  line  of  battle. 

The  divisions  Avere  now  aligned  as  follows: 
— counting  from  left  to  right — Baird,  John- 


son, Palmer,  Reynolds,  Brannan,  Negley, 
Sheridan  and  Davis;  Wood  and  Van  Cleve 
in  reserve.  During  the  night  Gen.  Rose- 
crans  called  his  corps  commanders  together, 
and  in  the  conference  which  took  place  it 
was  agreed  that  the  left  must  be  held,  as  it 
guarded  the  main  Lafayette  and  Chatta- 
nooga Road.  To  this  end,  Negley  was  with- 
drawn from  the  line,  Wood  ordered  to  take 
his  place,  and  Van  Cleve  was  ordered  to  the 
rear  of  Brannan  in  reserve.  This  formation 
remained  until  the  withdrawal  of  Wood 
caused  the  disaster  of  the  afternoon.  The 
Fifth  Kentucky  occupied  a position  in  the 
second  line. 

The  Confederate  line,  formed  in  echelon, 
attacked  first  on  the  left  and  followed  with 
successive  strokes  along  the  Union  front. 
This  attack  was  well  adapted  to  produce  the 
result  which  followed,  as  the  troops  on  the 
left  of  the  Confederate  line,  concealed  from 
view,  awaited  the  weakening  of  the  Union 
right  before  advancing.  When  the  attack 
fell  upon  Berry,  he  at  once  moved  up  his 
rear  line,  but  some  of  Baird’s  troops  giving 
away,  necessitated  a half  wheel  and  charge 
upon  the  Confederates.  The  Fifth  Kentucky, 
now  led  by  Capt.  Huston,  rapidly  cleared  the 
fields  in  their  front,  and,  as  Col.  Berry  ex- 
pressed it,  “ with  an  impetuousity  never 
excelled,”  struck  the  Confederates  in  flank, 
and  drove  them  pell-mell  a mile  and  a half, 
capturing  many  prisoners,  among  them  Gen. 
Adams.  Lieut.  Huston,  a promising  young 
officer,  was  killed  in  this  charge. 

The  loss  of  the  Fifth  Kentucky  in  this 
engagement  was  15  killed,  and  110  wounded. 
Total,  125. 

Gen.  Cruft’s  brigade  went  into  action  on 
the  19th  of  September,  with  an  effective 
strength  of  seventy-six  officers  and  1,300 
enlisted  men,  of  which  128  were  artillery. 
The  Second  Division  of  the  Twenty-first 
Army  Corps,  commanded  by  Gen.  Palmer,  was 
detatched  from  the  corps  and  ordered  to  report 
to  Gen.  Thomas.  Line  of  battle  was  formed 
to  the  right  of  McNamar’s  house  on  the  Ross- 
ville  Road,  in  echelon,  Hazen’s  brigade  on 
the  left.  Cruft’s  brigade  in  the  center,  and 
Grose’s  brigade  on  the  right.  The  First  and* 


42(5 


HLSTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Second  Kentucky,  Cols.  Enyart  and  Sedge- 
wick  were  in  the  latter;  the  Sixth  Kentucky, 
Col.  Shackelford,  in  Hazen’s  brigade,  and  the 
Twenty-third  Kentucky,  Lieut. -Col.  J.  C. 
Foy.  in  Grose’s  brigade. 

The  battle  opened  in  this  part  of  the  field 
with  a successful  charge  by  the  Confederates, 
which  drove  the  division  back  from  its  first 
position,  but  no  rout  ensued,  and  on  the  ar- 
rival of  re-enforcements  under  Gen.  Turchin, 
a counter  charge  was  made  which  resulted  in 
regaining  the  lost  ground.  In  this  charge 
the  Kentucky  regiments  displayed  their  usual 
gallantry.  During  the  night,  rapid  firing  in 
front  of  Johnson’s  division  indicated  a night 
attack,  and  Cruft’s  brigade  moved  up  on  the 
right  and  Grose  followed  soon  after.  The 
night  was  far  spent  when  the  new  line  was 
formed,  and  the  remaining  hours  were  utilized 
in  the  erection  of  rude  breastworks  along  the 
bank  of  a stream.  The  morning  of  the  20th 
found  the  division  in  good  position  for  with- 
standing an  attack.  The  men  wearied  by 
hard  lighting  and  loss  of  rest  were  yet  in  good 
spirits,  and  the  steadiness  with  which  they 
fought  and  held  their  line  is  the  best  evidence 
of  their  courage. 

The  loss  in  the  Kentucky  regiments  of 
Palmer’s  division  was  as  follows: 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Missing. 

Total. 

First  Kentucky. . . .5 

61 

17 

83 

Second  Kentucky.. 2 

26 

3 

31 

Sixth  Kentucky. . .15 

93 

11 

118 

Twenty-third  Ken- 
tucky   11 

52 

6 

69 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Total 33 

232 

37 

301 

Gen.  John  Beatty’s  brigade  of  Negley’s 
division  of  the  Fourteenth  Corps  moved  early 
on  the  morning  of  the  20th  to  a position  on  | 
the  left,  and  formed  his  line  by  direction  of 
Gen.  Thomas  perpendicularly  to  the  left  of 
Gen  Baird’s  division.  This  strong  support 
to  the  extreme  left  of  the  line  was  impera- 
tively needed  to  secure  it  from  a flank  attack, 
but  was  subsequently  changed  by  an  order  to 
Beatty  to  advance  to  a ridge  in  his  front. 
Gen.  Beatty  represented  to  the  officer  bring- 
insr  the  order  that  the  movement  would  leave 
a wide  interval  between  him  and  Baird,  but 


after  hearing  that  the  order  was  imperative, 
and  that  the  interval  would  be  filled  by  Neg- 
ley,  he  advanced  against  heavy  opposition. 
The  Fifteenth  Kentucky,  Col.  Taylor,  became 
immediately  engaged,  but  pushed  steadily 
forward.  The  gap  between  the  brigade  and 
Baird’s  troops  on  its  right  gradually  widened, 
and  Beatty  called  upon  Baird  to  send  some 
of  his  troops  to  cover  it.  This  movement  had 
been  observed  by  the  Confederates,  who, 
pressing  forward,  filled  the  interval,  and 
turned  with  the  evident  intention  of  captur- 
ing the  brigade,  or  at  least  one  regiment,  the 
Forty-second  Indiana,  then  busily  engaged 
in  its  front.  This  design  was  frustrated  by 
Gen.  Beatty’s  battery,  which  opened  with 
grape  and  canister,  and  the  Confederates  fell 
back.  The  force  in  front  proving  too  heavy  for 
further  advance.  Beatty  withdrew  his  brig- 
ade. The  Confederates,  following  briskly, 
captured  two  guns  of  Beatty’s  battery.  The 
Fifteenth  Kentucky  and  the  One  Hundred 
and  Fourth  Illinois,  with  their  accustomed 
steadiness,  succeeded  in  checking  the  further 
advance  of  the  Confederates,  but  the  Eighty- 
eighth  and  Foi’ty-second  Indiana  were  com- 
pelled to  make  a wide  detour  to  escape  cap- 
ure  and  did  not  regain  the  brigade. 

Col.  Stanley  came  up  soon  after  with  the 
Second  Brigade  of  Negley’s  division,  and,  re- 
lieving the  two  regiments,  they  took  position 
in  rear  as  support.  In  the  hard  fight  that 
followed,  the  Fifteenth  Kentucky  was  espe- 
cially distinguished.  Being  ordered  to  haul 
off  by  hand  two  pieces  of  artillery  which  had 
been  abandoned  by  the  gunners, they  enlarged 
upon  their  instructions  and  gathered  up  five 
pieces,  and  attaching  them  to  limbers  that 
they  found  upon  the  field,  succeeded  in  sav- 
I ing  them  all.  The  loss  in  the  Fifteenth 
Kentucky  was  five  killed,  forty-three  wound- 
ed and  fifteen  missing;  total,  sixty  three. 

Among  the  surgeons  who  bravely  remained 
at  their  post  of  duty  at  the  field  hospital, 
and  were  captured  by  the  Confederates,  was 
Surgeon  Joseph  Fithian  of  the  Eighteenth 
Kentucky. 

The  officers  of  Kentucky  regiments  killed 
or  mortally  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Chicka- 
I mauga  were: 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


427 


Lieut.  Frank  N.  Sheets,  Fourth  Cavalry;  Capt. 
James  M.  Bodine,  Second  Infantry;  Capt.  Henry  S. 
Taylor,  Third  Infantry;  Lieut.  Alban  D.  Bradshaw, 
Third  Infantry;  Maj.  Charles  L.  Thomasson,  Fifth 
Infantry;  Lieut.  John  W.  Huston,  Fifth  Infantry; 
Lieut.  John  Ryan,  Fifth  Infantry;  Capt.  Peter 
^klarker,  Si.xth  Infantry;  Capt.  John  McGraw, 
Sixth  Infantry;  Lieut.  Richard  Rockingham,  Lieut. 
Thomas  Eubanks,  Sixth  Infantry;  Lieut.  Frederick 
V.  Lockman,  Sixth  Infantry;  Capt.  Seth  P.  Bevill, 
Tenth  Infantry;  Lieut.  John  H.  Myers,  Tenth  In- 
fantry; Lieut.  Joseph  L.  McClure,  Fifteenth  Infant- 
ry; Lieut.  John  D.  Millman,  Seventeenth  Infantry; 
Capt.  James  W.  Anthony,  Seventeenth  Infantry; 
Lieut.  Joseph  C.  Hoffman,  Twenty-third  In- 
fantry. 

The  result  of  this  battle  was  the  retire- 
ment of  the  Federal  army  to  the  defenses  of 
Chattanooga,  where  it  was  closely  followed 
by  the  victorious  foe.  Bragg  at  once  seized 
the  natural  fortresses  of  Lookout  Mountain 
and  Missionary  Ridge,  and  placed  the  bulk 
of  his  forces  in  an  almost  impregnable  posi- 
tion overlooking  the  city.  The  withdrawal 
of  the  Federal  forces  from,  the  passes  of 
Lookout  Mountain,  left  the  way  open  for  the 
attack  upon  Rosecrans’  natural  line  of  com- 
munication with  his  base  of  supplies  at 
Bridgeport,  and  the  enemy’s  pickets  soon 
held  the  river  from  that  point  to  Chicka- 
mauga  Creek.  Railroad  communications  in 
his  rear  were  cut  off  by  a successful  cavalry 
raid,  and  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland, 
cooped  up  within  the  fortifications  of  Chat- 
tanooga was  forced  to  subsist  upon  the 
meager  supplies  which  could  be  wagoned 
over  Waldron’s  Ridge  by  a circuitous  and 
mule-killing  route. 

This  predicament  caused  the  early  dispatch 
of  re-enforcements  from  the  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac, and  the  removal  of  Sherman’s  forces 
from  Memphis  to  this  point.  But  in  the 
meantime,  the  situation  grew  more  seri- 
ous, although  the  evacuation  of  the  city  was 
at  no  time  contemplated. 

Gen.  Grant  arrived  on  the  23d  of  October, 
and  at  once  set  about  recovering  the  posses- 
sion of  the  river.  Operations  against  the 
main  position  of  the  enemy,  however,  were 
delayed  until  the  arrival  of  Sherman  in 
November. 

In  reorganizing  the  Army  of  the  Cumber- 
land, after  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  the 


Kentucky  regiments 

were 

assigned 

as  fol- 

lows: 

Brigade. 

Division.  Army  Corps. 

First  Infantry,  Col.  D. 
A.  Enyart 

1st 

1st 

4th 

Secondinfantry,  Col.  T. 
D.  Sedgewick 

1st 

1st 

4th 

Third  Infantry,  Col.  H. 
C.  Dunlap 

3d 

2d 

4th 

Fourth  Infantry,Mai.R. 
M.  Kelly 

3d 

3d 

14th 

Fifth  Infantry,  Col.  W. 
W.  Berry 

2d 

3d 

4th 

Sixth  Infantry,  Maj.  R. 
T.  Whitaker 

2d 

3d 

4th 

Eighth  Infantry,  Col.  S. 
^1.  Barnes 

2d 

1st 

4th 

Ninth  Infantrj',  Col.  G. 
H.  Cram 

3d 

3d 

4th 

Tenth  Infantry,  Col.  W. 
H.  Hays 

3d 

3d 

14th 

Fifteenth  Infantiy,  Maj. 
TT.  G.  Halpin 

1st 

1st 

14th 

Seventeenth  Infantry, 
Col.  A.  M.  Stout 

3d 

3d 

4th 

Eighteenth  Infantry, 
Lieut. -Col.  H.  K.  Mil- 
ward  

3d 

3d 

14th  . 

Twent}' -first  Infantry, 
Col.  S.  W.  Price 

2d 

1st 

4th 

Twenty-third  Infantiy, 
Lieut. -Col.  J.  C.  Foy.. 

2d 

3d 

4th 

By  this  arrangement  the  First  and  Second 
Regiments  were  in  Cruft’s  bx’igade,  and  the 
Eighth  and  Twenty-first  in  Whitaker’s  brig- 
ade. of  Stanley’s  division;  the  Third  Ken- 
tucky in  Marker’s  brigade,  of  Sheridan’s  di- 
vision; the  Fifth,  Sixth  and  Twenty-third  in 
Hazen’s  brigade,  and  the  Ninth  and  Seven- 
teenth in  Beatty’s  brigade,  of  Wood’s  divis- 
ion, Fourth  Army  Corps.  The  Fourth, 
Tenth  and  Eighteenth  were  in  Phelps’  brig- 
ade, of  Baird’s  division;  and  the  Fifteenth 
in  Moore’s  brigade,  of  Carlin’s  division. 
Fourteenth  Army  Corps.  All  the  regiments 
above  mentioned  participated  in  the  battles 
about  Chattanooga,  November  23d  to  25th, 
except  the  First,  Second  and  Fifteenth. 

A preliminary  movement  of  considei’able 
importance  was  the  capture  of  Moccasin 
Point  by  Hazen’s  brigade  on  the  night  of 
October  27th.  The  Tennessee  River,  in  its 
tortuous  course  after  leaving  Chattanooga, 
runs  southward  a short  distance,  then  turning 
abruptly  northward  forms  a tongue  of  land, 
called  Moccasin  Point.  After  reaching  a 


428 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


distance  of  seven  oi’  eight  miles  in  this  direc- 
tion, it  sweeps  gracefully  around  a curve  and 
resumes  its  southern  course,  when  bearing 
westward  it  flows  past  Bridgej^ort,  the  base 
of  supplies  for  the  army.  The  possession  by 
the  Confederates  of  the  tongue  of  land 
formed  by  the  latter  curve,  compelled  a wide 
detour  northward  via  Anderson’s  Cross  Roads 
to  supply  the  suffering  army.  Glen.  Rose- 
crans,  with  a view  to  the  possession  of  the 
direct  road  to  Bridgeport,  formed  the  plan, 
subsequently  carried  out  by  Gen.  Thomas,  of 
landing  a force  under  cover  of  night  at 
Brown’s  Ferry  and  seizing  the  upper  end  of 
Lookout  Valley  simultaneously  with  the  ad- 
vance of  the  troops,  then  on  their  way  from 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  river  being 
commanded  by  batteries  at  the  base  of  Look- 
out Mountain  rendered  the  undertaking  both 
difficult  and  dangerous. 

Hazen’s  brigade  was  selected  for  the  enter- 
prise and  the  result  proved  that  its  execution 
was  confided  to  competent  hands.  With  a 
picked  force  of  1,200  men,  divided  into 
squads  of  twenty-five  each,  of  which  the 
Fifth,  Sixth  and  Twenty-third  Kentucky 
Regiments  furnished  eleven  squads  of  twen- 
ty-five men,  and  one  of  seventy- five,  under 
competent  officers,  Gen.  Hazen  embarked  up- 
on pontoon  boats;  the  squad  of  seventy- five 
from  the  Twenty-third  under  Lieut. -Col.  Foy 
was  in  advance,  and  silently  floated  down  the 
river  under  the  Confederate  batteries.  Many 
a heart  stood  still  as  the  noiseless  procession 
glided  phantom- like  under  the  shadow  of 
Lookout  Mountain  and  out  into  the  light  be- 
yond. Foi  full  two  miles  the  route  lay  un  ■ 
der  the  muzzles  of  Longstreet’s  artillery, 
which  had  full  sweep  of  the  river.  The  oars 
were  not  used;  not  a word  was  spoken;  the 
slightest  noise  would  open  the  brazen  throats 
of  a dozen  cannon.  Three  miles  down  the 
river,  the  flotilla  came  under  the  guns  of  the 
Confederate  pickets,  but  by  keeping  well  un- 
der the  shadow  of  the  opposite  shore  the  j 
boats  were  unobserved  until  the  first  boat  was  i 
within  ten  feet  of  the  landing  at  Brown’s  j 
Ferry,  when  the  men  of  the  Twenty-third  i 
leaped  ashore,  and,  with  the  brave  Lieut.-  I 
Col.  Foy  at  their  head,  pushed  down  the  ' 


road,  driving  the  Confederates  before  them. 
As  the  boats  came  up,  the  men  disembarked, 
and  soon  forming  a line  of  battle,  were  pre- 
pared for  the  attack  that  was  anticipated. 
The  assault  fell  first  upon  Col.  Foy,  who  re- 
pulsed it,  driving  the  Confederates  to  the 
right  where  they  were  met  by  Col.  Wiley, 
who,  re-enforced  by  Col.  Langdon,  pursued 
them  across  the  valley.  Entrenchments  were 
rapidly  thrown  up,  the  pontoons  were  formed 
in  a bridge,  artillery  was  brought  over,  and 
when  morning  dawned  the  astonished  Con- 
federates were  dispossessed  of  the  coveted 
peninsula.  Gen.  Hooker,  advancing  in  the 
meantime  from  the  western  end  of  the  valley, 
encamped  on  the  following  night  near  Wau- 
hatchie,  where  a battle  was  fought,  resulting 
in  the  defeat  of  the  Confederates,  and  per- 
manent occupation  of  the  valley. 

The  next  exploit  of  Hazen’s  brigade  was, 
in  connection  with  the  division,  the  capture 
of  Orchard  Knob,  an  eminence  between  the 
Union  and  Confederate  lines  in  front  of 
Chattanooga,  on  the  23d  of  November’.  In 
this  daring  movement  Col.  Berry,  of  the 
Fifth  Kentucky,  was  wounded.  During'  the 
last  half  mile  after  meeting  the  Confederate 
pickets,  Hazen’s  brigade  was  constantly  under 
fire,  from  which  it  suffered  severely,  but 
pushing  forward  the  position  was  captured, 
and  with  it  the  greater  part  of  the  Twenty 
eighth  Alabama  Infantry. 

Stanley’s  division,  stationed  at  Whiteside, 
near  Bridgeport,  was  at  this  time  under  com- 
mand of  Gen.  Cruft,  ranking  brigade  com- 
mander. With  two  brigades  of  his  division 
under  Whitaker  and  Grose,  he  took  part  in 
the  capture  of  Lookout  Mountain. 

The  departure  of  Longstreet’s  corps  and 
Buckner’s  division  from  the  line  of  invest- 
ment at  Chattanooga  to  attack  Burnside  in 
the  vicinity  of  Knoxville  left  Bragg  but 
32,700  infantry  and  artillery,  divided  into 
two  corps,  commanded  by  Hardee  and  Breck- 
inridge. The  Confederate  line  extended 
from  the  northern  extremity  of  Missionary 
Ridge  around  to  the  western  base  of  Look- 
out Mountain.  Stevenson’s  division  occupied 
Lookout  Mountain  and  Chattanooga  Valley 
at  its  base.  On  the  24th  of  November  the 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


429 


troops  on  the  mountain  consisted  of  three 
brigades  under  Gens.  Walthall,  Moore  and 
Pettus. 

In  the  assault  made  by  Geary’s  division  of 
Hooker’s  corps  and  Whitaker’s  brigade,  the 
latter  was  in  support,  but  in  the  advance  up 
the  rugged  mountain  side,  owing  to  irregu- 
larities in  the  ground  it  gradually  pushed 
itself  to  the  front  and  took  part  in  the  tight 
even  before  the  summit  was  reached.  Drift- 
ing clouds  enveloped  the  lofty  crest  of  the 
mountain,  and  the  precipitous  sides  were 
involved  in  an  impenetrable  mist.  In  this 
“ battle  above  the  clouds  ” the  Eighth  Ken- 
tucky Infantry  bore  a prominent  part.  The 
Twenty-first  Kentucky  not  having  joined  the 
brigade  at  this  time  was  temporarily  assigned 
to  Davis’  division  of  the  Fourteenth  Corps. 

At  noon,  when  Walthall’s  main  line  was 
reached,  Whitaker’s  brigade  had  by  hard 
climbing  and  desperate  hand-to-hand  fight- 
ing found  its  way  around  to  the  right,  and 
was  exactly  in  the  right  place.  Hastily 
deploying  their  lines,  the  brigade  commanders 
gave  the  order  to  charge,  and  never  was  the 
command,  that  carries  with  it  death  to  the 
brave,  obeyed  with  a heartier  will.  The 
men  of  Gettysburg  and  Chickamauga  stood 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  and,  with  a courage 
that  nothing  could  withstand,  rushed  forward 
to  the  attack.  A few  minutes  of  desperate 
fighting  ensued,  when  half  of  Walthall’s 
men  threw  down  their  arms  and  were  sent  to  j 
the  rear  as  prisoners.  Pushing  forward,  the 
plucky  little  army  found  itself  in  possession 
of  the  plateau  beneath  the  crest  of  the 
mountain.  Whitaker  refers  in  his  graphic 
style  to  the  assault  upon  the  lines  at  the 
Craven  House: 

Steadily  and  firmly  advancing,  my  brigade 
reached  the  base  of  Lookout’s  bold,  projecting 
point.  Its  profile  is  delineated  from  beneath  against 
the  sky.  In  good  order  my  bold  command,  now 
become  one  line,  swung  round  the  crest,  the  right 
wing  being  the  pivot,  with  the  flags  of  the  Fortieth 
Ohio  on  the  left  and  the  Eighth  Kentuckj'  floating 
free  and  triumphant  on  the  right.  With  beating 
hearts  we  heard  the  soul  stirring  vivas  of  our 
country’s  friends,  and  responding  boldly  we  charged 
upon  the  rallying  columns  of  the  enemy.  A por- 
tion of  Gen.  Geary’s  division  meeting  overwhelm- 
ing opposition  from  the  rifle  pits  in  the  orchard  be- 


fore reaching  the  Craven  House,  and  having  no 
cover,  were  falling  back.  The  Confederates  were 
sending  re-enforcements  from  the  summit  of  the 
mountain  over  a depression  in  the  cliff  some  hun- 
dreds of  yards  to  our  rear,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
mountain.  The  Eighth  Kentucky,  Col.  Barnes, 
was  halted  on  the  crest  of  the  ridge  with  orders  to 
deploy  skirmishers  to  drive  the  Confederates  back 
and  to  hold  the  crest  at  all  hazards.  This  was  well 
and  gallantly  done. 

While  Geary  and  Whitaker  were  steadily 
fighting  their  way  to  the  summit  of  the 
mountain,  Osterhaus’  division  of  Sherman’s 
army  and  Grose’s  brigade  were  pressing  for- 
ward from  below,  and  at  about  3 P.  M.  the 
latter  joined  Whitaker’s  brigade  on  the  pla- 
teau near  the  Craven  House.  Osterhaus 
came  up  on  the  left  followed  by  Carlin’s 
division,  the  Fifteenth  Kentucky  in  ad- 
vance. 

The  storming  of  Lookout  Mountain 
will  always  rank  as  one  of  the  boldest 
achievements  of  the  war.  Gen.  Geary  footed 
up  the  assault  as  follows:  “1,940  prisoners, 
125  of  the  Confederates  killed  and  300 
wounded  and  left  on  the  field,  2,800  stand  of 
arms,  2 cannon,  5 battle  flags,  50  officers’ 
swords  and  1,000  intrenching  tools  captured, 
at  a loss  of  150  men  killed  and  wounded,  52 
of  whom  were  in  Whitaker’s  brigade.”  Early 
in  the  morning  of  the  25th,  Gen.  Whitaker 
called  for  volunteers  from  the  Eighth  Ken- 
tucky to  scale  the  cliff  that  overhung  the 
plateau  and  take  possession  of  Lookout 
Point.  It  was  not  known  what  force  was 
there.  Capt.  Wilson  of  Company  C,  Sergts. 
Davis,  Wager  and  Wood  and  privates 
Witt  and  Bradley  at  once  stepped  forward. 
It  was  a hazardous  undertaking,  but  these 
brave  men  were  equal  to  it,  regardless  of  the 
result.  The  .regiment  soon  followed  and 
their  flag,  the  gift  of  the  loyal  women  of 
Estill  County,  was  given  to  the  breeze  amid 
the  wild  cheers  of  the  dauntless  men  whose 
valor  had  driven  4,000  men  from  the  summit 
of  Lookout  Mountain,  and  cheered  by  the  ex- 
ulting shouts  of  the  main  army  hundreds  of 
feet  below. 

The  smoke  of  battle  was  still  hovering  over 
the  lofty  crest  of  Lookout,  from  which  the 
flag  of  the  Eighth  Kentucky  floated  in 
triumph,  when  Gen.  Bragg  ordered  the  con- 


430 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


centration  of  his  entire  army  on  Missionary 
Kidge.  On  the  right  was  Hardee  with  four 
divisions,  under  Cleburne,  Stevenson,  Cheat- 
ham and  Gist,  numbering  over  20,000  men. 
Breckinridge  on  the  left  commanded  three 
divisions  under  Bate,  Hindman  and  Steward, 
15,000  strong.  In  the  battle  which  ensued 
Cleburne  on  the  right  was  charged  with  the 
defense  of  that  wing,  and  so  well  did  he  per- 
form this  service  that  Sherman’s  army  failed 
to  dislodge  him.  On  the  left  Breckinridge 
with  Stewart  and  Hindman’s  division  con- 
fronted Hooker,  who,  with  Geary’s  division 
of  the  Twelfth  Corps,  Cruft’s  division  of  the 
Fourth  Corps,  and  Osterhaus’  division  of  the 
Fifteenth  Corps,  advanced  across  Chattanooga 
to  assault  the  left  of  Bragg’s  line  of  battle. 
The  attack  was  brief  and  decisive.  The  Con- 
federates fell  back  along  the  ridge  toward 
the  center  of  their  line,  followed  by  Hooker’s 
infantry  on  the  ridge  and  his  artillery  in  the 
valley. 

The  sun  shone  brightly  down  upon  a scene 
of  surpassing  grandeur.  Every  movement  of 
the  troops  in  the  valley  was  distinctly  visible 
from  the  headquarters  of  Gens.  Thomas  and 
Grant  at  Fort  Wood  and  Gen.  Bragg  on  Mis- 
sionary Ridge,  where  “the  enemy,”  says  Bate, 
“like  a huge  serpent  uncoiled  his  massive  folds 
into  shapely  lines  in  our  immediate  front.” 

The  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  now  com- 
manded by  Maj.-Gen.  Geoi’ge  H.  Thomas,  was 
aligned  in  the  center  as  follows:  Johnson  on 
the  right,  then  Sheridan,  Wood,  Baird  and 
Davis,  with  their  divisions  in  line  awaiting 
the  signal  of  attack.  The  Eleventh  Corps, 
under  Gen.  Howard,  was  in  position  in  rear 
of  Thomas’  left,  ready  to  move  to  any  portion 
of  the  field  where  it  might  be  needed.  The 
same  regiments  which  had  fought  at  Chicka- 
mauga,  diminished  in  numbers,  by  re-enforc- 
ing the  right  and  left  now  prepared  for  the 
magnificent  charge  which  will  go  down  in 
history  as  one  of  the  grandest  in  military 
annals.  Noon  had  arrived,  but,  thus  far, 
Sherman’s  sledge-hammer  strokes  had  pro- 
duced no  apparent  effect.  Between  his  ad- 
vance and  Hardee’s  front  there  was  a deep 
ravine  and  a steep  ascent,  a second  Chickasaw 
Bluffs,  and  beyond  it — death. 


The  headquarter  flags  of  the  contending 
arniies  floated  defiantly  in  the  breeze,  and 
there  was  not  a soldier  in  the  ranks  who  did 
not  know  that  a great  and  decisive  battle  was 
to  be  fought  that  day.  That  Missionary 
Ridge  would  be  carried,  when  the  signal  was 
given  for  the  advance,  was  confidently  be- 
lieved by  every  Federal  soldier,  and  to  be  the 
first  upon  the  summit  was  the  goal  of  each 
one’s  ambition.  The  Third  Kentucky  in 
Marker’s  brigade,  the  Fifth,  Sixth  and 
Twenty-Third  in  Hazen’s  brigade  and  the 
Ninth  and  Seventeeth  in  Beatty’s  brigade 
were  near  together,  and  contested  the  honor 
of  first  reaching  the  summit.  The  Fifteenth 
in  Carlin’s  brigade  was  on  the  right,  and  the 
Fourth,  Tenth  and  Eighteenth  in  Phelp.s’ 
brigade  of  Baird’s  division  were  near  the  left 
of  the  line. 

While  Gen.  Sherman,  with  the  pluck  and 
persistence  that  formed  his  prominent  char- 
acteristic, was  sustaining  the  shock  of  battle 
on  the  northern  extremity  of  Missionary 
Ridge,  and  Hooker’s  victorious  columns  were 
advancing  along  the  ridge  from  the  south  in 
the  wake  of  the  retreating  Confederates,  the 
order  came  for  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  to 
advance  and  carry  the  rifle  pits  at  the  base  of 
the  ridge.  Only  this  and  nothing  more.  The 
assault  is  tersely  described  by  Gen.  Grant  as 
follows: 

These  troops  moved  forward,  drove  the  enemy 
from  the  rifle  pits  at  the  base  of  the  ridge  like  bees 
from  a hive,  stopped  but  a moment  until  the  whole 
were  in  line,  and  commenced  the  assault  of  the 
mountain  from  right  to  left  almost  simultaneously, 
following  closely  the  retreating  enemy  without 
further  orders.  They  encountered  a fearful  volley 
of  grape  and  canister  from  nearly  thirty  pieces  of 
artillery,  and  musketry  from  still  well  filled  rifle 
pits  on  the  summit  of  the  ridge.  Not  a waver  was 
seen  in  all  that  long  line  of  brave  men.  Their  prog- 
ress was  steadily  onward  until  the  summit  was  in 
their  possession.  In  the  charge  the  casualties  were 
remarkably  few  for  the  fire  encountered.  I can  ac- 
count for  this  only  on  the  theory  that  the  enemy’s 
surprise  at  the  audacity  of  such  a charge  caused 
confusion  and  purposeless  aiming  of  their  pieces. 

Geu.  Thomas  says: 

Our  troops  advanced  steadily  in  a continuous  line. 
The  enemy,  seized  with  panic,  abandoned  the  works 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill  and  retreated  precipitately  to 
the  crest,  pursued  closely  by  our  troops,  who,  ap 
parently  Inspired  by  the  impulse  of  victory,  carried 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  hill  simultaneously  at  si.x  different  points,  and  so  ■ 
closely  upon  the  heels  of  the  enemy  that  many  of  I 
them  were  taken  prisoners  in  the  trenches.  We 
captured  nearly  all  their  cannon  and  ammunition 
before  they  could  be  removed  or  destroyed.  Mter 
halting  for  a few  moments  to  reorganize  the  troops, 
who  had  become  somewhat  scattered  in  the  assault 
of  the  hill,  Gen.  Sheridan  pushed  forward  in  pursuit 
and  drove  those  in  his  front,  who  escaped  capture, 
across  Chickamauga  Creek.  Gens.  Wood  and  Baird, 
being  obstinately  resisted  by  re-enforcements  from 
the  enemy’s  extreme  right,  continued  fighting  until 
darkness  set  in,  slowly  but  steadily  driving  the  ene- 
my before  them.  The  alacrity  displayed  by  officers^ 
in  executing  their  orders,  and  the  enthusiasm  and 
spirit  displayed  by  the  men  who  did  the  work,  can- 
not be  too  highly  appreciated  by  the  nation  for  the 
defense  of  which  they  have  on  so  many  memorable 
occasions  nobly  and  patiently  exposed  their  lives  in 
battle. 

An  army  officer,  who  witnessed  this  mag- 
nificent pageant  from  Orchard  Knob,  is  accus- 
tomed to  say,  when  referring  to  it,  “the 
grandest  sights  I ever  witnessed  were,  sun- 
rise on  the  ocean,  Niagara  Falls,  and  the 
charge  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland 
at  Missionary  Ridge.”  In  this  engagement 
the  Kentucky  regiments  maintained  their 
reputation  for  courage  and  discipline,  and 
were  among  the  first  to  plant  their  colors  upon 
the  summit  of  the  ridge. 

It  was  evident  to  every  general  officer  that 
the  troops  were  disobeying  orders  in  advancing 
beyond  the  rifle  pits  at  the  base  of  the  ridge. 
Grant  inquired  of  Thomas  by  whose  orders 
they  were  ascending  the  ridge.  “By  their  own, 

I think,”  said  the  philosopher.  “It  is  all 
right,  if  it  turns  outright,”  was  the  response. 
As  it  turned  out  right,  all  were  willing  to 
excuse  this  breach  of  discipline.  A contest 
ensued  between  Gens.  Hazen  and  Sheridan 
as  to  which  first  gained  the  crest,  the  latter 
claiming  the  honor  for  Harker’s  brigade,  the 
former  stoutly  claiming  it  for  his  own,  but  as 
these  brigades  were  largely  composed  of  Ken- 
tucky troops  it  is  probable  that  but  little 
if  any  difference  in  time  elapsed  between 
their  arrival. 

The  Twenty-first  Kentucky  took  a hand  in 
the  fray,  simultaneously  with  Sheridan’s 
advance  at  midnight  across  Chickamauga 
Creek.  The  division  of  Gen.  Davis,  which 
had  during  the  day  acted  as  reserve  to  Gen. 


-bJl 

Sherman,  moved  around  the  nose  of  the 
ridge  along  the  river  bank,  and,  crossing  the 
creek,  moved  upon  Chickamauga  Station, 
near  which  it  bivouacked  for  the  night.  At 
8 o’clock,  on  the  following  morning,  the 
division  advanced,  preceded  by  the  Twenty- 
first  Kentucky,  deployed  as  skirmishers. 
Gen.  Davis  says:  “The  Twenty -first  Ken- 

tucky moved  forward  in  a beautiful  skirmish 
line,  and,  when  nearing  the  suburbs  of  the 
town,  encountered  the  enemy'  in  a very  sharp 
skirmish.”  The  flames  which  now  streamed 
upward  from  the  burning  station  indicated 
the  destruction  of  stores,  and  the  regiment 
pushed  forward  and  compelled  the  Confeder- 
ates to  abandon  a considerable  quantity  of 
supplies  undestroyed.  The  Twenty-first 
made  a gallant  fight  against  a portion  of 
the  Confederate  Kentucky  Brigade,  and, 
re-enforced  by  the  Eighteenth  Illinois,  got 
the  better  of  their  opponents,  compelling 
them  to  retreat  in  the  direction  of  Graysville. 

While  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  under 
Gen.  Eosecrans,  was  advancing  its  lines  and 
closing  the  gateway  to  east  Tennessee  and 
Virginia,  by  seizing  and  holding  possession 
of  Chattanooga,  the  Army  of  the  Ohio  under 
Gen.  Burnside  was  pushing  eastward  from 
Kentucky  to  the  capture  of  Knoxville  and 
the  valley  of  the  Tennessee.  Knoxville  was 
occupied  on  the  3d  of  September,  and  Cum- 
berland Gap,  defended  by  a garrison  of 
2,000  men  under  Gen.  Frazier,  was  captured 
on  the  10th  near  the  date  of  the  occupation 
of  Chattanooga  by  the  Twenty-first  Army 
Corps. 

Gen.  Simon  B.  Buckner,  in  command  of 
the  Department  of  East  Tennessee,  had,  in 
obedience  to  the  crder  of  Gen.  Bragg,  evac- 
uated the  valley,  and  ordered  his  command 
of  7,000  men  to  the  Confederate  Army  of 
the  Tennessee,  leaving  Burnside  an  undis- 
puted march  to  Knoxville.  With  few  Con- 
federates in  his  front,  the  obvious  duty  of 
Gen.  Bmmside  was  to  re-enforce  Gen. 
Rosecrans  with  at  least  so  much  of  his 
infantry  as  would  compensate  for  the 
increased  force  added  by'  Buckner  to  the 
army  of  Gen.  Bragg.  His  army'  of  25,000 
men  was  composed  of  two  corps,  the  Ninth 


432 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


and  Twenty-third.  The  latter,  consisting  of 
cavalry  and  infantry,  marching  over  the 
mountains,  reached  Kingston  in  ample  time 
to  join  Kosecrans,  and  render  much  needed 
assistance  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga. 

The  Kentucky  regiments  participating  in 
the  campaign  culminating  in  the  siege  of 
Knoxville,  were: 

Eleventh  Infantry,  mounted,  Col.  S.  P.  Love, 
Pennebaker's  Brigade. 

Twenty-seventh  Infantry,  mounted,  Lieut. -Col. 
J.  H.  Ward,  Pennebaker’s  Brigade. 

Brigade.  Division.  Army  Corps. 

Twelfth  Infantry,  Maj. 


J.  M.  Owens 

1st 

3d 

23d 

Thirteenth  Infantry,  Col. 
W.  E.  Hobson 

2d 

2d 

23d 

Sixteenth  Infantry,  Col. 
J.  W.  Gault 

1st 

2d 

23d 

Twenty-fourth  Infantiy, 
Col.  J.  S.  Hurt 

2d 

3d 

23d 

First  Cavalry,  Col.  S. 
Adams 

1st 

4th 

23d 

Eleventh  Cavalry,  Maj. 
M.  Graham 

1st 

4th 

23d 

Twelfth  Cavalry,  Maj.  J. 
B.  Harrison 

1st 

4th 

23d 

The  Eleventh  and  Twenty-seventh,  mount- 
ed infantry,  ixnder  Col.  C.  D.  Pennebaker, 
formed  an  independent  brigade  during  the 
months  of  September  and  October,  after 
which  they  were  assigned  to  the  cavalry 
corps  and  formed  the  Third  Brigade  of  Col. 
Wolford’s  division. 

Gen.  Burnside,  having  obtained  almost 
undisputed  possession  of  east  Tennessee, 
concluded,  about  the  1st  of  November,  to 
place  his  army  in  winter  quarters.  Col. 
Chapin’s  Brigade  of  AVhite’s  Division,  of 
which  the  Thirteenth  Kentucky  formed  a 
part,  was  stationed  midway  between  the  uiain 
army  at  Lenoirs  and  Loudon,  with  pickets 
on  the  Holston  Kiver.  Mott’s  brigade  of  the 
same  division,  in  which  the  Sixteenth  Ken- 
tucky served,  was  stationed  at  Kingston,  on  | 
the  extreme  right  of  the  line.  The  Third 
Division  (Hascall’s),  in  which  the  Twelfth 
and  Twenty- fourth  Kentucky  were  brigaded, 
occupied  the  intrenchments  at  Knoxville. 
The  Eleventh  and  Twenty-seventh,  mounted 
infantry,  with  the  cavalry  regiments,  were 
stationed  at  points  on  the  flanks  of  the  army. 

Gen.  'Wheeler’s  cavalry,  detached  from 


Bragg’s  army  to  co-operate  with  Longstreet 
in  his  operations  against  Buimside,  arrived 
at  Sweetwater  on  the  11th  of  November, 
1863,  and  on  the  following  morning  moved 
forward  toward  Maryville  with  orders  to 
capture  whatever  Federal  force  could  be 
found  there.  This  force  was  Col.  Wolford’s 
cavalry  brigade,  consisting  of  the  First, 
Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Kentucky  Cavalry, 
numbering  1,126  ofBcers  and  enlisted  men. 
Wheeler’s  force  was  vastly  superior,  com- 
prising  two  divisions. 

Dibrell’s  brigade,  pushing  forward  in 
advance,  came  upon  the  Eleventh  Kentucky, 
which  fell  back,  after  a sharp  fight,  upon  the 
main  body,  which  in  turn  was  compelled  to 
retreat  across  Little  Eiver  with  a loss  of  200 
killed,  wounded  and  prisoners.  Emboldened 
by  his  success,  Wheeler  pushed  forward  in 
pursuit  and  on  the  following  morning  came 
ujxon  Wolford,  who,  re-enforced  by  Penne- 
baker’s brigade,  had  made  arrangements  to 
meet  him  at  Stock  Creek. 

W^olford  had  partially  torn  up  the  bridge, 
and  his  forces,  1,500  strong,  were  posted  in 
a strong  and  elevated  position  behind afence 
inclosing  a thick  wood.  In  their  front  were 
open  fields  descending  toward  the  wood  upon 
which  Wheeler  was  advancing;  on  their  right 
was  the  Holston  River,  while  their  left  rested 
upon  the  steep  side  of  a high  ridge.  If  was 
afternoon  when  the  head  of  Wheeler’s  column 
appeared,  and  it  at  once  encountered  a brisk 
artillery  fire,  wounding,  among  others,  Maj. 
Buford  of  Wheeler’s  staff.  Wheeler  at  once 
dismounted  Martin’s  division,  and  crossing  the 
river  under  a heavy  fire  attacked  the  left  of 
Wolford’s  line,  di’iving  it  back.  While  this 
was  in  progress  a force  had  been  busily 
engaged  repairing  the  bridge,  and  soon 
Armstrong’s  division  crossed  it  and  charged 
on  the  right,  which  resulted  in  driving  the 
entire  force  back  under  cover  of  the  guns  in 
the  fortifications  on  the  heights  south  of 
Knoxville. 

Information  of  the  movements  of  Long- 
street  reached  Col.  Chapin  on  the  night  of 
the  13th,  and  a reconnaissance  to  Huff’s 
Ferry,  demonstrated  that  a large  force  was 
there  preparing  to  cross  the  Holston.  Cha- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


433 


pin’s  brigade  was  at  once  withdrawn  to  Len- 
oirs.  Returning  on  the  following  day,  re- 
enforced by  Ferrero’s  division  of  the  Ninth 
Corps,  Chapin’s  brigade  encountered  Long- 
street’s  pickets  about  two  miles  north 
of  the  Holston.  The  Thirteenth  Kentucky, 
under  command  of  Col.  William  E.  Hobson, 
advanced  gallantly,  in  connection  with  the 
One  Hundred  and  Seventh  Illinois,  and 
drove  the  Confederate  pickets  nearly  to  the 
landing.  “Up  to  this  time,”  says  Chapin  in 
his  report,  “the  two  regiments  had  been 
about  equally  engaged,  but  now  the  enemy 
seemed  to  concentrate  in  front  of  the  Thir- 
teenth Kentucky.  The  summit  of  the  hill 
being  wooded  made  good  cover  for  the  rebels, 
and  the  side  toward  the  Thirteenth  Kentucky 
being  bare,  offered  no  cover  for  our  men  who 
were  still  in  the  woods  at  the  foot.  ” Gen. 
White  now  came  upon  the  ground  and 
ordered  the  two  regiments  to  charge.  “This 
was  done,”  says  Chapin,  “in  most  gallant 
style  by  both  regiments,  the  Thirteenth  Ken- 
tucky charging  up  the  bare  hill  in  the  face 
of  a galling  fire,  driving  the  Confederates 
off  the  hill,  and  holding  it  until  the  next 
morning.  In  falling  back  to  Lenoirs,  Cha- 
pin’s brigade  acted  as  rear  guard. 

The  escape  from  Lenoirs  with  all  the  bag- 
gage of  a large  army  required  the  utmost 
activity,  as  the  road  to  Knoxville  led  by 
Campbell’s  Station,  a point  on  the  road  from 
Huff’s  Ferry  about  equidistant  from  both 
points.  The  baggage  trains  were  pushed 
forward  and  Hartranft’s  division  sent  to 
guard  them  to  Campbell’s  Station,  then  to 
take  positions  to  protect  their  passage.  Here 
a light  ensued  in  which  the  indomitable  cour- 
age of  the  Ninth  and  Twenty -third  Corps 
saved  the  train  from  destruction.  The  troops 
did  their  full  duty  and  under  cover  of  dark- 
ness fell  back  upon  Knoxville.  Chapin 
closes  his  report  with  a glowing  tribute  to 
the  Thirteenth  Kentucky  and  its  gallant 
commander. 

The  dawn  of  day  found  the  infantry  safely 
behind  the  entrenchments  at  Knoxville,  while 
the  cavalry,  under  its  heroic  commander, 
Gen.  William  P.  Sanders,  held  back  the 
advance  of  Longstreet’s  column  during  the 


entire  day.  Alluding  to  the  death  of  this 
splendid  soldier,  Gen.  Burnside  says:  “The 
troops  woi’ked  all  day  and  night  and  by  day- 
light, on  the  morning  of  the  15th,  were  tol- 
erably well  under  cover.  Still  the  work  was 
continued,  the  enemy  being  held  at  bay  on 
the  Kingston  Road  by  the  cavalry  under 
Gen.  Sanders,  and  on  the  Clinton  Road  by 
Col.  Pennebaker’s  mounted  regiments.  The 
hours  in  which  to  work  that  were  secured  to 
us  by  the  gallant  conduct  of  our  cavalry 
were  worth  to  us  a thousand  men  each.  It 
is  sad  that  they  were  bought  at  such  a price 
as  the  life  of  that  most  gallant  and  chivalric 
soldier  and  noble  gentleman,  Brig. -Gen. 
William  Pitt  Sanders.  I hope  I may  be 
pardoned  this  allusion  to  the  only  classmate 
I had  at  the  siege  of  Knoxville.  Gen.  Sand- 
ers falling  in  front  of  the  work  occupied 
by  Benjamin’s  battery,  it  seemed  appropriate 
that  the  fort  should  be  named  for  him.” 
Thus  the  principal  fort  in  front  of  Knox- 
ville was  named  in  honor  of  this  noble  Ken- 
tuckian. Before  it  raged  for  hours  one  of 
the  fiercest  conflicts  of  the  war,  but,  as  if  the 
soldier  whose  name  it  bore  had  imparted  a 
portion  of  his  daring  spirit  to  its  defenders, 
the  flag  upon  its  crest  was  never  lowered  to 
the  enemy. 

In  assigning  the  troops  to  their  positions 
in  the  works  around  Knoxville,  Chapin’s  and 
Reilly’s  brigades  were  placed  on  the  ridge 
adjacent  to  Temperance  Hill,  which  was  heav- 
ily manned  with  artillery,  while  Hoskin’s  and 
Casement’s  brigades  continued  the  line  from 
Bell’s  house  to  the  Holston  River.  This  ar- 
rangement brought  the  Kentucky  regiments 
nearly  in  line  on  the  north  side  of  the  town, 
where  an  attack  was  anticipated.  The  event 
proved  that  the  assault  was  determined  upon 
where  it  could  be  most  readily  repulsed,  and 
when  it  came  the  garrison  of  Fort  Sanders 
proved  equal  to  the  emergency. 

On  the  I8th  Gen.  Wheeler  joined  the  main 
army  with  his  cavalry,  whence  he  was  sent 
with  three  brigades  to  capture  Mott’s  brigade 
at  Kingston.  Col.  Mott  gives  the  following 
brief  account  of  the  repulse  of  the  Confed- 
erate attack;  “The  attack  was  made  at  day- 
break on  the  24th  of  November,  and  after  a 

27 


434 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


brisk  engagement  of  seven  liours’  duration 
the  enemy  was  handsomely  whipped  and 
driven  back,  with  a loss  of  250  killed,  wounded 
and  prisoners;  among  the  killed  was  Col. 
Russell  of  the  Third  Alabama.  Too  much 
cannot  be  said  in  praise  of  the  cool  and  de- 
termined bravery  of  the  officers  and  men  un- 
der my  command.  As  an  instance,  I may 
mention  the  case  of  Capt.  Murphy  of  the 
Sixteenth  Kentucky,  who,  with  a single  com- 
pany, charged  a rebel  regiment  and  demanded 
its  sm-render.  There  were  many  instances 
in  which  officers  and  men  performed  prodigies 
of  valor.” 

After  his  repulse  at  Knoxville,  Longstreet 
retired  up  the  valley  to  Rogersville  in  time 
to  avoid  a battle  with  Sherman,  who,  imme- 
diately after  the  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge, 
set  out  with  a well  equipped  army,  consisting 
of  Blair’s,  Howard’s  and  Granger’s  corps,  to 
the  relief  of  Gen.  Burnside  at  Knoxville. 
The  cavalry  followed  closely,  and  took  posi- 
tion at  Bean’s  Station.  Longstreet  had  no 
sooner  reached  Rogersville  than  he  was  in- 
formed of  the  isolated  position  of  the 
cavalry,  and  determined  to  capture  it.  Gen. 
Martin,  who  had  superseded  Wheeler  in 
command  of  the  cavalry,  was  ordered  to 
march  down  the  south  bank  of  the  Holston, 
and  cross  opposite  to  Bean’s  Station.  Gen. 
W.  E.  Jones,  with  two  brigades  of  cavalry, 
was  to  pass  down  along  the  north  side  of 
Clinch  Mountain,  and  prevent  the  escape  of 
the  Union  forces  by  the  gap  in  that  direction, 
while  a heavy  force  of  infantry,  Bushrod 
Johnson’s  two  brigades  in  advance,  moved 
by  the  direct  road  from  Rogersville  to  Bean’s 
Station. 

About  2 o’clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
13th  of  December,  after  a toilsome  march, 
the  infantry  reached  the  Union  pickets,  drove 
them  in,  and  attacked  with  vigor.  Wolford’s 
brigade  fell  back,  skirmishing  and  twice 
halting,  disputed  the  way  with  great  spirit 
to  protect  the  retreat  of  the  main  body  from 
the  station.  The  Confederates  continued  to 
advance  in  the  face  of  a destructive  lire,  when, 
finding  the  force  overwhelming,  the  rear 
guard  was  ordered  to  withdraw,  which,  under 
the  cover  of  darkness,  it  successfully  did. 


Gathering  his  forces  together,  Gen.  Long- 
street fell  back  to  Rogersville,  and  went  into 
winter  quarters,  thus  ending  the  east  Tennes- 
see campaign. 

When  Longstreet  laid  siege  to  Knoxville, 
Gen.  Burnside  ordered  the  Thirty-fourth 
Kentucky  Infantry  to  Cumberland  Gap  from 
Morristown.  After  the  siege  was  raised  by 
Gen.  Sherman,  the  Thirty- fourth  was  or- 
dered to  Tazewell,  Tenn. , the  colonel  of  the 
same  being  placed  in  command  of  a brigade 
composed  of  the  Thirty-fourth  Kentucky, 
One  Hundred  and  Sixteenth  and  One  Hun- 
dred and  Eighteenth  Indiana  Infantry, 
Eleventh  Tennessee  Cavalry  and  Eleventh 
Michigan  Battery.  Here,  on  the  24th  of 
January,  1864,  the  brigade  was  attacked  by 
Col.  Carter  with  about  1,800  men.  In  this 
fight  the  Thirty-fourth  again  distinguished 
itself  for  undaunted  bravery  under  severe 
fire.  In  the  engagement,  which  lasted  about 
thi'ee-quarters  of  an  hour,  the  Confederates 
were  repulsed  with  a loss  of  thirty-one 
killed  and  many  more  wounded. 

On  the  26th  of  January,  the  regiment  was 
again  ordered  to  the  gap  under  command  of 
Gen.  T.  T.  Garrard,  where  it  remained  on 
one-third  rations  for  nearly  three  months. 
News  having  been  received  by  the  general 
commanding  that  a simultaneous  attack 
would  be  made  on  the  gap  by  Gens.  Jones 
and  Vaughn  approaching  in  different  di- 
rections, he  ordered  fifty-five  men  of  the 
Thirty-fourth  Kentucky  Infantry  to  proceed 
to  Powell  River  bridge  to  prevent  Vaughn’s 
forces  from  crossing  and  forming  a junction 
with  Jones.  The  detachment  of  the  Thirty- 
fourth  arrived  at  the  bridge  just  as  Vaughn’s 
advance  guard  was  entering  it,  and  re- 
pulsed them  after  a short  fight.  Being  armed 
with  Colt’s  five-shooters,  their  small  numbers 
were  enabled,  by  undaunted  bravery  and  their 
efficient  arms,  to  contend  with  this  large 
force  and  compel  them  to  retire. 

On  the  17th  of  April,  1864,  Gen.  Garrard 
was  relieved  of  the  command  of  the  gap,  and 
Col.  W.  Y.  Dillard,  of  the  Thirty- fourth 
Kentucky  Infantry,  remained  in  command 
until  the  8th  of  November,  1864,  when  the 
Thirty-fourth  was  ordered  to  Knoxville^ 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


435 


which  place  was  threatened  by  Gen.  Breckin- 
ridge from  the  direction  of  Strawberry 
Plains.  The  regiment,  reduced  to  304  men, 
was  ordered  to  proceed  to  Knoxville  via 
Tazewell  and  Walker’s  Ford,  a road  much 
infested  with  guerrillas.  On  arriving  at 
Walker’s  Ford,  on  Clinch  River,  it  was  un- 
able to  cross,  owing  to  the  high  water  and 
want  of  a ferry  boat,  and  was  consequently 
compelled  to  return  to  the  gap  and  take  the 
Jacksboro  Road.  The  regiment  arrived  at 
Knoxville  on  the  18th  of  November,  and  re- 
mained there  on  provost  duty  until  February 
2,  1865,  when  it  was  ordered  back  to  the  gap. 

On  the  20th  of  April,  the  Thirty-fourth 
proceeded  up  the  Virginia  Valley  in  the  di- 
rection of  Gibson’s  Mills,  where  a force  of 
the  Confederates  was  reported.  On  the  22d, 
it  was  met  by  a flag  of  truce,  and  a proposi- 
tion from  Cols.  Pridmore,  Slemp,  Richmond 
and  Wicher  to  surrender  their  forces,  which 
was  at  once  done,  their  commands  number- 
ing 2,713  men.  On  the  24th  of  April,  the 
Thirty-fourth  was  again  ordered  to  Knox- 
ville, and  thence  to  Loudon,  Tenn. ; re- 
mained here  on  garrison  duty  until  the  20th 
of  June,  and  then  returned  to  Knoxville  for 
muster-out,  which  occurred  June  24,  1865. 

The  promotion  of  Grant  to  the  rank  of 
major-general  in  the  regular  army,  and  his 
assignment  to  the  command  of  the  mil- 
itary department  of  the  Mississippi  on 
the  16th  of  October,  1863,  was  followed 
on  the  12th  of  March,  1864,  by  his  pro- 
motion to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general 
and  his  assignment  to  the  general  command 
of  all  the  armies.  His  new  duties  requiring 
his  presence  in  the  east.  Grant  departed  for 
Virginia,  leaving  Maj.-Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman 
in  command  of  the  Military  Division  of 
the  Mississippi. 

The  forces,  in  command  of  which  Sherman 
was  thus  placed,  consisted  of  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland,  under  Gen.  George  H.  Thomas; 
the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  under  Gen. 
McPherson,  and  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  under 
Gen.  Schofield,  and  a cavalry  corps  under 
Gen.  Wilson.  The  total  effective  strength 
of  the  combined  armies  on  the  20th  of  April, 
1864,  was  as  follows:  Infantry,  4,228  offi- 


cers, 87,838  enlisted  men;  cavalry,  612  offi- 
cers, 12,062  enlisted  men;  artillery,  185  offi- 
cers, 63,322  enlisted  men.  Total,  5,025  offi- 
cers, 163,222  enlisted  men. 

The  preservation  of  a line  of  communica- 
tions over  300  miles  in  extent  by  the  Union 
commander,  however,  involved  the  necessity 
of  making  heavy  details  to  guard  bridges, 
garrison  important  points  and  bring  forward 
supplies  for  the  army. 

The  Confederate  army,  after  its  defeat  on 
Missionary  Ridge  and  Lookout  Mountain, 
had  retired  to  Dalton  and  Resaca,  where  it 
passed  the  winter.  Longstreet’s  corps  had 
retired  from  the  siege  of  Knoxville  to  Vir- 
ginia; Gen.  J.  E.  Johnston  had  been  trans- 
ferred from  the  Mississippi  in  December, 
1863,  and  had  superseded  Bragg  in  command, 
and  in  May  Polk’s  army  was  moved  from  the 
Mississippi  to  swell  its  ranks.  The  forces 
thus  opposed  to  Sherman,  under  command  of 
Gen.  Johnston,  consisted  of  two  corps  under 
Gens.  Hood  and  Hardee,  and  a cavalry  corps 
under  Gen.  Wheeler.  Its  eft'ective  strength 
at  the  same  date  was  as  follows: 

Infantry,  3,446  officers, 3.5, 646  enlisted  men;  cav- 
alry, 1,209  officers,  10,239  enlisted  men;  artillery, 
203  officers.  3,775  enlisted  men.  Total,  4,858  offi- 
cers; 49,660  enlisted  men. 

To  this  should  be  added  Polk’s  command 
of  19,330  effectives. 

The  Kentucky  infantry  regiments  which 
served  in  the  Atlanta  campaign  were: 

First.— Col.  D.  A.  Enyart,  Cruft’s  (First)  Brig- 
ade, Stanley’s  (First)  Division,  Howard’s  (Fourth) 
Corps. 

Second. — Col.  T.  D.  Sedgewick,  Cruft’s  (First) 
Brigade,  Stanley’s  (First)  Division,  Howard’s 
(Fourth)  Corps. 

Third.— Col.  H.  C.  Dunlap,  Barker’s  "(Third) 
Brigade,  Newton’s  (Second)  Division,  Howard’s 
(Fourth)  Corps. 

Fifth. — Col.  W.  W.  Berry,  Hazen’s  (Second) 
Brigade,  Wood’s  (Third)  Division,  Howard’s 
(Fourth)  Corps. 

Sixth. — Capt.  I.  N.  Johnston,  Hazen’s  (Second) 
Brigade,  Wood’s  (Third)  Division,  Howard’s 
(Fourth)  Corps. 

Ninth. — Col.  G.  H.  Cram,  Kneffler’s  (Third) 
Brigade,  Wood’s  (Third)  Division  (Fourth  Corps). 

Tenth. — Col.  W.  H.  Hays,  Este’s  (Third  ) Brig- 
ade, Baird’s  (Third)  Division  (Fourteenth  Corps). 

Eleventh. — Col.  S.  P.  Love,  Byrd’s  (Third)  Brig- 
ade, Cox’s  (Third)  Division  (Twenty-third  Corps). 


436 


HlbTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Twelfth.— Col.  L.  H.  Rousseau,  Reilly’s  (First) 
Brigade, Cox’s  (Third)  Division  (Twenty-third  corps) 

Thirteenth. — Col.  W.  E.  Hobson,  Bond’s  ( bec- 
ond)  Brigade,  Hascall’s  (Second)  Division  (Twenty- 
third  Corps). 

Fourteenth. — Col.  G.  W.  Gallup,  Strickland  s 
(Third)  Brigade,  Hascall’s  (Second)  Division 
(Twenty-third  Corps). 

Fifteenth.— Col.  M.  C.  Taylor,  Carlin’s  (First) 
Brigade,  Johnston’s  (First)  Division  (Fourteenth 
Corps). 

Sixteenth. — Maj.  J.  S.  White,  Reilly’s  (First) 
Brigade,  Cox’s  (Third)  Division  (Twenty-third 
Corps). 

Seventeenth. — Col.  A.  M.  Stout, Kneffler  s (Third) 
Brigade,  Wood’s  (Third)  Division  (Fourth  Corps). 

Eighteenth.— Col.  H.  K.  Milward,  Este’s  (Third) 
Brigade.  Baird's  (Third)  Division  (Fourteenth 
Corps). 

Twentieth*. — Lieut. -Col.  T.  B.  Waller,  Strick- 
land’s (Third)  Brigade,  Hascall’s  (Second)  Division 
(Twenty-third  Corps). 

Twenty-first.— Col.  S.  W.  Price,  Whitaker’s 
(Second) Brigade,  Stanley’s  (First)  Division  (Fourth 
Corps). 

Twenty-third.— Lieut.-Col.  James  C.  Foy,  Ha- 
zen’s  (Second)  Brigade,  Wood’s  (Third)  Division 
(Fourth  Corps). 

Twenty-fourth.— Col.  J.  S.  Hurt,  Casement’s 
(Second)  Brigade,  Cox’s  (Third)  Division  (Twenty- 
third  Corps). 

Twenty-seventh. — Col.  J.  II.  Ward,  Strickland’s 
(Third)  Brigade.  Hascall’s  (Second)  Division 
(Twenty-third  Corps). 

Twenty-eighth. — Lieut.-Col.  ,1.  R.  Boone,  Wag- 
ner’s (Second)  Brigade,  Newton’s  (Second)  Division 
(Fourth  Corps). 

The  cavalry  regiments  were  brigaded  as 
follows; 

The  Fourth  Kentucky  Mounted  Infantry,  acting 
as  cavalry,  under  command  of  Col.  R.  M.  Kelly, 
served  in  Croxton’s  (First)  Brigade,  McCook’s  (First) 
Division,  cavalry  corps. 

First.— Col.  S.  Adams,  Adams’  (Third)  Brigade, 
Stoneman’s  (First)  Division,  cavalry  corps. 

Second.— Lieut.-Col.  E.  S.  Watts,  Long’s  (Sec- 
ond) Brigade,  Garrard’s  (Second)  Division,  cavalry 
corps. 

Thn:d. — Lieut.-Col.  R.  II.  King,  Murray’s  (Third) 
Brigade,  Kilpatrick’s  (Third)  Division,  cavalry 
corps. 

Fourth.— Maj.  L.  Groynne,  Watkin’s  (Third) 
Brigade,  McCook’s  (First)  Division,  cavairy  corps. 

*The  advent  of  Gen.  Bragg  into  Kentucky,  in  1862,  was  pre- 
ceded by  an  extensive  raid,  made  by  Gen.  John  H.  Morgan, 
with  a brigade  of  cavalry.  At  this  time  the  Twentieth  Kentucky 
Infantry  was  stationed  at  Lebanon,  where,  after  a stout  resist- 
ance, it  was  captured  by  the  raiders.  This  misadventure,  for  a 
time,  removed  this  fine  regiment  from  the  effective  force  of  the 
army.  The  officers  and  men  were  paroled,  and  soon  after  ex- 
changed. The  regiment  was  then  stationed  at  Bowling  Green, 
but  was  removed  a little  later  to  Louisville,  where  it  remained 
until  the  opening  of  the  Atlanta  campaign.  It  was  then  or- 
dered to  the  front. 


j Fifth. — Col.  O.  L.  Baldwin,  Murray’s  (Third) 
Brigade,  Kilpatrick’s  (Third)  Division, cavalry  corps. 

Sixth. — Maj.  W.  H.  Fidler,  Watkin’s  (Third) 
Brigade,  McCook’s  (First)  Division,  cavalry  corps. 

I Seventh. — Col.  J.  K.  Faulkner,  Watkin’s  (Third) 

' Brigade,  McCook’s  (First)  Division,  cavalry  corps, 

I Eleventh.  — Lieut.-Col.  Alexander,  Adams’ 

, (Third)  Brigade,  Stoneman’s  (First)  Division, cavalry 
corps. 

j Twelfth. — Lieut.-Col.  Bramlette,  Adams’  (Third) 

Brigade,  Stoneman’s  (First)  Division,  cavalry  corps. 

'Various  changes  were  made  in  commanders  and 
brigades  during  the  progress  of  the  campaign.  The 
Eighth  Infantry  did  not  participate  in  the  active 
duties  of  the  campaign,  the  regiment  being  stationed 
I at  Chattanooga  as  part  of  the  garrison  until  Novem- 
ber 17,  1864,  when  it  was  mustered  out  of  service. 

' The  Eighteenth  Infantry  was  stationed  at  Ringgold, 
Ga.,  until  September,  when  it  rejoined  the  brigade, 
and  marched  with  the  Fourteenth  Army  Corps 
through  Georgia  to  the  sea. 

Both  commanders  had  been  actively  pre- 
paring for  offensive  movements,  but  Sherman 
being  soonest  ready  took  the  initiative  in 
what  is  known  as  the  Atlanta  campaign.  His 
army  moved  forward  on  converging  roads  to- 
ward Tunnel  Hill  and  Snake  Creek  Gap  on 
the  5th  of  May,  1864.  Johnston,  expecting 
to  be  attacked  at  Dalton,  had  fortified  Buz- 
zard Roost  Gap  on  the  dii’ect  road,  but  had 
I neglected  to  guard  the  gap  through  which 
the  Snake  Creek  road  led  direct  to  Resaca  in 
his  rear,  and  but  for  the  indecision  of  the 
I Army  of  the  Tennessee  in  moving  forward 
and  seizing  Resaca,  this  campaign  would 
have  had  a far  different  history.  Gen.  Mc- 
Pherson did  advance  to  the  vicinity  of  Re- 
saca, which  was  then  held  by  only  two  brig- 
ades, but  subsequently  retired  and  fortified 
at  the  gap.  This  action  gave  Johnston  time 
to  send  Hood  with  three  divisions  to  Resaca, 
j who,  finding  that  McPherson  had  retired, left 
i one  division  there,  another  at  Tilton,  half- 
] way  between  Resaca  and  Dalton,  and  brought 
the  third  back  to  camp. 

On  the  12th,  leaving  Howard’s  corps  and 
the  cavalry  to  confront  the  enemy  at  Dalton, 

I Sherman’s  entire  army,  with  this  exception, 

I passed  the  left  flank  of  the  Confederate  army 
I by  the  Snake  Creek  Gap,  but  too  late  to  get 
in  the  rear  of  Johnston.  That  watchful  gen- 
: eral,  not  to  be  caught  napping  after  the  inti- 
1 mation  he  had  had,  observed  this  movement 
I from  an  overlooking  ridge,  and  quietly  with- 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


437 


drew  his  army  to  Resaca,  where  he  faced 
about  and  gave  battle  on  the  15th  instant. 
He  reached  this  point  on  the  morning  of  the 
14th;  sent  Loring’s  division  to  observe  Snake 
Creek  Gap,  and  formed  a line  of  battle  with 
Polk  on  the  left,  Hardee  in  the  center,  and 
Hood  on  the  right. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  13th,  Howard 
discovered  that  Johnston  had  withdrawn  his  i 
army,  and  moving  through  Dalton,  pushed 
on  eight  miles  toward  Resaca,  where  he  en-  | 
camped  for  the  night.  On  the  next  day  he 
pushed  up  to  the  vicinity  of  the  enemy  and 
formed  a line  of  battle.  The  rest  of  the 
Union  army  advanced  through  the  Snake 
Creek  Gap  and  formed  on  Howard’s  corps. 
Kilpatrick,  moving  in  advance  of  McPherson 
through  the  gap,  encountered  Wheeler’s  cav- 
alry, when  a brisk  fight  ensued.  Kilpatrick 
was  severely  wounded,  and  turned  the  com- 
mand over  to  Col.  Eli  H.  Murray,  who  con- 
tinued the  fight  with  such  success  as  to  drive 
his  opponents  back  upon  their  infantry  sup- 
port. 

The  fight  was  opened  by  Carlin’s  brigade. 
This  brigade,  the  Fifteenth  Kentucky,  in  ad- 
vance, crossed  Camp  Creek  and  advanced 
some  distance  over  the  open  ground  in  front 
of  the  enemy’s  position  under  a severe  fire 
of  artillery  and  musketry,  where  it  gained  a 
position  which  it  held  during  the  day.  Mean- 
time the  lines  of  investment  were  slowly  clos- 
ing around  the  Confederate  army,  to  prevent 
which  Johnston  determined  to  assume  the  of- 
fensive, and,  if  possible,  turn  Sherman’s  left 
flank.  Stevenson’s  and  Stewart’ s divisions 
and  two  brigades  of  W^ alker’s  were  formed  in 
column,  and,  moving  to  the  right  under  cover 
of  the  Oostauaula  Hills,  fell  like  an  avalanche 
upon  Cruft’s  brigade.  This  splendid  brig- 
ade never  fought  better,  but  were  driven 
slowly  back  across  the  open  fields  toward  the 
rear  of  Wood’s  division. 

Simonson’s  battery,  planted  on  an  eminence, 
had  full  sweep  of  the  ground,  but  could 
not  open  fire  until  Cruft  had  fallen  back 
far  enough  to  give  him  range  upon  the 
Confederates.  Then  his  guns  opened  with 
terrific  effect  at  short  range.  There  were  no 
reserves  in  this  part  of  the  field,  and  for  a 


quarter  of  an  hour  the  firing  from  this  noble 
battery,  supported  on  either  flank  by  Cruft’s 
brigade,  was  incessant,  when  on  the  road  in 
his  rear  a heavy  column  of  troops  was  seen 
approaching  at  double-quick.  This  was 
W^illiams’  division  of  the  Twentieth  Corps 
under  the  personal  command  of  Gen.  Hooker. 
Moving  down  the  road  on  the  flank  of  the 
Confederates,  the  long  line  of  troops  halted 
only  when  its  rear  had  passed  the  battery, 
which  was  still  working  with  the  rapidity  of 
a steam  fire  engine.  Facing  to  the  right,  the 
line  now  moved  forward,  a blaze  of  fire  pour- 
ing from  their  muskets.  It  was  nearly  dark, 
and  the  Confederates, struck  suddenly  in  flank, 
fell  back  down  the  Resaca  road,  and  all 
along  the  line  the  Union  troops  had  gained 
ground  which  they  occupied  during  the 
night.* 

The  attempt  to  turn  the  right  of  the 
Union  army  was  repeated  by  Gen.  Johnston 
on  the  following  day,  and  resulted  in  a des- 
perate fight  between  Stewart’s  and  Steven- 
son’s divisions,  and  Williams’  and  Geary’s 
divisions.  On  both  sides  artillery  charged 
with  canister  and  schrapnel  was  freely  used. 
The  fight  closed  with  the  repulse  of  the  Con- 
federate troops,  but  not  until  the  leading 
regiments  were  nearly  annihilated.  During 
the  night  of  the  15th  Gen.  Johnston  aban- 
doned Resaca,  and  the  campaign  for  the  pos- 
session of  Atlanta  Avas  fairly  begun. 

Resaca  was  occupied  by  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland  on  the  morning  of  May  16th, 
and  Gen.  Sherman  determined  upon  imme- 
diate pursuit.  But  a heavy  rearguard,  seek- 
ing every  available  point  at  which  to  offer 
resistance,  rendered  pursuit,  if  such  it  could 
be  called,  exceedingly  slow.  The  cavalry, 
thrown  Avell  to  the  flanks,  the  Armies  of  the 
Tennessee  on  the  right,  Cumberland  in  the 
center  and  Ohio  on  the  left,  moved  forward 
on  parallel  roads  when  practicable,  or  through 
forests  when  necessary,  but  always  in  posi- 
tion to  be  formed  in  line  of  battle.  The 
pioneer  brigade  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumber- 
land, formed  by  Gen.  Rosecrans  of  picked 

*This  was  the  last  battle  for  the  First  and  Second  Kentucky 
Infantry.  Having  enlisted  in  June,  1861,  they  had  servedfaith- 
fully  for  three  years,  and  were  honorably  mustered  out  of  serv- 
ice at  Covington,  Ky.,  ou  the  19th  ol  June,  1864. 


438 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


men  from  each  regiment,  under  command  of 
Gen.  George  P.  Buell,  together  with  the 
First  Michigan  regiment  of  Engineers  and 
Mechanics,  fully  equipped  for  the  service, 
with  a pontoon  train  and  an  ample  supply  of 
implements,  opened  roads,  built  railroad 
bridges,  and  brought  forward  trains  of  cars 
laden  with  supplies  as  fast  as  they  were 
needed  by  the  army. 

At  Cassville  Gen.  McCook’s  division  of 
cavalry  had  a brilliant  passage  of  arms  with 
Stevenson’s  division  of  infantry,  where  it 
was  Johnston’s  intention  to  again  give  battle, 
in  which  he  was  upheld  by  Hardee,  but  was 
finally  dissuaded  by  Polk  and  Hood.  Ac- 
cordingly, during  the  night  Johnston  crossed 
the  Etowah  with  all  his  trains  and  moved  to 
the  stronger  position  of  Allatoona  Pass. 

It  was  no  part  of  Gen.  Sherman’s  purpose 
to  waste  life  hurling  his  men  upon  John- 
ston’s works  at  Allatoona  when  the  position 
could  be  turned,  and  by  the  same  movement 
threaten  Johnston’s  communications.  Mov- 
ing divisions,  to  these  masterly  tacticians, 
was  a work  that  never  confused  them.  Their 
orders  were  obeyed  without  question,  and 
such  was  the  discipline  of  both  armies  that, 
having  once  ordered  a division  or  corps  to  be 
at  a certain  point  at  a given  time  the  com- 
mander was  at  liberty  to  make  all  his  combi- 
nations in  the  magnificent  game  with  cer- 
tainty that  when  wanted  the  men  would  be  at 
the  place  indicated.  Covering  the  Alabama 
road  toward  Allatoona  with  Geary’s  division, 
the  balance  of  Hooker’s  corps  was  moved  to 
Burnt  Hickory,  preceded  by  McCook’s  cav- 
alry, skirmishing  all  the  way.  A Confederate 
courier  was  captured,  whose  dispatches 
showed  that  Johnston  had  divined  Sherman’s 
purpose  to  move  upon  Dallas,  and  that  he 
was  taking  steps  to  meet  him  there. 

On  the  morning  of  the  25th,  as  the  Union 
army  was  advancing  by  jjarallel  roads,  Geary’s 
division,  the  central  one  of  the  Twentieth 
Corps,  came  upon  a division  of  Hood’s 
corps.  In  the  fight  that  ensued  Geary  was 
winner,  and  from  prisoners  he  learned  that 
Hood’s  entire  corps  was  not  far  distant  in  the 
direction  of  Dallas.  The  next  point  of  con- 
vergence of  the  roads  upon  which  the  various 


corps  of  the  army  were  moving  was  New 
Hope.  Church,  and  Hooker  was  directed  to 
drive  the  force  in  his  front  beyond  that 
point,  and  made  a vigorous  effort  to  comply, 
but  was  arrested  by  Johnston’s  artillery,  well 
supported  by  infantry,  at  the  church,  and 
was  obliged  to  await  re-enforcements.  John- 
ston had  thrown  his  whole  army  directly 
across  Sherman’s  line  of  advance,  and  was 
ready  for  defensive  battle  in  a strong  posi- 
tion. Beconnoissance  to  the  front  and  both 
flanks  of  Johnston’s  line  were  made  to  ascer- 
tain his  real  position,  in  which  a good  deal  of 
I heavy  fighting  was  done.  McPherson  and 
Davis  passed  through  Dallas  on  Johnston’s 
left  flank  and  deployed  on  the  east  of  the 
Marietta  road. 

Hardee’s  corps  was  on  Johnston’s  left, 
Hood  on  his  right,  and  Polk  in  the  center. 
Sherman’s  line  was  formed  with  Schofield  on 
the  left  and  McPherson  on  the  right,  each 
with  one  corps,  while  the  center,  under  Gen. 
Thomas,  was  composed  of  the  Fourth, 
Fourteenth  and  Twentieth  Corps.  Doubtful 
whether  Johnston  would  maintain  his  posi- 
tion, Sherman  disposed  of  his  troops  so  as, 
by  a movement  to  the  right,  to  place  a strong 
force  between  Johnston  and  the  railroad, 
while  an  attack  was  being  made  upon  his 
right  flank.  Wood’s  division  of  the  Fourth 
Corps  was  designated  as  the  assaulting  col- 
umn, to  be  supported  on  the  left  by  E.  W. 
Johnsons’s  division,  of  the  Fourteenth 
Corps,  and  on  the  right  by  McLean’s 
brigade,  of  the  Twenty -third  Corps.  Gen. 
Wood  formed  his  division  in  column  six  lines 
deep,  Johnson  on  the  left,  with  a brigade 
front.  After  feeling  the  line  in  various 
places,  a point  of  attack  was  selected,  and  at 
5 P.  M.  the  entire  column  marched  briskly 
forward,  Hazen’s  brigade  leading,  and  hav- 
ing driven  in  the  Confederate  skirmishers, 
made  a gallant  assault  upon  the  main  line, 
but  met  with  a bloody  repulse.  The  column 
j fell  back  slowly  under  the  hammering  strokes 
of  Cleburne’s  division,  but  brought  away 
their  wounded. 

Gen.  Wood’s  loss  in  the  brief  engagement 
was  over  1,400  in  killed,  wounded  and  miss- 
ing. Though  no  other  assault  was  made 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


439 


upon  the  Confederate  works  near  Dallas, 
there  was  constant  fightings  from  the  24th  of 
May  till  the  5th  of  June,  at  which  time  Gen. 
Johnston  fell  back  to  Pine  Mountain.  The 
Kentucky  regiments  in  Wood’s  division,  the 
Fifth,  Sixth,  Ninth,  Seventeenth  and  Twen- 
ty-third, displayed  their  usual  courage  and 
fortitude  on  this  trying  occasion.  To  fly 
before  the  enemy  may  be  the  act  of  a coward, 
but  to  remain  under  Are  until  the  order  is 
given  to  fall'  back,  and  in  doing  so  to 
preserve  the  line,  giving  shot  for  shot  while 
the  wounded  are  borne  to  the  rear,  requires 
equal  courage  in  victor  and  vanquished. 

Col.  W.  E.  Hobson,  Thirteenth  Kentucky 
Infantry,  assumed  command  of  the  Second 
Brigade  of  Hascall’s  division  in  June,  Col. 
Bond  being  wounded,  and  was  probably  the 
youngest  brigade  commander  in  the  army. 
On  the  9th  of  June,  Gen.  McCook  made  a 
cavalry  reconnoissance  in  front,  where  he 
found  the  Confederate  army  in  force  on 
Pine  Mountain,  with  its  left  resting  on  Lost 
Mountain,  its  center  at  Gilgall  Church  and 
its  right  extended  across  the  railroad.  The 
advance  of  Sherman’s  infantry  developed 
Johnston’s  position  more  accurately,  when  it 
was  found  that  his  lines  extended  over  a 
series  of  hills  from  Kenesaw  Mountain  to 
Lost  Mountain,  with  Pine  Mountain  fortified 
in  front. 

On  the  14th  of  June  active  operations  re- 
commenced. The  Fourteenth  Corps  and  the 
left  of  the  Fourth  advanced  a mile.  The 
right  of  the  Fourth  closed  up  on  the  Twen- 
tieth, was  formed  in  front  of  Pine  Mountain, 
which  caused  Johnston  to  withdraw  to  his 
works  between  Kenesaw  and  Lost  Mountain. 
During  the  day  a shell  thrown  from  Simon- 
son’s battery,  aimed  at  a party  of  horsemen, 
who  appeared  on  an  eminence  overlooking 
the  field,  killed  Gen.  Polk. 

An  advance  along  the  Union  line  was 
ordered  the  next  day.  Gen.  Schofield  carried 
a line  of  works  that  had  been  left  exposed 
by  the  abandonment  of  Pine  Mountain. 
Gen.  McPherson  gained  a hill  on  his  left 
front,  and  Gen.  Thomas  advanced  a mile 
and  a half  in  the  center,  but  this  movement 
resulted  only  in  contracting  the  Confederate 


lines  within  its  intrenchments.  An  assault- 
ing column,  composed  of  Newton’s  and 
Geary’s  divisions  strongly  supported,  carried 
an  intrenched  skirmish  line  and  advanced 
nearly  to  the  main  line.  This  proved  to 
Gen.  Johnston  that  an  assault  could  be  made 
with  strong  probabilities  of  success,  and 
he  fell  back  to  an  intrenched  position  on  the 
south  side  of  Mud  Creek.  Here  the  con- 
tendingf  armies  foug:ht  with  varvingf  success 
until  the  27th,  when  Gen.  Sherman  deter- 
mined upon  an  attack  upon  the  Confederate 
center.  Davis’  and  Newton’s  divisions  were 
designated  as  the  assaulting  column.  New- 
ton’s division  was  formed  with  Harker’s  and 
Wagner’s  brigades  in  line  slightly  separated 
for  better  cover,  and  Kimball’s  in  echelon 
with  Wagner’s.  For  fifteen  minutes  all  the 
artillery  available  poured  a concentrated  fire 
upon  the  points  of  attack,  then  the  columns 
moved  forward. 

The  distance  to  the  works  was  about  600 
yards,  and  from  the  moment  that  the  troops 
left  the  cover  of  their  own  intrenchments 
they  were  subject  to  a galling  fire  of  artillery 
and  musketry.  A tangled  abatis  encumbered 
their  way,  the  air  was  filled  with  death- 
dealing missiles,  but  the  brave  fellows 
pressed  forward,  and  the  brigades  of  Cols. 
Daniel  McCook  and  J.  G.  Mitchell  reached 
the  works,  but  such  was  their  exhaustion  they 
were  compelled  to  halt.  McCook  ordered  his 
men  to  lie  down;  a soldier  begged  the  brave 
colonel  to  do  likewise;  “Oh,  no,”  said  Mc- 
Cook in  a bantering  tone,  “I  am  paid  more 
than  you  are  for  being  shot  at;”  the  next  mo- 
ment he  fell  with  a mortal  wound.  The  for- 
midable obstructions  in  front  of  Harker’s  and 
Wagner’s  brigades  proved  absolutely  insur- 
mountable in  the  face  of  the  terrific  fire  to 
which  the  troops  were  subjected.  Gen. 
Harker,  the  gallant  young  commander  of 
Newton’s  Third  Brigade,  was  killed.  Some 
of  his  men,  infuriated  at  the  loss  of  their  be- 
loved general,  rushed  forward,  struggled 
through  the  abatis,  and  fell  dead  upon  the 
parapet. 

The  aggregate  loss  in  Newton’s  and  Davis’ 
divisions  in  this  assault,  in  nearly  equal  pro- 
portion, was  1,580  killed,  wounded  and 


440- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


missing.  This  terrible  sacrifice  brought  do 
adequate  reward.  Gen.  Sherman  now  deter- 
mined to  do  what  might  well  have  been  done 
earlier,  to  turn  Johnston’s  position  by  mov- 
ing to  the  right,  which  movement,  observed 
by  the  latter,  caused  him  to  abandon  his 
position  at  Kenesaw  and  fall  back  across  the 
Chattahoochee. 

In  the  two  months  since  the  campaign 
opened  the  loss  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumber- 
land alone  was  133  officers  and  1,972  enlisted 
men  killed,  510  officers  and  10,798  enlisted 
men  missing.  Total,  13,413. 

While  the  infantry  of  both  armies  had 
been  engaged  in  daily  passages  of  arms,  the 
cavalry  had  been  equally  active.  Gen.  Steed- 
man,  commanding  the  district  of  the  Etowah, 
which  was  organized  on  the  10th  of  June, 
sent  Col.  Louis  Watkins,  commanding  the 
Third  Brigade  of  McCook’s  cavalry  division, 
with  the  Fourth,  Sixth  and  Seventh  Kentucky 
Cavalry,  to  Lafayette,  where  he  was  attacked 
by  Gen.  Pillow  with  2,000  men.  Col.  Wat- 
kins refused  to  surrender,  and  with  400  men 
held  the  place  until  re-enforced  by  the  Fourth 
Kentucky,  mounted  infantry,  whose  vigorous 
attack  repulsed,  and  final  ly  routed  the  Con- 
federates. Pillow’s  loss  was  about  300  men, 
including  eighty  captured.  The  loss  of  the 
Kentuckians  was  sixty. 

The  folly  of  the  Confederate  war  depart- 
ment was  in  nothing  more  strongly  exempli- 
fied than  in  detaching  Gen.  Forz’est  from 
Johnston’s  army,  at  a period  when  the  only 
hope  of  preventing  Sherman’s  advance  was  to 
destroy  his  communications  with  Nashville 
and  Chattanooga.  This  bold  cavalryman, 
raiding  in  western  Tennessee,  accomplished 
nothing  in  comparison  with  the  work  he 
might  have  performed  along  the  extensive 
railroad  lines  required  for  the  transportation 
of  supplies  to  Sherman’s  army.  Johnston’s 
infantry  and  artillery,  numbering  less  than 
one-half  of  the  same  arms  in  Sherman’s 
army,  often  necessitated  the  use  of  Wheeler’s 
cavalry  in  the  rifle-pits  along  his  front,  thus 
affording  it  no  opportunity  to  demonstrate 
upon  Sherman’s  rear. 

Johnston’s  next  line  of  defense  was  selected 
on  high  ground  on  the  south  bank  of  Peach- 


tree Creek  and  the  Chattahoochee,  below  the 
mouth  of  the  creek.  In  the  defense  of  his 
fortifications  he  had  an  auxiliary  army  of 
militia. 

On  the  16th  of  July  Gen.  Sherman  gave 
orders  for  an  advance  toward  Atlanta,  the 
objective  point  of  the  campaign.  Early  on 
the  morning  of  the  19th  the  Fourth  Corps 
reached  Peachtree  Creek,  and  finding  the 
bridge  destroyed.  Wood’s  division  constructed 
another,  and  forcing  a passage  drove  the 
Confederates  from  their  defenses,  while 
Stanley  crossed  the  north  fork  of  the  creek 
some  distance  north  against  strong  opposi- 
tion. To  the  right  Davis’  and  Geary’s 
divisions  fought  their  way  over  the  stream. 
Early  the  next  morning  the  remaining  divis- 
ions of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  crossed 
the  stream,  and  two  divisions  of  the  Fourth 
Corps  moved  to  the  left  to  connect  with  Gen. 
Schofield.  This  movement  left  a wide  in- 
terval in  Gen.  Thomas’  line,  and  but  for  the 
determined  valor  of  this  magnificent  m’lny 
would  have  resulted  in  its  defeat. 

At  3 P.  M.  the  Confederates  rushed  from 
their  concealments  in  the  woods.  A division 
attacked  Newton  in  front,  another  passed  his 
left  flank  altogether  and  thrust  itself  be- 
tween Peavine  and  Peachtree  Creeks,  and 
a third  attacked  his  right  flank.  Gen.  New- 
ton first  repulsed  the  column  on  his  left  and 
drove  it  to  the  woods  with  Bradley’s  brigade 
and  the  reserve  artillery.  Wagner’s  and 
Blake’s  brigades  repulsed  the  attack  in  front, 
then  turning  upon  the  column  on  his  left  he 
threw  his  whole  command  against  it  with 
such  force  as  to  drive  it  back  into  the  woods. 

Meantime  Gen.  Ward’s  division  of  the 
Twentieth  Corps  advanced  from  cover,  and 
after  a spirited  fight  drove  .the  Confederates 
back  far  enough  to  connect  his  right  with 
Geary,  and  his  left  with  Newton,  where  he 
fortified  against  immediate  attack.  Gen. 

Williams  came  forward  with  his  division  on 
the  right  of  Geary. 

In  the  fm’ious  contest  that  ensued,  the 
Confederate  line  attacked  with  courage  and 
determination,  but  the  most  daring  assaults 
were  repulsed  again  and  again,  until  ex- 
hausted and  bleeding  at  6 P.  M.  the  troops 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


441 


■were  withdrawn  by  Gen.  Hood,  whose  loss 
in  the  engagement  was  nearly  3,000 
men.  The  loss  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumber- 
land was  about  one-half  that  of  the  Con- 
federates, but  it  comprised  some  of  the  brav- 
est and  best  of  the  rank  and  tile  of  the  army. 
Newton,  Stanley  and  Wood,  though  heavily 
engaged,  lost  very  few  men  in  proportion  to  ' 
the  Twentieth  Corps.  I 

During  the  following  night,  Gen.  Hood, 
who  had  by  direction  of  the  Confederate 
government  superseded  Gen.  Johnston  in  j 
command  of  the  army,  on  the  18th,  with-  I 
drew  his  forces  within  the  fortifications  of  ! 
Atlanta. 

On  the  22d,  while  the  Army  of  the 
Tennessee  was  moving  into  position  on  the 
left  of  the  line  of  investment,  Gen.  Hood 
again  attacked  with  such  vigor  as  to 
gain  a temporary  advantage.  Gen.  Mc- 
Pherson was  killed  in  the  opening  of  the  en-  j 
gagement,  and  the  command  devolved  upon 
Gen.  Logan.  After  a bloody  engagement. 
Hood  again  withdrew  into  the  city.  On  the 
same  day,  Gen.  Rousseau  arrived  at  Marietta 
with  his  cavalry,  from  a most  successful  raid  i 
upon  the  railroads  southwest  of  Atlanta.  | 

The  garrison  of  Atlanta,  although  vastly  | 
inferior  in  point  of  numbers  to  the  investing 
army,  by  fighting  on  interior  lines  was  able 
to  present  a solid  front  at  any  point  where  it 
might  be  assailed;  and  finding  that  the  occu- 
pation of  Atlanta  by  Gen.  Hood’s  army  could 
be  prolonged  indefinitely,  so  long  as  he  re- 
tained possession  of  the  railroad  leading 
southward  to  Macon,  Gen.  Sherman  deter- 
mined to  destroy  it. 

To  accomplish  this  object  a cavalry  ex- 
pedition was  fitted  oat,  after  the  return  of 
Gen.  Rousseau,  under  command  of  Stone- 
man  with  4,000,  and  McCook  with  5,000,  j 
which  by  its  strength  gave  promise  of  suc- 
cess. The  expedition  marched  from  Marietta 
on  the  27th  of  July.  McCook  crossed  the  j 
Chattahoochee  at  Riverton  and  moved  at  once  i 
upon  Palmetto  Station,  where  he  destroyed 
two  miles  of  the  railroad  track.  At  Fayette-  | 
ville  he  burned  100  bales  of  cotton, 
burned  a supply  train  of  400  wagons,  killed 
800  mules,  saving  a large  number,  and 


captured  several  hundred  quartermaster’s 
employees  and  train  guards. 

Gen.  Stoneman  marched  through  Coving- 
ton, detaching  Garrard’s  division  to  go  to 
Flat  Rock,  between  his  line  of  march  and 
Atlanta;  thence  moved  down  the  Ocmulgee 
to  Macon.  Lieut.  Davidson,  with  a battalion 
of  the  Fourteenth  Illinois  Cavalry,  was  sent 
eastward  on  the  Augusta  Road,  where  he 
captured  and  destroyed  a large  number  of 
cars  laden  with  army  supplies,  and  burned  a 
depot  and  several  bridges. 

The  two  forces  were  ordered  to  concentrate 
at  Lovejoy’s  Station  on  the  Macon  Railroad, 
and  McCook  obeyed  the  order,  arriving  at 
the  place  and  time  agreed  upon.  Stoneman 
appears  to  have  paid  no  heed  to  his  instruc- 
tions, but  marched  at  once  upon  Macon, 
where,  his  approach  having  been  announced, 
the  bridges  were  burned,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  content  himself  with  shelling  the  city. 
Meantime  Gen.  Hood,  having  been  informed 
of  the  movement,  dispatched  all  his  cavalry  in 
pursuit  of  the  raiders,  and  McCook  found 
himself  surrounded  by  a superior  force. 
Falling  back  from  Lovejoy’s  he  made  a rapid 
march  to  Newnan’s,  where  he  came  in  con- 
tact with  an  infantry  column  cut  off  from 
railroad  communication  with  Atlanta,  and  on 
the  march  to  join  Hood’s  army.  The  Con- 
federate cavalry,  close  upon  his  heels,  com- 
pelled him  to  fight  and  suffer  great  loss. 
The  Fourth  Kentucky,  mounted  infantry, 
under  Col.  R.  M.  Kelly,  acting  as  a rear 
guard,  was  cut  off  from  the  main  column  and 
several  hundred  of  the  regiment  captured. 
McCook  finally  reached  the  Union  lines  with 
about  two-thirds  of  his  command. 

Gen.  Stoneman  fared  even  worse.  In  at- 
tempting to  retrace  his  steps  from  Macon  he 
took  the  road  toward  Hillsboro,  and  early  on 
the  morning  of  the  30th  found  himself  in 
presence  of  a heavy  force  of  cavalry,  infantry 
and  artillery.  His  three  brigades,  under 
command  of  Cols.  Biddle,  Capron  and  Adams, 
were  deployed  in  line  of  battle,  but  before 
the  action  had  fairly  commenced  Gen.  Stone- 
man received  a flag  of  truce  demanding  his 
surrender.  He  sent  a message  to  his  brigade 
commanders  that  he  was  about  to  sin'render. 


442 


HISTORY  OF  IFENTUCKY. 


but  giving  them  permission  to  cut  their  way 
out  if  they  chose  to  attempt  it.  Col.  Silas 
Adams,  in  command  of  the  First,  Eleventh 
and  Twelfth  Kentucky  Cavalry,  on  receipt  of 
the  message  at  once  mounted  his  men,  who 
rode  away,  reaching  Marietta  in  safety. 

Col.  Capron  whose  brigade  was  stationed 
on  the  extreme  right  failed  to  receive  the 
message  until  too  late  to  act  upon  it  with  the 
same  success.  The  falling  back  of  the  Ken- 
tucky regiments  left  a wide  gap  in  the  line, 
through  which  poured  a strong  column  of  the 
Confederates,  and  a running  tight  took  place 
for  the  possession  of  the  horses  of  Capron’s 
brigade,  in  which  the  cavalry  were  beaten  by 
the  more  fleet-footed  infantry  men.  Gathering 
together  a few  hundred  of  his  command.  Col. 
Capron  set  out  for  Marietta,  marching  day 
and  night  for  three  days.  Making  a wide 
detour  to  the  eastward  to  avoid  the  enemy,  he 
encamped  for  the  night  near  Mulberry’s  Creek, 
where  he  was  surprised  and  most  of  his  force 
captured.  Gen.  Stoneman  was  taken  prisoner, 
together  with  most  of  Biddle’s  brigade.  The 
failure  in  execution  of  Gen.  Sherman’s  plans 
for  cutting  Hood’s  communications  with 
Macon,  convinced  him  of  the  necessity  for  a 
flank  movement  in  force,  which  he  soon  after 
put  in  execution. 

In  the  month  of  July  the  loss  in  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland  was  40  officers  and  547 
enlisted  men  killed,  160  officers  and  2,592  en- 
listed men  wounded,  and  17  officers  and  344 
enlisted  men  missing;  total,  3,700. 

Though  Hood’s  army  had  been  roughly 
handled  during  the  month,  his  losses  were 
much  less,  and  his  army  as  much  out  of  reach 
of  his  antagonist  as  at  any  period  of  the 
campaign.  His  fortiflcations  extended  along 
the  railroad  to  East  Point,  a distance  of  fifteen 
miles,  and  were  so  strongly  manned  as  to  re- 
sist any  effort  made  by  Gen.  Sherman  to  carry 
them.  Several  attacks  were  made  upon  them 
by  the  Fourteenth  Corps  supported  by  Scho- 
field’s corps  between  the  1st  and  10th  of  August, 
but  without  success. 

Hoping  to  force  Sherman  to  fall  back,  Hood 
about  this  time  dispatched  Wheeler,  with  all 
the  cavalry  of  his  command,  northward,  to  cut 
the  Nashville  & Chattanooga  Railroad,  but 


the  activity  of  Gens.  Steedman  at  Chatta- 
nooga, Rousseau  at  Nashville  and  Granger 
at  Decatui',  prevented  him  from  inflicting  any 
serious  damage,  and  he  was  soon  forced  to 
seek  shelter  south  of  the  Tennessee.  Taking 
advantage  of  the  absence  of  Wheeler’s  cavalry, 
Gen.  Sherman  determined  upon  another  effort 
to  break  Hood’s  communications.  Gen.  Kil- 
patrick, on  the  18th,  dashed  out  of  his  en- 
trenchments at  Sandtown,  striking  the  West 
Point  Railroad  near  Fairburn,  and  moving 
thence  to  Jonesboro  met  and  defeated  Ross’ 
cavalry,  and  commenced  the  destruction  of 
the  road,  but,  being  attacked  by  Jackson’s 
cavalry  and  a force  of  infantry,  was  compelled 
to  fall  back.  He  then  made  a circuit  to 
Lovejoy’s  Station,  and  while  breaking  the 
road  was  again  attacked.  Finding  his  force 
nearly  surrounded  he  formed  his  column,  and 
saber  in  hand  cut  his  way  through  the  invest- 
ing line,  making  his  way  back  to  his  camp. 

In  all  these  movements  the  Kentucky  regi- 
ments before  mentioned  bore  an  honorable 
part.  Wherever  duty  called  them,  these 
brave  men  bore  their  colors  into  the  thick  of 
every  important  engagement  from  Resaca  to 
Atlanta,  and  whether  fighting  with  Stanley 
at  Resaca,  Wood  at  Cassville,  Hooker  at 
Keuesaw,  or  Newton  at  Peachtree  Creek, 
their  conduct  was  characterized  by  the  most 
exalted  courage  and  patriotism. 

The  time  had  now  come  when  Gen.  Sher- 
man determined  to  cut  loose  from  his  com- 
munications and  place  his  army  south  of  At- 
lanta. On  the  28th  of  July,  the  Twentieth 
Army  Corps  under  command  of  Gen.  H.  W, 
Slocum  took  position  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  Chattahoochee,  while  the  entire  investing 
line  moved  by  the  left  flank  to  West  Point, 
where  the  railroad  was  thoroughly  destroyed. 
The  work  went  on  during  the  night  of  the 
29th,  and  on  the  30th  the  army  moved  for- 
wai’d  to  the  Macon  Road. 

Immediately  on  reception  of  information 
of  Sherman’s  movements.  Hood  sent  Hardee’s 
and  Lee’s  corps  to  Jonesboro  and  prepared 
to  follovy  with  Stewart’s.  Gen.  Hardee  took 
position  .on  the  summit  of  a wooded  ridge 
and  at  once  commenced  fortifying.  The 
Fourteenth  Corps,  being  nearest  the  position, 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


413 


moved  forward  at  once  to  attack  him.  The 
Fourth  Corps,  commanded  by  G-en.  Stanley, 
and  the  Twenty-third  Corps  having  farther 
to  march  and  being  hindered  bv  having  to 
break  up  the  road  came  up  later.  The 
troops  of  the  Fourteenth  Corps  which  par- 
ticipated in  the  assault  were  Carlin’s  and 
Morgan’s  divisions  and  Este’s  brigade  of 
Baird’s  division.  Morgan’s  division  carried 
its  entire  front;  Carlin’s  division  pressing 
forward  leaped  the  works,  and  bayonet  in 
hand  held  captive  the  troops  set  for  their  de- 
fense, while  Este’s  brigade  was  equally  suc- 
cessful. The  Tenth  Kentucky  and  Seventy- 
fourth  Indiana  gained  the  intrenchments  in 
their  front,  but  the  remaining  regiments  met 
with  obstructions  that  compelled  them  to 
halt.  The  unlooked-for  success  of  this  brill- 
iant attack  caused  the  Confederates  to  fall 
back,  losing  over  1,500  prisoners. 

The  next  position  selected  by  Hardee  was  at 
Lovejoy's  Station,  where,  after  a slight  attack 
made  by  Wood’s  division,  he  was  left  in  his 
works,  while  most  of  Sherman’s  army  returned 
to  Atlanta.  The  objective  point  of  the 
movement  had  been  gained,  and  on  the  3d 
of  September,  Gen.  Sherman  announced  the 
close  of  the  campaign.  During  the  remain- 
ing part  of  the  month,  the  national  forces 
devoted  themselves  to  recuperation  and  re- 
pairs, and  on  the  29th  Gen.  Thomas  was  sent 
to  Nashville  to  assume  command  of  the 
Military  District  of  the  Mississippi,  although 
the  order  to  that  effect  was  not  issued  until 
later. 

On  the  30th,  Hood  crossed  the  Chattahoo- 
chee and  threw  Stewart’s  corps  upon  the  rail- 
road north  of  Marietta,  and  with  the 
remainder  of  his  army  moved  upon  Alla- 
toona,  where  Sherman  had  a large  depot  of 
supplies.  Gen.  French  attacked  the  garri- 
son stationed  there  on  the  4th  of  October, 
but  experienced  a bloody  repulse  by  Gen. 
Corse.  Gen.  Hood  then  moved  rapidly  to- 
ward Besaca,  destroying  the  railroad  at 
various  points,  followed  closely  by  Sherman, 
who  in  doubt  as  to  the  real  object  of  Hood’s 
movement,  and  unable  to  overtake  him,  was 
compelled  to  attack  constantly  at  disad- 
vantage. 


While  Hood  was  pursuing  his  course  to- 
ward middle  Tennessee,  keeping  well  in 
advance  of  Sherman’s  main  army  but 
capturing  any  small  garrison  that  came  in 
his  way,  Gen.  Forrest  had  entered  the  State 
with  the  evident  intention  of  destroying  the 
Nashville  & Chattanooga  Railroad.  His 
raid,  though  more  successful  at  the  start 
than  Wheeler’s,  ended  very  soon  after  it  began 
with  no  permanent  injury  to  the  main  line  of 
railroad  or  benefit  to  the  Confederate  army. 
Thus,  with  an  army  vastly  inferior  in  num- 
bers to  that  of  his  antagonist,  Gen.  Hood  had 
compelled  Sherman  to  retreat  from  Atlanta, 
although  the  place  was  still  garrisoned  by 
Union  troops. 

Moving  in  total  disregard  to  a base  of  sup- 
plies, his  erratic  course  was  so  difficult  to 
conjecture  that  Gen.  Sherman,  in  despair  of 
capturing  him  by  a stern  chase,  sat  down  at 
Gaylesville  with  the  Army  of  the  Cumber- 
land, sending  Howard  with  the  Army  of  the 
Tennessee  to  Little  River,  and  the  Twenty- 
third  Corps  to  Cedar  Bluffs,  regardless  of 
Hood’s  final  destination,  hoping  rather  that 
his  cotu’se  might  lead  northward,  where  his 
capture  might  be  attempted  with  some  hope 
of  success.  Gen.  Hood’s  expectations  of  ob- 
taining supplies  for  his  famishing  troops 
having  been  blasted  by  the  successful  defense 
of  Allatoona  and  Decatur,  but  one  course 
was  left  him  by  which  to  save  his  army,  and 
that  was  an  immediate  movement  westward 
{via  Gadsden  and  Tuscumbia,  Ala.),  where  he 
could  obtain  supplies  for  his  troops. 

Gen.  Sherman  now  determined  upon  the 
“ march  to  the  sea,”  and,  detaching  the 
Fourth  and  Twenty-third  Corps  to  report  to 
Gen.  Thomas,  together  with  all  the  cavalry 
except  Kilpatrick’s  division,  he  moved  from 
Gaylesville  with  the  Fourteenth,  Fifteenth, 
Seventeeth  and  Twentieth  Corps — 00,000  in- 
fantry and  artillery,  and  4,500  cavalry. 

The  Kentucky  regiments  that  participated 
in  the  grand  march  were  the  Eighteenth  In- 
fantry, and  the  Second,  Third  and  Fifth  Cav- 
alry. Of  those  in  the  Foiu’th,  Foui’teenth 
and  Twenty-third  Ai’my  Corps  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Atlanta  campaign,  the  Twelfth, 
Sixteenth,  Seventeenth,  Twenty- first.  Twenty 


444 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


third  and  Twenty-eighth  remained  for  the  clos- 
ing scenes  in  Tennessee.  After  the  battle  of 
Franklin,  the  Seventeenth,  whose  term  of  serv- 
ice had  expired,  was  replaced  by  the  Twenty- 
sixth.  Twelve  regiments  were  sent  back  to 
Kentucky  after  long  and  faithful  service  to 
await  the  expiration  of  the  third  year  of  their 
eulist.ment. 

On  the  29th  of  October,  Brig. -Gen.  John 
T.  Croxton,  to  whose  vigilance  the  task  of 
watching  the  movements  of  Gen.  Hood  had 
been  entrusted  by  Gen.  Thomas,  reported 
that  the  Confederates  were  crossing  the  Ten- 
nessee at  the  mouth  of  Cypress  Creek,  two 
miles  below  Florence,  Ala.  Gen.  Stanley 
was  ordered  to  concentrate  the  Fourth  Corps 
at  Pulaski  and  await  instructions;  Gen. 
Schofield  was  ordered  from  Resaca,  Ga. , to 
Columbia;  Gen.  Hatch,  commanding  a divis- 
ion of  cavalry,  en  route  from  Memphis,  was 
directed  to  place  his  troops  south  of  Colum- 
bia, and  in  conjunction  with  Croxton  and 
Capron  keep  a sharp  lookout  for  any  forces 
that  might  make  their  appearance  north  of 
the  Tennessee. 

Gen.  Schofield,  who  as  a commander  of  the 
Department  of  the  Ohio,  was  the  ranking 
corps- commander  under  Thomas,  had  orders 
to  hold  the  enemy  in  check  until  the  arrival 
of  re-enforcements  at  Nashville  would  en- 
able the  commanding  general  to  take  the 
field  with  an  army  of  sufficient  numerical 
strength  to  offer  some  prospect  of  success  in 
a general  engagement.  Gen.  A.  J.  Smith, 
commanding  the  right  wing  of  the  Sixteenth 
Corps,  two  divisions,  having  completed  the 
expulsion  of  Price’s  army  from  the  State  of 
iVIissouri,  was  directed  to  report  to  Gen. 
Thomas  at  Nashville.  Gen.  Steedman  had 
orders  to  furnish  a contingent  of  colored 
troops  from  Chattanooga;  Gen.  Cruft  was 
placed  in  command  of  all  soldiers  and  de- 
tachments found  at  Nashville,  who,  being  en 
route  to  their  regiments  in  Sherman’s  army, 
were  cut  off  from  joining  it,  and  Gen.  John 
F.  Miller,  in  command  of  the  post  of  Nash- 
ville, was  instructed  to  arm  the  employes  of 
the  quartermaster’s  department  for  service  in 
the  fortifications. 

With  this  heterogeneous  command,  Gen. 


Thomas  was  compelled  to  cope  with  the 
same  army  that  Sherman  had  been  fighting 
all  summer,  without  once  defeating  it  in  a 
general  engagement.  He  had  turned  away 
from  it  when  it  was  drawn  up  in  order  of 
battle  at  Lovejoy’s  Station;  had  followed  it 
when  his  communications  were  threatened 
north  of  Atlanta,  and  now,  marching  away 
with  two-thirds  of  his  army,  he  left  the  re- 
mainder to  fight  a decisive  battle.  But  he 
left  Thomas  and  Stanley,  and  A.  J.  Smith. 

Gen.  Thomas  was  handicapped  at  the  out- 
set by  a difficulty  which  no  foresight  seemed 
able  to  prevent.  His  cavalry  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  few  brigades  above  mentioned 
were  without  horses.  They  had  been  dis- 
mounted to  furnish  horses  for  Kilpatrick’s 
division,  and  sent  to  Louisville  to  be  re- 
mounted. Agents  were  sent  through  the 
State  in  every  direction  to  purchase  horses, 
but  for  once  in  its  history  the  supply  was 
exhausted.  Its  pastures  had  supplied  Union 
and  Confederates  with  an  equally  lavish 
hand.  Those  which  Morgan  had  spared 
Burbridge  had  pressed  into  the  service,  and 
the  horseless  troops  of  the  Army  of  the  Cum- 
berland wandered  aimlessly  through  the 
streets  of  Louisville  when  their  services  were 
imperatively  demanded  to  confront  Forrest 
on  the  banks  of  the  Tennessee. 

As  fast  as  regiments  were  remounted  they 
were  sent  to.  the  front,  and  in  a few  weeks 
the  cavalry  corps  was  ready  for  service. 
The  delay  in  paying  its  respects  to  that 
ubiquitous  raider  was  solely  owing  to  the 
lack  of  horseflesh,  and  to  no  unwillingness 
on  their  part  to  engage  him  in  mortal  com- 
bat; but  the  delay  caused  Gen.  Thomas  seri- 
ous embarrassment,  and  came  near  causing  his 
removal  fi’om  command  by  the  wiseacres  at 
the  head  of  the  army,  who  at  a distance  of  a 
thousand  miles  presumed  to  direct  his  move- 
ments. 

To  add  to  the  difficulties  of  the  situation, 
troops  did  not  arrive  as  fast  as  the  veterans, 
whose  term  of  service  had  expired,  left  the 
army.  Nothing  saved  the  little  force  of 
30,000  men  from  annihilation  but  the 
vigilance  of  Gen.  Canby  in  pati’olling  the 
Mississippi,  and  preventing  Kirby  Smith 


HISTOKY  OF  ICENTUCKY. 


445 


■from  uniting  his  forces  with  those  of  Gen. 
Hood.  Early  in  October  he  had  intercepted 
a dispatch  from  President  Davis  to  Gen.  E. 
Tvirby  Smith  ordering  him  to  cross  the  Mis- 
sissippi with  his  entire  force.  Gen.  Magru- 
der  had  doubtlessly  received  a copy  of  the 
dispatch,  as  he  suddenly  retired  with  his 
corps  of  30,000  men  from  Gen.  Steele’s  front 
and  moved  toward  Gaine’s  Landing.  Gen. 
Canby’s  vigilance  prevented  the  order  from 
being  carried  out,  and  enabled  Gen.  Thomas 
to  prepare  for  action.  Having  established  a 
base  of  supplies  at  Cherokee  Station,  on  the 
Mobile  & Ohio  Raiload,  Gen.  Hood  pro- 
ceeded to  cross  the  Tennessee  and  move 
to  Florence,  but  did  not  begin  his  forward 
movement  until  the  21st  of  November.  The 
Confederate  general’s  object  was  to  place  his 
army  between  Columbia  and  Nashville,  and 
then  having  gained  the  rear  of  the  Fourth 
and  Twenty-third  Corps  to  turn  upon  them  in 
overwhelming  force.  Leaving  two  divisions 
of  Lee’s  Corps  to  make  a show  of  strength  in 
Schofield’s  front,  Hood,  at  dawn  of  day  of  the 
29th  of  November,  led  Cheatham’s  and  Stew- 
art’s corps  and  one  division  of  Lee’s  across 
Duck  River  on  pontoon  bridges,  and  advanced 
on  the  road  to  Spring  Hill. 

Gen.  Wilson,  in  command  of  the  Union 
cavalry,  immediately  notified  Gen.  Schofield 
of  this  movement,  and,  supposing  that  the 
latter  would  at  once  put  his  troops  in  motion 
for  Spring  Hill,  which  is  on  the  direct  road 
to  Nashville,  he  fell  back  slowly  on  the 
Lewisburg  Road,  retarding  Hood’s  advance  to 
the  extent  of  his  ability.  Forrest’s  cavalry, 
in  Hood’s  advance,  followed  Wilson  until 
abreast  of  Spring  Hill,  when  turning  sharply 
to  the  left  it  advanced  rapidly  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  place.  Meantime  Gen.  Stan- 
ley, marching  with  Wagner’s  division, 
reached  a point  within  two  miles  of  Spi'ing 
Hill,  where  he  was  informed  that  the  Confed- 
erate cavalry  was  approaching  the  town  from 
the  east.  He  ordered  a double  quick,  and  the 
gallant  troops,  moving  rapidly  forward,  drove 
Forrest  back. 

Believing  that  he  had  the  two  corps  now 
within  his  grasp  Hood  left  two  corps  at  the 
crossing  of  Rutherford’s  Creek  to  prevent 


Schofield  from  escaping  to  the  defenses  of 
Murfreesboro,  and  advanced  with  Cheatham’s 
corps  to  attack  Stanley,  who  had  formed 
AVagner’s  division  in  readiness  to  receive 
him.  Bradley’s  brigade  was  thrown  forward 
to  a wooded  knoll  about  three-fourths  of  a 
mile  east  of  the  town,  while  Opdycke’s  and 
Lane’s  brigades  were  stretched  out  in  as  long 
a lino  as  possible  east  of  the  Columbia  Road 
to  guard  the  supply  and  baggage  trains  which 
covered  the  road  for  miles  in  the  rear. 

The  blunder  of  Schofield  in  permitting 
Hood  to  fiank  him  was  now  apparent  even  to 
the  most  stupid  soldier.  The  command  was 
so  widely  separated  as  to  bar  any  possibility 
of  concentration  in  case  of  an  attack  in  force, 
and,  but  for  the  equal  blunder  of  Hood  in  at- 
tempting to  bag  the  entire  command  by  separ- 
ating his  forces,  he  might  have  got  posses- 
sion of  Spring  Hill,  and  then  fought  Scho- 
field on  ground  of  his  own  choosing.  Cox’s 
division  was  on  the  bank  of  Duck  River,  op- 
posite Columbia;  Kimball’s  and  AVood’s  di- 
visions confronted  Stewart’s  at  Rutherford’s 
Creek.  One-half  of  Rogers’  division  was  far 
below  Columbia  on  Duck  River,  where  it  had 
been  forgotten,  and  the  other  half  was  in  the 
rear  of  Stanley  on  the  road  to  Spring  Hill. 
With  all  this  evidence  bearing  on  the  subject 
it  was  not  until  3 P.  M.  that  Gen.  Schofield 
became  convinced  that  Hood  had  done  pre- 
cisely what  he  would  be  expected  to  do — 
turned  his  left  fiank  and  gained  the  road  to 
Nashville. 

At  the  same  hour  Gen.  Hood,  with  the 
prospect  of  brilliant  success  in  view,  gave  the 
order  to  Cheatham  to  attack,  promising  sup- 
port from  his  nearest  division.  After  a short 
fight  Bradley  was  compelled  to  fall  back  upon 
Lane,  and,  being  severely  wounded,  relin- 
quished the  command  to  Col.  Conrad;  but 
Cleburne,  who  followed  him  closely,  met  a 
sharp  artillery  fire  and  galling  musketry  vol- 
leys from  Lane’s  brigade,  before  which  his 
troops  recoiled,  and  finally  retired.  The  short 
November  day  was  nearing  its  close  when  the 
attack  failed,  and  Hood’s  golden  opportunity 
was  lost.  With  ten  divisions  of  infantry  well 
in  hand,  a general  assault  upon  three  divis- 
ions and  a half  could  hardly  have  failed. 


446 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


The  danger  increased  with  every  hour  at 
Spring  Hill,  where  a narrow  bridge  had  to 
be  crossed  by  500  wagons.  At  10  P. 
M.,  Schofield  joined  his  own  corps  at 
Thompson’s  Station,  and  moved  on  toward 
Nashville,  leaving  Stanley  to  extricate  his 
corps  and  the  immense  baggage-train  as 
best  he  might.  But  Stanley  was  equal  to  the 
emergency.  With  characteristic  skill  and 
energy  he  sent  his  train  over  the  narrow 
bridge,  and  covering  it  with  a line  of  troops, 
snatched  his  corps  and  all  his  supplies  from 
Hood’s  enclosing  grasp. 

The  march  of  Stanley’s  corps  from  Spring 
Hill  to  Franklin,  on  the  night  of  the  29th 
and  part  of  the  30th  of  November,  reads  like 
a romance.  With  an  overwhelming  army 
pressing  upon  his  rear,  and  a heavy  force  of 
cavalry  hovering  irpon  his  flanks,  the  corps 
marched  steadily  forward,  its  rear  guarded  by 
Opdycke’s  splendid  brigade,  which,  before 
the  night  closed  on  the  last  day  of  November, 
was  destined  to  furnish  one  of  the  most  brill- 
iant pages  in  the  annals  of  military  warfare. 

On  approaching  the  town,  Stanley  found 
the  Twenty-third  Corps  formed  in  a line,  with 
the  flanks  resting  upon  the  Harpeth  River  to 
cover  the  crossing  of  the  Fourth  Corps,  and 
the  trains  of  the  army.  Wood’s  division,  by 
the  direction  of  Schofleld,  crossed  and  took 
position  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  in 
position  to  contest  the  crossings  above  or  be- 
low the  town,  should  Hood  attempt  a flank 
movement,  and  by  the  same  authority,  Lane’s 
and  Conrad’s  brigades  of  Wagner’s  division 
were  left  a third  of  a mile  in  advance  of 
Cox’s  line,  to  retard  Hood’s  advance.  Op- 
dycke,  protesting  against  this  needless  ex- 
posure of  his  men,  was  permitted  to  pass  in 
the  rear  of  Cox’s  line,  and  take  position  on 
Carter’s  Hill. 

Reversing  the  positions,  it  was  Missionary 
Ridge  repeated.  As  in  that  memorable 
charge,  the  attacking  forces  became  mingled 
with  the  attacked,  and  rushing  forward,  came 
in  a body  upon  the  main  line.  It  was  im- 
possible to  direct  a musketry  fire  upon  them 
without  destroying  more  friends  than  foes, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  Union  brigades  had 
gotten  well  over  the  works  that  the  orders 


were  given  to  open  fire.  The  leading  Con- 
■federate  troops  had  gained  the  interior  of  the 
works  at  the  key  point.  Two  batteries  of  ar- 
tillery were  captured  and  turned  to  enfilade 
the  Union  line,  while  Hood’s  entire  army 
poured  in  ever-increasing  volume,  toward  the 
breach.  Schofield  had  crossed  the  river,  and 
at  this  supreme  moment  was  two  miles  away. 
One  of  the  divisions  was  unoccupied  near 
his  headquarters,  and  one  of  Stanley’s  was 
too  far  away  to  x’ender  assistance. 

Gen.  Stanley  had  ridden  to  Schofield’s 
headquarters  to  report  his  arrival,  and  was 
with  him  when  the  opening  roar  of  artillery 
announced  the  impending  battle.  Mounting 
his  horse  he  was  quickly  upon  the  scene,  but 
not  quick  enough  to  anticipate  the  gallant 
Opdycke  in  ordering  his  brigade  forward"  to 
the  charge.  His  men  had  unslung  their 
knapsacks,  stacked  their  arms,  and  were  busy 
getting  their  suppers  when  the  attack  fell 
upon  their  comrades  at  the  front. 

In  a moment  all  was  changed.  Some  new 
troops  sent  down  by  Gen.  Thomas  to  swell 
the  volume  if  not  to  increase  the  strength  of 
Schofield’s  army,  rushing  in  wild  flight  from 
the  line  of  battle,  threw  away  their  arms,  and 
ran  past  Opdycke’s  position.  A colonel  of 
one  of  his  regiments,  anticipating  his  order 
to  move  to  the  front,  had  thrown  his  regiment 
into  the  road,  and  thereby  gained  the  ad- 
vance. Then  came  the  order.  As  if  by 
magic  the  entire  brigade,  a self-constituted 
reserve,  sprang  forward  into  the  “ imminent 
deadly  breach,”  supported  on  the  right  by 
Reilley’s  brigade,  those  gallant  regiments, 
the  Twelfth  and  Sixteenth  Kentucky,  in  ad- 
vance. A charge  was  made  that  sent  the 
Confederates  staggering  over  the  works.  Vol- 
leys of  musketry  poured  upon  them,  but  with 
rapidly  thinning  ranks  the  heroic  soldiers  of 
these  two  brigades  held  their  ground,  giving 
shot  for  shot. 

Meantime  the  entire  line  of  works  were 
blazing  with  artillery  full  in  the  faces  of  the 
Confederates  crowded  into  a narrow  space  in 
the  vain  hope  of  carrying  the  works  by  over- 
whelming numbers.  Thirteen  Confederate 
brigadier-generals  were  killed  or  wounded, 
1,700  officers  and  men  were  killed,  and  4,000 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


447 


wounded.  More  than  half  the  losses  in  the 
Union  army  were  from  Wagner’s  division, 
which  suffered  heavily  by  the  blunder  in  leav- 
ing the  two  brigades  in  front  of  the  Union 
line,  and  by  the  heroic  charge  of  Opdycke’s 
brigade.  Forrest  fared  no  better  in  his  at- 
tempt to  cross  the  Harpeth,  where  he  was 
met  and  driven  back  by  Wilson’s  cavalry.  A, 
J.  Smith’s  fii’st  division  arrived  at  Nashville 
on  the  30th,  and  Gen.  Thomas  found  that  he 
could  not  move  the  corps  to  Schofield’s  sup. 
port  until  the  2d  of  December.  He  there- 
fore wrote  Gen.  Schofield  asking  if  he  could 
hold  Hood  in  check  at  Franklin  three  days. 
The  reply  came  that  he  could  not,  and  un- 
willing to  risk  the  possibility  of  Hood’s 
thrusting  his  army  between  the  two  wings  of 
his  army,  he  ordered  Schofield  to  Nashville. 
The  movement  was  successfully  effected  on 
the  night  of  the  30th,  and  the  1st  of  De- 
cember saw  the  army  united  in  front  of  the 
city.  Gen.  Stanley  having  been  severely 
wounded  at  Franklin,  Gen.  Wood  assumed 
command  of  the  Fourth  Army  Corps. 

Seven  days  of  unremitting  toil  were  used 
in  forming,  fi’om  the  heterogeneous  troops 
thrown  together,  an  army  of  infantry  and 
cavalry  such  as  Gen.  Thomas  believed  would 
be  sufficient  not  only  to  defeat  but  destroy  his 
antagonist;  but  the  anxiety  of  preparation 
for  a decisive  battle  was  not  the  only  perplex- 
ity that  annoyed  him.  Daily  messages  were 
received  from  Grant  ordering  him  peremp- 
torily to  attack.  He  explained  the  reasons  for 
delay,  reasons  which  were  regarded  as  potent 
by  every  one  of  his  corps  and  division  com- 
manders, but  to  no  effect.  Grant  caused  an 
order  to  be  issued  placing  Schoheld  in  com- 
mand, but  subsequently  suspended  it.  At  the 
end  of  seven  days  Thomas  announced  him- 
self nearly  ready  for  the  attack,  when  a ter- 
rible storm  of  rain  and  sleet  was  followed  by 
freezing  weather,  which  covered  the  ground 
with  ice.  Knowing  that  Hood  could  not 
move  dui’ing  this  time,  he  delayed  his  attack 
until  the  ice  should  melt,  telegraphing  daily 
his  position  and  prospects.  On  the  13th  an 
order  was  issued  by  Grant  to  Gen.  Logan  to 
proceed  to  Nashville  and  assume  command. 
Gen.  Logan  reached  Louisville  on  the  15th, 


where  he  received  news  of  the  battle  of  Nash- 
ville, and  with  the  instinct  of  a true  soldier 
knew  that  there  was  no  occasion  for  him  to 
continue  bis  journey.  Grant  reached  Wash- 
ington from  City  Point,  Va. , bound  for  the 
same  place,  and  there  heard  news  from  Nash- 
ville that  changed  his  destination. 

Chaplain  Van  Horn  in  his  life  of  Thomas 
says:  “ Gen.  Hood’s  first  blunder  was  in  not 
attacking  Sherman  at  Gaylesville,  where  he 
had  only  60,000  men;  his  second  was  in  wait- 
ing so  long  at  Florence  without  effort  to  help 
his  promised  re-enforcements  across  the  Mis- 
sissippi; the  third  was  his  failure  to  crush 
Schofield  at  Spring  Hill,  and  the  fourth  was 
in  offering  himself  to  Thomas  to  be  crushed.” 

Although  Hood’s  army  was  intrenched 
upon  a commanding  ridge  and  supplies  were 
furnished  by  the  country,  his  forces  grew 
weaker  day  by  day.  In  constant  hope  of 
receiving  large  accessions  to  his  army  by  the 
arrival  of  Smith  fi’om  Texas,  he  held  his 
position  tenaciously,  believing  that  an  attack 
by  Thomas  would  result  in  giving  him 
possession  of  Nashville,  and  eventually  of 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  He  had  not 
offered  himself  to  Thomas  to  be  crushed,  but 
chose  the  best,  in  fact  the  only,  means  of 
defeating  the  Union  army.  This  he  would 
undoubtedly  have  done,  had  that  army  been 
commanded  by  a weaker  general — one  who, 
in  blind  obedience  to  an  imperative  order  to 
advance,  would  have  put  his  troops  in  motion 
up  the  icy  slopes  of  Overton’s  Hill. 

The  morning  of  the  15th  of  December  was 
foggy,  and  in  the  dense  mist  the  cavalry 
moved  to  the  right  of  the  army  where  in 
conjunction  with  Smith’s  Corps  they  were  to 
“turn”  the  left  of  the  Confederate  line, 
while  Gen.  Steedman  made  an  attack  with 
his  colored  troops  upon  the  right.  Both 
movements  were  successfully  accomplished; 
Morgan,  with  his  brigade  of  colored  troops, 
executed  his  part  of  the  programme  so  well 
as  to  cause  Hood  to  re-enforce  his  right  from 
his  center  and  left,  while  Croxton  and  Hatch, 
with  their  brigades  dismounted,  advanced  in 
conjunction  with  A.  J.  Smith’s  Infantry,  and 
carried  several  advanced  positions  with  their 
ai’mament  of  guns  and  infantry  supports. 


448 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


The  Fourth  Corps  was  formed  with  Elliott’s 
Second  Division  on  the  right,  Kimball’s 
First  in  the  center,  and  Beatty’s  Third  on 
the  left,  each  division  providing  its  own 
reserve.  Montgomery  Hill  was  carried  by 
Post’s  brigade,  supported  by  Streight’s. 
Schotield  was  moved  to  the  right  of  Smith, 
where  he  advanced  and  drove  the  Confeder- 
ates from  the  hills  overlooking  the  Granny 
White  Turnpike.  Steedman  advancing, 
carried  the  right  of  Hood’s  fortifications  on 
the  Nolensville  Turnpike,  and  the  day  closed 
with  decided  success  to  the  Union  arms. 
Hood  lost  17  guns  and  1,200  men  by  cap-  | 
ture.  It  was  believed  by  many  that  Hood  ] 
had  commenced  his  retreat,  but  no  thought  I 
of  this  kind  seems  to  have  been  entertained  ! 
by  him,  as  he  spent  the  night  in  fortifying 
his  second  line,  where,  with  his  forces  more 
compact,  he  hoped  to  repulse  every  attack 
made  upon  him.  His  line  was  two  and  a 
half  miles  shorter  on  the  morning  of  the 
16th  than  on  the  preceding  day,  and  coursed 
over  the  hills  constituting  the  main  Brent- 
wood range  through  which  the  Franklin  Road 
passes.  The  right  rested  on  Overton’s  Hill; 
his  left,  driven  back,  was  well  refuged,  and 
the  apex  strongly  fortified. 

The  Union  line  stretching  around  Hood’s 
position,  the  opposite  flanks  faced  each  other, 
with  the  Confederate  force  between  them, 
while  the  cavalry,  feeling  its  way  farther  and 
farther  to  the  right,  by  noon  on  the  16th  had 
gained  the  rear  of  Hood’s  left  flank.  This 
was  to  be  the  signal  for  a general  advance 
along  the  entire  line,  but  at  this  moment 
Schofield  requested  re- enforcements.  Wood 
and  Steedman,  weary  of  delay,  attacked 
Hood’s  right  flank,  on  Overton’s  Hill,  with 
Post’s  and  Thompson’s  brigades  supported  by 
Streight’s,  but  were  repulsed.  Wilson  moved 
in  conjunction  with  McArthur,  of  Smith’s 
corps,  and  carried  the  works  in  their  front. 
The  shout  of  victory  rang  out,  and,  carried 
along  the  line,  fell  upon  the  ears  of  the 
Fourth  Corps,  who,  rushing  forward  in  an  | 
impetuous  charge,  supported  by  the  colored 
troops  on  their  left,  carried  the  strongest 
position  along  the  line,  and  victory  was 
won. 


In  a few  minutes  Hood’s  army  was  in  re- 
treat toward  Franklin,  followed  by  the 
Fourth  Corps,  which  bivouacked  near  Brent- 
wood, and  early  on  the  morning  of  the 
17th  continued  its  march  to  Franklin,  where, 
finding  the  Harpeth  swollen  by  rains,  Gen. 
Wood  encamped  for  the  night.  While  the 
infantry  was  following  in  the  wake  of  Hood’s 
retreating  army,  the  cavalry  was  hanging 
upon  his  flanks,  charging  upon  his  rear 
guard,  capturing  prisoners,  artillery  and 
camp  equipage.  Wood  crossed  the  Harpeth 
on  the  morning  of  the  18th,  and  continued 
his  march  through  Franklin  and  Spring  Hill 
to  Rutherford’s  Creek  by  the  same  road  over 
which  the  corps  had  marched  less  than  three 
weeks  before,  with  the  conditions  reversed. 
A running  fight  ensued,  but  a stern  chase  is 
proverbially  a long  chase,  and  on  the  26th 
Hood,  crossing  the  Tennessee  with  the  rem- 
nant of  his  command,  continued  his  march  to 
Tupelo,  Miss.,  where,  on  January  20th,  he 
called  the  roll  of  his  army,  and  but  18,934 
answered  to  their  names.  He  had  lost  one- 
half  of  his  army  in  little  over  a month. 

The  events  thus  briefly  narrated  form  a 
thrilling  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  war  in 
the  west.  The  power  of  the  Confederacy,  so 
long  upheld  by  the  strong  hearts  and  willing 
hands  of  its  devoted  adherents,  was  broken, 
and  it  only  remained  for  the  Union  forces  to 
move  forward  and  occupy  the  laud.  But 
even  from  a Union  standpoint,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  withhold  admiration  for  the  zeal  and 
courage,  which,  under  the  most  adverse  cir- 
cumstances, animated  the  Confederate  Army 
of  the  Tennessee.  The  best  blood  of  the 
south  was  in  its  ranks.  Its  officers  had  no 
superiors  in  any  land  for  chivalrous  bearing 
upon  the  field  of  battle,  and,  animated  by 
their  example,  their  men  followed  where  they 
led  into  the  thickest  of  the  fray.  At  Mill 
Springs,  Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh,  Perryville, 
Stone  River,  Chickamauga,  Missionary 
Ridge  and  Knoxville,  they  fought  as  only 
brave  men  can  fight.  At  Resaca,  and  through 
100  days  of  battle  to  Atlanta,  the  soldiers  of 
this  army  withstood  the  blows  of  twice  their 
number,  and  when  at  last  dispossessed  of  the 
city  which  formed  the  objective  point  of  the 


HISTORY  or  KENTLXKY. 


449 


campaign,  when  they  were  supposed  to  be 
nursing  their  wounds,  they  turned  northward, 
and  fell  upon  the  rear  of  the  invading  army 
with  unabated  energy.  The  wonderful  recu- 
perative power  which  characterized  the  Con- 
federate army;  their  constant  submission  to 
privations,  such  as  were  rarely  experienced 
by  their  antagonists;  their  courage  and  dis- 
cipline under  the  most  trying  circumstances, 
form  a theme  for  the  historian  of  the  civil 


war,  which  to  ignore  must  mark  him  blindly 
partisan. 

To  the  possession  of  these  soldierly  qualities 
by  the  Confederates  may  be  ascribed  the  long 
continuance  of  the  war,  and  that  they  were 
cultivated  until  they  came  to  be  regarded  as 
manly  attributes,  even  by  men  bred  in  lux- 
urious homes,  is  due,  in  a great  degree,  to 
the  influence  and  example  of  the  women  of 
the  south. 


COLUMBITS,  A^TD  THE  MISSISSIPBI  KIVEK,  LOOKINO  SOUTHWEST. 


28 


450 


HISTORY  OF  KEYTUCIvY. 


OHAPTEE  XYIIl. 


MORGAN’S  CAVALRY— FIRST  KENTUCKY  BRIGADE,  ETC. 


ur^HE  Lexington  Rifles,  a militia  company 
organized  in  1857,  commanded  by  Capt. 
John  H.  Morgan,  was  the  nncleus  of  the 
famous  organization  known  in  the  annals  of 
the  civil  war  as  Morgan’s  Cavalry. 

The  organization  of  a military  camp  in 
Garrard  County,  Ky.  ,in  uncomfortable  prox- 
imity to  Lexington,  hastened  the  departure 
of  the  “Rifles”  fora  more  congenial  climate. 
On  the  20th  of  September,  1861,  Capt.  Mor- 
gan conceived  the  idea  of  removing  his  guns 
from  the  armory,  and  taking  up  the  line  of 
march  for  the  southern  Confederacy.  With 
characteristic  skill,  the  guns  were  loaded  into 
wagons  and  started  out  the  Versailles  Turn- 
pike under  a small  guard.  After  two  days’ 
and  nights’  hard  marching,  Capt.  Morgan, 
at  the  head  of  some  200  men,  entered  the 
Confederate  camp  on  the  south  bank  of  Green 
River,  where  most  of  the  men  attached  them- 
selves to  the  various  regiments  then  being 
organized.  Capt.  Morgan,  with  some  twenty 
men  of  his  own  company,  together  with  dar- 
ing spirits  from  other  regiments,  tiring  of 
the  monotony  of  camp  life  here,  commenced 
the  series  of  daring  raids  that  subsequently 
rendered  his  name  famous.  Scouting  to  the 
front  he  obtained  the  earliest  information  of 
the  movements  of  the  Union  forces  under 
Gen.  McCook,  then  stationed  at  Nolin  Creek. 

An  order  was  Anally  given  to  mount  Mor- 
gan’s company  on  condemned  artillery  horses, 
which,  by  the  system  of  exchange  then  in 
vogue,  soon  presented  a very  respectable  ap- 
pearance. 

After  the  fall  of  Fort  Donelson  and  the 
evacuation  of  Nashville,  Mox’gan,  in  com- 
mand of  a squadron  of  cavalry,  remained  in 
the  vicinity  of  La  Vergne,  a small  town  be- 
tween Murfreesboro  and  Nashville,  where  he 


formed  the  acquaintance  of  the  Fourth  Ohio 
Cavalry,  an  acquaintance  that  ripened  into 
unpleasant  intimacy  before  the  close  of  the 
war. 

At  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  Morgan’s  squad- 
ron was  attached  to  Breckinridge’s  division, 
after  which,  at  his  solicitation,  he  was  per- 
mitted to  make  a dash  into  Tennessee  with  a 
force  numbering  325  men,  composed  of  his 
own  battalion,  and  detachments  from  Col. 
Wirt  Adams’  regiment,  and  McNairy’s  bat- 
talion. The  expedition  started  on  the  26th 
of  April,  crossing  the  Tennessee  on  a small 
horse  ferry-boat,  and  reached  Lawrenceburg, 
Tenn.,  on  the  30th,  where  the  troops  en- 
camped for  the  night.  The  next  day  he  at- 
tacked and  routed  about  400  convalescents 
employed  in  putting  up  a line  of  telegraph, 
capturing  and  paroling  many  prisoners. 
Continuing  his  course  toward  Lebanon,  the 
column  reached  that  place  on  the  night  of 
the  4th  of  May,  and  encamped  for  the  night. 

The  news  of  Morgan’s  operations  had,  in 
the  meantime,  reached  Gen.  Dumont,  at 
Nashville,  who  started  out  with  the  First 
Kentucky  Cavalry,  and  Twenty-Arst  Kentucky 
Infantry,  to  capture  him.  The  night  was 
dark  and  rainy,  Morgan’s  pickets  were  in  a 
house,  and  before  the  alarm  could  be  given, 
Wolford’s  cavalry  came  at  full  charge  upon 
the  camp.  In  the  confusion  that  ensued  the 
command  came  near  being  all  captured. 
Morgan  escaped  with  15  men,  and  on  the 
6th  reached  Sparta,  Tenn.,  where,  during  the 
next  three  days  50  of  his  men  rejoined  him, 
120  were  captured  by  the  Union  troops,  and 
six  were  killed.  On  the  9th,  he  left  Sparta 
with  150  men,  mostly  recruits,  and  directed 
his  course  toward  Bowling  Green,  where, 
near  Cave  City,  he  captured  two  trains  of 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


451 


cars  and  paroled  a number  of  prisoners. 
Morgan  returned  to  Corinth  about  the  mid- 
dle of  May,  to  obtain  equipments  for  his 
command  and  permission  to  revisit  Kentucky. 

Capts.  R.  M.  Gano  and  John  Hoffman  here 
joined  him  with  two  companies  of  Texas 
cavalry;  Capt.  Basil  W.  Duke,  from  whose  in- 
teresting history  of  Morgan’s  cavalry  this 
sketch  is  in  part  compiled,  having  been 
wounded  at  Corinth,  had  collected  about 
thirty  of  Morgan’s  men  who  had  been  left 
behind,  and  accompanied  Morgan  to  Chatta- 
nooga, where  the  remainder  of  the  command 
was  encamped.  The  three  companies  to 
which  the  squadron  was  now  reduced  were 
soon  filled  to  the  maximum  by  recruits. 

The  term  of  service  of  the  First  Kentucky 
Infantry  having  expired  in  Virginia,  300  of 
the  men  were  on  their  way  home,  and  arrived 
at  Chattanooga  at  this  time.  They  eagerly 
embraced  the  opportunity  to  enlist  under 
Morgan,  and  three  more  companies  were 
formed.  Capt.  Jacob  Cassel  was  appointed 
to  command  Company  A,  Capt.  John  Allen  to 
Company  B,  Capt.  Bowles  to  Company  C, 
Capt.  John  B.  Castleman  to  Company  D, 
Capt.  John  Hutchinson  to  Company  E,  Capt. 
Thomas  B.  Webber  to  Company  F,  and  Capt. 
McFarland  commenced  the  organization  of 
Company  G.  These  six  companies,  and  a 
fragment  of  the  seventh,  numbered  not  quite 
400  men.  Basil  W.  Duke  was  lieutenant- 
colonel;  G.  W.  Morgan,  major;  Gordon  E. 
Niles,  adjutant;  Thomas  Allen,  surgeon; 
Dr.  Edelin,  assistant  surgeon;  D.  H. Llew- 
ellyn, quartermaster;  and  Hiram  Reese,  com- 
missary. The  regiment  seems  to  have  had 
no  chaplain.  Ten  days  later  the  regiment, 
now  known  as  the  Second  Kentucky  Cavalry, 
set  out  for  Knoxville.  “Some  were  mounted,” 
says  Duke,  “and  the  remainder  had  great 
hopes.”  In  the  latter  part  of  June,  Col. 
Hunt  arrived  from  Georgia  with  a “partisan 
ranger”  regiment,  and  accompanied  Morgan 
on  his  first  Kentucky  raid.  This  increased 
the  force  to  870,  fifty  or  sixty  of  whom  were 
not  mounted,  and  250  unarmed. 

The  expedition  started  on  the  4th  of  July, 
1862,  and  on  the  8th,  reached  Tompkinsville, 
Ky. , where  Maj.  Jordan,  with  350  of  the 


I Ninth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  was  captured 
' after  a brief  resistance.  Morgan’s  loss  was 
insignificant  in  numbers,  but  included  Col. 
Hunt,  who  was  mortally  wounded.  Lebanon, 
Ky.,  was  captured  on  the  following  day,  and 
among  the  military  stores  were  found  a suf- 
ficient quantity  of  excellent  guns  to  arm 
! every  man  in  the  command.  Abundant  am- 
munition was  also  secured.  Supplying  his 
command  with  everything  needful,  the  re- 
maining stores  were  destroyed,  and  Morgan 
moved  toward  Harrodsburg,  which  place  he 
; reached  the  next  morning,  and  found  himself 
’ among  friends.  After  two  days’  rest,  the 
column  was  again  in  motion,  in  the  direction 
j of  Versailles,  with  the  intention  of  turning 
I sharply  to  the  right  on  reaching  there  and 
attempting  the  capture  of  Lexington.  Maj. 

I Gano  was  detached  at  Harrodsburg  to  bui’u 
I the  railroad  bridges  north  of  Lexington,  and 
; Capt.  Allen  was  sent  to  destroy  the  bridges 
on  the  Louisville  railroad,  to  prevent  re-en- 
: forcemeats  from  being  sent  to  Lexington 
from  Louisville  or  Cincinnati,  after  which 
j they  rejoined  the  command  at  Georgetown. 

From  Versailles,  Morgan  marched  toward 
i Georgetown,  passing  Midway,  a small  town 
j on  the  Louisville  & Lexington  Railroad, 
where  Capt.  Ellsworth,  an  expert  telegraph 
operator,  taking  possession  of  the  office,  dis- 
patched Gen.  Ward,  at  Frankfort,  that  Mor- 
gan, with  1,000  men,  was  moving  on  that 
place.  After  a halt  of  a few  hours  the  column 
moved  forward  and  reached  Georgetown  at 
, night,  where  Morgan  made  a halt  of  two 
I days.  He  was  now  in  the  “blue  grass  coun- 
try,” the  garden  of  Kentucky,  where  fine 
horses,  fat  cattle,  and  good  rations  were 
abundant.  The  people  of  the  country  were 
strongly  in  sympathy  with  the  southern  Con- 
I federacy,  and  welcomed  their  guests  with 
true  Southern  hospitality, 
t Here  another  company  was  organized 
under  command  of  W.  C.  P.  Breckinridge,  a 
1 talented  young  lawyer  of  Lexington  and  a 
, son  of  Dr.  Robei’t  J.  Breckinridge.  A 
! younger  brother,  John,  was  at  the  time  a 
1 captain  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  George  H. 
Thomas  (Federal),  in  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland,  while  his  cousin  John  C. 


452 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Breckinridge  was  in  command  of  a division 
in  the  Confederate  army.  This  was  a fair 
specimen  of  the  division  which  took  place  in 
the  prominent  families  of  the  State  during 
the  war.  On  the  morning  of  the  18th, 
Morgan  left  Georgetown  and  moved  toward 
Cynthiana,  twenty-two  miles  distant,  where 
Col.  Metcalfe  was  organizing  the  Seventh 
Kentucky  (Union)  Cavalry.  He  had  about 
400  recruits,  and  they  were  within  a few 
hours’  march  of  about  an  equal  number  of 
“Home  Guards,”  all  under  command  of 
Lieut.  Col.  Landram,  of  the  Eighteenth 
Kentucky  Infantry.  A brass  twelve-pound 
howitzer  had  been  sent  up  from  Cincinnati, 
manned  by  a company  of  firemen  and  com- 
manded by  Capt.  Glass.  There  were  suffi- 
cient men  and  ample  courage  to  defend  the 
place,  but  lack  of  discipline  and  ignorance 
of  the  simplest  maneuvers  neutralized  every 
effort  of  Col.  Landram  to  concentrate  his 
forces  at  the  various  points  where  their  pres- 
ence was  needed,  and  after  a brief,  though 
under  all  circumstances  a gallant  resistance, 
the  place  was  captured.  Col.  Landram  be- 
haved with  conspicuous  courage  and  was  one 
of  the  last  to  leave  the  town.  From  Cyn- 
thiana, Morgan  marched  to  Paris,  where  he 
encamped  for  the  night,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing morning,  finding  that  a force  of  2,500 
cavalry  under  command  of  Gen.  Green  Clay 
Smith  was  near  the  town,  he  left  in  hot 
haste  for  Winchester,  where  he  was  joined 
by  a company  of  recruits  under  Capt.  Jen- 
nings. 

While  Morgan  was  thus  marching  at  easy 
stages  through  the  richest  portion  of  the 
State,  augmenting  his  forces  and  remounting 
his  men  with  little  loss  and  at  trifling  ex- 
pense, a condition  of  the  most  pei’fect  be- 
wilderment seems  to  have  taken  possession  of 
the  military  authorities  at  Lexington  and 
Frankfort.  With  troops  sufficient  to  have 
surrounded  him  at  any  of  the  points  above 
mentioned,  they  were  marching  hither  and 
thither,  but  always  returning  to  their  camps 
at  night,  and  it  was  not  until  after  the  cap- 
ture of  Cynthiana  that  a well  organized 
movement  was  set  on  foot  to  capture  him. 
Hearing  of  this,  Morgan  met  it  in  the  most 


sensible  manner  possible.  He  ran  away  from 
it.  . At  Crab  Orchard  and  Somerset  130 
government  wagons  were  captured  and 
burned,  and  several  wagons  loaded  with 
blankets,  shoes  and  other  stores,  much  needed 
in  the  south,  were  taken  along  with  the 
column  to  Sparta,  Tenn.  Enough  of  spare 
horses,  guns  and  saddles  were  captured  to 
supply  all  the  men  who  had  been  left  behind. 
In  twenty-seven  days  Morgan  had  traveled 
over  1,000  miles,  added  300  men  to  his  force, 
and  paroled  1,200  volunteer  troops,  at  a loss 
of  about  90  of  his  men. 

Gens.  Bragg  and  Smith  were  at  this  time 
making  arrangements  to  invade  Kentucky, 
and  Morgan  was  directed  to  precede  them  and 
inflict  as  much  damage  as  possible  upon  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad.  Select- 
ing Gallatin,  Tenn.,  as  the  first  point  to 
strike,  he  set  out  for  that  point  on  the  10th 
of  August,  and  on  his  way  was  joined  by 
Capt.  Joseph  Desha  with  a company  of  men. 
The  Twenty-eighth  Kentucky  Infantry 
was  encamped  two  miles  distant  from  the 
town,  but  the  commander,  Col.  Boone,  slept 
in  Gallatin.  Capt.  Desha  was  sent  forward, 
when  the  column  had  passed  Hai’tsville,  to 
capture  the  colonel,  who,  acting  upon  the 
advice  of  Morgan,  wrote  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  regiment  to  surrender  without 
resistance.  This  v/as  done,  and  200  officers 
and  men  were  paroled  and  sent  northward. 
A railroad  bridge  between  Gallatin  and 
Nashville  was  destroyed,  and  a tunnel  800 
feet  long  was  rendered  impassable  for 
months.  Two  stockades  were  captured  and 
100  soldiers  paroled,  but  the  attack  upon  a 
third  was  repulsed  with  considerable  loss. 

A battle  that  took  place  on  the  following 
day  with  a detachment  of  cavalry  under 
Gen.  E.  W.  Johnson  wms  more  successful. 
The  respective  forces  were  about  equal,  with 
the  advantage  of  experience  largely  in  favor 
of  the  Confederates.  Gen.  Johnson  com- 
plained that  but  few  of  his  men  would  fight, 
in  which  opinion  Duke  differs.  He  says: 
“They  attacked  with  spirit  and  without  hesi- 
tation, and  were  unable  to  close  with  us  on 
account  of  their  heavy  loss  in  men  and 
horses.  They  returned  two  or  three  times  to 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


453 


the  attack  until  they  found  their  efforts  un- 
' availing.  They  could  not  use  their  sabers, 
and  they  found  their  breech- loading  carbines 
only  incumbrances.”  Johnson’s  entire  com- 
mand was  swept  away.  He  was  captured, 
and  200  of  his  men  taken  prisoners,  64 
were  killed  and  100  wounded,  with  a loss  to 
the  Confederates  of  but  7 killed  and  ! 
18  wounded.  Morgan  made  his  camp 
at  Hartsville,  where,  on  the  22d,  he  was  | 
joined  by  Forrest  with  a portion  of  his  com-  | 
mand.  Col.  Duke’s  regiment  received  its 
twelfth  company  at  this  point,  commanded 
by  Capt.  W.  H.  Jones,  and  Gano’s  squadron  | 
was  increased  by  the  addition  of  a company 
under  command  of  Capt.  Steele. 

After  a week’s  rest  at  Hartsville,  the  | 
brigade  set  out  for  the  interior  of  Kentucky 
to  meet  the  advance  of  Kirby  Smith’s 
column,  then  about  entering  the  State  from 
east  Tennessee,  and  reached  Lexington  on 
the  4th  of  September,  then  in  possession  of 
the  Confederate  forces.  Here  Gano  recruited 
three  companies,  which  raised  his  squadron 
to  a regiment.  Duke’s  regiment,  the  Second 
Kentucky,  now  numbered  1,100  men.  Cols. 
Cluke  and  Chenault  were  given  authority  to 
raise  regiments  for  Morgan’s  brigade  and 
were  actively  engaged  in  recruiting  when 
Bragg  was  driven  out  of  Kentucky. 

Maj.-Gen.  George  IV.  Morgan,  in  com- 
mand of  the  Seventh  Division  of  the  Fed- 
eral Army  of  the  Ohio,  consisting  of  four 
brigades,  numbering  7,000  men,  was  at  this 
time  in  occupation  of  Cumberland  Gap. 
Smith  had  Hanked  the  position,  entering  the 
State  with  12,000  men,  leaving  Gen.  Steven- 
son with  8,000  in  front  of  the  gap.  Find- 
ing that  the  Confederate  forces  had  gained 
access  to  his  rear,  and  that  there  was  no 
further  use  for  his  command  at  the  gap, 
Gen.  Morgan  determined  to  evacuate  it,  and 
attempt  a retreat  through  eastern  Kentucky 
to  the  Ohio  River.  This  march  afforded 
Morgan  an  opportunity,  which  he  eagerly 
seized,  to  hang  upon  the  flanks  of  the  re- 
treating army  and  harass  it  as  much  as 
possible. 

While  Morgan  was  operating  in  eastern 
Kentucky,  Duke  with  his  regiment  was  play- 


ing havoc  among  the  raw  recruits  in  the 
j vicinity  of  Cincinnati.  Augusta  was  cap- 
tui’ed  and  burned,  and  a battalion  of  Home 
I Guards  put  to  flight.  On  the  6th  of  October, 
Morgan  with  his  brigade,  now  consisting  of 
three  regiments  and  a battalion  numbering 
1,500  effectives,  left  Lexington  and  took 
post  between  Versailles  and  Frankfort  on  the 
flank  of  Kirby  Smith’s  army,  which  was  in 
the  vicinity  of  Lawrenceburg.  Duke  says: 
“notwithstanding  the  efforts  that  were  made 
to  induce  Kentuckians  to  enlist  as  infantry, 
very  few  would  do  so,  and  those  who  did, 
joined  regiments  which  came  in  with  Gen. 
Smith.  Not  a single  infantry  regiment  was 
raised  during  the  time  that  the  Confederate 
army  was  in  the  State.  All  of  the  Ken- 
tuckians who  joined  at  that  time  wanted  to 
ride.” 

Gen.  Abe  Buford  raised  three  regiments 
of  cavalry  under  Cols.  Butler,  Smith  and 
Grigsby,  the  last  two  of  which  were  subse- 
quently assigned  to  Morgan.  Duke  estimates 
the  number  of  Kentuckians  who  enlisted  in 
the  Confederate  army  during  the  occupation 
j of  the  State  by  Bragg  and  Smith  at  5,000. 

In  the  retreat  of  the  Confederate  army 
from  Kentucky  after  the  battle  of  Perryville, 
Morgan’s  and  Ashby’s  cavalry  formed  the 
rear  guard  of  Gen.  Smith’s  corps  as  far  as 
I Big  Hill,  when  Morgan  obtained  permission 
to  retire  from  the  State  by  way  of  Gallatin, 
instead  of  following  the  main  army  thi’ough 
Cumberland  Gap.  — ' 

On  the  17th  of  October,  believing  that  the 
main  portion  of  the  Union  army  was  far 
enough  out  of  his  way  to  permit  it,  Morgan 
conceived  the  idea  of  capturing  Lexington, 
then  held  by  one  regiment,  the  Fourth  Ohio 
Cavalry.  The  main  body  was  at  Ashland, 
the  home  of  Henry  Clay,  about  two  miles 
from  the  town.  One  or  two  companies  were 
quartered  at  the  court  house.  After  a brisk 
flrrht  the  entire  reo-imeot,  between  500  and 
600  strong,  was  captured,  and  with  them  a 
supply  of  Colt’s  pistols,  which  were  eagerly 
appropriated  by  their  captors.  From  Lex-*- 
ington  the  column  moved  by  way  of  Law- 
renceburg, Bardstown  and  Elizabethtown  to 
its  fleld  of  operations  on  the  Louisville  & 


454 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Nashville  Railroad  south  of  Green  River, 
which  was  reached  on  the  24th  of  October. 

On  the  4th  of  November  Morgan  reached 
Gallatin,  Tenn.,  having  captured  nearly  500 
prisoners  and  destroyed  many  miles  of  rail- 
road, and  at  this  place  added  another  regi- 
ment to  his  command.  This  regiment  was 
organized  with  James  Bennett  as  colonel,  W. 
AV.  AVard,  lieutenant-colonel,  and  R.  A.  Alston 
as  major. 

In  the  meantime  Breckinridge  had  arrived 
at  Murfreesboro  with  his  division,  and  learn- 
ing that  a large  quantity  of  railroad  cars 
were  collected  at  Edgefield,  instructed  Mor- 
gan to  attempt  their  destruction,  while  For- 
rest, who  was  also  at  Murfreesboro,  support- 
ed by  the  Kentucky  brigade  attacked  the  works 
at  Nashville  from  the  south;  but  owing  to 
the  vigilance  of  Gen.  J.  M.  Palmer,  com- 
manding the  post,  the  expedition  proved  a 
failure. 

In  the  latter  part  of  November,  the  brigade 
was  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  Cluke’s 
and  Chenault’s  regiments,  a battalion  under 
command  of  Maj.  Stoner,  and  the  old  squad- 
ron captured  at  Lebanon  in  the  spring  of 
1862,  exchanged,  and  ready  for  work.  Mor- 
gan’s command  now  consisted  of  four  regi- 
ments and  two  battalions. 

The  occupation  of  Hartsville  and  Castilian 
Springs  by  infantry  brigades  now  effectually 
shut  Morgan  off  from  depredations  upon  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad,  which  was 
run  to  its  utmost  capacity  in  bringing  for- 
ward supplies  to  the  Army  of  the  Cumber- 
land, which  was  preparing  for  a campaign 
against  Bragg’s  army  at  Murfreesboro.  The 
brigade  at  Castilian  Springs  was  commanded 
by  Col.  John  M.  Harlan,  a bold  and  vigilant 
officer,  who  kept  a sharp  lookout  for  cavalry 
raids.  That  at  Hartsville,  commanded  by 
Col.  A.  B.  Moore,  was  composed  of  three 
regiments  of  the  new  levy,  the  One  Hundred 
and  Sixth,  and  One  Hundred  and  Eighth 
Ohio,  and  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Illinois 
Infantry,  1,200  strong.  A battalion  of  the 
Second  Indiana  Cavalry  and  a small  squadron 
of  Kentucky  cavalry  acted  as  scouts — as  the 
event  proved,  to  little  purpose. 

The  capture  of  this  place  was  confided  to 


Morgan,  who  with  Cobb’s  battery  and  two  reg- 
iments, the  Second  and  Ninth  Kentucky  In- 
fantry of  Hanson’s  brigade,  700  strong,  in 
addition  to  his  own  command  of  1,500,  left 
Prairie  Mills,  twenty-five  miles  distant  from 
Hartsville,  on  the  7th  of  December,  and  by  a 
rapid  march  encamped  that  night  within  five 
miles  of  their  destination.  Morgan  planned 
a complete  surprise.  The  infantry  and 
Cobb’s  batteries  reached  the  ferry  at  10 
o’clock,  and  immediately  crossed  the  river. 
This  force  moved  forward  promptly  at  break 
of  day,  fearing  that  information  would  reach 
Col.  Harlan  of  the  movement,  and  when  Col. 
Duke  joined  the  column  with  a party  of  his 
cavalry  it  was  determined  to  make  the  attack 
at  once. 

The  camp  was  on  a hill  two  miles  in  ad- 
vance of  Hartsville,  which  town  was  at  once 
occupied  by  a regiment  of  cavalry,  while  two 
more  were  formed  opposite  the  right  Hank  of 
the  Union  line.  Cluke’s  and  Chenault’s 
men,  after  deducting  horse  holders,  numbered 
450,  which  with  the  infantry  made  a force  of 
some  1,250  men  for  the  attack.  The  One 
Hundred  and  Sixth  Ohio,  which  received  the 
attack  of  the  cavalry,  never  having  witnessed 
a battle,  and  being  deprived  of  the  presence 
of  more  experienced  troops,  broke  after  the 
first  fire  and  fell  back  in  disorder.  The  re- 
maining regiment  resisted  the  advance  of  the 
Confederate  infantry  for  a short  time,  when 
Col.  Moore  surrendered.  The  contest  lasted 
an  hour  and  a half,  in  which  time  the  Union 
loss  was  50  killed  and  100  wounded.  Gen. 
Bragg  reported  Morgan’s  loss  at  125  killed 
and  wounded. 

The  tents  and  everything  that  could  not 
be  carried  off  were  burned,  a number  of  cap- 
tured wagons  were  loaded  with  portable 
stores  and  arms  and  hurried  over  the  river, 
accompanied  by  the  prisoners,  who,  contrary 
to  the  usual  custom,  were  not  parolled.  Col. 
Harlan  bearing  the  firing  at  once  put  his 
brigade  in  motion  and  hurried  to  the  assist- 
ance of  Col.  Moore,  but;  with  all  the  haste  he 
could  make,  his  advance  only  reached  the 
camp  to  find  it  in  flames.  Pressing  forward 
in  pursuit  Harlan  reached  the  river  only  in 
time  to  rescue  a few  wagons  that  had  not  had 


455 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


time  to  cross  and  to  witness  the  rear  of  Mor- 
gan’s column  disappear  behind  the  hills  on 
the  southern  shore. 

For  this  exploit  Morgan  was  promoted 
brigadier-general.  Col.  Hanson,  who  was 
captured  at  Donelson,  with  his  regiment,  and 
had  just  effected  his  exchange,  was  also  pro- 
moted to  the  same  rank,  by  President  Davis. 
This  was  probably  the  zenith  of  Morgan’s 
fame.  His  brigade,  consisting  of  seven  regi- 
ments, with  an  effective  strength  of  4,000,  had 
no  superior  in  either  army  for  that  dashing 
courage  essential  to  the  cavalry  service,  and 
in  its  ability  to  endure  hardship  without 
murmuring.  He  was  the  newly  wedded  hus- 
band of  a most  accomplished  lady,  a daugh- 
ter of  Judge  Ready,  of  Murfreesboro,  and 
was  the  idol  of  his  men. 

His  fame  as  a cavalry  leader  attracted  to 
his  banner  scores  of  spirited  young  men  who, 
finding  the  service  in  other  commands  irk- 
some, sought  service  in  Morgan’s  cavalry. 
The  command  was  now  organized  as  a divis- 
ion, composed  of  two  brigades,  under  com- 
mand of  Cols.  Basil  W.  Duke  and  William 
C.  P.  Breckinridge,  as  follows: 

First  Brigade,  Col.  B.  W.  Duke;  Second 
Kentucky,  Lieut.-Col.  Hutchinson;  Third 
Kentucky,  Col.  Gano;  Eighth  Kentucky, 
Col.  Cluke;  Palmer’s  Battery  of  Yrtillery; 
Second  Brigade,  Col.  W.  C.  P.  Breckinridge; 
Ninth  Kentucky,  Lieut.-Col.  Stoner;  Tenth 
Kentucky,  Col.  Johnson;  Eleventh  Kentucky, 
Col.  Chenault;  Fourteenth  Tennessee,  Col. 
Bennett;  White’s  battery  of  artillery. 

The  division  was  reviewed  at  Alexandria 
on  the  21st  of  December,  when  the  First 
Brigade  numbered  1,800  effectives,  and  200  j 
unarmed.  The  Second  Brigade  also  had  ■ 
some  unarmed  men,  and  was  of  about  the  ! 


day  the  division  took  up  its  march  for  Ken- 
tucky, and  reached  Sand  Shoals  Ford  just 
before  dark.  The  object  of  the  expedition 
was  the  destruction  of  the  Louisville  & 
Nashville  Railroad  in  rear  of  Rosecrans. 

On  the  24th  the  column  reached  Glasgow, 
and  on  the  next  morning  marched  out  by  the 
Louisville  Pike,  crossing  Green  River  that 
night,  and  encamping  at  Hammondsville. 


Turning  toward  the  railroad,  the  bridge  at 
Bacon  Creek,  guarded  by  not  over  100  men 
(who  were  captured  after  an  obstinate  de- 
fense), was  burned;  the  stockade  at  Nolin 
was  also  captured,  and  the  bridge  buimed. 
On  the  morning  of  the  27th,  the  division 
moved  upon  Elizabethtown,  which  was  gar- 
risoned by  a regiment  of  600  men.  Col. 
Smith,  the  commander,  returned  for  answer 
to  Morgan’s  demand  for  surrender,  that  it 
was  the  business  of  a United  States  officer  to 
fight  and  not  to  surrender,  but  his  men 
seemed  to  be  of  a different  opinion.  After  a 
brisk  fight  the  white  flag  was  run  up  by  a 
subordinate  officer,  and  the  garrison  surren- 
dered, and  handed  over  600  fine  rifles  to  the 
victorious  Confederates.  The  two  great 
trestle  works  at  Muldow's  Hill,  each  eighty 
feet  in  height,  and  500  feet  long.  Cane 
Run  bridge,  and  two  bridges  on  the  Lebanon 
branch,  were  destroyed. 

In  the  meantime,  Harlan’s  brigade  was 
marching  thirty  miles  a day  to  reach  the 
Confederates.  On  the  night  of  the  28th 
Morgan  encamped  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Rolling  Fork,  and  early  next  morning  com- 
menced crossing  the  swollen  stream,  when  a 
shell  burst  in  his  ranks,  and  Harlan’s  ad- 
vance appeared  on  the  hill  above  them.  In 
the  rapid  crossing  that  was  soon  after  effect- 
ed, several  horses  were  killed  by  shells  burst- 
ing among  them,  and  the  force  was  a good 
deal  disorganized,  but  was  concentrated  at 
Bardstown  on  the  same  evening:. 

Col.  Duke,  having  been  wounded  bv  a 
bursting  shell,  the  command  devolved  upon 
Col.  Breckinridge,  who  brought  off  the  com- 
mand with  little  loss.  The  concentration  of 
troops  in  his  front  at  Lebanon,  and  on  his 
flank  at  Columbia,  with  Harlan  in  his  rear, 
convinced  Morgan  that  a rapid  flight  would 
be  required  to  save  his  command  from  cap- 
ture. He  therefore  made  a detour  to  the 
right  of  Lebanon,  and  by  rapid  marching, 
although  vigorously  pursued  by  Col.  Hos- 
kins, made  his  escape  across  the  Cumberland, 
and  joined  Bragg’s  army  at  Tullahoma,  to 
which  place  it  had  fallen  back  after  its 
defeat  at  Stone  River. 

Here  Morgan’s  division,  with  those  of 


456 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Gens.  Wharton  and  Martin,  constituted  the 
cavalry  corps  commanded  by  Gen.  "Wheeler. 
On  January  24,  1863,  the  Second  Kentucky 
lost  its  commander,  Lieut. -Col.  Hutchinson, 
in  a skirmish  near  Woodburg,  and  Capt. 
John  B.  Castleman  assumed  command  of  the 
regiment. 

The  three  months  following  were  spent  by 
the  cavalry  in  picketing  the  front  of  Bragg’s 
army.  Cols.  Cluke  and  Chenault  made  a 
raid  into  Kentucky,  in  which  they  captured 
Mount  Sterling,  and  subsisted  their  men  for 
several  months,  returning  to  the  command 
after  a series  of  adventures  in  the  mountains 
of  Kentucky.  About  this  time  a new  regiment 
was  formed  by  the  organization  of  a number 
of  loose  companies,  the  command  of  which 
was  given  to  Col.  R.  C.  Morgan,  a brother  of 
the  general. 

The  winter  wore  away,  and  the  spring  was 
far  advanced  before  any  operations,  other  than 
preliminary  skirmishing,  was  attempted  by 
the  cavalry  of  either  army.  Morgan’s 
cavalry  had  a long  front  to  picket,  and 
brushes  with  the  Union  cavalry  were  of  daily 
occurrence.  Duke  says;  “But  in  this  year 
the  glory  and  prestige  began  to  pass  away 
from  the  southern  cavalry.” 

The  war  department  at  W'ashington  was 
slow  to  see  the  importance  of  maintaining  a 
strong  cavalry  force,  not  only  to  guard  the 
long  lines  of  railroad  to  Louisville,  the  true 
base  of  all  military  operations  in  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee,  but  to  act  aggressively  upon 
the  Confederate  lines  of  commirnications  as 
far  south  as  Atlanta.  It  was  in  vain  that 
Gen.  Rosecrans  represented  the  importance 
of  equipping  a force  of  cavalry  equal  to,  if 
not  superior  to,  that  under  the  orders  of 
Gen.  Bragg.  He  received  nothing  but 
rebuffs  for  his  suggestions,  until,  in  despair, 
he  wrote  the  telegram  to  Secretary  Stanton, 
which  sealed  his  fate,  regretting  that  there 
was  “not  more  of  military  knowledge  at  the 
head  of  the  war  department.”  The  secretary  [ 
pocketed  the  insult,  but  bided  his  time  for  | 
taking  revenge.  It  came  after  Chickamauga. 
The  organization  of  “saber  brigades,  ” by  Gen. 
Rosecrans,  proved  to  be  the  foundation  of 
the  etilciency  of  the  cavalry  of  the  Army  of 


the  Cumberland.  A charge  with  drawn 
sabers  was  a new  thing  to  western  cavalry, 
and  proved  irresistible  on  many  a hotly  con- 
tested field. 

On  the  2d  of  July  Morgan’s  division 
crossed  the  Cumberland  to  embark  upon  an 
expedition  which  ended  in  its  destruction  as 
a military  organization.  Twelve  miles  north, 
at  Marrowbone,  lay  Gen.  Judah’s  cavalry,  os- 
tensibly guarding  the  crossing,  but  in  reality 
trusting  to  the  high  water  to  prevent  Mor- 
gan from  getting  over.  Morgan’s  effective 
strength  was  2,460,  exclusive  of  artillery,  of 
which  there  were  two  three-inch  Parrotts, 
and  two  twelve-pound  howitzers.  A regiment 
of  Union  cavalry  was  pushed  down  to  the 
river  to  dispute  the  crossing,  but  Morgan 
having  crossed  two  regiments,  charged  upon 
it  and  drove  it  back  upon  the  camp  at  Mar- 
rowbone, which  gave  the  rear  regiments 
time  to  cross.  The  division  encamped  that 
night  about  ten  miles  on  the  road  to  Colum- 
bia, and  early  next  morning  pushed  on  to  the 
town,  where  a detachment  of  Wolford’s  cav- 
alry was  posted,  drove  it  out,  and  passing^ 
through,  encamped  six  miles  beyond. 

Col.  Moore,  in  command  of  a Michigan  regi- 
ment, was  stationed  at  Green  River  bridge, 
and  hearing  of  Morgan’s  appi’oach,  made 
preparations  to  give  him  a warm  reception. 
His  position  was  in  a horse-shoe  bend  of  the 
Green  River.  Behind  him  was  the  toe  where 
the  bridge  crossed,  on  either  fiank  was  the 
river,  and  in  his  front  he  had  formed  a strong 
abatis  by  felling  trees  on  either  side  of  the 
road,  behind  which  he  threw  up  a substantial 
earthwork,  100  yards  in  length,  commanding 
the  road  along  which  Morgan  was  advancing. 
Morgan  sent  two  regiments  to  cross  the  river 
and  gain  possession  of  the  bridge  in  Col. 
Moore’s  rear,  then  sent  a demand  for  the  sur- 
render of  the  garrison.  Col.  Moore’s  reply 
was;  “The  4th  of  July  is  a bad  day  for  sur- 
renders. ” The  only  response  to  this  greeting 
was  of  course  a charge,  which  was  made  by 
two  regiments.  The  first  rush  carried  the 
men  into  the  tangled  tree-tops,  where  they 
were  slaughtered  like  sheep  by  the  unerring 
rides  of  the  Michigan  men.  Col.  Chenault 
and  Maj.  Brent  were  killed,  together  with 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


457 


thirty- six  men,  and  twice  that  number 
wounded.  Finding  that  the  capture  of  the 
position  would  cost  him  as  many  men  as  the 
garrison  numbered,  Morgan  withdrew,  and, 
crossing  the  river,  left  his  wounded  to  be 
cared  for  by  his  brave  antagonist,  of  whom 
Duke  says,  “ he  ju’oved  himself  as  humane  as 
he  was  skillful  and  gallant.” 

The  column  moved  through  Campbellsville 
without  halting,  and  encamped  live  miles 
from  Lebanon,  which  was  garrisoned  by  the 
Twentieth  Kentncky  Infantry,  under  com- 
mand of  Col.  Charles  S.  Hanson,  a brother  of 
Gen.  Roger  Hanson,  of  the  Confederate 
army.  Two  regiments  were  stationed  on  the 
Harrodsburg  Road,  within  easy  supporting 
distance,  but  did  not  reach  the  town  until 
Hanson’s  regiment,  fighting  gallantly  against 
vastly  superior  numbers,  was  overpowered  and 
obliged  to  surrender.  Avoiding  a battle  with 
these  regiments,  which  made  their  appear- 
ance cautiously,  Morgan  moved  rapidly  to 
Bardstown,  reaching  that  place  at  4 o’clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  Cth  of  July.  Morgan’s 
loss  was  inconsiderable  --some  eight  or  nine 
killed  and  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  wounded. 
Among  the  former  were  Lieut.  Thomas  Mor- 
gan, a brother  of  the  general,  and  Lieut. 
Gardner. 

F rom  Bardstown  Morgan  moved  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Ohio  River,  capturing  a railroad 
train  within  thirty  miles  of  Louisville,  and 
crossing  the  bridge  over  Salt  River  on 
the  morning  of  the  7th.  The  secret  of 
Morgan’s  success  in  this,  as  well  as 
in  his  former  raids,  was  his  rapid 
movements.  It  was  impossible  to  keep 
track  of  him.  To  aid  in  mystifying  his  pur- 
suers as  much  as  possible,  Morgan  detached 
five  companies  to  move  in  different  directions 
through  the  State,  thus  for  the  time  throwing 
Gens.  Hobson  and  Judah  off  the  track  of  the 
main  body. 

Shortly  after  midnight  the  column  ad- 
vanced, and  at  at  10  A.  M.  reached  Branden- 
burg, on  the  Ohio  River,  forty  miles  below 
Louisville,  where  two  steamboats,  captured 
by  Capts.  Taylor  and  Merriwether,  were 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  division.  The 
Second  Kentucky  and  the  Ninth  Tennessee 


were  immediately  set  across  the  river,  leaving 
their  horses  behind  them,  and,  forming  un- 
der the  river  bank,  prepared  to  protect  the 
crossing  of  the  remainder  of  the  command. 
While  in  this  position  a little  gun- boat  made 
its  unwelcome  appearance,  and  for  a short 
time  threatened  to  put  a stop  to  the  perform- 
ance, but  a few  shots  from  the  Parrotts  con- 
vinced the  commander  that  close  quarters 
were  not  desirable,  and  he  steamed  away  up 
the  river  for  assistance.  Before  it  was  ob- 
tained Morgan  was  on  the  Indiana  shore, 
mounting  for  a ride  of  600  miles  through  a 
hostile  country,  thickly  settled,  and  penetrat- 
ed in  every  direction  by  railroads  and  tele- 
graphs. The  route  previously  sketched  by 
Morgan,  and  which  was  followed  with  little 
deviation,  led  eastward  through  Southern 
Indiana  from  Corydon,  through  Salem,  Vi- 
enna, Paris,  Vernon,  Dupont,  Sumansville, 
to  Harrison,  Ohio.  Morgan  reasoned  that 
the  boldness  of  his  movement  would  convince 
Gen.  Burnside  that  his  objective  point  was 
either  Cincinnati  or  Columbus,  and  that 
smaller  towns  would  be  denuded  of  troops  to 
strengthen  the  garrisons  of  these  important 
points.  He  felt  confident  of  keeping  in  ad- 
vance of  the  cavalrv  in  bis  rear,  as  being;  in 
advance  gave  him  choice  of  the  horses  of  the 
country  through  which  he  passed.  To  throw 
the  department-commander  off  the  track  he 
here  again  resorted  to  the  tactics  that  had 
proved  successful  in  Kentucky.  He  sent  de- 
tachments off  in  various  dii’ections,  and  after 
a few  hours  halt  at  Harrison  moved  in  the 
direction  of  Cincinnati,  then  turning  to  the 
left,  at  night-fall,  marched  to  the  north  of 
it,  passing  near  Glendale,  and  morning  broke 
just  as  the  column  neared  the  Little  Miami 
Railroad.  A halt  was  made  near  Camp  Den- 
nison to  feed  the  horses  and  burn  a pack  of 
government  wagons,  when  the  men  were 
again  in  their  saddles,  and  did  not  draw  rein 
until  they  reached  Williamsburg,  ninety 
miles  from  Sumansville,  having  made  the 
march  in  thirty-five  hours.  Here  at  4 P.  M. 
the  division  went  into  camp  and  remained 
through  the  night.  Resuming  the  march 
next  morning  they  halted  again  before  night- 
fall at  Wilkesville,  and  remained  until  3 


458 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


o’clock  next  morning,  ■when,  on  moving  ont  of 
camp,  the  raiders  found  themselves  harassed 
on  all  sides  by  militia,  who,  although  de- 
clining close  quarters,  inflicted  considerable 
injury  with  their  trusty  rifles  at  a safe  dis- 
tance among  the  hills. 

At  1 o’clock,  on  the  18th,  the  command 
reached  Chester,  and  halted  to  enable  the 
column  to  close  up.  This  halt  proved  disas- 
trous, as  Buffington,  the  point  chosen  to  cross 
the  Ohio,  was  not  reached  until  after  night- 
fall, and  it  was  decided  to  wait  until  next 
morning.  An  earthwork  had  been  thrown  up 
to  guard  the  ford,  and  Morgan  was  informed 
that  it  was  manned  by  300  men. 

While  Morgan  had.  by  rapid  marching, 
traversed  the  State  of  Ohio,  doing  little  dam- 
age to  persons  or  property,  Gen.  Hobson  at 
the  head  of  a picked  cavalry  force  had  reached 
the  Ohio  shortly  after  Morgan  had  crossed 
it,  and  pushing  on  in  his  rear  reached  Ches- 
ter a few  hours  after  Morgan  had  left  it  for 
Buffington. 

Gen.  Judah  left  the  stern  chase  at  Bards- 
town  and  proceeding  to  Cincinnati  embarked 
a brigade  of  infantry  and  cavalry  on  trans- 
ports and  steamed  up  the  river  to  be  ready  to 
intercept  Morgan’s  crossing  wherever  he 
might  attempt  it.  His  force  debarked  at 
Pomeroy  a short  distance  below  Buffington 
on  the  previous  day,  and  marched  along  the 
river  road  keeping  abreast  of  Morgan  who 
was  several  miles  inland. 

On  the  following  morning  these  two  com- 
mands, each  ignorant  of  the  proximity  of 
the  other,  prepared  for  an  attack  upon  Mor- 
gan’s division,  now  considerably  reduced  by 
straggling  and  exhaustion.  Col.  Duke  was 

o o o 

ordered  to  draw  up  two  of  his  regiments  in 
readiness  to  attack  the  work  at  dawn  of  day, 
and  the  Parrotts  were  placed  in  position  to 
assist  the  storming  party  if  necessary. 

Had  Morgan’s  pickets  been  more  vigilant 
they  would  have  discovered  long  before  day- 
light that  the  work  was  empty.  It  was 
evacuated  during  the  night.  The  knowl- 
edge of  this  would  have  been  of  priceless 
advantage,  but  it  came  too  late.  The  cross- 
ing  came  near  being  successfully  accom- 
plished, however.  The  steamer  “Starlight,” 


loaded  with  flour,  ran  aground  on  Buffington 
Bar  the  day  before  Morgan’s  arrival.  Capt. 
Wood,  of  the  regular  army,  on  duty  as  mus- 
tering officer  at  Marietta,  took  charge  of  two 
companies  of  militia,  and  taking  a steam- 
boat dropped  down  the  river,  where  he  found 
the  “Starlight”  aground.  He  at  once  landed 
his  men  and  manned  the  earthwork,  lightened 
the  steamer  and  towed  her  out  of  reach  of 
Morgan,  who  was  reported  to  be  approach- 
ing, held  the  work  until  midnight,  when 
he  ordered  it  abandoned. 

When  morning  dawned,  Duke  chai’ged 
upon  the  empty  works,  then  started  out  the 
Pomeroy  Road  in  search  of  the  retreating 
garrison.  He  ran  into  Judah’s  advance 
guard,  and  attacking  with  spirit  threw  it  into 
confusion,  capturing  one  gun  and  forty  or 
fifty  prisoners,  and  mortally  wounding  Maj. 
Daniel  McCook,  father  of  Gen.  McCook.  By 
Morgan’s  order,  Duke  formed  two  regiments 
of  his  brigade  across  the  road  upon  which 
Judah  was  advancing,  while  Johnson  with 
two  regiments  faced  toward  Hobson,  who 
was  moving  upon  him  from  the  north.  In 
the  brief  engagement  that  ensued  on  the 
Pomeroy  Road,  Duke  lost  his  Parrott  gun 
and  a portion  of  the  Fifth  Kentucky.  Mean- 
time the  gunboat  “Moose”  under  command 
of  Lieut.  Fitch  had  come  up  and  opened  fire. 
Gen.  Shackelford  moved  up  the  river  with  his 
own  and  Wolford’s  brigades  to  cut  off  escape 
in  that  direction.  Notwithstanding  the 
great  disparity  in  forces,  Duke  and  Johnson 
managed  to  hold  Judah  and  Hobson  in  check 
long  enough  to  enable  Morgan  with  the  four 
disengaged  regiments  to  march  out  of  the 
valley.  Duke  says:  “The  scene  in  the  rear 
was  one  of  indescribable  confusion.  While 
the  bulk  of  the  regiments  that  Morgan  was 
drawing  off  was  moving  from  the  field  in 
perfect  order,  there  were  many  stragglers 
from  each  who  were  circling  about  the  valley 
in  a delirium  of  fright,  clinging  instinctively 
in  all  their  terror  to  bolts  of  calico,  and  hold- 
ing on  to  led  horses,  but  changing  the  direc- 
tion in  which  they  galloped  with  every  shell 
which  whizzed  or  burst  near  them.  The 
long  train  of  wagons  and  ambulances 
dashed  wildly  in  the  only  direction  which 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


459 


promised  escape,  and  becoming  locked  and 
entangled  with  each  other  in  their  flight  many 
were  upset,  and  terrifled  horses  broke  loose 
from  them  and  plunged  wildly  through  the 
mass.  Some  of  them,  in  striving  to  make 
their  way  out  of  the  valley  at  the  northern 
end,  ran  foul  of  the  section  of  howitzers 
attached  to  the  Second  Brigade,  and  guns  and 
wagons  were  rolled  headlong  down  a steep 
ravine.  Occasionally  a solid  shot  or  shell 
would  strike  one  and  bowl  it  over  like  a ten 
pin.” 

Having  held  their  position  until  Morgan 
was  well  out  of  the  valley,  Duke  and  John- 
son then  determined  to  withdraw  and  to  follow 
their  leader.  The  men,  who  had  been  fight- 
ing on  foot,  remounted  without  confusion 
and  retreated  in  column  of  fours  from  right 
of  companies,  and  for  some  distance  in  good 
order,  but  there  being  but  two  roads  by  which 
to  escape  the  men  rushed  for  them.  The 
gunboat  sent  its  shells  into  the  mass,  which 
had  now  become  a mob,  and  the  Seventh 
Michigan  soon  came  up  and  dashed  pell  mell 
into  the  crowd. 

Ools.  Duke  and  Smith  and  some  fifty  ofli- 
cers  and  men  were  here  captured.  In  mak- 
ing his  way  up  the  river  Morgan  ran  into 
Shackelford’s  brigade,  composed  of  the  First, 
Third  and  Eighth  Kentucky  cavalry,  near 
Bashan  Church.  Shackelford  thus  graphic- 
ally describes  the  encounter:  “With  drawn 

sabers  gleaming  in  the  beautiful  sunlight, 
and  with  a yell  that  filled  the  foe  with  ter- 
ror, they  rushed  upon  him  and  he  fled  at  their 
approach.  The  charge  was  led  by  Lieut. - 
Col.  Holloway  with  the  Eighth  Kentucky, 
Maj.  Wolfley  with  the  Third  Kentucky, 
and  Lieut. -Col.  Adams  with  the  First  Ken- 
tucky Cavalry.  I do  but  simple  justice  to 
these  brave  and  gallant  officers  and  the  veter- 
an soldiers  who  followed  them  in  that 
charge,  to  say  that  not  in  this  nor  any  other 
war  have  officers  and  men  acquitted  them- 
selves with  more  credit  or  manifested  more 
determination  or  valor.” 

Morgan  sent  in  a flag  of  truce  asking  terms 
of  surrender.  Shackelford  gave  them  briefly : 
“immediate  and  unconditional  surrender.” 
Cols.  Richard  Morgan,  Ward  and  Hoffman 


with  their  regiments,  about  700  strong, 
came  in  and  laid  down  their  arms.  Cols. 
Grigsby  and  Johnson  and  Capts.  Byrnes  and 
Kilpatrick  crossed  the  river  with  some 
300  and  made  their  escape,  leaving  about  800 
with  Morgan.  Col.  Cluke  took  charge  of  one 
brigade  and  Maj.  Webber  of  the  other,  and  the 
column  moved  in  the  direction  of  Blenner- 
hasset’s  Island,  and  encamped  at  the  foot 
of  a high  hill,  witli  his  pursuers  in  front  and 
rear.  When  night  had  fallen,  however,  he 
formed  his  men,  partially  ascended  the  mount- 
ain, and  before  they  were  aware  of  his  flight 
was  far  on  his  way  toward  liberty.  Gen. 
Shackelford  was  on  his  track  at  early  dawn, 
and  at  3 o’clock,  on  the  20th,  caught  up 
with  him  and  a fight  ensued.  While  it  was 
in  progress  Lieut.-  Col.  Adams  was  sent  with 
his  regiment  and  one  company  of  the  Third 
Kentucky  to  take  position  on  the  only  road 
by  which  it  was  supposed  Morgan  could 
escape.  He  retired  to  a high  bluff,  and  there 
received  a flag  of  truce  from  Shackelford 
demanding  his  surrender,  which  was  accepted 
1 by  all  but  about  600,  who  with  Morgan  started 
1 at  once  on  their  way.  Gen.  Shackelford  now 
[ called  for  1,000  volunteers  from  his  command, 
j with  the  best  horses,  who  would  stay  in  their 
saddles  as  long  as  he  would,  without  eating  or 
sleeping,  until  they  captured  Morgan. 

All  would  have  volunteered,  but  only  500 
horses  could  be  found  fit  for  the  enterprise. 
Col.  Horace  Capron,  the  veteran  commander 
of  the  Fourteenth  Illinois  cavalry,  with  159 
men,  and  Col.  Wolford,  with  detachments  of 
all  the  regiments,  made  up  the  column  which 
started  in  immediate  pursuit.  Col.  Jacobs, 
with  the  remainder  of  the  command,  took 
charge  of  the  prisoners  and  returned  to  Cin- 
cinnati. The  hardest  ride  on  record  now 
began.  This  chase  began  on  the  morning  of 
the  21st,  and  continued  day  and  night  until 
the  evening  of  the  24th,  when  Capt.  Ward, 
with  his  company  of  the  Third  Kentucky 
and  a detachment  of  the  First  under  Adjt. 
Carpenter,  came  upon  Morgan’s  rear  guard  at 
W ashington.  A bold  dash  drove  Morgan  out 
of  the  town  with  a loss  of  several  of  his 
men.  Morgan  made  a stand  a mile  farther 
east  in  a dense  wood.  Shackelford  formed 


460 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


line  of  battle  and  drove  him  two  miles  across 
a stream  which  ran  between  rugged  and  pre- 
cipitous banks. 

Morgan  tore  up  the  bridges  behind  him, 
and  took  position  in  the  woods  beyond  on  a 
high  hill.  Shackelford’s  force  dashed  through 
the  stream  on  both  Morgan’s  flanks,  and  again 
he  was  obliged  to  seek  safety  in  flight,  burn- 
ing all  bridges  as  soon  as  his  column  had 
crossed  them.  All  through  Friday  night 
pursuers  and  pursued  clung  to  their  jaded 
and  famishing  horses,  which  could  hardly  be 
urged  out  of  a walk.  Daylight  dawned  upon 
both  columns  moving  upon  parallel  roads  a 
mile  from  Athens.  Half  a mile  beyond,  the 
roads  formed  a junction.  Shackelford  pressed 
on  and  gained  it  first.  Morgan  turned  back 
and  sought  refuge  in  the  woods.  Meantime 
re-enforcements  under  Maj.  Way,  of  the 
Eighth  Michigan,  and  Maj.  Rue,  with  a de- 
tachment of  the  Ninth  Kentucky  cavalry, 
joined  Shackelford,  who,  with  Hesh  horses, 
gained  the  advance  of  Moi’gan  and  brought 
him  to  bay,  enabling  Shackelford  to  feed  his 
horses.  After  doubling  upon  his  track,  and 
practicing  every  ruse  known  to  the  skillful 
raider,  Morgan  surrendered  to  Gen.  Shackel- 
ford, with  the  remainder  of  his  command,  on 
July  25th.  When  Morgan  found  that  cap- 
ture was  inevitable,  he  surrendered  first  to 
a militia  captain  with  whom  he  was  riding, 
and  who,  overjoyed  at  the  prospect  of  cap- 
turing Gen.  Moi’gan,  offered  him  any  terms 
he  might  name,  promising  to  parole  the 
entire  command.  Shackelford  declined  to 
acknowledge  the  right  of  the  militiaman  and 
took  his  prisoners  to  Cincinnati,  where  Gen. 
Burnside  sent  the  enlisted  men  to  military 
prisons  and  the  officers  to  the  penitentiary  at 
Columbus.  The  stragglers  who  managed  to 
make  their  escape  were  collected  by  Cols. 
Johnson  and  Grigsby  and  marched  through 
western  Virginia  to  Morristown  in  east  Ten- 
nessee, where  they  joined  the  command  of 
Gen.  J.  S.  AVilliams. 

Left  to  their  own  devices  the  thoughts  of 
the  prisoners  naturally  turned  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  the  most  available  means  by  which  to 
regain  their  liberty.  After  canvassing  vari- 
ous methods,  they  finally  determined  upon 


that  which  proved  efficacious  at  the  hands  of 
Col.  Streight  and  his  comrades  in  Libby 
I prison — a tunnel.  “ But  to  tunnel,”  says 
j Duke,  ‘ ‘ through  the  stone  pavement  and  im- 
j mense  walls  of  the  penitentiary,  concealing 
the  work  as  it  progressed,  required  a bold 
imagination  to  conceive  such  an  idea.”  Bold 
as  it  was  in  conception  and  hazardous  in. 
execution, the  work  was  actually  accomplished, 
and  on  November  26th,  Gen.  Morgan  and 
Capts.  Hines,  Hockersmith,  Shelden,  Taylor, 
Bennett  and  McGee  emerged  from  their 
prison  and  started  in  couples  on  their  way  to 
Dixie.  Gen.  Morgan  and  Capt.  Hines  went 
straight  to  the  depot,  where  .Hines  bought 
tickets  for  Cincinnati,  and  when  near  the  city 
pulled  the  rope,  applied  the  brakes  and 
sprang  off  the  train.  A boy  was  found,  who 
for  $2  set  them  across  the  river,  where  they 
were  among  friends.  In  Boone  County  the 
fugitives  were  provided  with  good  horses, 
upon  which  they  at  once  set  out  for  Tennes- 
see. After  twelve  months  of  confinement  in 
various  military  prisons.  Cols.  Dube,  Ward, 
Morgan  and  Tucker,  and  Majs.  Webber, 
Steele  and  Higley  were  exchanged  at  Charles- 
ton, S.  C. 

Col.  Adam  B.  Johnson,  who  escaped  at 
Buffington,  on  arriving  in  east  Tennessee, 
under  instructions  from  Gen.  Buckner  issued 
orders  for  all  men  belonging  to  Morgan’a 
command  to  report  to  him  at  Morristown. 
Many  had  been  left  behind  when  the  Ohio 
raid  was  undertaken  on  account  of  disability 
to  make  the  trip,  and  others  had  been  sent 
off  in  detachments,  while  passing  through 
Kentucky,  and  found  their  way  back  to  the 
Confederate  lines.  These  were  collected  and 
organized  into  two  battalions  under  command 
of  Capts.  Kirkpatrick  and  Dortch.  The 
occupation  of  east  Tennessee  by  Gen.  Burn- 
side caused  these  detachments  to  move  south- 
ward with  Gen.  Buckner,  where  they  took 
part  under  Gen.  Forrest  in  the  battle  of 
Chickamauga. 

In  the  spring  of  1864,  Gen.  Morgan  was 
sent  to  take  command  of  the  district  of  south- 
western Virginia,  including  a portion  of  east 
Tennessee.  The  forces  at  his  disposal  were 
two  Kentucky  cavalry  brigades  and  the  militia 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


461 


of  the  region.  One  of  these  brigades  was 
commanded  by  Gen.  George  B.  Hodge,  and 
the  other  by  Col.  Giltner.  The  latter  had 
served  for  a year  under  Gen.  John  S.  Will- 
iams, and  was  mentioned  by  Gen.  Sam 
Jones,  the  former  commander  of  the  depart- 
ment, as  the  best  regiment  in  his  com- 
mand. 

In  the  latter  part  of  May,  Morgan  organ- 
ized his  command  for  a raid  into  Kentucky. 
His  division  consisted  of  three  brigades,  un- 
der command  of  Col.  Giltner,  Lieut. -Col. 
Alston  and  Col.  D.  Howard  Smith,  about 
1,800  strong.  He  took  no  artillery.  The 
column  reached  Pound  Gap  on  June  2d,  and, 
^brushing  away  a small  party  of  Union  cav- 
alry, pushed  rapidly  forward  toward  Mount 
Sterling,  sending  detachments  in  advance 
to  destroy  the  railroad  bridges  north  and  west 
of  Lexington.  Two  companies  were  sent 
forward,  as  the  column  neared  Mount  Ster- 
ling, to  take  position  on  the  Lexington  and 
Paris  turnpikes.  The  town  was  easily  cap- 
tured, there  being  but  a small  force  in  occu- 
pation, and  Morgan  pushed  forward  at  once 
for  Lexington. 

Gen.  Burbridge,  in  command  of  the  dis- 
trict of  Kentucky,  was  absent  on  an  expedi- 
tion against  the  salt  works  in  West  Virginia, 
and  this  fact  had  seemed  to  invite  Morgan  to 
occupy  the  State  during  his  absence.  He  en- 
tered Lexington  without  opposition,  burnt  the 
government  depot,  and  captured  sufficient 
horses  to  remount  his  dismounted  men.  Col. 
Giltner,  who  was  left  at  Mount  Sterling,  had 
a severe  fight  in  which  he  lost  14  officers 
and  40  privates  killed,  80  severely  wounded 
and  over  100  captured.  From  Lexington 
Morgan  moved  through  Georgetown  to 
Cynthiana,  where,  after  a short  engage- 
ment, a garrison  400  strong  surrendered. 
Gen.  Hobson,  in  command  of  1,500  men,  on 
his  way  by  cars  to  re-enforce  the  garrison, 
was  met  by  Col.  Giltner  and  held  until  the 
arrival  of  Morgan,  when  his  entire  force  was 
captured. 

While  Morgan  was  thus  moving  from 
point  to  point  capturing  everything  that  came 
in  his  way,  Gen.  Burbridge  reached  Mount 
Sterling,  and  started  at  once  in  pursuit  of 


Morgan.  He  reached  Cynthiana  on  the  12th, 
after  a rapid  march,  and  meeting  Giltner’s 
brigade  first,  on  the  Paris  Road,  engaged  it. 
Morgan  came  up  to  his  support  with  the 
remainder  of  the  division,  but  was  soon 
defeated  and  driven  toward  Augusta.  Col- 
lecting all  the  force  possible  in  a rapid 
retreat,  Morgan  made  the  best  of  his  way  to 
Virginia.  Moving  through  Flemingsburg 
and  West  Libei’ty,  he  passed  over  the 
mountains  and  reached  Abingdon  on  the  20th 
of  June.  In  justice  to  Morgan’s  old 
command  Duke  says;  “On  this  raid  great 
and  inexcusable  excesses  were  committed,  but 
except  in  two  or  three  flagrant  instances  they 
were  committed  by  men  who  had  never  before 
served  with  Gen.  Morgan.  The  men  of  his 
old  division  and  Giltner’s  flue  brigade  were 
rarely  guilty.”  ' — - 

Returning  to  his  old  headquarters  at 
Abingdon,  Va.,  Morgan  collected  a force  of 
some  1,600  men,  and  on  the  28th  of  August 
set  out  for  Jonesboro  to  assume  command  in 
person  for  an  expedition  against  Gen.  Gil- 
lem’s  cavalry  division,  then  posted  at  Bull's 
Gap.  Reaching  Greenville  at  night  he  went 
into  camp,  intending  to  attack  Gillem  the 
next  day.  Morgan  stopped  at  the  house  of 
Mrs.  Williams.  A daughter-in-law,  Mrs. 
Lucy  Williams,  an  ardent  Union  woman, 
determined  to  apprise  Gen.  Gillem  of  the 
presence  of  Morgan,  and  the  position  of  his 
forces.  This  she  did,  riding  through  the 
Confederate  lines  and  on  through  the  dark- 
ness to  Gillem’s  camp,  ten  miles  distant, 
where  she  at  once  communicated  with  that 
officer,  who  lost  no  time  in  putting  his 
command  in  motion  for  Greenville.  Leaving 
Bull’s  Gap  at  midnight,  he  reached  the 
vicinity  of  the  town  before  daybreak,  where, 
his  men  being  thoroughly  conversant  with 
the  topography  of  the  country,  he  succeeded 
in  eluding  Morgan’s  pickets,  and  the  first 
notification  the  latter  had  of  their  presence 
was  given  by  a party  of  100  cavalrymen,  who 
dashed  into  Greenville,  followed  by  Gillem’s 
whole  force.  It  was  the  i^arty  that  came  in 
first  which  rode  at  once  to  Mrs.  Williams’ 
house.  Maj.  Garrett  of  his  staff  and  Gen. 
Morgan  left  the  house  together  and  sought 


463 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


to  make  their  escape,  but  every  avenue  was 
cut  off.  Taking  refuge  in  the  garden  of  the 
house,  Morgan  was  shot  through  the  heart. 

With  the  death  of  their  leader,  this 
sketch  of  the  cavalry  which  bore  his 
name  will  close.  The  long  lines  of  railroad 
connecting  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland 
with  Louisville,  its  base  of  supplies,  were 
the  lawful  prey  of  the  daring  leader  and  his 
I’ough  riders,  while  many  an  outpost,  slum- 
bering in  fancied  security,  were  awakened  at 
unconscionably  early  hours  by  his  summons 
to  surrender.  The  rapidity  of  his  move- 
ments, the  boldness  of  his  attacks  and  the 
audacity  of  his  raids,  will  long  render  his 
name  a household  word  in  his  native  State. 

Recruiting  for  the  Confederate  army  com- 
menced in  Kentucky  before  any  attempt  had 
been  made  on  the  part  of  Union  men  to 
organize  under  the  United  States  flag.  Two 
battalions  under  Cols.  Duncan  and  Pope 
served  under  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  in  the 
Army  of  the  Shenandoah,  at  the  battle  of 
Bull  Run. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1861,  several  hun- 
di’ed  men  repaired  to  Camp  Boone,  at  which 
place  Gen.  Simon  B.  Buckner  had  made  his 
headquarters,  and  enlisted  in  the  army  of  the 
young  Confederacy.  Most  of  these  had 
been  members  of  the  State  Guard,  and  the 
advantages  of  scientific  training  soon  became 
apparent  and  bore  its  legitimate  fruit  in  the 
subsequent  efficiency  of  the  first  (Confeder- 
ate) “Kentucky  Brigade.” 

They  were  organized  into  three  regiments, 
of  infantry  known  as  the  Second  Kentucky, 
Col.  J.  M.  Hawes,  succeeded  soon  after  by 
Col.  Roger  Hanson;  the  Third,  Col.  Lloyd 
Tilghman,  succeeded  by  Col.  Thompson;  and 
the  Fourth,  Col.  Robert  H.  Trabue.  As  re- 
cruits came  in,  two  more  regiments  were 
formed,  the  Fifth,  commanded  by  Col. 
Thomas  Hunt,  and  the  Sixth,  under  Col. 
Joseph  Lewis.  Two  batteries  of  artillery, 
Cobb’s  and  Byrnes’,  were  assigned  to  the 
brigade. 

On  the  14th  of  November,  1861,  Hon. 
John  C.  Breckinridge,  recently  commissioned 
brigadier-general  in  the  Confederate  army, 
was  ordered  by  Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston 


to  duty  in  the  Second  Division,  commanded 
by  Gen.  Buckner,  who  at  once  assigned  him 
to  command  of  the  Kentucky  brigade.  Gen. 
j Breckinridge  assumed  command  on  the  16th 
of  November,  and  with  his  brigade  soon  after 
took  position  at  Oakland  Station  on  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad,  where,  in 
connection  with  Gen.  Hindman’s  brigade,  it 
remained  in  observation  of  the  movements  of 
the  Union  troops  on  the  north  bank  of  Green 
River,  whose  daily  augmenting  strength  ex- 
cited lively  apprehensions  that  a forward 
movement  would  result  in  the  evacuation  of 
Kentucky  by  the  Confederate  army.  Under 
cover  of  these,  brigades,  however,  the  fortifi- 
cations at  Bowling  Green  were  pushed  for- 
ward to  completion,  and  by  the  latter  part  of 
January  they  were  regarded  as  quite  for- 
midable. 

The  flank  movement  by  which  the  position 
at  Bowling  Green  was  turned,  resulting  in 
the  surrender  of  Fort  Donelson  and  the 
evacuation  of  Kentucky,  took  place  in  Feb- 
ruary, and  re  enforcements  being  demanded, 
a portion  of  Buckner’s  division,  in  which  the 
Second  Kentucky  was  included,  moved  to 
Fort  Donelson,  where,  after  a brave  fight, 
it  was  surrendered  to  Gen.  Grant  on  the  16th 
of  February,  and  consequently  took  no 
part  in  the  subsequent  operations  of  the 
brigade  during  the  ensuing  summer. 

In  the  retreat  from  Bowling  Green,  Breck- 
inridge’s brigade  constituted  the  rear  guard, 
and  notwithstanding  the  demoralization  con- 
sequent upon  a retreat  in  presence  of  the 
enemy,  the  Kentucky  brigade,  even  though 
each  hour’s  march  took  it  farther  from  home 
and  kindred,  reached  Nashville  without  the 
loss  of  a man  from  its  ranks.  On  the  I3th  of 
February,  1862,  in  the  midst  of  a driving 
storm  of  rain  and  sleet,  the  brigade  crossed 
1 the  line  into  Tennessee,  while  their  comrades 
of  the  Second  Regiment  were  lying  in  the 
trenches  on  the  right  of  the  line  of  defense 
in  front  of  Fort  Donelson.  Gen.  Hardee 
bivouacked  his  ai’my  in  line  of  battle  on  the 
I night  of  the  15th,  within  ten  miles  of  Nash- 
: ville,  in  anticipation  of  an  order  to  embark 
for  the  relief  of  Donelson,  but  the  morning 
of  the  16th  brought  news  that  chilled  the 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


463 


hopes  of  the  commander,  and  sent  a thrill  of 
despair  to  the  stoutest  heart  in  his  army. 
Fort  Donelson  had  surrendered.  Hardee  at 
once  moved  forward  through  Nashville,  and 
on  the  night  of  the  16th  encamped  on  the 
road  leading  from  Nashville  southward  to 
Murfreesboro,  Tenn.  Here  Johnston’s  army 
was  joined  by  the  forces  under  Gen.  George 
B.  Crittenden,  which  had  retreated  from  Mill 
Springs,  and  the  masterly  retreat  commenced 
that  ended  at  Corinth,  Miss.,  where  a junc- 
tion was  made  with  the  troops  under  Gens. 
Bragg  and  Beauregard,  and  much  needed 
rest  given  to  the  weary  troops. 

On  the  21st,  the  Kentucky  brigade,  under 
its  accomplished  commander,  was  sent  with 
its  battery,  ammunition  and  baggage,  to 
take  position  at  Burnsville,  within  fifteen 
miles  of  Corinth,  where  it  was  soon  after 
joined  by  Statham’s  and  Bowen’s  brigades  of 
Crittenden’s  division.  This  force,  consisting, 
on  the  5th  of  April,  of  7, 211  officers  and  men, 
was  called  the  “ Eeserve  Division.”  and  the 
command  was  assigned  to  Gen.  Breckinridge, 
Col.  Trabue  assuming  command  of  the  Ken- 
tucky brigade. 

At  5 o’clock  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  of 
April,  Gen.  Hardee’s  advance  drove  in  the 
pickets  of  Gen.  Prentiss  at  Shiloh,  and  the 
terrible  battle  began.  The  second  line  of 
battle,  under  Gen.  Bragg,  had  been  pushed 
forward  and  intermingled  with  the  front  line, 
and  Gen.  Breckinridge  being  called  upon  to 
re-enforce  the  left  sent  Col.  Trabue  with  his 
brigade.  During  the  whole  of  that  bloody 
day  the  brigade  sustained  the  reputation  of 
Kentucky  for  martial  spirit. 

The  scene  of  wild  confusion,  that  reigned 
on  Shiloh  battlelield  for  three  hours  after 
the  assault  upon  Prentiss,  was  never  again 
witnessed  by  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee. 
Like  a pack  of  hungry  wolves  upon  a sheep- 
fold  the  yelling  Confederates  closed  upon 
the  Union  camps.  The  air,  sulphurous  with 
the  smoke  of  powder,  was  rent  with  the 
crash  of  musketry,  the  roar  of  artillery,  and 
the  shouts  of  officers  striving  to  make  them- 
selves heard  above  the  din  of  battle,  in  the 
vain  attempt  to  restore  order  to  their  com- 
mands. Wounded  horses,  maddened  with 


pain  and  wild  with  fright,  rushed  across  the 
field  or,  falling  prone  upon  the  ground, 
crushed  their  hapless  riders  beneath  their 
struggling  forms.  To  add  to  the  terror  of 
the  scene,  and  to  convince  even  the  coolest 
and  bravest  of  the  hopelessness  of  the  strug- 
gle, a never  ceasing  column  of  Confederate 
troops,  emerging  from  the  woods,  deployed 
in  constantly  accumulating  force  into  line  of 
battle  in  support  of  those  already  engaged. 

Pressing  forward  over  their  fallen  com- 
rades, closing  the  wide  gaps  torn  in  their  ranks 
by  repeated  volleys  of  artillery  and  musketry, 
yelling  like  demons,  they  seemed  utterly 
reckless  of  the  leaden  hail  that  strewed  the 
ground  with  the  quivering  forms  of  the  dead 
and  dying.  Driven  back  again  and  again, 
they  rushed  forward  to  the  assault  with 
redoubled  fury  after  each  bloody  repulse. 
“ Cheer,  boys,  cheer.  March  away  to  battle,  ” 
sang  the  boys  of  the  Kentucky  brigade,  as 
with  arms  at  “ right  shoulder  shift  ” they 
moved  rapidly  to  the  left  to  take  a hand  in 
the  fray.  Far  away  to  their  right  were  two 
other  Kentucky  regiments,  who  had  covered 
themselves  with  glory,  fighting  under  the 
stars  and  stripes  at  Fort  Donelson,  and  now 
sadly  depleted  in  numbers  under  the  gallant 
McHenry  were  holding  their  ground  in  Hurl- 
hut’s  division  under  a murderous  assault. 
They  were  the  Seventeenth  Kentucky,  com- 
manded by  Lieut.-Col.  A.  M.  Stout,  and  the 
Twenty-fifth,  under  Lieut.-Col.  B.  H.  Bris- 
tow. Both  of  these  officers  were  wounded 
during  the  progress  of  the  battle  while 
bravely  cheering  their  men  in  action. 

It  was  not  the  fate  of  these  contending 
Kentuckians  to  meet  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh. 
Soon  after  entering  the  woods.  Col.  Trabue 
found  the  ground  broken  and  covered  with 
dense  underbrush,  compelling  him  to  move 
cautiously  while  he  covered  his  front  with 
skirmishers.  He  soon  encountered  the  left 
of  Gen.  Shei’man’s  line,  which  had  fallen 
back  to  the  Purdy  Koad,  and  engaging  it 
drove  back  a brigade  and  captured  several 
prisoners  from  a Missouri  Regiment.  On 
his  right  Col.  Tuttle,  with  his  Iowa  brigade, 
in  connection  with  Prentiss  on  his  left,  had 
for  hours  held  the  “Hornet’s  Nest”  against 


464 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


repeated  attacks  from  Gen.  Cheatham,  re- 
enforced by  other  troops. 

Johnston  says:  “ Here,  behind  a dense 
thicket  on  the  crest  of  a hill,  was  posted  a 
strong  force  of  as  hardy  troops  as  ever 
fought.  It  was  nicknamed  by  the  Confeder- 
ates the  ‘ Hornet’s  Nest.’  No  figure  of 
speech  would  be  too  strong  to  express  the 
deadly  peril  of  an  assault  upon  this  natural 
fortress,  whose  inaccessible  barriers  blazed 
for  six  hours  with  sheets  of  dame,  and  whose 
infernal  gates  poured  forth  a murderous 
storm  of  shot  and  shell  and  musket  fire, 
which  no  living  thing  could  quell  or  even 
withstand.  Brigade  after  brigade  was  led 
against  it,  but  valor  was  of  no  avail.  Hind- 
man’s brilliant  brigades,  which  had  swept 
everything  before  them  from  the  field,  were 
shivered  into  fragments  in  the  shock  of  the 
assault  and  paralyzed  for  the  remainder  of 
the  day.  A.  P.  Stewart’s  regiments  made 
further  assaults,  but  only  to  retire  mangled 
and  disheartened.” 

During  all  this  time  Tuttle’s  right  had 
been  “in  the  air,”  with  no  troops  in  sight. 
Gens.  Sherman  and  McClernand  were  separ- 
ated from  him  by  a wide  interval,  and  in 
the  absence  of  the  commanding  general  there 
was  no  one  to  order  the  closing  of  the  gap. 
Through  this  interval  in  the  Union  line 
marched  the  Kentucky  brigade,  and  closing 
to  the  right  cut  off  retreat  in  the  direction  of 
Sherman.  Gen.  Wallace,  who  had  a few 
moments  before  come  to  this  portion  of  his 
line,  at  once  gave  the  order  to  Tuttle  to  fall 
back.  In  the  execution  of  this  order  Wal- 
lace was  killed  and  a portion  of  Tuttle’s 
brigade  captured.  Prentiss’  command  was 
soon  captured,  and  the  division  of  Gen. 
Breckinridge  was  reunited  on  the  ground 
where  the  surrender  of  2,000  Union  troops 
promised  victory  to  the  Confederate  arms. 
The  separate  brigades  had  been  for  horn’s 
fighting  toward  each  other  from  opposite 
ends  of  the  Confederate  line. 

Trabue’s  brigade  formed  the  extreme  left 
of  Bragg’s  line  of  defense  on  the  following 
morning,  when,  after  having  withdrawn  his 
troops  from  the  bluff  overlooking  the  Ten- 
nessee, Beauregard  found  himself  confronted 


by  a fresh  army  of  25,000  men  under  Gen. 
Buell,  and  a division  of  Grant’s  army  newly 
arrived  upon  the  field.  Bragg  says  in  his 
report  “ For  the  gallant  and  obstinate  defense 
of  our  left  flank,  which  the  enemy  constantly 
endeavored  to  force,  we  are  indebted  to  Col. 
Trabue’s  small  brigade  in  support  of  Capt. 
Barne’s  battery.  Against  overwhelming 
numbers  this  gallant  command  maintained 
its  position  from  the  commencement  of  the 
action  until  about  12  o’clock,  when,  our 
forces  on  the  right  falling  back,  it  was  left 
entirely  without  support  far  in  front  of  our 
whole  army.  Safety  required  it  to  retire. 
The  commanding  general  ordered  a retro- 
grade movement,  commencing  on  the  right. 
This  was  gradually  extended  to  the  left,  now 
held  by  Ketcham’s  battery.  The  enemy 
evinced  no  disposition  to  pursue.” 

In  the  subdivision  of  his  department, 
after  the  evacuation  of  Corinth,  Miss. , Gen. 
Bragg  assigned  the  Kentucky  troops  to  the 
district  of  southern  Mississippi  and  east 
Louisiana,  commanded  by  Gen.  Earl  Van 
Dorn.  Baton  Rouge,  La.,  had  been  seized 
and  occupied  by  Gen.  Williams  with  sixregi- 
ments  of  infantry  and  three  batteries  of  ar- 
tillery, and  the  Union  fleet  had  no  sooner 
withdrawn  from  the  bombardment  of  Vicks- 
burg than  Gen.  Van  Dorn  determined  upon 
the  recapture  of  Baton  Rouge. 

Gen.  Breckinridge  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  expedition,  which  consisted 
of  two  divisions  under  Gens.  Clark  and  Bug- 
gies. The  Fourth  and  Fifth  Kentucky  served 
in  the  First,  and  the  Third,  Sixth  and  Seventh 
Kentucky  in  the  Second  Division. 

The  troops  rendezvoused  at  Camp  Moore, 
Miss. , where  they  lost  a number  of  men  from 
disease.  On  the  30th  of  July,  the  column, 
3,000  strong,  commenced  the  march  from 
Camp  Moore.  Unaccustomed  to  the  climate, 
many  of  the  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  troops 
fell  by  the  wayside,  where,  under  a midsum- 
mer sun,  tortured  with  thirst,  they  experi- 
enced the  most  terrible  suffering.  The  col- 
umn pushed  forward,  however,  and  reached 
the  vicinity  of  Baton  Rouge  on  the  morning 
of  the  5th  of  August,  the  ram  “Arkansas” 
having  passed  Bayou  Sara  in  time  to  join  in 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


465 


the  action.  A detachment  of  infantry  with 
Semmes’  battery  was  sent  around  by  the 
Clinton  Road  to  drive  in  the  pickets  and  at- 
tack as  soon  as  firing  opened  in  front.  The 
attack  upon  the  front  was  made  by  Gen. 
Ruggles  with  the  Third,  Sixth  and  Seventh 
Kentucky,  and  Thirty-fifth  Alabama,  in  one 
brigade,  and  three  Louisiana  regiments  in  the 
other,  in  support  of  Semmes’  battery.  Col. 
Thompson,  in  command  of  the  Kentucky 
brigade,  held  his  position  with  great  gallant- 
ry after  the  Louisiana  troops  had  been  driven 
back,  and  pushed  steadily  forward  toward 
the  center  of  the  town.  Col.  Thompson  was 
wounded  early  in  the  action,  and  the  com- 
mand of  the  brigade  devolved  upon  Col. 
Robertson  of  the  Thirty-fifth  Alabama.  Col. 
Hunt  of  the  Fifth  Kentucky  commanded  the 
brigade  in  which  his  own  and  the  Sixth  Ken- 
tucky were  incorporated  and  led  it  with  great 
intrepidity.  On  the  right,  as  on  the  left,  the 
Confederate  line  advanced  steadily  until  after 
several  hours’  fighting  they  were  massed  in  a 
grove  in  rear  of  the  penitentiary,  where  in 
the  heat  of  the  contest  both  Gen.  Clark  and 
Col.  Hunt  fell  severely  wounded.  Capt.  John 
A.  Buckner,  a skillful  officer  of  the  staff  of 
Gen.  Breckinridge,  here  assumed  command 
of  Hunt’s  brigade,  which  began  to  fall  back, 
stubbornly  contesting  the  ground.  In  a few 
minutes,  however,  the  Kentuckians  advanced 
with  a cheer,  supported  by  Smith’s  brigade. 
Thompson’s  brigade,  having  exhausted  its 
ammunition,  had  retired  to  a convenient  rail- 
road cut,  where  reforming  they  were  ordered 
to  charge  with  the  bayonet.  In  executing 
this  order  they  were  met  by  a terrible  storm 
of  shot  and  shell  from  the  gun-boats,  and 
were  withdrawn  after  heavy  loss. 

It  was  now  10  o’clock  A.  M.  The  com- 
manding general  had  listened  in  vain  for  the 
guns  of  the  “Arkansas,”  not  knowing  the  mis- 
fortune that  had  befallen  it.  Not  more  than 
1,000  out  of  2,600  men  remained  in  the  line. 
Tortured  with  thirst  they  obstinately  held 
their  positions  under  fire  from  the  land  bat- 
teries and  gun-boats,  which  had  a raking  fire 
through  the  streets,  waiting  vainly  for  the 
appearance  of  the  ram,  which  was  relied  up- 
on to  sweep  the  river. of  the  Union  gun-boats,  i 


The  suburbs  of  the  town  in  which  the  mil- 
itary camps  were  located  were  in  their  posses- 
sion, and  the  work  of  destroying  camp 
equipage  was  continued  until  late  in  the 
afternoon,  when  information  reached  Gen. 
Breckinridge  that  the  ram  was  lying  help- 
less against  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  when 
he  at  once  retired  with  the  remnant  of  his 
command.  The  attack  was  conducted  with 
spirit  by  the  Confederates,  but  the  Union 
troops,  after  a hotly  contested  fight,  finding 
themselves  outnumbered,  wisely  withdrew 
under  the  cover  of  the  gun  boats,  and  from 
this  coigne  of  vantage  witnessed  the  destruc- 
tion of  their  assailants.  Gen.  Williams  fell 
mortally  wounded  when  the  battle  was  at  its 
fiercest. 

Port  Hudson  was  soon  after  occupied  by 
Gen.  Ruggles,  and  strongly  fortified.  Gen. 
Breckinridge  moved  with  his  division  to 
Jackson,  Miss.  His  command  had  been 
greatly  reduced  by  battle  and  disease  during 
the  ineffectual  attack  upon  Baton  Rouge,  and 
time  was  imperatively  demanded  to  restore 
the  health  of  the  exhausted  troops.  The 
Kentucky  brigade  bore  no  part  in  Bragg’s 
Kentucky  campaign,  but  preceded  his  army 
to  Murfreesboro  a short  time  previous  to  the 
battle  of  Stone  River. 

By  exchange  of  prisoners,  the  Second 
Kentucky,  with  its  gallant  commander,  Col. 
Roger  Hanson,  now  brigadier-general,  was 
restored  to  the  service.  This  regiment,  with 
the  Fourth  under  Col.  Traube,  the  Sixth  un- 
der Col.  Lewis,  and  the  Ninth  under  Col. 
Hunt,  with  Cobb’s  battery,  participated  in 
the  battle  of  Stone  River.  Gen.  Hanson’s 
brigade,  the  Fourth  of  Breckinridge’s  divis- 
ion, occupied  the  extreme  right  of  Bragg’s 
line  in  front  of  Murfreesboro.  In  the  fight 
of  the  31st  of  December,  the  brigade  per- 
formed no  other  service  than  to  hold  its 
position,  which  was  not  attacked,  Gen,  Rose- 
crans  finding  ample  occupation  for  his  troops 
on  the  right  of  his  line. 

About  2 o’clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  2d 
of  January,  Gen.  Bragg  sent  for  Gen  Breck- 
inridge to  come  to  his  headquarters  for  final 
orders  for  an  attack  upon  the  Union  left,  that 
he  had  decided  should  be  made  at  once.  The 

29 


466 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


two  officers  met  near  a large  sycamore  tree 
close  to  the  banks  of  Stone  River  not  far 
from  where  it  is  ci’ossed  by  the  Nashville 
Pike.  Gen.  Breckinridge  was  opposed  to  the 
attack  as  ordered  by  Gen.  Bragg,  and  tried  to 
dissuade  him  from  it,  predicting  disaster,  as 
the  ground  occupied  by  the  main  portion  of 
the  Union  troops  on  the  bluff  on  the  opposite 
bank  of  the  river,  was  considerably  higher 
than  that  over  which  the  attacking  force 
must  march,  and  it  was  possible  for  Rosecrans 
to  mass  artillery  and  sweep  the  whole  field. 
In  urging  his  opinions  he  drew  with  a stick 
on  the  ground  the  position  of  the  contending 
forces.  Considerable  time  was  occupied  in 
the  discussion,  but  Bragg  remained  firm, 
and  finally  ended  the  discussion  by  an 
imperative  command  to  move  at  once  to  the 
attack.  As  Gen.  Breckinridge  rode  for- 
tvard  toward  his  command,  he  met  Gen. 
Preston,  commanding  his  Third  Brigade, 
and  said:  “This  attack  is  made  against 

my  judgment,  and  by  the  special  orders 
of  Gen.  Bragg.  Of  course  we  must  all  do 
our  duty  and  fight  the  best  we  can.  If  it 
should  result  in  disaster,  and  I be  among  the 
slain,  I want  you  to  do  justice  to  my  memory, 
and  tell  the  people  that  I believed  this  move- 
ment to  be  very  unwise,  and  that  I tried  to 
prevent  it.” 

Among  the  regiments  of  Van  Cleve’s  di- 
vision, occupying  the  ground  between  Breck- 
inridge’s advance  and  Stone  River,  were  four 
Kentucky  regiments — the  Ninth,  Col.  B.  C. 
Grider;  the  Eleventh,  Maj.  E.  S.  Motley; 
the  Eighth,  Lieut. -Col.  R.  May,  and  the 
Twenty-first,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  C.  Evans,  the  last 
two  mentioned  in  the  brigade  commanded  by 
that  brave  and  accomplished  soldier.  Col.  S. 
W.  Price.  Promptly  at  4 o’clock  the  artillery 
in  Polk’s  front  gave  the  signal  for  the  attack, 
and  the  movement  began.  Breckinridge’s 
division,  with  bayonets  fixed  and  guns  loaded, 
marched  with  steady  step  to  the  assault. 

Owing  to  irregularities  in  the  ground  the 
lines  of  the  two  front  brigades  were  crowded 
together  at  the  center,  and  when  they  reached 
the  ground  where  Price’s  brigade  was  posted 
in  line,  the  Sixth  and  part  of  the  Second  on 
the  left  of  Hanson’s  brigade  were  entirely 


crowded  out  by  the  river;  whereupon  these 
troops  waded  through  it  and  commenced  the 
ascent  of  the  opposite  bank.  The  line  mov- 
ing rapidly  forward  came  upon  Drury’s  bat- 
tery, under  command  of  Lieut.  Livingston, 
supported  by  the  Eighth  Kentucky  and  the 
Fifty-first  Ohio,  which  gave  it  shell  ahd 
canister  as  fast  as  possible,  but,  finding 
that  with  all  his  efforts  to  break  the  line  it 
continued  to  advance,  he  limbered  up  and 
withdrew  his  battery  across  the  river.  As  the 
guns  withdrew  Hanson’s  men  charged  with  a 
cheer  upon  the  supporting  regiments,  and 
here,  for  the  first  time,  the  Kentucky  Brigade 
met  Kentuckians  in  the  shock  of  battle. 

The  Eighth  Kentucky  and  the  Fifty-first 
Ohio  held  their  ground  so  well  that  Col. 
Gibson,  in  command  of  Adams’  brigade, 
deemed  it  best  to  ride  forward  and  consult 
with  Gen.  Hanson  as  to  when  the  second  line 
should  move  to  his  support.  As  he  ap- 
proached he  saw  the  general  fall  from  his 
horse  with  a mortal  wound.  His  troops 
wavered,  and  Col.  Gibson  instantly  gave  the 
command  to  his  brigade  to  move  forward. 
The  overpowering  strength  of  Breckinridge’s 
division  soon  forced  Van  Cleve’s  division, 
greatly  depleted  in  numbers  by  the  battles  of 
the  two  preceding  days,  to  fall  back  across 
the  river. 

Maj. -Gen.  Thomas  L.  Crittenden,  com- 
manding the  left  wing  of  Rosecrans’  army, 
to  which  this  division  was  attached,  observed 
the  retrograde  movement  from  his  position  on 
the  summit  of  the  bluff  on  the  opposite  bank, 
and  turning  to  his  chief  of  artillery,  Lieut.  - 
Col.  John  Mendenhall,  said,  “Colonel,  can’t 
you  do  something  for  those  fellows?”  “I 
think  so,”  said  Mendenhall,  and,  turning  his 
horse  in  the  direction  of  his  batteries,  lim- 
bered up,  and,  without  orders,  soon  had  fifty- 
four  pieces  of  artillery  playing  upon  the 
Confederate  line. 

The  deafening  roar  of  artillery,  the  hoarse 
shouts  of  officers,  the  shrieks  of  the  wounded, 
and  the  fall  of  branches  torn  from  trees  by 
the  hissing  shells,  formed  a scene  of  wild 
confusion  that  once  witnessed  can  never  be 
forgotten.  There  was  but  one  course  to  pur- 
sue, and  that  was  to  retreat.  The  north  bank 


r-'-  -■  •• 


V 


p.:.\ 


s.;:  ■ 

It'  ■ ■ 


t -'  ■■  - , 

S';  • 


tr'  "■ 


kT"- 


% 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY, 


467 


was  lined  with  a superior  force  ready  to  re- 
ceive them  upon  the  points  of  their  bayonets, 
men  were  being  mowed  down  in  swaths,  the 
bodies  of  the  wounded  were  torn  to  pieces  by 
the  iron  hail  that  nothing  could  withstand, 
and  reluctantly,  yet  in  verification  of  his  own 
prediction,  Gen.  Breckinridge  gave  the  order 
to  retreat.  Meantime  Col.  John  F.  Miller, 
commanding  a brigade  in  Gen.  Negley’s  di- 
vision, had  crossed  the  I’iver  on  the  right  of 
Breckinridge’s  line,  and,  followed  by  the  di- 
vision of  Gen.  Jeff.  C.  Davis  and  other 
troops,  opened  fire  upon  the  retreating  Con- 
federates. The  pursuit  continued  until  dark, 
and  the  field  was  won  by  the  Union  troops. 
Murfreesboro  was  evacuated  on  the  3d,  and 
the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  moved  in  on  the 
following  day. 

At  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  the  Kentucky 
brigade,  under  command  of  Brig.-Gen.  Ben 
Hardin  Helm,  on  the  morning  of  September 
29,  1863,  occupied  the  left  of  Gen.  Breckin- 
ridge’s division,  which  division  held  the  ex- 
treme right  of  Bragg’ s line  of  battle.  Stovall’s 
brigade  was  in  the  center  and  Adams’  on  the 
right.  The  Kentucky  Brigade,  under  com- 
mand of  Gen.  Helm,  was  composed  of  the 
Second  Kentucky,  Col.  J.  W.  Hewitt;  the 
Fourth  Kentucky,  Col.  Joseph  P.  Nuckols; 
the  Sixth  Kentucky,  Col.  J.  H.  Lewis;  the 
Ninth  Kentucky,  Col.  J.  W.  Caldwell,  and 
the  Forty-first  Alabama,  Col.  M.  S.  Stansel. 

The  artillery  brigade  of  this  division  com- 
prised Cobb’s,  McCune’s  and  Slocurab’s  bat- 
teries. 

The  position  of  the  division  was  on  the  left 
of  a country  road  leading  from  Beed’s  bridge 
and  striking  the  Lafayette  and  Chattanooga 
Road  at  Widow  Glen’s  House,  at  which  point 
Gen.  Rosecrans  had  his  headquarters.  Adams’ 
brigade  extended  across  this  road.  The 
country  was  wooded,  and  the  front,  well  pro- 
tected by  a heavy  skirmish  line,  was  parallel 
with  the  Chattanooga  and  Lafayette  Road. 
Opposed,  was  a continuous  line  of  Union 
skirmishers  in  advance  of  the  main  line,  the 
strength  of  which  remained  to  be  tested. 
The  division  formed  a portion  of  the  force 
under  Longstreet,  which  pierced  the  right 
center  of  Rosecrans’  line,  and  contributed  to 


the  disaster  which  compelled  the  Army  of 
the  Cumberland  to  retire  from  the  field. 

Gen.  Breckinridge,  in  his  official  report, 
refers  as  follows  to  the  action  of  the  Ken- 
tucky Brigade; 

At  9:30  A.  M.,  by  order  of  Lieut. -Gen.  Hill,  I 
moved  my  division  forward  in  search  of  the  enemy. 
At  the  distance  of  TOO  yards  we  came  upon  him  in 
force,  and  the  battle  was  opened  by  Helm’s  brigade 
with  great  fury.  The  Second  and  Ninth  Kentucky, 
with  three  companies  of  the  Forty-first  Alabama, 
encountered  the  left  of  a line  of  breastworks  before 
reaching  the  Chattanooga  Road,  and,  though  assail- 
ing them  with  great  courage,  were  compelled  to 
pause.  From  some  cause  the  line  on  my  left  had 
not  advanced  simultaneous!}^  with  my  division,  and 
in  consequence,  from  the  form  of  the  enemy’s 
works,  these  brave  troops  were,  in  addition  to  the 
fire  in  front,  subjected  to  a severe  enfilading  fii-e 
from  the  left.  Twice  they  renewed  the  assault  with 
the  utmost  resolution,  but  were  too  weak  to  storm 
the  position.  The  rest  of  Helm’s  brigade,  in  whose 
front  there  were  no  works,  after  a short  but  sharp 
engagement,  routed  a line  of  the  enemy,  pursued  it 
across  the  Chattanooga  road,  and  captured  a sec- 
tion of  artillery  posted  in  the  center  of  the  road. 
This  portion  of  the  brigade  was  now  brought  under 
a heavy  front  and  enfilading  fire,  and  being  separated 
from  its  left  and  without  support,  I ordered  Col. 
Joseph  H.  Lewis,  of  the  Sixth  Kentucky,  who  suc- 
ceeded to  the  command  upon  the  fall  of  Gen.  Helm, 
to  withdraw  the  troops  some  200  yards  to  the  rear, 
reunite  the  brigade,  and  change  his  front  slightly  to 
meet  the  new  order  of  things  by  throwing  forward 
his  right  and  retiring  his  left.  The  movement  was 
made  without  panic  or  confusion. 

This  was  one  of  the  bloodiest  encounters  of  the 
day.  Here  Gen.  Helm,  ever  ready  for  action,  and 
endeared  to  his  command  by  his  many  virtues,  re- 
ceived a mortal  wound  whilst  in  the  heroic  discharge 
of  his  duty.  Col.  J.  W.  Hewitt,  of  the  Second 
Kentucky,  was  killed,  acting  gallantly  at  the  head 
of  his  regiment.  Capt.  Aston  Maderia,  Capt.  H.  B. 
Rodgers  and  Capt.  Gustavus  Dedman,  of  the  Sec- 
ond; Capt.  P.  V.  Daniel,  of  the  Ninth  Kentucky, 
and  many  other  officers  and  men,  met  their  death 
before  the  enemy’s  works,  while  Col.  Joseph  R. 
Nuckols,  of  the  Fourth  Kentucky;  Col.  J.  W.  Cald- 
well, of  the  Ninth,  and  many  more  officers  and 
men,  were  wounded. 

The  loss  in  Helm’s  brigade  during  the 
two  days’  battle  of  Chickamauga  as  reported 
by  Col.  Lewis  were  63  killed  and  408 
wounded  out  of  an  aggregate  present 
for  duty  of  1,413  officers  and  enlisted  men. 

In  the  assault  upon  the  ridge  held  by 
portions  of  Crittenden’s  corps  re-enforced 
later  by  Granger’s  reserves,  the  division  of 


4G8 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Gen.  William  Preston  bore  a part.  In  the 
Third  Brigade  of  this  division  commanded  by 
Col.  J.  H.  Kelly  was  the  Fifth  Kentucky 
under  Col.  H.  Hawkins.  Between  4 and  5 
o’clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  20th  the 
brigade  moved  forward  to  the  attack.  Col. 
Kelly  reports  the  attack  as  follows: 

Finding  tliat  my  ammunition  was  almost  ex- 
hausted I sent  to  the  rear  for  re-enforcements  or  a 
supply  of  ammunition.  At  this  juncture  I met  Col. 
R.  C.  Trigg,  commanding  brigade,  and  informed 
him  of  the  position  of  the  enemy,  asking  him  at 
the  same  time  to  co-operate  with  me  in  his  capture. 
He  agreed,  and  formed  his  line  on  my  left  with  the 
intention  of  swinging  the  whole  force  to  the  right. 
Just  as  this  movement  was  begun  I was  notified  by 
one  of  his  staff  that  the  brigadier-general  com- 
manding division  wished  to  see  me,  and  I repaired 
at  once  to  where  he  was  stationed  in  the  field. 
During  this  temporary  absence  the  enemy  surren- 
dered to  Col.  Trigg.  Immediately  after  the  sur- 
render a force,  supposed  to  be  of  the  enemy,  opened 
a heavy  fire,  which  created  considerable  confusion, 
in  which  a large  number  of  the  enemy  were  mak- 
ing off.  Col.  H.  Hawkins,  Fifth  Kentucky,  here 
captured  249  prisoners,  including  two  colonels, 
one  lieutenant-colonel  and  a number  of  company 
officers. 

Pursuant  to  an  act  of  the  Confederate 
congress  granting  medals  and  badges  of 
distinction  as  a reward  for  courage  and  good 
conduct  on  the  field  of  battle  the  following 
soldiers  of  the  Kentucky  regiments  were 
selected  by  their  comrades  in  arms: 

Second  Regiment  of  Infantry. — Private,  Ben- 
jamin F.  Parker,  Company  A;  Corporal,  Mornix 
Virden,  Company  B;  Private,  John  Conley,  Com- 
pany C;  Corporal,  Frank  B.  Buckner,  Company 
D;  Sergeant.  William  Frazee,  Company  E; 
Sergeant,  Henry  Fritz,  Company  F;  Private,  Louis 
H.  Paradoe,  Company  G;  Private,  Oscar  Hackley 
Company  I;  Private,  Prank  Taylor,  Company  K. 

Fourth  Regiment  of  Infantry. — Lieutenant,  B. 
T.  Smith,*  Company  A;  Lieutenant,  John  L. 
Bell,*  Company  K;  Sergeant,  R.  H.  Lindsey  (color- 
bearer),  Company  D;  Corpoi-al,  Ephraim  R.  Smith, 
Company  A;  Private,  John  McCreery,  Company  B; 
Private,  John  R.  Brinkley,  Company  C;  Private, 
Thomas  H.  Covington,*  Company  D;  Private, 
William  J.  Watkins,  Company  E;  Private,  Freld- 
ing  Skeggs,  Company  F;  Private,  Alexander 
Smith,  Company  G;  Private,  William  N.  Ballard, 
Company  H;  Private,  JohnH.  Blanchard,  Company 
I;  Private,  Mathias  Garrett,  Company  K. 

Fifth  Regiment  of  Infantry. — Lieutenant-Col- 
onel, George  W.  Connor;  Adjutant,  Thomas  B. 
Cook;  Captain,  T.  J.  Henry,  Company  C; 

*KiJled  in  action. 


Captain,  Joseph  Desha,  Company  I;  Private,  Frank 
II.  Hasank,  Company  A;  Private,  Samuel  South, 
Company  B;  Private,  Richard  Yarbrough,  Com- 
pany E;  Sergeant,  F.  W.  Campbell,  Company  F; 
Private,  Winlock  N.  Shelton,  Company  K. 

Companies  C,  D,  and  I declined  making  selec- 
tions. 

Sixth  Regiment  of  Infantry. — Second  Lieutenant, 
James  H.  Cole,  Company  G;  Private,  Marcellus 
S.  Mathews,  Company  D;  Private,  H.  Lowber, 
Company  A;  Private,  Henry  Haman,  Company 
H;  Private,  John  Hinton,  Company  B;  Sergeant, 
F.  P.  Randle,  Company  I. 

Companies  C,  E,  and  G declined  making  selec- 
tions. 

Ninth  Regiment  of  Infantry. — Corporal,  John 
L.  Dunn  (since  dead).  Company  A;  Corporal,  John 
W.  Carrell,  Company  D;  Private,  Norborn  G. 
Gray,  Company  B;  Corporal,  Nathan  Board  (since 
dead).  Company  G;  Private,  Andrew  J.  Kirtley, 
Co.  C.  Other  selections  declined. 

At  Missionary  Ridge  the  Kentucky  brigade 
formed  a part  of  the  force  with  which  Gen. 
Cleburne  repulsed  the  pei’sistent  attacks  made 
by  Gen.  Sherman  on  the  right  of  Gen.  Bragg’s 
line.  When  finally  the  attack  by  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland  swept  the  left  and  center 
from  the  crest  of  the  ridge, Cleburne  fell  back, 
covering  the  rear  of  the  retreating  army  on 
its  march  to  Dalton.  No  casualties  occurred 
in  the  brigade,  but  the  loss  of  Cobb’s  battery, 
which  was  left  with  Bates’  division  when  the 
brigade  was  detached  and  sent  to  the  right, 
was  a serious  disaster.  The  two  armies  sep- 
arated by  Rocky  Face  Ridge  went  into  winter 
quarters  with  little  disposition  on  either  side 
to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  other. 

The  forward  movement  of  Sherman’s  army 
in  May  called  the  Kentucky  Brigade  into 
action.  It  was  stationed  to  the  right  of  Buz- 
zard Roost  Gap,  and,  while  the  Fourth  Corps 
occupied  the  opposite  slope,  the  brigade  moved 
about  from  point  to  point,  skirmishing  and 
sharpshooting,  until  the  night  of  the  12th  of 
May,  when  it  marched  to  Resaca  and  took 
part  in  the  battle  on  the  15th.  The  brigade 
suffered  a loss  of  forty  in  killed  and  wounded 
during  this  battle,  having  borne  the  brunt  of 
the  attack  upon  Bates’  division.  At  New 
Hope  Church,  on  the  27th,  Gen.  Lewis,  in 
command  of  two  regiments  of  his  brigade, 
supported  by  two  Tennessee  regiments, 
charged  a heavy  line  of  Union  skirmishers  on 
the  right  of  the  Atlanta  road  and  defeated 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


469 


them  with  slight  loss.  On  the  following  day 
the  Kentuckians  made  a desperate  charge,  in 
which  many  of  the  most  gallant  officers  and 
soldiers  in  the  command  were  killed,  while  a 
large  number  of  wounded  were  taken  prisoners. 

On  the  20th  of  June,  in  front  of  Kenesaw, 
an  attack  was  made  upon  the  line  occupied 
by  Gens.  Lewis  and  Gist,  which  resulted  in 
driving  them  back,  when  both  commanders 
made  a counter  charge  to  recapture  the  works, 
but  failed  to  cax’ry  them.  The  brigade  par- 
ticipated in  the  fight  at  Peachtree  Creek,  but 
met  its  severest  loss  on  the  22d  of  July,  when 
135  of  its  best  and  bravest  men  were  killed 
and  wounded.  The  brigade  was  constantly 
on  duty  in  the  various  battles  and  skirmishes 
between  the  contending  forces  until  the  last 
of  August,  when  Sherman’s  movement  around 
Atlanta  caused  Bates’  division  to  be  ordered 
to  East  Point.  The  Kentucky  Brigade  was 
detached  and  sent  to  Jonesboro,  where  it  par- 
ticipated in  the  attack  and  bloody  repulse  of 
Hood’s  army,  on  the  30th  of  August.  In 
this  action  the  loss  in  the  brigade  was  severe 
in  killed,  wounded  and  missing.  On  the  1st 
of  September,  the  brigade  suffered  a loss  of 
200  in  prisoners,  and  on  the  next  day  formed 
a part  of  the  line  drawn  up  by  Gen.  Hood  at 
Lovejoy’s  Station,  which  Sherman  declined  to 
attack. 

The  campaign  had  been  very  severe  upon 
the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  probably  few 
brigades  suffered  heavier  losses  in  killed, 
wounded  and  missing  than  the  Kentucky 
Brigade.  The  5,000  with  which  the  regi- 
ments of  the  brigade  entered  the  service,  h’ad 
dwindled  to  120  officers  and  1,120  enlisted 
men  in  May,  1864.  The  Atlanta  campaign 
closed  with  but  278  men  in  the  ranks. 

In  conformity  with  an  often  expressed 
wish  by  the  men  of  the  brigade,  an  order  was 


issued  at  department  headquarters  authoriz- 
ing Gen.  Lewis  to  mount  his  brigade,  and, 
in  accordance  with  this  order,  the  command 
marched  to  Barnesville,  where  200  horses 
were  obtained.  The  brigade  began  at  once 
to  increase  in  numbers;  200  captured  at 
Jonesboro  were  exchanged  and  joined  the 
brigade;  wounded  men  came  hobbling  into 
camp  and  by  the  19th  the  aggregate  swelled 
to  about  900,  200  of  whom,  however,  were 
never  mounted.  The  next  two  months  were 
spent  in  constant  scouting,  and  on  the  ad- 
vance of  Sherman’s  army  in  November,  the 
brigade  joined  Gen.  Wheeler  in  harassing 
the  army  of  Gen.  Sherman,  as,  under  the  lead 
of  the  great  commander,  it  marched  down 
to  the  sea. 

At  Savannah  the  brigade  was  dismounted 
by  order  of  Gen.  Hardee  and  placed  in  the 
works,  where  spurs  and  sabers  were  thrown 
aside,  and,  with  their  trusty  Enfields,the  men 
resumed  their  infantry  tactics.  On  the  evac- 
uation of  the  city  the  brigade  was  again 
mounted,  and  performed  arduous  service  in 
South  Carolina  until  the  surrender  of  the 
two  main  armies  of  Lee  and  Johnston. 

Edward  Porter  Thompson,  from  whose 
interesting  “History  of  the  First  Kentucky 
Brigade,”  much  of  the  foregoing  sketch  has 
been  compiled,  says:  “After  it  was  definitely 
ascertained  that  the  armies  under  Lee  and 
Johnston  had  surrendered,  Gen.  Lewis  pro- 
ceeded to  Washington,  Ga.,  where  he 
was  met  by  Gen.  Wilson’s  provost-marshal, 
prepared  to  receive  surrender  of  such  troops 
as  should  report  at  that  point.  The  arms 
were  laid  by  on  the  afternoon  of  Saturday, 
May  6,  1865.  Paroles  were  received,  the 
survivors  of  many  trials  and  many  conflicts 
separated,  and  the  Fii'st  Kentucky  Brigade 
as  an  organization  was  no  more.  ” 


CUSTOM  HOUSE,  COVINGTON,  KV. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


47a 


OHAPTEE  XIX. 


PEACE  PROBLEMS,  RECONSTRUCTION,  ETC.,  ETC. 


The  surrender  at  Appomattox  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  end,  and  the  surrender 
of  Oen.  Johnston,  which  followed  shortly 
after,  virtually  closed  the  war.  The  dawn  of 
peace  found  Kentucky  in  a less  deplorable 
condition  than  most  of  the  Southern  States. 
Affairs  here,  however,  were  bad  enough.  The 
State  was  overrun  with  guerrillas,  whose  dep- 
redations were  confined  to  no  particular  class 
of  victims,  but  who  preyed  upon  all  coming 
in  their  way  with  the  same  relentless  cruelty. 
These  robber  bands  were  independent  of  any 
military  organization,  and  acknowledged  alle- 
giance to  neither  Federal  nor  Confederate  gov- 
ernment. Many  of  them  had  never  seen  regular 
military  service,  but  had  banded  together  for 
the  purposes  of  pillage  and  the  gratification 
of  revenge  upon  actual  or  imagined  enemies. 
Toward  the  close  of  1864,  there  was  scarcely 
a county  in  Kentucky  wholly  free  from  their 
predatory  incursions,  and  to  such  an  extent 
did  they  carry  their  outrages,  as  to  evoke 
summary  action  on  the  part  of  the  State  gov- 
ernment, and  arouse  in  the  army  a bitter 
spirit  of  revenge.  Known  guerrillas  captured 
by  regular  soldiers,  in  a majority  of  cases, 
met  with  a short  shrift.  If  honest  soldiers 
were  sometimes  mistaken  for  these  outlaws, 
and  caused  to  suffer  as  such,  it  was  one  of  the 
misfortunes  of  war,  and  directly  attributable 
to  guerrilla  indignities.  The  condition  of 
the  State  at  that  time  may  be  compared  with 
that  which  came  with  the  “Thirty  years’ 
war  in  Germany,”  and  the  latter  stages  of 
the  war  between  king  and  parliament  in 
England.  The  ravages  of  these  outlaw  bands 
continued  until  the  establishment  of  peace- 
But  with  the  final  suppression  of  guerrilla 
warfare,  the  general  state  of  society  still  was 


anything  but  tranquil.  Says  a writer  of  that 
period: 

By  the  1st  of  July,  1865,  the  State  was  so  secured 
in  its  position  that  with  perfect  safety  the  Federal 
troops  could  have  been  withdrawn,  and  the  civil 
government  left  to  go  its  appointed  way.  This  was, 
unhappily,  not  to  be.  The  armies  came  home,  and 
went  again  to  their  fields  and  firesides,  or,  where 
these  were  no  more,  began  again  to  create  for  them- 
selves places  in  the  world.  There  were  no  better 
and  more  peaceful  citizens  than  the  veterans  of  the 
two  armies,  and  no  relations  were  ever  more  friendly 
than  those  between  the  men  who  learned  to  respect 
each  other’s  manliness  in  a war  that  tried  them  well. 
Yet  it  suited  the  purposes  of  a political  body  that 
had  fattened  on  the  system  of  passes  and  permits, 
and  the  other  profitable  complications  of  the  civil 
war,  to  maintain  in  time  of  peace  a system  that  had 
its  only  justification  in  the  hard  conditions  of  war, 
if  it  can  find  any  justification  at  all. 

If  Lincoln  had  survived,  we  may  well  believe 
that  his  admirable  good  sense,  which  enabled  him 
to  help  his  native  State  wherever  he  could  see  her 
trouble,  would  have  removed  these  barriers  to  the 
tide  of  peace  and  good  will  that  came  like  a fiood 
upon  the  people.  His  death  and  his  replacement  by 
a cheap  and  small-minded  man  brought  on  the  last 
and  most  painful  stage  of  the  struggle,  that  in  which 
a disarmed  and  war-worn  people  were  driven  to  fight 
for  the  elementary  rights  of  good  government  against 
the  tyrannous  exactions  of  a political  junta  which 
was  insensible  to  the  nobility  of  the  victory. 

Fortunately  for  Kentucky  it  was  not  possible  for 
the  party  in  power  to  sink  the  State  to  the  depths  of 
degradation  into  which  all  the  rebellious  States  were 
at  once  plunged.  There  was  no  valid  pretense  at 
hand  for  overthrowing  the  machinery  of  the  State 
government,  though  there  was  every  evidence  of  a de- 
sire to  do  so.  Her  sufferings  were  trifling  compared 
with  those  of  the  States  in  that  hell  on  earth,  the 
reconstructed  South;  still,  as  we  shall  see,  even  Ken- 
tucky had  a time  of  purgatorial  existence,  which 
delayed  the  period  of  quiet,  and  left  a mass  of  pain- 
ful memories  that  will  hardly  ever  be  forgotten. 

The  August  election  of  1865  showed 
something  of  the  existing  state  of  affairs. 
The  election  was  for  congressmen,  memljers 


474 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


of  the  legislature  and  State  treasurer.  To 
the  latter  office  James  H.  Garrard  was  elect- 
ed over  his  opponent,  William  L.  Neale, 
by  a small  majority.  Garrard  represented 
the  Conservative  party,  and  Neale  the 
Radical  party.  Five  Conservative  and  four 
Radical  members  of  congress  were  elect- 
ed; twenty  Conservatives  and  eighteen  Rad- 
icals were  elected  to  the  State  senate,  and 
sixty  Conservatives  and  forty  Radicals  to  the 
house  of  representatives.  There  was  “very 
serious  interference  in  many  counties  with  the 
election  by  the  military.  In  some  cases  sol- 
diers prevented  voters  from  going  near  the 
polls,  and  in  others  arrested  and  took  them 
off  to  prison.  In  Lexington  ‘ citizens  stood  in 
front  of  the  polls,  and  indicated  to  the  sol- 
diers those  who  were  not  entitled  to  vote, 
and  all  thus  pointed  out  were  not  allowed  to 
present  themselves  to  the  judges,’  so  tele- 
graphed the  sheriff,  W.  W.  Dowden,  to  Gov. 
Bramlette.  Negro  soldiers  were  sent  as 
guardians  of  the  polls  in  several  precincts  in 
Mercer  County.  * * * In 

Campbell  County  the  board  of  contested  elec- 
tions decided  that  on  August  7th  ‘ there  was 
such  an  interference  at  the  different  voting 
places,  by  armed  soldiers,  who  so  governed 
and  controlled  the  elections  as  to  render  it 
invalid,  null  and  void,’  they  judged  Thomas 
Jones,  the  incumbent,  not  lawfully  elected 
clerk  of  the  circuit  court,  and  declared  the 
office  vacant.  * * * 

The  grand  jury  of  Powell  County  indicted 
Henry  C.  Lilly,  senator-elect,  and  John  N. 
B.  Hardwick,  county  judge,  for  obstructing 
the  freedom  of  elections.”'* 

The  vote  for  State  treasurer  stood:  for 
Mr.  Garrard,  the  Conservative  candidate, 
42,187  to  42,082  for  the  Radical  candidate,  a 
vote,  the  smallness  of  which  shows  that  the 
ex-Confederate  element  did  not  vote.  Interfer- 
ence with  elections  were  not  the  only  indig- 
nities the  people  of  the  State  suffered. 
Nearly  every  form  of  civil  life  was  more  or 
less  disturbed.  An  example  is  found  in  the 
case  of  Rev.  Lorenzo  D.  Huston,  pastor  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (South)  in 
Newport.  He  was  imprisoned  because  he 


had  opposed  the  proposition  of  the  Ken- 
tucky conference  withdrawing  from  the  gen- 
i eral  conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South,  in  order  to  join  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  the  United  States.  He 
was  detained  in  confinement  until  October, 
1865,  without  trial,  and  was  finally  liberated 
by  order  of  Gen.  Grant,  “requiring  his  im- 
mediate and  unconditional  release.”  The 
war  was  over  and  peace  established,  but  mar- 
tial law  still  prevailed  in  Kentucky.  “Every 
petty  officer  commanding  a post,  ” says  a 
wi’iter,  “had  summary  jurisdiction  over  the 
persons  of  the  people,  which  he  could  exer- 
cise to  gratify  private  malice  or  to  increase 
his  sense  of  personal  importance.”  The 
long  continuation  of  martial  law  in  Ken- 
tucky is  thus  explained  in  the  political 
history  of  that  stormy  time: 

The  Republican  party  secured  substantial  con- 
trol of  the  other  border  States,  while  Kentucky, 
though  she  had  been  the  only  one  of  the  slave- 
holding States  that  had  shown  a very  decided 
loyalty  to  the  Federal  cause,  had  eluded  all  efforts 
of  the  Republican  leaders  to  cajole  or  coerce  her 
into  its  fold.  They  chose  to  assume  that  Kentucky 
was  at  this  time  disloyal,  hostility  to  their  party  and 
disloyalty  being  then,  to  their  minds,  synonymous 
terms,  xit  this  time  he  Republican  party  was 
principally  in  the  control  of  men  who  had  no 
knowledge  of  the  war,  no  sympathy  with  its  suffer- 
ings or  its  nobler  emotions.  They  had  received 
gi-eat  political,  and  often  great  pecuniary,  profit 
from  its  events.  Unhesitatingly  they  stigmatized 
as  disloyal  the  commonwealth  which  had  given  as 
large  a share  of  its  life  and  treasure  to  maintain  the 
Union  as  any  other  State,  which  had  borne  patiently 
and  unflinchingly  the  most  grevious  burdens  of  the 
struggle,  and  had  in  fact  clung  more  closely  to  the 
traditions  of  the  Union  than  any  other  part  of 
the  country. 

All  this  is  quite  true.  While  Kentucky 
was  not  desolated  like  some  of  the  more  ex- 
treme southern  States,  yet  lying  as  it  did, 
on  the  dividing  line  between  North  and 
South,  it  was  exposed  to  the  fire  of  both 
sides,  and  suffered  from  the  indignities  of 
both  armies.  Not  the  least  of  its  troubles 
and  perils  were  in  the  numerous  raids  made 
through  every  part  of  the  State,  as  already 
noticed,  by  the  squads  of  guerrillas  who 
claimed  to  belong  either  to  the  Federal  or 
Confederate  cause,  but,  who,  in  reality,  were 
only  robbers  and  freebooters,  subject  to  no 


*CoUins’  History,  Vol.  I,  p.  163. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


475 


military  laws  or  control.  Both  governments 
disowned  these  lawless  gangs,  but  that  did 
not  put  a stop  to  their  outrages,  which  were 
perpetrated  almost  daily  during  the  last  year 
or  two  of  the  war. 

The  Freedman’s  Bureau,  one  of  the  most 
offensive  engines  of  reconstruction  to  the 
white  people  of  Kentucky,  and  of  the  whole 
south,  and,  as  it  eventually  proved,  a curse 
to  the  colored  people,  developed  new  evils, 
and  that  too,  of  a most  exasperating  type. 
There  never  was  any  necessity  for  the  Freed- 
man’s Bureau  in  Kentucky,  however  much  its 
operation,  may  have  been  needed  in  those 
States  that  had  been  in  rebellion.  Its  organ- 
ization here  was  but  another  of  the  indigni- 
ties heaped  upon  a loyal  State  that  “ had 
given  as  large  a share  of  its  life  and  treasure 
to  maintain  the  Union  as  any  other  State.” 
Its  first  indignity  was  committed  under  a 
recent  act  of  congress,  which  provided  that 
the  wives  and  children  of  negro  soldiers 
should  be  free.  As  this  was  prior  to  the 
adoption  of  the  constitutional  amendments 
upon  the  subject  of  slavery,  or  the  freedom 
of  the  slaves,  its  gross  injustice  is  seen  at  a 
glance — the  injustice  of  depriving  people  of 
their  property  without  due  process  of  law. 
The  families  of  Kentucky  colored  soldiers 
comprised  thousands  of  women  and  childen, 
and  the  Freedman’s  Bureau  undertook  to 
compel  their  owners  to  pay  them  wages  for 
all  the  time  that  had  elapsed  since  the  enlist- 
ment of  their  fathers  and  husbands.  Of 
course  this  brought  confusion,  and  produced 
serious  difficulties;  it  caused  numerous  suits 
to  be  filed  against  slave  owners,  and  entailed 
upon  them  endless  annoyances.  The  Hon. 
Garrett  Davis,  United  States  senator  from 
Kentucky,  and  one  of  the  most  unconditional 
and  unswerving  Union  men  of  the  State  dur- 
ing the  war,  was  the  first  victim  of  this  spe- 
cies of  prosecution.  A suit  was  brought 
against  him  for  wages  of  former  slaves,  and 
many  other  suits  of  a similar  character  were 
instituted  against  other  citizens  of  the  com- 
monwealth. These  suits,  however,  amounted 
to  nothing,  except  to  still  further  exasperate 
the  people,  and  indeed,  this  seems  to  have 
been  the  original  intention  of  them.  The 


following  upon  negro  testimony  in  the  courts 
is  to  the  point; 

The  last  important  problem  left  by  the  war  was 
the  question  of  negro  testimony  in  the  courts.  The 
old  slavery  laws  of  Kentucky  limited  the  testimony 
of  the  negro  in  many  ways;  white  men  could  not  be 
convicted  of  grave  crime  by  their  evidence.  These 
laws  should  have  been  at  once  repealed,  and  it  is  to 
the  discredit  of  the  State  that  they  remained  upon 
the  statute  books  until  1873.  There  is,  however, 
some  excuse  for  this  delay.  The  Freedman's  Bureau 
had  constituted  itself  the  keepers  of  the  whole  negro 
population,  and  had  in  an  unfortunate  way  removed 
them  from  the  control  of  the  ordinary  civil  law  of 
the  State.  To  the  appeal  for  the  abrogation  of  the 
statute  the  people  answered:  “Do  away  with  this 
interference  with  the  negroes,  and  we  will  give  them 
equal  position  before  the  law.”  When,  in  1873,  the 
end  of  this  system  of  supervision  of  the  negro  popu- 
lation bj''  the  Freedman's  Bureau  was  abandoned, 
the  resistance  to  the  complete  assimilation  of  the 
negro  with  the  white  race  in  all  matters  of  the  law 
came  about.  The  negro  has  been  found  to  be  a 
very  trustworthy  witness,  and  none  regret  his  full 
i admission  to  the  courts. 

The  negro,  it  is  an  indisputable  fact,  was 
the  great  question  involved  in  the  civil  war. 
His  emancipation  from  slavery  entailed  a 
heavy  pecuniary  loss  to  the  people  of  the 
State,  and  yet,  when  his  freedom  was  brought 
about,  society  felt  the  relief  of  a patient, 
whose  life  is  saved  at  the  expense  of  a limb. 
Slavery  had  become  somewhat  unprofitable, 
and  was  yearly  growing  more  so,  to  an  extent 
more  marked  in  Kentucky  than  in  the  far 
South.  The  institution  was  hedged  about  by 
humanizing  conditions  and  laws  of  Kentucky 
that  were  unknown  in  the  cotton  and  sugar- 
growing States;  black  labor,  considering  the 
total  capital  involved  and  the  small  returns 
received,  was  growing  unprofitable  in  a rapid 
ratio,  while  the  vast  iiTeducible  expense  of 
the  institution,  the  growing  impoverished 
condition  of  the  land,  and  its  utter  lack  of 
adaptability  to  other  pursuits,  rendered  ruin 
near  and  inevitable.  And  so,  while  the  oppo- 
sition to  emancipation  was  unanimous  and  de- 
termined, when  once  it  was  effected  the  relief 
was  immediately  apparent  and  rejoiced  in. 
The  agricultural  system  has  been  greatly  im- 
proved under  the  new  order  of  things,  farm 
labor  is  more  profitable,  the  dominant  class 
is  more  enterprising  and  vigorous,  and  the 
old  slave  caste  is  now  broken  down  and  the 


476 


HISTOEY  or  KENTUCKY. 


last  vestiges  of  it  fast  disappearing.  The 
conditions  effected  by  this  radical  change 
have  been  met  with  a creditable  spirit  by 
both  races.  Freedom  found  the  negroes 
destitute  of  everything  but  the  meager  cloth- 
ing in  their  possession.  A number  antici- 
pated the  final  abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
border  States  by  going  into  the  army,  but 
those  who  remained  found  themselves  wholly 
improvided  and  without  resources.  In  this 
condition  the  greatest  misery  might  have  fol- 
lowed had  the  masters  cherished  a vindictive 
spirit.  A few  of  the  liberated  slaves  tried 
their  new  found  wings  only  to  fail  utterly  in 
their  first  flight,  and  begged  to  be  taken  back 
on  the  old  place.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that 
the  physical  condition  of  the  freedmen  for 
the  first  year  or  two  was  worse  than  during 
the  period  of  slavery  (and  with  many  it  is 
still  worse),  but  the  masters,  partly  through 
sympathy  and  partly  because  they  needed 
them,  allowed  their  former  slaves  to  remain. 
There  was  no  necessity  for  so  great  a number, 
however,  and  many  found  it  to  their  interest 
to  emigrate  to  Kansas  and  elsewhere.  Those 
who  remained  found  ready  employment  and 
considerate  treatment  generally.  Many  are 
doing  well,  making  a good  living  and  educat- 
ing their  children,  many  are  doing  but  little 
better  than  under  the  old  regime,  and  some 
are  doing  Avorse. 

The  freeing  of  a large  number  of  ignorant 
negroes,  whose  whole  training  taught  them 
to  lie,  pilfer,  to  live  improvidently  and  un- 
chaste, has  imposed  upon  society  a heavy 
burden  of  responsibility.  Twenty  years  have 
passed  since  the  war  which  set  them  free, 
but  society  has  not  yet  adjusted  itself  com- 
pletely to  the  new  order  of  things.  Neither 
race  adequately  appreciate  the  full  extent  of 
the  change  that  has  been  wrought,  and  the 
responsibilities  which  it  imposes  upon  each. 
The  negroes,  trained  to  an  utter  disregard  of 
personal  character  in  themselves,  have  not 
yet  learned  that  this  must  now  be  cultivated. 
The  whites  fail  in  the  same  respect.  Negroes 
convicted  of  felony  lose  caste  with  neither 
race,  and  find  employment  at  the  hands  of 
the  whites  as  readily  as  the  honest  black. 
Women  notoriously  unchaste  are  employed 


by  the  whites  as  cooks  or  servants,  and  lose 
no-  standing  in  colored  society.  This  fatal 
lack  of  self-respect  is  encouraged  by  the 
heedless  action  of  the  whites,  and  so  long  as 
it  exists  is  a menace  against  society,  and  a 
successful  hindrance  to  the  elevation  of  the 
race.  Education  to  such  a people  is  a dan- 
gerous power,  and  religion  a sham,  and  yet, 
nothing  but  education,  liberal,  practical 
education,  will  ever  raise  the  colored  people 
to  the  standard  of  respectable  citizenship. 
It  is  the  duty  of  every  good  citizen  to  heart- 
ily co-operate  with  well-directed  effort  to  this 
end,  and  with  better  methods,  backed  by  such 
co-operation,  much  may  be  done  for  the  bet- 
terment of  this  helpless  ward  of  the  nation. 

The  indignities  perpetrated  upon  the  peo- 
ple by  the  Freedman’s  Bureau,  as  might 
naturally  have  been  expected,  produced  re- 
sults inimical  to  good  order.  It  bred  a spirit 
of  lawlessness  that  culminated  in  1866  in  the 
distui’bances  of  the  Ku  Klux  Klan.  This 
secret  tribunal,  whose  name  became  as  terri- 
ble almost  as  that  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition 
or  the  Holy  Vehme  of  Germany  in  the  mid- 
dle ages,  was  common  to  the  whole  South, 
but  its  acts  were  fewer  and  less  serious  in 
Kentucky.  The  motives  for  its  organization 
and  the  results  of  its  existence,  have  been 
discussed  by  a prominent  author,*  as  follows: 

The  sudden  closing  of  the  war  left  a considerable 
amount  of  social  rubbish  within  the  State,  both 
white  and  black.  The  negroes,  as  a rule,  behaved 
exceedingly  well  in  their  unaccustomed  condition, 
accepting  their  new  lot  of  citizenship  in  an  excellent 
spirit;  but  a portion  of  them,  especially  those  who 
had  been  employed  in  the  army  as  teamsters  and  as 
camp  servants,  proved  very  troublesome.  Nearly 
the  whole  of  this  part  of  the  negro  people  had  gath- 
ered into  small  separate  settlements  away  from  their 
original  homes,  and  were  under  the  influence  of 
a bad  class  of  white  leaders.  This  demoralized 
condition  of  the  lower  classes  of  blacks  led  to  a 
large  amount  of  stealing;  no  farmer  could  keep  his 
sheep  or  pigs  from  their  furtive  hands;  usually  the 
thieving  was  not  accompanied  by  violence,  but  in 
some  cases  the  trouble  was  more  serious.  In  many 
counties  the  negroes  organized  themselves  into 
marauding  bands;  there  were  a number  of  outrages 
upon  women,  an  offense  that  had  always  been  par- 
ticularly abhorrent  to  the  people  of  Kentucky,  and 
which  they  have  always  visited  with  condign  pun- 
ishment when  the  perpetrators  could  be  found.  In 

*American  Commonwealths,  p,  369. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


477 


its  beginning,  at  least  in  Kentucky,  the  Ku  Klux 
Klan  was  probably  designed  to  restrain  and  punish 
these  transgressions.  It  doubtless  did  in  the  outset 
certain  rude  acts  of  justice.  Its  cheap  mystic  ac- 
companiments were  certainly  well  designed  to 
strike  terror  to  the  superstitious  blacks.  When  it 
had  accomplished  the  little  good  that  was  possible 
to  a system  so  fundamentally  evil,  it  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  most  wretched  class  of  the  population,  j 
the  very  element  it  was  designed  to  overthrow,  and 
became  a great  curse  to  society.  For  a time  the 
organization  defied  the  civil  law;  the  secrecy  of  its  [ 
action  and  the  terrorism  exercised  on  witnesses,  | 
made  it  impossible  to  apply  adequate  punishment  ! 
through  the  courts. 

Beginning  in  1866,  this  evil  system  continued  in 
intermittent  action  until  1873.  Like  most  social 
evils  in  a vigorous  State,  this  system  finally  brought 
about  its  own  remedy.  For  years  the  country  folk 
tolerated  the  outrages  for  the  profit  the}'  brought  to 
them;  their  pigs  were  safer  even  if  the  common  peo- 
ple of  the  realm  did  sutler  a bit.  The  old  dislike 
of  lawlessness,  common  to  well  organized  societies, 
was  lessened  by  the  long  time  of  strife.  For  sev- 
eral years  the  Ku  Klux  vented  its  outrages  upon  the 
essentially  criminal  class;  the  rough  justice  of  many 
of  their  actions  made  the  mass  of  the  people  pardon 
their  worst  crimes.  Finally,  there  came  a general 
sense  that  they  were  going  too  far,  and  that  they 
should  no  longer  be  tolerated.  When  this  feeling 
became  general  they  were  speedily  crushed  out.  With 
the  Ku  Klux  disappeared  the  last  remnant  of  the 
greater  ills  that  came  in  the  train  of  the  war.  Re- 
garding, then,  the  Ku  Klux  system  and  the  Freed- 
men's  Bureau  as  the  closing  evils  of  the  war,  we 
may  accept  1873  as  the  last  year  of  that  great  revo 
lution  which  began  in  1860,  moved  swiftly  to  the 
state  of  war,  raged  for  four  years  with  a fury  of 
thought,  words  and  actions  unequaled  in  any  strug- 
gle of  the  race,  and  then  for  eight  years  left  its 
wreckage  to  trouble  men  weary  with  the  nobler  part 
of  their  great  abor. 

That  part  of  the  development  of  Kentucky, 
which  can  be  in  any  proper  sense  termed  historic, 
ended  in  1873  with  the  sweeping  away  of  the  last 
cloud  left  by  the  war;  all  the  rest  of  its  life  is  still 
in  the  process  of  evolution.  Before  we  turn  to  con- 
sider the  present  condition  of  the  State,  let  us  bring 
before  our  minds  the  outline  of  these  years  of  rapid 
change  through  which  this  people  had  just  passed. 
In  1860,  when,  after  infinite  debate,  Kentucky  slowly 
came  to  the  remarkable  resolution  that  she  would 
bar  her  doors  to  the  great  storm  that  was  about  to 
move  heaven  and  earth  about  her,  the  common- 
wealth was  still  a mediteval  society  in  all  its  essen- 
tial qualities;  the  institution  of  slavery  had  acted 
like  a pickle  to  preserve  unchanged  much  of  the 
notions  that  belonged  in  other  centuries  of  the 
race’s  life.  Her  very  resolution  to  stand  aloof  in  a 
war  in  which  the  nineteenth  century  fought  against 
the  seventeenth,  shows  that  the  people,  despite  an 


I intense  interest  in  politics,  had  not  come  to  a point 
I of  view  whence  they  could  see  where  their  social 
life  stood  in  the  world.  They  were  as  much  out  of 
the  world  of  their  day  as  if  they  had  been  shut  in 
on  every  side  by  mountain  heights;  a clean-blooded, 
land-loving,  fairly  thrifty  lot,  they  had,  through 
their  activities,  not  suffered  any  of  the  degradation 
that  comes  to  other  races  from  their  connection 
with  slaves. 

Kentucky  suffered  less,  as  stated,  than  her 
sister  States  of  the  south,  but  the  “shock 
to  the  commonwealth,  arising  from  the  con- 
joined loss  of  life  and  property,  defies 
expression  in  words,  nor  do  the  ordinary 
accidents  of  society  supply  any  analogy.” 
Her  loss  of  property  was  proportionately  as 
great  as  the  loss  of  life  among  her  soldiers. 
In  1860  the  slave  property  of  Kentucky  was 
estimated  at  over  8100,000,000.  This,  in 
1865,  had  disappeared,  and  other  elements  of 
wealth  had  greatly  diminished.  Describing 
the  condition  of  the  State  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  it  was  said  that,  “although  the  war  as 
carried  on  in  Kentucky  had  been,  on  the 
whole,  a singularly  decent  struggle,  the 
actual  destruction  of  property  was  very  large. 
Nearly  all  the  live  stock  was  swept  away.  A 
considerable  part  of  the  houses  had  been 
burned;  fences  were  gone,  and  the  forest, 
quick  to  recover  its  grasp  on  the  rich  soil, 
had  changed  vast  districts  of  fertile  fields 
into  thickets  that  had  to  be  re-won  to  the 
plow.  * * ^ * 

When  a city  is  burned  its  men  remain; 
a commercial  crisis  destroys  neither  the 
men  nor  the  productive  power  of  a State; 
a pestilence  leaves  the  real  property  un- 
touched; but  the  destruction  of  a long  con- 
tinued civil  war  is  a thing  by  itself  combin- 
ing all  the  evils  which  an  ordinary  society 
can  suffer,  and  adds  to  those  a new  element 
of  ruin  in  the  overthrow  of  the  precious 
trust  in  civil  government.’" 

After  the  close  of  the  war  political  parties 
in  Kentucky  were  reorganized  on  new  lines. 
The  extreme  to  which  the  “civil  rights” 
had  been  carried,  disgust  at  the  emancipation 
of  the  slaves,  the  irritation  resulting  from 
the  acts  of  the  Freedmen’s  Bureau,  and 
other  proceedings  “hostile  to  the  govern- 
mental integrity  of  the  State,”  all  combined 


478 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


to  make  Kentucky  an  overwhelmingly  Demo- 
cratic State.  Pertinent  to  the  subject  is  the 
following: 

Perhaps  the  most  satisfactoiy  feature  in  the 
close  of  the  civil  war  was  the  reall}^  quick  restora- 
tion of  the  civil  order  in  the  State  and  the  perfect 
reunion  of  the  divided  people.  The  prompt  and 
complete  abrogation  of  the  severe  penalties  laid 
upon  the  Confederate  soldiers  and  sympathizers, 
greatly  contributed  to  this  speed}"  return  to  the 
conditions  of  peace.  In  this  course  the  people  of 
Kentucky  set  an  excellent  hut  unheeded  example 
to  the  Federal  government.  By  this  action  they 
avoided  all  risks  of  having  a large  i^art  of  their  citi- 
zens parted  in  spirit  from  the  life  and  work  of  the 
commonwealth.  This  reconciliation  was  helped  by 
the  fact  that  both  Federals  and  Confederates  had 
played  a manl}"  part  in  the  struggle.  Not  only  had 
the  soldiers  in  both  parties  shown  themselves  to  be 
brave  and  manly  men  in  the  field,  but  the  Kentucky 
troops  on  both  sides  had  done  all  in  their  power 
to  make  war  decent  and  honorable,  and  to  lighten 
its  burdens  on  non-combatants.  They  could  wear 
their  laurels  and  live  their  lives  together  without 
shame.  What  was  left  of  the  40,000  who  went 
away  into  the  southern  service,  came  back  to  their 
place  in  the  State  sadder  and  wiser  men,  yet  the 
better  citizens  for  their  dearly  bought  experience. 
We  search  in  vain  for  any  evidence  of  hatred  or 
even  dislike  among  these  men  who  were  lately  in 
arms  against  each  other.  In  all  the  walks  of  life, 
in  the  courts  and  in  the  legislature,  as  well  as  in  the 
relations  of  kindred,  we  find  these  old  enemies 
going  together  to  their  work  of  repairing  the  ruin 
that  war  had  brought  on  the  State — fighting  at 
times  their  battles  over  again  in  good-natured  talk, 
but  each  dearer  to  the  other  for  the  fearful  parting 
of  the  war. 

The  session  of  the  legislature  of  1865-66 
repealed  the  laws  that  disfranchised  Confed- 
erate soldiers.  An  act  had  been  passed, 
during  the  war,  consigning  to  the  peniten- 
tiary those  Confederate  soldiers  who  had  in- 
vaded the  State.  This  act  was  repealed  by  a 
vote  of  twenty-one  to  fifteen  in  the  senate, 
and  sixty-two  to  thirty-three  in  the  house. 
By  a similar  vote  the  expatriation  act  was 
repealed,  as  were  all  other  laws  which  had 
been  passed  to  “disqualify  or  punish  persons 
for  sympathy  with  the  rebellion.”  The  re- 
turned Confederate  soldiers  comprised  a 
large  and  valuable  portion  of  the  male  popu- 
lation of  the  State,  and  their  restoration  to 
citizenship  was  an  act  of  wisdom  on  the  part 
of  the  legislature.  “The  dangers  arising 
from  the  animosities  of  the  war,”  says  one  j 


versed  in  the  politics  of  the  time,  “ were  at 
once  done  away  with,  and  the  breaches  that 
were  made  in  the  society  of  the  rebellious 
States  by  the  continued  disfranchisement  of 
its  citizens  were  avoided.  It  was  an  abso- 
lutely safe  measure,  considered  even  from 
the  point  of  view  of  Federal  politics.  The 
experience  of  the  Confederate  soldiers  in  the 
years  gone  by  had  destroyed  all  desire  of 
I’esistance  to  the  Federal  authority.  It  is 
doubtful  if  these  men  had  been  polled  after 
their  return  to  Kentucky  whether  they  would 
have  voted  for  a peaceable  secession  of  the 
Confederate  States.  The  problem  of  seces- 
sion had  been  worked  out  to  the  end;  the  re- 
sult was  generally  accepted  by  the  soldiers  of 
the  Confederacy  as  final.  To  have  maintained 
the  isolation  of  these  returned  Confederates 
would  have  been  an  act  of  political  madness, 
and  in  receiving  them  in  friendliness,  the 
State  of  Kentucky  did  an  act  that  unfortu- 
nately was  not  imitated  by  the  Federal  gov- 
ernment. When,  in  the  centuries  to  come, 
the  historian  looks  over  the  graves  of  all 
those  who  took  part  in  the  civil  wai’,  and 
sees  their  acts  cleared  of  the  cloud  of  preju- 
dice that  even  now  envelops  them,  we  must 
believe  that  these  acts  of  reconciliation  will 
stand  forth  as  the  noblest  features  in  the 
history  of  this  commonwealth.  He  will  see 
in  them  the  best  possible  evidence  of  the 
civil  strength,  of  the  State  making  and  State 
preserving  power,  of  this  people.  He  will 
certainly  note  the  fact  that  the  Union  party 
in  a border  State,  where  passions  were  in- 
furiated in  the  presence  of  immediate  war, 
had  a higher  element  of  reason  in  their 
action  than  was  found  in  the  whole  Federal 
Union,  the  greater  and  dominant  part  of 
which  saw  nothing  of  war  except  in  the 
mind’s  eye.” 

At  the  August  election  in  1867  there  were 
three  tickets  presented  to  the  voters  of  the 
commonwealth,  viz. : ’’Democratic,”  “Conser- 
vative Union,”  and  “Union”  or  “Eepublican.” 

I John  L.  Helm,  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
governor,  and  John  W.  Stevenson,  the  Demo- 
cratic candidate  for  lieutenant-governor,  were 
elected,  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  over 
William  B.  Kinkead  and  Harrison  Taylor, 


HISTORY  OF  IFEHTUCKY. 


479 


Conservative  Union, and  Sidney  M.  Barnes  and 
E.  T.  Baker,  Union  Republican.  John  Rod- 
man,  Democrat,  was  elected  attorney-gen- 
eral over  Gen.  John  M.  Harlan  (now  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States)  and  Col. 
John  Mason  Brown;  Col.  D.  Howard  Smith, 
Democrat,  was  elected  auditor,  over  Col.  J. 
S.  Hurtt  and  Silas  Adams;  James  W.  Tate, 
Democrat,  was  elected  treasurer  over  Alfred 
Allen  and  M.  J.  Roark;  James  A.  Dawson, 
Democrat,  was  elected  register  of  the  land 
office  over  Col.  J.  J.  Craddock  and  J.  M. 
Fidler;  Z.  F.  Smith,  Democrat,  was  elected 
superintendent  of  public  instruction  over  Ben- 
jamin M.  Harney  and  Rev.  Daniel  Stevenson. 
The  legislature  bore  the  following  complex- 
ion: Senate,  twenty-eight  Democrats,  three 
Union  Democrats,  and  seven  Union  Repub- 
licans; house  of  representatives,  eighty- five 
Democrats,  five  Union  Democrats,  and  ten 
Union  Republicans.  This  shows  pretty  con- 
clusively how  strongly  Democratic  the  State 
had  become  under  the  policy  of  reconstruction. 
Gov.  Helm  was  lying  very  ill  at  his  home  in 
Elizabethtown  when  the  election  came  off. 
He  never  recovered,  but  died  on  the  8th  of 
September  following.  He  had  been  inaugur- 
ated governor  on  the  3d,  at  Elizabethtown, 
being  too  ill  to  go  to  Frankfort.  Lieut.-Gov. 
Stevenson  was  inaugurated  governor,  as  the 
successor  of  Mr.  Helm,  on  the  13th  of  Sep- 
tember. In  August,  1868,  Mr.  Stevenson  was 
duly  elected  governor,  a special  election  hav- 
ing been  called,  over  R.  T.  Baker,  receiving 
115, 560  votes,  to  26,605  for  Baker,  Republican. 

In  the  presidential  election  this  year  Hora- 
tio Seymour’  carried  Kentucky  by  a vote  of 
115,889  to  39,566  for  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  the 
Republican  candidate.  Gen.  Grant  was  elected 
president  by  a majority  of  134  electoral  votes. 
Nine  Democratic  congressmen  were  elected 
in  Kentucky.  The  Eighth  Congressional 
District  gave  Gen.  Grant  1,259  popular  major- 
ity, but  notwithstanding  elected  a demo- 
cratic congressmen.  Four  years  later  (1872), 
the  presidential  candidates  were  Horace 
Greeley  and  Gen.  Grant,  with  a fifth  wheel  to 
the  political  wagon,  entitled  Charles  O’Conor. 
The  vote  of  Kentucky  was  as  follows:  Horace 
Greeley,  nominee  of  the  Democratic  party, 


100,212;  Gen.  Grant,  Republican,  88,816: 
Charles  O’Conor,  Bourbon  Democrat,  2,374; 
Greeley  over  Grant,  11,396  majority.  A full 
Democratic  delegation  was  elected  to  congress. 
Two  years  previously  (in  1870),  Kentucky 
elected  a Democratic  delegation  to  congress. 
With  the  exception  of  one  or  two  districts, 
Kentucky  has  ever  since  elected  Democrats  to 
congress ; also  to  State  offices. 

In  the  State  election  of  1871,  Preston  H. 
Leslie,  the  Democratic  candidate,  was  elected 
governor  over  Gen.  John  M.  Harlan,  by  a vote 
of  126,455  to  89,299.  By  similar  majorities 
the  Democrats  elected  John  Rodman,  attoi’ney- 
general;  D.  Howard  Smith,  auditor;  James 
W.  Tate,  treasurer;  J.  A.  Grant,  register  of 
the  land  office;  Rev.  H.  A.  M.  Henderson, 
superintendent  of  public  instruction.  To 
the  State  senate  thirty-five  Democrats  and 
three  Republicans  were  elected,  and  eighty- 
two  Democrats  and  eighteen  Republicans  to 
the  house  of  representatives.  In  1875  James 
B.McCreery  was  elected  governor  by  the  Demo- 
crats; in  1879,  Dr.  Luke  P.  Blackburn  was 
elected  governor,  and  in  1883,  J.  Proctor 
Knott,  the  present  executive,  was  elected  by 
the  usual  Democratic  majority. 

The  presidential  election  of  1876  will  long 
be  remembered  in  Kentucky,  as  well  as  in  na- 
tional histoi’y.  The  cry  of  fraud  attaching 
to  it,  and  the  excitement  aroused,  will  not  be 
forgotten  for  generations  to  come.  From  a 
Democratic  standpoint,  the  popular  vote  stood: 
Samuel  J.  Tilden,  4,300,590;  Rutherford  B. 
Hayes,  4,036,298,  a popular  Democratic  ma- 
jority of  264,292.  The  elections  of  South 
Carolina,  Louisiana  and  Florida  were  contest- 
ed, and  in  the  final  settlement  of  the 
contest  the  result  arrived  at  presented 
some  novel  facts,  the  most  important  of 
which  were  majorities  for  the  Republi- 
can national  ticket,  and  for  the  Demo- 
cratic State  ticket.  Years  hence  it  may  be  a 
matter  of  interest  to  know  how  this  (noto- 
rious) election  was  finally  settled.'  As  both 
parties  claimed  South  Carolina,  Louisiana 
and  Florida,  congress  passed  an  act  provid- 
ing for  an  electoral  commission  to  pass  upon 
all  matters  in  dispute,  the  decision  to  be  final. 
This  commission  was  composed  of  five  sena- 


480 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


tors,  five  representatives  and  five  justices  of 
the  supreme  court.  The  senate  selected 
George  F.  Edmunds,  Oliver  P.  Morton,  Fi’ed- 
erick  T.  Frelinghuysen  (Republicans),  Allen 
G.  Thui’man  and  Thomas  F.  Bayard  (Demo- 
crats). The  house  of  representatives  chose 
Eppa  Hunton,  Henry  B.  Payne,  Josiah  E. 
Abbott  (Democrats),  James  A.  Garfield  and 
George  F.  Hoar  (Republicans).  Four  jus- 
tices of  the  supreme  court  designated  by  the 
act,  were'  Nathan  Clifford  and  Stephen  J. 
Field  (Democrats),  and  William  Strong  and 
Samriel  F.  Miller  (Republicans).  They  chose 
as  the  fifth  justice  Joseph  P.  Bradley,  a Re- 
publican. The  natural  choice  would  have 
been  David  Davis,  but  he  had  been  elected  a 
senator  from  Illinois  only  five  days  before. 
The  commission  divided  in  voting  on  the 
main  issues  on  a party  line,  the  eight  Repub- 
licans overruling  the  seven  Democrats,  and 
the  result  was  the  admission  of  the  Repub- 
lican electoral  votes  from  the  States  in  contest 
and  the  seating  of  the  Republican  candi- 
dates.* 

As  finally  counted,  the  electoral  vote  was 
as  follows;  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jer- 
sey, Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  West 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  Texas,  Arkansas,  Missouri,  Ten- 
nessee, Kentucky,  Indiana — 184  votes  for 
Tilden  and  Hendricks.  Main,  New  Hamp- 
shire, Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island, 
Pennsylvania,  South  Carolina,  Florida, 
Louisiana,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wiscon- 
sin, Minnesota,  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Kansas, 
Colorado,  Nevada,  California,  Oregon — 185 
votes  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler,  a majority  of 
one  electoral  vote.  Had  the  three  States, 
South  Carolina,  Florida  and  Louisiana, 
claimed  for  Tilden,  been  given  him,  he  would 
have  had  a majority  of  thirty-nine  votes  in 
the  electoral  college. 

The  presidential  campaign  of  1880  placed 
four  tickets  before  the  voters  of  the  country, 
viz.:  James  A.  Garfield  and  Chester  A.  Ar- 
thur, Republicans;  Gen.  Winfield  S.  Han- 
cock and  William  E.  English,  Democrats; 
James  B.  Weaver,  Greenbacker;  and  Gen. 
Neal  Dow,  Prohibitionist.  The  vote  in  the 

*History  of  Presidential  Campaigns,  by  Edward  Stanwood. 


electoral  college  was  214  for  Garfield  and 
Arthur,  and  155  for  Hancock  and  English. 
In  1884  the  Democratic  party  triumphed,  and 
elected  Grover  Cleveland  and  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks,  president  and  vice-president,  over 
James  G.  Blaine  and  John  A.  Logan,  Repub- 
licans. 

The  progress  of  public  education  in  Ken- 
tucky since  the  close  of  the  war  far  exceeds 
that  of  any  other  period  in  the  history  of  the 
State.  But  its  system  of  public  schools,  as 
compared  with  those  of  the  northern  and 
western  States,  is  still  lamentably  deficient. 
One  reason  for  this  has  been  the  unfortunate 
pride  of  caste  which  prevailed  among  the 
southern  people — to  a greater  extent  prior  to 
the  war  than  now — and  which  led  to  the  or- 
ganization and  support  of  hundreds  of  semi- 
naries, academies,  and  other  high  grade 
schools.  These  educational  institutions  were 
established  mainly  by  private  enterprise,  and 
for  pecuniary  advantages  to  the  projectors. 
They  have  greatly  retarded  the  growth  of  the 
public  schools  and  the  cause  of  public  educa- 
tion, and  the  majority  of  them,  though  re- 
joicing in  the  high-sounding  name  of  “col- 
leges,” are  as  incapable  of  giving  the  pupil  a 
collegiate  education  as  the  ordinary  graded 
school  of  a country  village — more  so  than  the 
graded  public  school  of  a northern  or  west- 
ern village  of  1,000  inhabitants.  Since  the 
war,  however,  the  people  are  growing  out  of 
this  foolish  idea  of  caste,  and  it  is  to  their 
credit  that  it  is  so.  The  late  superintendent 
of  public  instruction.  Rev.  Mr.  Henderson, 
very  pertinently  said; 

Ten  years  ago,  a man  in  the  blue  grass  country, 
worth  $10,000,  would  as  soon  have  thought  of  send- 
ing his  children  to  the  poor-house  as  to  the  public 
school.  The  public  school  was  generally  regarded 
as  a charity,  devised  for  the  education  of  paupers, 
but  not  to  be  countenanced  by  the  rich,  save  as  a 
benefaction  to  the  poor.  The  schools  were  common 
in  the  sense  of  low,  vulgar  and  inferior.  The  very 
accent  with  which  the  adjective  was  pronounced, 
indicated  the  contempt  in  which  men  of  means 
regarded  it.  But  our  citizens  have  now  learned  to 
regard  it  as  common,  in  the  sense  of  a community 
of  interest,  as  the  laws  are  common,  the  common 
law;  as  the  State  is  common,  the  commonwealth, 
etc.  Now  the  idea  of  conferring  a benefit  upon  the 
indigent  has^given  place  to  the  trae  one,  namely,  to 
prepare  citizens  for  the  intelligent  exercise  of  their 


HISTORY  OF  KEYTUCIFY. 


4S1 


suffrages,  and  to  protect  society  from  the  penalties 
of  ignorance. 

The  public  schools,  form  the  true  founda- 
tion of  our  educational  system.  Colleges  and 
universities  are  proper  in  their  place,  and 
should  be  carefully  fostered  and  liberally  en- 
dowed. They  are  essential  to  a higher  edu- 
cation, and  we  could  no  more  dispense  with 
them  than  with  any  other  branch  of  educa- 
tion, or  of  the  government.  But  the  public 
schools,  schools  for  the  education  of  the 
masses,  should  be  equally  fostered.  “With 
what  scrupulous  care,”  says  a zealous  friend 
of  public  education,  “ does  England  foster 
her  great  universities  for  the  training  of  the 
sons  of  the  nobility,  for  their  places  in 
the  house  of  lords,  in  the  army,  navy  and 
church.  What,  then,  should  be  the  character 
of  citizenship  in  a country  where  every  man 
is  born  a king  and  sovereign,  heir  to  all  the 
franchises  and  trusts  of  the  State  and  repub- 


MODEEN  COUNTRY  SCHOOLHOUSE. 

lie?  An  ignorant  people  can  be  governed, 
but  only  an  intelligent  and  educated  people 
can  govern  themselves.” 

The  interest  being  manifested  of  late  years, 
in  the  public  schools,  is  ample  proof  of  the 
intellectual  developement  of  the  State,  under 
the  new  order  of  things  brought  about  by  the 
war.  Illustrative  of  their  increasing  popu- 
larity, is  the  following  extract  from  the  State 
superintendent’s  report,  a few  years  ago: 

The  wealthiest  counties  are  becoming  the  best 
friends  of  the  public  schools,  and  tax  payers  are 
voting  levies  upon  themselves  to  improve  their 
quality,  and  extend  their  terms.  Half  a million 
dollars  are  annually  raised,  by  the  election  of  the 


people,  to  supplement  the  public  bonus.  Tasteful 
and  comfortable  schoolhouses  are  fast  taking  the 
places  of  those  old  shams  and  shames,  in  which  the 
children  of  the  poor  erstwhile  were  corraled.  Eight- 
een hundred  have  been  built  within  the  last  eight 
years.  A home  supply  of  teachers,  furnished  from 
our  best  young  men  and  women,  are  taking  the 
place  of  impecunious  tramps  and  shiftless  natives. 
The  system  is  no  longer  an  infirmary  for  the  lame 
and  halt  and  feeble,  incompetents  to  be  provided  for, 
no  more  are  pensioned  upon  the  bounty  afforded  by 
the  school  fund.  It  is  not  now  a “ stepping  stone  ” 
to  professions,  a temporary  expedient,  accepted 
until  something  better  turns  up  or  is  turned  up. 
Men  and  women  among  us  are  choosing  it  for  their 
life  w'ork,  and  emulating  each  other  in  their  aspira- 
tions and  achievements  of  a profession  which  con- 
fers honor,  and  whose  prizes  are  to  be  coveted,  and 
whose  badges  are  to  be  worn  with  pride.  Cities 
and  towns  vie  with  each  other  in  maintaining 
graded  schools  better  than  our  average  western  col- 
leges, with  their  half-starved  faculties.  School  ex- 
aminations and  teachers’  institutes  have  become 
occasions  looked  forward  to  with  anticipations  of 
pleasure,  and  enjoyed  as  feasts  of  soul.  Communi- 
ties bid  for  these  convocations,  and  rival  each  other 
in  the  tender  of  hospitalities  to  their  members.  At 
these  sessions  teachers  take  on  power  and  inspira- 
tion for  practical  work,  when  they  return  to  their 
school-rooms,  loaded  with  valuable  suggestions  and 
methods.  Discriminating  patrons  witness  the  exer. 
cises,  to  determine  who  among  the  instructors  is 
best  fitted  for  the  post  of  district  teacher.  Citizens 
crowd  to  the  polls  to  elect  the  officers  of  the  system, 
and  men  are  aspiring  for  the  dignities  of  the  trust- 
ees office.  Aspirants  for  the  county  commissioner- 
ship  are  as  eager  for  its  honors  as  candidates  for 
county  judgeships.  Calls  for  the  superintendent 
are  loud  and  frequent  from  every  part  of  the  State. 

He  who  fails  to  see  these  tokens  of  interest  is 
wilfully  and  wmntonly  blind.  These  and  other 
signs  of  the  times  argue  that  an  auspicious  period  is 
at  hand,  when  the  benefits  of  education  will  crush 
out  ignorance,  and  intelligence  hold  the  ballots  that 
fall  in  the  nation’s  urn  of  fate.  The  importance  of 
our  common  school  system  is  apparent,  when  it  is 
remembered  that  there  are  only  35,000  pupils  in  aU 
the  universities,  colleges,  seminaries  and  private 
academies  of  our  State,  while  a quarter  of  a million 
of  children  flock  to  our  7,000  public  schools.  In 
‘half  the  counties  no  schools  are  taught  but  common 
schools.  In  some  of  our  counties  of  wealth  and  re- 
finement, the  public  schools  have  absorbed  all  private 
educational  enterprises,  because  co-operative  effort 
furnishes  a superior  quality  of  education.  If  our 
colleges  decline  in  the  number  of  matriculates,  the 
cause  is  not  to  be  found  in  diminished  interest  in 
education,  but  in  the  fact  that  our  public  schools 
are  affording  at  home  advantages  formerly  sought 
abroad. 

This  is  but  proof  of  the  advance  made  by 

30 


482 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  State  in  educational  development  since 
the  close  of  the  war.  This  intellectual  ad- 
vancement is  still  increasing  and  improving 
every  year.  And  there  is  still  room  for 
further  improvements.  Education  alone  will 
stop  the  lawlessness  that  stalks  abroad  in 
some  portions  of  the  State.  The  refining  in- 
fluence of  a good  school  upon  the  society  of 
any  neighborhood,  hitherto  without  one,  has 
never  failed  to  show  happy  effects.  But  a 
few  years  ago  official  statistics  showed  that 
Kentucky  had  40,000  white  voters  who  could 
not  read.  Add  to  this  the  negro  voters,  esti- 
mated at  55,000,  but  few  of  whom  can  read, 
and  the  majority  of  whom  are  far  more  igno- 
rant than  the  illiterate  whites,  and  we  have 
95,000,  nearly  one- third  of  the  entire  elector- 
al population  of  the  State,  who  are  “ ignor- 
ant of  the  very  means  by  which  to  acquaint 
themselves  with  the  merits  of  the  questions 
submitted  for  their  decision  at  the  polls.” 
Let  this  mass  of  ignorance  increase  until  it 
rises  into  a majority,  and  what  will  be  the 
result?  It  requires  no  prophet  to  foretell 
the  doom  of  the  State  in  such  an  event.  This 
ignorance  must  and  will  increase  if  left  to 
itself,  without  State  encouragement  for  its 
own  improvement.  Citizenship  can  only  be 
improved,  lawlessness  lessened,  and  intem- 
perance driven  from  the  community  by  edu- 
cation, and  the  sooner  the  people  awake  to 
this  fact,  the  better  it  will  be  for  the  credit  and 
prosperity  of  the  commonwealth.  Competent 
legislation  is  required,  and,  if  need  be,  a re- 
organization of  the  entire  school  system.  “It 
is  a singular  phenomenon,”  says  Mr.  Collins, 
“ of  the  history  of  the  internal  economy  of 
our  State  for  seventy  years,  that  our  main 
attempts  at  internal  improvement  and  public 
education,  at  State  expense,  and  under  State 
superintendence,  have  been  embarrassed  or 
defeated,  almost  wholly  by  the  misdirection 
and  mismanagement  of  incompetent  legisla- 
tion.” There  is  too  much  truth  in  this  to 
gainsay.  If  the  average  legislator  has  not 
been  criminally  neglectful,  he  has  certainly 
been  lamentably  indifferent  to  legislation  for 
the  benefit  and  improvement  of  public  edu- 
cation. 

The  colored  schools  are  increasing  in  im- 


portance each  year.  It  is  highly  commenda- 
ble in  the  colored  people  that  they  evince  so 
great  an  interest  and  enthusiasm  in  the 
cause  of  education,  and  proves  that  they  are 
desii’ous  of  improving  themselves,  and  of 
becoming  good  and  respectable  citizens.  In 
some  sections  of  the  State  they  are  taking 
really  more  interest  in  the  public  schools 
than  the  whites.  Said  Mr.  Henderson,  in 
one  of  his  annual  reports  as  State  superinten- 
dent: “ Their  system  has  more  than  met 

the  expectation  of  its  projectors  and  friends, 
and  is  rapidly,  by  gratifying  development, 
disappointing  the  prophesies  and  hopes  of 
its  enemies.  The  colored  people  are  now 
taking  hold  of  it  with  that  enthusiasm  and 
earnestness  so  characteristic  of  the  race,  when 
their  interests  are  at  stake,  and  their  claims 
to  notice  recognized  by  authority.  They  are 
exhibiting  a most  commendable  zeal  in  sup- 
plementing the  fund,  and  are  really  doing 
more  to  make  the  most  of  the  opportunities 
tendered  them  by  the  State,  than  the 
whites.  ” 

The  colored  people  receive  a school  fund 
direct  from  the  State,  to  which  is  added  the 
taxes  paid  by  themselves.  In  some  localities 
they  have  built  comfortable  houses;  in  the 
city  of  Louisville,  and  in  some  of  the  other 
larger  cities  of  the  State,  their  school  build- 
ings compare  favorably  with  those  of  the 
whites,  and  they  are  supplied  with  teachers 
well  qualified  for  the  stations  they  fill.  A 
gratifying  fact,  in  connection  with  the  educa- 
tion of  the  colored  people,  is  the  interest  in 
the  matter,  “manifested  by  representative 
white  men  throughout  the  State,  and  their 
earnest  disapproval  of  the  policy  of  bitter  an- 
tagonism of  those  who  still  cherish  hereditary 
prejudice,  instead  of  rising  to  the  level  of 
an  intelligence  which  respects  the  issues  that 
the  changed  relations  of  this  race  have 
introduced  into  the  policies  of  the  State.” 
The  negroes  are  now  all  freemen,  but  their 
future,  without  education,  would  be  little  bet- 
ter than  actual  slavery.  The  older  ones, 
who  were  brought  up  and  educated  to  work, 
are  rapidly  passing  away,  while  a new  gener- 
ation is  coming  on — reared  without  restraints, 
and  to  look  upon  work  as  one  of  the  relics 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY, 


483 


of  slavery.  For  these  there  is  no  hope  but 
in  education.  The  following  may  be  a little 
severe,  but  is  not  wholly  without  truth: 

The  greatest  crime  of  the  century  was  the  sud- 
den enfranchisement  of  4,000,000  of  unlettered  Afri- 
cans. Those  who  perpetrated  this  outrage  upon 
our  republican  institutions,  did  it  in  the  face  of  all 
the  social  science  they  had  propagated.  The  North 
had  emphasized  the  doctrine,  that  “virtue  and 
intelligence  are  essential  to  the  perpetuity  of  the 
republic;”  and  yet,  in  an  ill  advised  hour  of  heated 
passion,  rendered  hot  by  the  fires  of  civil  war,  they 
made  a horde  of  ignorant  slaves  the  peers  of  their 
intelligent  masters,  and  thus  provided  the  condi- 


origin  back  to  1855 — a time  when  it  required 
an  indomitable  will  and  unbounded  courage 
to  establish  such  a school  in  a slave-holding 
State.  It  may,  in  some  degree,  be  termed 
an  offshoot  of  Oberlin  College,  Ohio,  as  the 
lirst  teachers,  employed  in  the  Berea  School, 
William  E.  Lincoln  and  Otis  B.  Waters,  were 
students  who  had  been  educated  at  that  insti- 
tution. It  was  the  cause  of  much  excite- 
ment throughout  the  suiTounding  country, 
and  more  or  less  mob  violence  was  exercised 
against  the  zealous  founders  of  the  school, 


tion  that  prostrated  the  South,  and  subjected  its 
people  to  the  most  destroying  despotism  that  ever 
ground  into  the  dust  a free  citizenship.  The  only 
indemnity  for  this  stupendous  wrong  is  their  educa- 
tion at  the  national  expense.  To  require  the  people 
they  impoverished  by  this  act  of  folly  to  bear  the 
burden  of  their  education,  would  be  a continued 
piece  of  injustice,  which  no  political  casuistry  can 
justify,  no  species  of  sophistry  disguise,  and  no 
maudlin  philanthrophy  dignify  with  a decent 
apology. 

Berea  College  is  a liberal  educational  insti- 
tution located  in  Madison  County,  and  is 
open  to  the  education  of  the  colored  people 
on  equal  terms  with  the  whites.  It  dates  its 


and  also  the  church  which  had  been  estab- 
lished in  the  same  vicinity.  Rev.  John  G. 
Fee,  who  was  the  originator  of  the  school, 
has  been  pastor  of  the  church  at  Berea  for 
nearly  a third  of  a century,  and  is  a native 
Kentuckian,  received  many  indignities  dur- 
ing his  early  ministrations  in  this  and  the 
adjoining  counties,  from  the  rough  elements 
of  society,  spurred  on  by  those  who  opposed 
“abolitionism.” 

The  third  teacher  of  the  Berea  school  was 
Prof.  J.  A.  R.  Rogers.  The  second  term  of  the 
school  under  his  administration  was  opened  in 


484 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


September,  1859  ,with  two  additional  teachers 
— John  G.  Hanson  and  his  wife.  It  was  diir- 
ing  this  term  that  the  question  of  admitting 
colored  pupils  was  discussed  in  the  young 
men’s  literary  society  of  the  school.  After 
considerable  discussion  it  was  decided  that, 
“if  any  one  made  in  God’s  image  comes  to 
get  knowledge  which  will  enable  him  to 
understand  the  revelation  of  God  in  Jesus 
Christ,  he  can  not  be  rejected.”  This  sen- 
timent was  obnoxious  to  the  slave-holding 
families,  and  many  of  them  withdrew  their 
children  fi’om  the  school. 

Efforts  wei'e  made,  in  1858,  to  transform 
the  school  into  a college,  by  the  adoption  of 
a constitution,  at  a meeting  held  on  Septem- 
ber 7th,  of  that  year,  at  the  residence  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Fee.  The  following  clauses  from 
the  document  will  show  the  grand  object  of 
Berea  College: 

This  college  shall  he  under  an  influence  strictly 
Christian,  and,  as  such,  opposed  to  sectarianism, 
slave-holding,  caste,  and  every  other  wrong  insti- 
tution or  practice. 

The  object  of  this  college  shall  be  to  furnish  the 
facilities  for  a thorough  education  to  all  persons  of 
good  moral  character,  at  the  least  possible  expense 
to  the  same,  and  all  the  inducements  and  facilities 
for  manual  labor  which  can  reasonably  be  supplied 
by  the  board  of  trustees  shall  be  offered  its  students. 

Many  difficulties  still  remained  to  be  sur- 
mounted by  the  friends  of  the  institution, 
but  they  persevered.  A tract  of  land  con- 
taining something  over  a hundred  acres 
was  purchased  for  $1,800,  and  Mr.  Fee  went 
east  to  raise  funds  for  the  college.  But 
political  influences  disturbed  its  peace,  and 
on  the  23d  of  December,  1859,  a “committee 
of  safety”  visited  Berea,  and  delivered  notice 
to  some  dozen  of  those  most  zealous  in  the 
school  to  leave  the  county  within  ten  days. 
They  petitioned  the  governor  for  protection, 
but  he  informed  them  he  could  not  afford 
them  protection,  owing  to  the  excitement 
caused  by  the  John  Bi’own  raid  in  Virginia, 
which  had  just  occurred.  The  families  who 
were  forced  to  leave  the  place  numbered 
about  forty  persons.  The  war  soon  opened, 
and  with  the  beginning  of  hostilities  the  in- 
stitution closed  temporarily. 

In  1865  the  school  was  reopened.  A 


charter  for  a college  was  obtained  under  a 
general  law  of  the  State,  the  board  of  trus- 
tees- reorganized,  and  other  lands  were  pur- 
chased. The  admission  of  colored  pupils 
caused  considerable  excitement,  and  half  the 
white  pupils  deserted  the  institution.  But 
their  places  were  soon  filled,  and  the  requisite 
qualifications  for  admission  into  the  institu- 
tion still  remained — “a  good  moral  charac- 
ter. ” Temporary  buildings  for  the  accomoda- 
tion of  the  increased  attendance  were  erected 
in  1866-67.  Howard  Hall  was  erected  in  1869 
by  the  Freedman’s  Bureau  at  a cost  of  $18,- 
000.  It  is  a three-story  wood  building  with 
a tin  roof.  In  1870-71,  “Ladies’  Hall,”  was 
erected.  It  is  a superb  building,  three  sto- 
ries high,  built  of  brick,  and  has  two  fronts  of 
120  feet  each.  The  Ladies’  Hall  at  Oberlin, 
Ohio,  was  taken  as  a pattern,  and  “its  excel- 
lencies, if  possible,  were  improved,  and  its 
defects  remedied.”  It  is  furnished  with 
every  modern  convenience,  and  is  a very 
model  of  excellence  in  every  respect.  “All 
other  college  buildings,  including  Howard 
Hall,  Recitation  Hall,  Office  Building,  Gram- 
mar School,  Intermediate  School,  Primary 
School,  very  good  buildings,  and  the  chapel, 
a very  fine  building,  costing  $9,000,  are  sit- 
uated in  the  college  campus,  consisting  of 
two  large  and  beautiful  groves  of  forest  trees 
embracing  about  forty-five  acres.  The  larger 
grove,  in  which  the  buildings  are,  is  on  the 
high  land,  and  the  other  in  the  plain,  fifty 
feet  below.” 

The  college  owns,  besides  the  buildings, 
which  are  estimated  at  $82,000,  300  acres  of 
land,  not  including  the  grounds  about  the 
buildings,  and  worth  about  $15,000;  it  owns 
about  twenty-five  good  business  lots,  25x125 
feet,  and  worth  $125  per  lot.  The  college  has 
an  endowment  of  $95,000,  not  including  the 
land. 

The  following  extract,  from  an  article  by 
Prof.  A.  P.  Peabody,  of  Harvard,  on  the  co- 
education of  the  races,  will  present  an  appro- 
priate conclusion  to  this  sketch  of  Berea; 

Of  all  the  experiments  in  co-education  that  have 
been  instituted,  we  regard  Berea  Colleg’e,  in  Ken- 
tucky, as  the  most  impoi'tant  in  its  sphere  of  influ- 
ence and  in  its  prophecy  of  enduring  benefit  to  the 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


483 


colored  race.  It  lias  carried  the  war  into  the 
enemy's  camp,  and  has  brought  its  whole  Christian 
panoply  and  armament  into  the  immediate  encoun- 
ter with  the  surviving  spirit  of  slavery — a spirit 
made  all  the  more  virulent  by  the  destruction  of  its 
body.  At  other  institutions,  black  students  are  ad- 
mitted to  an  equality  with  the  white;  at  Berea, 
white  students  are  admitted  to  an  equality  with  the 
black.  The  trustees  and  professors  at  Berea  can 
not  invite  their  white  neighbors  to  unite  with  them 
in  throwing  the  doors  of  their  institutions  wide 
open  to  all  that  choose  to  come.  They  must  first 
gather  their  little  flock  of  black  pupils,  with  a very 
few  white  youths  from  their  own  or  friendly 
families,  and  then  the3^must  make  their  light  shine 
bright  enough  and  far  enough  to  win  the  regard  and 
confidence  of  a distrustful  and  scornful  public;  and 
to  demonstrate  to  that  unwilling  public  that  it  is  for 
their  own  and  their  childrens’  interest  that  the}" 
patronize  this  institution.  This  has  been  effected. 
The  college  has  shown  its  large  educational  capacity. 
Its  public  exercises  have  been  attended  in  successive 
years  by  persons  of  established  reputation  as  educa- 
tionists and  literary  men,  and  have  received  their 
unqualified  commendation  and  praise.  There  is,  for 
many  miles  around,  no  institution  of  learning  that 
does  nearly  so  much  or  so  well  for  its  pupils.  The 
consequence  is  that  those  at  first  vehemently  op- 
posed to  it  are  fast  falling  into  the  ranks  of  neutrals 
or  friends.  Many  who  deemed  it  a nuisance  have 
already  sent  their  children  to  it.  Its  sterling  value 
as  a seminary  of  education  is  now  recognized  on  all 
hands.  But  it  is  of  much  more  worth  for  its  silent, 
yet  most  efficient  propagandism  of  the  due  relation 
between  the  races;  for  co-education  includes  within 
itself  or  involves  as  its  necessary  consequence, 
equality  in  all  civic  and  social  rights,  immunities, 
duties  and  obligations. 

Kentucky  has  never  encouraged  foreign 
immigration  as  some  other  portions  of  the 
republic  have  done.  But,  on  the  contrary, 
the  State  has  opposed  it  more  or  less,  until 
within  the  past  few  years.  The  tide  of  im- 
migration, however,  flowing  her  northern 
border  to  the  west  and  north,  enriching  the 
gi’eat  Northwest,  has  aroused  her  to  action, 
and  brought  the  question  of  foreign  immi- 
gration to  the  consideration  and  attention  of 
the  people,  and  also  of  the  legislature. 
Within  the  last  five  years,  a bureau  of  immi- 
gration has  been  established  and  facts  and 
statistics  and  other  important  intelligence 
concerning  the  material  resources  of  the 
State,  have  been  profusely  distributed  far  and 
wide.  The  result  of  this  judicious  dissem- 
ination of  knowledge  of  Kentucky’s  material 
wealth  has  been  the  planting  of  a number  of 


colonies  of  English,  German  and  Swiss  peo- 
ple in  the  State.  Their  prosperity  shows 
conclusively  that  the  State  affords  fine  oppor- 
tunities for  immigrants. 

The  accumulation  of  aliens  from  all  lauds 
and  countries,  within  a new  American  State, 
has  been  considered  by  many  to  be  somewhat 
perilous.  Upon  this  subject  a late  wi’iter 


TIEW  IN  SWISS  COLONY— LAUREL  COUNTY. 


says:  “Kentucky  has  had  the  good  fortune  to 
inherit  a nearly  pure  English  blood.  Aside 
from  the  diminishing  negro  population,  the 
blood  of  the  people  is  of  a singularly  un- 
mixed origin.  Her  success  in  meeting  the 
strains  of  the  civil  war  could  not  have 
been  secured  if  its  people  had  not  had  this 
singular  unity  of  race  and  the  solidarity  of 
motive  that  it  brought  with  it.  While  there 
are,  doubtless,  evils  that  come  from  this 


486 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


predominance  of  English  stock  and  the  con- 
sequent uniformity  of  the  motives  of  the 
people,  leading  as  it  does  to  a certain  accept- 
ance of  existing  conditions,  there  are  other 
dangers,  and  graver,  which  come  from  the 
confusion  of  motives  in  the  States  that  have 
a large  foreign  population,  that  are  much 
more  menacing  to  society.” 

There  have  been  several  influences  that 
have  retarded  foreifyn  immigrration  to  Ken- 
tucky.  The  strongest  of  these  influences, 
perhaps,  is  the  competition  with  negro  labor. 
The  European  immigrant  is  not  willing  to 
enter  into  competition  with  this  species  of 
labor,  and  the  result  is  they  seek  those  States 
where  slavery  never  existed.  Kentucky  has 
but  a small  negro  population,  and  it  is 


diminishing  in  numbers,  and  there  are  large 
tracts  of  country  within  the  State  where 
there  are  no  negroes,  yet  the  name  of  a 
“slave  State”  clings  to  it  as  a plague,  driv- 
ing immigration  to  other  and  less  fertile 
regions.  This  objection  to  Kentucky  must 
soon  pass  away,  and  when  it  does,  and  the 
tine  climate  and  fertile  lands  of  Kentucky 
become  better  known  to  immigrants,  then 
will  the  tide  of  immigration  turn  within  her 
borders.  The  advantages  of  Kentucky  only 
need  to  become  well  known  to  induce  immi- 
gration. The  Swiss  colonies  in  Laurel  and 
Lincoln  Counties,  with  the  air  of  prosperity 
that  prevails  about  them,  demonstrate  un- 
mistakably the  fine  field  Kentucky  presents 
to  the  colonist. 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


487 


CHAPTER  XX, 


INTELLECTUAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  STATE. 


The  late  war  developed  a new  phase  in 
every  form  of  life  as  well  in  the  polit- 
ical history  of  Kentucky.  Everything  has 
changed — much  for  the  better — and  a new  era 
has  been  inaugurated  that  in  intellectual  ad- 
vancement bids  fair  to  surpass  the  hopes  and 
expectations  of  the  most  sanguine  friends  of 
the  commonwealth.  While  it  cannot  be 
claimed  that  the  scriptural  dispensation, 
when  “ old  things  are  to  pass  away,”  and 
“ all  things  become  new,  ” has  dawned,  yet 
the  vast  changes  and  improvements  seem  to 
indicate  an  approach  to  that  period.  The 
people  emerged  from  the  horrors  of  war 
purified  “ like  gold  tried  in  the  hre,”  and 
at  once  entered  into  the  work  of  improving 
their  social  and  literary  institutions,  and  in 
restoring  peace  and  tranquility  to  their 
State.  The  press  has  borne  no  inconsidera- 
ble part  in  achieving  this  triumph,  and  has 
done  more,  actual  education  perhaps  except- 
ed, than  any  other  influence  brought  to  bear 
to  reach  this  grand  result. 

The  press,  as  an  institution,  when  it  hap- 
pens to  fall  into  the  hands  of  men  competent 
to  make  it  discharge  its  duty  fully  and 
properly,  is  a most  important  factor  in  the 
advancement  of  any  community.  One  of 
the  best  things  that  can  be  said  of  our  nation 
is,  that  it  has  a free  press.  No  man  has  to 
be  licensed  or  selected  by  the  govei’nment 
either  to  print  a book  or  publish  a newspaper. 
It  has  been  circumscribed  by  no  law  except 
j natural  selection.  Any  one  who  wished 
[ could  start  a paper  at  any  time,  say  almost 
\ anything  he  desired  to  say,  and  if  he  chose 
not  to  be  suppressed,  there  was  no  power  to 
suppress  him — except  a “ military  necessity,” 
and  .once  in  a great  while  mob  violence.  The 
government  foresaw  the  eventual  wants  of 


mankind,  and  committed  the  wisest  act  in 
all  its  history  in  unbridling  the  press.  It 
was  the  seed  planted  in  good  ground  for  its 
own  perpetuity,  and  the  happiness  and  wel- 
fare of  its  people.  Says  a late  writer:  “To 
make  the  press  absolutely  free,  especially 
after  the  centuries  of  vile  censorship  over  it, 
was  an  act  of  wisdom  transcending  in  im- 
portance the  original  invention  of  movable 
types.  This  enjoyment  of  a free  press, 
means  free  speech,  free  schools,  free  religion, 
and,  supremest  and  best  of  all,  free  thought. 
If  our  government  endure,  and  the  people 
continue  free,  here  will  be  much  of  the  reason 
thereof,  for  freedom,  though  well  established, 
will  not  maintain  and  perpetuate  itself, 
because  by  the  laws  of  heredity  that  lurks  in 
every  man,  more  or  less,  the  latter  customs 
or  habits  or  mental  convictions  of  a barbar- 
ous ancestry,  leave  the  seeds  of  monarchy 
and  despotism.  The  Americans  have  this 
(speaking  in  reference  to  a Republican  form 
of  government)  less  than  any  other  people  in 
the  world;  they  are  further  removed  from  an 
ancestry  that  worshiped  under  kingly  rulers; 
and  yet  even  here  it  is  as  true  now  as  when 
uttered,  that  ‘ eternal  vigilance  is  the  price 
of  liberty.’  The  press  is,  therefore,  essen- 
tial to  the  perpetuation  of  free  institutions 
in  America.” 

That  the  press  can  do  no  wrong,  it  would 
be  idle  to  assert.  So  great  an  institution,  so 
varied  its  interests,  so  numerous  its  control- 
lers and  guides — he  would  be  a foolish  man, 
indeed,  who  would  even  hope  that  it  would 
ever  become  infallible.  It  has  committed 
wrongs  against  the  public  quite  as  often  as 
wrongs  have  been  perpetrated  against  it. 
The  averages,  say,  are  even.  Then,  if  two 
wrongs  can  make  a right,  a reasonable  just- 


488 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


ice  has  been  done,  and  the  “ great  jjalladium  ” ] 
remains  to  us  as  the  drudge  and  pack-horse, 
and  at  the  same  time  “ the  crowned  king  of 
all  mankind.”  Another,  and  an  able  author- 
ity,* says  of  the  press:  “ The  grandest  tem- 

poral blessing  God  has  given  to  the  nine- 
teenth century  is  the  newspaper.  We  would 
have  a better  appreciation  of  this  blessing  if  we 
knew  the  money,  the  brain,  the  losses,  the  anx- 
ieties, the  wear  and  tear  involved  in  its  produc- 
tion. Under  the  impression  that  almost  any- 
body can  make  a newspaper,  scores  of  inexpe- 
rienced capitalists  every  year  enter  the  lists, 
and,  consequently,  during  the  last  few  years 
a newspaper  has  died  almost  every  day. 
AVith  more  than  6,000  dailies  in  the  United 
States  and  Canadas,  there  are  but  thirty-six 
a half  century  old.  Newspapers  do  not 
average  more  than  five  years’  existence. 

* * * Newspapers  make  know- 

ledge democratic  and  for  the  multitudes. 
The  public  library  is  a hay-mow  so  high  up 
that  few  can  reach  it,  while  the  newspaper 
throws  down  the  forage  to  our  feet.  Public 
libraries  are  the  reservoirs  where  the  great 
floods  are  stored  high  up  and  a great  way  off. 
The  newspaper  is  the  tunnel  that  brings 
them  down  to  the  pitchers  of  all  the  people. 
The  chief  use  of  great  libraries  is  to  make 
newspapers  out  of.  Great  libraries  make  a 
few  men  and  women  wise;  newspapers  lift 
whole  nations  into  the  sunlight.  Better  have 
50,000,000  people  moderately  intelligent 
than  100,000  Solons.  A false  impression 
is  abroad  that  newspaper  knowledge  is  ephem- 
eral, because  periodicals  are  thrown  aside, 
and  not  one  out  of  10,000  people  flies  them 
for  future  reference.  Such  knowledge,  so 
far  from  being  ephemeral,  goes  into  the  very 
structure  of  the  world’s  heart  and  brain,  and 
decides  the  destiny  of  churches  and  nations. 
Nearly  all  the  best  minds  and  hearts  have 
their  hands  on  the  printing-press  to- day, 
and  have  had  since  its  emancipation.  Adams 
and  Hancock  used  to  go  to  the  Boston  Ga- 
zette, and  compose  articles  on  the  rights  of 
the  people.  Benjamin  Franklin,  De  Witt 
Clinton,  Hamilton,  Jefferson,  were  strong  in 
newspaperdom.  Many  of  the  immortal 

*ReT.  T.  De  Witt  Talmage. 


things  that  have  been  published  in  book 
form,  first  appeared  in  what  may  be  called 
the  ephemeral  periodical.  All  Macaulay’s 
essays  first  appeared  in  a review;  all  Car- 
lyle’s, all  Buskin’s,  all  Sidney  Smith’s,  all 
Thackeray’s,  all  the  elevated  works  of  fiction 
in  our  day  are  reprints  from  periodicals,  in 
which  they  appeared  as  serials.  The  poems 
of  Tennyson,  Longfellow,  Emerson,  Burns, 
Lowell,  Whittier,  were  once  fugitive  pieces. 
You  cannot  find  ten  literary  men  in  Christen- 
dom with  strong  minds  and  great  hearts  but 
are,  or  have  been,  somehow  connected  with 
the  printing-press.  * * * It  is 

sometimes  complained  that  newspapers  re- 
port the  evil  when  they  ought  only  to  report 
the  good.  They  must  report  the  evil  as  well 
as  the  good,  or  how  shall  we  know  what  is  to 
be  reformed,  what  guarded  against,  what 
brought  down?  A newspaper  that  pictures 
only  the  honesty  and  virtue  of  society  is  a 
misrepresentation.  That  family  is  best  pre- 
pared for  the  duties  of  life,  which,  knowing 
the  evil,  is  taught  to  select  the  good.  Keep 
children  under  the  impression  that  all  is  fair 
and  right  in  the  world,  and  when  they  go  out 
into  it  they  will  be  as  poorly  prepared  to 
struggle  with  it  as  a child  who  is  thrown 
into  the  middle  of  the  Atlantic  and  told  to 
learn  to  swim.  * * * Another  blessing 

of  the  newspaper  is  the  foundation  it  lays 
for  accurate  history  of  the  time  in  which  we 
live.  AVe,  for  the  most  part,  blindly  guess 
about  the  ages  that  ante-date  the  newspaper, 
and  are  dependent  on  the  prejudices  of  this 
or  that  historian.  But  after  a hundred  or 
two  years  what  splendid  opportunity  the  his- 
torian will  have  to  teach  the  people  the  les- 
son of  this  day.  Our  Bancroft  got  from 
the  early  newspapers  of  this  country,  from 
the  Boston  News  Letter,  the  New  Y'^ork  Ga- 
zette, and  the  American  Rag  Bag,  and  Royal 
Gazetteer,  and  Independent  Chronicle,  and 
Massachusetts  Spy  and  Philadelphia  Aurora, 
accounts  of  Perry’s  victory,  and  Hamilton’s 
duel,  and  AVashington’s  death,  and  the  op- 
presive  foreign  tax  on  luxuries  which  turned 
Boston  harbor  into  a tea-pot,  and  Paul  Ee- 
vere’s  midnight  ride,  and  Rhode  Island.’s  re- 
bellion and  South  Carolina’s  nullification. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


489 


But  what  a field  for  the  chronicler  of  the 
great  future  when  he  opens  the  files  of  a 
hundred  standard  American  newspapers,  giv- 
ing: the  minutiae  of  all  things  occurring  under 
the  social,  political,  international,  ecclesias- 
tical, hemispherical.  Five  hundred  years 
from  now,  if  the  world  lasts  so  long,  the  j 
student  looking  for  stirring  and  decisive 
history  will  pass  by  the  misty  corridors  of 
other  centuries,  and  say  to  the  librarian: 
‘Find  me  the  volume  that  gives  the  century 
in  which  American  presidents  were  assassi- 
nated, the  civil  war  enacted,  and  the  cotton- 
gin,  the  steam  locomotive,  the  telegraph  and 
telephone,  and  Hoe’s  cylinder  presses  were 
invented.’  It  is  not  more  what  newspapers 
do  for  to-day,  than  the  fact  that  they  make  a 
storehouse  of  history.  * * 

More  than  all,  the  blessings  of  a good  news- 
paper is  in  its  evangelistic  influence.  The 
secular  press  of  this  country  discusses  all 
religious  questions,  scatters  abroad  religious 
intelligence  and  multiplies  sermons  until  the 
gospel  comes  every  week  within  reach  of  every 
intelligent  man  and  woman  in  America.  The 
good  newspaper  is  to  be  the  right  wing  of  the 
apocalyptic  angel.  On  the  Sabbath  the 
minister  preaches  to  a few  hundred  or 
thousand  people,  and  on  Monday  morning  and 
evening,  through  the  printing-press,  preaches 
to  millions.  The  telegraph  gathers  for  it 
matter  on  one  side,  and  the  express  railway 
train  waits  to  be  loaded  with  the  tons  of 
folded  sheets  on  the  other.  I set  it  down  as 
the  mightiest  force  for  the  world’s  evangel!  - 
zation.” 

These  lengthy  extracts  require  no  apology. 
Like  everything  emanating  from  the  great 
preacher,  though  couched  in  hispeculiar  style, 
they  are  full  of  wisdom.  The  press  is  the 
great  power  of  the  present  age.  This  is  in- 
disputable. In  any  community  it  is  an  in- 
fluence for  good,  admitting  of  not  a single 
doubt.  Thomas  Jefferson,  who  penned  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  one  of  the 
grandest  documents  that  ever  fell  from  the 
pen  of  mortal  man, wrote  also:  “If  I had  to 

choose  between  a government  without  news- 
papers, or  newspapers  without  a government, 

I should  prefer  the  latter.”  Another  sage  re- 


marks: “If  man  should,  from  childhood  to 

old  age,  see  only  his  Bible,  Webster’s  dic- 
tionary and  his  newspaper,  he  could  be  pre- 
pared for  all  the  duties  of  this  life,  or  all  the 
happiness  of  the  next.”  Daniel  Webster 
said : “I  care  not  how  unpretending  a news- 

paper may  be,  every  issue  contains  some- 
thing that  is  worth  the  subscription  price.” 
Of  all  the  blessings  that  man  can  have  in  this 
world,  the  newspaper  is  the  one  “whose  rose 
need  have  no  thorn,  whose  sweet  need  have 
no  bitter.”  Thanks,  then,  a million  thanks, 
to  our  revolutionary  sires  for  giving  us  the 
great  boon  of  a free  press. 

When  the  war  closed  there  had  been  com- 
pleted a revolution  in  the  newspaper  publish- 
ing business.  The  telegraph  had  been  utilized, 
and  men  had  been  taught  to  look  for  news, 
and  not  for  the  opinions  and  fine  writings  of 
certain  individuals.  The  business  of  writing 
for  the  paper  had  to  adjust  itself  to  circum- 
stances, and  short,  crisp  editorials,  and  the 
news  of  the  hour;  and  instead  of  the  long 
“ thundering  leader,”  came  the  wit,  that 
largely  consists  of  slang  and  bad  spelling. 
The  metropolitan  press,  through  the  telegraph, 
and  the  perfected  Hoe  press  began  to  absorb 
from  the  country,  first  its  talent  among  wri- 
ters, and  then  to  monopolize  the  business 
itself,  until  the  country  paper  found  no  other 
avenue  to  walk  in  except  the  purely  local 
news,  gossip  and  chit-chat  of  its  immediate 
I locality.  But  notwithstanding  this  the  local 
press  is  not  to  be  despised,  nor  denied  credit 
for  its  part  in  elevating  the  standai’d  of  civ- 
I ilization.  Far  from  it.  It  contributes  as 
much,  in  its  humble  way,  as  the  more  preten- 
tious city  daily.  The  improvement  in  the 
art  of  making  newspapers  is  not  surpassed 
by  that  made  in  any  institution,  or  other 
branch  of  business,  of  the  present  century. 
The  Courier- Journal,  with  its  corps  of  editors 
and  reporters  and  correspondents,  and  its 
attaches  and  employes,  its  improved  printing 
presses  and  magnificent  building,  the  pride 
of  Kentucky’s  metropolis,  is  a sample  of  the 
modern  daily  newspaper,  and  strikingly  illus- 
trates its  great  power  and  influence.  Com- 
pared to  the  Kentucke  Gazelle,  the  first  news- 
paper in  the  west,  it  shows  the  wonderful 


490 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


advancement  made  by  the  press  within  the 
past  hundred  years. 

The  first  newspaper  published  west  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains,  with  a single  excep- 
tion,* was  established  at  Lexington.  It  is 


present  time.  A few  words,  however,  of  some 
of  the  early  newspapers  of  the  State,  and 
some  of  the  leading  ones,  cannot  very  well  be 
avoided.  The  first  paper  was  established  in 
1787,  almost  100  years  ago,  by  John  Brad- 


coriUKR-.jornx'AL  building. 


not  intended  to  go  back  to  the  beginning  of 
the  newspaper  history  of  Kentucky,  and 
follow  it  through  all  its  vicissitudes  to  the 

*The  first  paper  west  of  the  Allegbanies  was  published  at 
Pittsburgh. 


ford.  It  was  christened  the  Kenfucke  Gazette. 
The  final  e of  Kentucky  was  afterward  changed 
to  y,  in  consequence  of  the  Virginia  Legisla- 
ture requiring  certain  advertisements  to  be 
“inserted  in  the  Kentucky  Gazette.''’  The 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


491 


efforts  to  separate  Kentucky  from  Virginia 
and  form  it  into  a distinct  State,  necessitated 
the  establishment  of  this  paper.  The  con- 
vention that  met  at  Danville,  in  1785,  to 
discuss  the  subject  of  separation,  adopted  the 
following  resolution:  “That  to  insure 

unanimity  in  the  opinion  of  the  people  re- 
specting the  propriety  of  separating  the  dis- 
trict of  Kentucky  from  Virginia,  and  forming 
a distinct  State  government,  and  to  give 
publicity  to  the  proceedings  of  the  conven- 
tion, it  is  deemed  essential  to  the  interests  of 
the  country  to  have  a printing  press.”  Ar- 
rangements were  finally  made  with  John 
Bradford  to  establish  a paper  at  Lexington, 
then  the  principal  town  in  the  district,  and 
in  1786  he  sent  to  Philadelphia  for  the 
necessary  outfit.  It  did  not  arrive  until  late 
in  the  summer  of  1787,  and  on  the  11th  of 
August  he  issued  the  first  number  of  the 
Gazette,  pioneer  newspaper  of  the  western 
country.  His  editorial  surroundings  would 
contrast  strangely  with  the  princely  style  of 
the  great  metropolitan  journals  of  the  present 
day.  His  steamboat,  railroad,  telegraph  and 
mail-carrier  was  a pack-mule;  his  office  a log 
cabin.  His  rude  and  unwieldy  hand-press 
was  of  the  old-fashioned  style,  that  for  years 
and  years  had  not  been  improved;  and,  in 
addition,  it  was  a second-hand  one.  He 
daubed  on  the  ink  by  hand  with  two  ancient 
dog-skin  inking  balls,  and  probably  managed 
to  get  sixty  or  seventy  copies  printed  on  one 
side  in  an  hour.  If  he  wi’ote  at  night  it  was 
by  the  light  of  a rousing  fire,  a bear-grease 
lamp,  or  a buffalo-tallow  candle.  An  edi- 
torial desk,  made  of  a smooth  slab,  supported 
by  two  pairs  of  cross- legs,  a three-legged 
stool,  ink-horn  and  a rifle,  composed  the 
rest  of  his  ofiice  furniture.* 

John  Bradford,  the  pioneer  editor  of 
Kentucky,  was  a native  of  Virginia,  and 
was  born  in  Fauquier  County,  in  1749.  He 
came  to  Kentucky  in  1785,  and  settled  on 
Cane  Run,  but  the  next  year  located  in  Lex- 
ington. He  was  a practical  printer,  as  was 
his  father  before  him,  and  he  brought  up 
his  sons  to  the  same  business.  The  next 
year  after  starting  the  Gazette,  he  published 


the  Kentucky  Almanac,  the  first  pamphlet 
printed  west  of  the  mountains,  and  the  an- 
nual publication  of  which  he  continued  for 
twenty  years.  From  all  the  biographical 
record  left  of  Mi’.  Bradford,  it  is  evident 
that  he  was  not  especially  brilliant  as  an 
editor,  but,  what  was  better  for  the  times  in 
which  he  lived,  he  was  a man  of  sound  prac- 
tical sense  and  sterling  honesty.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  board  of  village  trustees, 
and  delivered  the  address  of  welcome  to  Gov. 
Shelby  in  1792,  upon  his  arrival  in  Lexing- 
i ton,  then  the  capital  of  the  new-made  State. 
He  was  the  first  State  printer,  and  received 
from  the  State  government  £100  sterling,  as 
J the  emoluments  of  the  office.  He  printed  books 
as  early  as  1794,  and  some  of  his  early  publica- 
tions are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Lexington  pub- 
lic library.  He  served  for  a time  as  chairman 
of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Transylvania  Uni- 
versity, and  held  other  positions  of  honor 
and  trust.  His  mind  was  so  well  stored 
with  useful  and  valuable  information  that  he 
was  considered  the  town  oracle,  and  from  his 
! decisions  on  local  topics  there  was  no  appeal. 
So  great  was  the  confidence  of  the  people  in 
his  judgment  that  he  won  the  sobriquet  of 
“Old  Wisdom.”  He  was  high  sheriff  of 
Fayette  County  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occured  in  March,  1830.  Circuit 
court  was  in  session,  and  the  distinguished 
Jesse  Bledsoe,  who  was  the  presiding  judge, 
alluded  to  his  death  in  eloquent  terms,  and 
adjourned  court  in  respect  to  his  memory. 

The  Kentucky  Gazette  was  conducted  by 
Mr.  Bradford  with  great  energy  and  success 
until  early  in  1802,  when  he  tiu’ned  it  over  to 
his  son,  Daniel  Bradford,  and  took  charofe  of 
the  Kentucky  Herald,  the  first  rival  paper  in 
the  State.  He  kept  up  a watchful  supervis- 
ion, however,  of  the  Gazette,  and,  after  seven 
years,  he  again  assumed  editorial  charge  of 
it.  In  1814,  his  son.  Fielding  Bradford,  Jr., 
became  its  proprietor  and  continued  his  con- 
nection with  it  until  1825,  when  it  again 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  senior  Bradford. 
In  1835,  it  again  reverted  to  Daniel  Brad- 
ford, who,  in  March,  1840,  sold  it  to  Joshua 
Cunningham  of  Louisville,  foreman  of  the 
Advertiser,  a paper  edited  by  Shadrach  Penn, 


*G.  W.  Ranck,  iu  History  of  Fayette  County,  p.  364. 


492 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  brilliant  rival  of  George  D.  Prentice. 
Under  the  management  of  Mr.  Cunningham, 
who  was  in  bad  health,  the  paper  declined, 
and  in  1848  its  publication  ceased.  So 
ended  the  first  paper  pviblished  west  of  Pitts- 
burgh. 

The  second  newspaper  in  Kentucky  was 
also  established  at  Lexington.  It  will  be 
borne  in  mind  that  for  a number  of  years 
after  settlements  began  to  be  made  in  Ken- 
tucky, Lexington  was  the  metropolis  of  the 
State.  It  was  the  first  capital,  and  being  the 
leading  town,  not  only  of  Kentucky  but  all 
the  western  country,  it  drew  within  its  limits 
the  majority  of  the  wealth,  intelligence  and 
business  of  the  entire  community.  Thus  it  be- 
came the  seat  of  learning  and  business  enter- 
prise. Its  second  newspaper  was  started  in 
1793,  the  next  year  after  the  admission  of 
Kentucky  as  a State  into  the  Federal  Union. 
It  was  called  Stewart's  Kentucky  Herald, 
and  was  established  by  James  H.  Stewart. 
Its  publication  was  continued  for  about  ten 
years,  when  it  was  absorbed  by  the  Bradfords 
and  the  Kentucky  Gazette.  Mr.  F.  L. 
McOhesney,  editor  of  the  Western  Citizen, 
in  a sketch  of  Paris  written  a few  years  ago, 
mentioned  a paper — the  Kentucky  Herald — 
as  started  in  that  town  in  1797,  by  James 
Stewart,  and  which  existed  for  about  a year. 
In  the  same  yeai’,  William  Hunter  established 
the  Kentucky  Mirror,  at  Washington,  a town 
situated  about  four  miles  from  the  present 
city  of  Maysville.  In  1798,  Hunter  estab- 
lished a paper  in  Frankfort  called  the  Pal- 
ladium, and  was  annually  elected  State 
printer  for  ten  years.  In  1803,  the  Western 
Messenger,  and  in  1806,  the  Republican 
Auxiliary  were  established  at  Washington. 
The  first  paper  in  Louisville  was  called  the 
Farmer's  Library,  and  dates  back  to  1807. 
Its  history  is  comprised  in  an  act  of  the 
legislature  requiring  certain  laws  to  be  pub- 
lished in  its  columns.  Not  even  the  names 
of  its  owners  or  publishers  are  known.  The 
next  year  (1808)  another  paper — the  Gazette 
— made  its  appearance  in  Louisville,  but  its 
record,  like  that  of  the  Farmer's  Library,  is 
obscure.  In  this  year  also  was  established 
the  Western  Citizen,  at  Paris.  Mr.  McChes- 


ney  in  his  sketch  of  Paris,  says  the  Citizen 
was  started  by  Grimes  & Johnson;  Collins 
in  his  history  of  Kentucky,  says  by  Joel  R. 
Lyle.  The  Lyles  (Joel  R.  and  William  C.) 
were  long  connected  with  it,  but  it  was  pur- 
chased, Mr.  McChesney  says,  by  Joel  R. 
Lyle  early  in  1809.  It  is  one  of  the  early 
papers  of  Kentucky  that  has  survived  the 
storms  of  adversity  and  is  still  flourishing 
and  prosperous.  It  opposed  the  old  Feder- 
alist party  and  warmly  advocated  the  war  of 
1812.  In  the  great  conflict  between  the  old 
and  new  court  parties,  it  adopted  the  side  of 
the  former,  and  supported  Mr.  Adams  and 
Mr.  Clay  in  opposition  to  Gen.  Jackson. 
When  politics  divided,  under  the  name  of 
Whigs  and  Democrats,  it  espoused  the  cause 
of  the  Whigs,  and  ever  continued  a zealous 
advocate  of  that  party.  F.  L.  McChesney 
became  the  owner  of  it  after  the  war,  and 
during  the  reconstruction  period  it  changed 
its  politics  to  the  Democratic  faith,  and  has 
since  remained  true  to  those  principles. 

The  Lexington  Observer  and  Reporter, 
originally  the  Lexington  Reporter,  was  estab- 
lished in  1807,  by  William  W.  Worsley  and 
Samuel  R.  Overton.  It  was  continued  unin- 
terruptedly as  the  Reporter  until  1832,  when 
it  was  purchased  by  Bryant  & Finnell  and 
consolidated  with  the  Observer.  The  Observer 
and  Reporter  existed  until  1873,  when  its 
publication  ceased.  During  its  long  career 
it  had  many  able  and  brilliant  editors  and 
contributors,among  whom  were  Edwin  Bryant, 
Robert  N.  Wickliffe,  William  A.  Dudley, 
Daniel  C.  Wickliffe,  William  C.  P.  Breckin- 
ridge, Thomas  E.  Pickett  and  others.  No 
paper  in  central  Kentucky,  perhaps,  wielded  a 
greater  influence  than  the  Observer  and  Re- 
porter, and  when  discontinued  it  was  the 
oldest  paper  in  the  State,  having  been  estab- 
lished the  year  before  the  Western  Citizen. 

The  first  paper  in  Louisville  that  attained 
to  any  prominence,  and  of  which  there  is 
any  authentic  history,  was  established  in 
1810  by  Nicholas  Clark.  It  was  called  the 
Western  Courier,  and  was  conducted  with 
considerable  ability.  Mann  Butler,  the  his- 
torian, and  an  able  writer,  was  connected  with 
it  as  associate  editor  in  1814,  but  he  did  not 


HISTOEY  or  ICEYTUCKY. 


493 


remain  long  in  the  position.  S.  H.  Bullen 
and  A.  G.  Meriwether  became  interested  in 
the  paper  in  1821,  and  the  name  was  changed 
to  the  Emporium  and  Commercial  Advertis- 
er, and  from  a weekly,  it  became  a semi- 
weekly. Clark  and  Meriwether  retired  in 
February,  1822,  transfering  their  interest 
to  S.  H.  Bullen  and  F.  E.  Goddard,  and  the 
latter  gentleman  finally  became  the  sole  own- 
er. While  under  his  management  (in  1832) 
the  paper  was  discontinued.  The  Louisville 
Correspondent,  a weekly  paper,  was  started 
in  the  same  year  as  the  Western  Courier.  Its 
owner  and  publisher  was  E.  C.  Bairy,  who  | 
continued  it  until  1817,  when  it  passed  from  I 
the  public  gaze. 

The  Advertiser,  the  first  daily  paper  pub- 
lished in  Kentucky,  was  established  in  1818, 
and  soon  became  a formidable  opponent  to 
the  Western  Courier.  It  was  founded  by  i 
Shadrach  Penn,  the  ablest  editor  ever  in 
Louisville  until  the  appearance  of  George  D. 
Prentice.  Mr.  Ben  Casseday,  in  a sketch  of 
the  Louisville  press,  says:  “Mr.  Penn  was  an 
experienced  politician,  a forcible  writer,  and 
a man  of  extraordinary  tact.  His  paper  soon 
took  the  position  of  political  leader,  not 
merely  in  its  local  circle,  but  all  over  the 
west.  It  was  the  acknowledged  Jackson 
organ,  and  both  city  and  State  recognized  its 
power  and  influence.  It  was  without  a rival, 
and  if  it  did  not  create,  it  represented,  the 
dominant  party  for  over  twelve  years.  Until 
1830  (the  birth  of  the  Journal)  Penn  found 
‘no  foeman  worthy  of  his  steel.  ’ His  adver- 
saries had,  one  by  one,  fallen  before  him.  He 
was  supreme  in  his  position,  and  a few  years 
previous  to  the  date  above  referred  to  was 
confirmed  in  it  by  a great  victory  over  the 
old  court  or  anti-relief  party,  and  his  ac- 
knowledged championship  of  a party  victori- 
ous in  a political  struggle  as  bitter  as  had 
ever  agitated  the  State.” 

Shadrach  Penn  was  a native  of  Kentucky, 
and  had  been  a soldier  in  the  war  of  1812. 
He  was  a large  man,  a fine  specimen  of  the 
typical  Kentuckian,  six  feet  high,  weighing 
over  200  pounds,  and  one  of  the  best  hearted 
men  that  ever  lived.  He  was  well  educated, 
was  a statesman  and  a leader  naturally,  and  a 


politician  from  choice.  Although  rival  edit- 
ors for  many  years,  and  often  on  bad  terms 
and  indulging  in  bitter  controversy,  yet  a 
warm  friendship  grew  up  between  him  and 
Prentice,  that  continued  until  the  death  of 
Penn  in  1853.  Mr.  Penn  left  Louisville  in 
1842,  went  to  St.  Louis,  and  took  editorial 
charge  of  the  Missouri  Democrat,  which  posi- 
tion he  filled  until  the  close  of  his  life. 

In  1826  the  Focus  was  established  in 
Louisville  by  W.  W.  Worsley  and  Dr.  Bu- 
chanan. Worsley  was  an  experienced  news- 
paper man,  and  had  been  one  of  the  original 
owners  of  the  Lexington  Reporter,  and  was  a 
man  of  some  ability.  The  Focus  opposed 
Gen.  Jackson,  the  Advertiser  and  Shadrach 
Penn,  but  being  more  of  a literary  and  scien- 
tific journal  than  a partisan  organ,  it  was  un- 
able to  stand  before  the  political  projectiles 
hurled  at  it  by  Penn.  After  a fitful  existence 
of  a little  more  than  three  years  it  was  pur- 
chased by  Gavins  & Robinson,  and  shortly 
after  was  merged  into  the  Louisville  Journal. 

The  Kentuckian  was  a newspaper  estab- 
lished at  Lancaster  in  1821,  and  was  pub- 
i lished  by  Albert  G.  Hodges,  who  afterward 
became  widely  known  as  a newspaper  pub- 
lisher throughout  the  State.  He  published 
the  Kentuckian  only  about  three  months, 
when  he  left  Lancaster,  and  went  back  to 
Lexington.  There  he  became  foreman  of 
the  Reporter  office,  a place  he  filled  accept- 
ably for  several  years.  He  next  went  to 
Louisville,  and,  in  1824,  in  connection  with 
D.  C.  Pinkham,  purchased  fiom  S.  H.  BuT 
len  the  Louisville  Morning  Post.  Pinkham 
proved  an  unprofitable  partner,  as  he  got 
away  with  most  of  the  profits  of  the  paper, 
and  in  about  a year.  "William  Tanner,  who  had 
attained  some  prominence  as  an  editor,  suc- 
ceeded him.  Hodges  and  Tanner  did  not 
agree  well  on  politics,  the  latter  advocating, 
on  one  side  of  the  paper,  the  fallacies  of  the 
new  court,  while  Hodges  on  the  other  side 
championed  the  old  court  party.  It  was  lit- 
erally “a  house  divided  against  itself,”  and 
to  prevent  its  fall,  the  proprietors  “threw 
heads  and  tails”  for  its  ownership.  Tanner 
won,  and  Hodges  sold  out  to  him  on  favorable 
terms,  returned  to  Lexington,  and  started 


494 


IIIS'J’ORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  Kentucky  Whig.  This  paper  had  a brief 
existence,  less  than  a year.  He  then  went  to 
Frankfort,  and  together  with  J ames  G.  Dana 
published  the  Commentator,  and  served  as 
State  printer  until  1832,  when  he  sold  out  to 
Dana.  In  1833,  Hodges  was  elected  State 
printer,  and  shortly  after  started  the  Frank- 
fort Commomcealth.  It  was  thoroughly  a 
Whig  paper,  and  when  that  party  became 
extinct,  it  came  to  the  support  of  the  Know- 
nothing,  and  then  of  the  American  party. 
During  the  late  war,  it  was  for  the  Union 
unconditionally,  and  after  the  war  Repub-  ! 
lican  in  politics,  until  its  suspension  in 
April,  1872,  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine  years. 
Col.  Hodges,  although  a stanch  Union  man, 
and  later  an  ardent  Republican,  discontinued 
the  publication  of  his  paper,  which  he  had 
established  more  than  a third  of  a century 
before,  rather  than  to  support  President 
Grant  for  renomination,  in  1872,  to  a second 
term  as  chief  magistrate.  In  refusing  to 
support  the  hero  of  Appomattox,  he  found 
his  “occupation  gone,”  and  retired  perma- 
nently from  the  newspaper  business. 

Col.  Hodges  was  a true  type  of  the  old 
Kentucky  gentleman,  a race  that  is  rapidly 
passing  away.  He  was  born  in  Virginia,  in 
1802,  and  when  but  eight  years  old,  his 
mother  (his  father  having  died)  brought  him 
to  F ayette  County.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he 
was  apprenticed  to  the  printing  business  with 
Worsley  & Smith,  the  proprietors  of  the 
Lexington  Reporter.  After  the  suspension 
of  the  Commonwealth  in  1872,  Col.  Hodges 
removed  to  Louisville,  and  accepted  the  po- 
sition of  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Masonic  Temple  Company.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  prominent  Masons  of  Kentucky, 
and  from  1845  to  the  time  of  his  death  was 
grand  treasurer  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  When 
he  died  (a  few  years  ago)  he  was  the  last 
officer  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  who,  in  1845, 
witnessed  his  election  as  grand  treasurer  of 
that  body. 

The  Louisville  Journal,  whose  influence 
for  more  than  a thii’d  of  a century  was 
equaled  by  few  American  newspapers,  was 
established  on  the  24th  of  November,  1830, 
by  George  D.  Prentice.  His  business  part- 


ner was  A.  S.  Buxton,  a practical  printer  of 
Cincinnati,  who  had  a joint  interest  in  the 
paper,  but  Prentice  was  sole  editor.  The 
success  of  the  Journal  was  assured  from  the 
circulation  of  its  first  issue,  and  in  four 
weeks  from  its  birth  it  was  the  most  exten- 
sively read  paper  that  had  ever  been  pub- 
lished in  the  State.  Prentice  immediately 
crossed  swords  with  Shadrach  Penn,  and  the 
contest  between  these  rival  editors,  often 
sharp  and  bitter,  is  still  vividly  remembered 
by  the  older  citizens  of  Louisville  and  Ken- 
tucky. Prentice’s  pen  bristled  like  the 
“fretful  porcupine,”  and  he  shot  the  pointed 
quills  in  every  direction,  regardless  of  who 
might  stand  in  the  way.  In  his  writings  he 
frequently  made  people  laugh,  sometimes 
stare  and  often  squirm,  and  he  seemed  ever 
equally  indifferent  as  to  which  result  flowed 
out  from  his  pen.  The  Journal  soon  obtained 
political  ascendency,  but  the  editorial  warfare 
between  Prentice  and  Penn  was  kept  up  as 
long  as  Penn  remained  in  Louisville. 

The  Journal  was  born  of  the  exigencies  of 
the  time.  Political  excitement,  growing  out 
of  one  of  the  most  bitter  party  conflicts  that 
had  occurred  in  the  State,  was  violent,  and 
partisan  strife  was  raging  at  white  heat. 
Parties  were  dividing  on  the  questions  of  the 
time,  and  to  the  bitterness  of  conflicting  in- 
terests was  added  the  enthusiasm  which  the 
rival  claims  of  two  great  party  chieftains 
everywhere  excited.  An  historical  sketch  of 
the  Courier -Journal,  puhlishQdL  in  1876,  says: 
“Henry  Clay  and  Gen.  Jackson  were  the 
opposing  candidates  for  the  succession,  and 
Kentucky  having  voted  two  years  before  for 
Jackson,  the  Journal  threw  all  its  energies 
into  the  conflict  in  favor  of  Mr.  Clay,  whose 
political  friends  were  then  known  as  national 
Republicans.  Its  appearance  was  cordially 
and  even  enthusiastically  greeted  by  its  party, 
another  national  Republican  paper,  the 
Louisville  Focus,  having  failed,  although 
skillfully  edited,  to  satisfy  the  party’s  de- 
mands for  vehemence  and  spirit.” 

A history  of  the  Journal  is  a history  of 
Geoi’ge  D.  Prentice.  From  the  origin  of  the 
paper,  Mr.  Buxton  continued  his  business 
relation  with  Mr.  Prentice  in  its  publication, 


! 


GEORGE  D.  PRENTICE. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


495 


until  1833,  when  lie  sold  bis  interest  to  John 
N.  Johnson,  and  two  years  later  Mr.  Johnson 
sold  to  George  W.  W eissinger.  The  latter  con- 
tinued his  connection  with  the  paper  until 
his  death  in  1849,  when  his  interest  was  pur- 
chased by  Isham  Henderson,  long  a well 
known  citizen  of  Louisville,  and  but  recently 
dead.  During  all  these  years,  Mr.  Prentice 
had  been  editor  of  the  Journal,  and  had 
given  it  a world  wide  reputation,  but  about 
this  time  he  called  to  his  editorial  aid  Paul 
R.  Shipman,  a writer  of  unusual  force  and 
brilliance,  and  who  remained  with  the  paper 
many  years.  In  a short  time  after  purchasing 
Weissinger’s  interest,  Mr.  Henderson  sold 
one-half  of  it  (a  quarter  interest  in  the  paper) 
to  his  kinsman,  John  D.  Osborne,  and  the 
firm  became  Prentice,  Henderson  & Osborne 
— the  last  named  gentleman  the  business  man- 
ager. This  arrangement  continued  until 
after  the  close  of  the  war,  when  the  firm 
changed  into  a stock  corporation,  under  the 
title  of  the  “Louisville  Journal  Company.” 
In  the  winter  of  1867-68,  Mr.  Henderson 
purchased  the  stock  of  Mr.  Osborne,  who  re- 
tired fi’om  the  business  management  of  the 
paper.  A few  months  later,  Mr.  Hendersm 
bought  Mr.  Prentice’s  interest,  and  during  the 
summer  sold  an  interest  in  the  paper  to  Mr. 
Henry  Watterson,  the  present  brilliant  editor 
of  the  Courier- Journal.  Thus  the  edi  corial 
and  also  the  business  control  of  the  Journal 
passed  from  the  hands  of  its  founder.  From 
its  origin  in  1830,  to  its  purchase  by  Mr. 
Henderson  in  1868,  a few  months  prior  to  its 
consolidation  with  the  Courier,  its  history 
and  that  of  its  editor  had  been  inseparable. 
Dr.  Theodore  S.  Bell,  the  life-long  friend  of 
Mr.  Prentice,  said:  “Mr.  Prentice  impressed 
the  conviction  on  the  public  mind  that  he  and 
the  daily  Journal  were  one  and  the  same 
thing,  and  I am  not  sure  that  he  was  not 
himself  impressed  with  that  conviction.  He 
regarded  the  Journal  as  a part  and  parcel  of 
his  own  being.  An  insult  thrown  at  the 
Journal  was  promptly  accepted  as  a personal 
insult,  and  as  such  punished  in  his  own  way 
— a way  well  known  to  mapy  to  their  sorrow. 
It  is,  indeed,  questionable  whether  he  would 
have  regarded  with  complacency  any  personal 


I triumph  in  which  the  Journal  was  not  a par- 
ticipant. 

i Mr.  Prentice  was  a native  of  Connecticut, 
and  was  born  in  New  London  County,  De- 
cember 18,  1802.  After  preparing  for  col- 
lege, he  entered  Brown  University  at  the  age 
of  eighteen,  and  in  1823  graduated  with 
honors.  Upon  completing  his  education,  he 
spent  some  time  in  teaching,  and  wrote  occa- 
sional articles  for  the  local  press.  His  wi’it- 
ings  attracted  considerable  attention,  and  in 
j 1828  he  was  offered  the  position  of  editor  of 
I the  New  England  Review,  which  he  accepted. 
He  came  to  Kentucky  in  1830,  at  the  instance 
of  the  Whigs  of  Connecticut,  for  the  purpose  of 
! writing  the  life  of  Henry  Clay.  When  John 
I Quincy  Adams,  in  1828,  failed  in  his  re-elec- 
tion to  the  presidency,  Mr.  Clay,  who  held  the 
first  place  in  his  cabinet,  retired  (the  follow- 
ing March)  from  public  life,  and  to  bring  him 
again  prominently  before  his  party  was  the 
object  of  the  biography.  It  more  than  ac- 
complished its  purpose,  for  it  led  to  the 
establishment  of  the  Louisville  Journal,  and 
served  to  make  Mr.  Prentice  a citizen  of 
Kentucky.  His  biography  of  Clay  was  writ- 
ten from  the  standpoint  of  strong  partisan- 
ship, and  scarcely  had  he  finished  it  than  he 
was  persuaded  by  prominent  party  leaders  in 
Kentucky  to  establish  a new  daily  paper  at 
Louisville,  in  opposition  to  the  Jackson  De- 
mocracy. 

Few  men  have  attained  fame  as  editors 
equal  to  that  of  Prentice.  In  a memorial 
address  on  the  great  journalist,  Hon.  Henry 
Watterson*  said:  “From  1830  to  1861  the 
influence  of  Prentice  was  perhaps  greater 
than  the  influence  of  any  political  writer 
who  ever  lived;  it  was  an  influence  directly 
positive  and  personal.  It  owed  its  origin  to 
the  union  in  his  person  of  gifts  which  no  one 
had  combined  before  him.  He  had  to  build 
upon  an  intellect  natui’ally  strong  and  prac- 
tical, and  this  was  trained  by  rigid  scholarly 
culture.  He  was  brave  and  aggressive,  and 
though  by  no  means  quarrelsome,  he  was  as 
ready  to  fight  as  to  write,  and  his  lot  was 
cast  in  a region  where  he  had  to  do  a good 

*An  address  delivered  by  Mr.  Watterson  before  the  Ken- 
tucky legislature  at  the  request  of  that  body  shortly  after  the 
death  of  Mr.  Prentice. 


496 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


deal  of  both.  By  turns  a statesman,  a wit, 
a poet,  a man  of  the  world,  and  always  a 
journalist,  he  gave  the  press  of  his  country 
its  most  brilliant  illustration,  and  has  left  to 
the  State  and  to  his  progeny  by  odds  the 
largest  reputation  ever  achieved  by  a news- 
paper writer.” 

During  the  late  civil  war  Mr.  Prentice  was 
an  unswerving  Union  man,  and  all  his  great 
energies  were  enlisted  to  avert  the  calamities 
of  war  and  preserve  the  government.  He 
failed  in  his  efforts,  but  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  vast  influence  he  wielded 
through  the  Journal  prevented  the  secession 
of  Kentucky.  In  all  the  long  and  desperate 
struggle  that  ensued  between  the  North  and 
South  his  fidelity  to  the  cause  of  the  Union 
never  once  faltered.  Notwithstanding  his 
two  sons,  his  only  children,  had  entered  the 
Confederate  army,  and  numbers  of  his  life- 
long friends  were  arrayed  ixnder  the  “ South- 
ern Cross,”  he  stood  firmly  by  the  old  flag 
and  made  a gallant  fight.  When  the  war 
closed  he  was  pretty  well  broken  down;  his 
health  and  spirits  were  gone,  and  the  great 
battle  he  had  fought  had  left  him  a feeble  old 
man.  His  wife,  the  companion  of  his  youth, 
died  in  1868,  and  shortly  after  her  decease 
the  Journal  passed  into  other  hands,  and  in 
November  following  it  was  consolidated  with 
the  Courier,  the  name  changed  to  the  Courier- 
Journal,  on  which  Mr.  Prentice  did  excellent 
editorial  work  on  a salary  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death.  His  work  now  seemed  done;  he 
stood  alone;  he  had  outlived  his  day  and 
generation.  He  died  on  the  22d  of  January, 
1870,  at  the  country  residence  of  his  son. 
Col.  Clarence  J.  Prentice,  ten  miles  below 
Louisville,  on  the  Ohio  River,  whither  he 
had  gone  to  spend  the  Christmas  holidays. 
Upon  the  announcement  of  his  death  great 
respect  was  paid  to  his  memory  throughout 
the  country.  The  legislatm’es  of  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee,  in  session  at  the  time,  adopted 
appropriate  resolutions,  pronouncing  his 
death  a “public  bereavement.”  He  was 
buried  with  Masonic  honors  in  Cave  Hill 
Cemetery. 

No  newspaper  published  in  Kentucky,  per- 
haps none  published  south  of  the  Ohio  River, 


ever  wielded  an  influence  equal  to  that  of  the 
Louisville  Journal.  It  built  the  city  of 
Louisville,  and  gave  an  importance  to  the 
whole  State  it  had  never  before  known. 
When  Journal  was  established  Louisville 
was  a straggling  village  of  a few  thousand 
inhabitants.  In  describing  it  at  a time 
when  the  Journal  was  in  the  full  tide  of  its 
glory,  the  correspondent  of  a New  York 
journal  said:  “ Louisville  is  situated  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  Ohio  River,  at  the  falls, 
but  it  is  significant  for  nothing  except  as  the 
place  where  the  Louisville  Journal  is  pub- 
lished.” Its  consolidation  with  the  Courier 
formed  a new  era  in  journalism  in  Kentucky 
and  the  South. 

The  history  of  the  Journal  would  not  be 
complete  without  an  extended  notice  of  the 
Courier  and  also  of  the  Democrat.  The 
Courier  was  established,  in  1844,  by  Mr.  W. 
N.  Haldeman,  now  president  of  the  Courier- 
Journal  Company.  A paper  had  been  started 
in  March,  1843,  by  a company  of  practical 
printers,  called  the  Daily  Dime.  This  en- 
terprise was  not  a financial  success,  and  on 
the  11th  of  February,  1844,  the  Dme  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Haldeman,  who  demon- 
strated the  fact  that  the  right  man  had  taken 
hold  of  it.  He  changed  it  on  the  3d  of  June 
following,  into  the  Morning  Courier.  Cas- 
seday’s  sketch,  already  quoted  from,  says: 
“Haldeman  brought  to  his  task  inflexible 
will  and  indomitable  energy.  In  the  hands 
of  almost  any  other  man,  the  paper  would 
soon  have  emulated  the  example  of  so  many 
of  its  immediate  predecessors.  Haldeman 
did  not  know  the  meaning  of  failure;  ad- 
versity only  fixed  his  determination  more 
firmly,  and  urged  him  to  increased  effort. 
He  fairly  conquered  success  in  the  face  of 
all  difficulties.  He  started  out  with  the  idea 
of  making  a newspaper,  and  his  enterprise 
in  this  direction  soon  woke  up  the  sleepy  old 
journalists,  not  only  in  Louisville,  but  all 
over  the  West.  As  there  were  few  railroads 
reaching  his  city,  and  as  the  telegraph  was 
yet  unborn,  the  securing  of  news  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment  was  a matter  of 
energy,  enterprise  and  expense.  Haldeman 
spared  none  of  these,  and  from  the  very  start 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


497 


his  paper  was  what  is  now  called  a ‘live 
institution.’  As  an  instance  of  his  deter- 
mination to  spare  no  expense  for  the  benefit 
of  his  readers  he  sent  (in  1849)  H.  M.  Mc- 
Carty to  Frankfort,  as  resident  correspond- 
ent, to  remain  during  the  constitutional 
convention,  which  framed  the  present  con- 
stition  of  Kentucky.  No  paper  in  the  State 
had  ever  before  incurred  the  expense  of  a 
daily  correspondent  during  the  whole  session 
of  a legislative  body.” 

In  January,  1852,  Mr.  Haldeman  sold  a 
small  interest  in  the  Courier  io  F.  B.  French, 
but  it  soon  passed  back  to  him.  The  next 
year  William  D.  Gallagher  purchased  a half 
interest,  but  in  June,  1854,  Mr.  Haldeman 
again  became  sole  owner.  In  October,  1857, 
he  sold  a half  interest  to  Reuben  T.  Durrett, 
who  continued  his  connection  with  the  paper 
until  in  September,  1859,  when  he  sold  out 
to  Walter  G.  Overton.  Haldeman  & 
Ovei’ton  published  the  Courier  until  the 
commencement  of  the  civil  war  in  1861, 
when  it  was  suppressed  by  the  United  States 
military  authorities  for  “disloyalty.”  Mr. 
Haldeman  made  his  escape  to  the  Confeder- 
ate lines,  and  during  the  war  he  continued 
to  publish  the  Courier,  whenever  time,  oppor- 
tunity and  the  “fortmies  of  war”  would 
permit.  At  Bowling  Green  he  was  requested 
by  Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  to  resume 
its  publication;  such  being  considered  a 
necessity  at  that  time.  Kentucky  was 
trembling  in  the  political  balance,  and  it 
was  still  a little  uncertain  upon  which  side 
of  Mason  and  Dixon’s  line  she  would  fall. 
In  order  to  influence  her  decision,  and  to 
retain  its  own  Kentucky  identity,  the  Courier 
was  dated  at  Bowling  Green,  but  the  type- 
setting and  printing  were  done  in  Nashville, 
owing  to  the  imjoossibility  of  securing  the 
proper  mechanical  facilities  at  the  former 
place.  Col.  Robert  McKee  was  stationed  at 
Bowling  Green  as  editor,  while  Mr.  Halde- 
man took  up  his  headquarters  in  Nashville 
to  superintend  publication.  When  the 
Confederate  army  fell  back  to  Nashville,  the 
Courier  fell  back  with  it,  and  continued  to 
make  its  regular  appearance.  “The  Louis- 
ville-Bowling  Green-Nashville  Courier,''^  as 


it  was  facetiously  called  by  the  papers  in 
the  Federal  lines,  was  probably  as  brilliant 
a success  as  journalistic  annals  afford.  It  at 
once  became  the  favorite  of  the  army  and  of 
the  people  of  the  South,  and  immediately 
attained  a circulation  limited  only  by  its 
mechanical  ability  to  supply  the  demand. 
Extraordinary  efforts  were  made  to  procure 
northern  papers,  which  were  not  then  easily 
accessible,  and  voluminous  extracts  were 
made  from  them  daily.  No  outlay  was  con- 
sidered too  great  to  secure  these  papers,  and, 
so  perfect  w'ere  the  arrangements,  that  up  to 
the  evacuation  of  Nashville  scarcely  a day 
but  full  files  of  papers  from  all  the  northern 
cities  were  received  at  the  Courier  office. 
Several  active  men  were  constantly  employed 
in  this  service,  and  their  adventures  in  run- 
ning through  the  military  lines  to  secure 
papers  and  news  were  often  exciting  and 
dangerous.  So  perfect  was  the  system  that 
the  military  relied  on  the  Courier  for  the 
most  important  intelligence  outside  of  their 
lines.  Mr.  Haldeman  had  been  for  many 
years  a most  indefatigable  and  laborious 
newspaper  man,  and  was  considered  perfectly 
familiar  with  the  business,  even  to  the  minut- 
est details,  but  during  the  four  months  he 
published  the  Courier  in  Nashville  he  ac- 
quired a knowledge  of  the  business,  and  an 
insight  into  its  workings,  of  which  he  pre- 
viously had  no  conception.  To  this  experi- 
ence may  be  largely  attributed  his  remark- 
able success  as  the  business  manager  of  a 
great  newspaper.*  Upon  the  restoration  of 
peace  Mr.  Haldeman  returned  to  Louisville, 
and  at  the  urgent  request  of  many  of  his  old 
friends  and  prominent  citizens  of  the  city 
and  State,  he,  on  the  4th  of  December, 
1865,  recommenced  the  publication  of  the 
Courier.  Its  success  was  almost  unparalleled 
from  its  revival  to  its  consolidation  with  the 
Journal. 

The  Louisville  Democrat  was  established, 
in  1843,  by  Phineas  M.  Kent,  of  New  Albany, 
Ind.  He  was  aided  by  subscriptions  from 
James  Guthrie  and  other  leading  Democrats 
of  Louisville,  Ky.  The  object  of  the  paper 
was  to  advocate  the  claims  of  the  democracy  in 

*Historical  sketch  of  the  CouriST-Jourml. 


31 


498 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  presidential  campaign  of  1844,  then  open- 
ing, and  it  went  vigoi'ously  into  the  contest,  j 
Mr.  Kent  did  not  fulfill  all  the  requirements 
of  the  party  leaders,  and  in  a short  time  the 
paper  was  purchased  by  John  H.  Harney, 
who  remained  its  editor  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  soon  after  the  close  of  the  J 
war.  Shortly  after  the  purchase  of  the  pa- 
per, Mr.  Harney  took  into  partnership  AVill- 
iam  E.  and  Thomas  P.  Hughes.  The  latter 
soon  retired,  but  William  Hughes  remained 
with  the  paper,  and,  under  the  firm  title  of 
Harney  & Hughes,  published  it  until  ab- 
sorbed by  the  Courier- Journal  combination. 

Mr.  Harney  was  a man  of  fine  scholarly 
attainments,  and  broad  and  statesman-like 
views.  He  had  no  experience  in  journalism 
when  he  took  charge  of  the  Democrat,  but  he 
soon  became  a prominent  politician  and  rec- 
ognized leader  of  his  party.  His  style  was 
strong,  forcible,  and  correct,  and  he  wrote  to 
convince,  and  went  about  it  in  the  most  di- 
rect manner.  His  party  acknowledged  his 
services,  and  he  held  his  leading  position 
without  any  attempt  at  rivalry  from  any 
source.  A wordy  warfare  sometimes  pre- 
vailed between  him  and  Prentice,  but  it  was 
more  good-natured  than  otherwise,  and  never 
characterized  by  extreme  bitter  partisan  feel- 
ing, and  when  Mr.  Harney  died  (in  1868)  Mr. 
Prentice  wrote  a beautifully  touching  and 
generous  eulogy  of  him. 

Such  is  a brief  sketch  of  the  three  papers 
comprised  in  the  Louisville  Courier -Journal, 
a newspaper  recognized  as  the  ablest  south 
of  the  Ohio  River,  and  as  one  of  the  most 
influential  published  in  the  United  States. 
It  probably  controls  the  general  sentiment 
throughout  a larger  extent  of  country  than 
any  other  newspaper  in  existence.  In  the 
South  and  Southwest  it  wields  a power  never 
before  reached  in  the  history  of  the  press, 
except  by  Prentice’s  Journal.  The  limits  of 
this  article  will  not  permit  a sketch  of  all 
the  gentlemen  who  have  filled  editorial 
chairs  on  these  three  newspapers,  and  who 
are  now  dead,  or  have  retired  from  the  field 
of  journalism.  A just  tribute  to  each  would 
comprise  a volume  of  itself.  Of  the  names 
that  should  not  be  forgotten,  are  those  of  the 


accomplished  Edwin  Bryant;  the  fair-minded 
politician,  Thomas  H.  Shreve ; the  poet- 
editors,  William  D.  Gallagher  and  Will 
Wallace  Harney;  the  talented  Reuben  T. 
Durrett,  the  witty  “Wat”  Overton,  the  bril- 
liant and  scholarly  Paul  R.  Shipman,  the 
sparkling  correspondent,  Charles  D.  Kirke 
(“Se  De  Kay”);  the  able  Charles  O.  Faxon, 
the  humorous  and  tenderly  pathetic  John  E. 
Hatcher,  and  many  others  of  talent  and 
genius. 

No  event  in  the  newspaper  history  of 
Louisville  or  Kentucky  created  the  surprise 
and  intei’est  involved  in  the  consolidation  of 
the  Journal  SMdithQ  Courier.  These  papers, 
although  of  the  same  political  faith,  were  ap- 
parently bitterly  hostile,  and  each  was  striv- 
ing for  party  leadership.  The  consolidation 
took  place,  without  any  preliminary  notice, 
on  the  8th  of  November,  a few  days  after  the 
presidential  election  of  1868.  A brief  ex- 
tract from  the  sketch  already  quoted  from, 
will  more  fully  explain  the  matter:  “Each 

paper  was  sustained  by  a large  and  influen- 
tial class,  but  the  business  of  the  citj^  did 
not  justify  the  outlays  which  both  were  forced 
to  make,  in  order  to  sustain  a rivalry  so  am- 
bitious. It  was  not  until  the  presidential 
campaign  was  well-nigh  ended  that  the  mat- 
ter was  seriously  canvassed.  There  could 
hardly  be  a doubt  of  its  expediency  in  the 
minds  of  any  experienced  journalist  cogni- 
zantof  all  the  facts,  and  the  only  points  diffi- 
cult to  be  settled,  because  complicated,  re- 
lated to  details.  These  were,  however,  finally 
adjusted  in  a manner  much  to  the  satisfac- 
tion and  advantage  of  all  parties.” 

The  history  of  the  Courier-Journal,  under 
its  present  title,  is  well  known.  It  has  had 
a brilliant  existence,  and  a long  career  of 
usefulness  is  before  it.  Its  editor,  Mr.  Wat- 
terson,  is  one  of  the  ablest  in  the  South  or 
West,  and  he  is  a worthy  successor  of  the 
talented  Prentice.  Mr.  Haldeman,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Courier- Journal  Company,  has 
few  equals  in  the  business  management  of 
newspapers.  Few  men  living,  perhaps, 
except  himself,  could  have  taken  the  Courier- 
Journal  at  the  time  of  the  consolidation,  and 
carried  it  through  the  many  difficulties  that 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


surrounded  it,  and  made  it  the  successful 
newspaper  it  is  to-day.  He  is  a writer  of 
more  than  ordinary  ability,  but  it  is  as  a 
financier,  and  a practical  business  man,  that 
he  has  been  most  useful  to  the  Courier- 
Journal  in  obtaining  for  it  the  prosperity  it 
enjoys,  and  the  prominent  position  it  occu- 
pies among  the  great  newspapers  of  the 
country. 

The  only  paper  or  periodical  ever  published 
in  the  West  that  attained  any  renown  as  a 
literary  paper  exclusively,  was  issued  by 
Prentice  & Weissinger,  from  the  office  of  the 
Louisville  Journal.  It  was  called  the  Liter- 
ary Neivs-Letter,  and  was  established  in 
December,  1838,  and  its  publication  con- 
tinued until  in  November,  1840.  Dr.  E.  S. 
Crosier,  in  a sketch  of  it,  written  a few  years 
ago,  says:  “It  was  under  the  editorial 
control  of  Edmund  Flagg  until  December 
14,  1839,  when  it  went  into  the  hands  of  the 
lamented  Leonard  Bliss.  It  may  safely  be 
said  that  no  periodical  at  the  West,  profess- 
ing to  be  exclusively  literary,  has  ever  proved 
so  successful,  or  around  which  have  so  many 
deliehtful  associations  clustered.  The  aim 
was  not  entire  originality,  but  the  contribu- 
tions and  selections  exhibited  a degree  of  ex- 
cellence rarely  found  in  older  and  more  pre- 
tentious periodicals.” 

Many  who  attained  fame  and  renown  in 
the  world  of  letters  fiumished  original  arti- 
cles for  the  Literary  Neivs-Letter,  or  was 
represented  in  its  columns  by  selections  from 
their  best  productions.  Of  the  number  were 
Bryant  and  Longfellow,  whose  writings  will 
live  as  long  as  pure  literature  is  admired; 
and  Albert  Pike,  the  poet  and  scholar,  and 
Francis  S.  Osgood,  and  Washington  Irving, 
and  George  P.  Morris,  and  N.  P.  Willis, 
and  John  G.  Whittier,  “the  good  Quaker 
poet  of  Amesbury,”  and  others  well  known 
in  the  fields  of  literature,  among  whom  were 
Mrs.  Laura  J.  Thurston  (“Viola”),  Amelia 
B.  Welby  (“Amelia”),  Mrs.  R.  S.  Nichols 
(“Ellen”),  Mrs.  S.  J.  Howe  (“Egeria”). 
There  was  also  an  occasional  contribution 
from  J.  Ross  Browne,  the  “ artist  traveler’,” 
as  he  is  sometimes  called.  But  with  all  the 
genius  and  brilliancy  that  sparkled  in  its 


4!)9 

columns,  the  News-Letter  enjoyed  but  a brief 
existence,  and  in  a little  less  than  two  years 
it  became  extinct. 

A number  of  other  newspapers  were  start- 
ed in  Louisville,  previous  to  the  war,  but 
most  of  them  were  short-lived  and  none 
attained  any  great  importance.  The  Times 
was  established  about  J851,  and  existed  for 
three  or  four  years.  In  1852  a paper  called 
the  Union  was  established,  but  like  the 
Times,  its  existence  was  brief.  About  the 
same  time  the  Evening  Bulletin  made  its 
appearance,  and  the  Anzeiger,  the  leading 
German  paper  ever  published  in  Louisville 
or  in  the  State.  The  latter  is  still  in  exist- 
ence, and  is  a live  and  enterprising  journal. 

The  Daily  Commercial  is  the  only  English 
morning  paper — in  addition  to  the  Courier- 
Journal— 'gvLhliAiQdL  in  Louisville.  It  was 
established  soon  after  the  close  of  the  war 
as  a Republican  paper,  and  was  conducted 
several  years  as  such.  Recently,  however, 
it  has  changed  into  an  independent  organ. 
It  has  been  greatly  improved  and  enlarged, 
and  is  an  able,  fii’st-class  popular  newspaper, 
but  still  too  young  for  an  extended  notice. 
The  Post  and  the  Times  are  evening  papers, 
and  are  much  superior  to  the  average  of  that 
class  of  journals  in  ability  and  importance. 
Several  religious  and  secular  weekly  papers 
are  published  in  Louisville,  and  form  no 
inconsiderable  part  of  the  city  press. 

The  country  press  of  Kentucky  is  equal  in 
merit  and  ability  perhaps  to  that  of  any 
other  St  ite.  Nearly  every  county  has  one  or 
more  newspapers.  The  large  majority  of 
them  are  ably  conducted,  and  wield  a large 
influence  for  good  in  their  respective  coun- 
ties. While  the  great  dailies  fui’nish  na- 
tional and  foreign  news,  the  country  press, 
equally  important  in  its  particular  sphere, 
gathers  up  and  preserves  the  local  news. 
The  papers  of  Frankfort,  Lexington,  Paris, 
Covington,  Cynthiana,  Maysville,  Newport, 
Richmond,  Danville,  Bowling  Green,  Rus- 
sellville, Hopkinsville,  Owensboro,  Hender- 
son, Paducah,  etc.,  are  excellent  samples  of 
the  State  and  country  press. 

An  era  in  the  newspaper  history  of  Ken- 
tucky was  the  establishment  of  an  abolition 


500 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


or  anti -slavery  jDaper  at  Lexington.  The  j 
author  of  what  was  then  considered  a very  ! 
questionable  enterprise  was  Cassius  M.  Clay, 
and  he  published  the  hrst  number  of  his 
paper,  which  was  called  the  True  American, 
on  the  14th  of  June,  1845.  It  was  devoted 
to  the  “overthrow  of  slavery,”  and  was  bold 
and  defiant,  and  even  aggressive  in  the 
advocacy  of  that  then  unpopular  doctrine. 
Mr.  Clay  published  his  paper  until  in  August, 
when  public  indignation  was  aroused,  and 
the  people  arose  in  their  might,  and  from  all 
parts  of  central  Kentucky  assembled  in  a 
great  mass  meeting  in  Lexington.  A reso- 
lution was  adopted  which  will  show  the  tem- 
per of  the  meeting:  ^‘‘Resolved,  that  the  press 
and  materials  of  the  True  American,  an 
anti-slavery  newspaper  conducted  by  Mr. 
Cassius  M.  Clay,  shall  be  sent  beyond  the 
confines  of  the  State.”  A committee  consist- 
ing of  sixty  prominent  citizens  was  appointed 
by  the  meeting  to  carry  out  the  spirit  of  the 
resolution.  They  quietly  proceeded  to  the 
office,  took  possession,  boxed  up  the  material 
and  presses,  had  them  conveyed  to  the  depot, 
and  shipped  to  a responsible  house  in  Cin- 
cinnati, subject  to  the  order  of  Mr.  Clay. 
Nothing  was  destroyed  or  even  injured,  nor 
was  there  the  least  mob  violence  displayed, 
but  there  was  a calm  determination  to  rid  the 
town  and  State  of  the  obnoxious  journal. 

Mr.  Clay  was  a man  of  courage — was 
brave  even  to  rashness — and  had  he  been 
present  when  his  office  was  invaded  there 
doubtless  would  have  been  bloodshed.  But 
he  was  confined  to  a sick  bed  at  the  time,  and 
was  thus  prevented  from  defending  his  prop- 
erty. The  establishment  of  an  anti-slavery 
paper  at  that  time  in  a Southern  or  slave 
State  was  little  less  than  the  act  of  a mad- 
man, notwithstanding  the  venture  was  made 
in  a free  country,  priding  itself  upon  having 
and  fostering  a free  press.  The  time  had 
not  come  to  tolerate  the  free  expression  of 
such  political  sentiments,  and  this  was  the 
first  and  last  effort  made  to  establish  a paper 
of  that  cast  of  politics  in  Kentucky  until  an 
administration  came  into  power  of  similar 
principles,  and  thereby  rendered  the  enter- 
prise a safe  investment. 


Kentucky  has  produced  many  persons,  both 
male  and  female,  of  high  literary  talent. 
Additional  to  those  whose  names  have  been 
mentioned  in  connection  with  the  press,  some 
I of  the  most  distinguished  are  William  Ross 
I Wallace,  Fortunatus  Cosby,  Jr,,  James  Bir- 
ney  Marshall,  Theodore  O’Hara,  Mrs.  Mary 
E.  McAboy,  James  R.  Barrick,  Mrs.  Sarah 
T.  Bolton  and  Joel  T.  Hart,  the  “poet  sculp- 
tor.” Others  of  less  extended  fame  are  Mrs. 
Sophia  H.  Oliver,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Nealy, 
Granville  M.  Ballard,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  T. 
Shannon,  Mrs.  Alice  McC.  Griffin,  Mrs.  Nel- 
lie Marshall  McAfee,  Ben  Casseday,  Mrs. 
Annie  C.  Ketchum,  Miss  Laura  C.  Ford, 
Mrs.  Sallie  M.  B.  Piatt,  Mrs.  Helen  Trues- 
dell,  Miss  Lila  Va.  Johnston,  etc.  The  fol- 
lowing, though  not  natives  of  Kentucky, 
were  and  have  been  citizens,  some  of  them 
for  many  years,  of  the  State:  Noble  Butler 
(the  author  of  a popular  English  grammar), 
James  G.  Drake,  George  W.  Cutter,  Mrs. 
Catherine  Ann  Warfield,  Lewis  F.  Thomas, 
William  W.  Fosdick.  Mrs.  RosaVertner  Jef- 
frey, Henry  T.  Stanton,  Mrs.  Florence  A. 
Clark  and  Mrs.  Alice  Smith  Winston. 

Education  in  Kentucky,  in  the  last  decade 
or  two,  has  reached  a degree  of  perfection 
never  before  attained  in  the  history  of  the 
State.  Kentucky  has  not  the  well  organized 
system  of  common  schools  prevailing  in  the 
Northern  and  Western  States  — in  those 
known  as  the  “ non-slaveholding  States,”  but 
of  the  higher  grade  of  schools  she  stands 
side  by  side  with  the  foremost  States  of  the 
Union.  The  majority  of  her  seminaries  and 
academies  and  colleges  and  universities  are 
of  no  mean  order,  but  will  compare  favorably 
with  the  best  in  the  land.  Since  the  close 
of  the  civil  war  they  have  greatly  improved 
and  their  facilities  been  enlarged  in  order  to 
adapt  them  to  the  new  state  of  affairs  inau- 
gurated in  what  may  be  termed  the  “new 
commonwealth.”  The  power  and  influence 
of  these  institutions  form  one  of  the  greatest 
sources  of  moral  and  intellectual  development 
of  the  State. 

Transylvania  University,  whose  history  ex- 
tends back  more  than  a hundred  years,  was 
the  first  public  institution  of  learning  estab- 


HISTORY  OF  I0:NTUCKY. 


501 


lished  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  It  is  scarcely 
possible  to  sketch  all  the  schools  and  colleges 
of  the  State,  but  only  to  glance  at  some  of 
the  earliest  and  also  of  the  most  important  , 
of  these  institutions  of  learning,  by  way  of 
contrasting  the  old  with  the  new  order  of 
things;  and  a history  of  Kentucky  would 
hardly  be  complete  without  considerable  no- 
tice of  Transylvania  University. 

The  general  assembly  of  Virginia  in  May, 
1780,  passed  the  following  act: 

An  act  to  vest  certain  Esclieatecl  Lands  in  the 
County  of  Kentucke'^  in  Trustees  for  a Public 
School:  I 

Whereas  it  is  represented  to  this  General  Assem- 
bly that  there  are  certain  lands  within  the  County 
of  Kentucke  formerly  belonging  to  the  British  Sub- 
jects, not  yet  sold  under  the  Law  of  Escheats  and 
Forfeitures,  which  might  at  a future  day  be  a val- 
uable fund  for  the  maintenance  and  education  of 
youth,  and  it  being  the  interest  of  this  common- 
wealth always  to  promote  and  encourage  every  de- 
sign which  may  tend  to  the  improvement  of  the 
mind  and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  even  among  | 
the  most  remote  citizens,  whose  situation  in  a bar-  | 
barous  neighborhood  and  a savage  intercourse  might  | 
otherwise  render  unfriendly  to  science.  Therefore, 

Be  it  enacted  that  eight  thousand  acres  of  Land 
within  the  said  County  of  Kentucke,  late  the  prop- 
ert}^  of  Robert  McKenzie,  Henry  Collins  and  Alex- 
ander McKee,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  vested  in 
William  Hemming,  William  Christian,  John  Todd, 
John  Cowan,  Stephen  Trigg,  Benjamin  Logan,  John 
Floyd,  John  May,  Levi  Todd,  George  Meriwether, 
John  Cobb,  George  Thompson,  and  Edmund  Taylor, 
Trustees,  as  a free  donation  from  the  Common- 
wealth for  the  purpose  of  a public  school  or  semi- 
nary of  learning,  to  be  erected  in  said  County  as 
soon  as  the  circumstances  of  the  County  and  the 
state  of  the  funds  will  admit,  and  for  no  other  pur- 
pose whatever,  saving  and  reserving  to  the  said 
Henry  Collins,  Robert  McKenzie  and  Alexander 
McKee,  and  every  one  of  them  and  every  person 
claiming  under  them,  all  right  and  interest  in  the  j 
above  mentioned  Lands,  to  which  they  may  be  by 
law  entitled,  and  of  which  they  shall  in  due  time 
avail  themselves,  anything  herein  contained  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding. 

This  was  the  original  charter  of  Transyl- 
vania University.  The  general  assembly  of  | 
Virginia  in  1783  passed  another  act  formally 
chartering  the  school  under  the  name  and 
title  of  “Transylvania  Seminary.”  This  act 
gave  the  school  all  the  powers  and  privileges 
of  a university.  It  required  that  the  officers 

*Xentucky  was  a county  of  Virginia,  and  still  retained  the 
Indian  pronunciation. 


of  the  institution  should  take  a special  oath 
before  a judge  of  the  supreme  court;  invested 
in  a new  board  of  trustees  12,000  additional 
acres  of  escheated  lands  in  the  district  of 
Kentucky,  exempting  the  whole  from  taxa- 
tion; empowered  the  trustees  to  receive  land 
and  other  property  from  various  sources  and 
donors,  and  providing  in  its  last  clause  “ that 
no  land  or  other  property  that  may  hereafter 
be  vested  in  said  trustees  as  an  inalienable 
endowment  to  said  seminary,  shall  ever  be 
sold  or  otherwise  transferred  from  the  special 
purpose  to  which  it  was  appropriated  by  the 
donor.”* 

No  institution  was  ever  founded  from  nobler 
impulses  than  Transylvania,  but  its  early 
career  was  clouded  with  adversities.  On  the 
10th  of  November,  1783,  the  trustees  elected 
Rev.  David  Rice,  a Presbyterian  clergyman, 
chairman.  The  outlook  was  not  encourag- 
ing.  But  by  way  of  cheering  the  friends  of 
the  institution,  the  Rev.  John  Todd  donated 
to  the  school  a small  library.  This  formed 
the  nucleus  of  what  became  one  of  the  most 
extensive  public  libraries  of  Kentucky — a li- 
brary still  in  existence  in  Lexington.  When 
Mr.  Rice  was  elected  chairman  of  the  board 
of  trustees,  the  indications  for  a flourishing 
school  were  unpromising  in  the  extreme. 
The  pioneers,  surrounded  by  difficulties  and 
dangers,  with  prowling  bands  of  hostile  In- 
dians roaming  through  the  country,  could 
devote  little  time  to  classical  education.  But 
amid  these  discouraging  circumstances,  the 
trustees  persevered,  and  in  spite  of  all  ob- 
stacles the  seminary  was  opened  in  February, 
1785,  for  pupils.  The  tirst  term  was  taught 
in  the  house  of  Mr.  Rice  near  Danville,  and 
he  was  the  first  teacher.  The  endowment  at 
the  time  was  so  small  as  to  afford  a scanty 
salary  for  one  professor. 

The  original  acts  pertaining  to  Transylva- 
nia were  passed  while  Kentucky  was  a county 
of  Virginia,  but  soon  after  its  admission  as  a 
State  into  the  Union,  the  legislatiu’e  enacted 
laws  exempting  lands  from  escheat.  This 
legislation  served  to  deprive  Transylvania  of 
all  the  escheated  lands  with  which  it  had 
been  endowed  by  the  State  of  Virginia,  ex- 

*Eanck,  in  History  of  Fayette  County,  p.  292. 


503 


HISTORY  OF  KE^STTUCKY. 


cept  8,000  acres,  from  the  sale  of  which  the 
sum  of  $30,000  was  realized.  This  transac- 
tion proved  unfortunate.  The  money  was 
invested  in  stock  of  the  Bank  of  Kentucky, 
and  short  1}'  after  the  investment  was  made, 
the  legislature  repealed  the  bank’s  charter, 
by  which,  it  is  alleged,  the  seminary  lost 
$20,000.  This  misfortune  not  only  discour- 
aged the  friends,  but  seriously  crippled  the 
resources  of  the  institution.  It,  however, 
continued  to  struggle  on. 

Transylvania  was  not  originally  intended 
to  be  denominational,  yet  it  was  opened 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Pi’esbyterians,  and, 
indeed,  it  was  mainly  owing  to  a few  prom- 
inent members  of  that  church  that  it  was 
established.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Rice,  the  first 
principal  of  the  school,  was  perhaps  the  first 
Presbyterian  minister  to  cross  the  mountains 
into  the  wilderness  of  Keutacky.  He  took  an 
active  part  iu  building  up  the  institution. 
The  school  was  opened  near  Danville,  but 
the  arrangement  was  temporary,  and  its  per- 
manent location  was  left  to  future  consider- 
tions.  The  matter  provoked  considerable 
discussion,  and,  in  the  fall  of  1788,  it  was 
removed  to  Lexington,  but  it  was  not  until 
1793,  that  the  question  of  location  was  defi- 
nitely settled.  The  Transylvania  Land 
Company  pledged  a donation  of  a lot  of 
ground  for  the  buildings  on  condition  that 
the  school  be  permanently  located  at  Lexing- 
ton. The  trustees  accepted  the  offer  in  the 
following  resolution:  '’^Resolved,  that  the 

permanent  seat  of  the  seminary  be  estab- 
lished on  the  lot  of  ground  in  the  town  of 
Lexington,  adjoining  Messrs.  January’s,  and 
which  is  the  same  mentioned  by  the  company 
of  gentlemen  calling  themselves  the  Transyl- 
vania Company.  ” On  this  lot  was  erected, 
about  1794,  the  first  building  used  by  the 
Transylvania  Seminary  in  Lexington,  a plain, 
two  story  brick  edifice. 

Upon  the  removal  of  the  school  to  Lexing- 
ton, Elias  Jones  was  elected  principal,  in 
place  of  Rev.  Mr.  Rice,  resigned.  The  terms 
of  this  pioneer  institution  would  present  a 
rather  amusing  contrast  to  some  of  our 
great  colleges  and  universities  of  the  pres- 
ent. They  were,  as  published  in  the  Ken- 


tucky Gazette,  as  follows:  “Five  pounds  a 
year,  one-half  cash,  the  other  in  proioerty. 
Boarding  nine  pounds  a year,  in  property, 
pork,  corn,  tobacco,  etc.”  The  grammar 
school  department  was  added  in  1789,  and 
Isaac  Wilson  appointed  “professor”  at  a sal- 
ary of  “£100  sterling  per  anumn.” 

In  the  early  history  of  Transylvania,  its 
career  was  often  disturbed  by  the  yell  of  the 
Indian,  and  the  crack  of  his  rifle.  Troops 
were  almost  constantly  needed  for  defense, 
and  even  the  women  and  children  had  to 
bear  their  part  in  defending  the  settlements 
against  the  savages.  The  roll  of  the  drum 
called  many  a youth  from  the  quiet  of  the 
schoolhouse,  and  the  turbulence  of  the  times 
forced  them  to  exchange  books  for  rifle  and 
tomahawk.  The  unsettled  state  of  the  coun- 
try was  a serious  drawback  to  the  school,  and 
from  thirteen  pupils  in  attendance  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  session,  in  1790,  the  number 
was  reduced  next  year  to  five.  Its  finances 
were  correspondingly  low.  The  trustees, 
however,  did  not  despair,  but  set  about  rais- 
ing £500  for  current  expenses.  The  fees 
from  the  county  surveyors*  had  not  been 
sufficient  to  support  it,  and  landed  property 
was  still  too  nearly  valueless  to  be  avail- 
able. So  low  was  the  treasury  that  the 
Rev.  James  Moore,  who  had  succeeded  Mr. 
Wilson  as  principal,  was  forced  to  carry  on 
the  school  in  his  own  house,  and  received 
but  £25  for  his  year’s  service,  with  permis- 
sion from  the  trustees  to  chai’ge  an  extra 
fee  for  the  “Roman  and  Greek  classics.  ” The 
school  seems  to  have  prospered  under  all 
these  difficulties,  for,  in  December,  1793,  the 
Lexington  Gazette  announced  that  “Transyl- 
vania Seminary  was  well  supplied  with  teach- 
ers of  Natural  and  Moral  Philosophy,  of  the 
Mathematics  and  of  the  learned  Languages.  ” 
Quite  a serious  dissatisfaction  arose  in  1794. 
The  board  of  trustees  elected  Rev.  Harry 
Toulminf,  a Baptist  minister,  principal. 
Sectarian  jealously  was  at  once  aroused,  and 
the  usefulness  of  the  institution  for  a time 

*In  1787  the  general  assembly  of  Virginia  further  endowed 
the  school  with  one-sixth  of  the  surveyors’  fees  in  the  district 
of  Kentucky,  which  had  formerly  been  given  to  AViliiam  and 
Mary  College. 

fMr.  Toulmin  was  a man  of  ability,  and  was  afterward  sec- 
retary of  Slate  under  Gov.  Garrard. 


mSTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


503 


seemed  in  a fair  way  to  be  destroyed.  The 
Baptists  claimed  equal  rights  in  the  seminary 
as  a State  institution;  the  Presbyterians 
claimed  control,  on  the  ground  that  its  en- 
dowment was  due  to  their  exertions.  Jealousy 
and  bitterness  increased.  Rev.  Mr.  Moore, 
principal  of  the  grammar  department,  who 
belonged  to  the  Presbyterians,  resigned  his 
position,  and  his  church  finally  withdrew  its 
patronage  of  the  institution.  In  1796,  they 
established  the  Kentucky  Academy  at  Pisgah, 
eight  miles  southwest  of  Lexington.  The 
trustees  of  the  new  academy  comprised  some 
of  the  leading  men  of  the  State,  and  they 
went  vigorously  to  work  to  raise  funds  for  its 
support.  They  soon  had  an  endowment  of 
$14,000,  an  amount  liberal  for  that  early 
period.  About  $10,000  of  this  sum  had  been 
contributed  by  the  friends  of  popular  educa- 
tion in  the  older  States  of  the  east,  among 
whom  were  George  Washington,  then  presi- 
dent; and  John  Adams,  vice-president;  and 
Aaron  Burr,  and  Robert  Morris.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Gordon,  of  London,  contributed  £80 
sterling,  toward  purchasing  books  and  appa- 
ratus. An  active  rivalry  sprang  up  between 
the  two  schools.  But  fortunately  for  their 
influence  as  educational  institutions,  good 
sense  and  moderation  prevailed,  and  finally 
led  to  a consolidation  on  terms  consistent 
with  honor  and  justice,  A petition  was  pre- 
sented to  the  legislatm’6  in  1798,  in  which  it 
was  proposed  that  “the  Transylvania  Semi- 
nary and  Kentucky  Academy,  together  with 
their  respective  trusts  and  funds,  shall  be 
united,  and  compose  one  general  institittion 
for  the  promotion  of  learning,  to  be  styled 
and  known  by  the  name  of  the  ‘Transylvania 
University.-”  The  petition  was  granted, 
and  Transylvania  was  chartered  as  a univer- 
sity December  22,  1798.  The  Rev.  James 
Moore  was  the  first  president  of  the  new  in- 
stitution. The  next  year  (1799)  it  was  given 
the  appearance  of  a regular  university,  by 
the  addition  of  law  and  medical  departments. 

Transylvania  University  for  two-thirds  of 
a century  was  the  most  famous  educational 
institution  ever  chartered  in  the  west.  Its 
record  is  as  proud  as  any  similar  institution 
within  the  limits  of  the  Republic,  and  its  roll 


of  graduates  show  names  of  men  distinguished 
throughout  the  country.  Among  them  are 
Jefferson  Davis,  the  whilom  president  of  the 
southern  Confederacy;  Thomas  F.  Marshall, 
the  “silver-tongued”  orator;  Dr.  Benjamin  W. 
Dudley,  one  of  the  most  noted  surgeons  the 
State  has  known;  Richard  H.  Menifee,  John 
Boyle,  Rev.  James  McChord,  Dr.  Joseph 
Buchanan,  Richard  M.  Johnson  (a  vice- 
president  of  the  United  States),  John  Rowan, 
Charles  S.  Morehead  (a  governor  of  Ken- 
tucky), William  T.  Barry,  Jesse  Bledsoe, 
Charles  A.  Wickliffe  (a  governor  of  Ken- 
tucky), Elijah  Hise  and  many  others  equally 
pre-eminent.  Among  its  alumni  are  presi- 
j dents,  vice-presidents,  cabinet  ofScers,  for- 
' eign  ministers,  governors,  generals,  physi- 
1 cians,  merchants,  lawyers,  divines,  and  men 
of  every  profession  and  business  of  life. 
There  are  few  towns  in  the  south  and  west 
! of  any  note  that  does  not  contain  one  or 
more  graduates  of  this  once  renowned  insti  - 
j tution.  It  is  a matter  to  be  regretted,  that 
I its  career  could  not  be  prolonged  and  a 
sufficient  endowment  secured  to  insure  its 
! perpetuation. 

1 The  first  president  of  Transylvania  was 
! Rev.  James  Moore.  He  was  succeeded,  in 
j 1842,  by  Rev.  James  Blythe,  and  he,  in  1818, 
j by  Dr.  Horace  Holley,  one  of  the  most  distin- 
I guished  of  all  its  presidents.  In  1828  Dr. 

Holley  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Alva 
I Woods  as  president;  in  1830  he  was  succeeded 
I by  Rev.  Benjamin  O.  Peers,  and  he,  in  1832, 
by  Rev.  Thomas  W.  Coit,  who,  in  1840,  was 
[ succeeded  by  Rev.  Robert  Davidson.  In 
1840  the  institutions  passed  into  the  control 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  Rev. 
Henry  B.  Bascom  (afterward  a bishop  of  that 
I church)  chosen  president.  He  resigned  in 
! 1849,  and  the  school  reverted  back  to  the 
State.  It  was  wholly  reorganized  in  1856 
j and  a normal  department  added  under  State 
patronage,  with  an  appropriation  of  $12,000 
per  annum  for  its  support.  About  this  time 
the  Rev.  Lewis  W.  Green  was  called  to  the 
presidency,  and  was  the  ninth  and  last  presi- 
dent of  Transylvania.  He  held  the  position 
two  years,  and  then  resigned  it  to  accept  the 
position  of  president  of  Centre  College,  at 


504 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCIFX'. 


Danville.  From  the  time  of  his  resignation, 
the  prosperity  of  Transylvania  waned,  and 
in  1865,  it  was  merged  into  Kentucky  Uni- 
versity. 

The  law  and  medical  departments  of  Tran- 
sylvania were  ably  conducted,  and  furnished 
many  eminent  lawyers  and  physicians  to  the 
country.  Among  the  professors  of  the  law 
department,  was-  Col.  George  Nicholas,  one 
of  the  most  profound  jurists  of  Kentucky. 
Among  his  pupils,  who  afterward  became 
distinguished  lawyers,  statesmen  and  poli- 
ticians, were  Joseph  Hamilton  Daviess,  John 
Rowan,  Martin  D.  Hardin,  Robert  AVickliffe, 
William  T.  Barry, Isham  Talbott,  John  Green, 
etc.,  etc.  He  died  in  Lexington  in  July, 
1799,  while  still  in  the  prime  of  life.  He 
was  succeeded  as  professor  of  law  in  Tran- 
sylvania University  by  Henry  Clay.  After 
Mr.  Clay,  the  chair  was  filled  by  James 
Brown,  John  Pope,  AVilliam  T.  Barry,  Jesse 
Bledsoe,  John  Boyle,  Charles  Humphreys, 
George  Robertson,  Thomas  A.  Marshall,  and 
A.  K.  AVooley,  all  men  distinguished  in  their 
profession. 

The  medical  department  was  equally  dis- 
tinguished, Among  its  professors  may  be 
mentioned  James  Fishback,  Benjamin  W. 
Dudley,  Elisha  Warfield,  Joseph  Buchanan, 
James  Overton,  AVilliamA.  Richardson,  Dan- 
iel Drake,  Charles  Caldwell,  Constantine  F. 
Rafinesque,  John  Esten  Cooke,  Lunsford  P. 
Yandell,  H.  H.  Eaton,  Charles  AV.  Short,  etc. 

The  Kentucky  Academy  owed  its  existence, 
as  we  have  seen,  to  a spirit  of  jealousy  that 
sprang  up  in  Transylvania  in  its  early  years. 
It  was  established  in  1796,  and  soon  attained 
a high  I’eputation.  The  trustees  of  the  in- 
stitution comprised  some  of  the  leading  men 
of  the  State,  such  as  James  Blythe,  James 
Moore,  Andrew  Steele,  Robert  Steele,  Andrew 
McCalla,  Samuel  and  John  McDowell,  Caleb 
Watson  and  James  Jofinson.  But  the  in- 
stitution was  short  lived,  as  a separate  and 
distinct  school,  and  a conservative  influence 
led  to  its  consolidation,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years,  with  Transylvania. 

Centre  College  at  Danville  is  the  oldest 
educational  institution  in  Kentucky.  It  is 
denominational  (Presbyterian)  and  has  had 


an  uninterrupted  existence  since  1819.  The 
historical  sketch  here  given  was  prepared  for 
this  work  by  Prof.  Beatty,  president  of  the 
college.  He  prefaces  his  sketch  with  a synop- 
sis of  the  facts  that  led  to  its  establishment 
as  follows: 

The  Presbyterians  were  dissatisfied  with 
the  course  of  Transylvania  University,  and 
took  steps  to  secure  a charter  for  a school 
which  should  be  under  their  own  control. 
Their  zeal  was  quickened  by  their  hostility  to 
the  celebrated  Dr.  Horace  Holley,  who  had! 
been  chosen  president,  and  whose  theological 
views  they  deemed  unsound.  They  were  so 
far  successful,  as  to  secure  a charter  for  “The 
Centre  College  of  Kentucky,  at  Danville,” 
approved  January  21,  1819.  But  the  legis- 
lature, jealous  of  anything  looking  like  a 
union  of  church  and  state,  refused  to  put  the 
school  under  denominational  control,  and 
chartered  it  as  a State  college.  But  while, 
from  the  first  the  Presbyterian  influence  was 
predominant  in  the  college,  they  were  unwill- 
ing to  endow  it,  unless  their  control  was 
assured  for  the  future.  As  the  school  could 
not  permanently  succeed  without  an  endow- 
ment, the  legislature  was  induced  to  amend 
the  charter,  and  place  it  exclusively  under 
Presbyterian  control,  upon  condition  that 
they  would  donate  to  its  funds  the  sum  of 
$20,000.  The  amended  charter  was  approved 
January  27,  1824.  The  synod  of  Kentucky 
agreed  to  pay  into  the  treasury  of  the  college 
$5,000  a year  until  the  whole  sum  of  $20,000 
was  paid.  Upon  the  payment  of  the  first 
installment  of  $5,000  the  synod  would  be  en- 
titled to  appoint  one- fourth  of  the  members 
of  the  board  of  trustees,  and  a like  addi- 
tional number  for  each  additional  payment 
of  the  like  sum.  The  full  payment  was  com- 
pleted, and  the  right  to  elect  the  entire  body 
of  trustees  was  vested  in  the  synod,  in  1830. 
Thus,  after  fifty  years  of  effort,  from  1780  to 
1830,  the  Presbyterians  secured  the  exclusive 
control  of  a college  of  their  own.  Immedi- 
ately after  the  original  charter  was  obtained 
in  1819,  contributions  were  made  by  the  citi- 
zens of  the  town  and  vicinity,  and  a modest 
building  was  erected  in  Danville.  The  first 
president  elected  was  the  eloquent  and  dis- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


505 


tinguished  Presbyterian  preacher,  the  Rev. 
James  McChord,  D.  D.,  who  was  pastor  of 
the  church  to  which  he  gave  his  own  name 
in  Lexington.  He  died  in  the  year  of  his 
election,  1820;  but  it  is  believed,  though  not 
certainly  known,  that  before  his  death,  he 
had  declined  the  appointment.  The  office 
having  been  temporarily  tilled  by  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Finley,  the  board  of  trustees,  in  1822, 
elected  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Chamberlain,  D.  D., 
the  fragrance  of  whose  memory  lingers 
with  a few  old  people  about  Danville,  who 
remember  him  as  a man  of  learning,  ability 
and  piety.  He  resigned  in  1826,  and  the 
office  was  filled  temporarily  by  the  Rev.  Da- 
vid C.  Proctor,  until  the  Rev.  Gideon  Black- 
burn, D.  D.,  was  elected  in  1827.  Dr.  Black- 
bium  was  distinguished  rather  for  his  popu- 
lar eloquence  than  for  profound  scholarship. 
He  resigned  in  1830,  and  was  succeeded  the 
same  year  by  the  Rev.  John  Clark  Young, 
D.  D.,  elected  October  26th.  Some  difficulties 
connected  with  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Black- 
burn gave  offense  to  his  friends  and  to  the 
students  of  the  college,  a number  of  whom 
left  with  their  departing  president.  Dr. 
Young  was  thus  elected  the  very  year  in 
which  the  exclusive  right  to  choose  trustees 
was  vested  in  the  synod  of  Kentucky.  The 
money  that  had  been  subscribed  having  been 
spent  in  the  erection  of  buildings,  purchase 
of  apparatus  and  books,  the  support  of  the 
faculty  and  other  purposes,  the  college  was 
without  funds  and  without  students.  But 
the  times  were  auspicious.  Transylvania  had 
lost  her  prestige,  and  no  other  school  in  the 
State  had  acquired  her  ascendancy.  Dr. 
Young,  now  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  was 
supplying  the  McChord  Church  of  Lexing- 
ton, from  which  the  board  had  attempted  to 
take  the  first  president.  Upon  him  his  Pres- 
byterian brethren  laid  their  hands  and  sent 
him  to  Danville.  lYhile  in  college.  Dr.  Young 
had  been  the  pupil  of  the  great  Dr.  John  M. 
Mason,  of  New  York.  He  had  received  his 
theological  training  at  Princeton  Seminary, 
and  had  been  a tutor  in  Princeton  College. 
An  eloquent  and  effective  speaker,  he  brought 
rare  gifts  and  attainments  to  the  office.  His 
amiable  disposition,  his  lai’ge  scholarship. 


his  clear  and  discriminating  intellect,  his 
power  of  apt  illustration,  his  readiness,  his 
copious  and  ready  flow  of  correct  language, 
his  wisdom,  prudence  and  piety  combined  to 
fit  him  admirably  for  his  work.  He  soon  be- 
came a great  favorite  with  the  people  among 
whom  he  lived,  with  his  pupils  and  his  breth- 
ren of  the  synod.  He  exerted  a profound 
influence,  moral  and  religious,  in  the  com- 
munity and  over  his  pupils.  Those  who  en- 
joyed the  privilege  of  his  instruction  usually 
ranked  him  very  high,  perhaps  above  every 
other  teacher  whom  they  had  known.  Under 
his  administration  Centre  College  soon  rose 
to  distinction.  Students  Hocked  to  its  halls, 
and  funds  were  contributed  to  its  endowment. 
At  the  age  of  twenty  seven,  he  began  his 
work  in  college,  and  for  another  term  of 
twenty-seven  years  he  presided  over  its  des- 
tinies until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  the 
early  age  of  fifty-four,  on  the  23d  of  June, 
1857.  He  left,  as  his  monument,  an  institu- 
tion whose  endowment  was  greatly  enlarged, 
whose  halls  were  filled  with  nearly  200  stu- 
dents, and  whose  fame  was  spread  abroad  by 
500  graduates  whom  he  had  sent  forth  thi’ough 
the  land,  especially  to  the  south  and  west. 

Dr.  Y^oung  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  L. 
W.  Green,  D.  D.,  who  was  one  of  the  two 
who  composed  the  first  graduating  class.  He 
was  elected  August  6,  1857,  and  died  in  office 
May  26,  1863.  He  was  a worthy  successor 
of  Dr.  Y^oung,  and  during  his  administration 
the  college  continued  to  prosper  until  the 
unhappy  civil  war  broke  out,  and  the  young 
men  of  the  country  left  the  college  halls  for 
military  camps. 

Upon  the  death  of  Dr.  Green,  the  Rev. 
"William  L.  Breckinridge,  D.  D.,  was  elected 
October  18,  1863,  and  held  the  office  for  five 
years,  resigning  October  16,  1868.  He  strug- 
gled bravely  against  adverse  circumstances, 
but  the  civil  war  had  necessarily  greatly  less- 
ened the  number  of  students,  though  it  had 
never  entirely  suspended  the  work  of  the  col- 
lege. But  after  the  termination  of  the  civil 
strife,  the  Presbyterians  of  Kentucky  were 
compelled  to  witness  the  sad  spectacle  of  a 
disrupted  and  contending  church.  The  synod 
was  divided,  and  each  of  the  separate  parts 


50U 


illSTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


claimed  to  be  the  true  representative  of  that 
body  to  which  belonged  the  exclusive  right  of 
appointing  the  board  of  trustees.  Various 
unsuccessful  efforts  were  made  to  heal  the 
schism,  or  to  unite  the  fragments  in  support 
of  the  college,  or  to  divide  the  funds.  At 
length  the  civil  power  was  invoked  to  deter- 
mine the  rights  of  the  respective  parties. 
The  case  came  before  the  circuit  and  appel- 
late courts  of  Kentucky,  and  the  United 
States  district  court.  In  all  of  these  courts 
the  decision  was  in  favor  of  the  party  in  con- 
trol of  the  college  at  the  time,  and  who  had 
always  steadfastly  adhered  to  the  general 
assembly  (northern),  with  which  they  were 
then  and  still  are  connected.  The  college 
could  not  fail  to  suffer  under  such  circum- 
stances. To  add  to  its  troubles,  it  lost  about 
$60,000  of  its  funds,  by  the  robbery  of  the 
Falls  City  Tobacco  Bank  of  Louisville,  in 
whose  vaults  its  bonds  were  kept.  About  two- 
thirds  of  this  sum  was  ultimately  recovered. 
But  the  friends  of  the  college  stood  by  it  in 
its  dark  days,  and  far  more  than  replaced  its 
lost  funds.  Its  property,  including  about 
$70,000  of  unproductive  real  estate,  amounts 
to  near  a quarter  of  a million  dollars.  Its 
benefactors  are  numbered  literally  by  hun- 
dreds, if  not  by  thousands.  Its  funds  have 
been  contributed  in  part  by  many  small  dona- 
tions. But  it  has  had  many  liberal  friends 
who  have  given  much  larger  sums.  Perhaps 
the  largest  contributor  was  Mr.  Samuel 
Laird,  of  Fayette  County,  who  gave  about 
$12,000.  The  next  largest  donations  were 
made  by  Messrs.  L.  L.  Warren,  Caldwell 
Campbell,  and  B.  F.  Avery,  who  first  and  last 
gave  over  $10,000  each.  Dr.  John  W.  Scott 
has  given,  in  different  ways,  about  $10,000. 
Mr.  A.  M.  January  and  Mrs.  M.  A.  Wilson 
each  contributed  $5,000  or  over,  and  a large 
number  $1,000  or  more,  and  a still  larger 
number  have  given  in  smaller  sums.  Mr. 
David  Sayre  erected  at  a cost  of  $5,000  the 
“Sayre  Hall”  for  a library.  Its  graduates 
number  931,  and  now  fill  or  have  filled  many 
posts  of  honor  and  trust,  especially  in  the 
south  and  west. 

Prof.  Ormond  Beatty,  long  connected  with 
the  college,  was  chosen  to  succeed  Dr.  Breck- 


inridge as  president,  September  1,  1871,  and 
still  (1885)  holds  the  office.  A new  building 
was  completed  in  1872;  enlarged  facilities  of 
instruction  in  the  way  of  books,  apparatus,  a 
larger  faculty,  and  a fuller  course  of  studies 
betoken  increased  prosperity  and  usefulness 
in  the  future. 

Other  colleges  were  established  in  Kentucky 
very  early — prior  to  Centre  College,  perhaps 
— but  none  of  them  now  exist,  and  some  of 
them  are  even  forgotten.  The  Southern  Col- 
lege, at  Bowling  Green,  was  established  prior 
to  1820.  In  that  year  the  legislature  passed 
an  act  appropriating  “one-half  of  the  profits 
of  the  Lexington  branch  of  the  Common- 
wealth’s Bank  to  Transylvania  University; 
one-third  of  the  profits  of  the  Harrodsburg 
branch,  to  purchase  a library  and  philosoph- 
ical apparatus  for  Centre  College,  and  a 
like  sum  from  the  Bowling  Green  branch  for 
the  like  purpose  of  the  Southern  College  of 
Kentucky.  ” 

Augusta  College  was  founded  in  1822. 
This  is  claimed  as  the  first  college  established 
in  the  world,  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  During  its 
career,  extending  over  a third  of  a century  or 
more,  it  had  among  its  presidents  some  dis- 
tinguished men,  viz.:  Rev.  Martin  Ruter, 

Rev.  Joseph  S.  Tomlinson,  Rev.  Henry  B. 
Bascom,  Rev.  Burr  H.  McCown,  and  others 
equally  noted.  Its  library  at  one  time  con- 
tained about  2,500  volumes.  The  college 
building  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1852,  but 
was  immediately  rebuilt,  and  a few  years 
later  the  college  went  down.  Since  it  ceased 
to  exist  the  building  has  been  used  for  a high 
school. 

The  first  school  of  a high  grade  established 
in  the  State,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  was  St.  Joseph’s 
College  at  Bardstown.  It  was  chartered  by 
the  legislature  December  24,  1825,  and  soon 
became  the  leading  educational  institution 
of  that  church  in  the  State. 

A female  academy,  the  first  in  the  west, 
and  among  the  first  in  the  United  States,  was 
established,  in  1806,  by  Rev.  John  Lyle.  It 
was  a Protestant  school  and  was  quite  pros- 
perous for  several  years.  Located  at  Paris, 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


507 


in  the  heart  of  the  thickly  settled  portion  of 
the  State,  it  sometimes  had  300  pupils  or 
more.  But  after  a few  years  of  prosperity 
it  passed  out  of  existence. 

Bacon  College  was  chartered  in  1836.  It 
was  originally  located  at  Georgetown,  but  in 
1840  was  removed  to  Harrodsburg,  and  in 
1865  was  merged  into  Kentucky  University. 
St.  Mary’s  College,  in  Marion  County  (Roman 
Catholic),  was  incorporated  in  January,  1837; 
Louisville  College  in  1840,  and  Marshall 
College  at  Hopkinsville  the  same  year;  Hen- 
derson College  in  1842,  and  Maysville 
College  in  1846.  Thus  seminaries,  acade- 
mies, colleges  and  universities  sprang  up  in 
all  parts  of  the  State — too  many  really  for 
the  good  of  the  common  schools,  which, 
after  all,  comprise  the  true  system  of  popular 
education  in  America.  The  common  schools 
languish  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of 
colleges,  academies,  and  other  private  schools. 
No  State  in  the  Union  is  better  supplied 
with  educational  institutions  of  a higher 
grade  than  Kentucky,  but  her  common 
school  system,  although  being  improved  every 
year,  is  still  very  deficient.  Among  fii’st- 
class  schools,  now  in  successful  operation, 
may  be  mentioned  Kentucky  University,  and 
the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  at 
Lexington,  Centre  College  at  Danville, 
Kentucky  Military  Institute  near  Frankfort, 
Central  University  at  Richmond,  Cumber- 
land College  at  Princeton,  with  a college, 
academy,  seminary,  or  other  private  school 
in  every  town  of  any  importance  in  the  State. 

The  Kentucky  Military  Institute,  situated 
six  miles  from  Frankfort,  was  incorporated 
under  the  State  laws  in  1847,  and  placed 
under  the  control  and  direction  of  a board  of 
visitors,  appointed  by  the  governor,  who,  by 
virtue  of  his  office,  is  ex-officio  inspector  of 
the  institute.  The  superintendent,  faculty 
and  cadets  are  constituted  a quasi  military 
corps.  The  officers  are  commissioned  under 
the  seal  of  the  commonwealth,  and  are 
responsible  to  the  board  of  visitors  for  the 
faithful  performance  of  prescribed  duties. 
The  institute  is  a private  enterprise,  and  has 
always  been  self-sustaining.  The  State  fur- 
nishes the  military  equipment  and  assumes 


supervision  over  the  military  organization, 
but  contributes  nothing  to  its  support. 

The  location  of  the  institute  is  a beautiful 
one,  and  is  reached  by  an  hour’s  ride  by 
stage  from  the  State  capital  over  the  Frank- 
fort & Harrodsburg  Turnpike.  The  buildings 
were  erected  at  a cost  of  $100,000,  and  are 
admirably  adapted  to  school  purposes.  They 
are  heated  by  steam  and  lighted  by  gas,  and 
the  excellent  taste  displayed  in  arrangement 
of  buildings  and  grounds  commends  the 
establishment  to  visitors  as  a place  of  un- 
equaled beauty.  The  following  is  the  true 
aim  of  the  military  feature: 

The  design  of  the  miltary  organization  is  not 
only  to  bring  abont  a just  discipline,  but  to  direct 
to  a high  purpose  the  aimless  energies  of  youth, 
which  would  otherwise  be  wasted  in  unprofitable 
sport,  A robust  frame,  a manly  carriage,  and  a 
graceful  bodiU  development,  are  objects  not  less 
worthy  than  the  acquirement  of  a soidierly  knowl- 
edge, which  may  be  of  great  practical  value  in  the 
chances  of  life.  The  esprit  de  corps  excited  by  this 
organization  creates  checks  upon  willful  or  thought- 
less error,  and  urges  the  cadet  to  an  observance  of 
strict  propriety,  in  a degree  far  greater  than  would 
be  thought  by  one  not  familiar  with  its  workings. 
The  virtues  of  truthfulness,  self-respect  and  self- 
reliance  are  the  most  direct  results  of  a military 
education.  While  this  is  true,  it  is  also  true  that 
the  military  discipline  is  entirely  subservient  to  the 
grander  purposes  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  de- 
velopment of  the  youth.  It  is  but  a means,  and 
not  the  end,  of  earnest  endeavor  in  the  inculcation 
of  subordination  to  rightful  authority.  An  obedi- 
ence is  sought  to  be  attained  from  the  conscious- 
ness of  right,  and  not  from  the  fear  of  punishment. 
It  is  believed  that  a noble  manhood  is  centered  in 
no  other  element  of  character. 

Kentucky  University  is  one  of  the  ablest 
and  most  renowned  institutions  of  learning 
in  Kentucky.  It  is  located  at  Lexington, 
and  is  a genuine  university,  complete  in 
every  college,  with  a liberal  endowment. 
It  was  incorporated  in  1858  as  a university, 
and  located  at  Harrodsburg.  It  grew  out  of 
Bacon  College,  an  institution  established  by 
the  Reformed  or  Christian  Church  at  George- 
town in  1836,  and  afterward  removed  to 
Harrodsburg.  It  finally  failed  through  want 
of  sufficient  endowment,  and  about  the  year 
1850  was  virtually  abandoned.  Upon  the 
incorporation  of  Kentucky  University,  the 
funds  and  property  of  Bacon  College  were 


508 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY 


turned  over  to  it,  and  the  identity  of  the 
latter  was  thus  lost  in  the  new  institution. 

Kentucky  University  owes  its  origin  main- 
ly to  the  efforts  and  zeal  of  Mr.  John  B. 
Bowman,  a graduate  of  Bacon  College.  He 
conceived  the  idea  of  erecting  a great  uni- 
versity— a university  in  the  full  sense  of  the 
word — upon  the  ruins  of  old  Bacon  College, 
and  dedicated  his  life  to  the  accomplishment 
of  this  purpose.  He  abandoned  his  business 
aims,  and  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to 


made  to  Mr.  Bowman  to  remove  the  institu- 
tion to  Lexington,  Louisville  or  Covington. 
The  trustees  of  Transylvania  University,  in 
order  that  Lexington  might  maintain  its 
character  and  usefulness  as  an  educational 
center,  proposed  to  convey  the  entire  proper- 
ty of  Transylvania  and  consolidate  it  with 
Kentucky  University,  on  condition  that  the 
latter  be  removed  to  Lexington,  and  that  it 
preserve  all  the  Transylvania  trusts.  This 
proposition  was  accepted,  and  Kentucky 


STATE  AGRICULTURAL  AND  MECHANICAL  COLLEGE. 


the  raising  of  a fund  for  its  endowment,  and 
with  such  material  success  that  within  less 
than  six  months  be  had  secured  $150,000. 
The  college  of  science,  literature  and  arts, 
the  first  regular  department  of  the  univer- 
sity, was  opened  at  Harrodsburg  in  Septem- 
ber, 1859,  with  nearly  200  students.  Mr. 
Bowman  was  not  idle.  He  raised  $5,000  to 
purchase  apparatus,  and  $50,000  to  purchase, 
as  the  site  for  the  buildings,  the  celebrated 
Harrodsburg  Springs,  together  with  200 
acres  of  land  adjacent.  In  this  last  he  was 
defeated  through  the  civil  war,  and  other 
causes.  The  college  edifice  and  much  of 
the  furniture,  etc.,  were  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1864.  About  this  time  a proposition  was 


University  removed  to  Lexington  in  1865^ 
and  permanently  located  in  that  city.  The 
next  year  after  its  removal,  Mr.  Bowman 
purchased  “Ashland,”  the  homestead  of 
Henry  Clay,  for  the  permanent  site  of  Ken- 
tucky University  and  its  different  colleges; 
he  also  purchased  the  adjoining  estate  of 
“ Woodlands,”  which  extends  within  the 
limits  of  Lexington,  the  two  estates  contain- 
ing 433  acres  of  as  fine  land  as  lies  in  the 
famous  blue  grass  region. 

The  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College 
was  organized  in  1866,  largely  through  the 
instrumentality  of  its  first  president,  John 
Augustus  Williams,  one  of  the  most  eminent 
educators  in  the  west.  In  the  early  part  of 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


50. 


1865,  congress  proposed  to  donate  to  the 
State  330,000  acres  of  land  for  the  purpose  of 
agricultural  and  mechanical  education.  The 
legislature,  astounded  at  the  munificent  pro- 
vision of  congress,  was  somewhat  undecided 
as  to  the  disposal  of  the  donation,  when  Mr. 
Bowman  came  to  its  aid,  and  proposed  to 
make  the  State  Agricultural  College  a depart- 
ment of  Kentucky  University.  He  further 
agreed,  if  this  should  be  done,  to  provide 
an  experimental  farm,  and  all  the  requisite 
buildings,  and  to  give  gratuitous  instruction 
to  300  students,  to  be  selected  by  the  State; 
and  furthermore  pledged  that  the  board  of 
curators  would  carry  out,  in  the  agricultural 
department,  the  spirit  and  intent  of  the  act 
of  congress,  encouraging  the  education  of  the 
industrial  classes.*  This  was  agreed  upon, 
and  a bill  embodying  the  spirit  of  the  pro- 
posal was  presented  to  the  legislatm’e,  and, 
after  a rather  heated  discussion,  was  passed  by 

*History  of  Fayette  County,  p.  310. 


a large  majority.  It  was  under  the  provisions 
of  this  act  that  Mr.  Bowman  purchased 
“Ashland”  and  “Woodlands,”  as  already  de- 
scribed. 

The  legislature  in  1878  detached  the  Agri- 
cultural and  Mechanical  College  from  the 
University,  and  established  it  on  an  independ- 
ent basis — the  act  taking  effect  on  the  1st  of 
July,  1880.  A commission  had  been  appointed 
by  the  legislature  to  select  a suitable  place 
for  the  location  of  the  college.  Lexington 
made  an  offer  of  the  city  park,  containing 
fifty- two  acres  of  land,  and  $30,000  in  city 
bonds;  Fayette  County  added  to  this  sum 
$20,000  in  county  bonds,  for  the  erection  of 
buildings  or  the  purchase  of  land.  The  legis- 
lature accepted  the  offer,  and  Lexington  be- 
came the  permanent  seat  of  the  Agricultural 
and  Mechanical  College.  It  is  growing  in 
importance  every  year,  and  is  fast  becoming 
one  of  the  most  famous  institutions  of  learn- 
ing in  the  State. 


510 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


CHAPTEE  XXI. 


RECENT  GROWTH  AND  PROMISE  FOR  THE  FUTURE. 


TNTERNAL  improvement  has  received  the 
earnest  attention  of  the  legislature  and  the 
people  of  Kentucky  from  the  organization  of 
the  State.  While  it  never  embarked  so  deeply 
and  recklessly  in  the  system  as  others  of  the 
Western  States  in  their  earlier  history,  yet  it 
involved  itself  in  debt  to  an  extent  that 
required  it  years  to  recover  from.  The  sur- 
face of  the  State  is  not  adapted  to  the  cheap 
construction  of  roads  and  canals  as  are  the 
prairie  States,  but  it  affords  an  inexhausti- 
ble supply  of  material  for  road  building  that 
is  not  surpassed  by  any  country  in  the  world, 
and  when  a road  is  once  made  it  requires  lit- 
tle work  or  expense  to  keep  it  in  good  order. 

The  common  highway  of  travel  is  one  of 
the  best  signs  or  symbols  by  which  to  under- 
stand an  age  or  people.  Something  can  be 
learned  of  the  status  of  society,  of  the  cul- 
ture of  a community,  of  the  enlightenment 
of  a government,  by  visiting  universities  and 
libraries,  churches,  palaces,  and  the  marts  of 
trade;  but  quite  as  much  by  the  roads.  For 
if  there  is  any  activity  in  society,  or  any 
vitality  to  a government,  it  will  always  be 
indicated  by  the  highway,  the  type  of  civil- 
ized motion  and  prosperity. 

Kentucky  is  noted  for  having  some  of  the 
best  as  well  -as  some  of  the  worst  roads  in  the 
country.  The  turnpike  system  in  the  central 
part  of  the  State,  so  far  as  pertains  to  the 
excellent  quality  of  the  road,  cannot  be  ex- 
celled, and  the  abolishment  of  tolls  would 
render  the  system  well  nigh  perfect.  In 
other  and  less  favored  portions  of  the  com- 
monwealth, where  only  “mud  pikes”  are  in 
use,  they  are  no  better  than  similar  roads 
elsewhere. 

The  first  act  of  the  legislatui’e  for  the 
opening  of  a road,  passed  after  Kentucky 


became  a State,  was  approved  December  14, 
1793,  and  was  for  a road  from  Frankfort 
to  Cincinnati.  On  December  12,  1794,  the 
next  act  was  passed  for  a road.  This  was  to 
extend  from  Madison  Court  House,  or  Milford, 
as  it  was  called,  situated  about  four  miles 
from  the  present  city  of  Richmond,  to  the 
hazel  patch,  on  the  road  leading  from  Crab 
Orchard  to  Powell’s  Valley.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  another  act  in  1795,  providing  for 
a road  “ to  commence  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Crab  Orchard,  and  to  terminate  on  the  top 
of  the  Cumberland  Mountain,  in  the  gap 
through  which  the  present  road  to  Virginia 
passes.”  These  acts  were  not  always  fol- 
lowed by  the  immediate  opening  of  the  roads 
designated  in  them.  The  latter  road  was 
not  opened  for  a year  after  the  act  was  passed, 
and  the  road  from  Madison  Court  House,  etc., 
was  not  opened  until  1797.  The  expenses 
of  opening  both  were  paid  by  State  appropri - 
ations.  The  legislature  of  Kentucky,  in 
1797,  re-enacted  a law  of  Virginia,  for  the 
“ opening  of  new  roads,  and  the  alteration  of 
former  roads,  under  surveyors  appointed  by 
the  courts.”  This  act  required  “that  all 
male  laboring  persons,  sixteen  years  old,  or 
more,  shall  work  the  roads,  except  those  who 
are  masters  of  two  or  more  slaves  over  said 
age;  or  else  pay  a fine  of  7s  6d  for  each  day’s 
absence,  or  neglect  thus  to  work.”  It  fur- 
ther provided,  “that  in  the  absence  of 
bridges,  mill-dams  should  be  built  at  least 
twelve  feet  wide,  for  the  passage  of  public 
roads,  with  bridges  over  the  pier-heads  and 
flood-gates.”  The  surveyors  were  authorized 
to  ‘ ‘ impress  wagons,  and  to  take  timber, 
stone  or  earth,  for  building  roads,”  the  same 
to  be  paid  for  out  of  the  taxes  of  the  different 
counties.  For  several  years,  a number  of 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


511 


similar  acts  were  passed  by  each  session  of 
the  legislature.  On  December  21,  1821,  the 
first  act  was  passed,  making  an  appropria- 
tion of  a specified  sum  for  road  purposes. 
The  appropriation  was  81,000,  and  it  was  for 
the  improvement  of  the  State  Road  from  Lex- 
ington, Ky.,  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  from  the 
Rolling  Fork  of  Salt  River,  south,  over  the 
summit  of  Muldrow’s  Hills.  As  stated  in 
the  act,  this  was  “ owing  to  the  thinness  of 
the  population  in  the  neighborhood,  and  to 
the  quantity  of  labor  requisite  to  put  in 
repair  that  part  of  the  great  highway,  leading 
from  northwest  of  the  Ohio  and  upper  settle- 
ments of  this  State,  to  the  States  of  Ten- 
nessee and  Alabama,  and  the  Orleans  country.  ” 

Turnpike  originally  meant  a toll-gate,  and 
not  a road,  but  at  the  present  day,  the  word 
'•  tm-npike  ” is  usually  applied  to  all  macad- 
amized roads.  On  March  1,  1797,  the  legis- 
lature passed  an  act,  appointing  Joseph 
Crockett  “ to  erect  a ‘ turnpike  ’ at  some  con- 
venient place,  and  purchase  as  much  land  as 
may  be  necessary  for  that  purpose,  not  ex- 
ceeding two  acres,  on  the  road  leading  from 
the  Crab  Orchard  to  Cumberland  Gap, 
beyond  where  the  road  from  Madison  Comd 
House  intersects  said  road.”  To  give  the 
reader  some  idea  of  the  importance  of  this 
turnpike  (or  toll-gate),  the  act  provided  that 
“the  turnpike  should  be  farmed  out  to  the 
highest  bidder,  who  should  give  bond  and 
security,  payable  to  the  governor  of  ♦■■he 
State,  for  the  faithful  payment  of  his  bid.” 
When  he  had  complied  with  this  provision, 
he  was  allowed  to  charge  the  following  tolls: 
“For  every  person,  except  post  riders,  ex- 
presses, women,  and  childi-en  under  the  age 
of  ten  years,  9d  (12 J cents);  for  every  horse, 
mare  or  mule,  9d;  two-wheel  carriage,  3s; 
four-wheel  carriage,  6s  (|1),  and  for  every 
head  of  neat  cattle  going  to  the  eastward, 
3d.  ” After  paying  for  repairing  the  road, 
and  keeping  it  in  good  order,  the  surplus  of 
tolls  went  to  the  keeper  of  the  turnpike,  or 
toll-gate. 

The  introduction  of  macadamized  roads* 
into  Kentucky  formed  a new  era  in  road 

* The  macadamized  road  -n-as  invented  by  Macadam,  and 
consists,  after  the  road-bed  is  prepared,  in  covering  it  to  a 
certain  depth  with  broken  stone. 


building  in  the  State.  The  first  road  of  this 
character,  authorized  by  the  legislature,  was 
that  known  as  the  “Maysville  & Lexington 
Turnpike  Road.  ” Gov.  Desha  was  a zealous 
advocate  of  turnpikes.  In  his  annual  mes- 
sage, December  4,  1826,  he  recommended  the 
building  of  a road  from  Maysville  to  Louis- 
ville, via  Paris,  Lexington,  Frankfort,  and 
other  towns  between  the  two  points.  He 
suggested  several  other  important  turnpikes, 
and  closed  with  the  following  words:  “The 
subject  of  common  schools  and  internal  im- 
provements may  be  made  auxiliary  to  each 
other.  Let  the  school  fund  now  in  the  Bank 
of  the  Commonwealth  ($140,917),  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  sale  of  vacant  lands,  the  stock  in 
the  two  banks  belonging  to  the  State  ($781,- 
238),  and  all  other  funds  which  can  be  raised 
by  other  means  than  taxes  on  the  people,  be 
vested  in  the  turnpike  roads;  and  the  net 
profits  arising  from  tolls  on  those  roads  be 
forever  sacredly  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
education.  ” 

The  first  macadamized  road  built  in  the 
State  was  from  Maysville  to  Washington,  a 
distance  of  four  miles.  By  an  act  of  the 
legislature,  passed  February  4,  1817,  a com- 
pany was  incorporated  to  build  a turn- 
pike road  from  Lexington  to  Louisville,  and 
another  to  build  one  from  Lexing- 
ton to  Maysville,  and  the  capital  stock 
of  each  company  fixed  at  $350,000,  in  shares 
of  $100  each.  The  road  from  Maysville 
to  Lexington  was  to  pass  through  Washing- 
ton, Mayslick,Millersburg  and  Paris.  Dm’ing 
the  next  year  turnpike  roads  were  chartered 
from  Louisville  to  Portland  and  Shipping- 
port,  from  Lexington  toward  Boonesborough, 
from  Lexington  to  Georgetown,  and  from 
Georgetown  to  Frankfort.  In  February,  a 
road  was  chartei’ed  from  Georgetown  to  Cin- 
cinnati. But  with  all  this  legislation  on  the 
subject  it  was  not  until  1829,  that  a mac- 
adamized road  was  built  in  the  State. 

The  legislature,  on  the  22d  of  January, 
1827,  chartered  the  Maysville  & Lexington 
Turnpike  Road  Company  anew,  with  a cap- 
ital stock  of  $320,000.  At  any  time,  accord- 
ing to  the  provisions  of  the  act,  within  three 
years  after  complete  organization  of  the 


512 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


company,  the  United  States  government  was 
authorized  to  subscribe  $100,000,  and  the 
State  of  Kentucky  the  like  sum.  Gen.  Met- 
calfe, a representative  in  congress  at  the  time, 
and  aftenvai’d  governor  of  the  commonwealth, 
induced  the  secretary  of  war  to  order  a survey 
for  the  location  of  a leading  highway  and 
“mail  road”  from  Zanesville,  in  Ohio,  through 
Maysville  and  Lexington,  in  Kentucky,  and 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  to  Florence,  Ala.,  and  New 
Orleans.  The  survey  was  commenced  at 
Maysville,  in  May  following,  by  Col.  Long 
and  Lieut.  Trimble,  of  the  United  States 
engineer  department.  On  the  13th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1828,  the  Kentucky  legislature  recom- 
mended congress  to  extend  a branch  of  the 
national  road  from  Zanesville, Ohio,  to  Mays- 
ville, and  “thence  through  the  States  of  Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee,  Alabama  and  Mississippi 
to  New  Orleans.”  The  resolution  instructed 
the  senators  from  Kentucky,  and  requested 
the  members  of  congress  “to  use  their  utmost 
exertions  to  effect  this  object.”  A bill  was 
introduced  into  the  national  congress,  with 
an  appropriation  for  this  great  enterprise, 
and  passed  the  lower  house,  but  was  defeated 
in  the  senate  by  one  of  the  Kentucky  senators, 
John  Rowan.  Mr.  Rowan’s  action  was 
severely  criticized,  on  the  grounds  that,  but 
for  his  opposition,  the  bill  would  have  passed 
in  the  spring  of  1828,  at  a time  when  Presi- 
dent John  Quincy  Adams  would  readily  have 
approved  it,  and  thus  have  secured  the  prompt 
completion  of  the  road  by  national  and  State 
aid. 

Maysville,  with  a spirit  of  enterprise 
worthy  of  emulation,  and  disgusted  some- 
what at  the  “wind-work,”  that,  so  far,  was  all 
that  had  been  done,  went  to  work,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  a charter  from  the  legisla- 
ture on  the  29th  of  January,  1829,  for  “the 
Maysville  & Washington  Turnpike  Road 
Company.”  By  April  the  stock  was  taken, 
and  the  road  commenced  in  July  following — 
the  first  shovel  of  dirt  being  thrown  on  the 
4th.  The  road  was  steadily  pushed  forward, 
and  in  November,  1830,  was  completed 
between  the  two  points,  and  ultimately  ex- 
tended to  Lexington,  under  an  amended  char- 
ter, entitling  it  “the  Maysville,  Washington, 


Paris  & Lexington  Turnpike  Road  Company.” 
On  the  29th  of  April,  1830,  a bill  was  passed 
by  the  national  house  of  representatives  (by  a 
vote  of  102  to  84),  “authorizing  and  direct- 
ing the  secretary  of  the  treasury  to  subscribe, 
in  the  name  and  for  the  use  of  the  United 
States,  for  1,500  shares  ($150,000)  of  the 
capital  stock  of  the  Maysville,  Washington, 
Paris  & Lexington  Turnpike  Road  Company, 
to  be  paid  for  in  the  same  installments  as  by 
the  stockholders  generally,  except  that  not 
more  than  one -third  should  be  demanded 
during  the  year  1830.”  The  bill  passed  the 
senate  by  a vote  of  24  to  18,  one  of  the 
senators  from  Kentucky — George  M.  Bibb  — 
voting  against  it,  and  the  other — John 
Rowan — voting  in  favor  of  it,  but  doing  so 
“under  instructions.”  All  the  senators  from 
the  Southern  States  voted  against  the  bill, 
except  John  McKinley,  of  Alabama.  Of  the 
twelve  members  of  congress  from  Kentucky, 
Dr.  Nathan  Gaither,  alone  voted  against  it. 
But  on  the  27th  of  May,  twelve  days  after 
the  passage  of  the  bill  by  the  United  States 
senate.  President  Jackson  vetoed  it.  Says 
Mr.  Collins:*  “This  extraordinary  measure 
(Jackson’s  veto)  gave  to  the  road  a fame 
broad  as  the  Union,  but  of  no  avail  toward 
its  completion — unless  it  may  have  stimu- 
lated somewhat  or  aroused  afresh  the  en- 
thusiasm excited  the  year  before  by  the 
spirited  and  independent  course  of  the  brave 
little  city,  Maysville  (by  whose  name  the 
road  has  always  been  best  known),  and  by 
the  additional  fact  that,  on  January  29,  1830, 
the  legislature  of  Kentucky  had  made  it 
lawful  for  the  governor  to  subscribe  for  not 
over  $25,000  in  the  stock  of  the  company — 
none  of  which,  however,  to  be  paid  until 
three  times  the  amount  required  of  the  State 
had  been  paid  by  the  stockholders,  in  gold 
or  silver  or  its  equivalent.”  During  the 
year  (1830)  large  sums — large  for  the  time — 
were  subscribed  at  Lexington,  Paris,  Millers- 
burg,  Maysville,  and  by  Nicholas  County, 
and  thirty-one  miles  of  the  road  were 
promptly  put  under  contract.  The  State 
subscribed  different  sums  at  different  times, 
until  the  total  amount  of  State  aid  aggre- 

*History  of  Kentucky,  Vol.  I,  p.  540. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


513 


gated  $213,200 — one-half  the  cost  of  the 
road.  The  total  cost  of  the  road  from  Mays- 
ville  to  Lexington,  a distance  of  sixty-four 
miles,  was  $426,400,  including  thirteen  toll- 
houses and  six  covered  bridges. 

The  first  appropriation  made  by  the  State 
to  a tmmpike  or  macadamized  road  was  on 
January  29,  1830.  This  appropriation,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  based  on  the  condition  that 
private  stockholders  should  subscribe  for 
three  times  the  amount.  The  State  made  its 
first  unconditional  subscription  on  January 
15,  1831,  and  to  the  same  enterprise — the 
road  from  Maysville  to  Lexington.  The 
State  acted  with  great  caution  at  first,  and 
made  its  appropriations  slowly  and  in  small 
sums;  but  in  the  great  internal  improvement 
storm  which  swept  over  the  country,  and  well 
nigh  bankrupted  some  of  the  Western  States, 
Kentucky  became  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
enterprise,  and  appropriations  were  made  to 
the  different  roads  and  thoroughfares,  until 
the  State  had  invested  in  such  works  over 
$2,500,000.  By  the  fall  of  1837,  the  sub- 
scription of  individual  stockholders  aggre- 
gated about  $2,000,000  more.  Something 
of  the  excess  to  which  the  spirit  of  internal 
improvement  was  carried,  is  shown  by  the 
following  summary  of  roads,  most  of  them 
receiving  more  or  less  aid  from  the  State, 
completed,  under  contract,  or  in  contempla- 
tion, in  the  fall  of  1837:  the  Maysville  & 
Lexington,  64  miles  in  length;  Lexington, 
Danville  & Lancaster,  42  miles;  Lexington, 
Harrodsburg  & Perryville,  42  miles;  Lexing- 
ton & Winchester,  18  miles;  Lexington  & 
Richmond,  25  miles;  Lexington,  Versailles  & 
Frankfort,  27  miles;  Frankfort  & Shelby- 
ville,  32  miles;  Frankfort,  Hardinsville  & 
Crab  Orchard,  65  miles;  Frankfort  & George- 
town,  17  miles;  Lexington  & Georgetown,  12 
miles;  Georgetown,  Williamstown  & Coving- 
ton, 73  miles;  Maysville  & Bracken,  11 
miles;  Maysville  & Mt.  Sterling,  50  miles; 
Bardstown  & Springfield,  18  miles;  Louis- 
ville, Bardstown  & Glasgow  to  the  Tennes- 
see line,  144  miles;  Louisville  via  mouth  of 
Salt  River  to  Elizabethtown,  43  miles;  Eliz- 
abethtown & Bowling  Green  to  the  Tennes- 
see line,  96  miles;  Logan,  Todd  & Christian, 


76  miles;  New  Market,  LeUanon  & Wash- 
ington, 15  miles;  Muldrow’s  Hill  and  bridge, 
5 miles;  Versailles  to  Kentucky  River,  12 
miles;  aggregating  a total  of  nearly  900  miles 
of  road,  and  a cost  to  the  State  of  between 
$2,500,000  and  $3,000,000.  The  cost  of 
building  some  of  these  roads  was  nearly 
one-third  of  the  cost  of  building  a railroad. 
The  Maysville  Road  cost  $6,662.50  per 
mile,  including  bridges  and  toll-houses,  and 
the  road  from  Louisville  to  the  Tennessee 
line  via  Bardstown  and  Glasgow,  cost  about 
$6, 736  per  mile.  The  roads  enumerated  above, 
were  built  on  the  macadamized  plan,  and 
cost,  including  bridges,  etc.,  from  $5,000  to 
$7,350  per  mile.  In  addition  to  the  macad- 
amized roads  built  prior  to  1840,  a number 
of  “State  roads”  were  authorized  by  the  leg- 
islature; and  "‘ordered  surveyed  and  opened.” 
Most  of  these  were  paid  for  out  of  the  county 
levies,  and  received  no  aid  from  the  State; 
They  were  gi’aded,  the  “dirt  thrown  from 
the  sides  to  the  center,”  and  had  toll-gates 
on  them  at  inteiwals;  the  tolls  being  used  in 
keeping  the  roads  in  good  condition  for 
travel. 

Next  to  the  building  of  roads  the  improve- 
ment of  river  navigation  early  engaged  the 
attention  of  the  legislature.  Indeed,  the  lat- 
ter has  the  right  of  seniority,  as  the  first 
river  improvement  act,  or  the  re-enactment 
of  an  old  law  of  Virginia,  dates  back  to  De- 
cember 15,  1792.  This  law  imposed  “a  fine 
of  $2  for  each  twenty- four  hours  any  obstruc- 
tion was  continued  to  the  passage  of  fish  or 
boats  in  any  navigable  stream — except  said 
obstruction  were  a dam  for  the  pm'pose  of 
working:  a water  gcrist-mill  or  other  water- 
works  of  public  utility.”  Another  act  was 
passed  December  19,  1793,  which  appointed 
commissioners  to  raise  a fund  for  the  clear- 
ing of  the  south  fork  of  the  Licking  River, 
and  opening  it  for  navigation,  from  its 
mouth  to  the  junction  of  Hinkston  and 
Stoner,  and  also  that  of  the  latter  fork  as 
high  as  the  mouth  of  Strode’s  Creek.  Mill- 
dams  already  erected,  were  not  required  to 
be  removed,  but  the  owners  were  directed  to 
build  such  locks  and  slopes  as  would  allow 

the  passage  of  all  boats  that  might  navi- 

32 


514 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


gate  the  streams.  • An  act,  December  12, 1794, 
ordered  the  removal  of  mills  and  hsh-dams 
and  other  obstructions  in  Licking  Eiver  and 
Slate  Creek,  by  May  1,  1795,  under  a pen- 
alty of  £30.  This  law  was  repealed  Decem- 
ber 21,  1799,  and  an  act  passed  permitting 
mill-dams  across  the  main  Licking,  with  pro- 
visos as  to  height,  locks  and  slopes. 

In  1801  a company  was  incorporated  by 
the  legislature  for  the  purpose  of  improving 
river  navigation.  It  was  known  as  the  “Ken- 
tucky River  Company,”  and  had  a capital 
stock  of  $10,000,  divided  into  shares  of  $50 
each.  The  stock  was  apportioned  among  the 
different  counties,  and  commissioners  ap- 
pointed to  receive  the  subscriptions  as  fol- 
lows: Franklin  County,  twenty  shares,  and 
Christopher  Greenup,  Bennett  Pemberton  and 
Thomas  Todd,  commissioners:  Woodford 

County,  twenty  shares,  and  Robert  Alexander, 
Thomas  Bullock  and  William  Steele,  commis- 
sioners; Fayette  County,  thirty  shares,  and 
James  Trotter,  John  Jordan  and  Thomas 
Wallace,  commissioners;  ClarkCounty,  fifteen 
shares,  and  David  Bullock,  Robert  Clark,  Jr., 
and  Dillard  Collins,  commissioners;  Madison 
County,  twenty -two  shares,  and  John  Patrick, 
James  Barnett  and  John  Wilkerson,  commis- 
sioners; Garrard  County,  eighteen  shares,  and 
John  Harrison,  Thomas  Kennedy  and  Abner 
Baker,  commissioners;  Mercer  County,  twenty- 
two  shares,  and  Gabriel  Slaughter,  James Bir- 
ney  and  James  Moore,  commissioners;  Jessa- 
mine County,  fifteen  shares,  and  William 
Price,GeorgeWalker  and  Benjamin  Bradshaw, 
commissioners;  Scott  County,  twenty  shares, 
and  W^illiam  Henry,  David  Flournoy  and 
Bartlett  Collins,  commissioners;  Lincoln 
County,  eighteen  shares,  and  Isaac  Shelby, 
William  Logan  and  William  Whitley,  com- 
missioner's. 

The  design  of  the  Kentucky  River  Company 
was  to  clear  the  Kentucky  River  of  all  ob- 
structions from  its  mouth  to  the  mouth  of  its 
south  fork,  which  would  impede  the  passage 
of  boats  or  might  be  considered  necessary  to 
improve  the  navigation  of  the  river.  Accord- 
ing to  the  charter  of  the  company,  when  the 
work  was  completed,  and  so  long  as  approved 
by  two  commissioners  appointed  by  the  gover- 


nor to  examine  the  navigation  of  the  river 
annually  in  July  or  August,  the  company  was 
allowed  to  collect  tolls  as  follows:  “For  each 
boat  not  more  than  fourteen  feet  wide  and 
thirty  feet  long,  $4;  forty-five  feet,  $5;  sixty 
feet,  $6;  and  9 cents  for  each  foot  larger. 
For  each  keel -boat,  pirogue,  or  canoe,  of  over 
one  ton  burden,  12|  cents  for  each  foot  in 
length.  For  each  100  hogshead  or  pipe  staves 
or  headings,  or  each  100  feet  of  plank  or 
scantling,  if  floated  on  a raft,  4 cents,  or  other 
timber,  12|  cents.  Boats  loaded  with  coal, 
lime,  iron  or  other  ore,  or  household  furni- 
ture, to  pay  not  over  three -fourths  of  the 
above  rates.  ” 

This  enterprise  proved  a failure,  and  on  the 
10th  of  January,  1811,  an  act  was  passed 
which  authorized  the  raising  of  $10,000  by 
lottery,  under  the  supervision  of  eleven  com- 
missioners or  directors.  The  amount  thus 
raised  was  to  be  expended  in  “clearing  all 
logs,  brush,  trees,  rocks,  fish  traps,  ‘shrubbing’ 
the  points  of  islands,  and  removing  other  im- 
pediments from  the  Kentucky  River,  and  its 
south  fork,  and  Goose  Creek,  as  high  up  as 
the  salt-works  of  Gov.  James  Garrard  and 
sons.”  This  enterprise  was  likewise  a failure, 
and  nothing  ever  came  of  it  of  practical 
value. 

Without  going  into  a detailed  account  of 
all  the  acts,  and  the  various  projects  inaugu- 
rated for  the  improvement  of  Kentucky  River 
and  its  bz’anches,  the  following  summary*  may 
be  given:  “In  1836,  the  total  estimated  cost 
of  locks  and  dams  was  $1,950,868;  to  which 
was  to  be  added  for  lock-houses  $17,000,  hy- 
draulic lime,  $102,000,  clearing  river  banks 
at  $300  per  mile,  $77,250,  and  7 per  cent, 
for  contingences,  superintendence,  etc.,  $150,- 
298;  total,  $2,297,416,  or  an  average  cost 
per  mile  of  $8,922.  The  increased  cost  of 
the  five  completed  locks  over  the  estimate  was, 
for  construction  alone,  $185, 226.  The  actual 
cost  of  the  95  miles  was  $901,932.70, 
or  an  average  of  $9,494  per  mile;  at  the  same 
ratio,  the  entire  navigation  to  the  middle 
fork  would  have  cost  $2,444,705.  The  out- 
lay for  engineer! Dg  and  instruments,  land, 
removing  snags,  and  other  incidental  expens- 


*Collins’  History,  Vol.  I,  p.  550. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


515 


es,  on  the  95  miles,  was  S72, 231  and  §52,416 
for  hydraulic  lime.” 

The  improvement  of  Green  and  Barren 
Rivers,  has  received  considerable  attention 
at  various  times  from  the  State.  The  first 
legislative  enactment  for  the  improvement  of 
Green  River  was  February  16,  1808.  The 
act  made  it  obligatory  upon  the  several  coun- 
ties lying  along  a certain  portion  of  the  river, 
to  keep  it  in  a navigable  condition,  and 
annually,  in  July,  August  and  September, 
“to  work  it  with  hands  from  the  neighbor- 
hood.” To  “work  it”  meant  to  “remove  all 
fish  pots,  all  dams  not  erected  under  author- 
ity of  the  legislature,  and  all  logs,  to  cut  and 
clear  away  all  projecting  timber,  to  shrub  all 
points  of  islands,  and  to  remove  any  other 
obstructions  in  the  channel.”  An  act  of  the 
legislature  declared  the  navigable  part  of  the 
river  to  be  that  below  the  mouth  of  Knob 
Lick  Creek,  in  Casey  County.  A year  later 
this  was  changed  to  that  below  the  Adair 
County  line.  An  act  of  the  legislature,  Jan- 
uary 18,  1810,  provided  for  the  improvement 
of  the  branches  of  the  Green  River  as  fol- 
lows: Muddy  River  from  its  mouth  up  to 

its  Wolf  Lick  Fork;  Big  Barren  from  its 
mouth  to  Bays  Fork;  Pond  River  from  its 
mouth  to  within  half  a mile  of  Brier  Creek; 
and  Rough  Creek  from  its  mouth  to  Long’s 
Ferry.  These  improvements  were  to  be 
made  by  subscriptions  raised  along  the 
streams,  in  the  country  that  would  be  most 
benefited  by  the  improvement.  Every  ses- 
sion of  the  legislature  for  years  passed  acts 
upon  acts  for  the  improvement  of  small  rivers 
and  creeks,  and  declaring  them  “navigable 
streams,  ” and  thus  often  giving  them  “a  dig- 
nity and  importance  they  did  not  merit.” 

As  early  as  1833,  money  was  expended  by 
the  State  upon  work,  surveys,  etc.,  of  the 
Green  and  Barren  Rivers.  In  1834,  the  sum 
of  §15,272  was  appropriated  for  engineering 
work  on  the  locks  and  dams,  and  §40,033  the 
next  year.  The  State  appropriated,  for  this 
work,  the  total  sum  of  §125,000,  most  which 
was  expended  before  the  close  of  1836.  In 
1834  the  estimated  cost  of  four  locks  and 
dams  in  the  Green  River,  and  one  in  the 
Barren  River,  was  §238,988.  The  system  em- 


braced the  improvement  of  180  miles  of  the 
Green  and  Barren  Rivers,  thirty  miles  in  the 
I Green  River  above  the  mouth  of  the  Barren, 

! thirty  miles  in  the  Muddy  River,  nine  in  the 
Pond  River,  and  nineteen  in  Rough  Creek — 
268  miles  in  all.  To  November  20,  1837, 
nearly  §250,000  had  been  expended  upon  the 
Green  and  Barren  Rivers.  The  total  amount 
appropriated  to  complete  their  navigation  up 
to  Bowling  Green  was  §859, 126. 79.  The  aver- 
age cost  of  the  improvement  was  estimated 
at  §5,010.73  per  mile.  The  gross  expendi- 
tures upon  these  rivers  from  1843  to  1865, 
was  §269,813.66:  gross  receipts  for  the  same 
period  was  §265,002.59,  an  excess  of  §4,- 
811.07  in  expenditures. 

A survey  of  the  Sait  River,  and  of  the 
Beech  and  Rolling  Forks  (branches),  was 
made  in  1837.  It  was  estimated  that,  with 
four  locks  and  dams,  the  Salt  River  could  be 
made  navigable  for  small  boats  a distance  of 
about  thirty-seven  miles  from  its  mouth. 
The  cost  of  the  four  locks  was  estimated  at 
§282,533.  It  was  also  estimated  that  two 
locks,  from  the  mouth  of  Rolling  Fork  to 
the  mouth  of  Beech  Fork,  would  render  nav- 
igable about  nineteen  miles  between  those 
points. 

The  Big  and  Little  Sandy  Rivers,  though 
streams  of  some  importance,  especially  the 
former,  have  never  received  the  attention 
and  appropriations  that  other  sti’eams  in  the 
State  of  really  no  greater  magnitude.  A 
survey  of  the  Little  Sandy,  made  in  1837, 
developed  the  fact  that  the  stream  was  “too 
crooked  for  the  successful  navigation  of 
steamboats.”  The  Big  Sandy  and  its  west 
fork  were  partially  suiweyed  in  1835,  but  the 
work  was  not  completed  until  1838.  The 
report  of  the  survey  estimated,  that  for 
“the  removal  of  rocks,  snags  and  leanincr 
trees,  and  the  excavation  of  a channel 
through  each  of  the  principal  shoals  or  rip- 
ples, so  as  to  admit  of  descending  naviga- 
tion, the  sum  of  §25,300  would  probably  be 
sufficient.  ’ ’ The  improvement  of  this  sti'eam 
is  not  yet  completed,  and  appropriations  are 
still  occasionally  made  for  the  purpose.  The 
sum  of  §75,000  was  appropriated  in  1870, 
and  a “chute  sufficiently  wide,  with  slope 


516 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


so  as  to  admit  the  passage  of  boats,  cut  in  a 
solid  rock  in  the  falls  of  the  Tug  Fork.”  It 
was  estimated  to  require  seven  lock  and  dams 
on  the  main  stream  and  the  West  Fork,  and 
live  on  the  Tug  Fork,  costing  |569, 100  to 
render  navigation  certain  for  the  inexhausti- 
ble supplies  of  the  celebrated  Peach  Orchard, 
block  and  cannel  coals.”  These  coals  are 
among  the  best  found  west  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  comprise  millions  and  millions  of 
bushels.  Statistics  show  the  exports  from  the 
Big  Sandy  Valley  for  the  year  ending  July 
1,  1870,  at  $1,219,000  in  value.  These  have 
greatly  increased  since  that  date. 

The  Licking  River  received  its  full  share 
of  notice  during  the  rage  of  internal  im- 
provements, and,  as  we  have  seen,  was  one  of 
the  first  streams  coming  under  legislative 
enactments,  but  it  did  not  receive  the  sub- 
stantial aid  which  was  given  many  other 
streams  in  the  State  quite  as  insignificant. 
The  first  survey  of  the  Licking  was  ordered 
about  1835-36.  In  1837  the  survey  was 
continued  to  West  Liberty,  a point  231  miles 
from  its  mouth.  The  total  ascent  in  the 
distance  was  310  feet,  and  to  render  slack- 
water  navigation  feasible  twenty-one  locks 
were  required,  with  “lifts  vai’ying  from  nine 
to  eighteen  feet.”  The  cost  of  the  improve- 
ment up  to  West  Liberty  was  estimated  at 
$1,826,481,  and  the  time  in  which  it  was  to 
be  completed  four  years.  The  first  five  locks 
and  dams  on  the  Licking,  between  Falmouth 
and  the  mouth  of  the  river,  were  put  under 
contract  in  October,  1837,  and  the  work 
pushed  on  with  spirit.  But  in  1842,  owing 
to  the  great  financial  pressure  of  the  times, 
which  had  existed  for  several  years,  the  pub- 
lic works  throughout  the  State  were  almost 
entirely  abandoned.  They  came  to  a dead 
stop  on  the  Licking  River,  and  the  outlay, 
which,  up  to  this  time,  was  $372,520,  proved 
a loss  to  the  State. 

This  does  not  include  all  the  river  improve- 
ments of  Kentucky.  For  many  years  before 
the  era  of  railroad  building,  the  improve- 
ments of  inland  streams  was  agitated,  and  car- 
ried on  vigorously.  Many  projects  of  this  j 
kind  were  inaugurated,  that  in  the  present  age 
would  appear  supremely  ridiculous  to  us,  and  j 


that,  had  they  all  proved  successful,  would 
have  cut  the  State  up  into  water  highways, 
natural  and  artificial.  Enough  of  the  river 
i improvement  has  been  given,  to  show  the 
! extent  to  which  this  species  of  internal  im- 
[ provement  was  carried  in  the  earlier  years  of 
the  commonwealth;  to  notice  every  individ- 
ual enterprise  of  the  kind  is  unnecessai'y,  and 
would  but  weary  the  reader. 

Kentucky  is  not  adapted  to  canals.  The 
uneven  surface  and  the  vast  beds  of  lime- 
stone underlying  it,  render  canals  an  “expen- 
sive luxury”  in  the  way  of  internal  improve- 
ments that  the  State  has  not  felt  able  to 
indulge  in  to  any  very  great  extent.  More 
than  one  project,  however,  of  this  kind,  has 
at  different  times  been  agitated,  but  the  canal 
around  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  at  Louisville, 
is  the  only  monument  to  that  kind  of  enter- 
prise in  existence  in  the  State.  During 
the  internal  improvement  craze,  when  the 
construction  of  canals  became  an  epidemic 
in  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois,  similar  enter- 
prises were  inaugurated  in  Kentucky.  The 
most  gigantic  scheme  of  this  kind,  was  a 
canal  to  connect  the  Ohio  River  with  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  The  following  report  made 
by  Maj.  R.  P.  Baker,  chief  engineer,  to  the 
State  board  of  internal  improvements,  is  from 
the  senate  journal  of  1835; 

From  the  Ohio  up  the  Kentuckj^  River,  by  locks 
and  dams,  to  the  three  forks  of  the  Kentucky; 
thence  up  the  South  Fork  and  Goose  Creek,  to  the 
salt  works;  thence  hy  a canal  thirty-six  miles  long, 
with  160  feet  of  lockage,  into  Cumberland  River  at 
Cumberland  Ford;  thence  four  miles  in  Cumber- 
land River  to  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Creek;  thence 
by  canal,  in  the  bed  of  Yellow  Creek,  to  Cumber- 
land Gap;  through  Cumberland  Gap  by  a tunnel, 
probabl}^  700  to  800  yards  long,  and  by  canal  from 
thence  into  Powell’s  River,  five  miles  below;  down 
that  river  successively  into  the  Clinch  and  Tennes- 
see, and  up  the  Hiwassee  River,  b}"  locks  and  dams; 
from  the  Hiwassee,  continue  the  improvements  by 
a canal  to  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Savannah,  at 
the  head  of  steamboat  navigation  on  that  river. 

Such  a canal  would  outflank  the  whole  chain  of 
the  Appalachian  Mountains,  on  the  southwest;  and 
in  the  course  of  its  extent,  would  cross  the  various 
noble  rivers,  Coosa,  Chattahooche,  Oconee,  etc., 
which,  taking  their  rise  in  the  chain  of  the  Appala- 
chians, flow  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Atlan- 
tic Ocean,  between  the  cities  of  Charleston  and  New 
Orleans.  This  would  throw  open  to  the  commerce 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


51T 


of  the  counties  bordering  on  the  Ohio  River,  a 
choice  among  the  numerous  markets  presented  by 
the  vast  extent  of  cotton  country;  independently  of 
the  facilities  it  would  offer  for  reaching  the  north- 
eastern cities  or  European  ports,  through  the  ports 
of  Savannah  and  Charleston. 

The  average  cost  per  mile  of  a lock  and  dam 
navigation,  upon  the  most  perfect  plan,  will  but 
little,  if  any,  exceed  one-half  that  of  a turnpike 
road.  More  than  three-fifths  of  the  distance  on  the 
route  proposed  would  be  in  the  beds  of  rivers  im- 
proved for  this  kind  of  navigation.  The  most  per- 
fect kind  of  canal  can  be  constructed  for  one-half 
the  cost  of  the  most  perfect  railroad.  The  expe- 
rience of  the  northeastern  States  has  fully  settled  the 
question  that  the  cost  of  transportation  on  railroads 
exceeds  that  upon  canals  by  200  to  300  per  cent.  * 

* * * * The  day  would  not  be  distant  from  the 
completion  of  such  a work,  until  the  demands  of 
commerce  would  be  equal  to  all  the  capacities  of 
the  Kentucky  River  improved  upon  the  largest  plan 
proposed.  This  remark  applies  with  peculiar  force 
to  the  projected  railroad  from  Charleston  to  the 
Ohio  River,  now  undergoing  discussion  in  the  legis- 
lature of  Kentucky. 

At  this  day,  when  the  people  are  gi’oaning 
under  railroad  monopolies,  and  are  ground 
down  by  exorbitant  tariff  rates  required  to 
transport  their  goods  and  produce  to  and  fro, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  or  question  but  that 
such  a water  highway  between  the  Ohio  River 
and  the  Atlantic  Ocean  would  have  proven  of 
incalculable  value  to  the  country.  At  the 
very  least,  it  would  have  afforded  formidable 
competition  to  railroad  transportation,  and 
have  been  an  important  factor  in  keeping 
railroad  charges  at  lower  figures  than  are  now 
maintained.  It  is  a matter  for  regret  that 
the  statesmen  of  half  a century  ago  could 
not  peer  far  enough  into  the  future  to  have 
foreseen  the  value  of  this  important  enter- 
prise, and  not  allowed  it  to  fail. 

The  Ohio  Canal  Company,  organized  for 
the  purpose  of  constructing  a canal  around 
the  falls  of  the  Ohio  at  Louisville,  was  in- 
corporated by  the  legislature  on  the  10th  of 
December,  1804.  Under  the  act,  “commis-  i 
sioners  were  appointed  to  open  books  in  ; 
seventeen  of  the  most  important  towns  of  the 
State,  for  the  subscription  of  150,000  in  $50 
shares.”  A clause  was  added  to  the  charter, 
authorizing  the  company  to  increase  their 
stock  to  “any  amount  found  necessary  to 
complete  the  canal.”  The  company  was  au- 
thorized to  cut  a canal  around  the  falls, 


construct  the  necessary  locks  and  dams,  and 
to  charge  sufficient  tolls  to  keep  the  work  in 
proper  repair,  etc.  If  the  requisite  sum 
was  not  raised  by  subscription,  the  company 
was  allowed  to  raise  $15,000  by  lottery  under 
rather  rigid  restrictions.  This  law  was  not 
satisfactory,  and  an  amended  act  was  passed 
December  20,  1805,  by  which  a quorum  for 
the  transaction  of  business  must  represent, 
or  consist  of,  the  holders  of  at  least  2,000 
shares  of  the  capital  stock.  It  also  “in- 
creased the  capital  stock  to  $500,000; 
directed  the  governor  to  subscribe  for  1,000 
shares,  provided  the  amount  payable  by  the 
State  should  not  exceed  $10,000  annually i 
resei’ved  1,000  other  shares  for  the  future 
disposition  of  the  legislature;  required  the 
canal  to  be  cut  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the 
river;  made  it  lawful  for  the  United  States 
to  subscribe  not  over  $60,000,  the  States  of 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  not  over  $30,000 
each,  and  those  of  Maryland,  New  York  and 
Ohio,  $20,000  each;  made  the  work  and 
canal  ‘ real  estate,  and  forever  exempt  from 
the  payment  of  any  tax,  imposition  or  assess- 
ment whatever;’  fixed  the  toll  on  ships  or 
other  sea  vessels  of  100  tons  or  under,  down 
to  twenty  tons,  at  from  $6  to  $11.75,  and  on 
those  exceeding  100  tons,  at  12  cents  per  ton; 
legalized  a lottery  to  raise  not  over  $30,000; 
declared  the  canal  should  be  sufficient  for 
the  passage  of  boats  drawing,  in  low  water, 
not  more  than  three  feet,  and  at  least  twenty- 
four  feet  wide  at  bottom;  and  forfeited  this 
charter  unless  the  canal  should  be  begun  be- 
fore December  20,  1808,  and  be  completed 
before  January  1,  1815.”  The  charter  was 
forfeited.  Like  the  preceeding  act,  it 
amounted  to  nothing,  and  the  construction  of 
a canal  around  the  falls  seemed  as  remote  as 
before.  On  the  30th  of  January,  1818,  a 
new  company  was  incorporated  by  the  legis- 
lature under  the  title  of  the  “Kentucky  Ohio 
Canal  Company,”  with  a capital  stock  of 
$600,000,  and  authority  to  organize  when 
one-half  of  the  amount  was  subscribed.  The 
new  company,  like  the  old  one,  accomplished 
nothing.  An  amended  act  of  February  10, 
1820,  removed  some  of  the  restrictions  from 
the  charter,  but  even  this  did  not  serve  to 


618 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


awaken  sufficient  interest  to  carry  through 
the  proposed  improvement. 

It  was  not  until  1825,  that  there  seemed  a 
probability  of  the  work  being  accomplished. 
The  increasing  commerce  of  the  west  de- 
manded some  improvements  at  the  falls  of 
the  Ohio,  and  on  the  12th  of  January,  1825, 
the  legislature  chartered  the  Louisville  & 
Portland  Canal  Company — a private  corpora- 
tion. The  capital  stock  was  fixed  at  8600,000, 
and  before  the  end  of  the  year  the  full 
amount  was  subscribed.  A subsequent  act 
(December  12,  1829),  increased  the  capital 
stock  to  1700,000,  and  an  act  passed  on  the 
12th  of  December,  1831,  authorized  its  in- 
crease to  an  amount  “sufficient  to  pay  all 
costs  of  construction,  and  interest  on  all 
sums  expended  up  to  the  time  the  canal  is 
opened.”  AVork  soon  commenced,  and  from 
600  to  1,000  men  were  at  once  employed  and 
set  to  work  excavating.  The  work  was 
pushed  along  as  fast  as  circumstances  would 
permit,  and  during  the  year  1831,  though 
still  far  from  being  completed,  the  canal  was 
opened  for  navigation.  The  great  freshet  of 
1832  damaged  it  to  an  extent  that  heavy  re- 
pairs were  required.  Its  total  cost  of  con- 
struction, as  shown  in  the  report  made 
January  2,  1832,  was  8742,869.94.  This 
was  merely  fc"  construction,  and  does  not 
include  the  amount  necessary  to  repair  it 
after  the  great  freshet  alluded  to  above. 

For  many  years  after  the  opening  of  the 
canal  it  paid  large  dividends  on  the  invest- 
ment. In  1837  the  dividends  were  thirteen, 
in  1838  eleven,  and  in  1839  seventeen  per 
cent.  Fifty  shares  of  the  forfeited  stock 
were  sold  in  1837,  at  8121  per  share,  and,  in 
1838,  200  shares  were  sold  at  8130  per  share, 
the  par  value  being  8100  per  share.  The 
United  States  government,  under  an  act  of 
congress,  purchased  in  1826,  1,000  shares  of 
stock,  and  shortly  after,  1,335  shares  more — 
the  total  par  value  being  8233,500.  In  lieu 
of  dividend  for  1831,  it  received  567  shares 
more,  and  up  to  1842  received  8257,778  in 
semi-annual  cash  dividends;  thus  making  the 
total  income  of  the  government  from  this 
canal,  824,278,  and  567  shares  of  stock  more 
than  it  invested. 


The  canal  was  too  small  for  the  accomoda- 
tion of  all  the  craft  upon  the  Ohio,  and  its 
enlargement  was  determined  on.  The  work 
of  widening  and  deepening  it  was  commenced 
in  1860,  and  continued  through  the  period  of 
the  war,  and  up  to  1866j- when  the  funds 
being  exhausted  the  work  ceased.  Major 
AVeitzel,  United  States  engineer,  in  charge 
of  the  work,  estimated  at  that  time,  that 
81,178,000  would  complete  the  enlargement. 
Congress,  in  1868,  appropriated  $300,000 
toward  its  completion;  in  1869,  $300,000;  in 
1871,  8300,000;  in  1871,  $300,000;  in  1872, 
$100,000,  and  in  1874  took  final  action  toward 
assuming  the  payment  of  the  bonds  still  out- 
standing:. Such  an  arrangement  was  consum- 
mated,  and  the  government  took  possession  of 
this  great  public  work,  and  made  it  a tree  canal. 
The  benefit  to  commerce,  of  this  act  of  liber- 
ality on  the  part  of  the  general  government, 
can  scarcely  be  computed.  Under  its  control, 
the  enlargement  of  the  canal  has  been  com- 
pleted, and  is  a master-piece  of  work.  The 
largest  boats  that  ply  on  the  Ohio  River  pass 
through  the  canal  with  perfect  ease  and  safety, 
and  no  longer  are  the  falls  an  impediment 
to  river  commerce  and  navigation. 

The  Ohio  River  in  the  early  history  of 
Kentucky  was  the  great  feature  of  interest  to 
the  people,  and  its  navigation,  next  to  the 
pack  horse,  the  first  mode  of  transportation 
they  knew.  Many  of  the  early  settlers,  in 
fact  the  great  majority  of  them,  floated  down 
the  Ohio  to  Limestone  (Maysville),  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Licking  and  of  the  Kentucky, 
or  to  the  falls,  on  rafts,  barges,  and  almost 
every  description  of  water  craft,  except  steam- 
vessels,  and  from  their  landing  places,  would 
make  their  way  to  the  interior  settlements. 
“The  location  of  Louisville,”  says  a late 
writer,  “was  due  to  an  obstruction  to  com- 
merce— the  falls  of  the  Ohio — and  its  growth 
has  been  due  to  the  improvement  in  the 
methods  of  transportation.”  As  early  as  1776 
boats  and  barges  from  the  headwaters  of  the 
Ohio  passed  down  into  the  lower  Mississippi. 
Col.  Richard  Taylor,  and  his  brother  Hancock 
Taylor,  in  that  year,  1776,  descended  from 
Pittsburgh  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo,  and  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  same  year,  Gibson  and 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


519 


Linn  made  a trip  from  Pittsburgh  to  New  Or- 
leans for  military  stores  for  the  use  of  the  army 
stationed  at  Pittsburgh.  They  returned  to 
the  falls  the  next  year,  having  procured  156 
kegs  of  powder.  This  was  carried  around  the 
falls  by  hand  and  finally  delivered  at  Pitts- 
burgh according  to  contract.  Tardiveau  and 
Houore,  of  Louisville,  descended  to  New 
Orleans  in  1782,  and  for  several  years  after- 
ward continued  to  make  regular  trips  to  the 
French  and  Spanish  forts  on  the  Lower  Missis- 
sippi. Their  mode  of  navigation  was  very  slow, 
and  attended  with  great  danger.  To  make  a 
voyage  occupied  from  six  months  to  a year; 
the  river  swarmed  with  pirates,  who  would 
steal  and  rob,  and  even  murder,  if  necessary 
to  do  so,  to  secure  booty.  This  system  of 
navigation  continued  until  the  era  of  steam- 
boats. 

In  the  year  1809  Fulton  and  Livingston 
commenced  their  experiments  to  navigate  by 
steam  the  Hudson  Kiver.  As  soon  as  their 
attempt  on  the  Hudson  was  crowned  with 
success,  they  turned  their  attention  imme- 
diately toward  the  great  water-ways  of  the 
west.  They  saw  that  here  were  the  greatest 
streams  in  the  world,  but  it  may  be  doubted  if 
they  prolonged  their  vision  to  the  present  time, 
and  realized  a tithe  of  the  possibilities  they 
were  giving  to  the  world.  They  unrolled  the 
map  of  this  continent,  and  sent  Capt.  Roose- 
velt out  to  Pittsburgh  to  go  over  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  Rivers  to  New  Orleans,  and  re- 
port whether  they  could  be  navigated  or  not. 
His  favorable  report  of  the  inspection  he 
made  resulted  in  the  immediate  construction 
of  the  steamboat  “New  Orleans,”  which  was 
launched  at  Pittsburgh  in  December,  1811, 
and  was  the  first  steamboat  to  descend  the 
Ohio  River.  “At  this  time  there  were  but 
two  steamboats  on  this  continent;  these  were 
the  North  River  and  the  Clermont,  and 
they  were  employed  on  the  Hudson  River. 
The  New  Orleans  on  her  first  trip  took 
neither  freight  nor  passengers.  Her  inmates 
were  Mr.  Roosevelt,  an  associate  of  Fulton, 
with  his  wife  and  family,  Mr.  Baker,  the 
engineer,  Andrew  Jack,  the  pilot,  and  six 
hands,  with  a few  domestics.”* 


The  steamboat  “New  Orleans”  was  fur- 
nished with  a propelling  wheel  at  the  stern 
and  two  masts;  for  Fulton  believed,  at  that 
time,  that  the  occasional  use  of  sails  would 
be  indispensable.  The  boat’s  capacity  was 
100  tons,  and  her  speed  about  three  miles  an 
hour.  Before  her  ability  to  move  through 
the  water  without  the  aid  of  sails  or  oars  had 
been  exemplified,  comparatively  few  persons 
believed  she  could  be  made  to  answer  any 
purpose  of  real  utility.  In  fact,  the  boat 
had  made  several  voyages  before  the  general 
prejudice  began  to  subside,  and  for  quite  a 
time  many  of  the  river  merchants  preferred 
the  old  mode  of  transportation,  with  all  its 
risks,  delays  and  extra  expense,  rather  than 
make  use  of  such  a contrivance  as  a steam- 
boat, which,  to  their  apprehensions,  appeared 
too  marvelous  and  miraculous  for  the  busi- 
ness of  every-day  life. 

The  first  appearance  of  a steamboat  on  the 
western  waters,  produced,  as  well  may  be 
supposed,  not  a little  excitement,  admiration 
and  superstition.  The  time  of  the  “New 
Orleans’  ” first  downward  voyage,  was  a 
period  of  phenomena.  A “ fiery  comet  was 
blazing  athwart  the  horizon,”  and  while 
lying  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  the  steamer 
encountered  the  great  earthquake  of  1811. 
Many  of  the  ignorant  “squatters”  along  the 
river  believed  that  the  steamboat  was  the 
cause  of  both;  that  the  comet  was  the  har- 
binger of  its  approach,  and  the  earthquake 
was  but  the  result  of  its  appearance.  It  was, 
they  believed,  this  flying  in  the  face  of  Prov- 
idence, and  making  a boat  to  run  with  ‘ ‘bilin’ 
water  ’ ’ that  caused  this  terrific  convulsion  of 
nature.  “Presumptuous  man  had  boiled  the 
water,  when,  if  God  had  wanted  it  to  boil,  he 
would  have  so  made  it.”  People  had  navi- 
gated the  river  in  flat-boats,  keel- boats  and 
canoes,  and  under  these  the  glad  rivers  went 
singing  to  the  sea.  But  man  must  come  with 
his  “fire-boat,”  and  the  earth  went  into  con- 
vulsions, and  terror  and  desolation  brooded 
over  the  land.  The  arrival  of  the  “ New 
Orleans”  at  Louisville  was  described  in  La- 
trobe’s  Rambler  in  America,  as  follows: 

Late  at  night,  on  the  fourth  day  after  quitting 
Pittsburgh, they  arrived  in  safety  at  Louisville,  hav- 


*Casseday’s  History  of  Louisville,  p.  120. 


530 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


ing  been  but  seventy  hours  descending  upward  of 
700  miles.  The  novel  appearance  of  the  vessel,  and 
the  fearful  rapidity  with  which  it  made  its  passage 
over  the  broad  reaches  of  the  river,  excited  a mix- 
ture of  terror  and  surprise  among  many  of  the  set- 
tlers on  the  banks,  whom  the  rumor  of  such  an  in- 
vention had  never  reached;  and  it  is  related  that  on 
the  unexpected  arrival  of  the  boat  before  Louis- 
ville, in  the  course  of  a fine,  still  moonlight  night, 
the  extraordinary  sound  which  filled  the  air,  as  the 
pent-up  steam  was  suffered  to  escape  from  the  valve, 
on  rounding  to,  produced  a general  alarm,  and  mul- 
titudes in  the  town  rose  from  their  beds  to  ascertain 
the  cause.  I have  heard  that  the  general  impres- 
sion among  the  Kentuckians  was,  that  the  comet 
had  fallen  into  the  Ohio;  but  this  does  not  rest  upon 
the  same  foundation  as  the  other  facts  which  I lay 
before  you,  and  which  I may  at  once  say,  I had 
directly  from  the  lips  of  the  parties  themselves. 

The  “New  Orleans  ” was  detained  at  Louis- 
ville on  account  of  low  water,  which  would 
not  permit  her  to  pass  over  the  falls.  In 
the  meantime,  she  made  several  trips  to  and 
from  Cincinnati,  and  toward  the  middle  of 
December  a rise  in  the  river  enabled  her  to 
pass  the  rapids,  and  successfully  “ weather- 
ing the  earthquake,”  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio,  reached  Natchez  about  January  1, 
1812,  and  passed  on  to  New  Orleans,  where 
she  arrived  in  safety.  As  soon  as  she  had 
accomplished  her  trap  and  returned,  com- 
merce on  the  western  rivers  began  to  grow, 
and  assume  something  of  importance.  Steam 
navigation  opened  a new  era.  From  this 
rude,  imperfect  steamboat,  that  made  its 
trial  trip  amid  the  throes  of  earthquake  and 
the  blazing  of  comets,  has  come  the  world’s 
Ai’mada,  that  now  plows  the  waves  of  every 
river  and  sea,  until  the  busy  life  upon  the 
waters,  and  its  wealth  of  nations,  almost 
equal  those  upon  the  land.  From  the  new 
era  thus  inauguarated 

Swift  commerce  spreads  her  wings. 

And  tires  the  sinewy  sea-bird  as  she  flies. 
Fanning  the  solitudes  from  clime  to  clime. 

The  “New  Orleans”  continued  to  ply  be- 
tween Natchez  and  New  Orleans  for  some 
two  years.  Her  voyages,  upon  an  average, 
occupied  about  seventeen  days.  She  was 
finally  wrecked,  and  sunk  near  Baton  Eouge, 
on  her  passage  up  the  river 

The  second  steamboat  on  the  Ohio  was  the 
“Comet,”  the  name,  perhaps,  being  sug- 
gested by  the  comet  which,  in  connection 


with  the  first  steamboat  and  the  earthquake, 
had  created  so  much  excitement.  It  was 
owned  by  Samuel  Smith,  and  was  built  at 
Pittsburgh  by  Daniel  French,  on  a patent 
granted  in  1809.  It  made  a voyage  to  Louis- 
ville in  1813,  and  the  next  year  to  New 
Orleans.  It  was  a small  craft,  of  about  only 
forty-five  tons  burden.  She  made  two  trips 
between  New  Orleans  and  Natchez,  and  was 
then  sold,  her  engine  taken  out  and  placed 
in  a cotton-gin.  Dr.  McMurtrie,  in  his 
sketches  of  Louisville,  published  in  1819, 
gives  a list  of  the  steamboats  on  the  Ohio 
River  up  to  that  date;  Ben  Casseday,  in  his 
history  of  Louisville,  published  a third  of  a 
century  later,  gives  a similar  list,  as  also 
does  Gov.  Reynolds  in  his  “Pioneer  History 
of  Illinois.”  The  list,*  as  given  by  Dr. 
McMurtrie  is  as  follows:  First,  “New  Or- 
leans;” second,  “Comet;”  third,  “Vesuvius;” 
fourth,  “Enterprise;”  fifth,  “A3tna;”  sixth, 
“Despatch;”  seventh  and  eighth,  “Buffalo” - 
and  “James  Monroe;”  ninth,  “Washington;” 
tenth,  “Franklin;”  eleventh,  “Oliver  Evans;” 
twelfth,  “Harriet;”  thirteenth,  “Pike;”  four- 
teenth, “Kentucky;”  fifteenth, “Gov.  Shelby;” 
sixteenth,  “New  Orleans;”  seventeenth, 
“George  Madison;”  eighteenth,  “Ohio;” 
nineteenth,  “Napoleon;”  twentieth,  “Vol- 
cano;” twenty- first,  “Gen.  Jackson;”  twenty- 
second,  “Eagle;”  twenty-third,  “Hecla;” 
twenty- fourth,  “Henderson;”  twenty-fifth, 
“Johnson;”  twenty-sixth,  “Cincinnati;” 
twenty-seventh,  “Exchange;”  twenty- eighth, 
“Louisiana;”  twenty-ninth,  “James  Ross;” 
thirtieth,  “Frankfort;”  thirty-first,  “Tamer- 
lane;” thirty-second,  “Cedar  Branch;” 
thirty-third,  “Experiment;”  thirty-fourth, 
“St.  Louis;”  thirty-fifth,  “Vesta;”  thirty- 
sixth,  “Rifleman;”  thirty-seventh,  “Alabama;” 
thirty- eighth,  “Rising  States;”  thirty-ninth, 
“General  Pike;”  fortieth,  “Independence;” 
forty- first,  “United  States.  ”f 

*The  names  of  the  boats  are  given  in  the  order  of  their 
construction. 

fA  steamboat  called  the  “ Firefly,”  it  is  claimed,  was  among 
the  first  boats  built  in  the  west,  and  also  among  the  first  that 
navigated  the  Ohio  River.  Ko  history,  however,  of  Louisville 
or  Kentucky,  mentions  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  a boat  of 
that  name,  or  of  Dr.  Thomas  Ruble,  who  is  claimed  to  have  been 
its  owner  and  builder.  There  was  most  probably  such  a boat, 
but  was,  doubtless,  so  very  small  that  it  escaped  notice  in  all  the 
I histories  of  that  day.  Dr.  Ruble  was  quite  a prominent  man  of 
I the  early  period  of  Louisville  and  Kentucky,  and  was  interested 
j somewhat  in  navigation  at  that  time,  but  no  one  now  seems  to 
; remember  anything  definitely  of  the  steamboat  “ Firefly.” 


HISTORY  OF  KEMTUCKY. 


521 


The  “Vesuvius”  was  built  at  Pittsburgh  by 
Fulton,  and  left  that  port  for  New  Orleans, 
in  the  spring  of  1814,  under  command  of 
Capt.  Frank  Ogden.  She  was  of  390  tons, 
ind  was  built  for  a company  of  men  of  New 
York  and  New  Orleans.  The  “Enterprise” 
was  built  at  Brownsville,  Penn.,  by  Daniel 
French,  and  made  two  voyages  to  Louisville 
in  the  summer  of  1814.  On  the  1st  of  De- 
cember she  started  to  New  Orleans  with  a 
cargo  of  ordnance  stores,  and  upon  her 
arrival  there  was  pressed  into  the  Enited 
States  service  by  Gen.  Jackson.  After  the  I 
close  of  the  war  she  left  New  Orleans  (6th  of 
May,  1815)  and  reached  Louisville  in  twenty- 
five  days  out.  This  was  the  first  voyage 
made  by  a steamboat  from  New  Orleans  to 
Louisville.  The  experiment,  however,  was 
not  satisfactory,  as  the  river  was  very  high 
at  the  time,  and  the  boat  ran  all  the  cut-offs, 
over  fields,  etc.,  leaving  the  public  still  in 
doubt  whether  a steamboat  could  ascend  the 
Mississippi  when  the.  river  was  within  its 
banks,  with  the  usually  rapid  current  com- 
mon in  that  stage  of  water. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  steamer 
“Washington”  commenced  her  career.  Ac- 
cording to  Dr.  McMurtrie,  she  was  the  ninth 
boat  on  the  river,  but  another  authority* 
places  her  as  the  fifth.  She  was  built  under 
the  personal  superintendence  of  Capt.  Hem’y 
M.  Shreve,  whom  many  Kentucky,  Louisville 
and  CincinDati  people  doubtless  still  well 
remember.  The  hull  of  the  “Washington” 
was  built  at  W’heeling,  Va. , and  the  engines 
at  Brownsville,  Penn.  She  was  the  first  “two- 
decker  ” on  the  western  rivers — the  cabin 
was  placed  between  the  two  decks.  Hitherto 
steamboats  had  carried  their  engines  in  the 
hold,  but  Capt.  Shreve  placed  the  boiler  of 
the  W^^&shington  on  the  lower  deck.  This 
plan  was  such  an  obvious  improvement  that 
steamboats  have  retained  it  to  the  present 
day.  The  engines  constructed  under  Ful- 
ton’s patent  had  upright  and  stationary 
cylinders;  in  French’s  engines,  vibrating 
cylinders  were  used.  But  in  the  “ Washing- 
ton,” Shreve  caused  the  cylinders  to  be  placed 
in  a horizontal  position,  and  gave  the  vibra- 


tions to  the  pitman.  Fulton  and  French 
used  single  low-pressm-e  engines;  Shreve 
employed  a double  high-pressure  engine, 
with  cranks  at  right  angles.  This  was  the 
first  engine  of  that  kind  ever  used  in  western 
steamboats.  David  Prentice  had  previously 
used  cam  wheels  for  working  the  valves  of 
the  cylinder;  Capt,  Shreve  added  his  inven- 
tion of  the  cam- cut- off,  with  flues  to  the 
boiler,  by  which  three-fifths  of  the  fuel  was 
saved. 

The  “Washington,  ” on  the  24th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1816,  passed  over  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  on 
her  first  trip  to  New  Orleans,  and  returned  to 
Louisville  in  November  following.  W^hile  at 
New  Orleans  the  ingenuity  of  her  construction 
excited  the  admiration  of  the  most  intelligent 
citizens  of  that  place.  Edward  Livingston, 
after  a critical  examination  of  the  boat  and 
her  machinery,  remarked  to  Capt.  Shreve: 
“You  deserve  well  of  yoim  country, young  man; 
but  we  (referring  to  the  Livingston  & 
Fulton  monopoly)  shall  be  compelled  to  beat 
you  (in  the  courts)  if  w'e  can.”  The  “Wash- 
ingtou”  was  delayed  at  Louisville,  by  ice 
in  the  river,  until  March  12,  1817,  when  she 
started  on  her  second  voyage  to  New  Orleans. 
She  accomplished  the  round  trip,  arriving  at 
the  foot  of  the  falls  (at  Shippingsport)  in 
forty-one  days.  The  ascending  voyage  was 
made  in  twenty-five  days,  and  from  this  voy- 
age, dates  the  actual  commencement  of  steam 
navigation  in  the  Mississijjpi  Talley.  It  was 
now  practically  deinonstrated,  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  public  in  general,  that  steamboats 
could  ascend  this  river  in  less  than  one- 
fourth  the  time  which  the  barges  and  keel- 
boats  had  required  for  the  same  purpose. 
This  triumphal  voyage  of  the  ‘AVashington” 
excited  great  interest  everywhere,  but  espe- 
cially in  the  river  towns  and  cities.  The 
citizens  of  Louisville  gave  a public  dinner  to 
Capt.  Shreve,  at  which  he  predicted  the  time 
would  come  when  the  trip  from  New  Orleans 
to  Louisville  would  be  made  in  ten  days. 
This  may  have  been  regarded  as  a boastful 
declaration,  but  the  prediction  has  been  more 
than  fulfilled,  for  in  a quarter  of  a century 
the  trip  was  made  in  a little  less  than  five 
days.  All  ^^rejudices  against  steam  naviga- 


*H.  C.  Bradsby  in  the  History  of  Cairo , 111. 


622 


HLSTOIIY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


tion  being  now  removed,  steamboat  building 
was  vigorously  prosecuted,  as  the  foregoing 
list  of  boats  built  prior  to  1820  shows.  But 
a new  obstacle  now  presented  itself,  which, 
for  a time  threatened  to  give  an  effectual 
check  to  the  spirit  of  enterprise,  which  had 
been  thus  developed.  This  was  the  claim 
made  by  Fulton  & Livingston  to  the  exclu- 
sive right  of  steam  navigation  on  the  rivers  of 
the  United  States.  This  claim  was  openly 
resisted  by  Capt.  Shreve,  and  litigation  fol- 
lowed. The  “Washington”  was  attached  at 
New  Orleans  and  taken  possession  of  by  the 
sheriff.  When  the  cause  came  before  the 
district  court  of  Louisiana,  that  tribunal 
negatived  the  exclusive  privileges  claimed  by 
Fulton  & Livingston,  which  were  decided 
to  be  unconstitutional.  Their  claims  were 
finally  withdrawn  in  1819  and  the  last  re- 
straint on  the  steamboat  navigation  of  the 
western  rivers  was  thus  removed,  leaving 
western  enterprise  full  liberty  to  carry  on 
the  great  work  of  improvement.  This  work 
became  so  progressive  and  immense  that  at 
one  time  there  were  no  less  than  800  steam- 
boats running  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
Rivers.  The  era  of  railroads  lessened  this 
number  very  materially,  but  there  are  still  a 
great  many  boats  in  operation  on  these  rivers, 
and  river  commerce  still  maintains  vast  pro- 
portions. 

The  railroad  is  the  most  important  internal 
improvement  of  modern  times,  and  its  inven- 
tion and  construction  form  an  interesting 
part  of  our  history.  There  is  not  a single 
occupation  of  interest,  which  the  railroad  has 
not  radically  affected.  Agriculture,  manu- 
factures, commerce,  city  and  country  life, 
banking,  finance,  law,  and  even  government 
itself,  have  all  felt  its  power.  Wholly  un- 
known three-fourths  of  a century  ago,  it  has 
become  the  greatest  single  factor  in  the 
development  of  the  material  progress,  not 
only  of  the  United  States  and  the  other  civ- 
ilized nations  of  the  earth,  but  its  blessings 
are  being  rapidly  extended  into  the  hitherto 
semi-eivilized  and  barbarous  portions  of  the 
globe.  The  railroad  system  of  the  United 
States  now  forms  a perfect  not  work  of  iron 
and  steel  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and 


from  the  lakes  to  the  gulf,  on  which 
run  thousands  of  freight  and  passenger 
cars,  loaded  with  the  pi'oducts  of  the  coun- 
try, and  valuable  merchandise  from  every 
part  of  the  world,  and  carrying  thou- 
sands of  thousands  of  human  beings  with 
lightning-like  speed  from  one  city  to  another. 

The  invention  of  the  railroad,  and  its  in- 
troduction in  this  country,  was  most  oppor- 
tune as  a practical  settlement  of  the  question 
of  internal  improvement,  which  had  for  years 
been  hotly  contested.  A I’ecent  writer  upon 
the  subject  says: 

In  1796  Tennessee  was  admitted  to  the  Union, 
and  the  same  year  congress  authorized  the  survey 
of  lands  north  of  the  Ohio,  and  their  offer  for  sale 
at  $2  an  acre,  with  a year’s  credit,  and  10  per  cent 
discount  for  cash.  By  the  ordinance  of  1787  slavery 
was  prohibited  within  this  territory,  and  the  next 
year  the  first  settlement  was  made  in  Ohio  at  Mari- 
etta. The  same  year  Fort  Washington,  on  the  site 
of  Cincinnati,  was  built,  and  a road  constructed  by 
Virginia,  about  300  miles  long,  finished  from  Alex- 
andria to  the  Ohio,  opposite  Marietta.  The  Ohio 
Company,  in  1787,  bought  a tract  of  5,000,000  acres, 
extending  along  the  Ohio  from  the  Muskingum  to 
the  Scioto,  for  two-thirds  of  a dollar  an  acre,  paya- 
ble in  installments  and  in  certificates  of  the  public 
debt.  * * * Population  flowed  so  rapidly  into 
the  territory,  that,  in  1802,  the  people  petitioned  for 
the  right  to  organize  a State  government.  A con- 
vention for  this  purpose  was  held  in  November  fol- 
lowing at  Chilicothe.  When  this  was  done  the  most 
liberal  inducements  were  offered  to  settlers  of  the 
new  State.  ****** 
From  this  date  the  question  of  internal  improve- 
ments began  to  assume  prominence  in  our  politics; 
and  the  Cumberland  Turnpike,  running  from  Cum- 
berland, Md.,  to  the  Ohio,  occupied  the  attention  of 
congress  at  various  times  up  to  1836,  when  its  con- 
trol was  abandoned  to  the  States.  This  road 
cost  16,670,000,  and  is  now  merely  a highway,  a 
parallel  railroad  route  having  deprived  it  of  the  im- 
portance it  once  held  when  it  was  known  as  the 
“National  Road.”  * * * There  was  need  for 

new  methods  of  inter-communication,  the  increasing 
population  made  every  day  more  apparent*  In  1784 
the  cost  of  transportation  from  Philadelphia  to  Erie 
is  stated  to  have  been  .$249  a ton,  the  method  being 
by  pack  horses  principally,  which  were  driven  in 
lines  of  ten  or  twelve,  each  hoi’se  being  tied  to  the 
tail  of  the  one  preceding,  so  that  the  train  was  un- 
der the  management  of  a single  driver.  In  1789  the 
first  saw-mill  was  built  in  Ohio.  The  crank  for  this 
mill  was  made  in  Connecticut,  and  weighed  180 
pounds.  It  was  carried  by  pack-horses  over  the 
mountains  to  the  Youghiogheny  River  at  Simrell’s 
Perry,  and  thence  shipped  by  water  to  Marietta.  * * 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


523 


In  1808,  Albert  Gallatin,  secretary  of  the  treas- 
ury, made  a report  upon  the  subject  of  internal 
improvements.  In  this  report  he  stated  that  a great 
number  of  roads  had  been  built  in  the  Eastern  and 
Middle  States,  while  few  had  been  constructed  south  | 
of  the  Potomac.  The  roads  were  chiefly  turnpikes, 
varying  in  cost  from  less  than  $1,000  a mile  to  $14,- 
000.  In  five  years  Connecticut  had  incorporated  fifty 
turnpike  companies,  and  New  York  in  less  than 
seven  years  had  incorporated  sixty-seven  compan- 
ies. The  report  recommended  that  $2,000,000 
should  be  appropriated  yearly  for  the  next  ten  years 
in  improving  the  means  of  inter-communication  be- 
tween the  different  parts  of  the  Union,  and  made 
suggestions  for  certain  specific  measures  of  this 
nature. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1832,  it  was  reported  that 
there  were  nineteen  railroads  either  completed  or  in 
process  of  construction  in  the  Middle  States,  and 
that  their  aggregate  was  nearly  1,400  miles.  Though 
congress  afforded  no  material  aid  to  this  new  era  of 
internal  improvements,  yet  this  same  year  it  ex- 
empted from  duty  the  iron  imported  for  railways 
and  inclined  planes,  and  actually  used  for  their 
construction.  In  1840,  it  has  been  estimated  that 
our  yearly  average  of  railroad  construction  was 
about  500  miles.  In  1850  this  average  had  increased 
to  1,500  miles.  In  1860  it  was  nearly  10,000,  and  in 
1871  it  was  stated  that  enterprises  requiring  an  ex- 
penditure of  $800,000,000,  and  involving  the  con- 
struction of  20,000  miles  of  railroad,  were  in  actual 
process  of  accomplishment.  In  1872  the  aggregate 
capital  of  the  railroads  of  the  United  States,  which 
were  estimated  to  embrace  one-half  of  the  railroads 
of  the  civilized  world,  was  stated  to  amount  to  the 
sum  of  $3,159,423,057,  and  $473,241,055  as  their 
gross  revenue. 

Thus  has  the  construction  of  railroads  in- 
creased with  almost  unparalleled  rapidity, and 
grown  into  formidable  proportions,  becoming, 
as  we  have  said,  the  greatest  single  factor  in 
the  developement  of  our  material  progress. 
To  better  understand  this  marvelous  growth 
and  expansion,  a brief  glance  at  the  early 
history  of’  the  railroad  is  not  out  of  place. 
The  first  railroad  of  which  we  have  any  ac- 
count was  built  in  the  north  of  England  (in 
the  collieries)  nearly  two  centuries  before  the 
introduction  of  the  locomative.  Upon  this 
road,  which  had  wooden  rails,  cars  were  drawn 
by  horses  and  mules,  and  were  used  in  haul- 
ing coal  from  the  mines.  As  early  as  1794, 
the  use  of  the  locomotive  in  the  place  of  ani- 
mal power  was  suggested,  but  none  were 
built  until  several  years  afterward,  nor  did 
they  come  into  practical  use  until  1830,  upon 
the  opening  of  the  Liverpool  & Manchester 


Railway.  The  first  railroad  in  this  country 
was  built  in  1807.  It  was  but  a few  hun- 
dred yards  in  length,  and  was  constructed 
I for  transporting  gravel  from  the  top  of  Bea- 
con Hill  down  into  Charles  Street,  in  the  city 
of  Boston.  The  rails  were  entirely  of  wood, 
and  the  propelling  power  the  momentum  of 
the  loaded  cars,  which  in  descending,  by 
means  of  a rope  attachment,  pulled  the  empty 
cars  up,  a double  track,  of  coursQ,  being  nec- 
essary to  the  proper  working  of  the  road. 

Rude  and  simple  as  were  these  first  efforts 
at  railroad  building,  they  suggested  plans 
and  designs  which  time  and  experience, 
together  with  the  inventive  genius  of  man, 
have  continued  ever  since  to  improve  upon. 
Scientific  research  demonstrates  that  what  is 
now  reduced  to  system,  and  rises  to  the  dig- 
nity of  science,  was  discovered  through  some 
trivial  casualty  or  circumstance,  which  fall- 
ing under  the  notice  of  a reflecting  mind, 
gave  rise  to  surprising  results.  The  simple 
circumstance  of  a falling  apple  developed  the 
great  law  of  gravitation.  The  idea  of  forti- 
fying a military  camp  with  an  insurmounta- 
ble obstruction  behind  it,  was  first  suggested 
to  Pyrrhus,  King  of  Epirus  (who  lived  nearly 
300  years  before  the  Christian  era,  and  who 
was  the  most  celebrated  warrior  of  his  time), 
by  seeing  a wild  boar,  when  hunted  to  desper- 
ation, back  himself  against  a tree,  that  he 
might  fight  his  pursuers,  without  danger  of 
being  assailed  in  his  rear.  Similar  hints 
have  led  to  the  triumph  of  mechanical  art, 
which  it  may  be  said,  has  culminated  in  the 
perfected  railroad  system  of  the  present  day. 

In  1827  a railroad  was  built  from  the  gran- 
ite quarries  of  Quincy,  Mass.,  to  the  Nepon- 
set  River,  a distance  of  three  miles.  During 
the  same  year,  a road  nine  miles  in  length 
was  laid  out  from  the  Mauch  Chunk  coal 
mines  of  Pennsylvania  to  the  Lehigh  River, 
and  in  1828,  a road  constructed  by  the  Del- 
aware & Hudson  Canal  Company,  from  their 
coal  mines  to  Honesdale,  and  a commissioner 
sent  to  England  to  purchase  rails  and  loco- 
motives. These  locomotives  arrived  in  the 
spring  of  1829,  and  were  the  first  used  in  the 
United  States. 

The  Baltimore  & Ohio  Railroad  was  char- 


524 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


tered,  and  work  commenced  on  it  in  1828.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  same  year  the  South 
Carolina  Railroad  was  chartered  by  the  legis- 
lature of  that  State.  It  has  been  claimed 
that  the  latter  was  the  hrst  road  in  the 
country,  undertaken  with  the  intention  of 
of  using  steam  power  as  a propelling  force. 

It  was  originally  built  from  Charleston  to 
Hamburg,  but  afterward  extended  to  Au- 
gusta, Ga.,  and  in  1833-34,  was  the  longest 
railroad  in  the  world,  being  130  miles  in 
length.  The  first  locomotive  built  in  this 
country,*  was  constructed  especially  for  this 
road.  Its  trial  trip  was  made  on  a small  por- 
tion of  the  road  out  of  Charleston,  when, 
according  to  the  Courier  of  that  date,  it  run 
“on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  at  the  varied 
speed  of  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  an  hour; 
annihilating  time  and  space,  and  like  the 
renowned  John  Gilpin,  ‘leaving  all  the  world 
behind.  ’ ” 

The  first  railroad  built  in  Kentucky,  and 
the  first  completed  west  of  the  Alleghanies, 
was  the  old  “Lexington  & Ohio  Railroad,” 
aftei’ward  known  as  the  “Lexington  & Frank- 
fort,” then  as  the  “Louisville,  Frankfort  & 
Lexington,”  and  at  present,  the  “Shortline” 
division  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville  sys- 
tem. It  was  originally  chartered  as  the 
Lexington  & Ohio  Railroad,  and  was  to  ex- 
tend from  Lexington  to  Portland,  on  the 
Ohio  River,  a village  now  included  in  the 
corporate  limits  of  Louisville.  The  act  of 
incorporation  passed  the  legislature  January 
27,  1830,  and  takes  up  twelve  printed  pages 
in  the  official  proceedings  of  that  body. 
Among  the  incorporators  were  John  W.  Hunt, 
John  Brand,  Richard  Higgins,  Benjamin 
Gratz,  Luther  Stevens,  Robert  Wickliffe, 
Leslie  Combs,  Elisha  Warfield,  Robert  Fra- 
zer, James  Weir,  Michael  Fishell,  Thomas 
E.  Boswell,  George  Boswell,  Benjamin  Tay- 
lor, Elisha  I.  Winter,  Joseph  Boswell,  David 
Megowan,  John  Norton,  M.  C.  Johnson  and 
Henry  C.  Payne.  Elisha  I.  Winter  was  | 
elected  president  of  the  company,  but  was  | 
shortly  afterward  succeeded  by  Benjamin 

*It  was  built  at  the  West  Point  foundry  (New  York)  and 
completed  December  9, 1830,  under  the  supervision  of  E.  L.  Mil- 
ler, Esq.  It  was  called  the  “Best  Friend”— a name  more  appro- 
priate than  entered  into  the  imagination  of  its  projectors  at 
that  time. 


Gratz,  of  Lexington,  who,  consequently  was 
the  second  president  of  the  company.  Among 
others  who  have  served  as  president  of  the 
road,  are  William  R.  McKee,  Thomas  Smith, 
James  O.  Harrison,  W.  A.  Dudley,  James 
B.  Wilder,  and  Jacob  Kreiger,  Sr.  A pre- 
liminary survey  followed  the  incorporation 
of  the  company,  and  was  made  in  April,  in 
order  “to  ascertain  the  level,  and  whether 
inclined  planes  and  stationary  engines  would 
be  required,  and  to  furnish  the  company  with 
an  accurate  description  of  the'  face  of  the 
country,  to  enable  them  to  estimate  the  cost,  ” 
etc.  The  engineer’s  report  of  the  survey 
between  Lexington  and  Frankfort,  showed 
the  following  result;  First. — There  will  be 
but  one  inclined  plane,  about  2, 200  feet  long, 
descending  one  foot  in  fourteen.  All  the 
residue  of  the  road  can  be  graded  to  thirty 
feet  or  less  in  a mile,  which  is  a fraction 
over  one- fifteenth  of  an  inch  rise  in  one  foot. 
Second. — On  that  grade  there  will  be  no  cut 
deeper  than  nineteen  feet,  and  but  one  of 
that  depth.  Third. — There  will  be  no  em- 
bankment over  twenty  feet  high,  nor  any 
bridge  over  thirty  feet  high.  Fourth. — The 
distance  to  Frankfort  will  not  be  increased  two 
miles  in  length  over  the  present  traveled  road. 
Fifth. — There  will  be  as  much  rock  excava- 
tion in  the  grading  as  will  be  required  to 
construct  the  road.  Sixth. — Or  the  thirty 
feet  grade  which  has  been  adopted,  a single 
horse  is  capable  of  traveling  with  seven 
tons’  weight,  with  as  much  ease  as  five  horses 
can  draw  two  tons  on  our  present  roads  in 
their  best  condition. 

A strong  prejudice  existed  in  early  times 
against  railroads,  and  many  fair-minded  men 
opposed  their  construction  as  being  imprac- 
ticable, and  costly  beyond  their  possible 
value  when  built.  But  the  friends  and  ad- 
vocates of  railroads  argued  that,  in  almost 
all  places  where  canals*  could  be  built,  rail- 
roads could  be  built  also,  and  at  less  cost, 
and  that  railroads  could  be  built  in  thousands 
of  places  where  canals  could  not  be,  for  the 
want  of  water;  that  they  afforded  as  cheap 
and  safe  if  not  a cheaper  and  safer 

*It  will  be  remembered  that  canal  building  prevailed  te 
excess  about  this  time  in  the  west 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


52.5 


mode  of  communication  than  canals,  and 
could  be  traveled  in  one- third  of  the  time; 
that  they  did  not  interpose  any  obstacle  to 
the  cross-communication  of  the  country, 
or  to  the  free  passage  from  one  part  to  another 
of  the  same  farms  as  canals  do;  that  they 
may  be  as  eaily  crossed  as  a common  turn- 
pike, or  other  road;  that  they  may  be  used 
all  the  year,  while  canals  are  made  dry  by 
drouth,  or  closed  by  frost;  that  they  are  not 
only  constructed  at  less  cost  than  canals,  but 
are  easier  kept  in  repair,  and  that  no  improved 
communication  ever  invented  required  so 
little  for  repairs  as  railroads.  This  system 
of  argument  carried  the  day  in  favor  of  the 
railroad,  and  left  the  croakers  to  croak  on  to 
small  audiences,  while  preparations  were 
made  for  beginning  the  then  important  work 
of  building  a railroad.  The  cost  of  con- 
structing the  Lexington  & Ohio  Railroad  was 
estimated  at  11,000,000,  a sum  that  shows 
railroad  engineers  were  not  as  extravagant  in 
their  estimates  for  building  roads  as  they  are 
now.  The  amount  was  soon  subscribed,  and 
the  contracts  for  grading  the  road  between 
Lexington  and  Frankfort  let,  the  distance 
being  divided  into  several  divisions  to  better 
expedite  the  work.  Railroads  were  built 
very  different  then,  and  the  Lexington  & 
Ohio,  it  was  determined,  should  be  without 
“flaw  or  blemish”  in  its  construction.  Instead 
of  wooden  cross-ties  “stone  sills”  were  laid 
lengthwise,  to  which  the  rails  were  spiked 
and  then  soldered.  The  first  stone  sill  was 
laid  October  22,  1831,  at  the  Lexington  end 
of  the  road,  in  the  presence  of  a large  as- 
semblage of  people,  and  amid  the  strains  of 
martial  music  and  the  roar  of  artillery.  A 
description  of  this  event,  which  occured  over- 
half  a centirry  ago,  will  doubtless  be  of  in- 
terest to  the  general  reader,  and  from  a 
chronicle  of  the  time,*  the  following  is 
taken: 

The  three  military  companies  were  formed  for 
escort  duty,  and  marched  to  the  college  grounds, 
where  they  met  the  various  societies  and  individu- 
als. A procession  was  then  formed  in  the  following- 
order:  Col.  Leslie  Combs  as  marshal  and  J.  R.  Cole- 
man as  aid,  on  horseback;  Maj.-Gen.  Pendleton  and 
staff  on  horseback;  field  officers  and  staff  on  horse- 

*From  the  Lexington  Observer. 


back;  officers  of  the  line  on  foot;  Capt.  Hunt’s 
artillery  in  platoons;  Gov.  Metcalfe  supported  by 
Prof.  Caldwell,  orator  of  the  day,  and  Rev.  tV.  H. 
Hall,  officiating  clergyman;  Judges  Underwood  and 
Buckner,  of  the  court  of  appeals;  Judge  Hickey  of 
the  Fayette  circuit  court;  the  Hon.  R.  M.  Johnson, 
R.  P.  Letcher  and  T.  A.  Marshall,  members  of 
congTess,  with  several  members  of  the  Kentucky 
legislature;  Capt.  T.  A.  Russell,  assistant  marshal; 
president  and  directors  of  the  Lexington  & Ohio 
Railroad  Company;  Samuel  H.  Kneas,  chief  engin- 
eer, and  the  treasiuer  of  the  company;  contractors 
and  pioneers,  with  their  implements  of  labor;  Capt. 
Neet’s  Rifle  Guards,  in  platoons;  military  band  of 
music;  trustees  of  the  town  of  Lexington  and  clerk: 
justices  of  the  Fayette  county  court  and  clerk; 
trustees  and  professors  of  Transylvania  Universit}-; 
principal  of  preparatory  department  and  pupils; 
principal  and  pupils  of  Wentworth’s  Academj':  prin- 
cipal and  tutors  of  Shelby  Female  Academy  and 
pupils;  principal  and  professors  of  the  Eclectic  In- 
stitute and  pupils;  strangers;  stockholders  of  the 
Lexington  & Ohio  Railroad;  Capt.  Postlethwaite's 
light  infantry  company  in  platoons;  Lieut. -Col. 
Stephens,  assistant  marshal;  citizens  on  foot,  etc., 
etc. 

A Federal  salute  was  fired  at  sunrise  on  the 
eventful  morning,  and  seven  guns  when  the  first 
stone  sill  was  laid,  indicating  the  seven  sections  or 
divisions  of  the  road  then  under  contract.  As  the 
procession  moved,  the  various  church  bells  rang  out 
a merry  peal,  which  continued  until  it  reached  the 
place  w-here  the  ceremony  was  performed.  Arriv- 
ing upon  the  ground  the  military  formed  a hollow 
square,  within  which  the  civic  procession  was  in- 
closed. A large  number  of  ladies  were  present  for 
whom  ample  accommodations  had  been  made. 
Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Hall,  when  Elisha 
I.  Winter,  Esq.,  president  of  the  company,  handed 
a hammer  to  the  governor  of  the  State,  who  drove 
the  nail  attaching  the  first  iron  rail  to  the  beginning 
stone  sill.  The  music  struck  up  “Hail  Columbia,” 
and  afterward  “ Yankee  Doodle,”  which  continued 
until  the  artillery  ceased  firing.  Prof.  Charles 
Caldwell  then  delivered  an  address,  the  text  of 
which  was  internal  improvements,  after  which  the 
crow'd  dispersed,  and  the  ceremonies  were  brought 
to  an  end. 

The  work,  from  this  auspicions  beginning, 
progressed  steadily  but  rather  slowly.  The 
great  pains  taken  to  make  a “ solid  ” road- 
bed, and  the  labor  of  laying  the  stone  sills, 
rendered  the  work  tedious.  The  contract  for 
preparing  and  laying  the  stone  sills  was 
given  to  Holbm-n  & Benson,  who  received 
“ great  praise  for  executing  their  work  so 
faithfully,  and  in  a style  of  beauty  and  ele- 
gance which  excited  the  admiration  of  all 
who  examined  it.”  By  the  1st  of  August, 


526 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


1832,  one  and  a half  miles  of  the  road  were 
completed,  and  a “ splendid  car  ” put  on, 
and  on  the  14th  the  road  was  formally 
opened;  the  car  “ leaving  its  moorings  at  12 
o’clock,  with  about  forty  people  aboard, 
among  whom  were  Gov.  Metcalfe  and  other 
distinguished  persons.”  Six  and  a quarter 
miles  were  completed  by  the  1st  of  January, 

1833,  and  “ the  car  ” made  two  regular  trips 
daily  for  the  accommodation  of  the  people. 
The  Lexington  Intelligencei\.of  January  27, 
1835,  closed  a lengthy  article  on  the  rail- 
road as  follows:  “We  cannot  refrain  from 
congratulating  our  fellow-citizens  of  the 
town  and  country  adjacent  upon  the  new  and 
brilliant  prospects  which  the  railroad  and  the 
introduction  of  steam  power  have  opened 
upon  us.  It  is  the  beginning  of  a new  era 
to  Kentucky,  and  to  this  part  of  the  Union,  an 
era  in  which  the  population  of  the  interior 
country  may  and  will  enjoy  the  commercial 
facilities  which  have  hitherto  been  the  exclu- 
sive property  oi  the  seaboard  and  river 
population.  Interior  cities  need  only  to 
exert  their  strength  and  enterprise  in  con- 
structing works  of  internal  improvement,  in 
order  to  compete,  with  certain  success,  with 
the  most  favored  of  river  and  seaport  towns.” 

Considerable  opposition  was  encountered 
from  the  enemies  of  railroad  building,  and 
from  men  who  believed  the  project  premature 
and  far  ahead  of  the  times.  They  believed 
like  Thomas  Jefferson,  that  the  time  had  not 
arrived  for  such  improvements.  It  is  told  of 
Thomas  Jefferson,  that  when  the  New  York 
Grand  Canal  was  begun,  Gov.  Clinton,  in  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  asked  his  opinion  of 
the  undertaking.  “It  is  a noble  jaroject,” 
replied  Mr.  Jefferson,  “but  you  are  a century 
too  soon.  ” A few  years  passed,  and  the  great 
canal  was  finished,  when  another  letter  from 
Gov.  Clinton  to  Mr.  Jefferson  announced  the 
fact,  with  the  query:  “What  do  you  think  of  it 
now?”  Mr.  Jefferson’s  reply  was;  “I  now 
perceive  that  in  regard  to  your  resources  and 
energies,  I committed  an  error  of  one  cen- 
tury in  my  calculation.”  Just  so  it  was  with 
the  opponents  of  railroads.  They  believed 
the  world  was  not  yet  old  enough  for  the  suc- 
cessful building  of  railroads,  and  were  ready, 


at  the  slightest  indication  of  failure,  to  ex- 
claim in  chorus — “I  told  you  so.”  Hence, 
when,  one  bright  day  in  December,  1835,  the 
iron-hox’se  dashed  into  Frankfort  with  a train 
of  cars  at  his  heels,  drawn  all  the  way  from 
Lexington,  they  were  forced  to  admit,  that 
like  Jefferson,  they  had  erred  in  their  calcu- 
lations as  to  time.  Frankfort  and  Lexington 
were  now  connected  by  rail,  and  the  event  was 
appropriately  celebrated  by  the  two  cities. 

The  project,  as  we  have  seen,  was  chartered 
as  the  “Lexington  & Ohio  Railroad,”  and  was 
so  known  for  several  years.  In  1847,  the 
legislature  issued  a charter  to  the  “Louisville 
A Frankfort  Railroad  Company,”  and  a 
company  was  at  once  organized  under  this 
title,  which  purchased  from  the  State*  that 
portion  of  the  road  between  Louisville  and 
Frankfort.  The  next  year  (1848),  another 
company  was  formed,  under  the  title  of  the 
“Lexington  & Frankfort  Railroad  Company.” 
This  new  company  purchased  from  the  State 
the  road  between  Lexington  and  Frankfort, 
and  in  1851  the  two  divisions  were  fully 
completed  ^and  connected,  and  trains  ran 
through  from  Lexington  to  Louisville.  This 
arrrangement  was  continued  until  1857,  when 
the  two  companies  were  consolidated,  and  the 
title  of  the  road  changed  to  that  of  the  “Louis- 
ville, Frankfort  & Lexington  Railroad.” 
Upon  the  completion  of  the  Louisville  and 
Cincinnati  “Shortline,”  in  the  spring  of 
1869,  a branch  diverging  Rom  the  main  line 
at  La  Grange,  and  extending  to  Cincinnati, 
the  title  was  again  changed,  this  time  to  the 
“Louisville,  Cincinnati  & Lexington  Rail- 
road.” In  1881  it  was  purchased  by  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  system,  and  since  that 
time  (and  henceforth,  perhaps)  it  has  been 
operated  as  a division  of  that  immense  cor- 
poration. 

The  Charleston  & Cincinnati  Railroad  ex- 
cited more  interest,  perhaps,  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  railroad  enterprise  in  Kentucky,  than 
any  road  ever  projected  in  the  State.  This 
trunk  line  was  designed  to  extend  from 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  pass- 

*Tbe  Lexington  & Ohio  Railroad  was  sold  at  auction  in 
Frankfort,  on  the  12th  of  January,  1842,  to  pay  the  State  the 
sum  of  3150,000  and  interest,  which,  as  security,  she  had  as- 
sumed. In  this  sale,  the  State  became  the  purchaser  of  the 
road. 


HISTOET  Oi'  KENTUCKY. 


527 


ing  through  Lexington,  with  diverging  lines 
to  Louisville,  Paris,  Maysville  and  Newport. 

A lively  interest  was  manifested  in  the  enter- 
prise, and  the  indications  were  favorable  at 
one  time  for  its  early  completion.  Some 
controversy  arose,  however,  between  its 
friends  and  supporters,  and  those  of  the  canal 
already  described  (which  covered  nearly  the 
same  ground).  And  it  is  possible  that  if 
sentiment  had  been  concentrated  on  the  one 
or  the  other,  it  might  have  proved  successful ; 
as  it  was,  both  projects  failed,  though  grand 
in  their  conception.  The  idea  of  connecting 
the  southeastern  and  northwestern  States  by 
a railroad  or  canal,  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
to  the  Ohio  Eiver,  half  a century  ago,  was  a 
scheme  worthy  of  the  greatest  railroad  mag- 
nates of  the  present  day.  The  importance 
with  which  it  was  considered,  is  shown  by  the 
following  extract*:  “The  project  is  a mag- 

nificent one,  whether  viewed  in  reference  to 
its  commercial,  geographical,  political,  civil 
or  social  influence.  Carried  into  successful 
operation,  it  will  form  a bond  of  union  be- 
tween the  States  immediately  concerned, 
which  no  ordinary  political  accidents  or  com- 
binations can  dissolve.  Completed,  it  will 
make  Charleston  a great  commercial  empor- 
ium, rivaling,  or,  at  least  successfully  com- 
peting with,  her  elder  sisters,  in  receiving 
the  northwest  trade.  And  if  we  could  for  a 
moment  suppose  that  New  York,  Philadel- 
phia, Baltimore,  New  Orleans  and  Mobile 
could  allow  themselves  to  be  governed  by  a 
narrow,  selfish  and  short-sighted  policy,  we 
might,  from  all  these  sources,  anticipate 
strong  and  interested  opposition  to  this  truly 
majestic  project.  This  anticipation,  how- 
ever, we  will  not  indulge  in,  but  will  believe 
that  the  intelligent  and  patriotic  of  all  sec- 
tions will  rejoice  to  see  the  whole  country 
prosper.  ” 

In  February,  1836,  the  Charleston  & Cin- 
cinnati Eailroad  was  chartered  by  the  Ken- 
tucky legislature.  When  the  news  reached 
Cincinnati,  that  the  bill  had  passed, the  mayor 
issued  his  proclamation  for  an  illumination  | 
of  the  city,  and  a general  rejoicing  prevailed. 

A convention  was  called  to  meet  at  Knoxville, 

*From  the  Lexington  Intelligencer. 


Tenn.,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1836,  in  the  inter- 
est of  the  road.  On  the  13th  of  June,  pre- 
ceding the  convention,  a meeting  was  held 
in  Lexington,  for  the  purpose  of  selecting 
delegates,  and  the  following  gentlemen  were 
chosen;  Hon.  Robert  Wickliffe,  Benjamin 
Taylor,  William  C.  Richardson,  Henry  C. 
Payne,  Leslie  Combs,  T.  C.  Turner,  Thomas 
A Russell  and  Hemy  Beard.  When  the 
convention  convened  in  Knoxville,  nine 
States  were  represented.  The  meeting  was 
characterized  by  harmony  and  good  feeling, 
j and  it  was  confidently  believed  the  work 
would  proceed  without  delay.  A charter  had 
been  granted  by  the  States  of  South  and 
North  Cai’olina,  Tennessee  and  Kentucky, 
under  the  name  and  title  of  the  “President 
and  Directors  of  the  Charleston  & Cincin- 
nati Railroad  Company.’’  According  to  the 
charter,  as  granted  by  Kentucky,  it  was  made 
obligatory  upon  the  company,  when  reaching 
the  Kentucky  line,  “ so  to  construct  the  road 
that  a branch  should  be  made  to  Louisville, 
and  the  main  road  be  so  constructed,  as  to 
pass  through  the  city  of  Lexington,  and 
thence  to  the  Ohio  River,  opposite  Cincin- 
nati; and  that  another  branch  or  prong  of 
said  road  be  constructed  from  the  city  of 
Lexington  to  the  city  of  Maysville,  on  the 
Ohio  River.”  Resolutions  were  adopted  in 
the  Kentucky  legislature,  recommending  the 
early  construction  of  the  road,  as  “ an  enter- 
prise of  national  importance,”  and  requested 
their  senators  and  representatives  in  congress 
to  exert  their  influence  in  seeming  an  ‘ ‘ appro- 
priation from  the  national  government  for 
the  same.”  As  an  evidence  of  the  interest 
taken  in  the  road,  Lexington  alone  subscribed 
for  8100,000  of  stock,  a liberal  sum  fifty 
years  ago.  By  the  middle  of  November, 
1836,  sufficient  stock  had  been  subscribed  to 
admit  of  the  organization  of  the  company, 
and  at  a preliminary  meeting,  John  C.  Cal- 
houn, of  South  Carolina,  was  recommended 
for  the  presidency  of  the  road.  After  for- 
mally organizing  under  the  title  of  the 
“Louisville,  Cincinnati  & Chaifieston  Rail- 
road,” the  stockholders  held  a meeting  at 
Knoxville,  on  the  9th  of  January,  1837,  to 
elect  officers  and  directors.  The  result  of  the 


528 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


election  was  as -follows:  E.  D.  Mansfield,  W. 
Green  and  J.  W.  Bonsall,  of  Ohio;  Eobert 
Wickliffe,  William  C.  Richardson,  James 
Taylor,  John  W.  Tibbatts,  J.  L.  Ludlow  and 
J.  B.  Casey,  of  Kentucky;  John  Williams, 
J.  C.  M.  Ramsay  and  Alexander  E.  Smith,  of 
Tennessee;  Robert  Y.  Hayne,  Mitchell  King, 
James  Hamilton,  Charles  Edmondson,  J.  W. 
Simpson,  B.  F.  Ellmore,  John  C.  Calhoun, 
A.  Blanding  and  B.  G.  Mills,  of  South  Car- 
olina; James  Hardy,  T.  H.  Forney  and  P. 
Roberts,  of  North  Carolina,  directors.  Gen. 
Eobert  Y.  Hayne  was  unanimously  elected 
president  of  the  company.  Surveys  were 
ordered  made  of  the  different  routes  contem- 
plated, and  all  preliminary  steps  taken  toward 
inaugurating  the  work. 

An  amendment  to  the  charter,  designed  to 
relieve  the  company  from  their  obligation  to 
build  the  branch  to  Louisville,  was  defeated 
in  the  legislature  at  the  session  of  1836-37. 
As  a matter  of  interest  to  herself,  Louisville 
opposed  the  amendment,  and  for  the  time, 
succeeded  in  defeating  it,  whereupon  she  was 
assailed  by  the  Lexington  press,  as  having 
killed  the  road  altogether.  Shortly  after 
the  defeat  of  the  amendment,  however,  the 
proposition  was  reconsidered,  and  the  amend- 
ment finally  adopted,  thereby  revoking  that 
part  of  the  charter  applying  to  the  Louisville 
branch  of  the  contemj)lated  road.  But  the 
project  had  not  only  attained  the  summit  of 
its  greatness,  but  had  already  begun  to  decline 
in  popularity,  and  all  interest  in  it  finally 
subsided.  It  laid  down  to  a Rip  Van  Winkle 
sleep,  to  awake  something  more  than  a qaar- 
ter  of  a century  later,  under  the  name  and 
title  of  the  Cincinnati  Southern. 

Considerable  space  has  been  given  to  these 
two  railroad  projects,  because  one  of  them 
was  the  first  road  built  in  the  State,  and  the 
other  one  of  the  most  stupendous  schemes  of 
internal  improvement  conceived  of  in  that 
early  day.  Most  of  the  contemplated  route 
of  the  Charleston  & Cincinnati  Railroad,  has 
since  been  covered  by  the  Cincinnati  South- 
ern, Kentucky  Central  and  the  Knoxville 
division  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville,  but 
had  the  original  road  been  built,  who  can  tell 
how  different  the  history  of  the  south  might 


have  been.  It  might  have  resulted  in  a 
reversal  of  the  wealth,  influence  and  import- 
ance of  the  sections,  and  made  the  south  the 
great  ruling  power  in  the  republic,  as  the 
north  has  been,  through  its  vast  and  im- 
proved system  of  internal  communication. 

The  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad  is  the 
most  important  work  of  internal  improvement 
that  has  been  completed  in  the  State.  Its 
•construction  was  a Herculean  task,  when  the 
character  of  the  country,  through  which  it 
passes,  is  taken  into  consideration.  To  build 
a railroad  through  the  chain  of  the  Muldrow 
Hills  was  a triumph  of  engineering  skill,  and 
an  enduring  monument  alike  to  the  men  who 
conceived  the  project  and  those  who  accom- 
plished the  great  work.  The  tunnels,  bridges, 
trestles,  cuts  and  fills  of  the  Louisville  & 
Nashville  Road,  are  perfect  in  their  construc- 
tion, and  of  such  magnitude  as  would  have 
discouraged  and  appalled  any  but  men  of  the 
most  determined  energy. 

The  road  was  chartered  March  2,  1850, 
and  may  almost  be  termed  a Louisville  insti- 
tution. To  the  city  of  Louisville,  and  the 
energy  and  enterprise  of  its  inhabitants, 
more  perhaps  than  to  any  other  one  influence 
is  the  State  and  the  country  indebted  for  this 
great  thoroughfare  of  travel  between  the 
north  and  the  south.  Confirmatory  of  this 
is  the  following  extract  from  the  New  York 
Courier  and  Enquirer,  of  August  20,  1851: 

The  Louisville  papers  contain  two  ordinances, 
passed  by  the  common  council  of  that  city,  one  au- 
thorizing a subscription  of  $1,000,000  for  the  con- 
struction of  a railroad  from  Louisville  to  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  and  the  other  authorising  a subscription  to 
the  capital  stock  of  the  Jeffersonville  & Columbus 
Railroad  Company  of  $200,000.  We  believe  Ken- 
tucky is  rather  deficient  in  railroads,  compared  with 
some  of  the  Southern  States,  notwithstanding  the 
eligible  position  of  Louisville  as  a terminus.  This 
movement,  therefore,  is  important  to  the  internal 
interests  of  the  State,  and  will  add,  if  carried  out, 
greatly  to  the  growth  and  future  consequence  of  her 
metropolis.  Combining  the  two  propositions,  we 
perceive  the  object  of  the  city  authorities,  which 
is  to  intercept  the  western  trade  of  the  central 
routes  of  Indiana  and  Ohio,  eastward,  and  direct 
such  as  would  naturally  flow  to  the  lower  Atlantic 
States,  to  pass  through  Louisville,  instead  of  going 
by  way  of  Baltimore,  as  is  at  present  the  case.  Lou- 
isville has  become  emulous  of  the  advantages  pos- 
sessed by  Wheeling,  and  she  is  (we  should  infer 


- f 


t: 


JAMES  GUT]  1 1!  IE. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


529 


from  this)  determined,  if  the  State  will  not  aid  her, 
as  Virj^inia  has  contributed  to  the  support  of  the 
latter,  to  build  her  own  railroads,  and  enjoy  singly 
their  benefits.  We  are  glad  to  witness  the  exercise 
of  a spirit  that  tends  to  multiply  the  facilities  of 
trade,  and  add  to  the  prosperity  of  our  people,  with- 
out respect  to  locality.  Kentucky  should  have 
abounded  with  railroads  ten  j’^ears  since— Virginia 
twenty.  However,  by  delaying  their  measures, 
they  may  be  the  better  able  to  plan,  mature  and  ex- 
ecute them  now. 

But  in  a no  less  degree  is  Louisville  in- 
debted to  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Road  for 
its  own  importance  as  a great  commercial 
emporium.  “To  it,”  says  a recent  writer, 
“Louisville  owes  its  commercial  influence 
and  prosperity.  It  made  her,  wnth  the 
exception  of  New  Orleans,  the  leading  city 
of  the  south;  it  strengthened  the  social  and 
commercial  ties  which  bound  her  to  that  sec- 
tion; it  changed  her  from  a slowly  growing, 
contented  provincial  town  to  a progressive 
and  aggressive  competitor  with  larger  and 
richer  rivals.  For  the  States  of  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee  it  did  no  less  than  for  Louis- 
ville.” 

The  first  president  of  the  Louisville  & 
Nashville  Railroad  was  Mr.  Levin  Shreve,  a 
well-known  and  prominent  business  man  of 
Louisville  forty  years  ago.  Dui’ing  his  ad- 
ministration, work  on  the  road  was  begun 
and  pushed  on  toward  the  Muldrow  Hills  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  and  the  iron  laid  nearly 
to  that  point.  But  in  its  earlier  history  the 
road  met  with  various  financial  obstacles, 
which  were  not  overcome  for  several  years 
after  the  work  was  commenced.  Its  principal 
difficulty  was  in  floating  its  bonds,  which  a 
lack  of  public  confidence  in  its  success  ren- 
dered unsaleable.  About  this  time  Hon. 
James  Guthrie  and  other  wealthy  citizens  of 
Louisville  and  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee 
became  interested  in  it,  and  succeeded  in 
securing  a number  of  county  subscriptions, 
which  resulted  in  the  completion  of  185  miles 
of  the  line  to  Nashville,  to  which  point  it 
was  opened  for  business  in  November,  1859. 
About  this  time  financial  troubles  again 
threatened,  and  the  road  was  in  imminent 
danger  of  going  into  bankruptcy,  but  was 
saved  by  the  action  of  the  city  of  Louisville, 
which  took  stock  to  the  amount  of  $1,000,000 


and  in  so  doing  benefited  the  entire  State.* 
In  the  earlier  history  of  the  road  Helm, 
Guthrie  and  the  elder  Newcomb  were  the 
master  spirits  connected  with  it,  and  to  them 
and  their  indomitable  energy  its  successful 
completion  is  mainly  due. 

The  first  two  of  these  gentlemen  were 
statesmen  and  politicians,  as  well  as  finan- 
ciers, while  the  last,  Mr.  H.  D.  Newcomb, 
aspired  to  neither  politics  nor  statesmanship, 
but  was  an  able  financier,  and  a most  accom- 
plished and  successful  business  man.  He 
was  a native  of  Massachusets,  and  located  in 
Louisville  about  the  year  1833.  He  was  for 
many  years — a quarter  of  a century  or  more 
— one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  Louisville. 
For  twenty  years  he  conducted  the  largest 
cotton- mill  in  the  west,  and  aided  much  in 
improving  and  beautifying  his  adopted  city. 
He  was  mainly  instrumental  in  rebuilding 
the  Galt  House,  one  of  the  best  arranged  and 
most  elegant  hotels  in  the  country,  and  which 
cost  $1,000,000.  He  became  president  of 
the  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad  in  1868, 
and  held  the  position  until  his  death.  Under 
his  administration  it  became  one  of  the  most 
powerful  railroad  systems  of  the  south  or 
southwest. 

James  Guthrie,  whose  great  abilities  as  a 
financier  were  so  largely  instrumental  in 
carrying  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Road 
through  to  completion,  was  a native  Kentuck- 
ian, and  was  born  near  Bardstown,  December 
5,  1792.  He  was  educated  principally  at  the 
Bardstown  xicademy,  and,  after  a few  years 
spent  in  flat-boating  to  New  Orleans,  studied 
law  with  John  Rowan,  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  commenced  practice  in  Nelson  County. 
He  soon  removed  to  Louisville,  and  in  a short 
time  obtained  a lucrative  practice.  He  served 
repeatedly  in  both  branches  of  the  State 
legislature,  and  in  1849,  was  a member  of  the 
constitutional  convention,  and  its  presiding 
officer.  He  was  secretary  of  the  treasuiy 
under  President  Pierce  from  1853  to  1857,. 
and  a candidate  for  the  nomination  to  the 
presidency  in  1860,  before  the  National 
Democratic  Convention  at  Charleston,  S.  C., 
but  was  defeated.  He  was  a delegate  to  the 

*Historical  sketch  of  the  LouisvUle  & Kashville  Railroad. 

33 


530 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Peace  Conference  at  Washington  in  1861, 
and  also,  to  the  Border  State  Convention  at 
Frankfort  shortly  after;  he  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  senate  in  1865,  but  owing  to 
feeble  health  I’esigned  in  1868.  He  died  in 
Louisville,  March  13,  1869.  Mr.  Guthrie 
was  a great  financier.  He  amassed  a large 
fortune,  and  his  ability  as  a financier  is  illus 
trated  in  its  management,  no  less  than  in 
that  of  the  national  treasury  and  the  affairs 
of  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad. 

John  L.  Helm  became  president  of  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  Road  in  1854,  and  by 
his  great  energy  and  excellent  business  man- 
agement completed  it.  He  was  born  in  Hardin 
County,  July  4,  1802.  When  but  a lad,  he 
entered  the  circuit  clerk’s  office  as  a deputy, 
and  was  fortunate  in  attracting  the  notice  of 
Gen.  Duff  Green,  a prominent  merchant  and 
business  man  of  Elizabethtown,  who  directed 
his  education.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  Mr. 
Helm  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  in  1826 
was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  legisla- 
ture. He  was  re-elected  again  and  again, 
serving  eleven  years  in  the  house  of  represen- 
tatives and  six  years  in  the  senate.  He  was 
elected  lieutenant-governor  in  1848  on  the 
Whin  ticket  with  John  J.  Crittenden,  and 
became  governor  in  1850  upon  the  resignation 
of  Mr.  Crittenden,  who  was  called  to  the 
cabinet  of  President  Fillmore,  as  his  attorney- 
general.  In  1867  he  was  elected  governor  on 
the  Democratic  ticket,  and  was  inaugurated 
at  his  residence  in  Elizabethtown,  September 
3d  (1867),  being  too  ill  at  the  time  to  go  to 
Frankfort.  He  died  on  the  8th  of  the  same 
month,  and  on  the  13th  the  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor, John  W,  Stevenson,  was  inaugurated 
governor  as  his  successor. 

No  three  men  ever  connected  with  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad  (and  certainly 
no  road  has  been  more  fortunate  in  the  selec- 
tion of  its  executive  officers)  took  more  inter- 
est in  its  affairs,  or  exerted  greater  energy 
and  ability  to  make  it  a successful  enterprise, 
than  John  L.  Helm,  James  Guthrie  and  H. 
D.  Newcomb.  They  did  what  few  others  could 
have  done  at  that  time;  they  built  and 
equipped  one  of  the  most  important  rai  Iroads 
ever  built  south  of  the  Ohio  River.  Says  the 


writer  already  quoted:  “Success  demonstrates 
80  clearly  the  wisdom  of  a great  undertaking 
that  we  fail  to  do  justice  to  the  men  whose 
wisdom,  courage  and  devotion  make  success 
possible.  There  were  many  dark  hours  in  the 
early  history  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville 
railroad;  when  the  public  lost  faith  in  it; 
when  it  seemed  too  vast  an  undertaking  for 
that  section  and  that  time;  when  bears  and 
skeptics,  who  always  abound,  were  assuring  a 
deluded  public  that  failure  was  inevitable. 
Through  all  these  years  Helm  and  Guthrie 
and  the  elder  Newcomb,  and  their  associates, 
had  Louisville  and  Louisville’s  credit  and 
the  confidence  of  her  citizens  with  them.  It 
was  invaluble;  the  money  subscribed  and  the 
endorsements  given  finally  wrought  their 
perfect  work  and  the  road  was  completed.” 

In  1857,  some  two  years  previous  to  the 
completion  of  the  main  line  to  Nashville,  the 
company  had  built  a branch  to  Lebanon. 
This  branch,  and  the  main  line,  comprised 
the  Louisville  and  Nashville  system,  at  the 
breaking  out  of  the  late  civil  war.  To  the 
United  States  government  it  was  worth 
much  more,  during  each  year  of  the  war, 
than  its  entire  construction  had  cost.  Louis- 
ville became  the  basis  of  supplies,  and  of 
operations  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States, 
and  along  its  lines,  built  for  the  benefit  of 
commerce,  the  battles  raged.  The  vast  im- 
portance of  this  north  and  south  trunk  line, 
had  been  fully  demonstrated  by  the  military 
movements.  It  was  proposed,  at  one  time,, 
to  build,  for  military  purposes,  a line  branch- 
ing from  the  main  stem  to  Knoxville.  This 
work  would  doubtless  have  been  done  had 
not  the  war  closed  when  it  did.  A branch  to 
Knoxville  was  a favorite  idea  with  Mr.  Guth- 
rie, but  he  was  never  able  to  accomplish  its 
construction,  and  it  was  left  for  those  who 
came  after  him  to  carry  out  and  complete  it. 
Most  of  the  roads  in  the  south  were  wrecked 
during  the  war,  but  the  Louisville  & Nash- 
ville, as  compared  to  others,  was  in  a healthy 
condition,  financially.  Its  management, 
however,  knew  that  its  future  success  de- 
pended largely  on  the  reorganization  and  co- 
operation of  other  roads  south  of  it.  Mr. 
Guthrie  and  Mr.  Newcomb  boldly  pushed:, 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


531 


the  reorganization.  The  local  business  of 
the  road  was  cared  for,  and  encouraged,  and 
active  assistance,  resulting  in  time  in  abso- 
lute control,  was  lent  to  the  roads  in  Tennes- 
see, and  further  to  the  south.  In  this  way 
the  Louisville  & Nashville  pushed  its  lines 
through  to  Memphis  and  Montgomery.* 

The  Bardstown  branch,  a road  in  process 
of  construction  from  Bardstown  to  Louisville, 
was  purchased  in  1865,  and  became  a feeder, 
and  a part  of  the  reorganized  system  of  the 
Louisville  & Nashville.  The  Richmond 
branch  was  opened  in  1868,  and  the  same 
year  the  Memphis,  Clarksville  & Louisville 
Road  was  leased.  Two  years  after,  the  Mem- 
phis & Ohio  Road  was  secured,  and  what  is 
now  known  as  the  Memphis  division  was  for- 
mally opened.  Both  lines  of  road  composing 
the  Memphis  division,  were  subsequently  (in 
1871-72),  bought  by  the  Louisville  & Nash- 
ville Company.  The  Cecilian  branch  was 
purchased  in  1871;  in  1879  the  Edgefield  & 
Kentucky  Road,  and  the  Evansville, Hender- 
son & Nashville  Road  were  both  bought,  and, 
together,  form'the  Kentucky  and  Tennessee 
portion  of  the  St.  Louis  division.  The 
Louisville,  Cincinnati  & Lexington  Road 
was  piu’chased  in  1881,  and  now  forms  an 
important  part  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville 
system,  connecting  it  at  Cincinnati  with  all 
the  Eastern  lines.  The  Cumberland  & Ohio 
Road  was  leased  in  1879,  and  completed  from 
Lebanon  to  Greensburg,  and  shortly  after  many 
other  additions  were  made.  The  Pensacola 
& Selma  was  secured,  then  the  Mobile  & Mont- 
gomery was  acquired  by  the  purchase  of  its 
capital,  and  a little  later  the  New  Orleans  & 
Mobile  became  a valuable  part  of  the  system. 
There  are,  also,  embraced  in  the  control  of 
the  Louisville  & Nashville,  by  lease  or  owner- 
ship, the  Nashville  & Decatm%  the  Owens- 
boro & Nashville,  the  Glasgow  branch,  and 
the  Western  Alabama  Roads;  and  it  owns  the 
greater  part  of  the  Nashville,  Chattanooga  & 
St.  Louis  Road’s  stock,  which,  with  its 
branches,  has  521  miles  of  line.  But  these 
do  not  comprise  all  the  roads  in  which  the 
influence  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville  is 
felt.  W’^ith  the  Central  Railroad  of  Georgia, 


it  controls  a large  system  in  that  State.  To 
sum  up  its  wealth,  the  Louisville  & Nashville 
Railroad  Company  owns  in  fee,  or  through 
the  entire  capital  stock,  thirteen  branches, 
giving  an  aggregate  of  1,437  miles;  four 
divisions,  operated  under  lease,  and  two  by 
stock  majority  embrace  433  miles  more,  and 
these,  with  the  southern  roads,  in  which  it 
has  joint  control,  give  its  systems  a grand 
total  of  3,034  miles.  The  road  and  all  its 
branches  are  furnished  with  steel  rails,  and 
the  equipment,  both  for  frieght  and  passen- 
ger traffic,  is  first  class  in  every  particular, 
and  the  equal  of  any  road  in  the  country. 

The  Chesapeake  & Ohio  Railroad,  stretch- 
ing from  ocean  to  ocean,  is  an  important  road 
to  Kentucky,  and  destined  to  exert  a power- 
ful influence  in  the  development  of  the  State. 
Traversing  its  entire  length  from  east  to  west, 
with  diverging  lines  at  important  points,  it 
penetrates  the  vast  coal  and  mineral  and  tim- 
ber regions,  and  as  these  are  opened  up  and 
developed  the  great  value  of  this  trunk  line 
railroad  becomes  apparent. 

The  original  line  of  the  Chesapeake  &Ohio 
extended  from  Newport  News  in  Virginia,  rm 
Richmond,  to  the  Big  Sandy  River,  and  was 
formed  in  1868  by  consolidating  the  Virginia 
Central  and  the  Covington  & Ohio  Railroads, 
comprising  a line  512  miles  in  length.  The 
road  became  involved  financially,  and  in  1875 
passed  into  thehandsof  a receiver.  In  April, 
1878,  it  was  sold,  and  a new  company  organ- 
ized with  Mr.  C.  P.  Huntington  at  its  head, 
one  of  the  great  railroad  capitalists  of  the 
present  day.  The  new  company  expended 
large  sums  of  money  in  the  reconstruction  of 
all  its  lines,  extending  them  on  the  east  to 
Chesapeake  Bay,  and  on  the  west  to  Memphis, 
on  the  Mississippi  River.  This  formed  a con- 
tinuous line  of  road  927  miles  long,  made  up 
of  the  Chesapeake  & Ohio  to  the  Big  Sandy 
River,  the  Elizabethtown,  Lexington  & Big 
Sandy,  and  Louisville,  Frankfort  & Lexing 
ton  to  Louisville,  and  the  Chesapeake,  Ohio 
& Southwestern  (formerly  the  Elizabethtown 
& Paducah),  extending  from  Louisville  to 
Memphis,  via  Paducah,  a distance  of  390 
miles  from  Louisville. 

The  Chesapeake,  Ohio  & Southwestern,  the 


, * Historical  sketch. 


532 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


title  of  Mr.  Huntington’s  road  west  of  Louis- 
ville, is  formed  of  the  old  Elizabethtown  & 
Paducah  Road,*  and  the  road  extending  from 
Paducah  to  Memphis,  known  originally  as 
the  Paducah  & Memphis,  which  was  sold 
under  foreclosure  in  April,  1877.  It  was 
purchased  by  the  bondholders,  and  reorgan- 
ized as  the  Memphis,  Paducah  & Northern  in 
May,  1878.  This  and  the  road  from  Louis- 
ville to  Paducah  were  leased  and  consolidated 
by  Mr.  Huntington,  thus  forming  an  impor- 
tant link  in  his  trans-continental  line. 

The  Kentucky  Central  Railroad  was  agi- 
tated as  early  as  1848,  and  was  originally 
known  as  the  “ Lexington  & Maysville  Rail- 
road.” In  March,  1851,  Lexington  voted 
$200,000  toward  building  it,  and  in  Sep- 
tember following  voted  a like  amount  to  the 
Lexington  & Covington  Railroad.  The  work 
was  completed  from  Lexington  to  Paris  in 
1853,  and  in  the  fall  of  1854  it  was  finished, 
and  the  road  completed  between  Paris  and 
Covington,  and  trains  ran  through  to  Lex- 
ington. The  road  to  Maysville  was  completed 
a few  years  later.  The  lines  of  the  Kentucky 
Central  are  being  extended  south,  and  are 
rapidly  covering  the  last  of  the  old  route  of 
the  projected  Charleston  & Cincinnati  Road. 
In  the  reorganization  of  the  Chesapeake  & 
Ohio,  the  Kentucky  Central  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Huntington,  and  forms  the  Cin- 
cinnati division  of  his  road. 

The  Cincinnati  Southern  is  a great  trunk 
line  road,  extending  from  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
to  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  and  passing  north 
and  south  through  Kentucky,  and  through 
thetownsof  Williamstown,  Georgetown,  Lex- 
ington, Nicholasville,  Danville,  Somerset, 
etc.  It  was  built  principally  by  Cincinnati 
and  Cincinnati  capital,  and  is  one  of  the 
finest  conditioned  and  equipped  roads  in  the 
State.  Its  cost  is  variously  estimated  at  from 
$12,000,000  to  $20,000,000.  The  charter  was 
passed  by  the  Kentucky  legislature,  and  the 
right  of  way  granted  through  the  State  in 
January,  1872,  and  the  road  built  as  soon 
thereafter  as  possible.  The  completion  of 
this  great  trunk  line  between  north  and 

* This  road  was  originally  chartered  in  February,  1854,  as 
the  Louisville,  Paducah  & Southwestern. 


south  is  to  some  extent  the  culmination  of 
the  old  project  of  the  Charleston  & Cincin- 
nati Railroad,  as  it  covers  much  of  the  route 
designed  for  that  road. 

It  was  the  purpose  in  building  the  Cincin- 
nati Southern  to  make  it  a formidable  rival 
of  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Road,  and  to 
bring  Cincinnati  in  stronger  competition  with 
Louisville,  and  win  her  southern  trade.  The 
project  was  not  successful.  While  it  certainly 
excited  a stronger  competition  between  Louis- 
ville and  Cincinnati,  the  latter  did  not,  as 
fondly  anticipated,  completely  eclipse  Louis- 
ville, or  materially  turn  the  tide  of  southern 
trade.  But  a few  years  passed  after  the 
completion  of  the  road,  when,  under  a new 
regime  (the  Erlanger  system),  it  was  running 
regular  trains  into  Louisville,  and  that,  too, 
without  a dollar’ s cost  to  the  city. 

Northern  railroads  terminating  at  Louis- 
ville, or  extending  their  lines  into  the  city, 
are  the  Jeffersonville,  Madison  & Indianapo- 
lis, now  operated  by  the  Pennsylvania  Com- 
pany; the  Ohio  & Mississippi;  the  Louisville, 
New  Albany  & Chicago,  and  the  St.  Louis 
Air  Line.  These  roads  have  all  been  liberally 
treated  by  Louisville  and  Kentucky,  and 
some  of  them  substantially  aided  by  Louis- 
ville. Money  was  given,  and  given  liberally 
to  the  Jeffersonville,  Madison  & Indianapolis 
and  the  St.  Louis  Air  Line,  and  at  a time  when 
they  most  needed  it.  These  roads  afford  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky  and  the  south  close  connec- 
tion with  St.  Louis,  Chicago  and  the  east. 

In  addition  to  the  railroads  mentioned 
there  are  others,  mostly  local  I’oads,  now 
being  built  and  still  others  in  contemplation, 
which,  doubtless,  will  be  under  contract  in  a 
few  years.  The  most  important  of  these, 
perhaps,  are  the  Kentucky  Union  Railroad 
and  the  Ohio  River  Railroad,  the  first  now 
in  course  of  construction  and  the  latter  a 
projected  road  of  considerable  importance, 
designed  to  run  down  the  river,  tapping  the 
principal  towns  between  Louisville  and 
Paducah.  The  road  has  been  chartered  by 
the  legislature,  a company  organized  and 
stock  subscribed.  Several  routes,  or  parts  of 
routes,  have  been  surveyed,  and  although  the 
project  is  now  lying  dormant,  it  is  but  a 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


533 


question  of  time  when  it  will  be  revived  and 
the  road  built.  The  growing  demands  of  the 
rich  section  of  country  through  which  it  is 
to  pass,  must  sooner  or  later  compel  its 
construction. 

The  Kentucky  Union  Railroad  was  origi- 
nally chartered  in  1854,  and  re-incorporated 
in  1880.  It  extends  in  a southeasterly 
course  from  Lexington  to  the  Virginia  State 
line  through  some  of  the  richest  agricultural 
and  mineral  regions  of  Kentucky.  Work  is 
in  progress  at  the  present  time,  and  the 
energy  of  the  men  in  control  of  the  project 
will  insui’e  its  ultimate  completion,  and 
through  it  the  development  of  a mineral 
section  of  the  State*  hitherto  possessing  few 
internal  improvements  or  facilities  of  trans- 
portation beyond  the  ordinary  road  wagon. 
So  it  is  with  other  I’ailroad  projects  in 
different  parts  of  the  State.  The  tine  tim- 
bered valleys,  the  rich  mineral  regions,  the 
vast  agricultural  areas,  and  the  stock-produc- 
ing portions  of  the  State  must  soon  make  the 
construction  of  additional  railroads  an  abso- 
lute demand  of  commerce. 

The  railroad  facilities  of  Kentucky  are 
thus  becoming,  and  must  continue  to  become, 
more  and  more  extended  every  year.  Its 
lines  at  four  different  points  on  the  Ohio 
River  connect  with  northern,  eastei’n  and 
western  roads.  At  two  of  these  points  the 
river  is  spanned  by  superb  bridges,  and  at  a 
third  a bridge  is  in  process  of  construction 
(where  trains  are  now  ferried  over),  and  will 
soon  be  completed;  at  the  fourth  trains 
cross  regularly  by  improved  ferriage.  At 
Cincinnati  the  Kentucky  Central  (Chesapeake 
& Ohio),  the  Cincinnati  Southern,  the  “Short- 
line” division  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville 
connect  by  bridges  across  the  river  with  the 
Little  Miami,  the  “ Bee  Line  ” the  “ Pan- 
handle” (Pennsylvania  Company),  the  Balti- 
more & Ohio  Roads,  etc.,  etc.  At  Louisville, 
Kentucky  and  southern  roads,  by  means  of 
one  of  the  longest  and  most  magnificent  rail- 
road bridges  in  the  world,  connect  with 
the  Ohio  & Mississippi,  the  Jeffersonville, 
Madison  & Indianapolis,  the  Louisville,  New 

*The  mountainous  portion  of  the  State  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  Blue  Grass  region. 


Albany  & Chicago  and  the  St.  Louis  Air  Line ; 
at  Henderson  the  St  Louis  division  of  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  crosses,  and  at  Evans- 
ville and  St.  Louis  make  northern  and  east- 
ern connections.  The  Illinois  Central  and 
the  Mobile  & Ohio  pass  north  and  south 
through  the  “ Purchase  ” district  of  Ken- 
tucky, crossing  the  Ohio  River  at  Cairo, 
111.,  where  they  connect  with  the  St.  Louis  & 
Iron  Mountain,  the  Texas  & Pacific,  the 
Cairo  & St.  Louis,  and  with  the  Wabash 
system.  A few  years  more,  and  energy  and 
enterprise  will  render  the  Ohio  River  no 
serious  obstacle  to  railway  traffic,  and  trains 
will  cross  it  to  and  fro  without  even  slacking 
their  rate  of  speed. 

The  railroad  bridge  across  the  Ohio  River 
at  Louisville  is  claimed  to  be  the  second 
longest  railroad  bridge  in  the  world.  Its 
. construction  was  the  culmination  of  a project 
that  originated  more  than  fifty  years  ago. 
A bridge  over  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  was  an 
entex’prise,  that,  if  it  did  not  originate  with 
James  Guthrie,  was  long  a favorite  project  of 
his.  As  early  as  1831-32  a charter  was 
granted  by  the  Kentucky  legislature  author- 
izing the  formation  of  a company  “ to  con- 
struct a permanent  bridge  across  the  Ohio  at 
the  falls.”  Through  the  influence  of  James 
Guthrie,  Samuel  Gwathney  and  Daniel  Mc- 
Allister, who  visited  Indianapolis  for  the 
purpose,  the  passage  of  the  charter  by  the 
Indiana  legislature  was  secured  at  its  session 
in  January,  1832.  Though  the  matter  was 
agitated  for  several  years  it  was  finally 
abandoned  for  the  time.  After  the  close  of 
the  war  the  necessity  for  closer  railroad  com- 
munications between  the  sections  revived  the 
project,  and  the  required  legislation  was  se- 
cured both  in  Kentucky  and  Indiana,  and 
the  work  commenced.  It  was  completed,  and 
the  first  passenger  train  crossed  over  the 
bridge  on  the  ISth  of  February,  1870.  The 
State  officers  and  members  of  the  legislature 
had  been  invited  by  the  board  of  trade  and 
city  council  of  Louisville  to  be  present  at  its 
formal  opening,  and  most  of  them  accepted 
the  invitation  and  participated  in  the  inter- 
esting pi’oceedings.  Mr-  Guthrie  lived  to 
see  his  favorite  project  of  spanning  the  river 


534 


HISTORY  OF  KT:NTUCKY. 


by  a great  bridge  in  process  of  construction, 
but  died  about  a year  before  its  completion. 

A bridge  across  the  Ohio  at  Cincinnati  was 
contemplated  as  early  as  1815.  but  no  such 
enterprise  was  actually  inaugurated  until 
1856,  when  the  wire  suspension  bridge 
between  Covington  and  Cincinnati  was  com- 
menced. It  was  completed  and  opened  to 
the  public  on  the  1st  of  December,  1866. 
The  structure  is  asur>erb  model  of  excellence, 
and  a triumph  of  mechanical  skill  and 
genius,  and  cost,  in  round  numbers,  about 
$2,000,000.  It  has  a passage  way  for  vehi- 
cles and  street  cars,  and  walks  for  foot  pas- 
sengers. The  river  is  also  spanned  by  a 
railroad  bridge— a substantial  iron  structure 
— between  Newport  and  Cincinnati.  It  was 
opened  in  1872,  and  trains  of  the  Kentucky 
and  southern  roads,  by  this  means,  run 
regularly  into  the  city  of  Cincinnati. 

There  is  in  the  course  of  construction  at 
this  time  (1885),  and  about  completed,  a 
bridge  across  the  Ohio,  between  Louisville 
and  New  Albany,  Ind.  Another  at  Hender- 
son, Ky.,  has  been  finished  within  the  j5ast 
few  weeks,  for  the  passage  of  trains.  The 
bridge  at  Louisville  is  to  have  a railroad 
track,  a passage  way  for  vehicles,  street  cars, 
etc.,  and  a walk-way  for  foot  passengers; 
that  at  Henderson  is  a railroad  bridge  only, 
and  was  built,  principally,  by  the  St.  Louis 
division  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Rail- 
road. 

Among  the  important  works  of  inteimal 
improvement  are  the  charitable  institutions 
of  the  State.  They  were  established  and  are 
principally  supported  by  legislative  appro- 
priations, and  consist  of  asylums  for  the  in- 
sane, the  blind,  deaf  mutes,  feeble-minded 
children,  etc.  There  are,  in  the  State,  three 
asylums  for  the  insane,  located  respectively 
at  Lexington,  Hopkinsville  and  Anchorage; 
the  asylum  for  deaf  mutes  is  at  Danville; 
that  for  feeble-minded  children  at  Frankfort, 
and  that  for  the  education  of  the  blind  is  at 
Louisville. 

The  Eastern  Insane  Asylum  at  Lexington 
was  founded  in  1816,  and  was  the  first  insti-  , 
tution  of  the  kind  established  in  the  western 
country,  and  is  believed  to  have  been  the 


second  State  asylum  opened  in  the  United 
States.  It  was  originally  known  as  “Fayette 
Hospital,”  and  was  inaugurated  by  private 
individuals.  Chief  among  the  projectors  of 
this  great  public  charity,  was  Andrew 
McCalla,  one  of  the  early  citizens  of  Lexing- 
ton. He  was  assisted  in  his  benevolent 
work  by  Alexander  Parker,  John  W.  Hunt, 
George  Trotter,  Thomas  January,  Lewis 
Sanders,  Samuel  Trotter,  John  Bradford,  J. 
D.  Young,  David  Williamson,  Thomas  H. 
Pindell,  William  Morton,  John  Pope,  E. 
Warfield,  Daniel  Bradford,  J.  Postlethwaite, 
L.  McCullough,  John  H.  Morton,  John 
Hart,  James  Weir,  Robert  H.  McNair, 
Samuel  Ayers,  Thomas  Tibbats,  and 
others.  They  were  incorporated  early  in 
1816,  under  the  name  of  “The  Contributors 
to  the  Fayette  Hospital.”  On  the  1st  of 
March,  they  organized  under  the  charter, 
and  shortly  after  purchased  the  “Sinking 
Spring”  property,  on  which  the  present 
buildings  are  located. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  building:  was  laid 
June  30,  1817,  with  appropriate  ceremonies, 
and  in  the  presence  of  a large  assemblage  of 
people.  The  proceedings  concluded  with  an 
oration  delivered  by  Henry  Clay.  Before 
the  building  was  completed,  a financial  crisis 
overtook  the  benevolent  projectors  of  the  en- 
terprise, and  in  1822,  it  was  deemed  advisa- 
ble to  tender  the  property  to  the  State.  The 
next  year  the  State  purchased  it,  changed  its 
title  to  the  “Kentucky  Eastern  Lunatic 
Asylum,”  and  appropriated  $10,000  for  its 
benefit.  The  institution  was  formally  opened 
May  1,  1824.  For  twenty  years  the  physi- 
cians in  charge  were  Dr.  S.  Theobolds,  Dr. 
Louis  Decognets  and  others,  assisted  by  the 
faculty  of  Transylvania  University.  In 
1844,  the  management  was  changed,  and  Dr. 
-John  R.  Allen  was  made  superintendent 
under  the  new  order  of  things.  The  legisla- 
ture appropriated  $150,000  in  1867  to  the 
asylum,  and  its  capacity  was  extended.  Dr. 
W.  S.  Chipley  succeeded  Dr.  Allen  in  1855, 
as  superintendent,  a position  he  held  for 
fourteen  years.  Since  then  there  have  been 
several  superintendents,  all  of  whom  have 
been  able  physicians,  and  have  discharged 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


535 


their  duties  with  ability.  In  1873,  upon  the 
establishment  of  the  Anchorage  asylum,  the 
name  of  the  Lexington  asylum  was  changed 
to  “First  Kentucky  Lunatic  Asylum.” 
Since  1822,  the  State  has  appropriated  nearly 
$1,000,000  to  the  institution,  and  the  lot  of 
ground  on  which  the  original  building  was 
erected,  has  been  increased  to  300  acres  of 
fine  blue  grass  lands.  Every  convenience 
and  comfort  are  afibrded  the  patients,  and 
the  institution  ranks  highly  among  its  class 
in  the  United  States. 

The  Western  Lunatic  Asylum  is  located  in 
Christian  County,  about  two  miles fromHop- 
kinsville.  It  was  established  by  an  act  of 
the  legislature  passed  February  28,  1848. 
The  growth  of  settlements  in  the  State,  and 
the  increase  of  population,  necessitated  the 
measure  as  a matter  of  convenience,  both  as 
to  capacity  and  locality.  The  asylum  at  Lex- 
ington could  not  accommodate  all  applicants, 
and  before  the  era  of  railroads,  it  required  a 
long  journey  to  reach  it  from  the  southwest- 
ern portion  of  the  State,  and  thus  made  it 
necessary  to  have  a similar  institution  in  that 
section.  The  “Spring  Hill”  tract  of  land, 
containing  383  acres,  and  lying  on  the  turn- 
pike road  east  of  Hopkinsville,  was  purchased 
for  $1,971.50.  The  citizens  refunded  this 
sum  to  the  State,  and  in  addition  paid  $2,000 
toward  the  erection  of  buildings.  In  1849, 
there  was  expended  $43,052;  in  1850,  $43,- 
484.  The  legislature  in  1848,  appropriated 
$15,000;  in  1849,  $20,000;  in  1850,  $45,000; 
in  1851,  $35,000;  in  1852,  $43,000;  in  1854, 
$44,017:  a total  of  $202,017.  The  first  pa- 
tients were  received  on  the  18th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1854,  and  by  the  1st  of  December,  1857, 
208  had  been  admitted.  Dr.  S.  Annan  was 
the  first  superintendent,  and  under  his  care 
the  institution  was  well  managed. 

The  main  building  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
November  30,  1861,  “which  caught  from 
sparks  from  a chimney  falling  upon  the 
shingle  roof.  ” There  were,  at  the  time  of 
the  fire,  210  patients  in  the  institution,  all  of 
whom  escaped  uninjured,  except  one,  who 
fastened  himself  in  his  room  and  obstinately 
resisted  all  efforts  to  rescue  him.  and  finally 
perished  in  the  flames.  The  court  house  and 


other  buildings  in  Ho23kinsville  were  tendered 
the  superintendent  for  the  use  of  the  unfor- 
tunate inmates,  and  everything  done  by  the 
officials  and  the  people  to  render  the  patients 
comfortable  until  the  asylum  could  be  re- 
built. Twenty-three  log-cabins  were  erected 
I temporarily,  at  a cost  of  $90  each,  and  into 
these  the  patients  were  removed.  The  legis- 
lature in  February,  1861,  made  an  appropri- 
ation to  commence  rebuilding,  and  to  Janu- 
ary 1,  1867,  had  aj^propriated  in  all  $258,- 
930.  Add  to  this  the  sum  of  $145,420,  the 
value  of  the  land  and  other  buildings  on  it, 
makes  the  total  value  of  the  jjroperty  then 
(1867)  $404,350,  with  accommodations  for 
325  patients. 

This  asylum  bears  the  name  of  being  one 
of  the  best  managed  institutions  of  the  kind 
in  the  United  States  It  has  been  in  charge 
of  Dr.  James  Rodman,  the  jDresent  able 
superintendent,  since  1863 — about  twenty- 
two  years.  In  October,  1871,  there  had  been 
received  the  total  number  of  1,273  patients, 
of  whom  321  were  then  in  the  asylum. 

The  Central  Lunatic  Asylum  is  located  at 
Anchorage,  a beautiful  little  village  in  Jef- 
ferson County,  twelve  miles  from  the  city  of 
Louisville.  Like  the  Hopkinsville  asylum, 
its  establishment  was  due  to  the  inability  of 
the  Eastern  and  "Western  Asylums  to  accom- 
modate the  insane  of  the  State.  It  was  com- 
j)leted,  and  opened  for  patients  but  a few 
j years  ago,  and  at  present  it  is  jjretty  well 
! filled.  Rumors  of  mismanagement  recently 
caused  a legislative  investigation  of  the  in- 
stitution, and  a resignation  of  the  superin- 
tendent early  in  the  year  1884.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Dr.  H.  K.  Pusey,  whose  manage- 
ment of  it  has  won  the  approbation  of  all 
interested  in  its  welfare. 

The  Institution  for  Deaf  Mutes  is  located 
at  Danville.  It  was  established  by  an  act  of 
the  legislature  January  7,  1823,  and  is 
claimed  to  be  fourth  of  its  kind,  in  the  order 
of  establishment,  in  the  United  States.  The 
legislature  appropriated  $3,000  to  aid  it,  and 
j $100  for  each  pupil,  and  in  1824,  appropri- 
i ated  $3,000  toward  the  erection  of  buildings. 

! In  1852,  $3,000  per  annum  was  appropriated 
I for  the  sufjport  of  the  institution,  and  in 


536 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


1865,  this  sum  was  increased  to  |6,000.  To 
this  may  be  added  extra  appropriations  for 
clothing  for  the  indigent,  and  for  each  pu- 
pil, thus  giving  the  asylum  a very  fair  endow- 
ment. The  building  and  grounds  are  fine, 
and  well  adapted  to  the  purposes  for  which 
they  are  used.  The  school  session  continues 
thi’ough  the  whole  year,  with  the  exception 
of  July  and  August.  The  branches  taught 
are  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  English 
gi’ammar,  history,  original  composition.  Scrip- 
ture lessons  in  books;  and  by  lectures  on 
physical  geography,  chemistiy  and  natural 
philosophy.  A colored  department  has  been 
added,  and  the  deaf  mutes  of  that  race  now 
receive  liberal  educational  training. 

The  Kentucky  Institution  for  the  Education 
and  Training  of  Feeble-minded  Children  is 
located  near  Frankfort.  The  following 
sketch  of  the  institution  was  furnished  for 
this  work  by  Dr.  Stewart,  superintendent: 

The  Kentucky  Institution  for  the  Educa- 
tion and  Training  of  Feeble-minded  Children 
was  organized  in  1860.  An  act  was  passed 
by  the  legislature  on  February  11th,  of  that 
year,  appropriating  $‘20,000  for  the  purchase 
of  lands  and  the  erection  of  suitable  build- 
ings. 

A tract  of  land  containing  sixty-five  acres, 
belonging  to  Dr.  Lloyd,  located  within  one 
mile  of  Frankfort,  was  purchased  for  $6,500, 
and  the  school  immediately  started  in  a small 
frame  building  on  the  grounds.  Dr.  James 
Kodman,  now  superintendent  of  the  Western 
Lunatic  Asylum  at  Hopkinsville,  was  elected 
first  superintendent,  and  the  first  child  was 
I’eceived  on  August  16,  1860.  Dr.  Hodman 
resigned  February  11,  1863,  and  Rev.  Will- 
iam McD.  Abbott  was  elected  to  fill  his  place. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  E.  H.  Black,  who 
was  elected  superintendent  March  13,  1868, 
and  served  until  February  25,  1878,  when 
the  present  superintendent.  Dr.  John  Q.  A. 
Stewart,  was  appointed  by  Gov.  James  B. 
McCreary. 

The  plan  of  the  building  was  to  consist 
of  a main  building  and  east  and  west  wings. 
The  main  building  was  commenced  October 
28,  1860,  and  completed  and  occupied  the 
following  year.  It  had  capacity  for  about 


fifty  children  and  was  soon  filled.  Additions 
were  made  to  it  from  time  to  time,  and  in 
1870  the  west  wing  was  completed  and  occu- 
pied. To  complete  the  original  plan  the 
east  wing  will  have  to  be  built. 

There  have  been  in  all  about  $65,000  appro- 
priated for  buildings  and  grounds,  and  it  will 
cost  about  $30,000  more  to  complete  the 
buildings  according  to  the  original  designs. 
Its  capacity  will  then  be  increased  to  250 
children. 

There  are  now  156  children  in  the  institu- 
tion, and  are  maintained  principally  by  the 
State.  An  appropriation  of  $150  per  caput 
per  annum  is  made  for  their  support. 

The  feature  of  industrial  education  has 
been  introduced  into  the  institution  under 
the  administration  of  Dr.  Stewart.  It  is  the 
first  institution  of  the  kind  in  the  United 
States  to  adopt  industrial  education,  and  the 
experiment  promises  to  be  remunerative  and 
pleasing.  By  this  means  physical  culture 
will  be  made  productive,  and  the  pupils  pre- 
pared to  earn  a livelihood  when  discharged 
from  the  institution.  The  apprenticeship  to 
this  system  is  made  to  contribute  to  the 
health  and  happiness  of  the  amateur  artisans, 
by  strengthening  their  physical  powers,  and 
improving  by  engaging  their  minds  in  use- 
ful pursuits.  In  a short  time  all  the  car- 
pentry needed  by,  and  all  the  shoes  used  in, 
the  institution  will  be  supplied  by  the  craft 
of  the  pupils.  The  girls  are  being  taught 
all  the  domestic  m’ts,  including  hand  and 
machine  sewing.  This  industrial  education 
is  not  permitted  to  interfere  with  the  intel- 
iectual  stiadies  of  the  children,  but  is  made 
auxilary  to  them. 

The  Kentucky  Institution  for  the  Educa- 
tion of  the  Blind  is'located  in  the  eastern 
suburbs  of  the  city  of  Louisville.  The  in- 
stitution was  established  by  act  of  the  leg- 
islature in  1842.  The  preamble  to  the  orig- 
inal act  recognizes  the  fact  that  the  blind 
were  equally  entitled  with  the  seeing  chil- 
dren to  the  benefit  of  the  school  fund.  The 
appropriation  of  $10,000  was  made,  to  be 
paid  out  of  the  interest  on  certain  bonds 
held  by  the  board  of  education.  These  bonds 
had  been  issued  fraudulently  by  the  agent  of 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY 


537 


the  State  of  Kentucky,  and  at  the  date  of 
the  act  referred  to  it  was  seriously  doubted 
whether  these  bonds  thus  fraudulently  issued 
would  be  I’ecognized  by  the  State.  At  that 
time  efforts  were  made  by  agents  of  the  State 
to  trace  the  bonds,  and  thus  relieve  the  State 
from  their  payment.  The  donation,  there- 
fore, to  the  institution  for  the  blind  was 
deemed  of  very  doubtful  value. 

It  is  true,  as  a matter  of  history,  the  legis- 
latui’e  was  very  incredulous  as  to  the  feasi- 


The  same  individual  was  the  author  of  the 
acts  establishing  the  system  of  common 
schools  and  the  Kentucky  Institution  for  the 
Education  of  the  Blind.  No  specific  provis- 
ion was  made  in  the  system  of  common 
schools  for  the  education  of  the  blind,  and 
whilst  in  drafting  the  act  he  recognized 
their  equal  claims  with  the  other  children 
of  the  State  on  the  common  school  fund; 
and  at  no  subsequent  time  in  his  numerous 
applications  to  the  legislature  for  aid  to  the 


KENTUCKY  INSTITUTION  FOK  THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  BLIND. 


bility  of  educating  the  blind,  and  the  efood 
to  result  therefrom.  This  is  illustrated  by 
the  provisions  contained  in  the  act  that  the 
school  should  be  established  and  kept  up  for 
twelve  months  before  the  very  doubtful  ap- 
propriation could  be  collected.  This  was 
effected,  and  the  school  sustained  for  twelve 
months  by  the  liberality  of  the  people  of 
Louisville.  The  appropriation  of  $10,000 
was  ultimately  collected.  It  was  the  only 
one  ever  charged  to  or  paid  out  of  the  pub- 
lic school  fund. 


institution,  did  he  ever  ask  for  or  receive  an 
appropriation  payable  from  the  common 
school  fund.  No  special  tax  has  ever  been 
levied  for  its  support.  At  no  time  has  the 
institution  been  subjected  to  the  jurisdiction 
or  supervision  of  the  superintendent  of  pub- 
lic instruction.  It  is  now  and  always  has 
been  one  of  the  public  charities  of  the  State, 
and  has  been  liberally  sustained  out  of  its 

{ common  treasury. 

’ The  establishment  of  the  school  was  aided 
by  the  kind  efforts  of  Dr.  S.  G.  Howe,  the 


538 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


superintendent  of  the  institution  for  the 
blind  in  Massachusetts,  and  of  Mr.  William 
Chapin,  the  superintendent  of  the  institution 
for  the  blind  in  Ohio,  who,  with  some  of 
their  pupils,  gave  an  exhibition  before  the 
legislature  at  Frankfort,  and  several  exhibi- 
tions subsequently  in  Louisville.  At  these 
exhibitions,  which  were  largely  attended  by 
the  citizens,  much  interest  was  manifested, 
and  a committee  of  twenty- one  appointed  to 
collect  money  to  support  the  school  for  one 
year.  The  efforts  of  the  committee  were  suc- 
cessful, and  the  school  was  opened  May  9, 
1842,  on  Sixth  Street,  west  side,  between 
Walnut  and  Chestnut,  with  Bryce  M.  Patten, 
superintendent,  Miss  Maria  Howe,  matron, 
and  Otis  Patten,  one  of  the  pupils  from  Dr. 
Howe’s  school  in- Boston,  as  a teacher. 

In  the  year  1844,  in  virtue  of  an  appropri- 
ation made  by  the  legislature,  a lot  of  land 
was  purchased  and  a building  erected  on  the 
south  side  of  Broadway,  between  First  and 
Second  Streets.  In  May,  1847,  the  ladies  of 
Louisville  interested  in  the  school  gave  a tea 
party,  the  proceeds  of  which,  amounting  to 
$500,  were  spent  in  furnishing  the  house. 
On  the  29th  of  September,  1851,  this  build- 
ing was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  trustees  of  the 
University  of  Louisville  at  once  very  liberally 
tendered  the  use  of  the  large  and  commodi- 
ous edifice  erected  for  the  collegiate  and  law 
departments  of  the  university,  so  that  the 
operations  of  the  school  were  hardly  inter- 
rupted by  the  calamity.  The  legislature 
promptly  made  an  appropriation  for  a new 
building  and  for  the  purchase  of  more 
extensive  grounds.  A commissioner  was 
appointed  by  the  governor  of  the  State  to 
select  grounds  for  the  institution,  and  the 
present  site  was  chosen  and  a new  building 
begun.  ' On  the  8th  of  October,  1855,  it  was 
far  enough  advanced  to  remove  the  school  to 
its  new  quarters,  where  it  remained  with  a 
constantly  increasing  prosperty  until  Novem- 
ber, 1862,  when  the  building  was  seized  by 
the  medical  authorities  of  the  United  States 
army  for  hospital  purposes,  and  retained 
until  an  appeal  to  the  president  resulted  in 
a restoration  of  the  building  to  the  State. 
During  this  compulsory  exit,  which  lasted  | 


five  months,  the  school  occupied  the  building 
on  the  workhouse  road  belonging  to  the 
Alexander  estate.  Since  that  time  the  occu- 
pation of  the  present  building  has  been 
uninterrupted. 

The  present  superintendent,  Mr.  B.  B. 
Huntoon,  an  educator  of  long  experience,  has 
been  in  charge  for  years.  He  is  an  efficient 
man,  and  under  his  administration  the  insti- 
tution has  become  a vei’y  model  of  excellence 
in  its  every  department. 

The  American  Printing  House  for  the 
Blind,  attached  to  the  institution,  and  located 
upon  a part  of  the  same  grounds,  was  origi- 
nally chartered  By  the  legislatui’e  in  1860. 
Its  facilities  for  printing  have  been  increased 
from  time  to  time,  until  to  day  it  is  the  most 
extensive  establishment  of  the  kind  in  the 
world.  It  is  the  standard  printing  house  for 
the  blind  in  the  United  States,  and  in  addi- 
tion orders  for  books  are  constantly  being 
received  from  Europe  and  the  Canadas.  The 
number  of  books  printed  each  year  runs  up 
into  the  jiundreds,  and  the  demand  is  rapidly 
increasing.  National  aid  is  received  under 
an  act  of  congress  passed  March  3,  1879. 
The  annual  report  of  the  trustees  for  that 
year  says: 

By  the  provisions  of  this  act  the  American 
Printing  House  for  the  Blind  receives  a sum  of  ten 
thousand  ($10,000)  dollai’s  a year,  with  which  to 
supply  every  public  institution  for  the  education  of 
the  blind  in  the  United  States  with  embossed  books 
and  tangible  apparatus,  according  to  the  number  of 
its  pupils.  The  entire  sum  is  to  be  expended  in 
furnishing  books  and  apparatus,  and  none  of‘  the 
money  may  be  used  in  the  erection  or  leasing  of 
buildings.  At  a meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees, 
held  April  4,  1879,  the  trust  imposed  on  them  by  the 
act  was  formally  accepted. 

Prior  to  this  appropriation  by  congress, 
the  American  Printing  House  for  the  Blind 
had  been  mainly  sustained  by  the  beneficent 
wisdom  of  the  State  of  Kentucky,  as  an  in- 
dispensable means  in  the  education  of  her  own 
blind.  An  act  of  the  legislature,  passed  soon 
after  the  printing  house  was  established,  ap- 
propriated $5  annually  for  every  blind  per- 
son in  the  State,  according  to  the  United 
States’  census  reports,  to  “aid  the  institution 
in  printing  books  in  raised  letters  for  the 
blind,  and  in  furnishing  the  same  gratui- 


539 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


tously  to  the  indigent  blind,  and  at  cost  to 
others,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of 
the  charter  of  the  said  printing  house  for  the 
blind.”  Other  appropriations  were  made  at 
different  times,  as  the  printing  house  needed 
them.  Indeed,  no  State  in  the  Union  has 
been  more  libei’al  than  Kentucky  in  support 
of  her  public  charities. 

A new  printing  house  has  recently  been 
erected.  It  stands  in  a corner  of  the  spa- 


North  America,  and  its  productions  comprise 
almost  everything  grown  in  the  temperate 
zone,  but  are  chiefly  wheat,  corn,  oats,  grasses, 
tobacco,  cotton,  hemp,  fruits,  etc.,  etc.  No 
country  in  the  world  is  more  famous  for  its 
flue  stock;  Kentucky  thoroughbred  horses 
and  shorthorn  cattle  command  higher  prices 
than  those  of  any  other  section.  Coal,  of 
an  excellent  quality,  is  found  in  many  por- 
tions of  the  State,  notably  in  the  eastern  and 


AMERICAN  PRINTING  HOUSE  FOR  THE  BLIND— LOUISTILLE. 


cious  grounds  of  the  Institution  for  the  Edu- 
cation of  the  Blind,  and  is  an  elegant  brick 
building,  three  stories  high,  finished  off  with 
all  the  modern  improvements.  The  printing 
presses  run  by  steam,  and  although  the  or- 
ders for  books  are  many,  and  are  yearly  in- 
creasing, the  facilities  for  printing  are  equal 
to  the  demand. 

The  material  wealth  and  resources  of  Ken-  j 
tucky  are  second  to  no  State  in  the  Union. 
With  an  area  of  37,680  square  miles,  it  con- 
tains some  of  the  finest  agricultural  lands  in 


western  portions;  also  beds  of  the  finest  can- 
nel  coal  lie  in  certain  localities.  The  State 
is  rich  in  deposits  of  lead  and  iron  ore.  par- 
ticularly the  latter,  and  of  salt;  an  excellent 
quality  of  marble  and  lithographic  stone  are 
found  in  the  hilly  and  mountainous  regions. 
With  the  “soil  full  of  bread,  and  the  earth 
full  of  minerals;  with  an  upper  surface  of 
j food,  and  underlayer  of  fuel;  with  perfect 
natural  drainage,  and  abundant  springs  and 
streams,  and  navigable  rivers;  mid-way  be- 
tween the  forests  of  the  north  and  the  fruits 


540 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


of  the  south,”  Kentucky  is  rich  in  her  agri- 
cultural, animal  and  mineral  productions,  as- 
well  as  highly  favored  in  her  geographical 
position. 

The  following  article,  on  the  material  re- 
sources of  Kentucky,  was  written  by  Hon. 
John  R.  Proctor,  State  geologist,  for  the  En- 
cyclopaedia Britannica,  and  is  published  in 
this  work  by  permission: 

The  area  of  the  State  has  been  variously 
estimated  at  from  37,000  to  40,000  square 
miles.  The  surface  is  an  elevated  plateau 
sloping  from  the  great  Appalachian  uplift  on 
the  southeast  to  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
Rivers  on  the  north  and  west.  Only  that  por- 
tion of  the  State,  including  and  lying  be- 
tween Pine  or  Laurel  Mountain,  and  the 
Cumberland  range,  may  be  said  to  partake 
of  the  mountain  structure.  These  parallel 
ranges  have  an  elevation  of  from  2,000  to 
3,000  feet  above  sea-level,  whilst  the  moun- 
tains in  the  Cumberland  Valley  between  these 
ranges,  have  an  elevation  of  3,500.  The 
Cumberland  River,  near  where  it  passes 
through  a break  in  Pine  Mountain,  is,  at  low- 
water  mark,  960  feet  above  the  sea.  Some  of 
the  hills,  immediately  to  the  north,  are  as 
high  as  Pine  Mountain,  gradually  decreasing 
in  height  to  the  western  edge  of  the  Appala- 
chian coal  held,  where  the  greatest  elevation 
is  less  than  1,600  feet  above  the  sea.  The 
eastern  coal  held,  with  an  area  over  10,- 
000  square  miles,  has  an  elevation  of  650  on 
the  Ohio  River,  to  1,400  feet  of  the  south- 
western edge  of  the  Tennessee  line,  and  3,- 
500  feet  on  the  southeastern  border  of  the 
State.  The  great  central,  or  “ Blue  Grass 
region,”  has  an  area  of  about  10,000  square 
miles,  and  an  elevation  of  from  800  to  1,150 
feet.  Although  elevated  several  hundred 
feet  above  the  drainage  level,  the  surface  is 
that  of  a gently  undulating  plateau,  with  a 
pleasing  topography.  The  Upper  Silurian 
and  Devonian,  with  an  area  of  about  2,500 
square  miles,  have  an  elevation  of  450  on  the 
northwest,  and  800  on  the  northeastern  end, 
to  1,100  feet  where  these  formations  curve 
around  the  Lower  Silurian  on  the  southwest. 
In  this  region  are  wide  stretches  of  very 
level  country,  often  with  insuflficient  drain- 


age. Around  this  central  region  extends,, 
from  the  mouth  of  Salt  River  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Scioto,  a continuous  ridge,  known  as 
Muldi’ow’s  Hill,  King’s  Mountain,  Big  Hill, 
and  other  local  names,  having  an  abrupt  es- 
carpment on  its  inner  circle,  and  sloping 
away  from  the  central  uplifted  dome  of  the 
Blue  Grass  region,  as  a broken  plateau  on  the 
east,  and  an  almost  level  plateau  on  the  west, 
where  the  subcarboniferous  limestone  deter- 
mines the  topography.  This  range  of  hills 
is  one  of  the  prominent  features  in  the  State. 
The  subcarboniferous  has  an  area  of  about 
10,000  square  miles,  with  an  elevation  of 
fi'om  350  to  600  feet  on  the  southwestern,  to 
950  in  the  central  region.  In  the  eastern 
portion  of  this  formation  the  streams  have 
cut  deep  gorges  in  the  limestone,  but  in  its 
central  part  only  the  larger  streams  are  open 
to  daylight,  and  most  of  the  drainage  is  sub- 
terraneous, which  gives  to  that  region  a pe- 
culiar topography — the  surface  being  a series 
of  slight  round  or  oval  depressions,  through 
which  the  surface  water  escapes  to  the  streams 
below.  Whenever  the  small  passage  way, 
leading  downward  from  one  of  these  sinks, 
becomes  closed,  a “pond”  is  formed.  In  this 
formation  are  the  numerous  caverns,  for  which 
this  State  is  noted.  The  western  coal  field 
has  an  area  of  about  4,000  square  miles,  and 
an  elevation  of  from  400  feet  along  the  Ohio 
River,  to  850  feet  in  its  southeastern  portion. 
The  Quaternary,  with  an  area  of  2,500  square 
miles,  has  an  elevation  of  about  280  feet  on 
the  river  bottom  lands,  and  from  350  to  450 
on  the  uplands.  The  average  elevation  for 
the  entire  State  is  over  1,000  feet  above  the 
sea,  and  the  numerous  streams  penetrating 
all  portions  have  cut  their  channels  deep 
enough  to  secure  ample  drainage,  and  ex- 
emption from  the  dangers  of  floods,  with  the 
exception  of  very  limited  areas. 

The  State  has  a river  boundry  of  813  miles 
of  navigable  streams: — the  Chatterawha  or 
Big  Sandy  on  the  east  for  120  miles,  the 
Ohio  on  the  north  for  643  miles,  and  the 
Mississippi  on  the  west  for  50  miles.  The 
Chatterawha,  Licking,  Kentucky,  Cumber- 
land, and  Tennessee  Rivers  have  their  sources 
in  the  Appalachain  coal-field,  and  flow 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKYY 


541 


through  the  State  to  the  Ohio  River.  The 
Green  and  Tradewater  Rivers  drain  the  west- 
ern coal-field.  Kentucky  has  many  hundred 
miles  of  navigable  rivers,  connecting  with 
the  Mississippi  system  and  furnishing  a 
most  advantageous  means  of  cheap  transport 
for  coal,  timber,  etc.  A system  of  river  im- 
provement, begun  by  the  State  some  years 
ago,  by  which  the  Green  and  Barren  Rivers 
from  Bowling  Green  downward,  and  also  the 
lower  portion  of  the  Kentucky  River,  were 
made  continuously  navigable,  is  being  prose- 
cuted still  further  by  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment. It  is  now  possible  to  float  down 
logs,  rafts,  fiat  boats,  etc.,  from  almost  the 
fountain  heads  of  the  rivers. 

The  climate  is  very  mild  and  salubrious. 
The  mean  annual  temperature  ranges  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  State  from  50°  to  55°  Fah- 
renheit. The  extreme  range  is  less  than  in 
the  States  north  and  west.  The  lowest  rec- 
ord at  the  United  States  Signal  Service  sta- 
tion during  the  exceptionally  cold  months  of 
December,  1880, and  January,  1881,  was  —8°. 
During  the  very  hot  summer  of  1881,  the 
maximum  temperature  was  greater  as  far 
north  as  Chicago  than  in  Kentucky.  Cattle 
remain  upon  the  pasture  during  the  en- 
tire winter,  with  but  little  additional  food, 
and  there  is  seldom  a day,  winter  or  summer, 
when  a man  may  not  perform  a full  day’s 
work  in  the  open  air.  The  healthfulness  of 
the  climate  is  attested  by  the  low  death-rate, 
and  by  the  strength  and  vigor  of  the  popula- 
tion. The  tabulated  measurements  of  the 
United  States  volunteers  during  the  civil 
war  show  that  the  soldiers  born  in  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee  exceed  all  others  in  height, 
weight,  circumference  of  head,  circumference 
of  chest,  and  ratio  of  weight  to  stature.  The 
speed  and  endurance  of  the  Kentucky  horse, 
and  the  superior  development  of  all  kinds  of 
domestic  animals,  are  well  known.  The  an- 
nual rain-fall  ranges  in  various  parts  of  the 
State  from  forty-five  to  fifty  inches,  and  is 
probably  still  higher  in  the  Cumberland 
Mountains. 

With  the  exception  of  the  more  recent 
formations  in  the  portion  of  the  State  west  of 
the  Tennessee  River,  and  along  the  valleys 


of  some  of  the  streams,  Kentucky  is  com- 
posed entirely  of  Paleozoic  strata,  having 
present  all  of  the  various  groups  found  in 
the  Ohio  Valley,  from  the  calciferous  sand- 
I’ock  (3a  of  Dana’s  Table  of  Formations)  to 
and  including  the  carboniferous.  The 
united  thickness  of  the  various  groups  is  not 
great  in  Kentucky — probably  not  aggregating 
over  5,000  feet.  The  entire  State  is  included 
within  the  area  of  the  great  Appalachian 
uplift.  In  the  southeast  the  disturbance  is 
greater,  the  strata  often  being  inclined  at  a 
high  angle,  the  successive  undulations  grad- 
ually diminishing  toward  the  northwest. 
This  disturbance  in  the  southeast  is  empha- 
sized by  the  Great  Pine  Mountain  fault  ex- 
tending parallel  to  the  axis  of  the  Appala- 
chian uplift,  entirely  through  the  southeast- 
ern portion  of  the  State  and  bringing  to  the 
surface  in  the  coal-measures  rocks  as  low  as 
the  Clinton  group  of  the  Upper  Silm-ian. 
The  axis  of  the  greatest  geological  elevation 
in  the  State  is  parallel  to  the  above,  and 
passes  in  a northeasterly  and  southwesterly 
direction  through  the  counties  of  Montgom- 
ery, Clark,  Madison,  Garrard,  Jessamine  and 
Boyle,  shown  on  the  map  by  the  deflexion 
of  the  Kentucky  River  from  its  general  course 
toward  the  Ohio  River.  This  uplift  brings 
to  the  surface  the  lowest  rocks  exposed  in  the 
State,  the  “bird’s  eye”  limestone  of  the 
Trenton  (4a  of  Dana),  and  the  dolomite, 
known  as  “Kentucky  River  marble,”  includ- 
ing what  is  probably  the  equivalent  of  the 
calciferous  sandrock  of  the  New  York  section. 
These  lowest  rocks  of  the  Kentucky  section 
form  a triangular  area  having  its  depressed 
apex  northwest  of  Frankfort,  and  its  elevated 
base  in  the  counties  named  above.  Throua^h 

O 

these  formations,  having  a thickness  of  over 
400  feet,  the  picturesque  gorge  of  the  Ken- 
tucky River  has  been  cut.  Next  in  ascend- 
ing order  we  have  150  feet  of  blue  fossili- 
ferous  limestone,  containing  characteristic 
forms  of  the  Trenton  of  New  York,  and  800 
feet  of  limestone  and  shales  containing  the 
fossils  of  the  Hudson  River  or  Cincinnati 
gi’oups  (4c  of  Dana).  These  groups  make  up 
the  well-known  “Blue  Grass”  region  of  Ken- 
tucky, celebrated  for  the  fertility  of  soil,  high 


543 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


agricultural  development,  and  superiority  of 
the  horses  and  other  domestic  animals  pro- 
duced. The  soils  of  the  most  fertile  portion 
of  this  region  are  derived  from  the  150  feet 
immediately  above  the  bird’s  eye  limestone. 
These  rocks  are  very  rich  in  phosphate  of 
lime,  and  with  cax’eful  tillage  and  proper  ro- 
tation of  crops  the  lands  are  not  exhausted 
by  cultivation.  The  blue  limestones  of 
central  Kentucky  are  very  pi’olific  in  fossil 
forms. 

Surrounding  this  central  region  are  the 
rocks  of  the  Upper  Silurian,  averaging  in 
thickness  about  100  feet.  East  of  Louisville 
this  formation  is  about  twenty-tive  miles  wide, 
and  in  eastern  central  Kentucky  about  ten 
miles  wide,  decreasing  in  thickness  and  in  su- 
perficial extent  toward  the  southwestern  por- 
tion. The  rocks  are  mostly  magnesian  lime- 
stone,rich  in  fossil  forms,  of  which  the  most 
characteristic  are  the  beautiful  chain  corals. 
The  soils  of  this  formation  are  less  fertile 
than  those  derived  from  the  blue  shell  lime- 
stone and  marly  shales  of  the  Lower  Siluri- 
an. Above  the  latter  formation,  and  form- 
ing the  outer  portion  of  the  semi-circle  or 
irregular  triangle  extending  around  the 
great  central  uplift,  are  the  corniferous 
limestones  of  the  Devonian  (9c  of  Dana). 
The  principal  exposure  is  seen  at  the  falls  of 
the  Ohio  below  Louisville,  at  low  water  pre- 
senting probably  the  most  beautiful  and 
extensive  natural  cabinet  of  corals  in  the 
world — a reef  of  corals  perfectly  preserved 
in  minutest  sti’ucture,  and  of  exquisite 
beauty.  The  soils  derived  from  these  I’ocks 
are  almost  of  equal  fertility  to  the  best  soils 
of  the  blue  limestone,  and  the  topography  is 
equally  pleasing  to  the  eye.  The  next  for- 
mation in  order  is  the  black  shale  (10c  of 
Dana),  of  the  Devonian,  with  a thickness  of 
about  150  feet  in  the  northeast  and  decreas- 
ing gradually  to  the  south  and  west.  This 
formation  is  peculiar  from  the  high  percent- 
age of  petroleum  contained  in  the  shale. 
Before  the  discovery  of  oil-wells,  oil  was 
distilled  from  these  shales,  and  the  oil  in  the 
productive  wells  of  Kentucky  is  derived 
from  the  same  source.  Where  this  shale 
determines  the  topography,  the  lands  are 


generally  flat,  often  with  insufficient  drain- 
age, and  are  not  so  productive  as  analyses 
would  seem  to  warrant.  Doubtless  under- 
draining will  increase  the  yield. 

The  subcarboniferous  rocks,  consisting  of 
the  several  groups  identified  by  fossil  re- 
mains with  the  Waverly,  Keokuk,  Warsaw, 
St.  Louis,  and  Chester  groups  (13a,  13b  and 
13c  of  Dana),  composed  of  sandstones,  shales, 
and  limestones,  with  a total  thickness  of 
over  1,000  feet,  cannot  here  be  described 
in  detail.  Muldrow’s  Hill,  representing  the 
retreating  escarpment  of  formations  which 
formerly  extended  over  the  central  Blue 
Grass  region,  is  composed  of  these  rocks, 
capped  at  Big  Hill  in  Madison  County  with 
the  carboniferous  conglomerate.  The  sub- 
carboniferous  limestone  region  of  western 
and  southern  Kentucky,  drained  by  the 
Green  and  Cumberland  'Rivers,  is  character- 
ized for  the  most  part  by  an  excellent  soil, 
well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  Indian  corn, 
wheat,  barley,  and  other  cereals,  producing 
a very  fine  quality  of  tobacco,  and  certain 
grasses  in  great  perfection.  This  formation 
is  noted  for  the  numerous  caverns  of  large 
size  and  great  beauty — the  best  known  being 
the  celebrated  Mammoth  Cave  in  Edmonson 
County,  which  is  the  largest  known  cavern 
in  the  world.  Here  many  miles  of  subterra- 
nean passages  have  been  excavated  by 
the  eroding  action  of  water  charged  with 
carbonic  acid,  assisted  in  places  by  the 
action  of  the  atmosphere.  The  caverns  are 
beautified  by  columns  and  stalagmites  formed 
by  the  deposition  of  carbonate  of  lime  from 
the  percolating  waters,  and  by  exfoliation  of 
sulphate  of  lime,  taking  the  form  of  flowers, 
rosettes,  and  other  shapes,  rendered  more 
beautiful  by  their  power  of  reflecting  light.* 

The  detailed  survey  of  the  carboniferous 
strata  of  Kentucky  is  not  yet  completed,  but 
enough  is  known  to  justify  the  assertion  that 
the  total  area  in  the  State  is  over  14,000 
square  miles — 10,000  square  miles  of  the 
Appalachian  coalfield  and  4,000  square 
miles  of  the  western  or  Illinois  coalfield. 
In  the  eastern  field  two  workable  coals 

*For  historical  description  of  Mammoth  Cave,  see  Appendix 
A,  Note  32. 


HISTOllY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


543 


ai’e  found  below,  and  twelve  above  the 
carboniferous  conglomerate.  The  eastern 
field  is  remarkable  for  the  thickness  of 
some  of  the  coal  strata,  and  the  purity 
of  coals,  for  the  large  area  of  excellent 
cannel  coals,  and  for  the  ease  with 
which  the  coals  may  be  mined,  being  mostly 
elevated  above  the  drainage  level.  The 
thickest  portion  of  the  measures  is  in  the 
synclinal  trough  between  the  Pine  and  Cum- 
berland Mountains — there  be- 
ing a vei’tical  thickness  of  over 
2,200  feet  of  coal-measure  rocks 
above  the  drainage  level.  In 
the  southeastern  portion  of  the 
eastern  field  an  excellent  coking 
coal  has  been  traced  over  a wide 
area.  This  coal  ranges  from 
four  feet  to  eight  feet  in  thick- 
ness, can  be  mined  cheaply,  and 
has  a very  low  percentage  of  ash 
and  sulphur.  The  western  coal- 
field is  a broad  synclinal,  its 
axis  almost  parallel  to  the  gen- 
eral direction  of  Green  River, 
crossed  by  undulations,  the  axes 
of  which  extend  from  northeast 
to  southwest.  No  workable  coal 
has  been  opened  below  the  con- 
glomerate, which  is  thinner 
than  in  eastern  Kentucky. 

Twelve  coals  are  present  in  the 
measures  above  the  conglom- 
erate. Some  of  these  coals  are 
of  excellent  quality,  although  the  percentage 
of  sulphur  is  larger  than  in  the  best  of  the 
eastern  Kentucky  coals.  The  soils  of  the 
coal  measures  are  variable  in  quality.  Some 
of  the  most  productive  lands  in  the  State 
are  in  the  western  coal-field.  In  the  eastern 
field  are  very  fertile  valleys,  and  the  uplands 
in  the  Cumberland  Valley  are  quite  pro- 
ductive. Even  the  poorest  of  the  coal- 
measure  soils  are  well  adapted  to  certain 
grasses  and  fruits,  and  will  yield  good  re- 
turns from  intelligent  culture. 

There  only  remain  to  be  noticed  the 
Quaternary  strata.  The  region  west  of  the 
Tennessee  River,  and  the  level  plains  bor- 
dering the  principal  rivers  and  above  high 


water  level,  are  composed  of  a homogeneous 
buff-colored,  silicious  loam,  known  as  the 
“ blufi’ ” or  loess  formation  (20b  of  Dana). 
This  is,  with  the  exception  of  the  alluvial 
“ bottoms”  along  the  rivers,  the  most  recent 
formation  in  Kentucky.  The  deposit  has  a 
thickness  of  from  40  to  50  feet.  Owing  partly 
to  the  presence  of  numerous  land  and  fresh- 
water shells  (Helix,  Gyclostoma,  Pupa,  Cyclas, 
etc.),  this  formation  is  highly  calcareous. 


THE  ENTRANCE  TO  WAHJIOTH  CAVE  (LOOKING  OUT). 

giving,  from  an  average  sample,  9.6  per  cent 
of  lime,  and  the  soils  are  of  marked  fertility. 
This  bluff  loam  rests  upon  a coarse  gravel, 
varying  in  thickness  from  a few  inches  to 
thirty  feet,  composed  mainly  of  water-worn 
pebbles  from  the  carboniferous  conglomerate, 
and  slightly  water-worn  angular  pebbles  of 
chert  and  hornstone  from  the  lower  subcar- 
boniferous  and  corniferous  groups,  and  coarse 
angular  sand.  Intermingled  throughout  are 
silicified  fragments  of  many  of  the  Paleozoic 
fossils  to  be  found  in  the  Ohio  Valley.  In  de- 
scending order  are  beds  of  white  sand  and  clay, 
and  shales  of  the  Eocene  (Tertiary),  only 
slightly  exposed  in  the  extreme  western  part  of 
the  State,  where  the  streams  have  cut  deepest. 


544 


HISTOEY  OF  ICENTUCKY. 


Nowhere  in  the  State,  have  evidences  of  gla- 
cial action  been  found.  Over  the  uplifted 
Blue  Grass  region,  are  often  thick  deposits  of 
what  has  been  called  drift  material;  but  such 
deposits  are  composed  altogether  of  silicified 
remains  from  the  several  formations  above 
the  Lower  Silurian,  and  the  evidences  are 
conclusive  that  they  are  the  remains  of  rocks 
decomposed  in  situ. 

No  precious  metals  have  been  discovei’ed  in 
Kentucky.  The  amount  of  coal  hitherto  mined 
has  not  been  as  large  as  the  quantity  and  qual- 
ity in  the  State  would  justify,  but  the  in- 
creased facilities  of  transport  have  stim- 
ulated production,  and  the  output  will  in- 
crease from  year  to  year.  In  1870,  the 
amount  mined  was  150,582  tons,  and  in  1880, 
1,050,095  tons,  a larger  percentage  of  increase 
than  any  other  State  in  the  Union.  Iron  ores 
of  good  quality  abound  in  various  parts  of 
the  State.  In  Bath  County  is  a large  deposit 
of  Clinton  ore,  similar  to  the  red  fossil  ore 
occurring  in  this  formation  from  New  York 
to  Alabama.  The  same  ore  probably  is  in 
position  along  the  western  base  of  Pine  Moun- 
tain. Along  the  southeastern  border  of  the 
State  it  extends  for  many  miles  in  Tennessee 
and  Virginia,  with  a thickness  of  from  eight- 
een inches  to  seven  feet,  where  the  very  near 
proximity  to  the  excellent  coking  coal  of  Ken- 
tucky, renders  it  of  peculiar  value  in  determin- 
ing the  future  development  of  that  portion 
of  the  State.  In  the  Cumberland  Valley  of 
Western  Kentucky,  a high  grade  limonite  is 
abundant  in  the  subcarboniferous  limestone, 
and  in  eastern  Kentucky,  a superior  iron  ore 
rests  upon  the  top  of  the  St.  Louis  group  of 
this  formation.  Excellent  carbonates  and 
limonites  abound  in  the  eastern  coal-measures 
and  have  been  mined  extensively  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  the  State.  In  the  lower  coal- 
measures  of  western  Kentucky,  a number  of 
iron  ore  strata  ranging  in  thickness  from  a 
few  inches  to  five  feet. 

Galena,  associated  with  sulphate  of  baryta, 
occurs  in  veins  in  the  lower  members  of  the 
blue  limestone  of  central  Kentucky,  and  also  [ 
in  the  subcarboniferous  strata  in  the  lower  ! 
Cumberland  Valley,  where  it  is  associated  with 
valuable  deposits  of  fluorspar. 


Petroleum  has  been  produced  from  wells 
in  Barren  County,  for  a number  of  years.  The 
oil  is  here  derived  from  the  Devonian  black 
shale.  Heavy  lubricating  oil  is  produced 
from  the  same  formation  in  Wayne  County. 
There  is  a wide  area  in  the  State,  where  petro- 
leum may  be  obtained  by  boring. 

Salt-brine  is  obtained  from  wells  in  the 
eastern  coal  field,  and  in  the  subcarboniferous 
limestone  of  western  Kentucky. 

Fire  and  pottery  clays  abound  in  the  coal 
measures;  pottery  clays  occur  in  the  surface 
deposits  in  valleys  of  central  Kentucky,  and 
in  the  flat  lands  where  the  soil  is  derived  from 
the  decomposition  of  the  Devonian  black 
shale,  and  the  argillaceous  shales  of  the 
W averly  group.  In  the  Tertiary  shales  below 
the  gravel  bed  west  of  the  Tennessee  River,  are 
pottery-clays,  and  fire-clays  occur  in  great 
abundance. 

Building  stones  of  great  variety  abound  in 
almost  every  section. 

Forests. — Probably  two-thirds  of  the  State 
is  yet  covered  by  virgin  forests  of  valuable 
timbers.  At  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  the 
State  by  the  whites  it  was  covered  by  forests, 
excepting  a portion  of  the  southwestern  part, 
known  as  the  “Barrens,”  which  was  a prairie, 
covered  with  tall  grass,  known  as  “barren- 
grass.  ” Here  only  the  roots  of  certain  hardy 
trees  had  withstood  the  annual  burning  of 
the  dry  grasses;  from  these  roots,  “sprouts” 
grew  every  year,  only  to  be  destroyed  by  fire, 
and  the  roots  or  base  grew  horizontal  [y  under 
the  soil.  When  the  country  was  settled  and 
the  fires  checked,  the  saplings  springing 
from  these  roots  soon  grew  into  trees,  and  the 
region,  was  speedily  covered  with  a dense 
growth,  the  prevailing  timbers  being  black- 
jack oak  {Quercus  nigra),  post  oak  {Q.  obtusi- 
loba),  and  black  oak  (§.  fmcton'a).  The  out- 
line of  these  barrens  was  almost  identical 
with  the  outline  of  the  cavernous  gi’oup  of 
the  subcarboniferous  limestone.  On  the 
lower  limestones  and  shales  of  the  subcarbon- 
iferous, the  most  valuable  timbers  remaining 
are  yellow  poj)lar  {Liriodendron  tulipfera), 
white  oak  {Q.  alba),  the  hickories,  and  some 
black  walnut  (Juglans  nigra).  The  several 
divisions  of  the  Lower  Silurian  are  character- 


KENTtrCKV  institute  FOR  THE  EDIU^ATION  OF  FEEBLE  MTNDI'.D  CIIILHKEN,  FIIANKFORT 


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HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


545 


ized  by  a variation  in  the  forest  growth.  On 
the  lower  rocks  the  most  characteristic  timbers 
are  over-cup  oak  {Q.  macrocarpa),  white 
oak,  shell  bark  hickory  {Carya  alba),  black 
walnut  and  black  ash  {Fraxinus  sambuci  folia). 
The  prevalent  timbers  on  the  best  soils  of  this 
region  are  sugar  maple  {Acer  saccharinum), 
blue  ash  (Fr.  quadrangulata),  black  walnut, 
pig-nut  hickory  (C.  glabra),  hackberry  {Celtis 
occidentalis),  mulberry  {Morus  rubra),  buck- 
eye {ASsculus  glabra),  honey-locust  {Gled- 
itschia  triacanthos),  box  elder  {Negundo  acer- 
aides)  and  Kentucky  coffee-tree  {Gymnocla- 
dus).  On  the  soils  derived  from  the  silicious 
member  of  the  Cincinnati  group,  the  preva- 
lent timbers  are  yellow  poplar,  beech,  white 
and  red  oak,  and  hickory.  White  oak  is  the 
prevailing  timber  on  the  upper  portion.  On 
the  Upper  Silurian  lands  the  timbers  are 
mainly  white  oak,  of  superior  quality,  sweet 
gum  {Liquidambar  styraci  flua),  and  water 
maple  (A.  riibrum).  The  growth  on  the  cor- 
niferous  limestone  is  very  similar  to  that  on 
the  best  soils  of  the  blue  limestone,  with  the 
exception  that  beeches  and  yellow  poplars  are 
more  numerous.  On  the  black  shale  of  the 
Devonian  are  over-cup  oak,  black  oak,  sweet 
gum,  beech  and  elm,  and  in  places  where  the 
soil  is  well-drained,  yellow  poplar,  wild 
cherry,  and  black  walnut.  The  growth  on 
the  flat  lands  of  the  Waver ly  is  elm,  beech, 
sweet  gum  and  white  oak;  on  the  uplands, 
chestnut,  oak,  (Q.  Prinus),  and  small  hicko- 
ries, and  on  the  thin  uplands  the  above  timbers 
and  yellow  pine  {Pinus  mitis).  The  great 
stores  of  valuable  timbers  are  in  the  coal- 
measures.  In  eastern  Kentucky  there  is  an 
ai’ea  of  10,000  square  miles  of  virgin  forests 
of  white  oak,  ash,  hickory,  wild  cherry  and 
other  valuable  timbers.  On  the  out- crop  of 
the  conglomerate  sandstone,  on  the  western 
edge  of  the  coal-field,  and  on  the  top  of  the 
eastern  slope  of  Pine  Mountain  and  the 
western  slope  of  Cumberland  Mountain,  the 
prevailing  timbers  are  chestnut,  oak  and  yellow 
pine  and  hemlock  {Abies  canadensis),  where 
the  streams  have  cut  deep  in  the  rock,  with 
an  undergrowth  of  rhododendrons,  and  kal- 
mias,  and  on  the  dryer  slopes  azaleas.  The 
above  is  also  the  growth  where  the  conglom- 


erate is  thick  on  the  eastern  out-crop  of  the 
western  coal-field.  In  the  valley  of  Red 
River,  on  the  conglomerate  series,  there  is  an 
area  of  about  40,000  acres  where  the  preva- 
lent timber  is  white  pine  (P.  strobus).  There 
are  fine  forests  remaining  on  the  Quaternary 
west  of  the  Tennessee  River.  On  the  lowlands 
are  forests  of  large  cypi’ess  {Taxodium  disty- 
chuni).  In  this  region  the  Catalpa  speciosa 
and  pecan  {Carya  olivoeformis)  abound  and 
cotton-wood  {populus  angulata)  on  the  banks 
of  streams.  Many  valuable  timbers  in  addi- 
tion to  the  above,  are  to  be  had  in  various 
parts  of  the  State.  Owing  to  the  large  de- 
mands for  timber  on  the  treeless  prairies,  and 
the  rapid  exhaustion  of  timbers  in  the  States 
north  of  the  Ohio  River,  the  extensive  forests 
of  Kentucky  have  an  especial  value. 

With  the  exception  of  the  area  west  of  the 
Tennessee  River,  all  the  soils  are  derived 
from  the  decomposition  of  rocks  in  situ. 
The  soils  over  an  area  of  about  22,000 
square  miles  are  derived  from  the  decompo- 
sition of  limestones  of  various  geological 
horizons.  The  soils  of  the  Blue  Grass  re- 
gion, derived  from  the  decomposition  of 
phosphatic  limestone  and  shales,  and  the 
soils  of  a portion  of  the  subcarboniferous 
limestone  groups,  are  of  great  fertility,  and 
are  easily  restored  by  a judicious  rotation 
with  clover  and  grasses. 

The  State  was  peopled  almost  exclusively 
with  agriculturists  from  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land, and  agriculture  has  remained  the 
favorite  occupation.  Out  of  a total  popula- 
tion of  1,321,011,  in  1870,  only  44,197 
were  engaged  in  manufacturing,  mechanical 
and  mining  industries.  The  peculiarity  of 
Kentucky  agriculture  is  its  great  diversity 
It  will  be  seen  from  the  United  States  census 
that  in  each  decade,  from  1810  to  the  present 
time,  the  State  ranked  first  in  the  production 
of  one  or  more  staple  articles.  Thus  in 
1840,  though  sixth  in  rank  in  population,  it 
was  the  first  in  production  of  wheat  and 
hemp,  and  the  second  in  the  production  of 
swine,  Indian  corn  and  tobacco.  In  1850  it 
ranked  first  in  the  production  of  Indian 
corn,  flax  and  hemp,  and  second  in  swine, 
mules  and  tobacco.  In  1870  it  was  the 

34 


54G 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


eighth  State  in  population,  and  the  eighth  in 
the  total  value  of  agricultiiral  products  (not- 
withstanding over  one-half  of  the  area  of 
the  State  was  virgin  forests),  it  ranked  first 
in  the  production  of  hemp  and  tobacco, 
sixth  in  Indian  corn,  and  eighth  in  wheat. 
In  1880  it  ranked  first  in  the  production  of 
hemp  and  tobacco  and  seventh  in  Indian 
corn  and  rye.  The  decline  in  the  relative 
position  in  the  production  of  Indian  corn 
and  wheat  was  not  caused  by  a decreased 
production,  but  by  the  increased  production 
of  these  cereals  by  States  in  the  west,  where 
these  are  almost  the  exclusive  crops.  In 
Kenlucky  a diversified  agriculture  is  found 
to  be  more  profitable.  Especial  care  has 
been  devoted  to  the  importation  and  im- 
provement of  domestic  animals,  until  the 
State  has  become  the  great  center  for  fine 
stock  of  all  kinds.  In  an’iving  at  this  pre- 
eminence, the  breeders  have  doubtless  been 
assisted  by  the  climate,  the  water  and  the 
perfection  of  pasturage.  The  Blue  Grass 
{Poa  pratensis),  attains  perfection  in  this 
region,  making  a beautiful  turf;  it  grows  in 
the  shade  of  woodlands,  and  affords  an  excel- 
lent winter  pasturage.  Virginia,  in  early 
times,  imported  choice  hoi’ses  from  England 
( when  the  breeders  there  paid  attention  to 
the  endurance).  The  Kentucky  breeders 
have  kept  those  strains  pure,  and  have  from 
time  to  time  added  by  importations  from 
England  until  a race-horse  having  endurance 
and  speed  is  the  result.  Probably  over  75 
per  cent  of  the  winnings  on  the  American 
turf  is  by  Kentucky-bred  horses.  The  at- 
tention of  many  of  the  Kentucky  stock 
breeders  of  late  years  has  been  turned  to 
breeding  trotting  horses  with  very  marked 
results.  The  production  of  the  very  fleet 
trotting  horses  of  Kentucky  is  the  result  of  in- 
telligent breeding,under  favorable  conditions. 

Kentucky  is  the  principal  tobacco  grow- 
ing State  in  the  Union.  In  1870,  of  the 
total  of  262,735,371  pounds  produced  in 
the  United  States,  Kentucky  produced 
105,305,869  pounds;  and  in  1880.  out  of  the 
total  of  473,107,573  pounds,  Kentucky  pro- 


duced 171,121,134  pounds.  The  ten  princi- 
pal tobacco-growing  counties  are: 


Pounds. 

Christian 13,577,574 

Henderson 10,312,631 

Daviess 9,533,451 

Graves 8,901,434 

Mason 6,261,385 

Bracken 6,126,635 

Logan 6,039,983 

Todd 5,808,425 

Owen 5,765,351 

Trigg 5,667,143 

The  production  of  the  principal  cereals  in 
Kentucky  was  as  follows  in  1870  aiid  1880: 

1870.  1880. 

Indian  Corn 50,091,006  73,977,839 

Wheat 5,728,704  11,355,340 

Oats 6,620,103  4,582,968 

Barley 338,486  487,031 

Rye 1,108,933  676,345 


Hemp,  since  the  early  settlement  of  the 
State,  has  been  a favorite  crop,  more  espe- 
cially in  the  Blue  Grass  region.  Contrary  to 
an  accepted  opinion  it  has  not  here  proved 
an  exhausting  crop  where  retted  upon  the 
land.  Wheat  succeeds  almost  as  well  after 
hemp  as  after  clover  sod.  The  yield  of 
hemp  for  the  year  1880,  was  about  15,000 
tons.  Cotton  is  grown  only  to  a limited  ex- 
tent west  of  the  Tennessee  River,  the  total 
production  amounting  in  1880  to  1,367  bales. 
The  total  number  of  farms  in  1870  was 
118,422,  the  average  size  being  158  acres. 
In  1850  the  average  size  of  farms  was  227 
acres,  and  in  1860,  211  acres.  Over  60  per 
cent  of  the  area  returned  as  farms  was  un- 
improved or  in  timber.  The  area  returned 
as  improved  or  under  fence  was  less  than 
one -third  the  area  of  the  State. 

Before  the  freeing  of  the  slaves,  domestic 
manufacturing  on  the  farms  was  carried  on 
to  a large  extent,  and  as  late  as  1870,  the 
State  ranked  second  in  the  value  of  domestic 
or  home  manufactures.  The  total  value  of 
manufactures  was,  in  1850,  $21,712,210;  in 
1860,  $37,931,240;  and  in  1870,  $54,625,809. 
The  increase  since  1870  has  been  larger  than 
before,  and  the  State  will  soon  rank  high  as  a 
manufacturing  State. 


TirSTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


547 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


KENTUCKY’S  ONE  HUNDKED  AND  EIGHTEEN  COUNTIES. 


A DAIR  COUNTY  was  created  in  1801 
and  was  the  forty-fourth  in  the  order 
of  formation.  It  lies  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  State,  Cumberland  County  separating  it  | 
from  the  Tennessee  line.  It  is  bounded  on  | 
the  north  by  Green  and  Taylor  Counties; 
on  the  east  by  Russell  and  Casey;  on  the 
south  by  Cumberland;  on  the  west  by  Met- 
calfe and  Green,  and  by  the  census  of  1880 
it  had  a population  of  13,078.  The  surface 
is  rather  hilly  and  the  soil  thin,  and  much  of 
the  land,  aside  from  the  bottoms  along  the 
water  courses,  is  poor  and  unproductive.  It  is 
watered  liy  the  Green  River  and  its  tributaries, 
comprising  Sulphur,  Glen,  White  Oak,  Pet- 
tus,  Harrod,  Russell,  Crocus,  Butler,  Big 
Creeks,  etc.  The  Little  Barren  River  also 
touches  its  territory.  Tobacco  and  grain  are 
produced  in  considerable  quantities;  in  1880 
as  follows:  Corn,  492, 4l3  bushels;  oats, 
16,482;  wheat,  68,424;  and  tobacco,  696,748 
pounds.  Live  stock  also  receives  due  atten- 
tion, the  report  of  1880  showing  horses  and 
mules,  4,806;  cattle,  5,533;  and  15,010  hogs. 

The  county  is  not  extremely  rich  in  his- 
torical incidents.  No  startling  events  have 
occurred  on  its  soil  or  within  its  borders,  but 
peace  and  quiet  have  marked  its  career  to  the 
present  time.  One  item  of  historical  interest 
was  an  inscription  found  upon  a tree  about 
six  miles  from  Columbia,  the  county  seat,  in 
a westerly  direction.  It  was  as  follows:  A 

number  of  wild  animals,  and  a tomahawk; 
also  the  names — ‘‘D.  Boone,  1773,”  and 
‘ ‘ McGary,  1773.  ” This  is  evidence  that  the 
great  hunter  was  probably  the  first  pale  face 
to  gaze  upon  the  hills  and  penetrate  the 
forests  of  Adair  County. 

Columbia,  the  county  seat,  is  a rather 
pretty  little  village  of  some  600  inhabitants. 
It  has  a good  court  house,  a new'spaper, 
several  flourishing  stores,  handsome  churches 
and  a number  of  fine  residences,  and,  with  a 
railroad,  would  be  a veiy  prosperous  town. 
Other  villages  and  postolfices  are  Casey 
Creek,  Cane  Valley,  Milltown,  Glen’s  Fork, 
Grady ville,  Neatsville,  etc. 

Judge  Parker  C.  Hardin,  long  a citizen  of 


this  county,  was  of  a noted  family  and  one 
distinguished  in  the  history  of  the  State. 
[See  historical  sketches  of  Breckinridge, 
Hardin,  Nelson  and  Washington  Counties.] 
He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Gen.  Martin  L. 
Hardin,  and  was  born  in  Washington  County 
October  23,  1800.  His  father  was  among 
the  pioneers  of  that  county,  and  one  of  its 
earliest  surveyors.  J udge  Hardin  passed  his 
early  years  upon  the  old  homestead,  and 
throughout  his  life  he  cherished  the  strong- 
est attachment  for  the  scenes  of  his  child- 
hood. He  would  recall  with  emoiion  the  old 
elm  tree,  with  the  eagle’s  nest,  which  served 
as  a way-mark  to  his  ancestors  in  the  path- 
less forests,  and  which  stood  upon  the 
boundary  line  of  the  old  farm.  When  eight- 
een years  old  he  entered  school  at  Bardstown 
for  the  purpose  of  finishing  his  education, 
and  became  a member  of  the  household  of 
his  uncle,  the  Hon.  Ben  Hardin,  with  whom 
he  afterward  studied  law.  The  three  years 
he  spent  in  Bardstown  acquiring  his  pro- 
fession were  always  remembered  with  inter- 
est, and  he  used  to  delight  in  relating  to  his 
family  and  friends  the  lively  court  house 
scenes  he  had  witnessed  at  the  Bardstown 
bar,  and  in  which  Rowan,  Pope,  Wickliffe 
and  Ben  Hardin  were  the  principal  partici- 
pants. As  soon  as  Judge  Hardin  reached 
his  majority,  having  mastered  his  profession, 
he  visited  southern  Indiana  in  quest  of  a 
suitable  location,  but  soon  returned  home, 
and  shortly  after  started  on  another  ‘ ‘ tour 
of  observation.”  This  time  his  objective 
point  was  Columbia,  S.  C.,  birt  reaching 
Columbia  in  this  county  on  the  night  of 
December  25  (1821),  he  was  induced  to  re- 
main a few  weeks  and  visit  relatives.  Col- 
umbia at  this  time  was  one  of  the  most  pros- 
perous villages  in  the  Green  River  country, 
and  was  noted  for  the  education,  intelligence 
and  enterprise  of  its  inhabitants.  This 
temporary  visit  resulted  in  his  becoming  a 
permanent  citizen  of  the  place  He  entered 
I upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  here,  and 
I soon  acquired  a lucrative  business.  During 
the  administration  of  Gov.  Adair  he  was 


548 


HISTORY  OP  KENTUCKY. 


appointed  commonwealth’s  attorney,  which 
position  he  held  until  Gov.  Desha  came  into 
office,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Hon. 
William  Owens.  He  resumed  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  which  extended  into  the 
counties  of  Green,  Casey,  Russell  and  Cum- 
berland. He  was  thoroughly  versed  in  the 
law.  His  arguments  before  a jury  were 
more  logical  than  eloquent,  and  he  never 
failed  to  impress  both  judge  and  jury  favor- 
ably. He  served  in  the  Kentucky  Legis- 
lature one  term,  and  in  1840  was  elected  to 
the  State  Senate,  and  re-elected  in  1844.  In 
the  Senate  he  served  as  chairman  of  the 
judiciary  committee,  and  in  thi»  important 
position  his  prudence  and  wisdom  were  con- 
spicuous. He  was  a stanch  Whig,  but  in 
all  his  political  campaigns  he  was  supported 
l)y  many  Democrats,  wholly  on  account  of  his 
integrity  and  many  sterling  qualities.  In 
politics  he  never  yielded  to  public  sentiment, 
birt  preserved  the  same  independence  that 
characterized  him  in  private  life.  When 
the  civil  war  came  on,  he  was  outspoken  in 
his  adherence  to  the  cause  of  the  Union. 
But  what  he  deemed  Federal  usurpation 
inspired  his  disgust  and  finally  drove  him 
into  sympathy  and  affiliation  with  the  Dem- 
ocratic party. 

Judge  Hardin,  when  disabled  through  the 
infirmities  of  age  from  the  active  practice  of 
his  profession,  was  elected  judge  of  Adair 
County.  The  last  two  years  of  his  life  were 
spent  at  home  in  the  society  of  his  family  and 
friends.  He  was  a devoted  Christian,  and 
for  more  than  forty  years  his  life  was  a bright 
example  of  Christian  faith.  He  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-seven  years. 

Adair  Coixnty  was  named  for  Gen.  Adair, 
a name  conspicuous  in  the  early  history  of 
Kentucky.  He  ^vas  a native  of  South  Caro- 
lina, born  in  1757,  came  to  Kentucky  in  1786, 
and  located  in  Mercer  County.  Having  been 
a soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  w’ar,  he  was 
well  fitted  for  the  stirring  scenes  of  the 
frontier.  Few  expeditions  were  undertaken 
against  the  Indians,  after  Gen.  Adair  became 
a citizen  of  the  State,  in  which  he  did  not  par- 
ticipate. In  the  war  of  1812  he  took  an  hon- 
orable part.  He  was  aid  to  Gov.  Shelby  in 
the  campaign  of  1813,  and  afterward  w'as  ap- 
pointed by  Gov.  Shelby  adjutant-general  of 
the  Kentucky  troops,  with  the  brevet  rank  of 
brigfadier-ffeneral.  In  that  character  he  com- 
manded  them  in  the  battle  of  New  Orleans, 
the  closing  scene  of  our  last  war  with  Eng- 
1 and. 

Gen.  Adair  was  elected  governor  of  Ken- 
tucky in  1820,  when  the  “relief”  and  “anti- 
relief” war  was  at  its  height.  No  greater 


political  excitement  was  ever  known  in  this 
I State  than  during  that  stormy  period,  but 
Gen.  Adair  came  forth  from  the  fiery  ordeal 
unscathed  by  the  flames.  The  only  blot  upon 
his  political  escutcheon  was  his  supposed  con- 
nection with  the  conspiracy  of  Aaron  Burr. 
His  conduct  was  the  subject  of  considerable 
speculation  and  susjricion,  and  public  criticism 
was  severe,  Imt  time  cleared  his  name  of  any 
charge  of  treason  or  complicity  with  Burr’s 
treasonable  schemes. 


Allen  County  is  situated  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  State,  and  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  "Warren  and  Barren  Counties,  on  the 
east  by  Monroe  County,  on  the  south  by  the 
State  of  Tennessee,  and  on  the  west  by  Simp- 
son County.  It  was  formed  January  11, 
1815,  from  the  counties  bounding  it  on  the 
north  (Warren  and  Barren),  and  by  the  cen- 
sus of  1880  had  a population  of  12,089.  The 
surface  is  rough  and  uneven,  with  a generally 
fertile  soil;  it  is  heavily  timbered.  The  prin- 
cipal water  course  is  the  Big  Barren  River, 
which  is  fed  by  a number  of  small  streams 
that  have  their  source  in  the  county,  or  flow 
through  it,  among  which  are  Puncheon  Camp 
Creek,  Big  and  Little  Difficult,  Walnut,  Big 
and  Little  Trammel,  Drake,  Long,  Bay’s 
Fork,  Snake,  John  and  Rough  Creeks. 

The  name  of  Col.  John  Allen,  a brave  sol- 
dier of  the  war  of  1812,  and  who  fell  at  the 
battle  of  the  River  Raisin,  is  perpetuated  in 
that  of  the  county.  He  was  a native  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  born  in  Rockbridge  County,  De- 
cember 30,  1772.  His  father  came  to  Ken- 
tucky in  1780  and  settled  near  the  present 
city  of  Danville,  and  some  four  years  later 
removed  into  what  is  now  Nelson  County, 
where  John  grew  to  manhood,  and  was  edir- 
cated  principally  at  Bardstown.  Among  his 
classmates  was  Joseph  Hamilton  Daveiss,  who 
was  prosecuting  attorney  in  the  celebrated 
trial  of  Aaron  Burr,  at  Frankfort,  and  for 
whom  Daviess  County  w'as  named.  After 
completing  his  education  he  studied  law  with 
Col.  Archibald  Stewart,  of  Staunton,  Va. , 
and  upon  being  admitted  to  the  bar,  returned 
to  Kentucky,  and  located  in  Shelbyville.  As 
a lawyer  he  had  but  few  superiors  at  the 
Kentucky  bar. 

j Col.  Allen,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
! war  of  1812,  recruited  a regiment  of  riflemen 
for  Gen.  Harrison’s  campaign  in  the  North- 
west. At  the  disastroirs  battle  of  Raisin  his 
regiment  formed  the  American  left  and  suf- 
fered severely.  No  battle  of  the  war  wms  so 
j fatal  to  Kentuckians  as  Raisin;  its  sad  ter- 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


549 


mination  carried  mourning  to  many  a Ken- 
tucky home.  Col.  Allen  was  killed,  and  nearly 
half  his  regiment  was  killed  or  wounded. 

The  settlement  of  Allen  County  extends 
back  into  the  last  century.  As  early  as  1797 
the  white  man  erected  his  cabin  within  its 
present  limits.  Among  its  pioneers  were  J o- 
seph  Ficklin,  Toliver  Craig,  Abraham  Wood, 
David  Monroe  and  Henry  Collins.  They  were 
followed  within  the  next  decade  or  so  by  J ohn 
Ragland,  Hugh  Brown,  Elias  Pritchford,  Da- 
vid Harris,  Thomas  Cook,  William  R.  Jack- 
son  and  others.  The  settlement  of  the  county 
and  the  increase  of  population  has  been  steady 
to  the  present  time. 

Allen  County,  in  addition  to  the  staple 
products  of  this  section  of  the  State — stock, 
grain  and  tobacco — yields  salt  and  oil.  With 
more  extended  railroad  facilities,  these  indus- 
tries would  be  more  valuable  than  they  have 
heretofore  been.  The  salt  works  at  Port  Ol- 
iver have,  when  pushed  to  their  full  capacity, 
yielded  300  bushels  of  salt  per  week.  They 
are  not  used  now.  On  the  Big  Trammel  and 
the  Bay’s  Fork  Creeks  oil  wells  were  sunk, 
which  produced  oil  plentifully.  The  superior 
facilities,  however,  of  Pennsylvania,  both  in 
means  of  transportation  and  improved  ma- 
chinery, have  always  prevented  this  valuable 
commodity  from  reaching  any  great  commer- 
cial value  in  this  section. 

The  county  has  been  hitherto  without  rail- 
roads. The  new  road  diverging  from  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  at  Gallatin,  Tenn.,  is 
being,  at  this  writing  (1886),  rapidly  com- 
pleted. Its  connection  with  the ' road  at 
Greensburg  would  prove  of  vast  benefit  to 
this  portion  of  the  State. 

Scottsville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  a small 
town  of  about  400  inhabitants,  by  the  last 
census.  It  is  situated  near  the  center  of  the 
county,  and  was  laid  out  in  1816,  and  named 
for  Gen.  Charles  Scott,  the  fourth  governor 
of  the  commonwealth.  Other  villages  and 
hamlets  are  Gainesville,  Port  Oliver,  Motley, 
Butlersville,  Allen  Springs,  New  Roe  and 
Mount  Aerial. 

The  forest  trees  of  Allen  County  proved  to 
be  depositories  of  historical  facts,  showing 
that  white  men  visited  the  county  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a century  before  a permanent  set- 
tlement was  made.  The  following  inscrip- 
tion was  found  cut  in  the  bark  of  a beech 
tree  on  the  Bay’s  Fork  of  the  Big  Barren 
River,  about  seven  miles  northwest  of  Scotts- 
ville: “James  McCall  dined  here  on  his  way 
to  Natchez,  June  10,  1770.”  Another  in- 
scription was  found  on  a large  beech  tree,  on 
Long  Creek,  half  a mile  above  its  junction 
with  the  Big  Barren  River,  as  follows:  “Icha- 


bod  Clark,  mill  site,  1779.”  On  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  tree  was  the  inscription, 
‘ ‘ Too  sick  to  get  over,  ’ ’ without  name  or 
date.  On  the  Big  Barren,  a half  mile  below 
the  mouth  of  Walnut  Creek,  the  name  of 
“Daniel  Boone,”  with  the  date  of  “1777,” 
was  found  on  a beech  tree.  Boone’s  name 
was  also  found  on  a beech  on  the  Big  Barren, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Difficult  Creek, 
but  without  date. 


Anderson  County,  although  more  than  half 
a century  old,  is  of  recent  origin  when  com- 
j pared  to  some  of  the  counties  of  the  State, 
j It  was  organized  in  1827  from  Franklin, 
j Mercer  and  W ashington,  and  in  the  order  of 
formation  is  the  eighty- second  county.  It  is 
situated  in  the  central  part  of  the  State,  and 
is  considered  one  of  the  blue-grass  counties. 
It  is  boiinded  on  the  north  by  Shelby  and, 
F ranklin  Counties ; on  the  east  by  W oodford ; 
on  the  South  by  Mercer  and  Washington;  on 
the  west  by  Nelson,  Spencer  and  Shelby,  and 
by  the  last  census  (1880)  had  a population  of 
9,361.  It  is  watered  and  drained  by  the 
Salt  River  and  its  tributaries,  Stoney,  Ham- 
mond, Crooked  and  Fox  Creeks,  and  by  the 
Kentucky  River  and  its  tributaries.  Little 
Benson,  Bailey’s  Run  and  Gilbert’s  Creek. 
The  county  lies  well.  It  is  not  monotonously 
level,  but  rather  rolling  or  undulating,  and 
very  rich  and  productive.  Wheat,  corn,  to- 
bacco and  the  grasses  are  raised  in  great 
quantities;  also  hogs,  cattle  and — whisky. 
The  latter  is,  perhaps,  the  most  exuberant 
crop  produced.  From  3,000  to  5,000  bar- 
rels of  whisky  are  manufactured  annually, 
and  that  of  a very  fine  quality;  indeed,  the 
name  of  ‘ ‘Anderson  County  whisky  ’ ’ abroad 
is  almost  as  famous  as  that  of  ‘ ‘ Bourbon.  ’ ’ 
Settlements  were  made  in  what  is  now  An- 
derson County  very  early.  But,  without  de- 
scribing the  early  settlement,  the  following 
incident  is  I’elated:  An  old  Dutchman,  named 
Kaufman,  settled  where  Lawrenceburg  now 
stands.  He  was  eventually  killed  by  the  In- 
dians, and  when  his  wife  heard  of  the  sad 
event,  she  exclaimed : ‘ ‘I  always  told  my  old 
man  that  these  savage  Injuns  would  kill  him, 
and  I’d  rather  lost  my  best  cow  than  my  old 
man.” 

Lawrenceburg,  the  county  seat,  is  a busi- 
ness little  place  of  over  500  inhabitants.  It 
[ was  laid  out  in  1820,  and  named  for  Capt. 

James  Lawrence,  of  the  United  States  Na- 
I vy,  whose  dying  words  on  board  the  “ Ches 
apeake  ” — “ Don’ t give  up  the  ship ! ’ ’ — have 
: become  national.  The  town  is  situated  on 


650 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  turnpike  leading  from  Harrodsburg  to 
Frankfort,  fourteen  miles  from  the  latter 
place,  and  presents  a rather  attractive  ap- 
pearance. It  is  Avithout  a railroad,  but  lib- 
eral bids  at  this  time  (1886)  are  being  made 
for  the  Louisville  Southern.  It  has  a hand- 
some court  house,  a number  of  stores  and 
substantial  business  houses,  and  several  fine 
churches  and  residences.  Other  towns  and 
villages  are  Rough-and-Ready,  Ripyville, 
Van  Buren,  Johnsonville  and  Camdenville. 

Anderson  County  received  its  name  in  hon- 
or of  Hon.  Richard  C.  Anderson,  who  was 
born  at  Louisville  Station,  in  the  then  dis- 
trict of  Kentucky,  in  1788.  His  father  was 
a Revolutionary  soldier,  and  his  mother  was 
a sister  of  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark.  He 
was  educated  at  William  and  Mary  College, 
and  studied  law  with  Judge  Tucker,  of  Vir- 
ginia. He  returned  to  Kentucky  after  grad- 
uating in  the  law,  and  commenced  a career 
of  usefulness.  He  served  several  terms  in 
the  Legislature,  and  in  1817  was  elected  to 
Congress.  After  serving  four  years  he  de- 
clined a re-election,  and,  later,  was  sent  again 
to  the  State  Legislature  and  elected  its 
speaker.  This  was  the  beginning  of  that 
angry  controversy  known  as  the  ‘ ‘ relief 
and  anti-relief  war.”  He  was  appointed, 
by  President  Monroe,  in  1823,  minister  to  the 
republic  of  Columbia.  In  1826  he  was  aj5- 
pointed,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Sergeant,  an 
envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipoten- 
tiary to  the  congress  to  be  assembled  at  Pan- 
ama, but  died  on  the  way  to  that  place. 
Thus,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-eight  years 
ended  a career  that  for  brilliancy  had  few 
equals  in  that  period  c>f  Kentucky’s  history. 


Ballard  County  is  of  recent  origin,  having 
been  formed  in  1842.  It  was  the  ninety- 
third  county  organized;  was  taken  from  Mc- 
Cracken and  Hickman,  and  until  the  last 
Legi.slature  (1885-86),  when  it  Avas  divided 
and  the  county  of  Carlisle  formed  out  of  a 
part  of  it,  it  Avas  one  of  the  largest  counties 
in  the  State,  having  nearly  400  square  miles. 
It  is  situated  in  that  portion  of  the  State 
known  as  the  Jackson  Purchase^',  and  borders 

*The  .Taekson  Purchase  is  an  inipnriant  section  of  the  State 
lyiiiK  l>et\vi  eii  tlie  Mis.-ii.ssijipi  and  Ten iiesaee  Rivers,  .and  which 
has  hitherto  I'een  largely  ignored  by  the  general  historian.  It 
includes  the  counties  of  Ballard,  Calloway,  Carlisle,  Fulton, 
Giave-i,  Hickman,  McCracken  tind  Marshall,  in  Kentucky,  and 
some  tweTity  counties  in  the  State  of  Tennessee,  it  was  pur- 
chased from  the  Chickasaw  Indians  by  Cov.  Shelby,  on  the  ]iart 
of  Kentucky,  and  (ten  .Jackson,  on  the  part  of  Tennessee,  and 
the  treaty  signed  by  them  and  the  chiefs,  hetid  men  and  war- 
riors of  the  Chickasaw  nation  October  19,  1818,  The  name 
“ Jackson's  Purchase  ” was  given  to  it  in  honor  of  Gen.  Jackson, 
who  was  then  rising  rapidly  to  that  great  popularity  which  a 
few  years  later  wafted  him  into  the  presidential  chair.  It  is 
said  that  the  Indians  had  some  ill  feelings  against  Gov.  Shelby, 


the  Ohio  River  opposite  the  extreme  southern 
point  of  Illinois.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north 
Ijy  the  Ohio  River ; on  the  east  by  McCracken 
County;  on  the  south  by  Carlisle  County;  on 
the  west  by  the  Mississippi  River,  and  in 
1880  it  had  a population,  including  Carlisle, 
of  14,378. 

Ballard  County  is  one  of  the  heavy 
tobacco-growing  counties  of  the  State,  and  is 
the  fifteenth  in  the  production  of  ‘ ‘ the 
weed,”  turning  out  3,760,743  pounds  in 
1880.  Corn,  wheat  and  oats  are  grown  in 
large  quantities,  the  statistics,  in  1880,  being 
— Corn,  951,357  bushels;  Avheat,  161,843, 
and  oats,  20,982.  Many  of  the  farmers, 
however,  are  beginning  to  turn  their  atten- 
tion to  stock  raising.  Portions  of  the  county 
are  level  and  well  improved,  other  portions 
are  heavily  timbered,  Avhile  the  river  bottoms 
are  very  rich  and  productiA^e. 

The  county  and  the  county  seat  (Bland- 
ville)  were  named  in  honor  of  Capt.  Bland 
Ballard,  a native  of  Virginia,  and  born  in 
1761.  He  came  to  Kentucky  in  1779  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  border  warfare  of 
the  early  period.  He  served  in  Col.  Bow- 
man’s expedition  in  1779,  and  in  Gen. 
George  Rogers  Clark’s  expedition  against 
the  Piqua  towns  in  1780.  In  the  latter  ex- 
pedition he  Avas  severely  wounded — a Avound 
he  suffered  from  until  his  death.  He  was 
again  with  Clark  in  1782  against  the  same 
toAvns;  Avith  Clark  in  the  Wabash  camjjaign 
in  1786;  with  Gens.  Scott  and  Wilkinson  in 
1791,  and  in  1794  was  with  Gen.  Wayne 
at  the  battle  of  the  ‘‘Fallen  Timber.”  He 
served  as  a hunter  and  scout  for  Gen.  Clark, 

and  were  loath  to  treat  with  him;  hence  the  prominence  given 
to  Gen.  Jackson  in  the  treaty,  and  the  bestowal  of  his  name 
upon  the  purchased  territory. 

The  Indians  never  used  the  “ Purchase”  otherwise  than  tis 
a hunting-ground.  No  evidences  remain  of  permanent  settle- 
ment by  them,  though  they  were  seen  in  portions  of  thedistrict 
as  late  as  1830.  They  committed  no  hostilities  against  the  whiles 
after  the  treaty,  but  lived  on  friendly  terms  with  them  until 
their  removal  to  the  W'est. 

The  Purchase  has  more  than  once  made  a move  looking  to 
the  formation  of  the  district  (both  the  Kentucky  and  Tennessee 
portions)  into  a separate  and  distinct  State.  On  this  subject  a 
late  writer  says; 

“The  Jackson  Purchase  is  substantially  an  annex  to  the 
State  of  Kentucky.  Many  of  its  people  feel  that  theyaie  placed 
at  a serious  disadvantage  in  respect  to  the  proper  rights  and 
privileges  under  the  State  government.  AVith  this  feeling  im- 
planted in  their  hearts,  they  have  hoped  for  years  that  they 
might  join  with  the  remainder  of  the  Purchase  in  Teune.-see, 
and  thus  form  a State  whose  government  would  be  mure  imme- 
diately identified  with  theii  iuterest.  .Sostrong  had  this  feeling 
become  that  in  May  18CI,  a convention  was  held  in  Mayfield, 

1 at  which  the  proposition  lo  secede  from  Kentucky  was  earnestly 
i discussed  and  recommended.  The  similarity  of  soils,  produc- 
tions, dim, ate  an  l the  characteristics  of  the  people  of  the 
Purchase  has  resulted  in  a wonderful  unity  of  farming,  styles  of 
I archit.ee  ure,  forms  of  expression  and  modes  of  living.” 

Wadeshoro  was  the  second  town  and  the  most  important 
I one  laid  out  in  the  district.  It  was  long  known  as  the  capital 
of  the  Purchase,  and  was  a place  of  considerab  e prominence 
It  was  the  first  land  office,  and  from  it  emanated  much  ol  the 
busitiess  and  the  legal  and  moral  influence  of  the  section. 
Columbus  was  laid  out  with  the  intention  of  making  it  not  only 
the  capital  of  the  Purchase,  but  of  the  National  Government. 

I Paducah  is  the  principal  town  of  AVestern  Kentucky,  and  the 
metropolis  of  the  Purchase  district.  All  these  cities  and  towns, 
j however,  are  fully  noticed  in  their  respective  counties. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


551 


when  in  command  of  the  fort  at  Louisville, 
and  many  were  his  hair-breadth  escapes  from 
the  savages.  He  died  in  Shelby  County,  in 
1853,  at  the  age  of  ninety-two  years. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  Ballard  Coun- 
ty were  Solomon  Eedferrin,  Robert  Crafton, 
John  Humphrey,  Daniel  Doolin  and  John 
Weaver.  These  were  followed  later  by  John 
Marshall,  William  Rush,  Samuel  Wilson, 
William  Holman,  Andrew  Lovelace  and 
others.  They  settled  in  diflPerent  parts  of  the 
county,  and  many  of  them  have  representa- 
tives still  living  there. 

A number  of  mounds  and  earth  works, 
relics  of  the  mound  builders,  were  discovered 
in  Ballard  County  by  the  early  settlers.  A 
mound  in  Township  5 was  very  plain.  It 
was  60  feet  long,  30  feet  wide,  and 
about  15  feet  high.  In  the  river  bottom, 
nearly  opposite  Mound  City,  111.,  was  one 
that  occupied  some  fifteen  acres  of  ground. 
This  extensive  mound  was  5 or  6 feet  high, 
with  an  oval-shaped  mound  on  one  end  some 
40  feet  high  and  containing  nearly  half  an 
acre.  Near  the  center  of  the  big  mound  was 
another  which  was  some  1 2 feet  high.  Though 
supposed  to  have  been  the  work  of  the  pre- 
historic people,  many  Indian  relics  have  been 
found  in  its  vicinity. 

Old  Fort  Jefferson  was  situated  in  what  is 
now  Ballard  County.  A severe  battle  was 
fought  here  in  1780,  and  the  fort  regularly 
besieged.  The  Indians  were  led  by  a Scotch- 
man named  Colbert,  and  the  whites  were 
commanded  by  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark. 
The  struggle  was  long  and  doubtful,  but  the 
whites  triumphed  at  last.  (See  preceding 
chapters  on  the  Indian  wars. ) 

Blandville,  until  recently  the  seat  of  jus- 
tice, is  situated  near  the  center  of  the  coun- 
ty, before  it  was  divided  for  the  formation  of 
Carlisle  County.  It  is  a very  pretty  little 
town  of  476  inhabitants  in  1880,  and  was 
named  for  Capt.  Bland  Ballard.  In  1884-85 
the  county  seat  was  removed  to  Wickliffe, 
after  a hot  and  bitter  contest. 

IVickliffe,  the  present  seat  of  justice,  is  a 
new  town  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Mobile 
& Ohio  Railroads,  about  five  miles  south  of 
Cairo,  111.  It  has  a new  brick  court  house 
and  jail,  several  flourishing  stores,  a news- 
paper, two  hotels,  etc.  Other  villages,  post- 
offices  and  stations  are  Barlow  City,  Hazel- 
wood, Hinkleyville,  Lovelaceville,  North  Bal- 
lard, Oscar  and  Ogden’s  Landing. 


Baeken  County  lies  in  the  Green  River 
section,  and  was  established  in  1798.  It  was 


the  thirty-seventh  county,  and  was  carved  out 
of  Warren  and  Green  Counties.  It  is  bound- 
ed on  the  north  by  Hart  County;  on  the  east 
by  Metcalfe;  on  the  south  by  Allen  and  Mon- 
roe; on  the  west  by  Allen,  Edmondson  and 
Warren,  and  in  1880  it  had  14,378  inhabi- 
tants. Its  name  is  derived  from  the  ‘ ‘ bar- 
rens ’ ’ — those  vast  treeless  plains  or  prairies 
common  in  southern  Kentucky.  It  has  con- 
siderable of  this  fine  “ barren  ” land,  which, 
contrary  to  its  name,  is  very  rich  and  produc- 
tive; but  the  larger  portion  of  the  county  is 
rolling,  extending  into  rough  and  rugged 
hills.  Most  of  the  land,  however,  is  fertile 
and  produces  well.  Tobacco  is  the  principal 
crop,  2,305,586  poundshaving  been  raised  in 
1880;  but  grain  is  cultivated  extensively,  and 
much  attention  is  likewise  being  paid  to  stock 
raising,  which  is  becoming  more  and  more 
valuable  each  year. 

Glasgow  is  the  capital  of  the  county.  It 
is  a town  of  about  1,500  inhabitants,  by  the 
last  census,  and  is  steadily  increasing  in 
population  and  importance.  It  is  situated 
eleven  miles  from  the  main  line  of  the  Louis- 
ville & Nashville  Railroad,  with  which  it  is 
connected  by  a branch  road.  It  has  a good 
court  house,  a number  of  substantial  build- 
ings and  business  houses,  several  handsome 
churches  and  some  beautiful  and  tasteful 
residences.  A newspaper,  the  Times,  is  one 
of  the  flourishing  papers  of  Southern  Ken- 
tucky. Other  towns  are  Cave  City  and 
Glasgow  Junction  (on  the  Louisville  A Nash- 
ville Railroad),  Hiseville,  Park,  Prewitt's 
Knob,  Horsewell  Cross  Roads  and  Roseville. 

Barren  County  prodiices  petroleum  abund- 
antly, and  only  requires  capital  and  energy 
to  make  it  an  extensive  and  lucrative  business. 
The  census  report  of  1880  shows  the  annual 
production  of  petroleum  in  the  county  to  be 
5,376  barrels — the  fourth  largest  yielding 
section  in  the  United  States;  northwestern 
Pennsylvania  being  the  largest;  West  Vir- 
ginia and  Washington  County,  Ohio,  the 
second;  Beaver  County,  Penn.,  the  third,  and 
Barren  County,  Ky. , the  fomth.  A number 
of  mineral  springs,  claimed  to  possess  medic- 
inal properties,  are  found  in  different  locali- 
ties. A white  sulphur  spring,  some  sixteen 
miles  from  Glasgow,  on  the  Little  Barren 
River,  is  said  to  be  the  strongest  stream  of 
mineral  water  in  this  section  of  the  State. 

Caves,  prehistoric  remains,  human  bones, 
and  inscriptions  upon  trees,  are  among  the 
wonders  and  curiosities  of  the  county.  On  a 
large  beech  tree,  which  stood  upon  the  bank 
of  a tributary  of  the  Little  Barren  River,  is 
said  to  have  been  found  by  Edmund  Rogers, 
one  of  the  earliest  surveyors  in  the  Green 


652 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


River  country,  the  following  inscription; 
“James  McCall,  of  Mecklinburg  County, 
N.  C.,  June  18,  1770.”  Other  initials  were 
found  on  the  same  tree. 

Near  Glasgow  is  a cave,  in  the  bluff  by  the 
river,  in  which  many  human  bones  were  found  j 
by  early  settlers.  The  cave  was  never  fully 
explored,  and  nothing  beyond  the  mere  fact 
of  bones  being  found  is  known  concerning  it. 
Another  cave  on  Skaggs  Creek  was  discovered, 
in  which  were  found  bones,  their  size  indicat- 
ing that  they  were  wholly  the  bones  of  chil- 
dren. A bone  is  said  to  have  been  found  in 
this  cave — apparently  a Knight  Templar’s 
drinking  cup — which  seemed  that  part  of  the 
skull  about  the  crown  of  the  head,  and  bore 
traces  of  carving  on  the  outside,  and  of  hav- 
ing been  scalloped  on  the  edges.  We  read  of 
the  savage  kings  of  the  olden  time  drinking 
wine  from  the  skulls  of  their  slaughtered  en- 
emies; this  may  have  been  the  custom  among 
the  prehistoric  people  of  the  Ohio  Valley. 

The  following  sketch,  though  partaking 
somewhat  of  the  Mulhatton  style  of  romance, 
appears  in  Collins’  History  of  Kentucky : 

In  December,  1870,  a party  of  hunters  chased  a 
fox  into  a cave  on  Beaver  Creek,  five  miles  from 
Glasgow,  and  about  fifty  feet  from  the  Columbia 
road.  The  cave  is  well  known,  and  had  been  occa- 
sionally visited.  But  in  the  southern  avenue,  the 
hunters  explored  a tortuous  fissure  in  the  rock,  about 
twenty  feet  long  and  large  enough  to  admit  the 
body  of  a man,  which  led  them  into  a small  oblong 
chamber,  eighteen  feet  long  and  twenty  feet  high. 
In  this  they  found  the  remains  of  at  least  ten  human 
beings,  the  skulls  nearly  all  sound,  many  bones  per- 
fect, others  too  much  decayed  for  removal.  On 
several  of  the  skulls,  lying  on  the  surface,  was  a 
limestone  formation,  caused  by  the  dripping  of 
water  from  the  stone  ceiling.  The  robbers  and 
murderers,  who  infested  this  road  and  region  in  early 
days,  probably  used  this  cave,  and  in  this  secluded 
chamber  deposited  their  murdered  victims. 

When  the  first  white  peojsle  came  to  what 
is  now  Barren  County,  quite  a number  of 
mounds  were  lalainly  to  be  seen,  some  of 
which  are  still  perceptible.  On  the  promon- 
tory formed  by  the  confluence  of  Peter’s 
Creek  with  the  Big  Barren  River,  there  was 
a group  of  mounds,  several  in  number.  They 
were  some  distance  apart,  forming  a circle 
several  hundred  yards  in  circumference,  and 
when  first  seen  bore  evidence  of  having  had 
huts  upon  them.  Within  the  circle  of  small 
mounds  was  a large  one,  nearly  100  feet 
in  diameter.  Just  outside  of  the  circle  was 
another  large  mound,  similar  to  the  one  just 
described.  Another  group  of  mounds  some  ' 
distance  from  this  group  was  discovered,  and 
in  some  of  them,  upon  being  opened,  bones, 
teeth  and  human  hair,  perfectly  preserved, 
were  found.  In  the  vicinity  of  these  mounds 
are  many  graves  lined  with  smooth,  flat  I 


stones  and  containing  bones  and  skeletons. 
This  is  but  confirmatory  of  the  theory  of 
archeologists,  that  ‘ ‘ our  houses  are  built  on 
grounds  once  appropriated  by  others;’’  that 
‘ ‘ our  towns  and  cities  occupy  the  sites  of 
I older  cities,  ’ ’ and  that  ‘ ‘ our  cemeteries  are 
sacred  to  the  memory  of  a ghostly  people, 
who,  in  the  event  of  a final  resurrection, 
could  rise  up  and  claim  ownership  prior  to 
that  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.” 

Settlements  were  made  in  the  present 
county  of  Barren  prior  to  the  close  of  the  last 
century.  Among  the  early  settlers,  and  per- 
haps one  of  the  first  white  men  in  the  county, 
was  Edmund  Rogers,  a pioneer  surveyor  in 
southern  Kentucky.  He  settled  upon  land 
in  the  county,  on  which  he  afterward  laid 
out  the  town  of  Edmonton  in  1800.  He  was 
a native  of  Virginia,  born  in  1762,  and  was 
a Revolutionary  soldier.  He  came  to  Ken- 
tucky in  1783,  and  spent  many  years  in  sur- 
veying lands  in  this  part  of  the  State.  He 
died  in  1843,  and  was  buried  on  the  farm  he 
had  located  and  improved. 

Hon.  Preston  H.  Leslie,  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a century  a citizen  of  this  county, 
was  born  in  Clinton  County  in  1819.  He  is 
a man  of  prominence  and  ability,  and  like 
many  of  our  wisest  statesmen,  he  has'  been 
the  ‘ ‘ architect  of  his  own  fortune.  ” He  was 
left  an  orphan  at  an  early  age,  and  ‘ ‘ his  self- 
relying  spirit  and  indomitable  energy,”  says 
his  biographer,  “ made  him,  in  his  poverty, 
a cart-driver  in  the  streets  of  Louisville  at 
the  age  of  thirteen;  a wood-chopper  at  four- 
teen; a ferryman,  farmer’s  boy  and  cook  for 
tan-bark  choppers  at  fifteen;  a lawyer  at 
twenty-two;  a representative  in  the  Legisla- 
ture at  twenty-five;  a senator  at  thirty-two, 
and  governor  of  the  eighth  State  in  population 
of  the  American  Union,  at  fifty-one.”  After 
completing  his  law  studies  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  and  commenced  practice  in  Mon- 
roe County,  but  some  years  later  removed  to 
Glasgow,  in  this  county,  where  he  still 
resides.  When  Gov.  Stevenson  was  elected 
to  the  United  States  Senate  in  1871,  Mr. 
Leslie,  as  the  acting  lieutenant-governor, 
was  inaugurated  governor  to  fill  out  the  un- 
expired term.  In  August  of  the  same  year 
he  was  the  Democratic  nominee  for  governor 
and  was  elected  by  37,156  majority  over  his 
Republican  competitor.  Since  the  close  of 
his  gubernatorial  term  he  has  retired  from 
! politics,  and  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in 
Glasgow. 

A native  of  this  county,  who  arose  to  mili- 
tary distinction  in  the  history  of  his  country, 
was  Gen.  John  C.  McFerran.  He  was  born 
I in  Glasgow,  and  was  the  son  of  Judge  W.  R. 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


553 


1 


McFerran.  A graduate  of  West  Point,  he 
was  brevetted  second  lieutenant  of  the  Third 
Infantry  in  1843,  and  afterward  served  in  the 
Mexican  war.  He  also  served  with  distinc-  I 
tion  in  the  late  civil  war  (on  the  Federal  side) 
and  for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  was 
brevetted  lieutenant-colonel,  colonel  and  brig-  j 
adier-general  of  the  United  States  Army.  | 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  assistant  i 
quartermaster-general  of  the  United  States 
Army,  and  chief  quartermaster  for  the  de- 
partment of  the  South.  He  died  April  24, 
1872,  in  Louisville. 


County  was  the  fifty- sixth  organized 
in  the  State,  and  dates  its  formation  back  to 
January,  1811.  Montgomery  County  con- 
tributed the  territory,  and  the  great  number 
of  mineral  and  medicinal  springs  within  its 
limits  furnished  it  a name.  The  Licking 
Elver  forms  its  northern  and  eastern  bound- 
ary, and  its  tributaries  in  the  county  are  Salt 
Lick,  Flat  and  Slate  Creeks,  together  with  a 
number  of  small  streams  that  are  nameless. 


Bath  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Fleming 
County;  on  the  east  by  Fleming,  Kowan  and 
Menifee;  on  the  south  by  Menifee  and  Mont-  ; 
gomery;  on  the  west  by  Montgomery  and 
Nicholas,  and  in  1880  it  had  11,982  inhabi- 
tants. The  western  portion  of  the  county  is  i 
fine  limestone  land  and  produces  well;  the  ; 
eastern  part  is  rough,  poor  and  barren.  Iron 
ore  and  coal  are  to  be  found  in  this  section. 


The  following  of  these  minerals  is  from  the 
geological  survey; 

Analysis  of  fourteen  samples  of  Bath  County 
limonite  ores  ranged  from  26.61  to  60.41  in  percent- 
age of  metallic  iron — an  average  of  49.10,  and  of 
three  of  carbonate  of  iron.  27.22  per  cent.  One  or 
more  furnaces  in  this  county  were  worked  about 
1790.  The  coal  area  of  Bath  County  is  in  the  south- 
east corner  and  small.  Its  outcrop  in  the  ridge, 
which  divides  the  headwaters  of  Gilladie  and  In- 
dian branches  of  Red  River  from  the  headwaters 
of  Beaver,  Blackwater,  Duck  and  Salt  Lick  Creeks, 
as  far  west  as  the  head  of  Slate  Creek.  It  contains 
only  the  sub-conglomerate  bed,  which  is  here  a 
double  vein  of  workable  thickness,  which  ranges 
from  28  to  36  inches,  most  of  it  with  a clay  part- 
ing. Much  of  it  is  hauled  to  Mount  Sterling  for 
blacksmith  purposes  and  the  grate.  This  bed  of 
coal  is  within  three  to  six  miles  of  two  lines  of 
railroad  surveys  made  in  1852-53  (one  of  which,  the 
Cliesapeake  A Ohio,  has  since  been  built),  near  the 
Olympian  Springs.  Springs  are  abundant  and  of 
two  kinds — one  of  cold,  hard  water,  issuing  at  the 
base  of  the  limestone;  the  other  a soft  water,  not 
cold,  issuing  higher  up  in  the  hills,  and  marking 
the  place  of  the  coal. 

The  Olympian  Springs  is  a local  summer 
resort  of  considerable  note.  There  are  three 
springs  within  a small  area;  sulphur,  salt 
sulphur  and  chalybeate.  They  are  situated 


about  eight  miles  from  Owingsville,  the 
county  seat,  and  if  more  thoroughly  • adver- 
tised would  rank  as  second  to  no  similar 
place  in  the  State.  There  are  many  beauti- 
ful and  picturesque  spots  in  Bath  County. 
The  precipitous  cliffs  along  Dry  Ridge 
(which  forms  the  center  of  the  mineral  section 
of  the  county)  present  some  very  fine  views. 
‘ ‘ Over  these  cliffs  at  short  intervals  plunge 
numberless  waters,  wearing  for  themselves 
deep  and  narrow  channels  in  the  conglom- 
erate. At  the  Laurel  Spring  meeting-house 
the  stream  falls  over  a projecting  ledge  to  a 
depth  of  110  feet;  further  east  Raccoon 
Creek  falls  41  feet  down  upon  a shelving 
mass  of  the  conglomerate,  and  then  with 
another  plunge  of  44  feet  reaches  the  bottom 
of  the  gulf.  ’ ’ * 

Owingsville  is  the  county  seat,  and  in  1880 
had  a population  of  773.  It  is  situated  near 
the  center  of  the  county,  and  was  named  for 
Col.  Thomas  Dye  Owings,  a distinguished 
citizen,  but  was  originally  settled  by  Harrison 
Connor.  It  has  several  churches,  a good 
schoolhouse,  stores,  banks,  handsome  resi- 
dences, etc.  One  of  the  finest  business 
points  in  the  county  is  Sharpsburg,  in  the 
western  part,  near  the  Montgomery  line. 
Other  towns  and  postoffices  are  Bethel, 
Polksville  and  Wyoming — the  latter  on  the 
Licking  River. 

Bath  County  was  settled  by  Thomas 
Clark  and  his  brother,  Hugh  Sidwell,  Elias 
Tolin,  James  Wade,  a man  named  Bollard, 
Francis  Downing,  and  William  Calk.  A 
fort  or  block-house  was  built  in  1786,  on  the 
slate  ore  bank,  where  the  slate  iron  furnace 
was  afterward  erected.  Nothing  now  re- 
mains to  mark  the  spot  where  the  furnace 
was  located. 

Numeroiis  mounds  and  fortifications,  relics 
of  the  prehistoric  period,  were  found  in  this 
county.  Four  miles  northeast  of  the  towm 
of  Sharpsburg,  was  a very  large  and  interest- 
ing mound.  It  was  twenty  feet  high,  when 
first  seen  by  the  early  whites,  and  a mile  or  so 
from  it  was  another  almost  as  large.  Trees 
were  growing  upon  these  mounds  that  bore 
every  appearance  of  being  as  old  as  those  in 
the  surrounding  forests.  In  the  eastern  and 
southern  parts  of  the  county  were  no  mounds, 
but  in  the  western  and  northwest  j^ortions 
they  were  very  plenty,  most  of  which  have 
already  been  leveled  by  the  plow  of  the  hus- 
bandman. 

Near  the  town  of  Sharpsburg  was  a very 
interesting  fortification.  It  formed  a circle 
embracing  about  eleven  acres,  and  as  late 
as  1800  the  embankment  or  wall  enclosing  it 


*State  Geological  Reports. 


554 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


was  very  plain  to  be  seen,  and  was  fi'om  three 
to  four  feet  high.  There  were  two  small 
mounds  near  the  embankment,  one  on  the 
east,  the  other  on  the  west  side  of  it.  A 
pond  of  water,  evidently  of  artificial  con- 
struction, was  on  the  south  side,  mainly 
within  the  embankment,  but  extending  out- 
side, and  was  fed  by  a small  branch  from  a 
sju’ing.  Southeast  and  southwest  of  the  for- 
tification were  several  large  mounds.  Time, 
and  the  onward  march  of  industry,  have 
almost  obliterated  these  earthworks,  and  in  a 
few  years  more  they  will  be  as  obscure  as  the 
records  of  their  builders. 

The  following  interesting  description*  of 
the  skeleton  of  a mastodon  is  pertinent  to  the 
sketch  of  this  county: 

On  the  land  of  John  R.  Wren,  in  Sharpshurg,  on 
the  highest  ground  in  tlie  town,  and  as  high  as  any 
in  the  vicinity,  is  a natural  pond  known  as  Flem- 
ing’s Pond,  so  called,  tradition  says,  because  Col. 
John  Fleming  secreted  himself  in  or  near  it  after 
being  wounded  by  the  Indians.  In  1851,  while  clean- 
ing out  and  deepening  this  pond,  which  had  become 
dry  and  full  of  mud,  at  the  depth  of  four  feet  were 
discovered,  in  a stratum  of  blue  cla3%  slightly  inter- 
mixed with  dark  loam,  the  remains  of  a mastodon; 
the  overlying  stratum  was  of  decomposed  vegetable 
matter,  with  chips  of  wood,  evidently  made  by  the 
axes  of  the  first  settlers.  Several  teeth,  three  or 
four  inches  broad  and  six  inches  long,  perfectly 
sound;  a tusk,  eight  feet  long  and  seven  inches  in 
diameter  at  the  base,  which  crumbled  on  exposure 
to  the  air;  a hip  joint  nine  inches  across  the  socket; 
a section  of  a rib  six  inches  broad,  and  some  other 
bones,  correspondingly"  large,  proved  the  animal  to 
be  of  enormous  proportions.  Some  of  the  speci- 
mens were  sent  to  the  museum  of  Centre  College, 
while  others  were  retained  by  Dr.  H.  E.  Guerrant. 

Among  the  notable  men  of  Bath  County  are 
John  C.  Mason,  Ambrose  D.  Mann,  Henry  S. 
Lane  and  Gen.  John  B.  Hood.  The  last, 
the  noted  Confederate  general,  was  born  in 
Owingsville  June  29,  1831.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  Mount  Sterling  until  he  entered 
West  Point,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
1853.  He  served  on  the  western  frontier 
until  the  commencement  of  the  civil  war, 
when  he  resigned  and  entered  the  Confeder- 
ate Army.  His  record  since  then  is  familiar 
to  all  readers.  Mr.  Mason  was  a native  of 
Virginia,  but  settled  in  Bath  early,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  iron  business.  He  served  in 
the  Legislature  and  in  Congress,  and  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Mexican  War;  he  died  in 
1865.  Mr.  Mann  was  born  in  this  county. 
He  filled  many  honorable  positions,  among 
them  agent  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment to  Austria,  in  1846,  to  Hungary,  in 
1849,  and  to  Switzerland  in  1850.  Mr.  Lane 
was  also  born  in  this  county,  but  removed  to 
Indiana  when  young,  and  was  a representa- 

*  Collins,  Vol.  II,  p.  47. 


tive  in  Congress  from  that  State,  and  United 
S^tes  senator  for  six  years. 


‘"^Bell  County,  or,  as  formerly  called.  Josh 
Bell  County,  was  formed  in  1867,  and 
was  the  one  hundred  and  twelfth  county 
organized.  It  was  formed  from  parts 
of  Knox  and  Harlan  Counties,  but  in 
1870-71,  a small  portion  of  Whitley 
County,  comprising  about  forty-five  voters, 
and  known  as  the  South  American  District, 
was  added.  At  present  it  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Clay  County ; on  the  east  by  Harlan 
County;  on  the  south  by  the  State  of  Tennes- 
see; on  the  west  by  Whitley  and  Knox  Coun- 
ties, and  in  1880  it  had  6,055  inhabitants. 
It  is  rough  and  mountainous,  but  has  some 
good  lands,  mostly  along  the  streams  and 
upon  the  north  side  of  the  hills.  On  the 
ridges  and  southern  hillsides  the  land  is  poor, 
and  the  agricultural  productions — which  are 
wheat,  corn,  oats,  rye,  and  tobacco — light. 
Timber  is  abundant,  consisting  of  oak,  pop- 
lar, hard  and  soft  maple,  black  and  white 
walnut,  beech,  linden,  sycamore,  dogwood, 
elm,  chestnut,  etc.  On  the  south  side  of 
Pine  Mountain  there  is  considerable  black 
and  yellow  pine.  The  county  is  watered  and 
drained  by  a number  of  tributaries  of  the 
Cumberland,  viz.  : Right  Fork,  Left  Fork, 
Caney  Fork,  Stony  Fork,  Turkey,  Four  Mile, 
Hoiise’s,  Yellow,  Browning’s,  Straight,  Big 
Clear,  and  other  small  streams.  Some  of  the 
finest  bituminous  coal  that  can  be  found,  it 
is  said,  in  the  world,  is  in  this  county.  A 
bank  on  Clear  Creek  displays  a vein  fourteen 
feet  thick. 

Pineville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  in 
the  western  part  of  the  county,  and  receives 
its  name  from  Pine  Mountain.  The  follow- 
ing is  its  history: 

The  mountains  rise  very  high  on  both  sides 
(east  and  west)  of  the  village,  and  are  almost  perpen- 
dicular. with  large  cliffs  or  rocks  overhanging. 
Immediately  bordering  on  the  town  northwest  is 
Cumberland  Ford,  one  of  the  oldest  settlements  in 
this  part  of  the  country,  said  to  have  belonged  origi- 
nally to  Gov.  Shelby,  and  been  bought  from  him  by 
James  Renfro,  whose  famifr"  owned  it  for  several 
generations.  During  the  late  civil  war  the  house 
and  fences  were  destroyed  by  the  Federal  Army, 
but  have  since  been  rebuilt,  and  the  place  is  now  in 
a fine  state  of  cultivation. 

Pineville  is  a small  place,  with  less  than  a 
hundred  inhabitants  by  the  last  census.  It 
has  the  usual  public  buildings,  stores,  shops, 
etc.  Other  villages  and  postotfices  are  Con- 
ant,  Callaway,  Clear  Fork.  Cubage,  Ingram, 
Skidmore,  Red  Bird  and  Yellow  Creek. 

Cumberland  Gap  is  on  the  border  of  this 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


.55-5 


county.  The  fii-st  explorers  and  visitors  to 
Kentucky  entered  the  State  through  this  gap 
in  the  mountains.  It  was  the  only  place  for 
many  miles  where  w'agons  could  cross  the 
mountains.  During  the  late  war  it  was  con- 
sidered a point  of  great  military  importance, 
and  was  held  alternately  by  both  armies.  It 
was  through  this  gap  that  Gen.  Zollicoifer 
invaded  Kentucky  before  the  battle  of  Mill 
Springs,  where  he  lost  his  life,  and  through 
this  gap  the  "Wilderness  Tiumpike  ” passes 
out  of  the  State. 

The  Swift  Silver  Mine,  that  at  times  created 
great  excitement  in  portions  of  the  State,  was 
supposed  to  be  in  this  county.  Notwith- 
standing the  excitement,  this  mine  was  some- 
what mythical,  and  it  is  no  easy  matter  to 
find  an  individual  who  can  locate  it,  except  by 
‘‘hearsay  evidence.”  John  Swift,  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  was  in  Kentucky  in  early  times, 
but  that  he  discovered  silver  here  in  any  con 
siderable  quantities  is  a story  to  be  taken 
with  allowance.  Although  silver  ore  has 
been  found  in  the  State  in  a number  of 
places,  yet  never  in  paying  quantities. 

The  first  whites  that  ever  visited  Eastern 
or  Central  Kentucky  passed  through  Cum- 
berland Gap  and  through  this  county.  A 
small  body  of  Virginians,  among  whom 
were  Dr.  Thomas  Walker,  Ambrose  Powell 
and  Colby  Chew,  in  1750,  came  through  this 
gap  into  Kentucky.  A beech  tree  near  Yellow 
Creek,  after  settlements  had  been  made,  bore 
the  legend,  ‘‘A.  Powell,  1750.”  John 
Bradford,  in  his  notes  on  Kentucky,  published 
in  1827,  says  that  Walker  told  Gov.  Shelby, 
twenty  years  afterward,  that  they  were  there 
in  1750,  and  pointed  out  the  tree,  upon  which 
was  the  above  inscription.  In  1761  a com- 
pany of  hunters,  among  them  Wallen, 
Skaggs,  Newman,  Blevins  and  Cox,  visited 
this  part  of  the  State,  and  spent  several 
months  hunting. 

The  Long  Hunters  visited  Kentucky,  enter- 
ing by  the  gap  in  1769.  They  numbered 
twenty  men,  and  were  fz'om  North  Carolina 
and  Virginia.  Among  them  were  John 
Rains,  Kaspar  Mansco,  Abraham  Bledsoe, 
John  Baker,  Joseph  Drake,  Obadiah  Terrell, 
Uriah  Stone,  Hemy  Smith,  Edward  Cowan, 
Thomas  Gordon,  Humphrey  Hogan,  Cassius 
Brooks,  and  Robert  Crockett.  They  came  on 
a hunting  expedition  and  remained  in  the 
wilderness  between  two  and  three  years;  it 
was  the  length  of  their  stay  that  gave  them 
the  title  of  “ Long  Hunters.”  They  hunted, 
trapped,  and  fished,  and  fought  the  Indians 
in  their  own  way  and  fashion.  A number  of 
places  and  streams  were  named  by  them. 
They  encamped  for  a time  on  a stream,  to 


which  they  gave  the  name  of  Station  Camp 
Creek,  a name  it  still  bears.  They  named 
Bledsoe’s  Lick,  Drake’s  Lick,  etc.  Many  of 
them  finally  became  citizens  of  the 
country. 

The  county  was  named  m honor  of  Joshua 
F.  Bell.  He  was  born  in  Danville,  Ky. , in 
1811,  and  died  there  in  1870.  His  mother, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Martha  Fry,  was  a 
granddaughter  of  Dr.  Thomas  AValker,  men- 
tioned above.  AIi'.  Bell  graduated  at  Center 
College,  read  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  after  several  years  spent  in  traveling 
in  Europe,  returned  to  Danville,  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  his  profession.  He 
was  elected  to  Congress,  was  secretary  of 
State  under  Gov.  John  J.  Crittenden,  and  in 
1859  was  a candidate  for  governor  on  the 
American  ticket,  but  was  defeated  by  Beriah 
Magofiin.  He  was  one  of  the  commissioners 
to  the  Peace  Conference  in  1861.  In  all  the 
positions  held  by  Mr.  Bell,  his  duties  were 
discharged  with  marked  ability.  This  county, 
upon  its  formation,  was  named  in  his  honor — 
Josh  Bell — by  which  name  it  was  known  until 
1873,  when  a special  act  of  the  Legislature 
dropped  the  "Josh,”  and  resolved  that 
hereafter  it  should  be  known  as  ‘ ‘ Bell 
County.  ’ ’ 


Boone  County  was  formed  in  1798,  from  a 
part  of  Campbell  County,  and  was  the  thir- 
tieth organized  in  the  State.  It  is  one  of  the 
northern  counties,  lying  in  what  is  termed  the 
"North  Bend"  of  the  Ohio  River.  It  has  a 
river  fr'ont  of  nearly  forty  miles,  and  is  bounded 
north  and  west  by  the  Ohio;  east  by  Kenton 
County;  south  by  Grant  and  Gallatin  Coun- 
ties; and  in  quality  of  soil  is  above  the  aver- 
age counties  of  the  State,  most  of  the  land 
being  tillable.  The  bottoms  along  the  river 
are  very  rich  and  productive;  back  from  the 
river  the  land  alternates  between  level  and 
hilly,  and  might  be  pronounced  good  second- 
rate.  It  is  di'ained  by  tributaries  of  the 
Ohio,  viz. : Gunpowder,  Mud  Lick,  V'oolper, 
Big  Bone  and  Middle  Creeks.  In  ISSO  the 
county  had  11,996  inhabitants.  V’heat.  corn 
and  tobacco  are  produced,  also  stock  to  some 
extent. 

Biurlington,  the  county  seat,  is  but  a small 
place.  It  is  situated  near  the  center  of  the 
county  some  distance  from  the  river.  Peters- 
burcf  and  Florence,  according  to  the  census 
reports,  are  both  larger  places  than  Burling- 
ton. Petersbm’g  is  situated  on  the  Ohio  River 
and  Florence  in  the  northeast  part  of  the 
county.  Other  villages  and  postoffices  are 


556 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Grant  and  Taylorspoid,  on  the  Ohio;  Walton, 
on  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad;  and 
Belleview,  Beaver  Lick,  Bullitsville,  Coulton, 
Constance,  Union,  Hebron,  Hamilton,  Ve 
rona  and  Francisville. 

Mr.  Collins  has  the  following  regarding 
the  first  visitors  to  Boone  County: 

The  first  known  white  visitors  to  Kentucky,  at 
any  point  above  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash,  were 
to  the  Big  Bone  Lick  (in  this  county).  1.  A French- 
man named  Longueil,who  discovered  it  in  1739,  while 
descending  the  ( )hio  from  Canada;  2,  other  Canadian 
French,  when  following  tlie  same  route;  3,  ‘two 
men  belonging  to  Robert  Smitli,’  in  1744;  4,  Mrs. 
Mary  Inglis,  a Virginian,  and  three  Frenchmen,  in 
October,  1756;  5,  Col.  George  Croghan,  an  English 
Indian  agent,  on  May  30,  1765;  6.  Capt.  Thomas 
Bullitt,  Hancock  Taylor,  James  McAfee,  George 
McAfee,  Robert  McAfee,  James  McCoun,  Jr.,  Sam- 
uel Adams,  Jacob  Drennon,  William  Bracken,  John 
Fitzpatrick,  on  July  4th  and  5th,  1773;  7,  James 
Douglass  and  others,  later  in  the  same  year;  8,  and 
in  1773,  Simon  Kenton  and  others. 

One  of  the  oldest  settled  jjlaces  in  the 
county  is  Petersburg,  originally  called  Tan- 
ner’s Station,  in  honor  of  the  Rev.  John 
Tanner,  the  first  Baptist  preacher  in  this  part 
of  the  State.  A company  from  Pennsylvania, 
comprising  John  Seft,  William  W’est,  John 
Simmons,  a Mr.  Carlin,  John  Hindman,  with 
their  families,  made  a settlement  on  the  land 
of  Mr.  Tanner,  which  is  admitted  to  have 
been  the  first  in  Boone  County.  A son  of 
Mr.  Tanner,  but  nine  years  old,  was  captured 
in  1790  by  the  Indians,  and  remained  with 
them  for  twenty-four  years,  being  employed 
in  1818,  by  the  United  States  authorities  at 
Sault  St.  Marie,  as  an  interpreter.  Another 
son,  sixteen  years  old,  was  captured  in  1791 
by  Indians,  but  escaped  a few  days  later  and 
arrived  home  safely. 

Biof  Bone  Lick,  so  called  from  the  large 
mimber  of  bones  of  the  mastodon  found 
about  the  lick  by  the  early  whites,  is  in  this 
county.  It  is  on  Big  Bone  Creek  about 
twelve  miles  from  Burlington,  and  was  used 
by  the  early  settlers  of  the  country  for  making 
salt.  James  Douo'lass,  of  Virginia,  visited 
the  lick  in  1773,  and  found  the  lick,  for  an 
area  of  about  ten  acres,  bare  of  grass  and 
trees. 

Large  numbers  of  the  bones  of  the  mastodon, 
or  mammoth,  and  the  arctic  elephant  were  found 
scattered  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The 
last  of  these  bones,  which  lay  thus  upon  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  were  removed  more  than  sixty  years 
ago;  but  since  that  time  a considerable  number 
have  been  exhumed  from  beneath  the  soil,  which 
business  has  been  prosecuted  as  zealously  by  some 
as  others  are  wont  to  dig  for  hidden  treasures. 
Some  of  the  teeth  of  these  huge  animals  would 
weigh  near  ten  pounds,  and  the  surface  on  which 
the  food  was  chewed  was  about  seven  inches  long 
and  four  or  five  broad.  A correspondent  informs 
us  that  he  has  seen  dug  up  in  one  mass  several 
tusks  and  ribs,  and  thigh  bones,  and  one  skull,  be- 


sides manj'  other  bones.  Two  of  these  tufeks. 
which  belonged  to  different  animals,  were  about 
eleven  feet  in  length,  and  at  the  largest  end  six  or 
seven  inches  in  diameter;  two  others  were  seven  or 
eight  feet  long.* 

Maj.  Jobn  P.  Gaines,  a gallant  soldier  in 
the  Mexican  war,  was  long  a citizen  of  this 
county.  He  was  a native  of  Virginia,  but 
removed  to  Kentucky  when  quite  young,  and 
located  in  Boone  County  where  he  led  an  ac- 
tive life.  He  served  in  the  State  Legislature 
in  the  sessions  of  1825-26-27,  1830-32,  and 
in  May,  18-16,  joined  the  troops  being  recruited 
for  the  Mexican  war.  He  became  major  of 
the  First  Cavalry,  of  w'hich  Humphrey  Mar- 
shall was  colonel.  He  was  captured,  together 
with  Capt.  C.  M.  Clay,  and  Lieut.  George 
Davidson  and  thirty  companions  at  Encarna- 
cion,  Mexico,  and  held  a prisoner  for  some 
time,  but  finally  escaped  and  rejoined  the 
army  in  time  to  take  an  honorable  part  in  the 
battles  of  Churubusco,  Chapultepec,  and  all 
the  battles  fought  around  the  Mexican  capi- 
tal. Before  his  return  from  Mexico,  his 
friends  elected  him  to  Congress,  and  he  served 
one  term.  President  Fillmore  appointed  him 
governor  of  Oregon  in  1850,  which  office  he 
held  nearly  three  years.  He  died  soon  after 
his  term  expired. 

The  name  of  Daniel  Boone  is  perpetuated 
in  that  of  this  county.  He  is  the  pioneer  of 
Kentucky,  the  hero  of  many  an  Indian  fight, 
and  one  of  the  most  expert  hunters  of  the 
period  in  which  he  lived.  There  is  so  much 
said  of  him  in  the  preceding  chapters  of 
this  volume,  that  nothing  can  be  added  here 
without  repetition. 


Bourbon  County  was  organized  under  the 
Virginia  Legislature  before  Kentucky  be- 
came a State,  and  dates  back  to  1785,  a little 
more  than  a hundred  years.  It  is  one  of  the 
finest  blue-grass  counties  in  the  State,  and  has 
some  of  the  finest  blue-grass  stock  farms.  The 
county  bears  the  name  of  Bourbon  in  honor 
of  the  reigning  house  of  France  at  the  time 
of  our  Revolutionary  war  and  at  the  time  the 
county  was  organized.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered by  students  of  history  that  the  French 
king  rendered  the  American  colonies  very  im- 
portant service  in  their  struggle  for  liberty. 
Hence  the  name  of  Bourbon  County.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Harrison  County; 
on  the  east  by  Montgomery  County;  on  the 
south  by  Clark  County;  on  the  west  by  Fay- 
ette County;  and  by  the  last  census  (1880) 
had  15,956  inhabitants.  The  surface  is  suf- 
ficiently rolling  to  drain  well,  and  the  soil  is 

*Co1Uds’  Kentucky,  Vol.  II,  p.  62. 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


557 


very  rich  and  productive.  Corn,  wheat,  oats 
and  hemp  are  grown  extensively,  and  of  late 
years  tobacco  has  received  considerable  at- 
tention. while  fine  stock,  thoroughbred  horses 
and  Shorthorn  cattle,  are  well  and  favorably 
known  wherever  the  name  of  Bourbon  County 
is  known.  The  following  are  the  statistics 
for  1880:  Corn,  1,135,572  bushels;  oats,  47,- 
199;  wheat,  370,247,  and  7,105  horses  and 
mules;  16,147  cattle;  51,743  sheep,  and  20,- 
762  hogs. 

Paris,  the  county  seat,  dates  back  to  1789. 
It  was  laid  out  under  an  act  of  the  Virginia 
Legislature,  and  called  Hopewell.  The  act 
was  as  follows: 

Be  it  enacted.  That  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres 
of  land,  at  the  court  house  in  Bourbon  County,  as 
the  same  are  laid  off  into  town  lots  and  streets  by 
Lawrence  Protzman,  the  proprietor  thereof,  shall  be 
established  a town  by  the  name  of  Hopewell,  and 
that  Notley  Conn,  Charles  Smith,  Jr.,  John  Ed- 
wards, James  Garrard,  Edward  Waller,  James 
Lanier,  Thomas  West,  James  Little  and  James 
Duncan,  gentlemen,  are  hereby  constituted  trustees 
thereof. 

It  seems  that  although  the  town  was  called 
Hopewell,  the  postoffice  was  established  under 
the  name  of  Bourbonton.  ‘ ‘ Mr.  Collins,  the 
historian  of  Kentucky,  says  it  was  called 
Bourbonton,  and  a letter  from  the  treasury 
department  at  Washington  to  the  compilers 
of  a volume  entitled,  ‘ Sketches  of  Paris,  ’ 
published  in  1876,  corroborates  the  statement 
and  asserts  that  the  postoffice  was  created 
January  1,  1795,  with  Thomas  Hades  as  post- 
master, who  was  succeeded  by  William  Paton, 
appointed  July  1,  1800,  and  that  the  name 
was  changed  from  Boiu-bonton  to  Paris,  April 
28,  1826,  when  James  Paton,  Jr.,  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster.”* 

Paris  is  pleasantly  situated  at  the  conflu- 
ence of  the  Stoner  and  Hou.'ton  Creeks,  and 
at  the  junction  of  the  Maysville  division  with 
the  main  line  of  the  Kentucky  Central  Rail- 
road. It  is  the  most  important  town — Lex- 
ington excepted — in  the  blue-grass  section, 
and  had  a population  in  1880  of  3, 204  souls. 
It  has  a magnificent  court  house — with  a very 
few  exceptions  the  finest  in  the  State;  it  has 
three  banks,  two  excellent  newspapers,  the 
Western  Citizen  and  the  True  Kentuckian, 
the  former,  the  oldest  paper  in  the  State, 
having  been  established  in  1808,  a number  of 
fine  churches  and  handsome  residences. 

Millersburg  is  the  second  largest  town  in 
the  county.  It  is  situated  on  the  Maysville 
division  of  the  Kentucky  Central  Railroad, 
about  eight  miles  from  Paris,  and  is  the  seat 
of  the  Kentucky  Wesleyan  University,  estab- 

*McChesney'3 Sketches  of  Paris,  p.  90.  [History  of  Bourbon 
County.] 


lished  first  as  an  academy  in  1858  and  as  a 
university  in  1866.  The  town  was  laid  out  in 
1817,  and  in  1880  had  858  inhabitants.  Other 
villages,  stations  and  postoffices  are  North 
Middletown,  Centerville,  Clintonville,  Flat 
Rock,  Rudder  s Mills,  Hutchison,  Houston, 
Jacksonville,  Stony  Point  and  Shawhan’s 
Station. 

Boui’bon  County  has  quite  a number  of 
mounds,  earthworks  and  remains  of  fortifi- 
cations, relics  of  the  prehistoric  inhabitants 
of  the  Ohio  Valley.  As  there  is  a lengthy 
chapter  in  this  volume  devoted  to  the  subject, 
it  is  dismissed  here  with  this  brief  allusion. 

Settlements,  or  attempts  at  settlements, 
were  made  in  Bourbon  County  as  early  as 
1776.  Among  the  pioneers  were  John  Coop- 
er, Michael  Stoner,  Thomas  Whitledge,  J ames 
Kenny,  Thomas  Kennedy,  James  Douglass, 
John  Miller,  the  McClellans,  Thompsons, 
McClintocks  and  others.  These  were  hardy, 
fearless  and  self-reliant  people.  Fresh  from 
the  scenes  of  the  Revolutionary  war — a free 
people — their  manhood  elevated,  they  shrank 
from  no  difficulty,  but  with  unflinching  pur- 
pose they  went  forth  to  subdue  the  wilderness 
and  subject  it  to  the  use  of  man. 

Gov.  James  Garrard  was  among  the  early 
settlers  of  the  county,  and  is  the  only  man  in 
the  history  of  the  State  who  was  twice  elect- 
ed governor  in  succession  and  served  tvo  full 
terms.  He  was  born  in  Virginia,  county  of 
Stafford,  January  14th,  1749.  The  following 
is  inscribed  upon  the  monument  erected  to 
his  memory  by  the  State: 

This  marble  consecrates  the  spot  on  which  repose 
the  mortal  remains  of  Col.  James  Garrard,  and  re- 
cords a brief  memorial  of  his  virtues  and  his  worth. 

attaining  the  age  of  manhood, 
he  participated  with  the  patriots  of  the  day  in  the 
dangers  and  privations  incident  to  the  glorious  and 
successful  contest  which  terminated  in  the  indepen- 
dence and  happiness  of  our  countiy.  Endeared  to 
his  family,  to  his  friends,  and  to  society,  by  the 
practice  of  the  social  virtues  of  husband,  father, 
friend  and  neighbor;  honored  by  his  country,  by 
frequent  calls  to  represent  her  dearest  interests  in 
her  legislative  councils  ; and  finally  by  two  elec- 
tions, to  fill  the  chair  of  the  chief  magistrate  of  the 
state,  a trust  of  the  highest  confidence  and  deepest 
interest  to  a free  community  of  virtuous  men,  pro- 
fessing equal  rights,  and  governed  by  equal  laws; 
a yi’ust,  which  for  eight  successive  }^ears  he  ful- 
filled with  that  energy,  vigor  and  impartiality 
which,  tempered  with  Christian  spirit  of  God-like 
mercy  and  charity  for  the  frailty  of  men.  is  best 
calculated  to  perpetuate  the  inestimable  blessing 
of  government  and  the  happiness  of  man.  An  ad- 
ministration which  received  its  best  reward  below, 
the  approbation  of  an  enlightened  and  grateful 
country,  by  whose  voice,  expressed  by  a resolution 
of  its  General  Assembly,  in  December,  1S22.  this 
Monument  of  departed  worth  and  grateful  sense  of 
public  service  was  erected,  and  is  inscribed. 

Gov.  Garrard  died  at  his  residence, 

‘ ‘ Mount  Lebanon,  ” near  Paiis,  on  the  19th 


558 


HISTOilY  or  KENTUCKY. 


of  January,  1822,  in  the  seventy -fourth  year 
of  his  age.  He  was  an  exemplary  Christian, 
and  a man  of  great  practical  usefulness. 
His  death  was  sincerely  mourned,  not  only 
by  the  people  of  the  county,  but  by  those  of 
the  State  at  large.* 

There  are  many  historical  spots  in  Bourbon 
County,  viz. : Hinkston’s,  Ruddel’s,  Martin’s 
Stations,  etc.  Around  these  places  some 
stirring  events  occurred  during  the  frontier 
struggles. 

Bourbon  County  has  been  as  prolific  of 
great  men  as  of  hne  stock.  Among  these 
may  be  mentioned  Thomas  Corwin,  the  ac- 
complished Ohio  senator;  Robert  Trimble,  a 
jirdge  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States;  Benjamin  Mills,  a judge  of  the  court 
of  appeals  of  Kentucky;  Jesse  Bledsoe,  a 
lawyer  with  but  few  equals  at  the  Kentucky 
bar;  James  and  AYilliam  Garrard;  Rev.  John 
P.  Durbin,  D.  D.,  an  eloquent  divine  and 
college  president;  John  Allen,  a Revolution- 
ary officer;  Joel  R.  Lyle,  an  early  editor  and 
ipublisher;  Garret  Davis  and  many  others. 

Thomas  Corwin  was  born  in  this  county 
Jiily  29,  1794,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1798, 
his  father,  Matthias  Corwin,  removed  to 
Ohio.  He  grew  to  manhood  amid  poverty, 
and  received  his  education  principally  in  the 
old  log  schoolhouses  of  the  early  time.  He 
studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1817,  and  thenceforward  to  the  end  of  life 
was  an  active  man  and  politician.  He  served 
in  the  Ohio  Legislature,  as  governor  of  the 
State,  in  Congress  and  the  National  Senate, 
and  was  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under 
President  Fillmore.  As  a zealous  Whig  he 
was  the  friend  and  compeer  of  Clay  and 
Webster,  and  his  speeches  in  Congress  and  the 
Senate  were  excelled  by  few  statesmen  of 
that  period. 

Judges  Trimble  and  Mills,  one  of  the  su- 
preme court  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
other  of  the  coimt  of  appeals  of  this  State, 
are  noticed  in  the  political  history.  Mr. 
Lyle  established,  in  1808,  the  Western  Citizen 
at  Paris,  a paper  still  in  existence,  and  the 
oldest  in  the  State.  He  was  a native  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  came  to  Kentucky  in  1800.  He 
was  well  educated,  for  the  time,  and  though 
not  especially  brilliant,  was  an  editor  of  some 
ability. 

Jesse  Bledsoe  was  one  of  the  leaders  at  a 
bar  that  was  famous  for  its  power  and  ability. 
He  was  born  in  Culpeper  County,  Va. , in 
1776,  and  came  to  Kentucky  in  an  early  day 
with  his  parents.  He  was  educated  in  Tran- 
sylvania University,  and  studied  law  in  Lex- 
ington. He  was  a fine  scholar  and  a fine 

*Perrin’s  History  of  Bourbon  County,  p.  37. 


lawyer,  and  occupied  the  chair  as  professor 
of'law  in  Transylvania.  He  served  several 
terms  in  the  Legislature,  and  was  secretary 
of  State  under  Gov.  Scott  from  1808  to  1812, 
and  in  1822  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Adair  a 
circuit  judge.  He  went  to  Mississippi  in  1835, 
and  soon  after  to  Texas,  where  he  died. 

Garret  Davis  was  a native  of  Kentucky, 
and  was  born  in  Mount  Sterling  in  1801.  Ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1823,  he  at  once  entered 
upon  a bustling,  active  life.  He  served  re- 
peatedly in  the  Legislature,  and  was  a mem- 
ber of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1849. 
So  firm  was  he  in  his  opinions,  that,  when 
once  formed,  it  was  almost  impossible  to 
change  them.  An  instance  in  point:  He 
opposed  the  clause  favoring  an  elective  judi- 
ciary in  the  present  constitution,  and  voted 
against  its  adoption;  and  after  it  was  adopt- 
ed refused  to  sign  it.  He  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate  in  1861  (re-elected  in 
1867),  and  was  one  of  the  most  uncompro- 
mising Union  men  in  the  State.  He  declined 
many  positions  that  would  have  been  eagerly 
accepted  by  the  great  majority  of  men.  He 
declined  the  nomination  for  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor on  the  Whig  ticket  in  1848  with  John 
J.  Crittenden.  He  declined  the  nomination 
for  governor  in  1855  by  the  Know-nothing 
or  American  party,  and  declined  the  nomina- 
tion for  the  presidency  the  next  year  by  the 
same  party.  He  died  in  1872,  while  still  a 
member  of  the  national  Senate. 


1/  Boyd  County  is  one  of  the  younger  civil 
divisions,  and  was  formed  in  1860,  being  the 
one  hundred  and  seventh  county  as  to  date  of 
organization.  It  is  situated  in  the  northeast 
part  of  the  State,  and  is  generally  broken  and 
hilly.  The  Ohio  and  Big  Sandy  Rivers  bound  it 
on  the  north  and  east ; Lawrence  County  on  the 
south;  Carter  and  Greenup  Counties  on  the 
west,  and  in  1880  it  had  12,165  inhabitants. 
It  lies  in  the  mineral  region,  and  produces 
both  coal  and  iron. 

Catlettsburg,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situat- 
ed on  the  Big  Sandy  River  at  its  junction 
with  the  Ohio.  It  is  quite  an  important  town 
and  has  an  extensive  trade.  Its  population 
is  about  1,500,  and  is  steadily  increasing. 
The  Chesapeake  & Ohio  Railroad  (formerly 
Lexington  & Big  Sandy)  crosses  the  Big 
Sandy  River  here.  The  road  has  contributed 
largely  to  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the 
town. 

Ashland  is  situated  on  the  Ohio  River  some 
five  miles  below  Catlettsburg,  and  is  one  of 
the  largest  manufacturing  places  in  the  east- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


559 


ern  part  of  the  State.  It  is  connected  with 
the  Chesapeake  & Ohio  Railroad  by  a branch 
road  from  Grayson,  Carter  County,  formerly 
knowir  as  the  Kentucky  Eastern,  thus  render- 
ing Ashland  the  center  of  a large  coal  and 
iron  business.  It  has  an  estimated  popula- 
tion of  about  3,000.  Coalton  and  Cannons- 
burg  are  small  villages  of  little  importance. 

The  county  was  named  for  Linn  Boyd,  a 
prominent  politician  of  the  Democratic  school. 
He  was  elected  lieutenant-governor  in  1859, 
on  the  ticket  with  Beriah  Magoffin,  but  died 
in  December  following  his  election.  He  was 
born  in  Nashville,  Tenn. , in  November,  1800, 
and  in  early  manhood  removed  to  southern 
Kentucky,  where  he  at  once  engaged  actively 
in  politics.  He  served  several  terms  in  the 
Legislature,  and  in  1835  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress from  the  Purchase  District,  and  was  re- 
elected successively  until  he  had  served  eight- 
een years,  four  of  which  he  had  been  Speak- 
er of  the  House.  His  death  occurred  while 
still  in  the  prime  of  life. 

Boyd  County  was  early  explored  by  the 
whites,  though  settlements  were  not  made 
until  at  a later  period.  The  first  white  men  to 
look  upon  the  county  are  supposed  to  have 
been  the  Rev.  David  Jones,  of  Freehold,  N. 
J, , and  George  Rogers  Clark,  ‘ ‘ a young 
gentleman,  from  Virginia,  who  inclined  to 
make  a tour  in  this  new  world,”*  the  first 
recorded  mention  of  this  great  military  chief- 
tain. In  1773  they  spent  several  days  in 
what  is  now  Boyd  County,  on  the  • ‘ Great 
Sandy  Creek.”  Mr.  Jones’  report  of  the 
country  was  as  follows: 

Very  convenient  to  this  are  the  most  famous 
salt  springs,  which  are  a peculiar  favor  of  God.  I 
have  also  seen  in  this  country  what  the  people  call 
alum  mines,  though  they  rather  appear  to  me  a 
mi.xture  of  vitriol  and  alum.  Throughout  the  coun- 
try we  liave  a very  great  abundance  of  stone  coal, 
which  I have  often  seen  burn  freely.  The  smiths 
about  Red  Stone  use  no  other  sort  of  coal  in  their 
shops,  and  find  that  it  answers  remarkably  well. 
This  one  article,  in  process  of  time,  must  be  of 
great  advantage  to  this  country.  Another  advan- 
tage it  enjoys  is  abundance  of  limestone. with  excel- 
lent quarries  of  freestone  fit  to  erect  the  best  of 
buildings. 

Simon  Kenton,  the  famous  pioneer,  together 
with  Michael  Tyger  and  others,  in  1773  made 
some  surveys  of  land  in  this  county.  In  the 
winter  of  1773-74  Simon  Kenton,  William 
Grills,  Jacob  Greathouse,  Samuel  Cartwright 
and  Joseph  Lock  were  in  the  present  county 
of  Boyd,  and  spent  the  time  hunting  and 
trapping. 


Boyle  County  was  created  in  1842,  and 
was  the  ninety-fourth  in  the  order  of  forma- 

*Cist’s  Miscellany,  Vol.  I,  p.  244,  etc. 


tion.  It  was  taken  from  Lincoln  and  Mercer 
Counties,  and  bears  the  name  of  Judge  John 
Boyle,*  a lawyer  of  great  ability,  and  at  one 
I time  chief  justice  of  the  court  of  appeals 
j of  Kentucky.  The  county  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Mercer  County;  on  the  east  by 
I Garrard;  on  the  south  by  Casey  and  Lincoln; 
on  the  west  by  Marion,  and  in  1880  it  had 
11,930  inhabitants.  The  county  is  small, 
and  the  tine  blue- grass  lands  are  rich  and  pro- 
ductive. It  lies  well,  and  there  is  but  little 
of  it  not  susceptible  of  cultivation.  Grain 
and  stock  are  the  principal  productions;  the 
agricultural  report  of  1880  shows  the  follow- 
ing; Corn,  570,943; oats,  28,245; wheat,  140,- 
! 541;  horses  and  mules,  4,493  head;  cattle, 

! 6,685;  sheep,  13,176,  and  hogs,  14,115.  It 
' is  intersected  by  the  Cincinnati  Southern, 

I and  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroads  (Knox- 
[ ville  division),  which  afford  communication 
i with  the  outside  world. 

Col.  James  Harrod,  one  of  the  prominent 
pioneers  of  the  State,  and  whose  name  is 
perpetuated  in  that  of  Harrodsburg,  built  a 
cabin  where  the  town  of  Danville  now  stands, 
which  is  claimed  to  be  one  of  the  first  built 
j in  Kentucky.  All  this,  however,  is  fully 
given,  together  with  a sketch  of  Col.  Harrod. 
The  early  history  of  the  State  centered  in  Dan- 
] ville  and  Harrodsburg,  and  ample  justice  to 
them  has  been  attempted  in  other  portions  of 
this  volume. 

Danville,  the  capital  of  the  county  and  once 
the  capital  of  Kentucky  (before  it  became 
a state),  is  situated  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  county,  about  forty  miles  almost  due 
south  from  Frankfort.  It  is  a town  of  con- 
I siderable  importance — is  deemed  the  Athens 
of  central  Kentucky.  It  is  an  historical  spot, 
and  was  not  only  the  first  capital,  but  was  the 
' site  of  the  first  court  house  and  the  first  jail 
erected  in  the  State.  These  were  built  in  the 
I summer  of  1783,  and  were  of  logs.  Says  a 
! late  writer : 


Since  the  days  of  log  court  houses,  and  the 
j eight  conventions,  the  history  of  Danville  has  not 
been  of  a thrilling  nature.  It  soon  settled  down  in- 
to a great  educational  center;  and  educational  cen- 
ters are  proverbially  delightfully  quite  sleepy- 
hollows.  Two  visitations  from  cholera,  in  1833  and 
in  1849,  a !|300,000  fire  in  1860,  and  one  large  and  a 
few  smaller  ones  since,  and  numerous  occupations 
b}^  Confederates  and  Federals  during  the  late  war, 
have  been  about  the  onl}^  events  to  break  in  upon 
the  peaceful  repose  of  its  existence. 

Danville  was  laid  out  on  the  lands  of 
Walker  Daniel,  whose  name  it  bears.  It 
has  a handsome  court  house  and  other  public 
buildings;  it  has  a number  of  flourishing 
j stores,  banks  and  other  business  houses, 

. *See  Cliapter  XIII,  p.  ai4  of  this  volume,  for  sketch  of 
I Judge  Boyle. 


560 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


several  elegant  churches,  and  is  one  of  the 
finest,  if  not  the  hnest  educational  town  in 
the  State — the  oldest  institution  of  learning 
(Centre  College)  being  located  here,  as  w'ell 
as  other  hig-h  grade  schools.  It  is  also  the 
seat  of  the  State  Deaf  and  Dumb  Assylum.* 
In  1880  Danville  had  3,074  inhabitants. 

Perryville.  a town  of  about  500  inhabi- 
tants, is  situated  some  ten  miles  west  of 
Danville.  It  is  memorable  as  having  been 
the  scene  of  the  severest  battle  fought  on 
Kentucky  soil  during  the  late  civil  war. 
Other  towns  and  stations  in  the  county  are 
Parksville,  Danville  Junction,  Goresburg, 
Shelby  City,  Mitchellsburg,  North  Fork 
Station,  Aliceton,  Alum  Springs,  Brumfield, 
etc. 

Among  the  wise  and  great  men  of  Boyle 
County  are  the  Greens,  Dr.  Ephraim 
McDowell,  James  G.  Birney,  John  A.  Jacobs 
and  Walker  Daniel.  The  last  gentleman 
was  a native  of  Virginia  and  came  to  Ken- 
tucky in  1781,  locating  in  this  county.  He 
was  a lawyer  by  profession,  and  owned 
the  land  upon  which  Danville  was  laid  out. 
He  was  killed  by  the  Indians  a few  years 
after  he  came  to  the  county. 

James  G.  Birney,  the  first  man  ever  a candi- 
date for  President  of  the  United  States  on  the 
‘ ‘ Liberty  ” or  “ Abolition  ” ticket,  was  born 
in  Danville,  February  4,  1792 — the  year  the 
State  was  admitted  into  the  Union.  He  stud- 
ied law  and  settled  in  Alabama,  where  he  ac- 
quired considerable  reputation  as  an  attorney. 
He  returned  to  Kentucky  in  1833,  and  soon 
developed  into  a strong  anti-slavery  man.  In 
this  age  of  slang  he  would  have  been  called 
a crank.  He  advocated  emancipation,  and 
set  the  example  by  freeing  his  own  slaves. 
He  moved  to  Ohio,  and  then  to  Michigan, 
and  was  the  candidate  in  1840  of  the  “Lib- 
erty” party  for  President,  and  again  in  1844 
was  the  candidate  of  the  same  party. 

John  A.  Jacobs  was  a native  of  Virginia, 
and  born  in  1803.  He  came  to  Kentucky 
when  but  a child,  and  was  brought  up  princi- 
pally in  Garrard  County.  He  entered  Centre 
College  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  but  before 
graduating  was  elected  principal  of  the  Deaf 
and  Dumb  Asylum,  and  in  that  institution 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

The  Greens  were  a prominent  family. 
Willis  Green  was  a native  of  Virginia,  and 
came  to  Kentucky  as  one  of  the  early  sur- 
veyors. He  represented  the  county  of  Ken- 
tucky in  the  Virginia  Legislature,  and  was 
clerk  of  the  court  for  a long  term  of  years. 
John  Green,  a son,  was  a man  of  much 

* For  sk''tc1ie'5  of  De^f  and  Dumb  Asylum  and  Centre 
College  see  prec  ding  chat  lets. 


prominence.  He  studied  law  with  Henry 
Clay,  and  became  distinguished  in  his 
profession.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  or- 
ganization of  Centre  College,  and  of  the 
Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum.  He  was  appointed 
Circuit  Judge,  a position  he  held  until  his 
death.  Lewis  Warner  Green,  also  a son  of 
Willis  Green,  became  a minister  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  and  after  holding  many  im- 
portant positions,  died  in  1863  as  president 
of  Centre  College. 

Dr.  Ephraim  McDowell  was  one  of  the 
most  renowned  surgeons  known  in  the  history 
of  Kentucky.  He  was  born  in  Rockbridge 
County,  Va.,  in  1771,  and  came  with  his 
father  to  Danville  in  1784.  He  received  a 
liberal  education,  and  studied  medicine  with 
Dr.  Humphreys,  of  Virginia,  and  afterward 
went  to  Europe  and  studied  in  the  University 
of  Edinburgh.  After  his  return  he  settled  in 
Danville.  He  w^as  the  first  physician  in  the 
world  who  performed  the  operation  of  remov- 
ing diseased  ovaries.  Dr.  Gross  said  of  him: 
‘ ‘ Had  McDowell  lived  in  France,  he  would 
have  been  elected  a member  of  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Surgery,  received  from  the  King 
the  Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  and  ob- 
tained from  the  government  a magnificent 
reward — as  an  acknowledgment  of  the  serv- 
ices he  rendered  his  country,  his  profession 
and  his  fellow-creatures.” 


Beacken  County  borders  on  the  Ohio 
River  and  dates  its  existence  back  to  1796. 
It  was  the  twenty-third  county  organized  in 
the  State,  and  was  formed  from  parts  of 
Campbell  and  Mason.  The  Ohio  River  is  on 
the  north.  Mason  County  on  the  east,  Har- 
rison and  Robertson  on  the  south,  and  Pen- 
dleton on  the  west.  Its  population  in  1880 
was  13,509.  It  was  named  for  Big  and  Lit- 
tle Bracken  Creeks,  and  they  were  named  for 
an  old  pioneer,  William  Bracken,  who  was 
an  early  settler  in  the  county  and  was  killed 
by  the  Indians.  There  is  much  good 
land  in  the  county  as  w-ell  as  considerable 
poor  land.  The  soil  is  adapted  to  tobacco, 
and  a large  quantity  of  a most  excellent  qual- 
ity is  produced  each  year.  Grain  is  also 
extensively  grown,  and  stock  receives  due 
attention.  The  reports  of  1880  show  the 
following:  Corn,  562,550  bushels;  oats, 

9,715;  wheat,  179,979,  and  tobacco, 6, 126, 635 
pounds;  horses  and  mules,  4,273  head;  cattle, 
4,632,  and  hogs,  14,193. 

Brookville,  the  present  seat  of  justice,  is 
situated  near  the  geographical  center  of  the 
county.  It  was  laid  out  in  1839,  and  has 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY^ 


561 


good  substantial  public  buildings.  Its 
chui’cbes,  residences  and  business  bouses  are 
mucb  the  same  as  are  to  be  found  in  other 
towns  of  similar  pretensions. 

Augusta,  the  former  county  seat,  and  the 
principal  town  in  the  county,  is  situated  on 
the  Ohio  Kiver  some  eighteen  miles  below 
Maysville.  It  is  noted  as  being  the  town 
where  the  first  college  in  the  world,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Chtu’ch,  was  established.  It  was  called 
Augusta  College,  and  was  founded  in  1822, 
and  for  years  was  one  of  the  leading  educa- 
tional institutions  in  the  State. 

Augusta  is  considered  one  of  the  prettiest 
towns  on  the  upper  Ohio,  and  is  a great 
shipping  point  for  tobacco  and  other  prod- 
ucts. In  1880  it  had  1,282  inhabitants. 
The  other  towns,  villages  and  postofdces  are 
Germantown,  Berlin,  Milford,  Foster  and 
Bock  Springs. 

The  first  white  man  in  the  county  was 
probably  William  Bracken,  who  came  to  the 
county  in  1773  and  settled  upon  one  of  the 
little  streams  that  still  bear  his  name.  He 
was  a hunter  and  pioneer — a pioneer  to 
whom  the  perils  of  the  wilderness  were  as 
nothing,  if  only  that  wilderness  were  free. 
He  yearned  for  freedom,  and  exiled  himself 
from  his  native  place  that  he  might  fully  en- 
joy it.  He  hunted  and  fished,  and  fought 
the  Indians  in  their  own  way  and  fashion. ' 
He  was  finally  killed  by  the  Indians. 

The  first  surveys  in  Bracken  County  were  among 
the  very  first  in  tue  State;  indeed  it  is  probable  that 
they  were  only  preceded  by  the  two  or  more  surveys 
made  by  Gen. George  Washington  in  1770,  in  what  are 
now  Lawrence  and  Greenup  Counties,  and  in  1773  by 
several  small  surveys  made  in  Lewis  County  by 
Capt.  Thos.  Bullitt’s  party  on  their  way  to  the  falls 
at  Louisville.  Capt.  John  Hedges’,  with  Capt. 
Thomas  Young  as  chain  canler,  both  afterward 
officers  of  the  Revolutionary  Army,  in  the  Virginia 
line,  in  1773  surveyed  a tract  of  land,  built  an  “im- 
prover’s cabin,”  and  cleared  a small  piece  on  tlie 
bank  of  the  Ohio  River,  about  five  miles  below 
Augusta,  and  just  below  the  mouth  of  Locust 
Creek.  Several  other  surveys  were  made,  a few 
da}^s  after,  in  the  same  neighborhood  and  by 
some  of  the  same  party.* 

During  the  late  civil  war  quite  a severe 
skirmish  took  place  at  Augusta,  in  this  coun- 
ty, between  a squad  of  Home  Guards  under 
Col.  Joshua  Bradford,  and  a battalion  of 
Col.  Basil  Duke’s  cavalry.  The  Home 
Guards  were  captured  after  a severe  strug- 
gle, in  which  the  Confederates  lost  twenty- 
one  killed  and  eighteen  wounded.  Among  the 
killed  was  Wm.  Courtland  Prentice,  the  son 
of  George  D.  Prentice,  editor  of  the  Louis- 
ville Journal. 

Dr.  Joshua  T.  Bradford  was  one  of  the 


eminent  physicians  and  surgeons  of  Ken- 
tucky. He  was  a native  of  this  county  and 
born  in  1818;  educated  at  Augusta  College, 

' O O 

and  graduated  from  the  medical  department 
of  Transylvania  University  in  1839.  As  a 
surgeon  he  ranked  with  Gross,  McDowell  and 
Dudley.  After  a brilliant  career,  brief  as  it 
was  brilliant,  he  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-three 
years. 


‘^Breathitt  County  was  the  eighty-ninth 
formed  in  the  State.  It  was  carved  out  of  Es- 
till.  Clay  and  Perry  Counties,  in  1839,  and  is 
situated  in  the  mountainous  region.  The 
land  is  generally  poor,  rough  and  hilly.  It 
is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Wolf,  Morgan 
and  Magoffin  Counties;  on  the  east  by 
Magoffin  County;  on  the  south  by  Perry 
County;  on  the  vvest  by  Owsley  County,  and 
in  1880  had  a population  of  7,742.  Coal 
and  iron  ore  abound  and  large  quantities  of 
coal  are  annually  shipped  down  the  Ken- 
tucky River.  Salt  is  manufactured  to  a 
limited  extent. 

Jackson,  the  county  seat,  was  named  for 
the  old  hero  of  New  Orleans.  Gen.  Jackson. 
It  is  situated  near  the  center  of  the  county, 
and  is  but  a small,  insignificant  village. 
Strongville  and  Crockettsville  are  small 
places. 

Hon.  John  Breathitt,  elected  governor  of 
the  State  in  1832,  furnished  the  county  with 
a name.  Mr.  Breathitt  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia, in  17SG,  and  came  to  Kentucky  with 
his  parents  in  1800.  and  settled  in  Logan 
County.  He  was  of  studious  habits  and  by 
his  own  energy  and  industry  managed  to 
secure  a good  practical  education.  He  was 
a surveyor  and  school-teacher  and  accumu- 
lated considerable  wealth,  mostly  in  lands. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1810,  and 
soon  secured  a lucrative  practice.  He  served 
several  terms  in  the  Legislatime ; was  elected 
lieutenant-governor  in  1828,  and  governor  in 
1832,  but  died  before  his  term  expired,  and 
while  still  in  manhood’s  prime. 


Breckinridge  County,  the  thirty-ninth  in 
the  State,  is  one  of  those  bordering  on 
the  Ohio  River.  It  was  formed  in  the  year 
1799  from  a part  of  Hardin  County,  and 
named  for  Hon.  John  Breckinridge,  the  first 
of  that  illustrious  family  in  Kentucky.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  State  of  Indiana, 
i from  Avhich  it  is  separated  by  the  Ohio 
j River;  on  the  east  by  Meade  and  Hardin 
j Counties;  on  the  south  by  Grayson  County; 

35 


* Collins’  History,  Vol.  II,  p.  94. 


562 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


on  the  we&t  by  Hancock  and  Ohio  Counties, 
and  by  the  census  of  1880  had  a population 
of  17,480.  The  surface  alternates  between 
rich  bottom  lands,  fertile  valleys,  high  plains 
or  “ hickory  flats,  ” and  hilly  regions,  poor, 
rocky  and  broken.  The  bottoms  along  the 
Ohio  show  some  as  tine  farms  as  are  in  the 
State;  the  valleys  are  rich  blue-grass  lands, 
resting  on  red  clay  and  underlaid  with  lime- 
stone; the  hickory  flats,  as  tobacco  lands,  are 
unsurpassed,  while  the  hilly  regions  are 
better  adapted  to  fruit  growing  than  any- 
thing else.  Along  the  water  courses  flue 
timber  grows  in  profusion.  Tobacco  is  the 
staple  product,  the  last  census  showing  this 
to  be  the  fifteenth  county  in  the  State  as.  to 
quantity  produced.  Grain,  however,  is  ex- 
tensively grown  in  some  sections  of  the 
county;  also  considerable  attention  is  paid  to 
stock  raising.  The  principal  streams  of  the 
county  are  Rough,  Clover,  Rock  Lick,  Har- 
din, North  Fork  of  Rough,  Buffalo,  Jewel’s, 
Lost  Run,  Doret’s,  Brushy  Fork,  Sinking 
Creek,  etc.  The  latter  stream  is  something  of 
a natural  wonder.  Its  peculiarity  furnishes  its 
name.  It  rises  some  fifteen  miles  east  of 
Hardinsburg,  and  flows  in  a northerly  direc- 
tion. Eight  or  ten  miles  from  its  source  it 
suddenly  sinks  into  the  ground,  and  for  sev- 
eral miles  no  trace  of  it  is  seen,  except  in  ex- 
treme high  water,  when  it  overflows  and  fills 
with  a roaring  ton-ent  the  “dry  bed,”  as  it 
is  called.  Ten  miles,  perhaps,  from  where 
it  sinks  it  breaks  out  again,  flows  on,  a large 
stream,  affording  fine  water-power  for  mills, 
etc. , and  empties  into  the  Ohio  at  Stephens- 
port.  Five  or  six  miles  from  its  mouth  is  a 
natural  mill  dam,  producing  the  “falls,”  and 
which  has  long  been  utilized  for  mill  pur- 
poses. The  stream  was  originally  known  as 
Hardin’s  Creek,  but  the  peculiarity  above 
described  led  to  its  change  of  name  and  the 
name  ‘ ‘ Hardin  ’ ’ has  been  bestowed  on  the 
little  stream  that  meanders  through  the 
northwest  suburb  of  Hardinsburg. 

In  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county, 
adjacent  to  Cloverport,  are  fine  beds  of 
cannel  coal.  Prior  to  the  discovery  of 
petroleum  in  Pennsylvania  and  other  regions, 
it  was  manufactui’ed  from  this  coal.  A 
factory  was  built  at  Cloverport  before  the 
civil  war,  and  for  several  years  produced 
large  quantities  of  oil,  but  since  the  era  of 
petroleum  this  process  became  slow  and  ex- 
pensive, and  the  distillation  of  oil  from  cannel 
coal  was  discontinued.  The  coal  is  being 
mined,  however,  by  an  English  company,  and 
to  facilitate  transportation  a railroad  has  been 
constructed  from  the  mines  to  the  river  at 
Cloverport.  Lead  ore  has  been  found,  but 


never  mined  to  any  great  extent.  Four 
miles  south  of  Cloverport  are  the  Tar  Springs. 
A peculiar  feature  of  these  springs  is  that 
there  are  half  a dozen  or  more  within  an  area 
of  a few  square  yards,  and  the  waters  are  as 
different  as  though  they  were  a thousand 
miles  apart.  They  are  supposed  to  possess 
strong  medicinal  properties,  as  well  as  many 
local  advantages  for  a fashionable  watering 
place. 

The  county,  in  common  with  every  portion 
of  the  State,  has  its  caves  and  other  natural 
wonders.  Along  Sinking  Creek  particularly 
are  a number  of  caves,  some  of  them  consid- 
erable in  extent.  Two  or  three  miles  above 
Clifton  Mills,  on  the  creek,  is  the  “ Peniten- 
tiary Cave,  ’ ’ one  of  the  most  extensive  in  the 
county.  It  has  never  been  fully  explored, 
but  so  far  as  it  has  been,  it  is  found  rich  in 
subterranean  magnificence.  Near  W ebster  is 
another  cave  worthy  of  a description.  Two 
or  three  hundred  yards  from  the  entrance  a 
subterranean  stream  is  reached,  that  is 
almost  * equal,  in  the  sounds  produced,  to 
Echo  River,  in  the  Mammoth  Cave. 

Hardinsburg,  the  county  seat  of  Breckin- 
ridge, is  beautifully  situated  on  a table-land 
near  the  center  of  the  county,  and  was  laid 
out  in  1782  by  Gen.  Hardin,  for  whom  it  was 
named.  It  is  small  and  its  growth  has  been 
slow.  Among  its  early  and  prominent  citi- 
zens were  Joseph  Allen,  Capt.  Thomas 
Kincheloe,  Rev.  James  Taylor,  Philip  Light- 
foot,  Morris  Hensly,  Charles  Hambleton, 
William  Feaman,  B.  and  R.  M.  Wathen, 
John  McClarty,  William  Morton,  Stanley 
Singleton,  James  and  Williamson  Cox,  Will- 
iam Seaton,  Francis  Peyton,  Joseph  Thomas, 
Thornton  Smith,  Jefferson  Jennings,  Lr.  S. 
B.  Abel,  John  B.  Brxiner,  Elijah  Eskridge 
and  Roland  Hughes.  These  all  sleep  with 
their  fathers,  and  when  Judge  Kincheloe, 
Col.  Alf.  Allen,  Mr.  Vivian  Daniel  and  Rev. 
R.  G.  Gardner  die,  the  ‘ ‘ old  guard  ” will 
have  passed  away. 

Hardinsburg  is  a little  gem  of  a town.  , It 
is  well  supplied  with  churches,  has  a news- 
paper, the  Journal,  and  a very  fine  school 
building.  Its  court  house,  for  the  sum  it 
cost,  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  State. 

Cloverport  is  the  largest  place  in  the 
county,  and  is  an  incorporated  city.  It 
is  situated  on  the  Ohio  River,  in  the  north- 
west part  of  the  county,  and  is  a fine  ship- 
ping point  and  a place  of  considerable  impor- 
tance. It  has  a bank,  a newspaper,  the  News, 
and  a number  of  handsome  churches  and  res- 
idences. Stevensport  is  situated  on  the  Ohio 
River,  ten  miles  above  Cloverport,  and  is  an 
important  shipping  point.  Other  towns,  vil- 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


563 


lages  and  postofiices  are  Hudsonville,  Con- 
stantine, Custer,  Bewleyville,  Webster,  Clif- 
ton Mills,  Union  Star,  Lodi,  Big  Spring, 
Rosetta,  Bennettsville,  Planter’s  Hall,  Mc- 
Daniel’s, Garfield,  etc. 

The  pioneer  of  Breckinridge  County  was 
Gen.  William  Hardin,  a frontiersman  of  the 
true  type.  His  first  visit  to  the  county  was 
in  1780.  Together  with  a few  of  his  neigh- 
bors, among  whom  were  the  Claycombs,  Brash- 
ears,  Bruners,  Bargers,  Haynes,  Rices, 
Jollys,  Barrs,  Deans,  Spencers  and  others, 
he  penetrated  the  wilderness  of  Kentucla^ 
In  the  early  spring  of  that  year  (1780),  with 
three  companions,  the  names  of  whom  are 
forgotten,  except  one,  Sinclair,  Hardin  de- 
scended the  Wabasha  (the  Shawanese  name 
of  the  Ohio)  in  search  of  a suitable  location 
for  his  proposed  colony.  They  arrived  at  the 
falls  of  the  Ohio,  where  there  was  then  a set- 
tlement, but  not  liking  the  swampy  nature  of 
the  country,  they  re- embarked  and  floated 
down  the  Ohio  to  the  mouth  of  Sinking 
Creek,  where  they  landed  with  the  intention 
of  exploring  the  adjacent  country.  As  it 
chanced,  they  disembarked  almost  in  me 
midst  of  a band  of  hostile  savages.  The  In- 
dians allowed  them  to  advance  some  three 
miles  into  the  country,  when  they  divided, 
one  party  taking  possession  of  the  boat,  while 
the  other  pursued  the  whites.  The  latter, 
experienced  borderers  as  they  were,  had  dis- 
covered signs  of  Indians  and  were  on  the 
alert.  They  found  that  they  were  pursued 
by  a largely  superior  body  of  savages,  and 
realizing  the  folly  of  a fight,  they  resolved  to 
push  oh  to  Hines’  Fort,  the  present  site  of 
Elizabethtown,  in  Hardin  County.  They 
continued  their  flight  during  the  night, 
guided  by  the  stars,  and  in  the  early  morn- 
ing reached  a large  spring,  where  they  stopjsed 
to  rest  and  slake  their  thirst.  From  the 
description  they  gave  of  the  spring  afterward, 
it  was  doubtless  where  the  town  of  Big  Spring 
now  stands.  Here  they  were  attacked  by  the 
savages,  and  Sinclair  killed.  The  others,  led 
by  Hardin,  succeeded  in  escaping,  and  finally 
reached  Hines’  Fort. 

Hardin  remained  at  the  forts  in  what  is 
now  Hardin  County,  until  the  following 
spring,  when,  accompanied  by  Christopher 
Bush  and  Michael  Leonard,  he  returned  to 
the  mouth  of  Sinking  Creek,  up  which  they 
proceeded  to  the  falls,  where  they  disem- 
barked. It  was  during  a periodical  overflow 
in  the  Ohio,  and  all  the  surrounding  country 
was  submerged.  Hardin  cut  a “high  water 
mark”  on  a tree,  which  is  said  to  be  still  dis- 
cernible. They  explored  the  country  in  a 
southeasterly  direction,  and  finally  reached 


the  present  site  of  Hardinsburg,  where, 
pleased  with  the  location,  Hardin  determined 
to  establish  his  colony.  There  they  at  once 
commenced  the  erection  of  a fort,  Avhich  be- 
came known  on  the  border  as  Hardin’ s F ort. 
It  was  similar  to  the  rude  frontier  forts  or 
stations,  and  was  constructed  of  logs  with 
loopholes  to  shoot  from.  This  was  surround- 
ed by  a number  of  cabins,  occupied  by  those 
who  had  joined  Hardin  with  the  intention  of 
settling  the  country,  and  above  referred  to  as 
his  colony.  The  whole  was  enclosed  by  a 
palisade,  oblong  in  shape,  and  of  heavy  slabs 
firmly  implanted  in  the  earth,  rendering  it  a 
formidable  structure  for  tho-e  primitive  days. 
As  the  war-cry  of  the  retreating  savages  died 
away  along  the  frontier  of  Ohio,  Indiana  and 
Illinois,  those  hardy  pioneers  came  forth  fr’om 
the  protecting  walls  of  the  fort,  and  joined  by 
others,  made  settlements  in  different  parts  of 
the  county. 

The  Hardin  family,  of  whom  Gen.  Hardin 
was  a prominent  member,  is  one  of  the  noted 
and  distinguished  families  of  Kentucky.  The 
Hardins  ai’e  of  French  descent.  They  came 
to  America  after  the  massacre  of  St.  Barthol- 
omew, being  forced  to  fly  fr’om  France  on  ac- 
count of  their  Huguenot  principles.  It  is 
claimed  by  some  who  profess  to  be  acquainted 
with  the  Hardin  genealogy,  that  they  are  of 
Scotch  or  Scotch-Irish  origin;  and  the  name 
does  appear  in  Scottish  history  far  back,  but 
with  nothing  definite  to  indicate  the  place  of 
nativity.  The  most  authentic  account  of  the 
Hardins’  settlement  in  America  is  as  follows: 
Three  brothers,  French  Huguenots  of  a pro- 
nounced type,  about  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
or  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  to 
escape  religious  persecutions  in  France,  fled 
to  Canada.  The  severity  of  the  climate  soon 
compelled  them  to  leave  Canada,  and  they 
joined  the  English  colony  in  Virginia.  Two 
of  the  brothers  settled  there  permanently, 
while  the  other  emigrated  to  South  Caro- 
lina. From  the  brothers  who  remained  in 
Virginia  descended  the  Kentucky  Hardins. 
Martin  Hardin,  a lineal  descendant,  emi- 
grated fr'om  Fauquier  County,  Va.,  to  Penn- 
sylvania, about  the  year  1765.  and  settled  on 
the  Monongahela  River.  He  had  a family  of 
four  daughters  and  three  sons,  all  of  whom 
were  born  in  Virginia.  The  sons  were  John, 
Martin  and  William,  the  last  the  pioneer  set- 
tler of  Breckinridge  County.  Martin  died 
about  1849.  in  his  ninety- second  year.  John, 
for  whom  Hardin  County  was  named,  was  mur- 
dered by  the  Indians  inl792  while  on  a peace- 
ful embassy  to  their  country.  [See  historical 
sketch  of  Hardin  County.]  Lydia  Hardin,  a 
sister,  married  Charles  Wickliffe,  and  was  the 


5G4 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


mother  of  some  distinguished  men  and  emi- 
nent statesmen.  Sarah  Hardin,  another  sis- 
ter, married  her  cousin,  Ben  Hardin,  and  was 
the  mother  of  the  great  criminal  lawyer,  Ben 
Hardin.  A daughter  of  John  Hardin  mar- 
ried the  Rev.  Barnabas  McHenry,  and  was 
the  ancestor  of  a noted  family.  Many  dis- 
tinguished families  of  Kentucky,  among  whom 
are  the  Mhckliffes,  Helms,  McHenrys,  Gofers, 
Ewings,  Bufords,  Caldwells,  Estills,  Fields, 
etc.,  trace  their  lineage  back  to  the  Har- 
din brothers,  who,  nearly  300  years  ago,  fled 
to  the  wilds  of  America,  that  unrestricted 
they  might  enjoy  their  I’eligious  opinions. 

Gen.  Hardin,  the  pioneer  of  Breckinridge 
County,  as  we  have  seen,  was  a Virginian, 
though  broiight  up  mostly  in  Pennsylvania, 
having  removed  to  the  latter  State  with  his  | 
parents  when  quite  young.  Upon  attaining 
his  manhood  he  married  Winifred  Holtzclaw. 
The  result  of  this  union  was  eight  children, 
as  follows;  Winney  Ann,  who  married  M'ill- 
iam  Comstock,  of  Hardinsburg;  Henry,  a 
prominent  farmer  of  this  county,  who  died 
about  1855;  Malinda,  who  married  AVilliam 
Crawford,  the  brother  of  Mrs.  Jo  Allen; 
M’illiam,  who  served  several  terms  in  the 
Legislature,  Anally  moved  to  Frankfort,  and 
was  postmaster  of  that  city  for  several  years; 
Elijah,  who  was  killed  at  Houston’s  Spring 
in  1805;  Amelia,  who  married  Horace  Merry ; 

J ohn,  who  died  near  Brownsville,  Penn. , in 
1850,  and  Jehu,  who  died  in  Hardinsburg 
some  years  ago.  In  addition  to  his  own  chil- 
dren Gen.  Hardin  reared  a nephew  and  niece, 
Daniel  Hardin,  and  Mary,  his  sister.  The 
latter  married  Bon  Huff,  the  first  sheriff  of 
the  county. 

Gen.  Hardin  was  a man  of  great  personal 
courage,  brave  as  a lion,  cool  and  self-pos- 
sessed in  the  midst  of  danger,  and  well  skilled 
in  all  the  arts  of  border  warfare.  Of  giant 
stature,  and  a noted  Indian  fighter,  he  be- 
came a terror  to  the  savages  and  was  known 
among  the  tribes  as  “Big  Bill.”  Every  de- 
vice and  stratagem  was  practiced  l^y  the  In- 
dians to  secure  Hardin's  scalp,  so  bitter  was 
their  hatred  and  so  great  their  dread  of  him. 
One  morning,  preparatory  to  going  on  a hunt, 
he  fired  off  his  gun  outside  the  stockade  and 
began  wiping  it  out.  An  Indian,  who  had 
been  lying  in  concealment  for  the  purpose  of 
getting  a shot  at  some  venturesome  white, 
now  sprang  from  his  covert,  aimed  his  gun 
at  Hardin,  and  tauntingly  exclaimed:  “Ugh! 
Big  Bill.  ’ ’ The  pause  was  fatal  to  the  sav- 
age; Hardin  knocked  his  gun  aside,  and  with 
his  own  gun  clubbed  out  the  Indian's  brains. 
But  he  did  not  always  escape  scathless.  He 
was  several  times  wounded.  Once,  in  a skir- 


mish with  the  savages,  he  was  shot  through 
both  thighs  and  his  horse  killed  under  him. 
The  Indians  thought  he  too  was  killed,  and 
reported  in  their  towns  that  “Big  Bill  ” was 
dead.  When  he  recovered  and  was  again 
seen  by  them,  their  superstitious  fears  got  the 
better  of  them,  and  they  fled  panic-stricken, 
believing  they  were  pursued  by  ‘ ‘ old  Har- 
din’s ghost.”  Once,  v/hile  standing  picket, 
as  was  the  custom  on  the  fi'ontier,  over  those 
who  were  at  work  in  the  field  near  his  fort, 
he  was  fired  on  by  Indians  and  severely 
wounded,  and  his  life  probably  saved  by  a 
brave  girl,  named  Sally  McDonald,  who  was 
among  those  in  the  field  planting  corn,  and 
bravely  assisted  him  in  reaching  the  fort  after 
the  others  had  fled. 

Such  was  Gen.  Hardin,  the  pioneer  of 
Breckinridge  County,  and  the  founder  of 
[ Hardinsburg,  one  of  the  oldest  towns  (1782) 

I in  Kentucky.  He  owned  a great  deal  of  land 
! at  one  time  in  the  present  counties  of  Breck- 
[ inridge,  Hardin,  Meade,  Grayson,  Ohio  and 
Hancock,  but  his  house  was  burned,  and 
thus  his  deeds  and  patents  were  mostly  de- 
stroyed. By  this  accident  he  lost  much  of  the 
lands  rightfully  belonging  to  him,  and  to 
which  his  descendants  are  entitled,  many  of 
whom  still  live  in  the  county  and  the  State. 
His  house,  which  he  rebuilt,  stood  on  the 
I bluff,  overlooking  Hardin’ s Creek,  in  the  w'est- 
I ern  part  of  the  town,  and  until  within  the  last 
decade  or  two  v/as  a well  known  land  mark. 
But  the  old  hero  and  pioneer,  the  compeer  of 
Daniel  Boone,  Benjamin  Logan  and  Simon 
Kenton,  sleeps  in  an  obscure  and  neglected 
grave.  Men  sometimes  achieve  recognition 
and  fame,  as  Enoch  Arden  did,  after  death; 
but  Gen.  Hardin  lived  out  the  measiire  of  his 
days,  died  and  rests  in  a grave  unmarked 
even  by  a rude  bowlder,  while  his  fast  reced- 
ing memory  remains  unhonored  and  unsung. 
He  deserves  better  than  this;  he  deserves 
better  than  this  fi'om  us,  for  he,  and  those  of 
his  kind,  wrought  for  us  a rich  and  enduring 
legacy  in  the  noblest  civilization  the  Avorld 
has  ever  known. 

John  Breckinridge,  for  Avhom  this  county 
was  named,  and  the  progenitor  of  the  Breck- 
inridge family  in  Kentucky,  was  born  in  1700. 
He  came  to  Kentucky  in  1793,  and  settled  in 
Fayette  County,  near  Lexington.  His  pater- 
nal ancestors  were  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians, 
who,  after  the  restoration  of  Charles  II,  were 
persecuted  in  their  native  country,  and  to  es- 
cape which  they  finally  immigrated  to  A^ir- 
ginia.  His  mother,  Lettice  Preston,  who  was 
the  second  wife  of  his  father,  was  the  oldest 
child  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Patton)  Preston. 
AAhen  very  young  his  father  removed  to 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


565 


Botetoiirt  County  (Virginia),  then  the  frontier 
of  civilization.  There,  exposed  to  all  the 
dangers  of  a wilderness  country  infested  with 
Indians,  he  grew  to  manhood.  In  1785  he 
was  married  to  Mary  Hopkins  Cabell,  a daugh- 
ter of  Col.  Joseph  Cabell,  of  Buckingham 
County.  He  was  elected  to  the  Virginia 
House  of  Burgesses  from  the  county  of  Bote- 
tourt when  only  nineteen  years  of  age.  The 
election  was  twice  set  aside  on  account  of  his 
youth,  and  on  the  third  time,  against  his  own 
wishes  and  remonstrances,  he  was  permitted 
to  take  his  seat.  As  a lawyer  no  man  of  his 
day  excelled  him,  and  as  a statesman,  none 
of  his  day  and  generation  occupied  a more 
commanding  position,  or  enjoyed  a mure  ab- 
solute popularity.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
all  the  important  questions  that  agitated 
Kentucky  from  1793  to  1806,  and  the  second 
constitution  of  the  State  (1799),  for  fifty  years 
preserved  unaltered,  was  more  the  work  of 
his  hand,  perhaps,  than  of  any  other  man.* 
Says  his  biographer; 

“He  was  the  undoubted  leader  of  the  old  Demo- 
cratic party,  which  came  into  power  with  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson, as  President,  and  under  whose  administra- 
tion he  was  made  attorney-general  of  the  United 
Stales.  He  was  an  ardent  personal  and  political  friend 
of  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  coincided  with  him  upon  the 
great  principles  of  the  old  Democracy,  concerting 
with  liim  and  IMr.  Madison,  and  others  with  kindred 
views,  the  movements  which  brought  the  Demo- 
cratic party  into  power.  He  supported  the  interests 
of  that  party  with  ability  in  the  Legislature  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  in  tlie  Senate  of  the  United  States;  and 
died  as  much  beloved,  honored  and  trusted  by  it 
as  any  man  he  left  behind.” 

Mr.  Breckinridge  died  upon  his  farm,  in 
Fayette  County,  December  14,  1800,  in  the 
forty- sixth  year  of  his  age.  His  family  con- 
sisted of  nine  children,  and  amono-  his  de- 
scendants  have  been  some  illustrious  and  dis- 
tinguished men — one  of  the  most  noted,  John 
C.  Breckinridge,  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States  under  James  Buchanan. 


Bullitt  County  was  the  twentieth  in  the 
State,  and  was  formed  in  1796  from  parts  of 
Jefferson  and  Nelson  Counties.  It  is  bound- 
ed on  the  north  by  Jefferson  County;  on  the 
east  by  Spencer;  on  the  south  by  Nelson  and 
Hardin;  on  the  west  by  Hardin,  and  is  wa- 
tered and  drained  by  the  Bolling  Fork  and 
Salt  Kiver  and  a number  of  small  streams. 
The  land  is  generally  fertile,  and  is  diversi- 
fied between  level  plains  and  hills.  The  Mul- 
drow  Hills,  extending  through  the  southern 
part  of  the  county,  have  a somewhat  romantic 
and  picturesque  appearance.  Many  of  the 
knobs  or  peaks  are  from  350  to  400  feet  high. 


and  are  covered  with  tall  pine  trees.  Iron 
ore  abounds  in  these  hills,  and  extends  along 
Cane  Bun  southwardly  into  Nelson  Coun- 
ty. Prof.  Bobert  Peter,  chemist  to  the  State 
Geological  Survey,  has  made  several  analyses 
of  the  ores  in  this  county  which  showed 
32.62,  43.46,  31.30  and  23.80  per  cent  of 
iron.  The  quality  of  iron  made  from  these 
ores  is  soft  and  tough.  The  ore  is  said  to  be 
uniform,  and  with  limestone  and  plenty  of 
fuel  convenient,  and  the  Louisville  & Nash- 
ville Bailroad  passing  through  the  ore  beds, 
there  is  no  reason  why  these  hills  should  not 
be  alive  with  forges,  furnaces  and  foundries. 

The  county  was  named  in  honor  of  Alex- 
ander Scott  Bullitt,  the  first  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor of  the  State.  He  was  born  in  Virginia 
in  1761,  and  was  a son  of  Cuthbert  Bullitt,  a 
lawyer  of  some  distinction,  and  at  one  time 
judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  Virginia.  He 
came  to  Kentucky  in  1784,  and  settled  in 
what  now  forms  Shelby  County,  but  soon  af- 
ter removed  into  Jefferson  County.  He  was 
a member  of  the  convention  that  formed  the 
first  constitution,  and  several  times  repre- 
sented his  county  in  the  Legislature.  In 
1799  he  was  elected  to  the  Constitutional 
Convention  which  framed  the  second  consti- 
tution. This  constitution  provided  for  a 
lieutenant-governor,  and  Mr.  Bullitt  was 
elected  to  the  position,  thus  being  the 
first  to  fill  the  new  office.  He  served  one 
term  under  Gov.  Garrard.  He  was  frequently 
a member  of  the  Legislature  after  this,  and 
in  ISUS  retired  from  public  life.  He  died  on 
his  farm  in  Jefferson  County  in  1816,  in  the 
fifty-sixth  year  of  his  age. 

Shepherdsville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  one  of 
the  old  towns  in  the  State,  and  dates  back 
more  than  a hundi’ed  years.  It  stands  on  the 
site  of  the  frontier  station  known  as  ' ‘ Mud 
Garrison.”  and  which  was  established  in 
I 1778.  The  town  was  incorporated  in  1793, 

! and  in  1880 — nearly  100  years  later — it  had 
[ but  299  inhabitants.  It  is  situated  on  the 
, north  bank  of  Salt  Kiver,  where  the  main  line 
I of  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Bailroad  crosses 
! that  ‘‘  classic  stream,”  and  is  eighteen  miles 
from  Louisville.  It  is  too  near  to  Louisville, 
and  already  too  old  to  ever  become  a large 
city. 

Mount  "Washington,  northeast  of  Shep- 
herdsville, is  the  largest  town  in  the  county, 
having,  by  the  last  census,  a population  of 
387.  Pitts’  Point,  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Kollino-  Fork  and  Salt  Biver,  is  a thrivingr 
business  place.  Other  villages,  postoffices 
and  railroad  stations  are  Bardstown  June 
tion,  Belmont,  Mount  Vitio,  Cane  Spring, 
Lebanon  Junction,  etc. 


♦History  of  Fayette  Couaty,  p.  olO. 


506 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


A number  of  forts  or  stations  were  erected,  i 
in  what  is  now  Bullitt  County,  very  early. 
These  were  Brashear’s  Station,  at  the  mouth  j 
of  Floyd’s  Fork,  and  established  in  ITUO; 
Bullitt’s  Lick,  discovered  in  1773,  and  three 
miles  from  where  Shepherdsville  now  stands; 
Clear’s  Station,  Mud  Garrison,  the  present 
site  of  Shepherdsville;  Dowdall’ s Station,  on 
Salt  River;  Fort  Nonsense,  Whitaker’s  Sta- 
tion, etc.  Of  these  stations,  Bullitt’s  Lick 
was  by  far  the  most  important.  It  was  the 
place  where  the  first  salt  was  manufactured 
in  Kentucky,  and  frequently  from  500  to 
1,000  men  were  to  be  found  there  engaged 
in  making  salt,  buying  and  selling  it,  and  in 
ffuardincj  those  at  work  from  the  attack  of 
Indians.  For  some  time  all  the  settlements 
in  Kentucky  were  supplied  with  salt  from  this 
place,  as  well  as  the  settlements  in  the  Illi- 
nois country.  It  was  a place  of  bustling  ac- 
tivity when  Louisville  was  but.  a mass  of 
swami)s;  and  Lexington  was  a block- house 
with  a few  cabins  around  it;  when  “ the  buf- 
falo slept  in  security  around  the  base  of  Cap- 
itol Hill,  and  the  red  man  claimed  the  coun- 
try for  his  hunting-ground.” 

Henry  Crist,  a brave  pioneer,  and  a man 
of  considerable  prominence,  was  a settler  of 
this  county.  He  was  born  in  Virginia  in 
17()4.  He  came  to  Bullitt’s  Lick  when  it 
was  in  the  zenith  of  its  prosperity,  and  took 
a prominent  part  in  many  of  the  stirring 
events  that  occurred  around  the  salt  works. 
In  one  he  was  wounded  by  a shot  from  an 
Indian’s  rille.  and  for  several  days  remained 
in  the  woods  unable  to  reach  the  lick.  He 
finally  crawled  thithej-  on  his  hands  and  knees, 
and  was  more  dead  than  alive  when  he  ar- 
rived. For  a long  time  his  recovery  was 
doul)tfnl,  and  it  was  a year  before  he  was 
himself  again.  Hew'as  afterward  a member 
of  the  State  Legislature,  and  in  18U8  was 
elected  to  Congress.  He  lived  to  the  age  of 
eighty,  and  died  at  his  home  in  this  county. 


Butler  County  was  carved  out  of  Logan 
and  Ohio  Counties,  and  was  formed  in  1810. 
It  stands  fifty-third  in  the  list  of  counties, 
and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Ohio  and 
Grayson  Counties;  on  the  east  l.iy  Edmonson 
and  Grayson;  on  the  south  by  Warren  and 
Lyon;  on  the  west  l.iy  Midilenburg,  and  in 
1880  had  a population  of  12,181.  It  is 
drained  by  the  Green  River,  w'hich  flows 
nearly  through  the  center  in  a northwesterly 
direction,  and  numerous  small  tributaries. 
The  county  is  quite  hilly,  and  much  of  it  is 
too  poor  and  broken  for  agricultural  purposes, 


but  is  well  adapted  to  fruit  growing  and 
grazing.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  coun- 
ty is  considerable  fine  farming  land.  Coal 
abounds  in  the  hills,  and  for  many  years  has 
been  mined,  and  shipped  by  way  of  the 
Green  River.  Salt  was  formerly  manufac- 
tured quite  extensively,  but  of  late  years  has 
been  virtually  abandoned.  Much  of  the 
county  is  heavily  timbered,  and  lumber  and 
rafts  of  logs  are  every  year  floated  out  of 
the  Green  River. 

Morgantown,  the  county  seat^  is  a small 
town  situated  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Green 
River,  about  twenty  miles  below  Bowling 
Green.  It  has  a brick  court  house,  a bank, 
two  newspapers,  several  churches  and  a num- 
ber of  prosperous  stores.  By  the  last  census 
(1880)  it  had  but  204  inhabitants.  Roches- 
ter is  also  situated  on  the  Green  River,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Muddy,  and  is  a place  of  con- 
siderable commercial  importance.  It  has 
one  of  the  finest  flouring-mills  in  this  section, 
and  several  large  tobacco  warehouses.  It 
was  incorporated  in  1839,  and  in  1880  had  a 
population  of  189.  "Woodbury  is  a place  of 
190  inhabitants,  and  is  situated  at  Lock  and 
Dam  No.  4,  on  the  Green  River.  There  are 
a number  of  other  small  villages  in  the  coun- 
ty, viz..  Sugar  Grove,  Brooklyn,  Forgyville, 
Reedyville,  Aberdeen,  Harreldsville  and 
Flowersville. 

Settlements  were  made  in  Butler  County 
while  it  was  yet  a part  of  Logan  and  Ohio 
Counties.  Among  the  early  settlers  were 
Francis  M.  Berry,  who  settled  on  the  Big 
Muddy  River,  and  died  at  the  age  of  ninety 
years;  AVilliam  Carson;  the  Clarks,  who  set- 
tled on  Green  River;  John  Burriss,  George 
W.  Caldwell  and  others. 

Butler  County  was  named  for  Gen.  But- 
ler, a native  of  Pennsylvania  and  a prom- 
inent officer  and  soldier  in  the  Revolution- 
ary war.  He  was  in  St.  Clair’s  memorable  de- 
feat in  Ohio  (1793),  and  commanded  the  left 
wing  of  the  ill-fated  army.  He  was  wounded 
early  in  the  action,  and  shortly  after  was 
tomahawked  by  the  Indians. 


Caldwell  County  perpetuates  the  name  of 
Gen.  John  Caldwell,  a gallant  officer  and  a 
prominent  man  and  politician  of  his  time. 
It  was  carved  out  of  Livingston  in  1809,  and 
was  the  fifty-first  county  organized  in  the 
State.  It  lies  west  of  the  Cumberland  River, 
and  is  drained  by  its  tributaries  and  the 
Trade  water  and  its  tributaries.  It  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Crittenden,  Webster  and 
Hopkins  Counties;  on  the  east  by  Hopkins 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


561 


and  Christian;  on  the  south  by  Trigg  and 
Lyon;  on  the  west  by  Lyon  and  Crittenden, 
and  in  1880  it  had  11,282  inhabitants.  The 
land  is  generally  rolling,  rich  and  productive. 
The  “golden  wheat  belt”  of  the  Green 
River  section  passes  through  the  county,  and 
will  show  some  as  magniticent  farms  as  may 
be  found  in  the  State.  The  products  of  the 
county  are  grain,  tobacco  and  grass;  also 
stock  is  exported  from  portions  of  the  county. 
The  following  are  the  statistics  for  1880: 
Corn,  707,609  bushels;  oats,  34,776;  wheat, 
51,468;  tobacco,  3,215,602  iDOunds;  horses 
and  mules,  4,218  head;  cattle,  5,787;  sheep, 
5,675,  and  hogs,  23,198. 

Princeton,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
on  the  Cumberland  River,  where  the  Chesa- 
peake, Ohio  & Southwestern  Railroad 
crosses  it.  It  is  a place  of  1,234  inhabitants 
(in  1880)  and  has  a handsome  brick  court 
house,  several  churches,  some  of  them  quite 
elegant,  two  newspapers,  a number  of  fine 
stores  and  residences,  and  is  a live,  prosperous 
town.  Considerable  manufacturing  is  carried 
on  on  a small  scale. 

Princeton  College,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church,  is  situ- 
ated here.  It  was  established  in  1860,  and 
reorganized  under  a new  charter  in  1880. 
It  has  a full  corps  of  experienced  teachers, 
and  the  course  of  study  is  extensive  and 
thorough.  Many  prominent  men  of  Ken- 
tucky and  adjoining  States  have  been  educated 
in  this  popular  institution. 

Fredonia,  situated  in  the  Fredonia  V alley, 
the  finest  farming  region  in  the  county,  is  a 
small  village  of  191  inhabitants,  by  the  last 
census.  It  is  quite  an  enterprising  little 
town.  Other  villages  and  railroad  stations 
are  Farmersville,  Cresswell,  Sims’  Store, 
Friendship,  Scottsburg,  Dulaney  and  Trade- 
water — the  last  three  being  situated  on  the 
railroad. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  Caldwell 
County  were  the  Blacks,  James  Rucker,  the 
Boyds,  the  Maxwells,  James  Wadlington,  etc. 
They  all  settled  in  the  county  before  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  century,  and  that,  too, 
before  the  formation  of  the  county.  The 
first  representative  in  the  Legislature  from 
this  county,  after  its  formation,  was  John 
Mercer,  who  served  several  terms. 

John  Caldwell,  for  whom  this  county  was 
named,  was  a native  of  Virginia,  and  came  to 
Kentucky  in  1781,  locating  near  the  present 
town  of  Danville.  He  participated  in  the 
Indian  wars  of  the  time,  and  arose  from  the 
ranks  to  a major-general  of  the  militia.  He 
belonged  to  one  of  the  prominent  families  of 
Kentucky,  a family  that  has  turned  out  some 


distinguished  men.  He  served  several  terms 
in  the  State  Senate  and  in  the  Legislature, 
and  in  1804  was  elected  lieutenant-governor 
under  Christopher  Greenup,  but  died  No- 
vember 19  following,  at  Frankfort,  during  the 
session  of  the  Legislature. 


Calloway  County  is  of  rather  recent  forma- 
tion (1822),  and  was  originally  a part  of  Hick- 
2uan.  It  is  the  seventy-second  of  the  118  coun- 
ties in  the  State,  and  bears  the  name  of  Col. 
Richard  Calloway,  a prominent  man  in  the  ear- 
ly history  of  the  commonwealth.  The  county, 
at  the  time  of  its  formation,  included  Marshall 
County.  It  is  situated  in  the  Jackson  Pur- 
chase, and  has  the  Tennessee  River  for  its 
eastern  boundary,  with  the  State  of  Tennes- 
see on  the  south.  Graves  County  on  the  w’est, 
and  Marshall  County  on  the  north.  It  is 
watered  by  the  Tennessee , Blood  and  Clark’ s 
Rivers  and  their  tributaries,  and  in  1880  had 
a population  of  13, 295.  The  county  is  gen- 
erally level,  the  western  part  being  nearly  as 
level  as  a prairie,  and  was  what  was  called 
‘ ‘ ’oarren  ’ ’ land,  but  at  present  it  is  covered 
with  timber.  The  soil  is  fertile,  and  is  well 
adapted  to  tobacco,  which  is  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal products  of  the  county.  Other  crops 
and  stock,  however,  receive  due  attention, 
the  statistics  in  1880  being  as  follows:  Corn, 
780,839  bushels;  oats,  33.050;  wheat.  47  890; 
tobacco,  3.477, 520  pounds;  horses  and  mules, 
4.285  head:  cattle,  6,062;  sheep,  7,296,  and 
hogs,  27,499. 

Calloway  County  was  not  settled  as  early 
as  Kentucky  east  of  the  Tennessee  River. 
Among  its  first  settlers  were  James  Stewart 
and  David  Jones,  who  came  about  1818,  and 
settled  near  where  the  town  of  IVadesborough 
was  afterward  laid  out.  A number  of  hunt- 
ers came  to  the  county  the  next  year,  but 
there  is  no  record  of  permanent  settlements 
being  made  by  them.  One  of  the  early  prom- 
inent settlers  of  the  county  was  Banester 
IVade,  who  first  visited  the  county  as  early  as 
1817-18.  He  settled  permanently  about 
1820,  and  is  described  as  a noble  specimen  of 
the  pioneer.  Other  early  settlers  were  Sam- 
uel IVatson,  "William  Smith.  Whlliam  Derring- 
ton  and  the  Duncan  family.  Slany  of  these 
have  descendants  still  living  in  the  county, 
and  who  are  among  its  prominent  citizens. 

Murray,  the  present  seat  of  justice  of  Cal- 
loway County,  is  a modern  town,  and  was 
laid  out  as  the  county  seat  in  1843.  It  is  a 
place  of  636  inhabitants,  and  has  three 
churches,  a fine  educational  institution,  a 
newspaper,  several  flourishing  stores,  a sub- 


568 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


stantial  brick  court  bouse,  and  some  band- 
some  residences.  Tbe  Murray  Institute 
building  is  one  of  tbe  finest  school  edibces 
west  of  tbe  Tennessee  lliver,  and  cost  about 
$17,500.  By  a special  act  of  tbe  Legislature 
tbe  institute  is  authorized  to  grant  State  cer- 
tificates to  its  g]-aduates. 

'Wadesborougb  was  tbe  second  town  laid  out 
in  tbe  Purchase  District,  and  was  tbe  first  seat 
of  justice  of  this  county.  It  was  laid  out 
about  1821,  and  named  in  honor  of  Banester 
"Wade,  one  of  tbe  early  settlers  of  tbe  county, 
and  a prominent  pioneer  of  western  Ken- 
tucky. At  one  time  it  was  tbe  most  promi- 
nent town  in  tbe  Jackson  Purchase,  and  was 
tbe  seat  of  the  Government  land  office.  Tbe 
purchase  was  surveyed,  under  tbe  congres- 
sional law,  into  sections  and  townsbijrs,  and 
this  necessitated  tbe  establishment  of  a land 
office  in  tbe  district.  After  tbe  public  lands 
bad  all  been  sold,  tbe  prosperity  of  tbe  town 
began  to  wane,  and  when,  in  1843,  tbe  seat 
of  justice  was  moved  to  Murray,  and  most  of 
tbe  citizens  located  there  too,  a general  de- 
cay fastened  itself  upon  tbe  town,  and  now 
‘ ‘ the  spider  weaves  bis  web  in  her  palaces, 
the  owl  sings  bis  watch  song  in  her  towers.  ’ ’ 
At  tbe  present  time  it  has  but  about  seventy- 
five  inhabitants.  Other  towns  and  postoffices 
are  New  Concord,  Pleasant  Hill  or  ‘‘Pool 
Town,”  Crossland,  Shiloh,  New  Providence, 
Bacbusburg,  NewTerg,  Coldwater,  etc. 

This  county  took  an  active  interest  in  tbe 
late  civil  war,  and  turned  out  a large  number 
of  soldiers,  mostly  for  tbe  Confederate  Army. 
Says  Collins: 

Foi't  Heimau,  ou  the  west  bank  of  the  Tennes- 
see River,  in  the  southwest  corner  of  Calloway 
County,  was  occupied  for  some  time  by  Confeder- 
ate forces  under  Gen.  Abram  Buford,  with  one  brig- 
ade of  cavalry,  one  regiment  (Third  Kentucky)  of 
mounted  infantry,  under  Col.  6.  A.  C.  Holt,  and  a 
battery  of  light  artillery.  These  constituted  the 
left  wing  of  the  Confederate  Army  of  Gen.  Forrest, 
when  he  made  his  successful  assault  on  Johnsou- 
ville,  Tenn.,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Tennessee 
River,  November  4 and  5,  1864.  Col.  A.  P.  Thomp- 
son, of  this  county,  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  (the 
Third  Kentucky,  Confederate  States  Army),  was 
killed  in  the  desperate  assault  ou  Paducah,  in 
March,  1864,  and  Col.  G.  A.  C.  Holt  succeeded  to 
the  command. 


Campbell  County  was  organized  in  1794 
from  parts  of  Scott,  Harrison  and  Mason 
Counties,  and  was  tbe  nineteentb.  Pendle- 
ton, Boone,  Kenton  and  part  of  Grant  Coun- 
ties bave  since  been  formed  out  of  its  suioer- 
fluous  territory.  It  is  one  of  tbe  counties 
bordering  tbe  Obio  lliver,  and  is  well  sup- 
plied with  w'ater  highways,  having  tbe  Obio 
on  its  north  and  east,  and  tbe  Licking  lliver 


on  tbe  west;  Pendleton  County  borders  it  on 
tbe  south.  It  alternates  between  rich,  level 
bottoms,  and  uplands,  tbe  latter  somewhat 
broken  and  billy.  Tbe  bottoms  yield  gram 
and  grasses  in  profusion,  while  tbe  uplands 
produce  corn,  oats,  wheat  and  tobacco,  and 
to  some  extent,  small  fruits.  In  1880  it  bad 
37,440  inhabitants.  Tbe  county  was  named 
in  honor  of  Col.  John  Campbell,  “a  native,” 
says  bis  biographer,  “of  Ireland,”  but  tbe 
name  is  so  decidedly  Scotch  that  evidently  be 
was  of  Scotch  descent.  He  came  to  Ken- 
tucky very  early,  and  became  a man  of  prom- 
inence. He  served  in  tbe  Legislature,  and  as 
State  senator  from  Jefferson  County,  where 
be  settled.  He  never  married,  and  when  be 
died  bis  large  estate  was  divided  among  dis- 
tant heirs. 

Newport  is  tbe  third  largest  city  in  tbe 
State,  and  is  situated  on  tbe  Obio  River  at 
tbe  mouth  of  the  Licking  and  opposite  tbe 
city  of  Cincinnati.  By  tbe  last  census  it  bad 
a population  of  20,432.  Sometimes  it  is  tbe 
seat  of  justice  and  sometimes  it  is  not.  It 
was  incorporated  in  1795,  tbe  next  year  after 
tbe  formation  of  tbe  county,  and  remained 
tbe  county  seat  for  many  years,  when  the  seat 
of  justice  was  transferred  to  tbe  town  of  Alex- 
andria. On  tbe  subject  Mr.  Collins  has  tbe 
following: 

The  first  courts  of  Campbell  County  met,  by  law, 
at  Wilmington,  on  the  Licking  River,  twenty-two 
miles  from  Newport,  but  the  county  seat  was  after- 
ward located  at  Newport.  In  1827  a law  was  passed 
fixing  it  at  Visalia,  a site  supposed  to  be  the  center 
of  the  county,  near  the  present  Canton  Station  on 
the  Kentucky  Central  Railroad,  and  courts  were 
held  there  tliat  year.  Visalia  was  not  the  center, 
and  the  court  house  was  launched  for  Pond  Creek, 
a little  lower  down  on  the  Licking;  but  by  the 
shrewdness  of  interested  parties  it  landed  at  New- 
port, and  was  made  fast  until  1840,  when,  on  the 
erection  of  Kenton  County  out  of  that  portion 
lying  west  of  tlie  Licking  River,  tlie“  center”  idea 
again  prevailed,  and  Alexandria  became  the  perma- 
nent county  seat.  At  Newport,  by  a progressive 
series  of  legislative  acts,  are  held  the  long  terms  of 
the  circuit,  criminal,  and  chancery  courts.  Camp- 
bell has  thus  practically  two  county  seats. 

Newport  is  well  supplied  witb  religious 
and  educational  facilities,  having  some  dozen 
or  more  bandsome  cburcbes,  and  a very  fine 
system  of  public  schools.  It  is  connected 
witb  Cincinnati  by  a magnificent  bridge, 
opened  to  tbe  public  in  1872.,  having  a rail- 
road track,  passage  way  for  vehicles,  and 
sidewalks  for  pedestrians.  It  is  also  con- 
nected witb  Covington  by  a wire  suspension 
bridge  across  tbe  Licking  River.  This 
bridge  was  opened  in  January,  1854,  and 
within  tw'o  weeks  afterward  (January  16)  it 
fell.  At  tbe  time  of  its  fall  there  were  on  it 
nineteen  bead  of  cattle  and  two  men  on 
horseback.  Tbe  men  were  not  seriously  in- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


569 


jured,  but  one  horse  and  six  cattle  were 
killed.  It  cost  S36.000  to  rebuild  the 
bridge — over  half  its  original  cost. 

Belleview  is  quite  a modern  town,  and  was 
incorporated  in  1870.  It  is  situated  on  the 
Ohio  River,  and  is  separated  from  Newport 
by  Taylor  Creek.  In  ISSO  it  had  a popula- 
tion of  1,460;  it  is  an  enterprising  place  and 
growing  rapidly.  Dayton  is  a town  of  3,210 
by  the  last  census.  It  is  situated  on  the  Ohio, 
and  is  the  name  given  to  two  villages — James- 
town and  Brooklyn — which  were  consolidated. 
Alexandria,  the  coimty  seat,  is  situated  near 
the  western  line  of  the  county,  and  had  378 
inhabitants  in  1880.  California  and  Car- 


thage, both  on  the  Ohio  River,  are  small 
places. 

Settlements  were  made  early  in  Campbell 
County.  Some  of  the  pioneers  who  bore  the 
brunt  of  hardships  in  its  settlement  were 
Gen.  James  Taylor,  John  Hall,  John  Bush, 
Robert  Benham,  John  Ewing,  Thomas  Ken- 
nedy, John  Cook,  Thomas  Corwin.  John 
Craig,  Washington  Berry,  Charles  Daniel, 
Nathan  Kelly,  etc.  These  came  to  the  dark 
and  bloody  groimd  when  savages  were  plenty 
and  when  it  deserved  the  crimson  title. 
Many  of  them  have  descendants  still  living 
in  the  State. 

Among  the  prominent  men  of  Campbell 
County  are  Gen.  James  Taylor,  Hon.  Hemy 
Stanberry  and  Gen.  George  B.  Hodge.  Gen. 
Taylor  was  a native  of  Virginia,  and  was  born 
in  1769;  he  came  to  Kentucky  in  1791,  and 
was  the  first  clerk  of  Campbell  County.  He 
served  as  quartermaster-general  of  the 
army  of  the  northwest  diulng  the  war  of 
1812.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  cabal 
whose  object  was  to  displace  Gen.  Hull  and 
confer  upon  Gen.  McArthur  the  command 
of  the  fortress;  and  when  Hull  surrendered 
to  the  British.  Taylor  indignantly  refused  to 
assist  in  cKawing  up  the  articles  of  capitula- 
tion or  to  have  anything  to  do  with  • ‘ an  act 
so  disgraceful  to  the  American  arms.  ’ ’ Gen. 
Taylor  was  a man  of  energy  and  enterprise, 
and  accumulated  an  immense  fortune.  Says 
his  biographer: 

He  died  before  his  wife,  November  T,  1848,  on 
the  very  day  of  the  presidential  election.  By  the 
courtesy  of  the  judges,  who  went  to  his  chamber  to 
receive  his  vote,  he  had  the  inexpressible  satisfac- 
tion of  casting  it  for  his  friend  and  relative.  Gen. 
Zachary  Ta.ylor,  for  President  of  the  United  States. 
His  remark  on  giving  his  vote;  was  characteristic — 
“I  have  given  the  last  shot  for  my  country.” 

Hon.  Hemy  Stanberry  was  for  some  time  a 
resident  of  this  county.  He  was  a lawyer  of 
great  ability,  and  held  many  high  and  re 
sponsible  positions — one  of  the  most  impor 
tant  being  that  of  attorney-general  of  the 


Enited  States,  under  President  Andrew 
Johnson  (1866-68).  He  was  born  in  New 
AMrk  City  in  1803,  and  graduated  at  Wash- 
ington College,  Pennsylvania,  in  1819.  He 
was  associated  with  IVilliam  Groesbeck,  of 
Ohio,  Benjamin  R.  Curtis,  of  Massachusetts, 
and  Thomas  A.  R.  Nelson,  of  Tennessee,  in 
defense  of  President  Johnson,  before  the 
United  States  Senate  for  impeachment  in  the 
spring  of  1868.  After  that  he  resumed  the 
practice  of  law  in  the  United  States  courts  at 
Cincinnati,  in  the  supreme  court  of  Ohio,  at 
Columbus,  and  in  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  at  Washington. 

Gen.  George  B.  Hodge  was  born  in  Flem- 
ing County,  this  State,  in  1828.  He  was 
educated  in  Maysville,  and  at  the  naval 
academy,  Annapolis,  Md.,  from  which 
he  graduated  and  entered  the  navy  in 
1845.  He  was  at  the  siege  of  Yera  Cruz,  as 
aid  to  Com.  David  Connor,  and  served  as 
midship)man  diulng  the  Mexican  war.  He 
resigned  in  April,  1850.  Gen.  Hodge  en- 
gaged in  the  jaractice  of  law  in  Newyort,  and 
in  1859  was  elected  to  the  Legislatiue.  He 
entered  the  Confederate  Army  in  September, 
1861,  as  a private,  and  arose  by  I’egular 
gradation  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general, 
and  to  the  command  of  the  district  of  Mis- 
sissippi and  Louisiana.  He  also  served  in  the 
Confederate  Congress. 


Carlisle  Couxtt  is  the  youngest  civil 
division  of  the  State,  being  the  one  hundred 
and  eighteenth  county  in  the  order  of  forma- 
tion. The  official  act  creating  it  was  ap- 
proved April  3,  1886.  It  is  one  of  those 
superfluous  creations  ( in  the  way  of  counties) 
for  which  the  Kentucky  Legislatiue  is 
especially  noted,  and  was  originated  princi- 
pally for  political  pm’poses.  It  was  formed 
of  the  south  end  of  Ballard  County,  or  ‘ ‘ so 
much  thereof  as  lies  south  of  Mayfield 
Creek,  ’ ’ as  follows : ‘ • Beginning  in  the 

center  of  Alayfield  Creek  at  the  county  line 
of  Graves  and  Ballard  Counties;  thence  down 
said  creek  with  the  center  of  the  channel 
thereof  to  the  State  line  between  the  States 
of  Kentucky  and  Missouri;  thence  south  with 
said  line  to  the  northwest  corner  of  Hickman 
County ; thence  east  with  the  Hickman  County 
line  to  where  it  intersects  with  the  Graves 
County  line;  thence  with  the  Graves  County 
line  to  the  beffinningj.  ” 

The  new  county  lies  in  the  Jackson  Pur- 
chase, and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Bal- 
lard County;  on  the  east  by  Graves;  on  the 
south  by  Hickman;  on  the  west  by  the  Mis- 


670 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


sissippi  River,  and  was  named  in  h.onor  of 
John  G.  Carlisle,  present  speaker  of  the 
national  House  of  Representatives,  and  a 
native  Kentuckian.  Its  population  by  the 
last  census  is  given  with  Ballard  County,- as 
also  its  agricultural  productions  and  statistics. 
In  fact,  most  of  its  history  will  be  found  in 
the  sketch  of  Ballard  County. 

Bardwell,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  quite  an 
enterprising  little  town.  It  is  situated  on 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  near  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  county.  Other  villages, 
postoffices  and  stations  are  Arlington,  Kirby- 
ton,  Milburn,  Turner  and  Laketon. 


Carroll  County  lies  on  the  Ohio  River, 
and  was  formed  in  1838  from  a part  of  Galla- 
tin County.  It  was  the  eighty -seventh  county, 
and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  State  of 
Indaina,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  the 
Ohio;  on  the  east  by  Gallatin  County;  on  the 
south  by  Owen  and  Henry;  on  the  west  by 
Trimble,  and  in  1880  it  had  a population  of 
8,953.  This  is  one  of  the  counties  through 
which  the  Kentucky  River  flows.  Along  its 
bottoms,  as  well  as  the  Ohio  River  bottoms, 
is  some  fine  land,  rich  and  productive.  The 
land  away  from  the  streams  is  rather  hilly, 
but  fertile,  and  produces  well.  The  Short- 
line division  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville 
Railroad  passes  through  the  southeastern 
edge  of  the  county,  and,  together  with  its 
water  highways,  affords  excellent  outlet  for 
its  commerce. 

James  McBride  is  the  first  white  man  sup- 
posed to  have  gazed  upon  the  country  now 
embraced  in  Carroll  County.  In  1754  he 
came  down  the  Ohio  River  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Kentucky,  where  he  cut  the  initials  of  his 
name  upon  a tree,  together  with  the  date.  I 
Such  is  the  record.  The  historian,  Filson,  i 
claimed  that  McBride  was  the  first  white  man  j 
who  traversed  this  province,  of  whom  we  have 
certain  accounts.  But  Col.  Durrett,  the 
president  of  the  Filson  Club,  disputes  this, 
and  presents  the  most  indubitable  evidence 
that  white  people  visited  Kentucky  long  prior 
to  McBride,  from  Moscoso  ‘ ‘ who  sailed  along 
its  shore  to  the  Tennessee  line  in  1543,  La- 
Salle (who  was  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  in 
1669-70),  a Col.  lYood  (who  traveled  through 
the  country  in  1654),  to  Thomas  "Walker  in 
1750  and  Christopher  Gist  in  1751,”  etc. 
It  was  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  last  century, 
however,  that  actual  settlements  were  effected 
in  the  present  county.  A man  named  Elliott 
built  a cabin  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky 
River.  In  the  spring  of  1785  it  was  attacked 


by  Indians  and  Elliott  killed,  but  his  family 
made  their  escape.  In  1786  a Captain  Elli- 
son built  a block-house  near  the  same  place. 
The  Indians  several  times  drove  him  away. 
A few  years  later — about  1789 — Gen.  Charles 
Scott  built  a block-house  on  the  second  bank, 
which  he  strongly  fortified,  and  which  was 
occupied  by  whites  until  1792,  the  time  of  lay- 
ing out  Port  William,  afterward  Carrollton. 

Carrollton,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
on  the  Ohio  River  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ken- 
tucky, fifty  miles  below  Frankfort.  In  1880 
it  had  a population  of  1,332,  and  is  a pros- 
perous and  enterprising  place,  having  a num- 
ber of  manufactures  on  a small  scale.  It  is 
well  supplied  with  educational  and  religious 
facilities.  In  1794  it  was  incorporated 
(though  laid  out  two  years  before),  under 
the  name  of  Port  Wfrlliam,  a name  it  bore  for 
a number  of  years,  and  was  then  changed  to 
Carrollton,  the  name  of  Charles  Carroll’s  res- 
idence. Ghent,  the  next  largest  town  in  the 
county  (387  inhabitants),  is  on  the  Ohio,  eight 
miles  above  Carrollton.  It  was  laid  out  soon 
after  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  and  was 
named  for  the  city  where  the  treaty  of  peace 
was  signed  in  1814,  between  England  and  the 
United  States.  Prestonville,  with  183  in- 
habitants, and  "Worthville,  with  124,  are  en- 
terprising little  towns,  the  former  on  the 
Ohio,  and  the  latter  on  the  Kentucky  River. 

The  county  was  named  in  honor  of  Charles 
Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  one  of  the  signers  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  was 
a native  of  Maryland  and  was  born  in  1737. 
He  studied  law  in  England,  and  returned  to 
Maryland  and  entered  upon  an  active  public 
life.  He  served  in  the  Continental  Congress; 
afterward  in  the  State  Senate,  in  the  United 
States  Congress  and  Senate.  He  died  in 
1832,  at  the  age  of  ninety-live  years.  His 
biographer  relates  the  following  anecdote  of 
him: 

Immediately  after  he  placed  his  name  to  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  one  of  his  friends  joc- 
ularly remarked  that  if  the  British  got  hold  of  him 
they  would  not  know  whether  it  were  he  or  the 
Charles  Carroll,  of  Massachusetts,  who  had  signed 
the  Declaration;  consequently,  they  would  heat  a 
loss  which  to  hang  as  the  rebel.  “ In  order  ” said 
he,  “ that  there  may  be  no  mistake  about  that,  I will 
save  them  the  trouble  of  hanging  two  of  us,”  and 
instantly  affixed  his  residence  to  his  name,  and  was 
ever  afterward  known  as  “Charles  Carroll  of  Car- 
rollton.” 

The  Butler  family  was  one  of  the  promi- 
inent  families  of  Kentucky,  and  several  mem- 
bers have  been  residents  of  this  county.  One 
of  the  most  distinguished  of  these  w'as  Gen. 
William  O.  Butler,  a statesman,  soldier,  pol- 
itician and  scholar.  [See  chapter  on  the 
Mexican  War.] 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


571 


Carter  Couxty  was  formed  the  same  year  I 
(1838)  that  Carroll  was,  and  is  the  eigRty-  ! 
eighth  in  the  order  of  organization.  It  lies  j 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  and  is  brok- 
en and  hilly,  the  hills  abounding  in  coal  and 
iron  ore.  The  valleys  are  rich  and  produce 
well.  The  county  is  bounded  on  the  north 
by  Lewis  and  Glreenup  Counties;  on  the  east  j 
by  Boyd;  on  the  south  by  Elliott  and  Law- 
rence; on  the  west  by  Rowan,  and  in  1880  it 
had  12,345  inhabitants.  It  is  well  watered 
by  the  Little  Sandy  River  and  its  tributaries 
and  by  Tygart  Creek. 

The  county  was  named  for  Col.  Y'illiam  G. 
Carter.  At  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the 
county  he  was  State  senator  from  the  dis-  i 
trict  comprising  the  counties  of  Lewis,  Green- 
up and  Lawrence.  In  1847  he  removed  to  I 
Arkansas,  and  while  on  a visit  to  Lexington,  * 
in  1850,  he  died  with  the  cholera. 

Salt  was  manufactured  extensively,  in 
what  is  now  Carter  Ccmnty,  in  the  early  times, 
and  was  shipped  by  tiat-boats  and  by  wagons,  j 
The  Sandy  salines  were  known  to  the  early  ! 
settlers  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  and 
it  was  at  and  aljout  them  that  the  county 
was  first  settled.  As  early  as  1808  white 
people  were  to  be  found  at  the  salt  springs 
engaged  in  the  making  of  salt.  One  of  the 
most  prominent  of  these  was  Col.  Thomas 
Scott,  afterward  of  Lexington. 

Grayson,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  in 
the  southeast  part  of  the  county,  and  by  the 
last  census  had  a population  of  447.  It  is 
said  to  have  been  named  for  Robert  Grayson,  j 
once  aid-de-camp  to  Gen.  Washington;  but 
why  a town  in  Kentucky-  should  be  named  for  ! 
Washington’s  aid-de  camp  more  than  a quar- 
ter of  a centmy  after  Washington’s  death, 
does  not  appear.  It  is  a small  town,  but 
with  a considerable  energy  and  business  en-  ; 
terprise.  Other  towns  and  villages  are  Olive  : 
Hill,  Boone,  Geigersville,  Mount  Savage, 
Star,  etc. 

Carter  County  abounds  in  caves,  and  other 
natural  wonders,  xkmong  the  caves  which 
savor  somewhat  of  the  Midhatton  description, 
is  one  called  tlje  Bat  Cave,  in  consequence  ^ 
of  the  great  number  of  bats  that  inhabit  it.  j 
The  cave  is  large,  and  has  been  explored  to 
a distance  of  two  miles.  Another,  called  the  j 
X Cave,  is  less  extensive  but  said  to  surpass  I 
it  in  grandeur.  Still  another  is  called  Swin- 
gle’s Cave,  and  is  said  to  have  been  once  the  I 
rendezvous  of  a band  of  counterfeiters.  It  ' 
contained  saltpetre,  and  in  early  times  gun-  I 
powder  was  there  manufactured.  Laurel 
Cave  is  near  to  Swingle’s,  but  is  much 
smaller  in  dimensions.  On  the  east  side  of  ; 
Tygart  Creek  is  a quarry  of  hornstone  or  Hint,  i 


which  bore  evidence  of  having  been  worked, 
and  is  believed,  by  scientists,  to  have  been 
used  by  the  savages  for  procui’ing  stone  for 
their  arrow-heads.  Collins  thus  describes  a 
natui’al  bridge  in  this  county: 

About  sixteen  miles  from  Graj-son.  and  twenty- 
five  miles  from  Vanceburg,  on  tlie  Ohio  River,  is  a 
natural  bridge,  spanning  a small  stream  of  clear 
water,  called  Little  Cane}-,  which  falls  into  (the) 
Little  Sandy  River.  The  bridge  is  219  feet  in  the 
span,  196  feet  high,  12  feet  wide,  5 feet  thick  in  the 
center  of  the  arch,  and  30  feet  at  the  ends,  being 
arched  underneath,  and  level  on  top.  From  the 
bottom  of  the  ravine  a spruce  pine  has  grown  up  to  a 
height  of  4 feet  above  the  bridge,  making  its  entire 
height  200  feet.  The  sides  of  the  ravine  are  so  rug- 
ged, that  were  it  not  for  a natural  stairway,  a per- 
son desiring  to  descend  from  the  top  of  the  bridge  to 
the  ravine  below  would  have  to  walk  probably  two 
miles. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  bridge  are  two  creeks 
called  Big  ancl  Little  Sinkey,  which  rise, 
flow  two  miles  or  more,  and  then  sink  again 
into  the  ground.  There  was  an  artesian 
well  in  the  same  neighborhood,  which,  if  not 
natural,  the  question  arises — By  whom  was 
it  made  ? 


Casey  Couxty  lies  in  the  south-central  part 
of  the  State,  was  the  forty-sixth  county  organ- 
ized, and  dates  back  to  4806.  It  was  carved 
out  of  Lincoln  County,  and  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Boyle  County ; on  the  east  by  Lin- 
coln and  Pulaski;  on  the  south  by  Pulaski 
and  Russell  ; on  the  west  by  Taylor  and 
Adair,  and  by  the  last  census  (1880)  had 
10,983  inhalutants.  It  is  watered  and 
drained  by  the  Green  River  and  its  tributaries. 
The  surface  is  rough  and  broken,  and  the 
soil  rather  thin.  The  products  are  corn, 
oats,  wheat,  grass  and  tobacco,  the  statistics 
for  1880  being  corn,  491,243  bushels:  oats, 
7,604;  wheat,  39,087:  hay,  1,014  tons,  and 
tobacco,  07,449  pounds. 

The  settlement  of  this  county  is  common  to 
Lincoln,  as  it  formed  a part  of  Lincoln  up  to 
1806.  A few  words,  however,  of  Gen. 
Christopher  Rifl’e.  He  was  the  first  settler 
in  that  part  of  Lincoln  embraced  in  this 
county.  He  was  a native  of  Maryland,  and 
was  born  in  1765,  and  was  of  German  origin. 
In  1784  he  came  to  Kentucky,  locating  in 
Boiu’bon  County,  but  in  1788  came  here  and 
settled  at  Carpenter’s  Station.  He  was  a 
man  of  note,  and  served  a term  in  the  Legisla- 
ture. The  following  anecdote  is  related  of 
him. 

He  occupied  a seat  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives between  Henry  Clay  and  Humplire}'  Marshall, 
when  the  latter  gave  the  insult  which  resulted  in 
duel.  The  former  resented  it  on  the  spot,  attacking 
^larshall,  but  Riffe  (who  was  a tall,  muscular  and 
powerful  man),  seized  each  with  one  hand  and  held 


572 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


them  apart,  saying  earnestly:  '‘Come,  poys,  no 
fighting  here,  I whips  you  both,”  and  closed  the 
scene  for  the  present. 

Liberty,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  near 
the  center  of  the  county.  It  was  incorporat- 
ed in  1830,  and  is  well  , supplied  with  church 
and  school  facilities.  It  has  a number  of 
stores,  shops,  etc.,  and  is  quite  an  enter- 
prising little  town,  Middleburg,  Minton- 
ville  and  Caseyville  are  towns  of  small  pre- 
tentions in  the  county. 

This  county  was  named  in  honor  of  Col. 
AVilliam  Casey,  a native  of  Virginia,  who 
came  to  Kentucky  aboirt  1780.  His  first 
winter  was  spent  in  a camp  on  the  Hanging 
Fork  of  the  Dick’s  River,  where  he  remained 
until  1791,  when  he,  in  company  with  several 
families,  removed  to  Russell’s  Creek,  a trib- 
utary of  the  Green  River.  There,  fifty  miles 
from  any  other  human  habitation,  they  built 
a block-hoiise  or  station.  Though  few  in 
numbers,  they  were  a hardy  band  of  pioneers, 
hopeful,  courageous,  and  poor  in  the  world’s 
wealth;  they  were  men  with  iron  nerves,  and 
wills  as  firm  as  the  historic  granite  upon 
which  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  stepped  from  the 
deck  of  the  Mayfiower  in  1020.  They  re- 
posed the  most  unbounded  confidence  in 
Casey  as  a leader,  and  maintained  themselves 
gallantly  against  seveial  attacks  of  the  In- 
dians. 


Christian  County  is  one  of  the  richest  in 
the  Green  River  country.  It  was  formed  in 
1796,  and  was  the  twenty-first  in  order  of 
organization.  It  lies  on  the  Tennessee  line, 
and  is  bounded  north  by  Hopkins  and  Muhl- 
enburg  Counties;  east  by  Muhlenburg  and 
Todd;  south  by  the  State  of  Tennessee; 
west  by  Trigg  and  Caldwell,  and  by  the 
census  of  1880  had  a population  of  31,682. 
The  southern  half  of  the  county  is  as  fine 
land  as  there  is  in  Kentucky;  the  northern 
half  is  broken  and  hilly,  but  produces  well. 
Tobacco  is  the  staple  crop,  though  wheat, 
oats,  corn  and  the  grasses  are  extensively 
produced;  also  much  stock,  and  many  farm- 
ers are  taking  great  pains  to  improve  their 
stock.  The  agricultural  report  of  1880  shows 
the  following:  Corn,  1,430, 154 bushels:  oats,  j 
64,341;  wheat,  437,668;  tobacco,  12,577,-  ! 
574  pounds;  horses  and  mules,  9, 258  head;  I 
cattle,  10,189;  sheep,  9,514  and  hogs,  42,- 
834.  In  1880  Christian  County’s  produc-  j 
tion  of  tobacco  made  her  the  third  county  ' 
in  the  United  States  in  that  crop.  The  hills 
jn  the  northern  part  of  the  county  contain  j 
an  inexhaustible  supply  of  coal  and  iron  ore.  j 
It  is  watered  and  drained  by  the  Pond  River,  j 


Tradew'ater,  Little  River,  west  fork  of  the 
■Red  Rivex’,  and  numerous  small  streams. 

The  first  settlers  in  Christian  County  were 
John  Montgomery  and  James  Davis,  who 
came  about  1785,  and  are  believed  to  have 
been  from  Virginia.  But  little  is  known  of 
them  except  as  handed  down  by  tradition. 

I One  of  these  traditions  is,  that  they  trav- 
ersed the  country  to  Pittsburgh,  there  em- 
barked on  board  of  boats  or  canoes,  and,  sur- 
rounded by  innumerable  hardships  and 
jxerils,  passed  down  the  Ohio,  up  the  Cumber- 
land to  the  mouth  of  the  Red  River,  and  up 
that  stream  to  what  afterward  became 
Christian  County.  They  built  a block-house 
in  the  southeast  part  of  the  county.  Mont- 
gomery was  a surveyor  and  was  killed  by  the 
j Indians.  Davis  made  a permanent  settle- 
I ment  and  lived  in  the  county  for  a number 
j of  years,  but  finally  went  to  Missouri,  where 
he  died  at  a good  old  age. 

Hopkinsville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  one  of 
the  handsomest  towns  in  southern  Kentucky. 
It  was  laid  out  in  1797  by  Bartholomew 
Wood,  who  owned  the  land  upon  which  the 
town  stands,  and  who  was  a very  early  settler 
in  the  county.  The  town  was  originally 
called  Elizabethtown,  and  known  by  that 
name  for  some  years;  Ixut  Hardin  County, 
formed  four  years  previous  to  Christian, 
adopted  the  name  for  its  seat  of  justice,  and 
Christian  then  changed  hers  to  Hopkins- 
ville, in  honor  of  Gen.  Samuel  Hopkins,  a 
gallant  officer  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  It 
was  incorporated  in  1804,  and  by  the  last 
census  (1880)  had  4, 229  inhabitants.  Hop- 
kinsville has  three  banks;  two  newspapers; 
a handsome  brick  court  house;  one  of  the 
finest  public  school  buildings  in  the  State, 
outside  of  the  large  cities ; two  colleges ; several 
beautiful  churches;  a number  of  flourishing 
stores,  and  many  elegant  residences.  The 
St.  Louis  division  of  the  Louisville  & Nash- 
ville Railroad  passes  through  Hopkinsville, 
and  has  been  of  great  benefit  to  town  and 
county.  Hopkinsville  is  probably  the  finest 
and  most  extensive  tobacco  market  in  the 
State  outside  of  Louisville.  There  ai’e  a 
number  of  warehouses,  where  daily  sales 
occur. 

Lafayette  is  situated  in  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  county,  and  in  1880  had  a po)x- 
ulation  of  970;  Pembroke  is  on  the  railroad 
near  the  Todd  County  line,  and  had  in  1880 
a jDopulation  of  202 ; Crofton  is  in  the  north 
part  of  the  county,  on  the  railroad,  with  136 
inhabitants.  Otlier  villages  and  postoffices 
are  Petersburg,  F airview,  Longview,  Gar- 
retsburg.  Fruit  Hill,  White  Plains.  Bennetts- 
town,  St.  Elmo,  Belleview,  Oakland,  etc. 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


573 


The  Western  Lunatic  Asylum  is  located  at 
Hopkinsville.  An  historical  sketch,  with  a 
view  of  the  buildings,  is  given  in  a pre- 
ceding chapter  of  this  volume.  The  two 
colleges,  South  Kentucky  College  and  Bethel 
Female  College,  are  first-class  institutions; 
the  former,  for  boys,  has  a military  depart- 
ment; the  latter  is  exclusively  a female  insti- 
tution. 

The  coimty  was  named  for  Col.  William 
Christian,  a native  of  Virginia.  He  was  ed- 
ucated in  the  army  almost,  and  commanded 
a company  in  the  Braddock  campaign,  al- 
though very  young  at  the  time.  When  the 
Revolutionary  war  broke  out  he  was  appointed 
colonel  in  the  Virginia  line.  After  the  war 
he  served  several  terms  in  the  Legislature, 
and  in  1785  came  to  Kentucky.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  next  year,  in  a skirmish  with  the 
Indians,  he  was  killed. 

Christian  County  has  been  the  home  of 
some  prominent  men.  The  history  of  Chris- 
tian County,  issued  a few  years  ago  from  the 
press  of  the  F.  A.  Battey  Publishing  Com- 
pany, has  the  following: 

.John  M.  Paliner  was  born  September  13,  1817, 
and  soon  after  liis  birth  bis  father  removed  to 
Christian  Count}'.  He  received  such  education  as 
the  sparsely  settled  country  afforded,  and  in  1831 
his  father  removed  to  Illinois.  In  the  new  State  he 
received  the  advantage  of  eighteen  months  at  the 
Alton  College.  ■ He  studied  law  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1839,  and  opened  an  office  in  Carlin- 
ville.  He  soon  entered  politics,  was  probate 
judre,  a member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention, 
and  in  the  State  Senate.  When  tlie  civil  war  broke 
out  he  was  among  the  first  to  offer  his  services,  and 
was  made  colonel  of  the  Fourteenth  Illinois  Infant- 
ry. He  arose  to  the  rank  of  major-general,  and 
commanded  the  Fourteenth  Arm}'  Corps  in  the  At- 
lanta campaign.  In  February,  186.5,  he  was  as- 
signed to  the  military  administration  of  Kentucky. 

Gen.  Palmer  was  elected  governor  of  Illinois  in 
1868.  He  is  a statesman  of  high  order,  and  truly  a 
man  ot  the  people.  At  thisVime  (188(3)  he  is  one 
of  the  able  men  and  leading  politicians  of  the 
State. 

Joseph  Duncan,  elected  governor  of  Illinois  in 
1834,  was  at  one  time  a citizen  of  this  county.  He 
was  born  in  Paris,  Bourbon  Co.,  Ky.,  in  1794.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  war  of  1813,  and  having 
emigrated  to  Illinois,  his  first  appearance  there  as 
a public  man  was  as  major-general  of  the  militia. 
In  1826  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  was  re- 
elected a number  of  times  afterward.  His  adminis- 
tration as  governor  was  an  able  one.  though  to 
some  extent  unpopular,  owing  to  the  fact  tFat  he 
deserted  the  Jackson  party,  to  which  he  had  belong- 
ed, and  which  was  largely  in  the  ascendancy  in 
Illinois. 

Jefferson  Davis,  the  president  of  the  Confederate 
States  (so  called),  was  born  in  Cliristian  County, 
that  portion  afterward  stricken  off  into  Todd.  His  j 
father,  Samuel  Davis,  removed  to  Mississippi  when 
the  future  great  statesman  was  but  a child,  but  the  ' 
latter  returned  and  was  for  a time  a student  in  | 
Transylvania  University  at  Lexington.  In  1824  he  i 
entered  West  Point  Military  Academy,  from  which 
he  graduated  four  years  later.  He  "served  in  the 
Black  Hawk  war  in  Illinois,  and  other  campaigns  : 


against  the  Indians.  His  political  career  com- 
menced in  1844,  as  presidential  elector  for  Mr.  Polk; 
he  was  elected  to  Congress  in  184-5,  but  resigned  the 
next  year  to  take  command  of  a Mississippi  regi- 
ment in  the  Mexican  (\’ar.  He  was  promoted  briga- 
dier-general for  his  gallant  conduct  at  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista.  He  entered  the  United  States  Senate 
in  1847,  by  appointment  to  fill  a vacancy,  and  upon 
the  expiration  of  the  term  was  elected  by  the  Leg- 
islature to  a full  term.  He  resigned  in  1853  to 
accept  the  position  of  secretary  of  war  in  President 
Pierce's  cabinet,  and  in  1857  was  again  elected  to 
the  United  States  Senate.  He  withdrew  in  1861,  in 
consequence  of  ^Mississippi  having  seceded  from 
the  Union.  Since  then  his  record  has  been  national. 

Gen.  James  S.  Jackson,  the  brilliant  lawyer  and 
gallant  soldier,  who  was  killed  in  the  fatal  battle  of 
Perryville,  Ky.,  was  a resident  of  Hopkinsville, 
this  county.  He  was  born  in  Fayette  County.  Ky., 
in  1823.  He  received  a fine  education,  studied  law 
and  graduated  from  the  law  department  of  Transyl- 
vania University  in  1845.  He  served  in  the  Mexi- 
can war  and  in  1861  was  elected  to  Congress  from 
the  Hopkinsville  District.  While  serving  in  the 
Thirty-seventh  Congress  President  Lincolnlendered 
him  the  command  of  a regiment,  and  he  returned 
home  and  recruited  the  Third  Kentucky  Cavalry, 
of  which  he  was  colonel  until  promoted  to  briga- 
dier-general. At  the  head  of  his  brigade,  he  partic- 
ipated in  the  race  with  Bragg  to  Louisville,  in  1862. 
He  fell  at  Perryville,  the  first  important  battle  in 
which  he  took  part  after  his  promotion  to  brigadier- 
general.  His  remains  were  deposited  in  the  ceme- 
tery at  Hopkinsville,  March  24,  1863.  Soon  after  it 
was  written  of  him:  “ Here  sleeps, after  a tempestu- 
ous life,  the  intrepid  and  fearless  Gen.  James  S. 
Jackson,  member  of  the  Legislature  and  Congress, 
whose  dauntless  spirit,  which  laughed  at  danger, 
even  to  rashness,  took  its  flight  oHthe  bloody  field 
of  Perryville.  Like  Harry  Percy,  this  Hotspur  of 
the  Union  Army  waved  his  sword  in  the  face  of 
death  as  gaily  as  though  a desperate  battle  were  a 
dress  parade,  and  the  war  bugles  were  sounding  the 
strains  of  a ball-room.” 


Claek  Couxtt  was  formed  iu  1792,  and 
hence  is  as  old  as  the  State.  BomJbon  and 
Fayette  Counties  contributed  its  territory,  and 
Gren.  George  Rogers  Clark  its  name.  It  was 
the  fourteenth  county  formed,  and  lies  in  the 
central  part  of  the  State,  on  the  margin  of 
the  famous  blue-grass  section.  It  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Bom'bon,  on  the  east  by 
Montgomery,  on  the  south  by  Madison  and 
Estill.  and  on  the  west  by  Fayette.  The 
Kentucky  River  flows  along  the  south  part 
of  the  county  and  a number  of  tributaries 
fall  into  it,  which  afford  it  amxile  efrainage 
and  irrigation.  Among  these  are  Lidbegrud, 
Boone’s.  Strode’ s,  Howard’s,  Four’  Mile  and 
Two  Mile  Creeks.  About  one-third  of  the 
county  lies  in  the  blue-grass  region,  and  is 
highly  improved  and  very  jiroductive,  like 
all  the  genuine  blue-grass  lands.  The  mid- 
die  and  northeast  portions  are  somewhat 
hilly,  but  x^roduce  well;  the  east  and  south- 
east x^ortions  are  rough,  broken  and  poor. 
The  products  are  wheat,  oats,  grass,  and  of 


574 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


late  years  tobacco.  Of  stock,  cattle,  horses, 
mules  and  hogs  receive  greatest  attention. 
The  county,  by  the  last  census,  had  12,  Il5 
inhabitants,  and  produced  the  following; 
Corn,  791,21)2  bushels;  oats,  14,830;  wheat, 
129,943;  rye,15,405;  tobacco,  17, 187 pounds; 
horses  and  mules,  4, 984  head;  cattle,  17,331; 
sheep,  25,931,  and  hogs,  20,824. 

The  settlement  of  Clark  County  was  early. 
As  it  was  originally  a part  of  Fayette,  its 
settlement  is  recorded  j)rincipally  with  the 
sketch  of  that  county.  A few  words,  how- 
ever, may  be  given  here.  Boonesboro,  the 
settlement  of  Boone,  was  just  across  the  Ken- 
tiicky  River  from  the  territory  of  Clark,  and 
venturesome  pioneers  early  crossed  the  river 
from  the  fort  and  erected  cabins  in  the  tine 
country  on  this  side.  Strode’ s Station,  about 
two  miles  from  where  AVinchester  now  stands, 
was  established  in  1779.  The  next  year  it 
was  attacked  by  Indians,  but  after  a short 
siege  they  were  repulsed. 

There  are  numerous  springs  in  the  county, 
but  none  of  them  have  ever  become  famous 
as  watering-places.  The  oil  springs  in  the 
eastern  part  receive  their  name  from  the  nat- 
ural production  of  oil.  There  were  also 
sulphur  and  chalybeate  springs  near  by,  that 
years  ago  were  frequented  to  some  extent. 

AVinchester,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  an  old 
town,  verging  on  to  a hundred  years.  Upon 
the  formation  of  the  county  it  was  adopted  as 
the  county  seat,  over  Strode’ s and  Hood’s 
Stations,  which  seem  to  have  also  been  con- 
testants for  the  honor.  It  was  incorporated 
in  1793,  and  by  the  census  of  1880  had  2, 277 
inhat)itants.  It  is  on  the  Chesapeake  & Ohio 
Railroa<.l,  and  on  the  extension  of  the  Ken- 
tucky Central  Railroad,  likewise  the  turnpike 
leading  from  Lexington  to  Mount  Sterling. 
It  has  an  excellent  court  house,  several  hand- 
some churches,  tine  schools,  a number  of 
flourishing  stores,  banks,  factories,  shops, 
mills,  etc.  The  other  villages  and  j^ostoffices, 
are  Schollsville,  Ruckerville,  Kiddville,  Pin- 
chem  and  Vienna. 

The  people  of  Clark  County,  with  that 
chivalrous  spirit  of  pioneers  of  Kentucky, 
tiirned  out  about  900  soldiers  in  the  war  of 
1812.  In  the  Mexican  war  it  furnished  one 
company,  that  of  ‘ ‘ Cerro  Gordo  ’ ’ AA’illiams, 
and  in  the  late  civil  war  four  companies,  three 
for  the  Confederate  and  one  for  the  Federal 
Army. 

The  first  settlers  of  the  county  found  some 
corn  fields  that  had  been  cultivated  by  the 
Indians  many  years  before.  They  are  some 
twelve  miles  east  of  the  present  city  of  AA"in- 
chester,  and  have  always  been  known  as  the 
“Indian  Old  Fields.” 


Among  the  wise  and  great  of  Clark  County 
'are  Hubbard  Taylor,  Judge  James  Clark, 
Gen.  Richard  Hickman,  Samuel  Hanson, 
Judge  James  Simpson,  AVilliam  Flanagan, 
Dr.  Andrew  Hood,  Col.  AA'illiam  Sudduth, 
Chilton  Allan,  Gen.  John  S.  AVilliams,  etc. 
Dr.  Hood  was  a native  of  the  county  and  a 
man  of  fine  ability.  He  not  only  became 
noted  as  a physician,  but  held  important  posi- 
tions in  which  he  discharged  the  duties  with 
credit.  He  was  a member  of  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  1849,  and  died  a few 
years  later.  Gen.  Hickman  was  lieutenant- 
governor  during  Gov.  Shelby’s  last  term  as 
governor.  Col.  Sudduth  was  an  early  set- 
tler of  Clark  County,  and  a soldier  under 
Gen.  AA^  ayne  against  the  Indians. 

James  Clark  was  a prominent  citizen  of  the 
county.  He  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1779, 
and  came  to  Kentucky  with  his  father’s 
family  in  an  early  day.  He  studied  law  and 
soon  became  a successful  practitioner.  He 
served  in  the  Legislature,  in  Congress,  the 
United  States  Senate,  as  circuit  judge,  and 
governor  of  the  State.  To  the  latter  he  was 
elected  in  1836.  AAMile  on  the  circuit  bench 
the  exciting  struggle  occurred,  known  as  the 
“relief  and  anti-relief  war,”  which  is  fully 
treated  in  a preceding  chapter. 

Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark,  for  whom  the 
county  was  named,  was  one  of  the  foremost 
soldiers  of  the  age.  He  is  mentioned  so  often 
in  the  early  history  , and  in  connection  with 
the  early  wars  in  which  the  infant  common- 
wealth participated,  that  nothing  further  can 
be  said  here  without  repetition.  He  died  in 
1818,  and  was  buried  near  Louisville. 


Clay  County  was  formed  in  1806,  from 
Madison,  Knox  and  Floyd  Counties.  It  was 
the  forty- seventh  county  organized  and  was 
named  for  Gen.  Gi’een  Clay.  It  lies  in  the 
mountainous  region  and  is  of  a rough  and 
uneven  surface,  not  particularly  well  adapted 
to  farming,  though  corn,  wheat,  oats  and  grass 
are  grown  in  considerable  quantities.  It  is 
well  watered,  lying  as  it  does  in  the  forks 
of  the  Kentucky  River;  a large  number  of 
small  streams  flow  into  them,  which  are  Goose 
and  Little  Goose  Creeks,  Otter,  Sexton’ s,  Big, 
Jack’s,  Red  Bird  Fork,  Collins’  Fork,  Bull- 
skin,  etc.  The  county  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Owsley  County;  on  the  east  by 
Perry;  on  the  south  by  Knox,  Harlan  and 
Josh  Bell;  on  the  west  by  Laurel  and  Jack- 
son,  and  by  the  last  census  it  had  a popula- 
tion of  10, 222.  It  abounds  in  coal  and  iron 
ore,  and  is  heavily  timbered,  much  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


575 


latter  being  tine  and  valuable.  Salt  lias  been 
largely  manufactiu’ed,  and  with  better  rail- 
road facilities  would  prove  a vast  source  of 
wealth  to  the  county. 

Manchester,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  county  on  or  near 
Goose  Creek,  and  was  named  for  Manchester, 
England.  It  is  not  likely,  however,  that  it 
will  ever  rival  the  great  manufacturing  town 
of  the  mother  country.  Its  population 
amounts  to  but  a hundred  or  two.  There  are 
two  or  three  churches,  a first-class  school, 
the  usual  public  buildings,  and  several  fiour- 
ishing  stores. 

The  first  settlement  in  the  present  county 
of  Clay  was  made  by  James  Collins.  In  1798 
he  erected  his  ‘ ‘ lone  cabin  ” upon  the  head 
waters  of  the  stream  that  to-day  bears  his 
name  (Collins’  Fork),  and  two  years  later,  in 
1800,  he  made  salt  at  a spring  which  he  had 
discovered.  Early  as  this  was,  it  was  not  the 
first  salt  manufactru'ed  in  the  county,  as  the 
Indians  had  evidently  used  it  years  and  years 
before.  An  Indian  burying-ground  was  found 
near  by,  and  many  evidences  of  the  springs 
having  been  used  by  the  Indians. 

Clay  County  possesses  all  the  resources  for 
a fine  manufacturing  district.  It  has  coal 
and  iron  ore  in  large  quantities,  and  the  sup- 
ply of  natural  gas  is  believed  to  be  inexhaus- 
tible. Nothing  is  lacking  but  more  extended 
railroad  facilities.  IVhat  Birmingham,  Ala. , 
has  become,  with  energy  and  capital  awaits 
this  Kentucky  Manchester. 

Gen.  Green  Clay,  for  whom  this  county 
was  named,  was  born  in  Virginia,  in  August, 
1757.  He  came  to  Kentucky  early,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  business  of  surveying  lands. 
By  this  means  he  accumulated  a large  landed 
estate.  He  took  a prominent  part  in  the  war 
of  1812.  As  brigader-general  he  led  3,000 
Kentucky  troops  to  the  north,  and  joined 
Gen.  Harrison  at  Fort  Meigs,  literally  cutting 
his  way  through  the  enemy’s  lines  to  reach 
the  fort.  He  died  in  1820  at  a good 
old  age. 


Clixton  Couxty,  named  in  honor  of  He 
IVitt  Clinton,  of  New  York,  borders  on  the 
Tennessee  line,  and  was  formed  of  parts  of 
AVayne  and  Cumberland  Counties  in  1835, 
being  the  eighty-fifth  in  the  State.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Russell  County,  on 
the  east  by  lYayne,  on  the  south  by  the  State 
of  Tennessee,  on  the  west  by  Cumberland 
County,  and  in  1880  had  7, 212  inhabitants.  A 
large  part  of  the  coiinty  is  hilly,  but  adapted 
to  grazing;  the  valleys  are  very  fertile  and 


produce  wheat,  oats  and  corn  abundantly. 
Says  Mr.  Collins: 

A spur  of  the  Cumberland  IMountains,  called 
Poplar  Mountain,  penetrates  this  county,  and  ter- 
minates about  two  miles  west  of  its  center.  In  its 
windings  tills  mountain  makes  a beautiful  curve, 
and  the  valley  on  the  eastern  side  and  within  the 
curve,  called  Stockton's  Valley,  is  fertile  limestone 
land.  The  elevation  of  Poplar  Mountain  above  the 
valley  is  from  1,000  to  1,500  feet.  Coal  in  abundance, 
and  of  the  best  quality,  is  found  in  the  mountain, 
in  strata  of  about  four  feet.  On  the  top  of  this 
mountain,  about  four  miles  from  Albany,  there  are 
three  chalybeate  springs,  wiiich  have  been  visited 
more  or  less  for  thirty-five  years.  These  waters, 
combined  with  the  purity  of  the  atmosphere,  have 
proved  of  immense  lienefit  to  invalids,  who  have  re- 
sorted there  for  their  health.  From  these  mountain 
springs  a most  extensive  and  magnificent  view-  of 
the  surrounding  country  is  presented-  On  a clear 
morning  the  fog  seems  to  rise  on  the  water  courses 
in  the  distance  and  stand  just  aliove  the  trees, 
when  the  eye  can  trace  the  beautiful  Cumberland 
River  in  its  windings  for  at  least  one  hundred 
miles,  and  may  distinctly  mark  the  junction  of  its 
tributaries,  in  a direct  line,  for  thirty  miles.  The 
springs  are  about  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  the  Cum- 
berland. and  it  is  believed  that,  in  the  hands  of  an 
enterprising  proprietor,  they  would  soon  become  a 
place  of  great  resort.  * * * On  Indian  Creek, 
about  three  miles  from  the  mountain  springs,  the-e 
is  a perpendicular  fall  of  ninety  feet.  Above  the 
falls  for  the  distance  of  about  200  yards,  the  fall  of 
the  stream  is  gradual,  and  several  fine  mills  have 
been  erected  on  it.  There  are  three  large  springs  in 
the  county;  one  on  the  south  and  tw-o  at  Albany, 
which  send  forth  volumes  of  w-ater  sufficiently  large 
to  turn  a grist-mill  or  other  machinery. 

Albany,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  a small  town 
situated  in  tbe  central  part  of  tlie  county.  It 
lias  a good  court  house,  several  churches, 
stores,  mills,  etc. , and  is  quite  a moral  town. 
Other  villages  are  Cumberland  City  and  Sev- 
enty-six— both  small  places. 

The  county  has  turned  out  a number  of 
distinguished  men,  among  them  Gov.  Thomas 
E.  Bramlette  and  Gov.  Preston  H.  Leslie, 
who  are  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
Also  James  Semple,  who  was  charge  cV 
affaires  to  New  Grenada  under  President 
Yan  Buren.  AYilliam  AA’ood  represented 
Cumberland  County,  when  Clinton  formed  a 
part  of  it,  in  the  Legislature  for  twenty-three 
years  successively. 


Ceittexdex  Couxty  is  of  recent  formation. 
It  dates  back  to  1842,  and  was  the  ninety- 
first  in  the  order  of  organization.  It  was 
lopped  off  the  eastern  side  of  Livingston 
County  and  named  for  Hon.  John  J.  Critten- 
den, Kentucky’s  distinguished  senator,  and 
of  whom  a notice  appears  in  a preceding 
chapter.  The  county  is  almost  surrounded 
by  water:  The  Ohio  River  on  the  north,  the 
Tradewater  on  the  east,  and  the  Cumberland 
on  the  west.  Crooked  Creek,  Himicane, 


5:6 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Pinery,  Camp  and  Livingston,  are  tributa- 
ries of  these  rivers,  and  drain  the  county 
thoroughly.  The  surface  is  rough  and 
broken;  the  soil,  however,  is  quite  fertile. 
AVheat,  corn  and  oats  are  extensively  pro- 
duced, while  a most  excellent  quality  of 
tobacco  is  grown  in  great  abundance.  The 
county  is  heavily  timbered.  The  mineral 
wealth  is  great,  consisting  chiefly  of  coal, 
which  is  said  to  be  of  an  excellent  quality. 
Ore  is  also  plenty.  An  ore,  showing  50  per 
cent  of  iron,  is  found.  Lead  ore  was  discov- 
ered, showing  a small  percentage  of  silver. 

Marion,  the  county  seat,  is  a town  of  355 
inhabitants,  by  the  census  of  1880.  It  was 
incorporated  in  1844,  and  was  named  for 
Gen.  Marion,  a partisan  officer  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  The  court  house  was  burned 
during  the  civil  war  (in  1865)  by  Gen.  Lyon"  s 
troops.  After  the  war  was  over  a new  court 
house  was  built,  which  was  destroyed  by  Are 
in  1870.  A new  one  was  immediately  erected, 
making  the  third  upon  the  site  within  a period 
of  seven  years. 

Dyciisburg  was  laid  out  by  William  E. 
Dycirs,  and  incorporated  in  1847.  It  is  on 
the  Cumberland  River,  and  has  a large  to- 
bacco trade.  Weston,  a village  of  162  in- 
habitants, is  on  the  Ohio  River,  and  is  a fine 
shipping  point.  Ford’s  Ferry  is  on  the 
Ohio  River,  three  miles  below  Weston,  and 
is  also  a shipping  point  of  importance. 
Other  towns  and  postoffices  are  Clements- 
burg.  Shady  Grove  and  Bell’ s Mines. 

Cave-in-Rock  is  just  across  the  river  on  the 
Illinois  side.  For  three-quarters  of  a century 
or  more,  it  has  been  a noted  landmark  to 
boatmen  on  the  Ohio.  Collins  thus  describes 
it: 

On  the  Illinois  side  of  the  Ohio  River,  only  a 
few  feet  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  of 
Kentucky,  is  a cavern  in  a rock,  or  ledge  of  the 
mountain,  a little  above  the  water  of  the  river 
when  high,  and  close  to  the  bank.  It  is  about  200 
feet  long  and  80  feet  wide;  its  entrance,  80  feet 
wide  at  the  base,  and  25  feet  high.  In  1836  the 
interior  walls  were  smooth  rocks.  The  floor  was 
remarkable,  being  level  through  the  whole  length 
of  its  center,  the  sides  rising  in  strong  grades,  in  the 
manner  of  seats  in  the  pit  of  a theater.  Close 
scrutiny  of  the  walls  made  it  evident  that  the  an- 
cient inhabitants  of  a remote  period  had  used  the 
cave  as  their  council  house.  Upon  the  walls  were 
many  hieroglyphics,  well  executed,  among  them 
representatives  of  at  least  eight  animals  of  a race 
now  extinct,  three  of  them  resembling  the  ele- 
phant, the  tails  and  tusks  excepted.  This  cavern  is 
connected  with  another  more  gloomy,  immediately 
over  it,  united  by  an  aperture  about  fourteen  feet, 
to  ascend  which  rvas  like  ascending  a chjmney; 
while  the  mountain  was  yet  far  above.  * * * 
Early  in  the  present  century  a man  named  Wilson 
brought  his  family  to  the  cave,  and  fitted  it  up  as  a 
dwelling  and  tavern,  erecting  on  a sign-post  at  the 
water’s  edge  these  words:  “ Wilson’s  Licjuor  Vault 
and  House  of  Entertainment.”  Its  very  novelty 


attracted  the  attention  of  boats  descending  the 
river,  and  the  crews  generally  landed  for  refresh- 
ments and  amusements.  Idle  characters  after 
a while  gathered  here,  and  it  soon  became  infamous 
for  its  licentiousness  and  blasphemy.  Wilson, 
out  of  such  customers  in  their  necessities,  formed  a 
band  of  robbers,  and  laid  plans  of  the  deepest  vil- 
lainy, no  less  than  the  murder  of  the  entire  crews 
of  each  boat  that  landed,  and  the  forwarding  of  the 
boats  and  cargoes  to  New  Orleans  for  sale  for  cash, 
wdiich  was  to  be  conveyed  to  the  cave  by  land 
through  Tennessee  and  Kentucky.  Months  elapsed 
before  any  serious  suspicion  was  created,  and  other 
months  before  the  vague  suspicions  grew  into  shape 
and  definiteness.  But  as  no  returns  of  shipments 
were  reported,  and  not  one  of  many  honorable  men 
entrusted  with  cargoes  of  produce  came  back  to 
pay  over  the  proceeds  and  tell  the  perils  of  the  trip, 
it  first  came  out  that  no  tidings  were  received  of 
any  boat  after  It  passed  this  point;  and  then  that 
“ Wilson’s  gang”  of  about  fortj^-five  men,  at  their 
station  at  Hurricane  Island,  had  an-ested  every  boat 
which  passed  by  the  mouth  of  ihe  cavern;  and 
through  business  agents  at  New  Orleans  converted 
into  specie  the  boats  and  cargoes  obtained  through 
wholesale  murder  and  robbery.  Some  of  the  gang 
escaped  as  soon  as  they  found  public  vengeance 
aroused  against  them;  a few  were  taken  prisoners; 
the  chief  himself  lost  his  life  at  the  hands  of  one  of 
his  own  men,  who  was  tempted  by  the  large  reward 
offered  for  Wilson’s  head.  Not  long  after,  in  the 
upper  room  of  this  mysterious  cavern,  were  found 
about  sixty  skeletons,  which  confirmed  the  tale  of 
systematic  confidence,  betrayal  and  robbery. 


CuMBEELAND  CouNTY  WES  Organized  in  1798, 
and  was  formed  from  a part  of  Green  Coun- 
ty. It  borders  on  the  State  of  Tennessee,  and 
received  its  name  from  the  Cumberland  River, 
which  flows  through  its  territory.  It  is  bound- 
ed on  the  north  by  Adair  County ; on  the  east 
by  Russell  and  Clinton;  on  the  south  by  the 
State  of  Tennessee;  on  the  west  by  Monroe 
and  Metcalfe  Counties,  and  by  the  census  of 
1880  had  a j)opulation  of  8,894.  The  terri- 
tory of  Cumberland  was  originally  extensive, 
and  from  it  were  formed  wholly  or  in  part 
AVayne  County  in  1800;  Monroe  in  1820; 
Russell  in  1825;  Clinton  in  1835,  and  Met- 
calfe in  1860.  The  county  is  of  a rough  and 
uneven  surface  ; the  hills  are  of  thin  soil, 
the  valleys  rich  and  fertile.  Grain  and  grass 
are  extensively  produced;  also  tobacco  and 
stock. 

Burksville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
on  the  Cumberland  River,  in  the  southeast 
part  of  the  county,  and  was  incorporated  in 
1810;  in  1880  it  had  434  inhabitants.  Be- 
sides the  county  buildings,  it  has  the  usual 
supply  of  stores,  churches,  etc.  Marrow 
Bone  is  a small  village  in  the  western  part  of 
the  county. 

Cumberland  County  has  its  full  quota  of 
natural  wonders  and  curiosities.  The  follow- 
ing was  published  of  an  oil  w'ell  in  the  county: 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


577 


The  American  Oil  Well  is  situated  three  miles 
above  Burksville,  on  the  bank  of  the  Cumberland 
River.  About  the  year  1830,  while  some  men  were 
engaged  in  boring  for  salt  water,  and  after  penetrat- 
ing about  175  feet  through  a solid  rock,  they  struck  a 
vein  of  oil,  which  suddenly  spouted  up  to  the  height 
of  50  feet  above  the  surface.  The  stream  was  so 
abundant  and  of  such  force  as  to  continue  to  throw 
up  the  oil  to  the  same  height  for  several  days.  The 
oil  thus  thrown  outran  into  the  Cumberland  River 
covering  the  surface  of  the  water  for  several  miles. 
It  was  readily  supposed  to  be  inflammable,  and  upon 
its  being  ignited,  it  presented  the  novel  and  magnifi- 
cent spectacle  of  a river  on  fire,  the  flames  liter- 
ally covering  the  •whole  surface  for  miles,  reaching 
to  the  top  of  the  tallest  trees  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  and  continued  burning  until  the  suppl}’'  of  oil 
was  exhausted.  The  salt  borers  were  greatly  dis- 
appointed, and  the  well  was  neglected  for  several 
jmars,  until  it  was  discovered  that  the  oil  possessed 
valuable  medicinal  qualities.  It  has  since  been 
bottled  up  in  large  quantities,  and  is  extensively 
sold  ill  nearly  all  the  States  of  the  Union. 

There  is  a cataract — a miniature  Niagara — 
near  the  mouth  of  Little  Renick  Creek,  that 
is  quite  picturesque.  The  stream  falls  per- 
pendicularly some  twenty  feet  and  pre- 
sents a fine  spectacle.  Near  here  there  is  a 
tradition  that  a severe  battle  was  fought  be- 
tween the  savages  and  their  jaale- faced  foes 
— the  early  settlers.  The  whites  were  vic- 
torious, but  the  Indian  graves,  that  long  were 
to  be  seen  in  the  vicinity,  attest  the  valor  of 
the  savages  and  the  stubbornness  with  which 
they  contested  the  white  man’s  right  to  the 
country. 


Daviess  County  was  formed  in  1815,  Horn 
a part  of  Ohio  County,  and  was  the  fifty-eighth 
in  the  order  of  organization.  It  bears  the  name 
of  Col.  Joseph  Hamilton  Daveiss,  though 
from  some  cause,  the  ei  was  transposed  in 
the  spelling  of  the  name  of  the  county.*  It 
lies  on  the  Ohio  River,  and  is  one  of  the  large 
and  wealthy  counties  of  the  State.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  State  of  Ind- 
iana, from  which  it  is  separated  by  the  Ohio 
River  ; on  the  east  by  Ohio  and  Hancock 
Counties;  on  the  south  by  McLean  and  Ohio; 
on  the  west  by  McLean  and  Henderson,  and 
in  1880  it  had  27,730  inhabitants.  It  is  the 
sixth  in  the  State  in  point  of  population,  and 
ranks  nearly  as  high  in  point  of  wealth.  The 
soil  is  rich,  resting  upon  clay,  and  is  peculiarly 
well  adapted  to  the  growing  of  tobacco,  making 
this  the  third  county  (liy  the  last  census)  in 
its  production.  The  crop  statistics  for  1880 
were  as  follows:  Corn,  1,392,599  bushels; 
oats,  79,946;  rye,  10,694;  wheat,  147,303, 

*The  orthography  of  several  counties  in  the  State  has  been 
changed,  apparently  -n-ithout  design;  Green  county  being 
named  for  Gen.  Greene  ; Muhlenburg  for  Rev.  and  Gen.  Muhl- 
enberg ; Callo-way  for  Col.  Callaway,  and  Menifee  for  Hon. 
Richard  H.  Menefee. — Collins. 


and  tobacco,  9,523,451  pounds;  and  stock, 
horses  and  mules,  8, 090  head;  cattle,  12,090; 
sheep,  8,412,  and  hogs,  37,699.  The  county 
is  well  watered  and  drained  by  the  Ohio  and 
Green  Rivers  and  their  tributaries,  which  are 
Two  Mile,  Knob  Lick,  Panther,  Rhodes,  Yel- 
low, Delaware,  Puppy,  Blackford,  Green 
Creeks,  etc. 

Owensboro,  the  capital  city  of  the  county,  is 
beautifully  situated  on  an  elevated  plateau 
overlooking  la  belle  riviere,  and  by  the  last 
census  had  a population  of  about  10,000.  It 
was  named  for  Abraham  Owen,  a gallant  sol- 
dier who  fell,  as  did  the  brave  Col.  Daveiss, 
at  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe.  It  is  a hand- 
some and  thriving  city,  and  bears  the  name 
of  being  one  of  the  best  business  ]ioints  on 
the  Ohio,  between  Louisville  and  Paducah. 
It  has  an  elegant  court  house  and  many  other 
handsome  buildings,  both  public  and  private. 
Its  business  houses,  churches,  residences, 
etc.,  are  not  excelled  by  any  city  of  its 
wealth  and  population  in  the  State.  It  has 
banks,  newspapers,  gas  works  (no  reflection 
intended  by  mentioning  gas  works  and  news- 
j^iapers  together),  a number  of  manufactories, 
tobacco  warehouses,  etc.  Its  educational 
facilities  are  excellent,  and  comprise  public 
and  private,  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic 
schools. 

lYhitesville  is  a small  to-wn  of  200  or  300 
inhabitants,  and  is  about  fifteen  miles  from 
Owensboro.  Other  towns  and  postoffices  are 
Masonville,  "West  Louisville,  Yelvington, 
Oakford,  Knottsville,  Pleasant  Ridge,  Sor- 
ghotown,  Curdsville  and  Birk  City.  Most 
of  these  are  either  on  the  Ohio  or  Green 
River,  and  several  of  them  are  merely  steam- 
boat landings  and  shipping  points. 

Not  only  does  Daviess  possess  a rich  soil,  but 
the  county  is  rich  in  mineral  wealth.  Coal 
is  to  be  found  in  almost  every  section,  and 
much  of  it  of  a superior  quality.  Iron  ore 
exists,  but  not  in  sufficient  richness  to  be  val- 
uable. Salt  water,  too,  may  be  obtained  by 
boring  to  a depth  of  500  feet.  Potter’s  clay 
in  inexhaustible  quantities  exists.  A fine 
vein,  some  15  feet  thick,  about  the  same  depth 
below  the  sui’face  and  five  miles  in  length, 
borders  the  river  above  and  below  Owens- 
boro. South  of  the  city  a few  miles  is  a vein  of 
fine  white  clay.  Springs  possessing  medicinal 
properties  abound  in  different  parts  of  the 
county. 

The  Owensboro  & Russellville  Railroad, 
now  a portion  of  the  Louisville  and  Nashville 
system,  runs  north  and  south  through  the 
center  of  the  county,  and  has  been  of  great 
advantage  in  promoting  the  wealth  and  pros- 
perity of  the  country  through  which  it  passes. 

36 


578 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


The  road  was  originally  intended  as  a part  of 
. a o-reat  thi'ough  line  from  the  South  to  St 
Louis,  Cincinnati  and  Chicago,  but  it  fell  in 
to  the  hands  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville 
management,  and  now  can  never  be  more  than 
a local  feeder  to  that  gigantic  system. 

Col.  Joseph  Hamilton  Daveiss,  for  whom 
this  county  was  named,  was  a native  of  Vir- 
ginia. He  was  a lawyer  of  ability,  and  one 
of  the  bright  and  shining  lights  of  the  Ken- 
tucky bar,  when  it  boasted  of  such  men  as 
Clay,  Boyle,  Nicholas,  Breckinridge,  Rowan, 
Bibb,  Allan  and  other  intellectual  giants. 
He  read  law  with  George  Nicholas,  and  was 
in  a class  with  Isham  Talbott,  Felix  Grundy, 
^^'il]iam  Garrard,  AVilllam  B.  Blackburn, 
J esse  Bledsoe,  William  Stuart  and  J ohn  Pope, 
all  of  whom  left  their  names  engraved  high 
on  the  roll  of  their  country’s  fame.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  commenced  prac- 
tice in  1795,  and  rose  rapidly  to  distinction. 
In  the  trial  of  Aaron  Burr,  at  Frankfort,  for 
conspiracy  against  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, Daveiss  prosecuted  him.  [See  Chap- 
ter XII  of  this  volume.]  Without  following 
his  brief  career,  it  is  enough  to  say,  that  as  a 
lawyer  he  stood  second  to  none  of  his  time. 
After  residing  for  a time  in  Danville  and 
Frankfort,  he  removed  to  Owensboro,  this 
county,  near  where  he  had  acquired  large 
landed  possessions.  In  1809  he  removed  to 
Lexington,  and  in  the  fall  of  1811  joined  the 
army  of  Gen.  Harrison.  In  the  battle  of 
Tippecanoe,  which  followed  on  the  7th  of 
November  (1811),  he  fell  in  a charge  made 
against  the  Indians  at  his  own  urgent  solic- 
itation. 


Edmonson  County  was  formed  in  1825,  and 
was  the  seventy-ninth  organized  in  the  State. 
Hart,  Warren  and  Grayson  contributed  its 
territory,  and  it  was  named  for  Captain  John 
Edmonson,  a Virginian,  who  came  to  Ken- 
tuclcy  in  1790,  and  settled  in  Fayette  County, 
and  who  commanded  a company  of  riflemen 
in  Col.  John  Allen’s  regiment,  and  was  killed 
in  the  disastrous  battle  of  the  river  Raisin. 
The  Green  River  divides  the  county,  flowing 
from  east  to  west  nearly  through  the  center, 
and,  with  its  tributaries,  affords  excellent 
drainage.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Grayson  County;  on  the  east  by  Hart  and 
Barren;  on  the  south  by  Warren;  on  the  west 
by  Warren  and  Butler,  and  by  the  last  census 
it  had  7,222  inhabitants.  The  land  is  roll- 
ing, and  in  places  rough  and  hilly;  upon  the 
whole  the  county  is  rather  a jjoor  one  as 
regards  agriculture,  but  it  is  rich  in  natural 


wonders  and  in  mineral  wealth.  The  Mam- 
ihoth  Cave,  one  of  the  great  natural  wonders 
of  the  world,  and  the  most  extensive  cavern 
ever  discovered  or  explored,  is  situated  in 
this  county.  It  is  only  half  a mile  from 
the  Green  River,  and  about  eight  miles  from 
the  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad.  For  an 
excellent  historical  description  of  this  great 
wonder  of  nature,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
appendix  A,  of  this  volume.  There  are  sev- 
eral other  caves  in  the  county,  but  none  of 
such  dimensions  as  the  Mammoth,  certainly 
none  are  that  have  been  explored.  In  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  county  are  mineral  springs, 
and  coal  is  considered  almost  inexhaustible. 

The  census  of  1880  shows  the  number  of 
bushels  of  corn  raised  to  have  been  328,159; 
wheat,  22,858;  pounds  of  tobacco,  450,676; 
and  other  crops  in  similar  proportion. 

Brownsville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  a small 
village  of  only  a few  hundred  inhabitants. 
It  was  laid  out  in  1828,  and  was  named  for 
Gen.  Jacob  Brown.  It  is  situated  on  the 
Green  River,  and  is  near  the  center  of  the 
county.  It  is  well  supplied  with  churches 
and  schools.  Other  villages  and  postoffices 
are  Rocky  Hill,  Cornelian  Springs  and  Big 
Reedy. 

Edmonson  County,  hitherto,  has  been  al- 
most without  railroads.  The  Louisville  & 
Nashville  passes  through  the  southeast  corner 
— Rocky  Hill  Station  being  in  the  county. 
Recently  a project  has  been  inaugurated  to 
build  a road  from  Glasgow  Junction,  on  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad,  to  the  Mam- 
moth Cave,  and  at  the  present  writing 
(December,  1886)  the  new  road  is  opened  for 
business  and  travel. 

Indian  Hill  is  one  of  those  peculiar  eleva- 
tions common  in  Kentucky.  It  is  about  a 
mile  in  circumference,  and  rises  gradually 
and  with  great  regularity  on  all  sides  (except 
one,  which  is  nearly  perpendicular)  ^to  a 
height  of  about  100  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
surrounding  plain.  Ui:)on  the  summit  of  the 
hill  were  indications  of  a fortification,  and  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  were  a number  of 
mounds  and  burial  places.  Not  the  least 
curiosity  of  the  place  is  a fine  spring  of 
water  issuing  from  the  rock  on  the  brow  of 
the  hill.  Dismal  Rock,  on  a small  stream 
called  Dismal  Creek,  is  a perpendicular  rock 
rising  to  an  altitude  of  160  feet. 


Elliott  County  is  one  of  the  modern 
counties  of  the  State,  having  been  created 
since  the  civil  war  (in  1869),  and  was  the 
one  hundred  and  fourteenth  organized. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


579 


Lawi’ence,  Morgan  and  Carter  contributed 
its  territory,  and  Judge  John  M.  Elliott  fur- 
nished it  a name.  It  is  a small  county  lying 
in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  State,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Carder  County ; east 
by  Larvi’ence  County ; south  by  Morgan  Coun- 
ty; west  by  Kowan  County,  and  in  ISSO  it  had 
a population  of  6, 567.  High  hills  smuound 
it  on  three  sides,  and  the  streams  which  flow 
into  the  Big  and  Little  Sandy  Rivers  and 
the  Licking,  form  a succession  of  romantic 
and  pictui’esque  valleys,  rich  and  feidile  and 
highly  productive.  Grain,  grasses  and  to- 
bacco are  produced;  also  stock  raising  re- 
ceives considerable  attention. 

Elliott  County  (until  recently  a part  of 
other  divisions)  has  its  settlement  and  pioneer 
history  included  in  the  sketches  of  them. 
But  little  of  interest  attaches  to  its  history 
individually,  and  the  words  of  Montesquieu 
might  apply  aptly  to  it.  “Happy,”  said 
the  great  French  author,  “is  that  nation 
whose  annals  are  tiresome.”  This  has  been 
the  case  with  Elliott  County  until  recently. 
Mithin  the  past  few  weeks  (October,  1886), 
considerable  excitement  has  been  produced 
in  regard  to  the  story  of  diamond  fields, 
which  are  supposed  by  some  to  exist  in  the 
county.  The  belief  is  founded  on  the  fact 
that  Prof.  Lewis,  a well  known  American 
geologist  and  mineralogist,  had  seen  in  the 
county  ‘ ‘ the  same  geologic  conditions  that 
surrounded  the  diamond  beds  at  Kimberley 
in  South  Afi’ica.  ” The  wild  and  highly 
colored  reports,  however,  contain  nothing 
definite  enough  to  render  them  historical, 
and  until  further  developed  must  remain 
something  of  a romance. 

Martinsburg.  the  county  seat,  is  situated 
near  the  center  of  the  county,  and  is  a small 
place  with  less  than  a hundi-ed  inhabitants 
by  the  last  census.  It  was  originally  called 
Sandy  Hook,  but  was,  for  some  cause  not 
material  to  this  sketch,  changed  to  the 
present  name.  Newfoundland  is  a small 
village  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the 
county. 


Estill  County  was  organized  in  1808,  and 
was  taken  from  Madison  and  Clark  Counties. 
F rom  its  original  territory  have  been  formed, 
wholly  or  in  part,  Breathitt  County  in  1839; 
Owsley  in  1843;  Powell  in  1852;  Jackson  in 
1858,  and  Lee  in  1870.  It  .is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  Powell  and  Clark  Counties; 
on  the  east  by  Lee  and  Powell;  on  the  south 
by  Jackson  and  Owsley;  on  the  west  by  Mad- 
ison, and  in  1880  it  had  9,860  inhabitants. 
The  Kentucky  River  flows  nearly  through 


the  center  of  the  county  fr’om  the  southeast 
to  the  northwest,  with  the  following  tribu- 
taries: the  Red  River,  which  forms  the 

northern  boundary  line,  and  Buck,  iTdler' s. 
Station  Camp,  Cow  and  Drowning  Creeks. 
The  southern  half  of  the  county  is  rough  and 
broken,  and  the  land  poor;  the  river  and 
creek  bottoms  are  rich,  and  produce  corn,  oats, 
wheat,  grass  and  tobacco  abundantly.  The 
eastern  part  of  the  county  is  rich  in  mineral 
wealth  and  resources.  Coal  and  iron  ore 
abound  of  a very  superior  quality,  and  lead 
ore  has  also  been  discovered  but  never  mined 
to  any  extent.  Collins  thus  describes  the 
mineral  resources: 

The  “Red  River  Iron  District”  is  mainly  con- 
fined to  Estill  CountJ^  The  iron  ores  of  the  region 
produce  iron  of  unsurpassed  excellence.  The  first 
iron  works  in  the  county  were  located  on  the  Red 
River,  in  the  northeast  corner,  about  1810,  and  em- 
braced a blast  furnace,  knobling  fire  and  forge. 
About  1830  the  Estill  steam  furnace  was  built,  ten 
miles  southeast,  on  the  mountain  which  divides  the 
waters  of  the  Red  River  from  those  of  the  Ken- 
tucky, and  the  smelting  discontinued  at  the  furnace 
on  Red  River;  at  the  same  time  the  works  at 
the  “ forge  ” were  greatly  improved  for  the  manu- 
facture of  bar  irons,  blooms,  nails  and  castings. 
The  Red  River  Iron  Works  soon  became  celebrated 
for  the  good  qualit3'of  the  metal  produced.  About 
1840  a new  rolling-mill  supplanted  the  old  forge, 
and  coal  from  near  the  Three  Forks  of  the  Ken- 
tucky River  was  employed  as  fuel;  this  coal  was 
flat-boated  from  Beattyville  down  river  fifty 
miles,  wagoned  nine  miles  up  Red  River  to  the 
iron  works;  it  was  not  found  suited  to  make  good 
iron,  and  its  use  was  abandoned.  About  I860  the 
manufacture  of  iron  at  the  mill  was  discontinued. 

In  1865  “The  Red  River  Iron  Manufacturing 
Company”  was  chartered,  and  organized  with  a cash 
capital  of  §1,000,000,  which  sum  was  actually  ex- 
pended in  the  purchase  of  all  the  estate  belonging 
to  the  Red  River  Iron  Works,  and  in  the  improve- 
ment of  that  property.  The  works  at  the  old 
forge  on  Red  River  were  not  revived,  but  the  mills 
there  were  rebuilt  and  improved.  Estill  furnace 
was  put  in  blast  in  3Ia3^  1866,  mau3'  buildings 
erected,  turnpike  roads  l)uilt,  and  the  iron  wagoned 
eight  miles,  to  Red  River,  and  shipped  liy  flat-boats. 
In  1868  the  company  began  and  in  less  than  two 
years  completed  two  of  the  largest  charcoal  furna- 
ces in  the  world,  with  inclined  planes,  tramwa3'S, 
macadamized  roads,  mills  and  shops,  and  homes  for 
over  one  hundred  families,  employing  1.000  men 
for  more  than  a 3mar.  A town  was  chartered  at  the 
new  furnaces,  called  Fitchburg,  after  the  two 
brothers,  Frank  Fitch,  the  general  superintendent, 
and  Fred  Fitch,  the  secretary  and  treasurer.  In 
1869  the  iron  from  Estill  furnace  was  diverted 
from  the  Red  River  route,  and  wagoned  three  miles 
to  Fitchburg;  thence,  together  with  the  product  of 
the  two  great  furnaces,  which  went  into  blast  March 
4,  1870,  taken  by  a new  tramways  six  miles  to  Scott’s 
Landing,  on  the  Kentucky  River,  near  the  mouth  of 
Miller’s  Creek.  In  1871  nearly^  10,000  tons  of 
pig  iron  were  turned  out,  valued  at  §600,000. 

Iiwfine,  the  county  seat,  is  situated  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Kentircky  River,  near  the 
center  of  the  county.  It  is  quite  a thriving 
town  with  1,676  inhabitants  by  the  last  cen- 
sus. and  was  named  in  honor  of  Col.  William 


580 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY, 


Irvine.  It  has  a handsome  brick  court  house, 
several  churches,  and  excellent  schools,  with 
the  usual  number  of  business  houses,  shoj:)s, 
etc.  AVisemantown  is  a small  village  on  the 
Kentucky  River  al)Out  two  miles  from  Irvine. 

There  are  a number  of  springs,  in  the 
county.  Those  known  as  the  Estill  Springs 
have  l)een  quite  a watering-place.  A j^ecul- 
iarity  is,  that  there  are  five  springs  and  the 
Avater  of  no  two  alike.  Sweet  Lick  Knob, 
standing  above  the  springs,  commands  one 
of  the  finest  views  known  in  the  country. 

The  county  was  named  in  honor  of  Capt. 
James  Estill,  a native  of  Virginia,  and  an 
early  settler  in  Madison  County.  He  was  a 
gallant  soldier  and  thoroughly  versed  in 
Indian  warfare.  He  was  killed  in  a battle 
with  the  Indians,  fought  in  what  is  now 
Montgomery  County,  and  Avhich  is  described 
as  one  of  the  severest  ever  fought  in  Ken- 
tucky, according  to  the  numbers  engaged. 


Fayette  County  is  one  of  the  original 
three  counties  into  Avhich  Kentucky  County 
was  divided,  in  1780,  by  act  of  the  Virginia 
Legislature.  It  occupied  about  one-third  of 
the  present  State,  its  boundaries  being  as 
follows:  “All  that  part  of  the  county  of 

Kentucky  Avhich  lies  north  and  east  of  the 
line,  beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ken- 
tucky River,  and  up  the  same  and  its  middle 
fork  to  the  head,  and  thence  south  to  the 
"Washington  line.”* 

It  was  named  in  honor  of  the  Marquis  de 
La  Fayette,  that  zealous  friend  of  American 
liberty.  The  county  was  formed  at  a time 
when  the  country  rang  with  praises  of  the 
patriotic  Frenchman,  who.  though  a repre- 
sentative of  a noble  family,  and  a citizen  of 
one  of  the  proudest  kingdoms  on  the  globe,  i 
sacrificed  it  all  to  assist  in  securing  the  in- 
dependence of  the  American  Republic;  and 
it  seemed  but  right  and  proper  that  the  new 
county  should  l)ear  his  name. 

Fayette  County  is  situated  in  the  central 
part  of  the  State,  and  is  considered  the  very 
heart,  or  ‘ ‘ garden  spot  of  the  world,  ’ ’ the 
famous  “blue  grass  region  of  Kentucky.” 
It  is  drained  by  the  Kentucky  River  and  its 
triljutaries,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Scott  County;  on  the  east  by  Bourbon  and 
Clark  Counties;  on  the  south,  by  Jessamine 
and  Madison  Counties,  the  latter  of  which  it 
is  separated  from  by  the  Kentucky  River;  and 
on  the  west  by  Woodford  County.  It  con- 
tains about  275  square  miles,  and  in  1880 

*Tlie  present  State  of  Tennessee  was  known  as  the  “ Dis- 
trict of  Washington.”  and  was  represented  by  deputies  chosen  by 
the  Coloniai  Assembly  of  North  Carolina. 


I had  29,023  inhabitants.  The  land  lies  well, 

I is  gently  rolling  or  undulating,  rich  and  pro- 
ductive, and  Avell  merits  the  title  of  ‘ ‘ garden 
spot  of  Kentucky  ’ ’ — or  of  the  world.  It  is 
one  of  the  finest  stock-producing  counties  of 
the  State,  and  its  name  abroad  is  without 
rival  in  that  regard.  Its  through-bred  horses 
I are  the  finest  in  the  world  and  command  the 
highest  prices,  Avhile  its  blooded  cattle  are 
unsurpassed  in  any  land.  Hogs  and  sheep 
are  also  raised;  corn  and  hemp  are  grown  ex- 
tensively, while  of  late  years  tobacco  has  be- 
come quite  a stajfie  product. 

The  county  is  well  supplied  with  railroads, 
the  great  modern  factor  in  material  and 
social  progress.  The  Louisville  A Nashville, 
the  Cincinnati  Southern,  the  Kentucky  Cen- 
tral, and  the  Chesapeake  & Ohio  Railroads, 
pass  through  the  county,  giving  means  of 
travel  and  transportation  in  every  direction. 
In  addition  to  these  roads,  all  completed  and 
in  successful  operation,  there  are  several  con- 
templated roads,  that,  when  built,  will  also 
penetrate  the  county.  Add  to  the  railroads 
the  perfect  system  of  turnpikes,  and  Fayette 
Countv,  indeed,  seems  to  be  blest  in  its 
highways  of  travel. 

The  first  settlement  in  Fayette  County  was 
made  upon  the  present  site  of  Lexington. 
As  early  as  1775  a number  of  pioneers, 
among  whom  were  Robert  Patterson,  William 
McConnell,  Simon  Kenton,  John  and  Levi 
Todd,  John  Maxwell,  James  Masterson,  Isaac 
Greer,  visited  this  region,  and  pitched  their 
camp  at  a fine  spring  iqron  the  spot  where 
Lexington  now  stands.  Here  McConnell, 
assisted  l)y  his  comrades,  built  a small  cabin, 
as  a claim  for  title  to  the  lands.  ' This,  how- 
ever, was  all  that  was  made  toward  an  actual 
settlement  until  1779,  Avhen  Col.  Robert  Pat- 
terson, with  twenty-five  men,  came  over  from 
Harrodsburg,  and  about  the  1st  of  April  com- 
menced the  building  of  a block-house  near 
the  site  of  the  McConnell  hut.  From  this 
dates  the  permanent  settlement  of  Fayette 
County,  and  other  stations  and  block-houses 
within  its  limits  followed  in  quick  succession. 
Bryant’ s and  Grant’ 8 Stations  were  settled  in 
the  same  year  (1779),  and  a few  years  later 
found  forts  and  block-houses  at  Boone’ s,  Mas- 
terson’s,  McLean’s,  McGee’s,  and  at  other 
points.  These  stations,  however,  were  not 
established  without  grave  difficulties  being 
encountered.  For  nearly  two  decades  it  was 
an  almost  daily  struggle  betAveen  the  whites 
and  savages  for  possession  of  the  country. 
Against  Lexington  and  Bryant’ s Stations  Avere 
hurled  some  of  the  most  formidable  expedi- 
tions of  the  Indians  Avhich  Kentucky,  with  all 
its  border  Avarfare,  ever  experienced.  But  in 


FAYETTE  COUNTY  EAIK  GKOXJND— LEXINGTON. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


581 


the  early  gliraraer  of  the  century,  now  reeling 
off  the  last  quarter  of  its  course,  the  Indian 
power,  in  Kentucky,  began  to  weaken,  and  the 
savages,  despairing  of  driving  the  pale-faced 
invaders  from  the  soil,  eventually  gave  ujd  the 
struggle,  and  peace  settled  over  the  country. 

Lexington,  the  seat  of  justice  of  the  county, 
and  the  metropolis  of  the  blue-grass  region, 
is  situated  on  the  Elkhorn  Creek,  near  the 
center  of  the  county.  It  is  distinguished  as 
being  the  first  capital  of  the  State,  a fact  de- 
scribed in  the  sketch  of  Frankfort.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  inland  cities  in  the 
Southwest,  and  by  the  last  census  had  10.656 
inhabitants.  Its  fine  educational  facilities 
long  ago  won  for  it  the  appropriate  title, 

‘ ‘ Athens  of  the  "West.  ” It  is  the  seat  of  the 
Kentucky  University,  formerly  Transylvania, 
the  State  Agricultnral  and  Mechanical  Col- 
lege; the  Hamilton  Female  College;  St.  Cath- 
erine’s Academy;  Sayre  Female  Institirte.  and 
a most  excellent  system  of  public  schools — 
both  white  and  colored.  The  press  is  an  able 
one,  and  comprises  among  its  papers  the 
Transcript,  the  Press,  the  Gazette,  etc.,  all 
ably  conducted  newspapers.  The  city  is  not 
lacking  in  religious  facilities,  having  twenty 
or  more  chiuches,  some  of  them  as  stately 
temples  of  worship  as  are  to  be  found.  Re- 
cently a new  court  house  has  been  built,  one 
of  the  finest  in  the  State,  which  is  an  orna- 
ment to  the  town,  and  at  this  time  (1886)  a 
new  government  building  is  being  erected. 

Lexington  received  her  name  in  honor  of 
the  little  village  away  up  in  Massachusetts, 
where  was  fired  the  first  gun  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  "While  the  little  band  of  pio- 
neer hunters  were  encamped  at  the  spring 
above  mentioned,  they  received  the  news  of 
the  battle  of  Lexington.  Says  Ranck:* 

The  name  of  the  settlement  that  was  to  be  was 
discussed  with  animation.  One  suggested  “York” 
another  “Lancaster,”  but  both  were  dropped  with 
a shout  for  “Lexington!”  as  the  conversation  turned 
to  the  strange  news  that  had  slowly  crept  through 
the  wilderness,  and  which,  after  being  weeks  on 
the  way,  they  had  just  heard,  of  how  King  George’s  | 
troops,  on  the  19tli  of  April,  1775,  had  called  Amer- 
icans “rebels,”  and  shot  them  down  like  dogs  at 
Lexington,  in  Massachusetts  Colony,  The  story  of 
Lexington’s  christening — the  historic  fact  of  how 
she  got  her  name — is  as  romantic  as  the  legend  of 
the  beautiful  princess  Pocahontas,  and  is  an  inci- 
dent far  more  interesting  because  more  true  than 
the  fabulous  one  told  of  the  founding  of  ancient  1 
Rome.  i 

This  christening  of  Lexington  was  the  first  i 
monument  raised  to  our  Revolutionary  dead. 
Here  in  the  vast  illimitable  wilderness — the  j 
almost  uninhabited  territory  of  the  royal 
province  of  Virginia — a band  of  simple  pio- 
neers more  than  a hundred  years  ago  be-  ^ 


stowed  this  tribute  upon  those  patriots  who 
were  first  to  seal  their  devotion  to  the  cause 
of  liberty  with  their  lives.  Those  pioneer 
: hunters — the  forlorn  hope  of  civilization  in 
; the  dark  and  bloody  ground — have  passed 
I away.  The  grass  has  grown  over  their  graves, 
and  the  daisies  have  bloomed  above  their 
: lowly  beds,  but  the  spot  named  by  that  lone 

■ camp-fire  in  the  wilderness  has  become  a 
' city  more  beautiful  than  Damascus,  the 

" fair  city  of  the  plain.  ’ ’ It  has  become  the 
I center  and  metropolis  of  one  of  the  finest  sec- 
tions of  country  upon  which  the  sun  ever 
shone,  and  which  has  long  been  famed  as  the 
seat  of  learning,  and  of  ‘ ' poetry  and  elo- 

■ quence.  ” 

Athens  is  situated  in  the  southeastern  part 
of  the  county,  and  is  but  a small,  unpretend- 
! ing  village.  Other  postoffices  and  villages 
are  Sandersville.  Donerail,  Gi’eendale,  Wal- 
nut Hill.  East  Hickman  and  Yarnallton.  The 
largest  of  these  comprises  but  a few  houses,  a 
store  or  two,  a postoffice,  blacksmith  shop,  etc. 

Much  of  the  early  history  of  Lexington  and 
Fayette  County  may  be  found  in  preceding 
chapters  of  this  work.  Sketches  of  most  of  the 
wise  and  grreat  men  have  been  given  elsewhere. 
Among  these  latter  are  Henry  Clay,  the  “sage 
of  Ashland.”  the  great  American  commoner; 
-John  Breckinridge,  the  first  of  that  illustri- 
ous family  in  Kentucky;  John  Bradford,  the 
pioneer  editor  of  the  West;  -Joseph  Cabell 
Breckinridge,  Robert  Wickliffe,  -Judge  David 
R.  Atchison,  Prof.  C.  S.  Rafinesque,  the 
eminent  archaeologist ; Gen.  -J ohn  C.  Breckin- 
ridge, Judge  A.  C.  Woolley,  Col.  Joseph 
Hamilton  Daveiss.  George  Nicholas,  William 
T.  Barry,  Gen.  John  H.  Morgan,  Dr.  Benj. 
W.  Dudley,  George  Robertson,  Dr.  Charles 
Caldwell,  and  a host  of  others  past  and  gone. 
So  much  has  been  said  of  these  eminent  men 
in  the  periods  of  the  general  history  where 
they  figured,  that  to  sketch  them  here  would 
but  make  of  it  a ’ ‘ twice  told  tale.  ’ ’ 

Fayette  County  abounds  in  caverns, 
springs,  natural  wonders,  ancient  remains  of 
the  prehistoric  race,  etc.  In  the  northern 
part  of  the  county  are  what  appear  to  be  the 
remains  of  Indian  fortifications.  Near  Lex- 
ington were  works  that  evidently  belonged  to 
the  prehistoric  period.  One  of  them  was  vis- 
ited by  Prof.  Rafinesque,  in  1820,  who  made 
maps  and  plats  of  it  and  presented  them  to 
the  Smithsonian  Institution.  There  were  a 
number  of  others  around  Lexington.  A work, 
resembling  a fortification,  was  just  west  of 
the  town,  near  the  Frankfort  road.  A group 
of  mounds  and  graves  were  a short  distance 
south  of  the  city,  and  two  groups  were  on  the 
south  side  of  north  Elkhorn  Creek,  about 


♦In  History  of  Fayette  County,  p.  223. 


582 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


a mile  from  each  other.  There  is  a tradition 
that  the  hrst  settlers  of  Lexington  found  a 
well,  ‘ ‘ regularly  and  artihcially  built,  and 
with  stone,  ” a domestic  convenience  unknown 
among  the  American  Indians;  and  that  curious 
earthen  vessels  were  plowed  up,  such  as  only 
could  have  been  manufactured  by  at  least  a | 
semi-civilized  people.  Of  the  “caves  and 
caverns,  ” to  be  found  all  over  the  county,  such 
wonders  of  nature  are  too  common  in  Ken- 
tucky to  call  forth  here  even  a description. 


Fleming  County  was  one  of  thirteen  organ- 
ized in  1798.  It  was  taken  from  Mason, 
was  the  twenty-sixth  formed,  and  was  named 
in  honor  of  Col.  John  Fleming.  It  is  situ- 
ated in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  State, 
and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Mason  and 
Lewis  Counties;  on  the  east  by  Lewis  and 
Rowan;  on  the  south  by  Rowan  and  Bath;  on 
the  west  by  Nicholas  and  Robertson,  and  in 
1880  had  15,221  inhabitants.  It  is  well 
watered  bv  the  Lickino-  River,  Fleming:,  Fox 
and  Triplett  Creeks,  and  a number  of  other 
small  streams  tributary  to  them.  The  soil  of 
the  county  is  varied  in  quality,  and  the  sur- 
face diversified.  The  western  portion  is  roll- 
ing. the  soil  resting  on  limestone,  and  is  rich 
and  productive;  the  eastern  and  northeastern 
portions  are  hilly  and  mountainous,  with  rich 
creek  bottoms  interspersed.  The  products  j 
are  corn,  wheat,  clover,  tobacco,  hemp, . etc,  j 
Stock  raising  also  receives  considerable  atten- 
tion, The  Maysville  division  of  the  Ken- 
tucky Central  Railroad  passes  through  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  county,  which  has 
improved  in  a slight  degree  the  transpor- 
tation facilities. 

The  first  whites  who  visited  the  territory, 
now  comprised  in  Fleming  County,  were  sur- 
veyors. A surveying  party,  under  Gen.  'Will- 
iam Thompson,  were  here  as  early  as  1773. 
Another  party,  under  Col.  James  Perry  and 
James  Hamilton,  were  here  quite  as  early. 
These  may  be  considered  the  advance  guard 
of  the  early  settlers.  . George  Stockton,  taken 
prisoner  when  a child  and  brought  up  among 
the  Indians,  afterward  established  Stockton’s 
Station  (in  1787)  near  the  present  site  of 
Flemingsburg.  Stockton  was  a strange  com- 
pound  of  white  man  by  liirth  and  Indian  by 
adoption.  He  was  an  exile  from  civilization 
in  his  native  Virginia,  and  had  sought  the 
solitudes  of  the  pathless  woods  in  exchange  for 
the  trammels  of  civilized  society.  Of  the 
latter  he  could  not  endure  its  restraints,  and 
he  despised  its  comforts  and  pleasures.  He 
had  hunted  in  the  Indian  chase,  talked  in 
their  dialect,  danced  their  dances,  and  was 


much  attached  to  many  of  their  customs. 
Robert  Stockton  and  Beacham  Rhodes  were 
compeers  of  George  Stockton,  also  Zadok 
Williams.  He  was  killed  by  Indians,  in  1790, 
while  working  in  the  field  near  Stockton’s 
Station. 

Fleming’s  and  Cassidy’s  Stations  were 
early  settlements  in  the  county.  The  latter 
was  settled  by  Michael  Cassidy,  an  Irishman 
by  birth,  but  who  came  to  America  in  his 
early  youth,  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
came  to  Kentucky  after  it  was  over,  and  set- 
tled the  station  that  bore  his  name.  Flem- 
! ing’s  Station  was  named  for  Col.  John  Flem- 
I ing,  for  whom  both  the  county  and  its  capital 
were  named.  He  was  a native  of  Virginia 
I and  came  to  Kentucky  in  1787,  and  located 
first  in  what  is  now  Clark  County,  but  in 
1790  came  here  and  located  Fleming’s  Sta- 
tion, where  he  died  in  1794.  He  was  a true 
pioneer,  and  took  an  active  part  in  subduing 
the  wilderness.  Many  incidents  could  be  re- 
lated of  Fleming,  Cassidy  and  Stockton. 

Another  early  settler,  and  a very  important 
personage  in  the  county,  was  “Ben,”  a col- 
ored man,  and  the  first  of  that  “fated  race” 
to  come  hither.  He  was  an  unadulterated 
negro,  I Jack  as  the  gates  of  “Sheol,” 
with  teeth  that  bore  the  appearance  of  mar- 
Iile  slabs  set  up  around  a coal-pit.  Ben  was 
devoted  to  his  master,  and  hated  an  Indian 
with  the  utmost  zeal.  He  could  handle  a 
rifie  expertly,  and  under  his  unerring  eye 
many  an  Indian  bit  the  dust.  Ben  lived  to 
an  old  age,  and  died  honored  liy  his  white 
friends. 

Flemingsburg  is  the  county  seat  and  is  sit- 
uated in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county 
on  the  Maysville  & Mount  Sterling  Turnpike, 
about  seventeen  miles  south  of  Maysville. 
It  has  an  excellent  brick  court  house,  several 
handsome  churches,  first-class  schools,  a 
newspaper,  and  the  usual  number  of  stores, 
shops,  etc.  It  was  incorporated  in  1812,  re- 
ceived its  name  from  the  same  source  that  the 
county  did,  and  in  1880  had  a population  of 
811  souls.  Elizaville  is  a village  of  148  in- 
habitants, situated  about  five  miles  from 
Flemingsburg.  Sherburne,  with  a popula- 
tion of  177,  is  situated  on  the  Licking  River 
in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county.  Pop- 
lar Plains,  a village  wfith  278  inhabitants,  is 
situated  near  the  center  of  the  county.  Hills- 
boro has  194  inhabitants,  and  is  located  nine 
miles  southeast  of  Flemingsburg.  Mount 
Carmel  is  situated  east  of  Flemingsluirg.  and 
has  185  inhabitants.  Tilton,  by  last  census, 
had  94  inhabitants,  and  is  six  miles  south  of 
Flemingsburg.  Other  small  places  aie 
Farmville,  Centerville  and  Ewing. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


583 


Floyd  Couxty  was  organized  in  1799  from  | 
parts  of  Fleming,  Mason  and  Montgomery  j 
Counties,  and  was  the  fortieth  in  the  catalogue  ' 
of  counties.  It  was  an  unwieldy  district,  and 
as  its  population  increased,  the  follow'ing  t 
counties  were  wholly  or  in  part  formed  from 
it:  Clay,  in  1806;  Harlan,  in  1819;  Perry,  j 
in  1820;  Lawrence,  in  1821;  Pike  County,  I 
in  1821;  Morgan,  in  1822;  Breathitt,  in  j 
1839;  Letcher,  in  1842;  Johnson,  in  1843; 
Eowan,  in  1856;  Boyd,  Magoffin  and  Wolfe, 
in  1860;  Elliott,  in  1869,  and  Lee,  in  1870. 

It  was  named  for  Col.  John  Floyd,  a promi- 
nent man  in  the  early  history  of  Kentucky. 

It  lies  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  and  is 
hounded  on  the  north  by  Johnson  and  Mar- 
tin Counties;  on  the  east  by  Pike  County; 
on  the  south  by  Pike  and  Letcher  Counties; 
on  the  west  by  Letcher,  Perry,  Breathitt  and 
Magoffin  Counties,  and  in  1880  had  a i^opu- 
lation  of  10,176.  It  is  mountainous,  the 
hills  rising  in  places  to  an  elevation  of  500 
feet  above  the  general  level.  Corn  is  the 
principal  crop,  although  wheat  and  flax  are 
extensively  cultivated.  The  mountains  afford 
fine  range  for  stock. 

The  county  abounds  in  coal.  Collins’ 
history  furnishes  the  following  on  the  sub- 
ject: 

Five  or  six  different  beds  of  coal  overlie  each 
other  in  the  hills  around  Prestonburg.  The  main 
bed,  which  averages  aliout  four  feet,  with  a clay  j 
parting  ten  inches  from  the  top  of  the  coal,  which  I 
thickens  up  stream,  toward  the  south,  to  eight 
iuclies.and  thins  down  stream  to  half  an  inch,  is  sit- 
uated seventy  to  eighty  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  j 
Big  Sandy  River;  one  sixty  and  one  150  feet  higher, 
one  forty  or  fifty  feet  lower,  one  at  low  water  and 
one  below  the  lied  of  the  river.  A lied  of  coal,  sup- 
posed to  be  a distinct  bed.  crops  out  just  opposite 
Prestouburg,  ninety-eight  feet  above  the  river, 
wliich  is  of  a compact,  close  texture,  approaching 
cannel  coal,  and  is  different  from  the  main  coal  in 
appearance,  fracture,  composition  and  roof  The 
coal  bed  of  Col.  Martin,  two  miles  above  Prestou- 
burg, on  the  east  branch  of  Big  Sand}',  sixty  feet 
above  the  river,  has  three  feet,  ten  inches  to  four 
feet  of  remarkably  pure  coal;  is  but  little  changed 
in  form  in  burning,  and  has  but  little  bitumen — a 
material  which  acts  injuriously  in  a coal  used  for  j 
.smelting  iron.  The  main  bed  of  coal  is  one  of  the  ! 
best  in  Kentucky  for  manufacturing  purposes. 

Prestonburg,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  a small 
town  of  265  inhabitants  by  the  last  census. 

It  is  situated  on  the  Big  Sandy  River,  about 
seventy  miles  above  its  mouth,  and  was 
named  in  honor  of  Col.  John  Preston,  who 
owned  the  land  upon  which  it  was  laid  out. 
With  the  rich  mineral  wealth  Ivincr  conticfu- 
ous  it  should,  with  railroad  facilities,  become 
a great  manufacturing  point.  Other  villages 
are  Lanesville  and  Martinsdale,  both  small 
places. 

The  Burning  Spring  is  one  of  the  natural 
wonders  of  Floyd  County.  It  is  situated 


about  seventeen  miles  from  Prestonburg  and 
constantly  emits  a heavy,  thick  sulphurous 
vapor,  which  ignites  upon  the  application  of 
fire.  This  rather  strange  phenomenon  im- 
bued the  superstitious  among  the  pioneers 
with  the  idea  that  the  “ fire- spring  ’’  was  but 
a by-way  to  “ Sheol.  ” 

To  the  “Swift  Silver  Mine,"*  the  county 
was  indebted  for  its  first  white  visitors. 
They  w'ere  roving  backwoods  men,  who  are 
supposed  to  have  come  to  eastern  Kentucky 
in  search  of  this  fabled  silver  mine — this 
Eldorado  of  the  mountains.  Little  beyond 
tradition,  however,  is  knowm  of  them  or  their 
visit.  As  early  as  1775  a party  of  hunters — 
I William  Pittman,  James  Fowler  and  William 
i Thornton — came  out  from  Virginia,  and  in 
I pursuit  of  game  camped  for  a short  time  on 
Beaver  Creek  in  the  present  county  of  Floyd, 
j They  discovered  a salt  lick,  which  they 
I called  “Fowler’s  Lick,”  and  from  which  salt 
was  manufactured  in  early  days. 

Col.  John  Floyd,  for  whom  this  county 
was  named,  was  a native  of  Virginia,  and  of 
Welsh  origin.  He  was  born  in  1750,  and 
was  well  educated  for  that  early  period.  He 
came  to  Kentucky  with  his  parents  in  an 
early  day,  and  settled  in  the  present  county 
of  Jefferson.  He  established  Floyd's  Station 
on  Beargrass,  and  as  an  instance  of  the 
danger  of  the  times  and  the  perils  the  early 
settlers  incurred,  Col.  Floyd  and  two  of  his 
brothers  were  killed  by  Indians.  Much  of 
the  adventures  and  pioneer  life  of  Col.  Floyd 
may  be  found  in  preceding  chapters  of  this 
volume. 


Franklin  County,  distinguished  for  having 
the  State  capital,  was  formed  in  1794.  and 
j bears  the  name  of  the  philosopher  and  states- 
man, Benjamin  Franklin.  Woodford,  Mer- 
cer and  Shelby  Counties  contriliuted  its 
territory,  and  in  turn  it  contributed  to  the 
formation  of  Gallatin,  Owen  and  Anderson 
Counties.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Henry  and  Owen  Counties;  on  the  east  by 
Scott  and  Woodford;  on  the  south  by 
Anderson  and  Woodford;  on  the  west  by 
Shelb}'  and  Henry,  and  by  the  census  of 
1880  it  had  a population  of  18,699.  The 
Kentucky  River  flows  north  nearly  through 
the  center  of  the  county,  and  with  numerous 
tributaries,  comprising  North  and  South  and 
Main  Elkhorn,  Big  and  Little  Benson  and 
Flat  Creeks,  drains  and  waters  it  well.  The 
surface  of  the  country  is  diversified.  A 
small  section,  lying  next  to  Scott  and  Wood- 
ford Counties,  is  undulating,  and  is  rich 

*See  sketch  of  Bell  Couaty. 


584 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


blue-grass  lands.  Along  the  Kentucky  River 
it  is  broken  and  hilly,  and  in  many  places 
tall,  perpendicular  cliffs  “rear  their  lofty 
crests  on  high.  ’ ’ There  is  sufficient  water- 
power in  the  county  to  operate  thousands  of 
factories,  and  that  Frankfort  is  not  a great 
manufacturing  center  is  more  a lack  of  enter- 
prise on  the  part  of  the  people  than  other- 
wise. The  principal  crops  are  corn,  wheat, 

rye,  hemp,  barley,  tobacco  and 

whisky.  Stock  raising  receives  a full  share 
of  attention,  and  much  interest  is  manifested 
in  blooded  animals.  The  Lexington  & Frank- 
fort division  of  the  LouisvilJe  & Nashville 
system  j^asses  through  the  county,  and  is  one 
of  the  pioneer  railroads  of  the  West.  [See 
chaieter  on  internal  improvements.]  With 
the  advantage  of  both  railroad  and  river 
transportation  the  county  is  blest  beyon  1 
many  of  her  neighbors. 

The  first  settlement  made  in  what  is  now 
Franklin  County  was  at  a place  called  Lees- 
town,  which  was  laid  out  on  the  river  about 
a mile  below  the  present  town  of  Frankfort. 
A station  or  block-house  was  built  there  in 
1776  by  Hancock  Lee  (for  whom  the  place  was 
called),  Cyrus  McCracken  and  others.  It 
became  quite  a stopping  place  for  the  early 
settlers,  and  at  one  time  was  a rather  import- 
ant point,  described  as  “ regularly  laid  out 
and  flourishing.”  It  never,  however,  arose 
to  any  prominence,  as  was  predicted  of  it,  but 
when  the  capital  was  located  at  Frankfort,  it 
gradually  fell  into  decay,  and  the  “remem- 
brance of  its  glory  has  almost  faded  from  the 
minds  of  men.” 

Frankfort,  the  seat  of  justice  of  the  county 
and  the  capital  of  the  State,  is  situated  on  the 
Kentucky  River  about  sixty-six  miles  above 
its  mouth.  * It  stands  in  a valley,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  hills  that  in  the  barbarous  ages 
might  have  served  as  walls  of  the  city. 
Ancient  Rome,  we  are  told,  sat  proudly  on 
her  seven  hills,  but  in  the  case  of  Frankfort 
‘ ■ the  eternal  fitness  of  things  ’ ’ is  reversed, 
and  the  seven  hills  sit  upon  the  town.  It 
was  chosen  as  the  capital  of  the  State  in 
December  (accepted  on  the  8th),  1792,  and 
the  first  session  of  the  second  Legislature  was 
held  ‘ ‘ in  the  house  of  Amlrew  Holmes  at 
Frankfort  on  the  Kentucky  River.  ” 

The  first  constitution,  adopter!  in  convention  at 
Danville,  April  19,  1793,  reejuired  the  General  As- 
sembly to  meet  at  Lexington  on  .June  4,  1792,  and 
provided  the  following  mode  for  fixing  the  seat  of 
government.  The  House,  during  the  sessions  in  1792, 
should  choose  by  ballot  twenty-one  persons,  from 

♦Frankfort,  it  is  claimed,  attained  its  name  in  consequence 
of  a skirmish  that  occurred  on  the  spot  where  the  town  now 
stands,  between  a hand  of  Indians  and  William  Bryant,  Nich- 
olas Tomlin,  Ellisom  Williams,  Stephen  Frank  and  others. 
Frank  was  killed  in  the  tight,  and  to  perpetuate  his  memory, 
the  place  was  called  Frankfort. 


whom  the  representatives  from  Mercer  and  Fayette 
Counties  should  alternately  strike  one,  until  the 
twenty-one  should  be  reduced  to  five,  who,  or  any 
three  of  them  concurring,  should  " have  power  to 
fix  on  the  pi  ace  for  the  seat  of  government,  to  receive 
grants  from  individuals  therefor,  and  to  make  such 
conditions  with  the  proprietors  of  the  land  as  to 
them  should  seem  right,  and  should  be  agreed  to  by 
the  proprietor,  and  lay  off  a town  thereon  in  such 
manner  as  they  should  judge  most  pioper.  Accord- 
ingly, on  .Tune  18,  1792,  John  Allen  and  John 
Edwards,  of  Bourbon  County;  Robert  Todd,  of 
Fayette;  Henry  Lee,  of  Mason;  and  Thomas  Ken- 
nedy, of  Madison,  were  chosen  commissioners. 
During  the  summer  and  fall  ensuing,  they  visited 
the  several  points  which  made  proposals — Leger- 
wood  Bend,  Delaney' s Ferry,  Petersburg,  Louisville, 
Lexington,  Frankfort  and  Leestowu  (one  mile  be- 
low Frankfort),  canvassed  them  thoroughly,  and 
on  December  5,  in  session  at  Lexington,  resolved 
that  '‘Frankfort  was  the  most  proper  place  for  the 
seat  of  government.”  John  Edwards  was  absent, 
two  of  the  board  (Robert  Todd  being  one)  were  in 
favor  of  Lexington,  and  two  of  Frankfort.  , Gen. 
Todd,  although  largely  interested  as  the  owner  of 
much  land  near  Lexington  and  a resident  there, 
rather  than  have  it  said  that  his  judgment  'ivas 
biased  by  interest,  changed  his  vote  and  gave  to 
Frankfort  the  three  votes  necessary.  December  8 
the  report  of  the  committee  was  approved  by  the 
Legislature,  and^the  question  settled.  * * 

The  proposition  wdiich  induced  this  location  was: 
First.  By  Andrew  Holmes,  to  convey  to  the  Gov- 
ernment: (a)  For  seven  years  the  house  and  tene- 
ment lately  occupied  by  Gen.  James  Wilkinson;  (b) 
absolutely,  the  lots  marked  Public  Ground,  Nos. 
.78,  59,  68,  74,  75,  79,  8.3  and  84;  (c)  choice  of  thirty 
lots  yet  unsold,  or  alternate — choice  of  half  of  all  the 
unsold  (74)  lots,  and  if  more  space  is  requisite,  will 
lay  off  into  half-acie  lots  fifty  acres  more  and  con- 
vey one-half  of  them;  (d)  the  rents  of  -warehouse 
for  seven  years;  (e)  ten  boxes  10x12  window  glass, 
1.500  pounds  nails,  £50  ($166f)  worth  of  locks  and 
hinges,  and  an  equivalent  of  stone  and  scantling  for 
building,  all  delivered  upon  the  Public  Ground,  or, 
in  place  of  the  latter,  stone  that  will  build  1,590 
perches  of  wall  iu  any  part  of  Frankfort,  and  the 
use  of  his  saw-mill,  carriage,  wagon,  and  two  good 
horses  uu:il  a sufficiency  of  scantling  for  a State- 
house  is  procured,  and  the  privilege  of  timber  from 
any  part  of  his  tract.  Second.  The  bond,  dated 
August  9, 1792,  of  eight  citizens  of  Frankfort — Harry 
lunes,  Nat  Sanders,  Bennett  Pemberton,  Benjamin 
Craig,  Jere  Craig,  IVilliam  Haydon,  Daniel  James 
and  Giles  Samuel — to  pay  to  the  commissioners 
$3,000  in  specie  (gold  or  silver).* 

Frankfort  is  becoming  quite  a manufactur- 
ing center,  the  lumber  and  whisky  interests 
lieing  the  most  prominent.  The  efforts  made 
from  time  to  time  to  remove  the  capital,  and 
the  agitation  consequent  thereto,  has  greatly 
retarded  the  growth  of  Frankfort,  and  at  the 
same  time  prevented  the  erection  of  public 
buildings  creditable  to  the  great  State  of 
Kentucky.  The  cajiital,  doubtless,  -null  never 
be  removed — it  never  should  be — and  the  re- 
taining of  the  old  buildings  is  a disgrace  to 
the  town  and  the  State.  The  capital  should 
not  be  removed  unless  the  State  cemetery  is 
removed  with  it;  to  remove  one  without  the 
other  would  be  an  outrage  upon  the  people 

^Collins,  Vol.  II,  pp.  181-1S2. 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


585 


of  the  State,  after  all  the  money  that  has  been 
spent  in  removing  thence  their  historic  dead. 
These  suo-gestions  are  not  history,  but  the 
opportunity  to  give  a word  of  advice  to  the 
people,  is  too  good  to  be  lost — that  word  of 
advice  is,  build  a creditable  State-house  at 
Frankfort. 

Besides  the  government  buildings,  Frank- 
fort has  a good  court  house,  clerk' s offices,  the 
State  arsenal  and  the  State  prison.  It  has 
good  schools,  a number  of  handsome  church- 
es, several  excellent  hotels,  an  able  press  and 
good  business  houses.  It  is  well  laid  out, 
with  broad  streets  crossing  at  right  angles, 
and  is  divided  into  North  and  South  Frank- 
fort by  the  river,  and  into  East  and  West 
Frankfort  liy  the  railroad.  Other  towns  and 
postoffices  in  the  county  are  Ducker’s,  Bridge- 
port, Bell  Point,  Benson,  etc. 

Franklin  County  is  possessed  of  considera- 
ble mineral  wealth.  Lead  ore,  but  not  in 
sufficient  quantities  to  justify  mining,  exists; 
potter’s  and  fire  clay  are  found  in  the  valley 
near  Frankfort.  Five  miles  east  of  Frank- 
fort, and  on  the  railroad,  there  is  a fine  lime- 
stone, valuable  for  building  purposes,  and 
the  Kentucky  River  marble  is  unexcelled  as  a 
building  material.  This  latter  stone  exists  in 
apparently  inexhaustible  quantities.  A num- 
ber of  mineral  springs  are  found  in  different 
parts  of  the  county 

The  lives  of  some  of  Kentucky' s great  men 
are  interwoven  with  the  history  of  Franldin 
County.  Among  these  are  the  Browns,  Gov. 
George  Madison,  Col.  Solomon  P.  Sharp, 
Isham  Talljot,  Judge  Harry  Innes,  Hon. 
Thomas  Todd,  William  Murray,  Hon.  Amos 
Kendall,  Hon.  George  M.  Bibb,  Gen.  G.  W. 
Smith,  Col.  Albert  G.  Hodges,  and  many 
others  who  made  their  marks  in  the  world. 
Col.  Hodges  is  noticed  in  connection  with  the 
press  of  the  State;  Col.  Sharp.  Gov.  Madi- 
son and  Judge  Bibb  in  the  ;)olitical  history. 
Gen.  Smith  Avas  born  at  Georgetown,  this 
State,  in  182*2.  He  graduated  from  the  Mil- 
itary Academy  at  West  Point;  served  in  the 
United  States  Army  during  the  Avar  Avith 
Mexico.  In  the  late  civil  war  he  served  in 
the  Confederate  Army;  rose  to  the  rank  of 
major-general  and  to  the  command  of  the 
Confederate  capital  and  the  Department  of 
Virginia.  He  was  a most  exemplary  officer 
and  an  able  commander. 

Hon.  Amos  Kendall  was  a native  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, whei’e  he  was  born  in  1789.  His 
early  education  was  limited,  but  he  finally 
succeeded  in  obtaining  an  entrance  into  Dart- 
mouth College,  from  Avhich  he  graduated. 
He  studied  law  and  came  to  Kentucky  in 
1814,  locating  at  Lexington.  He  was  a AVi'iter 


of  considerable  note,  and  became  one  of  the 
pioneer  editors  of  the  State,  being  editorially 
attached  to  the  Argus  of  Western  America, 
one  of  the  early  papers  published  at  Frank- 
foid.  He  Avas  one  of  the  champions  of  Gen. 
Jackson,  which  led  to  his  being  appointed 
fourth  auditor  of  the  treasury  when  the 
General  became  President,  and  later,  Post- 
master-general in  his  cabinet.  He  was  ten- 
dered a foreign  mission  under  President  Polk, 
but  declined  it.  He  died  in  Washington  City 
in  1869,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 

William  Murray  came  to  Kentucky  soon 
after  the  State  was  admitted  into  the  Union. 
He  was  noted  as  leader  in  the  debate  iipon 
the  “ Resolutions  ’ 98,  ’ ’ and  for  voting  against, 
them.  He  is  described  as  a bold  and  elo- 
quent man,  an  aggressive  politician  and  a 
brilliant  speaker;  a man  of  whom  his  cotem- 
poraries never  spoke  except  in  terms  of  un- 
qualified admiration,  and  ‘ ‘ was  probably  the 
most  accomplished  scholar  among  all  the  emi- 
nent men  of  Kentucky  at  that  day.  ’ ’ He  was 
a lawyer  of  sufficient  ability  to  cope  success- 
fully with  such  men  as  George  Nicholas,  John 
.Breckim'idge  and  Henry  Clay — the  giant  in- 
tellects of  the  early  Kentucky  bar.  He 
emigrated  to  Natchez,  Miss.,  in  1803,  and 
died  soon  after. 

The  Todds  were  one  of  the  prominent  fam- 
ilies of  Kentucky.  Hon.  Thomas  Todd  was 
at  one  time  chief  justice  of  Kentucky,  and 
afterward  associate  justice  of  the  supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  He  was  a son  of 
Richard  Todd,  and  was  born  in  Virginia  in 
1765.  His  father  died  while  he  was  yet  an 
infant,  leaving  his  family  in  limited  circum- 
stances, and  it  was  a hard  struggle  for  young 
Thomas  to  receKe  an  education;  but  by 
strong  perseverance  he  succeeded,  and  studied 
law  Avith  Judge  Innes.  Avho  was  a relative  of 
his  mother.  He  filled  many  important  po- 
sitions during  life,  Avhich  he  discharged  with 
great  ability,  and  to  detail  Avhich  Avould  • re- 
quire a large  volume. 

Judge  Harry  Innes  Avas  a native  of  Vir 
ginia,  and  was  of  Scotch  descent.  He  was 
Avell  educated,  and  was  a classmate  of  Pres- 
ident Madison.  Graduating  in  laAv,  he  at 
once  entered  into  practice,  and  acted  a prom- 
inent part  in  Virginia  until  1785,  Avhen  he 
was  appointed  attorney-general  for  the  dis- 
trict of  Kentucky;  in  1787  he  was  ap- 
pointed judge  of  the  United  States  Coiu't 
for  Kentucky,  a position  he  held  until  his 
death  in  1816.  In  addition  to  his  legal 
duties,  he  filled  other  positions  in  Kentucky, 
among  Avhich  was  member  of  the  local  board 
of  war  for  the  western  country.  His  connec- 
tion, or  reported  connection,  with  the  Span- 


58C 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


ish  intrigue,  cast  a shadow  upon  his  good 
name;  but  the  charge  of  complicity  in  that 
affair  has  always  been  disputed  by  his  friends. 

Hon.  Isham  Talbot  was  a native  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  was  born  in  1773.  lYhen  quite 
young  his  father  came  to  Kentucky  and  set- 
tled in  Mercer  County.  Mainly  through  his 
own  perseverance  and  exertions  he  received  a 
good  classical  education.  He  studied  law 
with  Col.  George  Nicholas,  and  soon  after  his 
admission  to  the  bar  he  removed  to  Frank- 
fort. Clay,  Bledsoe,  Bibb,  Daveiss,  Rowan 
and  such  master  spirits  then  adorned  the  bar, 
and  among  these  Talbot  was  a conspicuous 
figure,  and  as  a lawyer  their  equal.  He  died 
in  1837  in  his  sixty-fifth  year. 

Hon.  John  Brown  was  born  in  Virginia, 
September  12,  1757.  His  father  was  a Presby- 
terian minister,  an  accomplished  scholar,  and 
for  “forty -four  years  pastor  of  the  church  at 
Providence  Meeting-house  in  Rockbridge.” 
The  family  was  poor,  and  John  received  no 
patrimony  beyond  a good  education.  He  was 
sent  to  Princeton  College,  and  was  a student 
in  that  institution  at  the  time  of  the  memor- 
able retreat  of  the  American  Army  through 
the  Jerseys  during  the  Revolutionary  war. 
He  afterward  completed  his  education  in  the 
college  of  William  and  Mary,  studied  law 
with  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  removed  to  Ken- 
tucky in  1782.  From  that  time  forward  he 
took  a prominent  part  in  the  affairs  of  the 
State.  Kentucky  sent  him  as  a delegate  to 
the  Virgioia  Legislature,  and  after  the  State 
was  admitted  into  the  Union  he  was  three 
times  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate, 
being  the  first  man  sent  to  the  United  States 
Senate  from  the  Mississippi  Valley.  His 
public  service  embraced  a time  when  he  was 
brought  into  intimate  associations  with 
Washington,  Adams,  Jefferson,  Madison  and 
Monroe.  In  company  with  Gen.  Charles 
Scott,  Col.  Benjamin  Logan,  Judge  Harry 
Innes  and  Gov.  Shelby,  he  was  honored  by 
Washington  with  a military  trust — “with 
power  to  enlist  men,  commission  officers,  and 
carry  on  war  at  home  and  abroad.”  Says 
his  biographer:  “With  Gen.  George  Rogers 
Clark,  Gov.  Shelby,  Govs.  Scott  and  Madison, 
and  with  Judges  Innes  and  Todd,  and  Cols. 
Nicholas  and  Breckinridge,  and  their  illus- 
trious associates,  he  held  the  most  confiden- 
tial intercourse,  and  their  attachment,  com- 
menced in  periods  of  danger  and  under  cir- 
cumstances of  trial,  never  wavered.  ” 

Hon.  James  Brown,  Dr.  Samuel  Brown 
and  Dr.  Preston  W.  Brown,  were  brothers  of 
Hon.  John  Brown.  James  was  a distinguished 
lawyer,  and  a brother-in-law  of  Henry 
Clay — both  having  married  daughters  of  Col. 


Thomas  Hart.  Samuel  was  an  eminent  phy- 
sician, and  for  many  years  was  a professor  in 
the  medical  department  of  Transylvania 
University.  Preston,  the  youngest  of  the 
brothers,  was  also  a prominent  physician. 


Fulton  County  lies  in  tne  Jackson  Pur- 
chase, and  was  created  in  1845.  It  was 
formed  from  Hickman  County,  was  the 
ninety-ninth  organized  in  the  State,  and  was 
named  in  honor  of  Robert  Fulton,  the  great 
inventor.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Hickman  County  and  also  on  the  east;  on  the 
south  by  the  State  of  Tennessee;  on  the  west 
and  northwest  by  the  Mississippi  River,  and 
by  the  census  of  1880  it  had  a population  of 
7,977  souls.  It  is  divided  between  Missis- 
sippi bottoms  and  uplands.  The  bottoms 
are  mostly  subject  to  overflow;  the  land  gen- 
erally is  very  productive — corn,  wheat  and 
tobacco  are  the  principal  crops;  stock  raising 
receives  considerable  attention.  The  follow- 
ing is  frojji  the  crop  report  of  1880:  Corn, 
012,202 bushels;  oats,  10,835;  wheat,  93,795; 
tobacco,  410,337  pounds;  horses  and  mules, 
2,654  head;  cattle,  4,731;  sheep,  3,012,  and 
hogs,  14,154.  The  county  is  watered  and 
drained  by  the  Mississippi  River,  and  by 
the  Little  Obion,  Bayou  du  Chien,  Mud, 
Rush  and  Dixon  Creeks. 

Fulton  County  occupies  the  extreme  west 
end  of  the*  State.  It  enjoys  the  peculiarity 
of  being  cut  into  by  the  Mississippi  River, 
and  in  traveling  from  the  east  to  the  west 
end  of  the  county  along  the  State  line,  one 
must  necessarily  pass  through  about  eight 
miles  of  Tennessee  territory.  This  is  in 
consequence  of  a sharp  curve  of  the  river, 
knowm  as  ‘ ‘ Madrid  Bend,  ’ ’ into  Tennessee, 
literally  cutting  off  the  extreme  west  end  of 
the  county,  and  forming  it  into  an  island  by 
the  river  and  State  line. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  the  county 
were  a Mr.  Mills,  Robert  and  Samuel 
McKinney,  A.  M.  Rush,  John  and  Ben 
Meneese,  Hugh  Sparkman,  and  a man  named 
Drummond.  The  following  incident  is  relat- 
ed of  these  last  named  settlers:  One  night 

Ben  Meneese,  Sparkman  and  Drummond  de- 
cided to  plunder  one  William  Bailey,  who 
lived  near  by.  The  latter,  as  also  did  his 
wife,  attempted  to  argue  them  out  of  it  and 
have  them  depart  in  peace,  but  to  no  j3urpose. 
They  persisted,  when  Bailey  leveled  his  rifle 
and  shot  Meneese  dead.  Bailey  gave  him- 
self up  to  the  officers  of  the  law,  but  was  ac- 
quitted on  the  plea  of  having  acted  in  self- 
defence.  Sparkman  was  afterward  sent  to 
the  penitentiary. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


587 


Hickman,  the  seat  of  justice,  was  originally 
called  Mills’  Point,  for  its  first  settler,  Mr. 
Mills.  The  name  is  said  to  have  been 
changed  to  Hickman  in  honor  ofi  the  wife  of 
G.  M.  Marr,  who  at  one  time  owned  not  only 
the  land  upon  which  the  town  was  laid  out, 
but  several  thousand  acres  contiguous  to  it. 
It  stands  on  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  about  forty-five  miles  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio.  It  has  a brick  court  house,  an 
excellent  newspaper — the  Courier — several 
flourishing  stores,  a good  school,  and  a num- 
ber of  churches. 

Fulton  Tillage,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
county,  is  a thriving  place.  It  is  at  the 
crossing  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  the 
Chesapeake,  Ohio  & Southwestern  Railroads, 
and  by  the  last  census  had  826  inhab- 
itants. It  is  situated  on  the  State  line — a 
part  of  it  being  in  the  State  of  Tennessee. 
It  has  a bank,  several  large  stores,  two  news- 
papers— the  Fultonian,  and  a Baptist  paper, 
the  Gleaner — an  excellent  hotel,  and  a 
number  of  handsome  chiu’ches  and  resi- 
dences. Jordan  Station  is  a small  place  on 
the  Mobile  & Ohio  Railroad,  about  ten  miles 
fi'om  Hickman. 

Fulton  Cormty  was  in  the  great  earthquake 
■of  1811,  though  but  an  xrnbroken  wilderness 
at  the  time.  So  much  has  been  written  upon 
the  subject  of  that  gi’eat  “upheaval  of 
nature,”  that  a description  of  it  here  would 
be  superfluous.  But  to  this  day  there  are 
traces  of  it  to  be  seen  in  this  county.  For 
instance,  Reel-Foot  Lake,  which  is  in  Fulton 
County  and  across  the  river  from  Yew  Madrid, 
where  the  earthquake  was  severest.  It  w’as 
formed  by  the  earthquake  “ blowing  sand  out 
of  a chasm,  and  depositing  it  near  the  mouth 
of  Reel-Foot  Creek,  causing  a sudden  dam- 
ming of  its  waters,  which  spread  over  the  ad- 
jacent low  grounds.”  The  lake  is  some  forty 
miles  long  and  fi’om  a mile  to  eight  miles  in 
width,  and  now,  after  more  than  three  quar- 
ters of  a century,  it  is  still  over  twenty  feet 
deep  in  places — it  is  deep  enough  to  be  “ blue 
water.  ’ ’ 


Gallatin  County  was  formed  in  1798, 
from  Franklin  and  Shelby  Counties,  was  the 
thirty- third  county,  and  was  named  for 
Albert  Gallatin,  a prominent  statesman  in 
the  early  period  of  the  republic.  Its  ong 
inal  boundaries  were  as  follows : ‘ ‘ Beginning 
six  miles  above  the  mouth  of  Corn  Creek; 
thence  up  the  Ohio  River  to  the  mouth  of 
Big  Bone  Creek;  thence  south  with  the 
Campbell  County  line  sixteen  miles;  thence 
to  the  Kentucky  River  at  Rock  Spring,  near  | 


Clay  Lick;  thence  down  the  river  within  two 
and  a half  miles  of  the  mouth  of  Eagle 
Creek;  thence  a direct  line  till  it  strikes  the 
road  from  Shelbyville  to  the  mouth  of  Ken- 
! tucky  River  two  miles  north  of  Hem-y  Dough- 
; erty' s ; thence  a dhect  line  to  the  beginning.  ’ ’ 
It  contributed  to  the  formation  of  Owen 
County  in  1819;  to  Trimble  County  in  1836, 
and  in  1838  to  CaiToll  County.  It  lies  in 
the  north  part  of  the  State,  bordering  on  the 
Ohio  River,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
it  and  Boone  County;  on  the  east,  southeast 
and  south  by  Grant  and  Owen  Counties,  and 
on  the  west  by  CaiToll  County.  By  the  cen- 
sus of  1880  it  had  a population  of  4,832.  It 
is  of  a rough,  uneven  surface,  but  generally 
productive,  especially  the  river  bottoms.  It 
is  well  timbered:  walnut,  beech,  hard  maple, 
ash,  poplar,  oak,  hickory,  etc.,  predominat- 
ing. Grain,  grass  and  clover  are  the  prin- 
cipal crops  and  are  grown  in  abundance. 
The  following  are  the  statistics  for  1880: 
Corn,  401,996  bushels;  oats,  18.844;  wheat, 
38,216,  and  tobacco,  1,265.367  pounds. 
Stock  raising  receives  considerable  attention, 
and,  of  late  years,  gardening  has  become 
quite  an  industiy.  The  county  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  Ohio  River  and  of  the  short 
line  division  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville 
Railroad  in  marketing  its  products. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  the  county 
were  George  Lee,  lYilliam  Thomas,  John 
Grimes,  Hugh  Gatewood,  Martin  Hawkins, 
the  Pickets,  John  Fister,  etc.  The  first 
settlements  were  made  in  that  part  of  the 
county  afterward  stricken  off  into  Carroll 
County. 

"Warsaw  is  the  seat  of  justice,  and  was 
originally  called  Fredericksbiu-g.  By  the 
last  census  it  had  666  inhabitants.  It  is 
beautifully  situated  on  the  Ohio  River,  about 
seventy-five  miles  above  Louisville.  It  has  a 
brick  court  house,  excellent  schools,  both 
select  and  public,  several  chmches,  and  the 
usual  number  of  stores,  shops  and  other  busi- 
ness establishments.  Other  towns,  villages 
and  postoifices  are  Glencoe,  Napoleon,  Spar- 
ta, Liberty,  Zion,  Elliston,  etc. 


Garrard  County  dates  its  origin  back  to 
1796.  The  counties  of  Madison,  Lincoln 
and  Mercer  contributed  its  territory,  and  the 
Hon.  James  Garrard,  then  governor  of  the 
State,  contributed  a name  for  the  new  divis- 
ion. It  lies  in  the  central  portion  of  the 
State,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Jes- 
samine County,  fr’om  which  it  is  separated 
by  the  Kentucky  River;  on  the  east  by  Madi- 


588 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


son  County;  on  the  south  by  Lincoln  and 
Rock  Castle  Counties;  on  the  west  by  Lin- 
coln, Boyle  and  Mercer  Counties ; and  by  the 
last  census  it  had  11,704  inhabitants.  It  is 
drained  by  the  Kentucky  and  Dick's  Rivers 
and  their  tributaries.  The  land  lies  well, 
being  undulating  or  rolling,  and  highly  pro- 
ductive. The  principal  products  are  corn, 
wheat,  oats,  rye,  grasses,  etc. ; and  the  ex- 
ports, horses  and  mules,  hogs,  cattle  and 
sheep.  The  following  statistics  are  shown 
by  the  report  of  1880:  Corn,  828, 173  bushels; 
oats,  21,356;  rye,  18,423;  wheat,  143,060; 
horses  and  mules,  4,835  head;  cattle,  8,725; 
sheej),  10,266;  and  hogs,  25,251.  The 
county  contains  some  mineral  wealth,  al- 
though not  as  rich  as  the  more  mountainous 
counties.  Shot  iron  ore  was  found  near  the 
Dick’s  River,  but  not  in  suflicient  quantities 
to  be  very  valuable.  Lead  ore  is  found  in 
the  Kentucky  River  marble  in  small  veins. 
Says  Mr.  Collins: 

The  White  Lick  is  an  area  of  ground,  embracing 
about  ten  acres,  on  Paint  Lick  Creek,  about  twelve 
miles  east  of  Lancaster.  The  ground  is  deeply  in- 
dented with  ravines,  and  marks  resembling  the 
track  of  wagon  wheels,  newly  made,  are  now  plain- 
ly visible,  and  have  been  visible  since  the  settlement 
of  the  country  in  1785.  After  a heavy  rain  the 
water  which  flows  into  the  creek  from  this  area 
gives  the  stream  a white  appearance,  resembling 
milk,  for  several  miles. 

Lancaster,  the  capital  of  the  county,  is  a 
place  of  1,234  inhabitants  (in  1880),  and  is 
situated  on  the  Richmond  branch  of  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad.  It  has  a 
good  court  house,  several  handsome  churches, 
first- class  schools,  and  is  a place  of  fine  busi- 
ness enterjorise.  The  otlier  villages  and 
postoffices  are  Fitchport,  Hyattsville,  Paint 
Lick,  Bryantsville,  Lowell,  Tetersville,  etc. 

Garrard  being  taken  from  the  old  historical 
counties  of  Madison,  Lincoln  and  Mercer,  its 
settlement  is  described  in  the  history  of  those 
counties.  A sketch  of  Gov.  Garrard,  for 
whom  this  county  was  named,  is  given  in  the 
history  of  Bourbon  County. 


Gr-^xt  County  extends  back  in  its  history 
to  1820,  when  it  was  created  out  of  the  west- 
ern part  of  Pendleton  County,  and  was  the 
sixty- seventh  in  the  order  of  formation.  It 
lies  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Gallatin  and  Kenton  | 
Counties;  on  the  east  by  Pendleton;  on  the 
south  by  Harrison,  Scott  and  Owen;  on  the 
west  by  Ow'en  and  Gallatin,  and  by  the  last  | 
census  (1880)  had  13,083  inhabitants.  Its 
water  courses  are  Eagle  Creek,  Clark’ s,  Arn- 
old’s,  Ten  Mile,  Crooked,  Fork  Lick,  and  , 


Grassy,  some  of  which  flow  into  the  Kentucky 
and  some  into  the  Licking  River.  The  surface 
is  rolling  or  undulating,  and  in  some  j^ortions 
the  land  is  very  rich  and  productive.  The 
principal  crops  are  corn,  wheat,  oats,  grasses, 
etc.  Stock  raising  receives  due  attention. 
The  ‘ ‘ Dry  Ridge,  ” as  it  is  called,  is  a 
ridge  or  range  of  hills  extending  nearly 
north  and  south  through  the  county,  and  is  a 
spur  of  the  Cumberland  Mountains.  It  forms 
the  divide  between  the  Kentucky  and  Lick- 
ing Rivers,  and  extends  in  an  unbroken  range 
to  Covington  on  the  Ohio  River.  Collins  thus 
describes  a tree  that  was  once  a landmark  in 
this  section: 

A poplar  tree  9 feet  in  diameter  was  a notable 
object  for  many  years.  It  grew  near  the  present 
Baptist  church,  aijove  the  village  of  Dry  Ridge,  and 
was  cut  down  in  1831.  The  late  Philip  S.  Bush, 
then  a candidate  for  the  legislature,  rode  up  on 
horse-back,  alongside  of  the  tree  as  it  lay  prostraic, 
and  found  lie  could  barely  reach  the  top  of  it  with 
his  hand.  Much  of  the  timber, especially  the  poplar, 
walnut  and  beech,  on  the  main  ridge,  was  very  large; 
this,  with  the  unusual  growth  of  the  spice  bush,  in- 
dicated the  remarkalle fertility  of  the  soil. 

IVilliamstown  is  the  seat  of  justice,  and  is 
situated  near  the  center  of  the  county  on  the 
Cincinnati  Southern  Railroad,  about  forty 
miles  south  of  Cincinnati.  It  was  named  in 
honor  of  William  Arnold,  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers  of  the  county,  and  was  laid  out  in 
1825.  It  was  originally  called  Philadelphia, 
but  the  name  afterward  changed  to  that  of 
its  founder.  It  had,  in  1880,  a population 
of  751.  It  has  a brick  court  house,  and  is 
well  supplied  with  religious  and  educational 
facilities.  Crittenden,  in  the  extreme  north 
part  of  the  county,  on  the  railroad,  and 
named  for  Hon.  John  J.  Crittenden,  is  a 
village  of  323  inhabitants.  Other  villages 
are  Dry  Ridge,  Sherman  and  Downingsville. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  the  county  were 
William  Arnold,  John  Zinn,  William  Layton, 
Henry  Childers,  Philip  Gaugh,  James  Theo- 
bald, James  Gaugh,  a Mr.  Clark  and  a Mr. 
Howe,  Charles  Daniel,  Littleton  Robinson, 
Charles  Secrest,  etc.  Arnold  settled  on  the 
site  of  Williamstown,  and  the  others  at  differ- 
ent points  in  the  county. 

There  are  conflicting  statements  as  to  the 
source  whence  the  county  derived  its  name. 
One  is  that  it  was  named  for  Col.  John  Grant, 
a North  Carolinian,  who  established  a station 
in  the  i^resent  county  of  Fayette  in  1779;, 
was  driven  away  by  the  Indians,  and  returned 
to  North  Carolina,  came  back  to  the  same 
station  in  1784,  then  went  to  Illinois,  but 
came  back  to  Kentucky  and  died  here.  An- 
other statement  is  that  it  was  named  foj- 
Samuel  Grant,  who  was  killed  by  the  Indians- 
in  1794  near  the  Ohio  River,  in  the  present 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


589 


State  of  Indiana,  and  who  was  a brother  of 
Gen.  Squire  Grant  and  Col.  John  Grant. 


Graves  County  was  carved  out  of  Hick- 
man, and  was  named  in  honor  of  Capt.  Ben- 
jamin Graves.  It  was  formed  in  1823,  and  is 
the  seventy-fifth  in  the  list.  It  is  situated  in 
the  “Jackson  Purchase,’’  is  oblong  in  shape, 
has  fifteen  congressional  townships,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  McCracken  County ; 
on  the  east  by  Marshall  and  Calloway;  on  the 
south  by  the  State  of  Tennessee ; on  the  west  I 
by  Ballard  and  Hickman  Counties,  and  in  1880 
had  a population  of  24,138.  Tobacco  is  the 
great  staple,  but  corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  grass 
are  produced  in  large  quantities;  also  stock 
raising  is  carried  on  extensively.  The  agri- 
cultural report  for  1880  shows  the  following: 
Corn,  1, 540, 245  bushels;  oats,  52,876;  wheat, 
147,925;  tobacco,  8,901,434  pounds;  horses 
and  mules,  9,748 head;  cattle,  9,758;  sheep, 
6,216,  and  hogs,  43,988,  The  principal 
streams  are  the  Clark’s  River,  and  Mayfield, 
Little  Obion,  Brush,  Little  Ma^dield  and 
Barn  Creeks.  The  surface  is  gently  rolling, 
with  slight  hills  in  the  northern  and  south- 
ern parts,  and  originally  had  a heavy  forest 
growth  of  oak,  hickory,  sassafras,  poplar, 
sweet  gum,  elm,  and  a heavy  undergrowth  of 
bushes,  vines,  etc. 

Few  settlements  were  made  in  the  county 
prior  to  its  organization.  About  the  year  1820 
Michael  Baker  and  William  Armstrong  set- 
tled in  what  is  now  Lynnville  Precinct.  The 
Washams  also  came  in  1820,  and  settled  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  county.  A settlement 
was  made  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county 
near  the  State  line,  in  1822-23,  by  Col.  J.  E. 
Dodge,  Ulysses  Dodge,  Campbell,  Duncan 
and  Moses  Oliver. 

Mayfield,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  on 
the  Chesapeake,  Ohio  & Southwestern  Rail- 
road, twenty-six  miles  south  of  Paducah,  and 
is  a thriving  little  city  of  1,839  inhabitants  by 
the  last  census.  It  has  a brick  court  house, 
several  handsome  churches,  and'  excellent 
schools,  both  white  and  colored.  A hand- 
some college  building  has  recently  been  erect- 
ed and  a college  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Christian  Church  established.  Two  good  i 
newspapers,  two  banks,  several  flourishing 
stores,  and  a number  of  small  manufacturing 
establishments,  together  with  two  or  thi’ee 
tobacco  warehouses,  show  something  of  the 
town’s  prosperity. 

W ingo  is  a village  in  the  southwest  part  of 
the  county  on  the  railroad  about  twelve  miles 
below  Mayfield.  It  had  212  inhabitants  in 


1880,  and  is  an  enterprising  village.  Pryors- 
biu'g  is  the  first  station  on  the  railroad  below 
Mayfield,  and  had  129  inhabitants.  Other 
villages  and  postofiices  in  the  county  are 
Lynnville,  Farmington,  Hickory  Grove, 
Water  Valley,  Boydsville,  Symsonia,  Felic- 
iana. Dukedom,  etc. 

Capt.  Benjamin  Graves  was  a victim  of  the 
disastrous  battle  of  the  river  Raisin.  He  was 
a native  of  Virginia,  but  came  to  Kentucky 
when  quite  young,  and  located  in  Fayette 
County.  He  followed  farming,  but  repre- 
sented the  county  several  terms  in  the  Legis- 
lature. In  the  war  of  1812  he  was  one  of  the 
first  to  offer  his  services  to  the  Government, 
and  sealed  his  devotion  to  his  country  on 
the  bloody^  field  of  Raisin. 


Ge.ayson  County  as  formed,  in  1810,  from 
Hardin  and  Ohio  Counties,  and  was  the  fifty- 
fourth  organized.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Hardin  and  Breckinridge;  on  the 
east  by  Hart;  on  the  south  by  Edmonson; 
on  the  west  by  Ohio  and  Butler,  and  in  1880 
had  15,784  inhabitants.  It  was  named  in 
honor  of  Col.  William  Grayson,  a Virginian, 
and  a distinguished  politician  and  statesman. 
The  county  is  well  drained  by  the  following 
water  courses:  Rough  Creek.  Big  and  Little 
Clifty,  Nolin.  Rock,  Caney,  Bear  and  Short 
Creeks.  Fine  timber  is  abundant,  and  has 
become  a source  of  considerable  commercial 
enterprise.  The  land  is  mostly  thin,  the  soil 
of  a poor  quality,  and  the  country  of  a rather 
level  surface.  Coal  has  been  found  plenti- 
fully in  certain  sections:  also  iron  ore.  To- 
bacco and  grain  are  the  principal  agricultural 
products,  the  last  census  showing  the  follow- 
ing: Corn,  597.346  bushels;  oats,  82.531: 

wheat,  64,545;  and  tobaccb,  1,065.244 
pounds.  The  Chesapeake,  Ohio  & South- 
western Railroad  passes  through  the  cotinty, 
and  has  been  of  great  benefit  to  its  commer- 
cial prosperity. 

Leitchfield,  the  capital  of  the  county,  is 
situated  on  the  railroad  above  mentioned, 
seventy-five  miles  frem  Louisville,  and  is  a 
thriving  and  enterprising  place  of  491  inhab- 
itants by  the  last  census.  It  was  named  for 
Maj.  David  Leitch.  a liberal  and  go-ahead 
kind  of  a man.  who  was  the  patentee  of  the 
land  on  which  it  stands,  and  donated  the  site 
of  the  town.  It  has  a handsome  brick  court 
house,  several  chiu’ches,  good  schools,  a 
number  of  fiourishing  stores,  a newspaper, 
the  Gazette,  and  the  usual  supply  of  profes- 
sional men. 


5'JO 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Caneyville  is  a village  of  235  inliabitants, 
and  is  situated  on  the  railroad  below  Leitch- 
field.  It  is  a village  of  considerable  business 
enterprise.  Other  towns  and  postoffices  are 
Big  Clifty,  Annetta,  Clarkson,  Falls  of 
Rough,  Grayson  Springs,  Horntown,  Ready, 
Red  Oak,  Millerstown,  Short  Creek,  Shrews- 
bury, Spring  Lick  and  West  Clifty. 

Among  the  curiosities  of  nature  to  be 
found  in  this  county  are  springs,  foot-prints, 
etc.  In  the  solid  limestone  rock,  some  five' 
miles  from  Leitchfield,  human  foot-prints 
were  found  as  perfectly  formed  as  if  recently 
made  in  clay.  These  tracks  no  doubt  ap- 
peared as  wonderful  to  the  first  white  settlers 
of  Grayson  as  the  human  foot-prints  did  to 
Crusoe  when  discovered  upon  his  lonely 
island.  The  following  published  story  sa- 
vors somewhat  of  Mulhatton  romance: 

On  the  slope  of  a hill,  twelve  miles  from  Leitch- 
fleld,  are  to  be  seen  in  the  solid  rock,  two  inches 
deep,  the  hoof  or  foot-tracks  of  horses,  mules  and 
colts,  some  of  them  shod;  they  showed  that  some 
of  the  animals  were  walking,  others  running;  in 
size  some  were  si.x  inches  across.  In  stripping  off 
the  earth  on  which  the  timber  is  growing  these 
tracks  can  be  seen  covering  acres  of  ground. 

The  celebrated  Grayson  Springs,  which 
have  long  been  a favorite  summer  watering- 
place,  are  situated  about  two  miles  from  the 
Chesapeake,  Ohio  & Southwestern  Railroad, 
and  some  five  miles  from  Leitchfield.  A re- 
markable feature  of  these  springs  is  their 
number,  there  being  nearly  one  hundred,  it 
is  said,  upon  a quarter  of  an  acre  of  ground. 
A still  more  remarkable  feature  is  the  differ- 
ence in  temperature,  some  of  them  being 
very  cold  and  others  very  warm.  They  jros- 
sess  strong  medical  properties,  and  are  said 
to  be  more  strongly  impregnated  with  sul- 
phur than  any  other  springs  in  the  United 
States.  They  are  highly  improved  with 
good  hotel  accommodations,  amusements, 
and  are  much  resorted  to  during  the  summer 
months. 


Green  County  is  as  old  as  the  State,  and 
■was  organized  in  1792,  soon  after  the  State 
was  admitted  into  the  Union.  It  was  the  six- 
teenth county  created,  and  the  last  of  seven 
formed  that  year.  It  was  taken  from  Lin- 
coln and  Nelson  Counties,  and  was  named 
after  Gen.  Nathaniel  Greene,  a gallant  sol- 
dier and  an  able  officer  of  the  Revolutionary 
w'ar.  From  it  have  been  formed,  wholly  or 
in  part,  the  following  counties:  Cumberland 
and  Barren  in  1798,  Adair  in  1801,  Hart  in 
1819,  Taylor  in  1848,  and  Metcalfe  in  1860. 
It  is  situated  in  the  central  portion  of  the 
State,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Hart 


and  Taylor  Counties;  on  the  east  by  Taylor 
and  Adair;  on  the  south  by  Adair  and  Met- 
calfe; on  the  west  by  Hart,  and  in  1880  had 
11,871  inhabitants.  It  is  drained  by  the 
Green  River  and  its  tributaries,  and  is  of  a 
generally  undulating  surface,  but  hilly  in 
places,  with  a soil  based  on  red  clay  and 
limestone.  Tobacco  is  the  staple  product  of 
the  county,  but  grain,  grass  and  clover  are  also 
raised,  and  stock  receives  considerable  atten- 
tion. 

Settlements  were  made  in  Green  County 
very  early.  Pitman’s  Station,  on  Green 
River,  near  the  mouth  of  Pitman  Creek,  was 
established  about  1779-80.  Glover’s  Sta- 
tion, on  the  site  where  Greensburg  now 
stands,  was  established  in  1780;  Skagg’s 
Station  in  1781;  Gray’s  Station,  about  eight 
miles  from  where  Greensburg  stands,  was 
established  in  1790.  Several  other  stations 
were  established  very  early. 

The  Long  Hunters,  in  1770,  established  a 
camp  two  miles  east  of  where  Gray’s  Station 
was  afterward  made,  and  on  the  Caney  Fork 
of  Russell’s  Creek.  They  were  under  the 
leadership  of  Col.  James  Knox,  and  were  a 
band  of  hunters  from  North  Carolina  and 
Virginia,  who  spent  several  years  in  the  wil- 
derness of  Kentucky  hunting  and  trapping. 
From  the  length  of  their  stay  they  received 
the  name  of  Long  Hunters,  and  are  more 
fully  described  in  the  sketch  of  Bell  County. 

Ii’on  ore  was  found  in  the  western  part  of 
the  county,  on  Brush  Creek,  of  an  excellent 
quality,  and  in  quantities  to  pay  well  for 
working.  Several  furnaces  were  erected 
some  years  ago,  which  did  quite  an  extensive 
business.  Concerning  a natural  wonder  in 
the  county,  Allen’s  history  of  Kentucky  has 
the  following: 

A burning  well  on  the  north  bank  of  Green 
River,  four  miles  east  of  Greensburg,  has  been  an 
object  of  interest  ever  since  it  was  dug,  by  Samuel 
■White,  in  1828.  When  first  bored  it  discharged 
great  quantities  of  oil  and  gas,  the  coal- oil  and  rot- 
ten egg  odor  of  which  is  observable  at  times  at  a 
distance  of  ten  miles.  Efforts  were  made  to  fill  up 
the  well,  but  failing  to  shut  off  the  gas,  it  was  acci- 
dentally set  on  fire.  The  flames  extended  from 
three  to  six  feet  above  the  ground,  in  a volume  as 
large  as  a hogshead,  and  burned  for  months,  with 
little  or  no  diminution.  Notwithstanding  these 
and  similar  indications,  all  efforts,  during  the  oil 
epidemic  a few  years  ago,  to  obtain  oil  in  paying 
quantities  entirely  failed. 

Greensburg,  the  capital  of  the  county,  is 
situated  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Green 
River,  a little  east  of  the  center  of  the 
county,  and  is  the  present  southern  terminus 
of  what  was  the  old  Cumberland  & Ohio 
Railroad,  now  controlled  by  the  Louisville  & 
Nashville  system.  It  has  the  usual  public 
buildings,  a good  newspaper,  the  Times,  sev- 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


591 


eral  churclies,  schools,  etc.,  and  by  the  last 
census  had  620  inhabitants.  Other  towns 
and  postoffices  are  Osceola,  Somersville, 
Allendale,  Catalpa  Grove  and  Haskinsville. 

Col.  William  B.  Allen,  a Kentucky  his- 
torian, was  a native  of  this  county,  and  was 
born  in  1803.  He  received  a liberal  educa- 
tion. and,  having  studied  law,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  and  began  practice.  He  held  nu- 
merous public  positions,  the  duties  of  which 
he  discharged  satisfactorily.  He  was  a 
■writer  of  considerable  merit,  and  in  1872 
published  a history  of  Kentucky^,  a book  of 
some  450  pages. 


Greenup  County  was  taken  from  Hason  in 
1803,  and  was  the  forty-fifth  created.  It  was 
named  in  honor  of  Christopher  Greenup, 
the  third  governor  of  the  commonwealth. 
Greenup  lies  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the 
State  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Ohio 
River ; on  the  east  by  the  Ohio  River  and  Boyd 
County;  on  the  south  by  Carter  County; 
on  the  west  by  Lewis  County,  and  in  1880  it 
had  a population  of  13,371  souls.  It  is  rich 
in  mineral  resources,  and  also  has  some  fine 
farming  lands.  It  is  watered  and  drained  by 
a number  of  small  streams  flowing  into  the 
Ohio  River.  It  has  the  benefit  of  both  rail- 
road and  river  transportation.  The  princi- 
pal products  are  corn,  wheat,  oats  and  grass ; 
the  chief  exports,  live-stock,  coal,  etc. 

Greenup,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  on 
the  Ohio  River  133  miles  above  Cincinnati. 

It  was  originally  called  Greenupsburg.  but 
owing  to  the  similarity  of  the  name  with  that 
of  Greensburg,  the  county  seat  of  Green 
County,  much  confusion  was  caused  in  the  | 
mail  for  the  two  towns,  and  in  1872  the  Legis- 
latmre  passed  an  act  changing  the  former  to 
Greenup.  It  is  an  enterprising  town  of  833 
inhabitants,  and  stands  upon  an  elevated  and 
beautiful  bottom.  Considerable  business  is 
done,  and  there  are  in  the  town  a number  I 
of  flomdshing  stores  and  business  houses.  It 
has  the  usual  public  buildings,  churches, 
schools  and  professional  men. 

Springville  is  a village  on  the  Ohio  River 
opposite  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  and  has  321  in- 
habitants. Lynn,  formerly  called  Liberty,  is 
ten  miles  from  Springville.  Other  villages 
are  Riverton,  Hunnewell,  Lam-el  Furnace, 
Pennsylvania,  etc. 

There  were  few  traces  of  Indian  villages 
found  in  Kentucky^  by  the  first  white  settlers. 
The  remains  of  one  of  these  is  in  the  pres- 
ent county  of  Greenup,  and  was  built  by 
the  Shawanese  Indians  and  French  traders. 


There  is  no  means  of  knowing  when  it  was 
established,  but  it  was  previous  to  1753 — the 
time  of  the  old  French  and  Indian  war. 
When  fii-st  seen  by  the  settlers  of  Kentucky 
(about  1773)  it  consisted  of  some  twenty 
log  cabins  with  clapboard  .roofs,  doors,  -win- 
dows, chimneys,  and  cleared  ground,  and 
other  evidences  of  civilization.  All  traces  of 
the  village  had  disappeared  by  the  year  1800, 
and  no  effidence  was  ever  found  of  the  French 
having  left  the  river  and  penetrated  into  the 
country.  Mr.  Collins  gives  the  following  of 
some  of  the  old  citizens  of  Greenup  County : 
Mrs.  Mary  Gray  died  in  Greenup  Count}'  No- 
vember 25.  1872,  aged  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
years,  eight  months  and  sixteen  days.  Her  mother, 
Mrs.  Bonafil,  lived  to  be  one  hundred  years  old. 
Her  husband,  Thomas  Gray,  was  born  in  1755  and 
diedinl819,  aged  sixty-four  years.  Their  tirst-born.a 
son,  lived  to  the  age  of  ninety  years.  Four  of  their 
children  are  now  living:  ^Irs.  Elizabeth  Gray  Smith 
aged  eighty-three;  Elias  Gray,  aged  eighty-eight; 
Miss  Nancy  Gray,  aged  seventy-three,  and"  Joseph 
Gray,  aged  seventy.  Alary  Gray’s  descendants  are; 
first  generation,  children  13;  secohd  generation, 
grandchildren,  65:  third  generation,  great-grand- 
children, 617;  fourth  generation,  great-great-grand- 
children, 337;  fifth  generation,  great-great-great- 
grandchildren, 41;  total,  1,076. 

The  above  would  indicate  that  the  county 
has  a healthy  climate. 

The  mineral  resources  consist  chiefly 
of  iron  ore  and  coal.  Seven  varieties  of 
ore  were  found  in  a single  neighborhood. 
The  ‘ ‘ big  block  ore,  ’ ’ one  of  these  varie- 
ties, yielded  47.69  per  cent  of  iron,  and 
the  richest  oi-e  found  in  the  county  yield- 
ed 60. 90  per  cent.  ‘ ‘ Taking  the  united 
thickness  of  the  different  beds  in  a single 
hill  at  flve  feet,  and  the  specific  gravity  of 
the  ore  at  three — then  each  acre  of  land  un- 
derlaid by  these  ores  is  capable  of  yielding 
from  6,000  to  7,000  tons  of  iron,  worth 
in  the  form  of  pig  iron  at  least  8180,000. 
The  same  hills  usually  contain  beds  of  coal 
with  a united  thickness  of  five  to  six  feet; 
which,  after  deducting  for  waste  and  slack, 
would  yield  8.000  to  10,000  tons  of  coal, 
worth  fro-m  $16,000  to  $20,000.”  * 

Some  of  the  most  elaborate  remains  of 
the  prehistoric  period,  found  in  the  Ohio 
Valley,  are  located  in  this  county.  Prof. 
Rafinesque,  the  eminent  arch?eologist,  gives 
a very  interesting  description  of  them  fr-om 
a scientific  standpoint,  the  principal  points 
of  which  will  be  found  in  a preceding  chap- 
ter of  this  volume. 

Christopher  Greenup,  for  whom  this  coun- 
ty was  named,  was  elected  governor  of  the 
S'tate  in  1804.  He  was  born  in  Virginia  when 
it  was  a colony  of  the  British  Crown  (in 
1750),  and  came  to  Kentucky  immediately 

* Prof.  Robert  Peter,  in  State  Geological  Survey.  ^ 


592 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


after  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war — 
a war  in  which  he  took  an  active  and  promi- 
nent part.  He  studied  law  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar,  and  commenced  practice  in  Ken- 
tucky when  it  was  a district,  subject  to  the 
laws  of  Virginia.  He  held  a number  of 
public  positions,  in  all  of  which  he  dis- 
charged his  duties  conscientiously  and  satis- 
factorily. The  highest  and  most  important 
position  to  which  he  was  called  was  that  of 
governor,  and  his  administration  was  charac- 
terized throughout  by  wisdom  and  patriotism. 


Hancock  Countv,  the  eighty-third  in  the 
order  of  formation,  was  created  in  1829,  and 
is  indebted  to  Breckinridge,  Ohio  and  Da- 
viess Counties  for  its  territory,  and  to  John 
Hancock,  a Revolutionary  patriot,  for  a name. 
It  lies  on  the  border,  being  separated  from 
Indiana  by  the  Ohio  River,  with  Breckin- 
ridge County  on  the  east,  Ohio  on  the  south, 
and  Daviess  on  the  west.  By  the  census  of 
1880  it  had  a population  of  8, 563  souls.  The 
bottoms  along  the  Ohio  are  generally  broad, 
level  and  very  rich,  but  siibject  to  occasional 
overflow.  The  country  back  from  the  river 
is  somewhat  rolling  and  hilly,  and  the  soil 
poorer,  but  produces  fairly  well.  The  prin- 
cipal products  are  corn,  oats,  wheat  and  to- 
bacco, as  are  shown  by  the  following  figures 
from  the  last  census  reports:  Corn,  389,305 
bushels;  oats,  23, 522  bushels;  wheat,  39,868 
bushels;  tobacco,  2,155,180  pounds.  Of 
somewhat  recent  organization,  the  county’s 
early  settlement  is  included  in  that  of  the  sur- 
rounding counties. 

Hawesville,  the  capital  of  the  county,  is 
situated  on  the  Ohio  River,  120  miles  below 
Louisville,  and  was  named  for  Richard  Hawes, 
the  original  proprietor  of  the  land  upon 
which  it  stands.  It  had,  in  1870,  a popula- 
tion of  855,  and  in  1880  it  had  872,  an  in- 
crease in  ten  years  of — seventeen!  It  has  a 
court  house,  several  churches,  schools,  a 
newspaper,  and  a number  of  flourishing 
stores. 

Lewisport  is  situated  on  the  Ohio  about 
fifteen  miles  below  Hawesville.  It  had  a 
population  in  1880  of  362,  and  is  cpiite  an 
extensive  shipping  point.  Pellville  is  a small 
village  of  a 100  or  so  inhabitants. 

There  are  four  beds  of  coal  in  Hancock  County, 
in  a section  of  270  feet  of  the  strata  overlying  the 
main  Hawesville  coal  (which  is  from  2-J-  to  4 feet 
thick);  the  first,  85  feet  above,  19.8  inches  thick; 
the  second,  2H  feet  above  this,  16  inches  thick;  the 
third,  684  feet  above  this,  16  inches  thick,  and  the 
fourth,  314  feet  above  this,  31  inches  thick.  Hawes- 
ville coal  is  superior  to  Pittsburgh  coal  in  several 


respects;  First,  in  completeness  of  combustion,  or 
freedom  from  waste  in  burning,  leaving  only  64  to 
7 pounds  of  unburnt  coke  in  the  grate,  where  Pitts- 
burgh coal  leaves  over  9 pounds;  second,  in  causing 
rapid  evaporation — converting  into  steam,  in  one 
hour,  154  cubic  feet  of  water,  while  Pittsburgh  coal 
only  evaporates  10  pounds.  In  equal  weights  of 
the  two  coals,  one  pound  of  the  Hawesville  coal 
evaporated  7.34  pounds  of  water  212°,  while  one 
pound  of  Pittsburgh  evaporated  8.2  pounds.* 

Additional  to  the  coal  above  described,  the 
famous  Breckinridge  camiel  coal  extends 
into  this  county.  The  main  mines  are  on  the 
line  between  Hancock  and  Breckinridge  Coun- 
ties. A full  description  of  them  is  given  in 
the  sketch  of  Breckinridge  County. 

There  are  some  remains  of  the  ancient  in- 
habitants in  this  county,  including  mounds 
and  fortifications.  There  is  a mound,  or  an- 
cient cemetery,  on  the  river  five  miles  above 
Hawesville,  where  innumerable  human  bones 
have  been  found.  The  spot  is  a romantic 
and  picturesque  one,  and  indicates  that  the 
prehistoric  people  were  not  insensible  to  beau- 
ty. Near  this  mound  is  a sj^ring  from  which 
flows -tar,  similar  to  the  tar  spring  in  Breck- 
inridge. 

About  four  miles  above  Hawesville,  and  about 
three-fourths  of  a mile  from  the  Ohio  River,  there 
is  a natural  curiosity  which  is  worthy  of  note. — It 
is  a natural  fortification,  being  a circular  table  of 
land,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  a cliff  of  from  50 
to  125  feet  in  height,  generally  projecting  at  the 
top,  and  impossible  of  ascent,  except  in  one  place, 
where  it  seems  to  have  slided  over  and  formed  an 
inclined  plane.  A string  of  fence  of  twenty  poles 
renders  it  impossible  of  ingress  or  egi-ess  to  stock, 
and  makes  it  a fine  park  for  deer,  fry  a little  work 
in  digging,  it  might  be  rendered  impregnable;  and 
if  it  were  so  situated  as  to  command  some  water- 
course or  strait,  oi'  exposed  point  on  the  frontier, 
might  be  made  valuable  to  the  country.  Where  lo- 
cated, it  is  thought  to  be  a favorable  site  for  an 
armory  or  a garrison,  as  a communication  could  be 
easily  opened  to  the  Ohio  River  by  a railroad  three- 
quarters  of  a mile  long.f 


Hardin  County  lies  in  the  north  central 
part  of  the  State,  a narrow  point  of  its  terri- 
tory extending  to  the  Ohio  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Salt  River.  It  was  created  in  1792  by 
the  first  Legislature  after  Kentucky  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  Union  as  a State,  and  was 
carved  out  of  Nelson  County.  Originally  its 
area  exceeded  that  of  the  State  of  Delaware 
by  nearly  one-third,  and  was  almost  equal  to 
that  of  the  State  of  Connecticut.  From  its 
territory  have  been  formed,  wRolly  or  in  part, 
Breckinridge,  Daviess,  Edmonson,  Grayson, 
Hart,  La  Rue,  Ohio  and  Meade  Counties.  It 
is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Ohio  River 
and  by  Bullitt  and  Meade  Counties;  on  the 

*The Geological  Survey. 

t Collins,  Vol.  II,  p.'305. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


693 


east  by  Bullitt,  La  Rue  and  Nelson;  on  the 
south  by  Grayson,  La  Rue  and  Hart;  and  on 
the  west  by  Breckinridge,  Meade  and 
Grayson.  By  the  census  of  1880  it  had 

a population  of  22,500,  and  is  one  of  the 
largest  counties  in  the  State.  It  has  a di- 
versified sui’face,  alternating  between  rough 
and  rugged  hills  in  the  north  part,  the  ‘ ‘ bar- 
rens ’ ’ in  the  central  part,  and  the  undulating 
plains  in  the  southern  part.  Grain  and  to- 
bacco are  the  staple  products,  the  statistics  of 
1880  showing  as  follows:  Corn,  1,331,070 
bushels;  oats,  62,435  bushels;  wheat,  250,- 
781,  and  tobacco  374,302  pounds.  Stock 
raising  receives  considerable  attention,  being 
in  1880  as  follows:  Horses  and  mules,  8,979 
head;  cattle,  13,041;  sheep,  13,230,  and 
hogs,  41,440.  Its  principal  water-com’ses 
are  the  Salt  River,  which  flows  along  a iDart 
of  its  northern  border;  the  Rolling  Fork, 
Nolin  and  Rough  Creeks,  the  last  named 
having  its  source  in  the  county,  and  years  ago 
was  a famous  place  for  camp-meetings. 

Hardin  County  was  named  in  honor  of  Col. 
John  Hardin,  a name  conspicuous  in  the 
early  history  of  Kentucky.  [See  historical 
sketch  of  Breckinridge  County.]  He  was 
born  in  Fauquier  County,  Va. , October  1,  1753, 
and  was  a son  of  Martin  Hardin,  who  re- 
moved to  Pennsylvania  and  settled  on  the 
Monongahela  River  when  John  was  a mere 
boy.  He  was  literally  a child  of  the  frontier. 
His  education  was  not  of  books,  but  of  men- 
tal and  physical  laws — iron  to  the  nerves  and 
a sleepless  energy  to  the  resolution;  his  com- 
position combined  all  the  natural  elements  of 
the  valiant  soldier  and  wise  statesman.  His 
life  was  spent,  not  in  studious  halls,  where 
college  lore  is  conned,  but  in  the  great  wil- 
derness, where,  to  insure  self-preservation, 
every  faculty  needed  to  be  trained  to  a per- 
fection equal  almost  to  the  smell  of  the  Si- 
berian blood-hound.  In  the  use  of  the  rifle 
he  had  few  equals,  and  in  the  art  of  hunting 
perhaps  he  had  none.  These  accomplish- 
ments made  him  one  of  the  most  expert 
scouts  on  the  border.  He  served  in  Dun- 
more’s  campaign  against  the  Indians  in  1774, 
and  in  the  following  autumn  was  in  another 
expedition,  under  Capt.  Morgan,  in  which  he 
was  wounded.  He  served  with  distinction 
during  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  was  of- 
fered a major’s  commission  for  gallant  con- 
duct, which  he  declined,  on  the  ground  that 
he  could  be  of  more  service  to  the  Continent- 
al Army  as  a scout — an  instance  of  pure  pa- 
triotism that  is  but  seldom  met  with.  He 
came  to  Kentucky  in  1780,  and  located  con- 
siderable land.  He  served  with  Gen.  George 
Rogers  Clark,  in  the  Illinois  campaign,  as 

37 


his  quartermaster.  .In  1787  he  was  appoint- 
ed county  lieutenant  of  Nelson  County,  with 
the  rank  of  colonel,  having  brought  his  fam- 
ily thither  in  1786.  He  commanded  an  ex- 
pedition of  200  men  into  the  Indiana  country, 
in  the  fall  of  1789,  for  the  purpose  of  break- 
ing up  marauding  parties  of  savages,  who 
were  in  the  habit  of  crossing  into  Kentucky 
and  stealing  horses.  Upon  one  of  the  tribu- 
taries of  the  IV abash  he  encountered  a small 
band  of  the  Shawanese  and  defeated  them 
without  loss  to  his  own  party.  After  settling 
in  Kentucky  he  took  a prominent  part  in  ev- 
ery expedition  against  the  Indians,  except 
that  of  St.  Clair's,  until  his  death.  In  1792 
he  was  sent  by  Gen.  Wilkinson,  the  military 
commander  in  the  West,  on  a peaceful  mis- 
sion to  the  Indians  beyond  the  Ohio,  and  was 
treacherously  murdered  by  them  after  reach- 
ing their  country,  his  body  left  to  rot  unbiu'- 
ied,  his  flesh  food  for  wild  beasts_j  and  his 
bones  the  sport  of  the  storm.  A rich  and 
floiu’ishing  county  in  Ohio  bears  his  name, 
and  a town,  called  Hardin,  was  laid  out  upon 
the  spot  (in  Shelby  County,  Ohio),  where  he 
was  murdered.  Among  his  descendants  have 
Ijeen  many  prominent  lawyers  and  statesmen 
of  Kentucky. 

As  early  as  1780  what  is  now  Hardin 
County  was  occupied  by  the  whites.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  year,  Samuel  Haycraft, 
Andi’ew  Hines  and  Thomas  Helm  settled  up- 
on the  site  of  Elizabethtown.  These  pio- 
neers each  built  a fort  or  block-house  within 
supporting  distance  of  the  other;  that  built 
by  Helm  occupied  the  spot  where  the  resi- 
dence of  the  late  Gov.  Helm  stands;  Hay- 
craft's  was  on  “the  hill  above  the  Cave 
Spring.”  while  Hines’  occupied  “the  other 
angle  of  the  triangle.  ’ ’ Each  of  these  block- 
houses or  stations  had  its  little  colony,  among 
whom  were  Jacob  Yanmetre,  Sr.,  Jacob  Van- 
metre.  Jr.,  Rev.  John  Garrard.  David  Hin- 
ton, Nicholas  Miller,  John  Vertrees,  Miles 
Hart,  Thomas.  Brown,  Shaw,  Freemen  and 
several  others.  Christopher  Bush  was  an 
early  settler  of  Elizabethtown.  One  of  his 
daughters  became  the  second  wife  of  Thomas 
Lincoln,  the  father  of  the  late  President  Lin 
coin. 

Elizabethtown,  the  capital  of  the  county, 
is  situated  at  the  junction  of  the  Louisville  A 
Nashville  and  the  Chesapeake,  Ohio  & South- 
western Railroads,  forty  miles  south  of  Lou- 
isville. It  stands  on  the  southern  slope  of  the 
Muldrow  Hills,  and  was  laid  out.  in  1793,  by 
Col.  Andrew  Hines.  Its  name  was  given  by 
Col.  Hines,  one  story  goes,  in  honor  of  his  wife, 
whose  Christian  name  was  Elizabeth,  while 
another  story  is  to  the  effect  that  the  county 


594 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


was  named  for  Col.  Joliu  Hardin,  and  the 
county  seat  for  his  wife.  It  had  a popula- 
tion of  2.526  by  the  last  census.  There  were 
three  other  towns  in  Hardin  County  when 
Elizabethtown  was  laid  out,  viz. : Vienna,  at 
the  falls  of  Green  River;  Hardin’s  Station, 
now  Hardinsburg,  in  Breckinridge  County, 
and  Hartford,  county  seat  of  the  present 
county  of  Ohio. 

Towns  and  villages  in  the  county  besides 
Elizabethtown  are  West  Point,  on  the  Ohio, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Salt  River;  Sonora,  Glen- 
dale, Nolin  and  Colesburg,  on  the  Louisville 
& Nashville  Railroad;  Cecilia,  Vine  Grove, 
Rineyville  and  Stephensburg  on  the  Chesa- 
peake, Ohio  & Southwestern,  and  Big  Spring, 
which  is  situated  about  equally  in  Hardin, 
Breckinridge  and  Heade  Counties. 

Hardin  County  has  been  the  home  of  some 
distinguished  men;  the  most  noted  were 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  John  L.  Helm.  The 
lives  of  these  eminent  men  were  somewhat 
similar,  in  that  the  latter  was  twice  governor 
of  Kentucky,  and  died  just  when  entering 
on  his  second  term;  and  the  former  was 
twice  President  of  the  United  States,  and  was 
assassinated  just  when  entering  upon  his 
second  term.  The  families  were  more  closely 
allied  l.)y  marriage  than  liy  this  political  coin- 
cidence; the  wife  of  Gen.  Ben  Hardin  Helm, 
the  distinguished  son  of  Gov.  Helm,  and  the 
wife  of  President  Lincoln  were  sisters.  Al- 
though the  two  men  divided  on  the  great 
questions  that  involved  the  country  in  the 
most  terrific  civil  war  of  modern  times,  yet 
they  had  an  unbounded  respect  for  each 
other. 

Gov.  Helm  was  a native  of  Hardin  County, 
was  a prominent  lawyer  and  eminent  states- 
man, and  an  able  financier.  He  was  a gen- 
tleman of  the  old  school;  courteous,  hospita- 
ble and  chivalrous;  a man  of  incorruptible 
integrity,  both  in  public  and  private  life.  A 
sketch  of  him  appears  in  connection  with  the 
history  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad 
in  a preceding  chapter  of  this  volume. 

Gen.  Ben  Hardin  Helm,  of  whom  much  is 
said  in  the  chapters  devoted  to  the  civil  war, 
was  born  June  2,  1832,  and  was  a son  of  Gov. 
Helm  and  a grandson  of  the  great  criminal 
lawyer,  Ben  Hardin.  He  graduated  in  the 
military  academy  at  West  Point  in  1851, 
and  entered  the  regular  army  as  a lieutenant 
of  cavalry,  but  in  a short  time  resigned,  re- 
turned home,  studied  law,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  He  filled  several  positions  of 
honor,  and  upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  war, 
though  tendered  a commission  in  the  United 
States  Army  by  his  brother-in-law.  President 
Lincoln,  declined  it,  and  entered  the  Con- 


federate service  as  colonel  of  the  First  Ken- 
tucky Cavalry.  He  rose  to  the  rank  of  brig- 
adier-general, and,  as  commander  of  the 
famous  “Kentucky  Confederate  Brigade,” 
fell  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  the  martyred  President 
of  the  United  States,  was  born  February  12, 
1809,  in  that  portion  of  Hardin  County  now 
included  in  La  Rue,  about  two  miles  from 
Hodgensville.  So  much  has  been  written  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  and  so  closely  are  the  later 
years  of  his  life  interwoven  with  our  national 
history,  that  anything  written  of  him  here 
would  be  but  a repetition  of  what  is  familiar 
to  all  readers.  Suffice  it,  his  early  years 
were  passed  in  poverty  and  obscurity,  from 
which,  by  his  own  will,  perseverance  and 
high-souled  honesty,  he  climbed  up,  step  by 
step,  until  he  reached  the  highest  position 
within  the  gift  of  the  American  people.  His 
biographer  thus  closes  a sketch  of  him: 

The  historian  of  this  day  can  not  do  justice  to  this 
remarkable  man.  The  Northern  man  would  draw 
his  character  in  terms  of  glowing  eulogy;  the  South- 
ern man  would  point  his  pen  with  bitterness  and 
gall.  The  one  would  absurdly  ascribe  to  him  the 
lofty  virtues  of  Washington;  the  other  would  class 
him  with  Grimaldi,  the  clown.  Both  would  be 
wide  of  the  mark.  He  was  a man  of  quaint  humor 
and  genial  disposition,  patient,  calm,  self-poised 
and  thoroughly  honest.  His  administration  of  the 
Government  was  for  no  selfisli  or  personal  ends, 
but  meant  for  the  general  good.  The  rectitude  of 
his  public  conduct  was  above  suspicion  and  his  love 
of  country  must  ever  challenge  admiration. 


Haklan  County  was  created  in  1819  from 
parts  of  Floyd  and  Knox  Counties,  and  was 
the  sixtieth  in  the  order  of  formation.  It 
lies  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  State, 
and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Perry  and 
Letcher  Counties ; on  the  south  and  southeast 
by  the  State  of  Virginia;  on  the  west  by 
Bell  County,  and  in  1880  it  had  5,278 
population.  It  is  a rough,  rugged,  moun- 
tainous region,  but  with  a fertile  soil.  It  pro- 
duces the  very  best  timber  of  all  kinds.  The 
products  are  corn,  wheat,  rye  and  tobacco, 
with  some  stock  raising.  The  Cumberland 
Mountains  lie  on  its  southeastern  border; 
Pine  Mountain  separates  it  from  Perry  and 
Letcher  Counties,  and  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  county  is  the  Black  Mountain,  an  arm  of 
the  Cumberland.  The  Cumberland  River 
runs  in  a soTithwest  course,  and  its  tributaries 
in  this  region  are  Wallin’s,  Browmey’s, 
Puckett’s,  Catherine  and  Crank’s  Creeks. 
Greasy  Fork,  Wolf  Creek  and  Beech  Fork 
run  northwestward  into  the  Kentucky  River. 

Mount  Pleasant,  .or  Harlan  Court  House,  is 
the  county  seat,  and  is  situated  near  the 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


595 


geographical  center  of  the  county.  It  is  a 
small  village  of  only  a hundi-ed  or  two  in- 
habitants. During  the  late  civil  war,  the 
court  house  was  burned,  and  thereby  many 
valuable  papers  and  documents  destroyed. 
The  jail  was  also  biu’ned,  as  were  a number 
of  other  houses  in  the  town  and  county. 
Other  villages  and  postoffices  are  Bailey, 
Leonard,  Poor  Fork,  Salt  Trace  and  Wallin’s 
Creek. 

Coal  exists  in  large  quantities  in  the  county. 
In  Little  Black  Mountain  the  coal  deposit  va- 
ries from  three  to  six  feet.  In  many  places 
are  indications  of  cannel  coal,  and  it  is  be- 
lieved to  be  plentiful  in  certain  localities. 
Sandstone  is  found  on  Laurel  Creek  in  ledges 
or  slabs  in  various  thicknesses. 

The  court  house  was  erected  upon  a mound . 
When  first  seen  by  the  whites  large  trees  were 
growing  upon  this  mound.  When  a second 
coui't  house  was  erected  (in  1839),  in  digging 
out  a foundation  upon  the  same  site,  human 
bones  were  found  in  profusion,  thus  proving 
that  the  mound  had  iDeen  one  of  sepultm-e. 
Beads  and  vessels  of  earthenware  were  also 
found  among  the  bones. 

The  county  was  named  in  honor  of  Maj. 
Silas  Harlan,  a native  of  Virginia,  and  a fron- 
tier soldier  of  the  true  type.  He  came  to 
Kentucky  in  1774,  and  at  once  entered  into 
the  stirring  scenes  of  that  exciting  period.  He 
took  part  in  the  Illinois  campaign  under  Gen. 
George  Rogers  Clark,  from  whom  he  received 
the  highest  praise  for  his  gallantry.  He  was 
a major  in  the  disastrous  battle  of  Blue  Licks, 
and  fell  in  that  bloody  contest. 


Harrison  County  was  erected  in  1793,  and 
was  the  eighth  formed  after  Kentucky  was 
admitted  into  the  Union.  It  was  taken  fr’om 
Bourbon  and  Scott  Counties,  and  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Grant  and  Pendleton  Coun- 
ties; on  the  east  by  Robertson  and  Nicholas; 
on  the  south  by  Bourbon,  on  the  west  by 
Scott,  and  by  the  last  census  (1880)  had  16, 504 
inhabitants.  Harrison  has  contributed  to  the 
formation  of  the  following  counties:  Camp- 
bell in  1794;  Pendleton  and  Boone  in  1798; 
Owen  in  1819;  Grant  in  1820;  Kenton  in  1840, 
and  Robertson  in  1867.  The  south  fork  of 
the  Licking  River  flows  nearly  through  the 
center  of  the  county,  and  the  main  Licking 
through  the  northeast  corner.  These,  with  a 
number  of  small  tributaries,  among  which  are  | 
Indian,  Mill,  Twin,  Cedar,  Beaver,  West,  | 
Richland,  Silas  and  Raven  Creeks,  afford 
ample  di-ainage.  About  one-half  of  the  county  | 
is  very  rich  and  productive,  and  lies  in  the  i 


blue-grass  belt;  the  other  or  northern  por- 
tion is  hilly,  but  has  a rich  soil  that  produces 
well  and  is  adapted  to  grazing.  Upon  the 
whole  the  county  is  much  above  the  average, 
the  soil  being  based  on  red  clay,  with  lime- 
stone foundation.  The  principal  products 
are  corn,  oats,  wheat,  grasses  and  tobacco, 
the  agricultural  report  in  1880  showing  the 
following:  Corn,  982,202  bushels;  oats,  33,- 
996;  wheat,  240,045,  and  tobacco  1,201,972 
pounds.  The  same  report  shows  6, 921  horses; 
1,639  mules;  7,612  cattle;  19,041  sheej),  and 
27,058  hogs.  The  Kentucky  Central  Rail- 
road passes  through  the  county,  affording 
ample  means  of  transportation. 

The  ‘ ‘ pale-faced  pioneers  ’ ’ were  early  on 
the  soil  of  Harrison.  A number  of  men  in 
search  of  lands  to  improve,  known  as  ‘ ‘Hink- 
ston’ s Company’  ’ were  here,  according  to  the 
early  records,  as  early  as  1775.  The  company 
comprised  John  Hinkston,  JohnHaggin,  John 
Martin,  John  Townsend,  James  Cooper, 
Daniel  Callahan,  Matthew  Fenton,  George 
Gray,  AYilliam  Hoskins,  William  Shields, 
Thomas  Shores,  Silas  Train,  Samuel  Wilson 
and  John  Wood.  They  established  Hink- 
ston’ s Station  and  Martin’ s in  what  is  now 
Bourbon  County,  but  made  no  jiermanent  set- 
tlement. The  captm-e  of  these  stations  is 
given  in  a preceding  chapter.  Another  com- 
pany of  early  settlers,  who  came  about  1776, 
were  George  Bright,  William  Craig,  James 
McMillen,  Thomas  Moore,  William  Nesbit, 
Col.  Benjamin  Harrison,  James  McGraw, 
Robert  Thompson,  Joseph  Peak,  William 
Huston  and  Robert  Kean.  These  people  did 
not  all  make  settlements  at  this  time  nor  at 
any  time  afterward,  but  the  dates  given  show 
merely  their  first  visit  to  the  country.  The 
early  stations  were  captured  by  the  Indians, 
and  many  of  the  early  settlers  killed  or  taken 
prisoners,  and  it  was  not  until  several  years 
later  that  permanent  settlements  were  made 
in  what  is  now  Harrison  County. 

Cynthiana,  the  county  seat,  was  laid  out 
in  1793  by  Robert  Harrison,  and  named  in 
honor  of  his  two  daughters,  Cynthia  and 
Anna.  It  is  situated  on  the  south  fork  of  the 
Licking  River,  and  on  the  Kentucky  Central 
Railroad,  sixty-six  miles  south  of  Cincinnati, 
and  thirty-seven  miles  from  Frankfort.  It 
contains  a brick  court  house  of  the  old  style 
of  Kentucky  architecture,  several  fine  chui’ch- 
es,  good  schools,  a number  of  flourishing 
stores,  a couple  of  hotels,  and  an  able  press. 
In  1880  it  had  2,100  inhabitants.  It  is  a 
fine  shipping  point,  and  gi-eat  quantities  of 
live  stock  and  farm  products  are  shipped  an- 
nually to  Cincinnati  and  other  points. 

Cynthiana  is  noted  as  having  been  the 


596 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


scene  of  two  battles  during  the  late  civil  war. 
The  first  occurred  in  the  summer  of  1862  be- 
tween the  Confederates  under  the  famous 
raider,  Gen.  John  H.  Morgan,  and  the  Fed- 
erals  under  Col.  John  J.  Landrum.  The 
second  battle  was  fought  in  June,  1864,  be- 
tween the  Confederates,  again  under  Morgan, 
and  the  Federals  under  Gen.  E.  H.  Hobson. 
These  engagements  are  detailed  in  the  chap- 
ters devoted  to  the  late  civil  wmr. 

Harrison  County  is  dotted  with  towns  and 
villages.  In  addition  to  Cynthiana,  there  are 
in  the  countj%  Antioch,  Berry ville,  Boyd’s 
Station,  Buena  Vista,  Claysville,  Conners- 
ville,  Colemansville,  Havilandville,  Lair’s 
Station,  Leeslick,  Leesburg,  Oddville,  Rob- 
ertson’s Station,  Rutland,  Scott  Station  and 
Tricum.  These  vary  in  population  from  300 
down  to  a single  family,  and  a store  and  post- 
office. 

The  county  was  named  for  Col.  Benjamin 
Harrison,  an  early  settler  and  a prominent 
citizen  of  Bourbon  County.  He  was  the 
second  member  of  the  State  Senate  from  that 
county,  and  was  a member  when  Harrison 
County  was  formed.  He  held  a number  of 
prominent  and  important  positions — among 
them  first  sheriff  of  Bourbon  County — 
the  duties  of  which  he  satisfactorily  dis- 
charged. 

Among  the  prominent  citizens  of  the  county 
were  Maj.  William  K.  Wall  and  Judge 
John  Trimble.  The  latter  is  sketched  in  the 
political  history  of  the  State.  Maj.  Wall 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  but  for  sixty-one 
years  was  a prominent  citizen  of  Harrison 
County.  He  was  one  of  the  first  associate 
judges ; was  several  times  chosen  to  represent 
the  county  in  both  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  State.  He  died  in 
1853,  in  his  sixty-seventh  year. 


H.\et  County,  as  a separate  and  independ- 
ent organization,  dates  back  to  1819.  It  was 
formed  from  parts  of  Hardin  and  Green 
Counties,  and  was  named  for  Nathaniel  G.  T. 
Hart,  a son  of  Col.  Thomas  Hart,  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Lexington.  The  Green 
River  flows  through  the  county  from  east  to 
west,  dividing  it  nearly  through  the  center. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Grayson,  Har- 
din and  La  Rue  Counties,  on  the  east  by 
Green  County,  on  the  south  by  Barren 
County,  on  the  west  by  Grayson  and  Edmon- 
son Counties,  and  in  1880  it  had  17,133  in- 
habitants. The  surface  is  generally  rolling, 
but  in  some  portions  rough  and  hilly ; the  soil 
is  mostly  productive,  and  the  county  one  of 


the  finest  tobacco-growing  sections  of  the 
State,  as  shown  by  its  yield — 2,229,026 
pounds  in  1880.  A large  amount  of  grain  is 
annually  produced,  and  hogs  are  shipped 
from  the  county  in  great  numbers.  The 
Green  River  is  the  principal  water  course, 
and  is  navigable  for  small  steamboats  as  far 
up  as  Munfordville  a greater  part  of  the 
year.  Nolin  Creek  is  quite  a large  stream, 
and  is  used  a good  deal  for  hat-boating;  it 
would  furnish  water-power  for  a number  of 
mills  and  factories.  Lynn  Camp  Creek  hows 
through  the  county.  Its  name  was  obtained 
as  follows-  A man  named  Benjamin  Lynn,  an 
early  settler  here,  once  got  lost  in  the  forest, 
and  his  friends,  in  hunting  for  him,  came  to 
where  some  one,  whom  they  supposed  to  be 
Lynn,  had  camped  upon  the  bank  of  a small 
stream,  and  they  at  once  christened  it  Lynn 
Camp  Creek.  The  Louisville  & Nashville 
Railroad  (main  line)  passes  through  the 
county.  Upon  it  in  the  county  are  the  follow- 
ing stations:  Munfordville,  Rowlett’s, 

Bacon  Creek,  Horse  Cave  and  Woodland. 

Munfordville,  the  county  seat,  is  situated 
on  the  Green  River  and  on  the  Louisville  & 
Nashville  Railroad,  and  was  laid  out  by 
Richard  I.  Munford,  for  whom  it  was  named. 
It  is  a small  town  of  not  more  than  500 
inhabitants,  l)ut  is  a place  of  considerable 
business  energy  and  enterprise.  Horse  Cave, 
or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  Caverna,  is  on 
the  railroad,  about  seven  miles  south  of 
Munfordville,  and  is  a thriving  town.  Other 
towns  of  the  county  are  Woodsonville,  Lees- 
ville,  Monroe,  Hardyville,  Barnettsville, 
Three  Springs,  Hammondsville,  Canmer  and 
Priceville. 

Hart  County  abounds  in  caves,  wonderful 
springs,  holes  in  the  ground,  and  other 
freaks  of  nature.  In  the  level  country, 
some  six  miles  from  Munfordville,  there  was 
discovered  a hole  in  the  ground  that  excited 
much  wonder  and  interest.  This  “bottom- 
less pit  ’ ’ is  described  as  circular  in  shape 
and  sixty  or  seventy  feet  in  diameter.  It  is 
funnel-shaped  for  about  twenty-five  feet  from 
the  surface,  when  its  diameter  narrows  down 
to  ten  or  twelve  feet.  It  has  never  been  ex- 
plored below  this  point,  and  a rock  thrown 
into  it  may  be  heard  to  strike  against  the  sides 
of  the  hole  until  the  sound  dies  away  in  the 
distance,  giving  rise  to  the  belief  that  it  is 
either  ‘ ‘ Symmes’  Hole,  ’ ’ or  the  by-way  to 
‘ ‘ Sheol.  ’ ’ Another  Symmes’  Hole  is  found 

on  what  is  known  as  the  “Frenchman’s 
Knob.”  It  has  been  explored  275  feet  with- 
out finding  any  bottom;  this  is  popularly  be- 
lieved to  be  the  “short  route”  to  China. 
Frenchman’s  Knob  is  quite  an  elevated  spot. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


597 


and  derives  its  name  from  the  fact  that  a 
Frenchman  was  killed  upon  it  by  the  Indians 
in  the  pioneer  times.  A very  peculiar  spring 
is  described  as  being  situated  about  three 
miles  from  Munfordville,  near  the  Green 
River,  which  has  the  regular  ebb  and  flow  of 
the  ocean  tides.  About  noon  each  day  the 
water  rises  twelve  or  fifteen  inches  above  its 
usual  level,  flows  over  a milhdam  erected  be- 
low it  for  a certain  length  of  time,  and  then 
falls  back  to  its  former  state ; this  occurs  with 
the  utmost  regularity.  The  following  inci- 
dent, bordering  somewhat  upon  the  marvel- 
lous, is  found  in  Collins’  History,  ascribed 
to  a Harrodsburg  paper: 

In  1826  two  gentlemen  engaged  in  hunting  in 
Hart  County  discovered,  on  the  summit  of  a knoll 
or  elevation,  a hole  large  enough  to  readily  admit  a 
man’s  bod}^  Curiosity  led  them  to  e.xplore  the 
mysterious  place.  At  the  depth  of  sixty  feet  they 
found  themselves  in  a cave  or  room  sixteen  or  eight- 
een feet  square,  apparently  cut  out  of  solid  rock. 
The  first  object  that  met  the  eye  was  a human  skull, 
with  all  the  teeth  entire;  the  floor  of  the  room  was 
filled  with  skeletons  of  men,  women  and  children. 
Under  the  small  opening  through  which  they  de- 
scended, the  place  was  perfectly  dry,  and  the  bones 
in  a state  of  preservation.  An  entire  skeleton  of 
the  human  body  was  obtained.  They  dug  between 
four  and  seven  feet,  but  found  them  ecpially  plenti- 
ful as  on  the  top;  but  there  arose  an  offensive  etflu- 
vium  as  they  approached  where  it  was  a little  damp. 
There  was  no  outlet  to  the  room,  and  a large  snake, 
which  they  found  there,  and  which  appeared  to  be 
perfectly  docile,  passed  around  the  room  several 
times  while  they  were  in  it. 

Bear  Wallow  was  formerly  a noted  place  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  the  county.  In  the 
early  history  of  the  State  it  was  a great  resort 
for  hunters,  who  went  there  to  shoot  the 
bears  that  were  attracted  to  the  spot  to  drink 
at  the  spring  and  to  wallow  in  the  mud  and 
water;  hence  the  name. 

In  early  times  there  was  a powder-mill  on 
Lynn  Camp  Ci-eek,  near  the  line  of  Green 
County.  During  the  war  of  1812  it  manu- 
factured  considerable  powder,  also  for  a num- 
ber of  years  after  the  war  was  over,  but  it  is 
one  of  the  industries  that  long  ago  passed 
out  of  existence,  and  few,  perhaps,  now  re- 
member anything  about  it. 

Gen.  Simon  Bolivar  Buckner,  the  Confed- 
erate general,  is  a citizen  of  this  county.  [For 
sketch  of  Gen.  Buckner  see  war  history.] 


Henderson  Count?,  one  of  the  rich  and 
prosperous  counties  bordering  the  Ohio  River, 
was  formed  in  1798  from  a part  of  Christian 
County,  and  was  the  thirty-eighth  organized. 
From  its  territory  have  been  created  Hopkins 
County,  in  1806;  Union,  in  1811,  and  Web- 
ster, in  1860.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
the  State  of  Indiana,  from  which  it  is  sepa- 


rated by  the  Ohio  River;  on  the  east  by  Da- 
viess and  McLean  Counties;  on  the  south  by 
McLean  and  Webster;  on  the  west  by  Union, 
and  by  the  census  of  1880  it  had  a population 
of  24,515.  The  Green  River  flows  into  the 
Ohio  in  the  northeast  paid  of  the  county. 
This,  with  the  Ohio  and  its  tributaries,  af- 
fords excellent  drainage.  It  has  a front  on 
the  Ohio  River  of  seventy  miles,  and  on  the 
Green  of  twenty  or  thirty.  These  bottoms, 
comprising  near  60,000  acres  of  alluvial 
lands,  are  as  rich  and  productive  as  any  in 
the  State.  According  to  the  agricultiu’al  re- 
port of  1880,  Henderson  produced  more  corn 
than  any  other  county,  and,  except  Christian, 
more  tobacco.  The  agricultmul  productions 
of  the  county  were  as  follows:  Corn,  1,680,- 
000  bushels;  oats,  27,589;  wheat,  124,990, 
and  tobacco,  10.312,631  pounds.  The  county 
is  well  timbered,  the  principal  growths  being 
oak,  hickory,  wild  cherry,  walnut,  poplar,  ash, 
sweet  gum,  pecan,  cottonwood,  etc.  The  St. 
Louis  di\flsion,  of  the  Louisville  & Nash- 
ville Railroad,  passes  through  the  county,  and 
together  with  the  Ohio  and  Green  Rivers 
brings  to  the  farmer’s  door  the  best  markets 
in  the  country. 

The  mineral  resources  are  considerable. 
Coal  is  found  in  many  places,  and  quite  ex- 
tensively mined,  but  it  is  farther  below  the 
surface  than  in  some  of  the  neighboring 
counties.  The  Holloway  boring,  five  miles 
from  the  river,  “ developed  ten  beds  of  coal: 
at  60  feet,  3i  feet  of  coal;  at  70  feet,  a vein  of 
4 feet  5 inches;  at  85  feet,  one  of  10  inches; 
at  136^  feet,  over  3 feet  of  black  shale  with 
some  coal;  at  160^  feet,  a vein  of  4|-  feet;  at 
262  feet,  one  of  24  feet;  at  447  feet,  one  of 
14-  feet;  at  467  feet,  one  of  54  feet;  at  572 
feet,  one  of  20  inches,  and  at  861  feet,  one  of 
64  feet.  * In  boring  an  artesian  well  in  1857 
at  200  feet  below  the  surface  a stratum  of 
porcelain  clay  was  passed  through,  which  was 
pronounced  by  experts  the  best  yet  discovered 
in  the  United  States.  This  well,  at  the 
dejrth  of  1,600  feet,  reached  salt  water  of 
‘ ‘ eighty  gallons  to  the  bushel.  ’ ’ Lead  has 
been  found  in  the  county,  but  not  in  suifl- 
cient  quantities  to  be  vahiable. 

Settlements  were  made  in  what  is  now  Hen- 
derson County  as  far  back  as  1790-95.  This 
being  a part  of  Christian  County  for  a num- 
ber of  years,  its  settlement  and  that  of  Chris- 
tian are  identical.  Among  its  early  and 
prominent  citizens  was  Gen.  Samuel  Hopkins, 
for  whom  Hopkins  County  was  named.  He 
was  the  first  representative  in  the  Legislature 
fi’om  the  county,  and  was  a patriotic  soldier 
and  citizen. 

'^‘Geological  Surrey. 


598 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY". 


Henderson,  the  county  seat,  is  situated  on 
the  Ohio  River,  about  20()  miles  below  Louis- 
ville, and  173  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  It  was  originally  the  northern  termi- 
nus of  the  Evansville,  Henderson  & Nash- 
ville Railroad,  but  since  the  purchase  of  the 
road,  and  of  the  St.  Louis  & Southeastern 
by  the  Louisville  & Nashville  system,  and 
the  completion  of  the  bridge  across  the  river, 
it  is  but  a way-station  on  a great  thorough- 
fare between  the  South  and  the  North  and 
Northwest.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  tobacco 
markets  in  the  State  outside  of  Louisville, 
and  has  more  wealth  to  the  amount  of  popu- 
lation (5,365  in  1880),  perhaps,  than  any 
other  Kentucky  town.  It  has  an  excellent 
court  house  and  other  public  buildings, 
many  handsome  residences,  and  its  religious 
and  educational  facilities  are  the  best.  Its 
mercantile  business  and  manufacturing  in- 
dustries are  equal  to  those  of  any  other  town 
of  its  size. 

The  county  has  quite  a number  of  towns 
and  villages.  Among  them  are  the  follow- 
ing: Alzey,  Anthoston,  Bluff  City,  Cairo, 
Dixie,  Niagara,  Scuffletown,  Robai-d’s  Sta- 
tion, Ranger’s  Landing,  Smith’s  Mills, 
Spottsville  and  Zion.  They  are  small  places, 
with  a dozen  to  300  inhabitants. 

Among  the  most  prominent  men  of  Hen- 
derson County  are  Archibald  Dixon,  Phil- 
ip M.  Barl)our,  Greneral  Sami;el  Hopkins, 
Rev.  James  McGready  and  John  James  Au- 
dubon. Mr.  Dixon  was  born  in  North  Car- 
olina but  brought  to  Kentucky  by  his  parents 
when  but  a child.  Upon  receiving  a limited 
education  he  studied  law  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1825.  He  became  a successful 
lawyer  and  amassed  a large  fortune.  He 
was  several  times  elected  to  the  Legislature, 
and  in  1844  was  elected  lieutenant-governor 
on  the  Whig  ticket  with  Judge  William  Ows- 
ley, receiving  a majority  of  11,081,  while 
Owsley  only  received  4,624  majority.  He 
was  a meml^er  of  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion of  1840,  and  was  the  Whig  candidate 
for  governor  in  1851,  but  was  defeated  by 
Lazarus  W.  Powell.  He  was  soon  after 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  to  fill  out 
the  unexpired  term  of  Henry  Clay  His  last 
public  service  was  as  a delegate,  in  1862,  to 
the  Border  State  Convention. 

Major  Barbour  was  raised  principally  in 
this  county,  but  born  in  Nelson  County.  He 
was  educated  and  graduated  from  West  Point 
Military  Academy,  and  entered  the  regular 
army.  He  served  in  Florida  with  distinction 
and  was  brevetted  captain.  When  the  Mex- 
ican war  broke  out  he  was  among  the  first 
sent  to  the  front,  and  participated  in  the  bat- 


tles of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  and 
for  gallant  conduct  was  brevetted  major. 
He  was  killed  September  19,  1846,  before  the 
walls  of  Monterey,  while  gallantly  leading 
his  men  in  the  charge. 

Prof.  Audubon,  the  ornithologist,  was  for 
some  time  a resident  of  this  county.  He  was 
born  in  Louisiana  in  1780,  and  died  in  New 
lUrk  in  1851.  In  1807  he  passed  down  the 
Ohio  River  in  a small  canoe  to  Henderson, 
and  in  1810  he  was  joined  by  the  Scotch 
ornithologist,  AVilson,  and  together  they 
ranged  the  forests  from  Kentucky  to  Florida. 
In  1844  he  published  a new  edition  of 
‘ ‘ Birds  of  America,  ’ ’ in  seven  volumes,  and 
exhibited  to  the  public  his  extraordinary  col- 
lection of  original  drawings. 

Col.  Richard  Henderson,  for  whom  this 
county  was  named,  tills  a conspicuous  place 
in  the  early  history  of  Kentucky,  as  the 
agent,  or  one  of  the  proprietors,  of  the  Tran- 
sylvania Land  Company,  a subject  upon 
which  a great  deal  is  said  in  preceding  chap- 
ters of  this  volume.  He  was  a native  of 
Hanover  County,  and  was  born  in  1735. 
He  received  but  a limited  education,  read 
law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  soon 
rose  to  the  highest  rank  in  his  profession. 
He  w'as  of  a restless  disposition  and  of  sleep- 
less energy,  and  was  a man  born  to  be  great, 
could  he  have  curbed  his  ‘ ‘ vaulting  ambi- 
tion. ’ ’ Says  his  biographer : 

A man  of  great  ambition  and  somewhat  ostenta- 
tious, he  soon  became  involved  in  speculations 
which  embarrassed  him  in  his  pecuniary  relations, 
and  cramped  his  resources.  Bold,  ardent  and  ad- 
venturous, he  resolved  to  repair  the  ravages  made 
in  his  private  fortune  by  engaging  in  the  most  ex- 
tensive scheme  of  speculation  ever  recorded  in  the 
history  of  this  country.  Having  formed  a company 
for  that  purpose,  he  succeeded  in  negotiating  with 
the  head  chiefs  of  the  Cherokee  nation  a treat}^  by 
whicti  all  tliat  tract  of  country  lying  between  the 
Cumberland  River,  the  mountains  of  the  same 
name,  and  the  Kentucky  River,  and  situated  south 
of  tiie  Ohio,  was  transferred  for  a reasonable  con- 
sider.ition  to  the  company.  By  this  treaty  Hender- 
son and  his  associates  became  the  proprietors  of  all 
that  country  which  now  comprises  more  than  one- 
half  of  the'State  of  Kentuck3c  This  was  in  1775. 
They  immediately  proceeded  to  establish  a proprie- 
tary government,  of  whicli  Henderson  became  the 
president,  and  which  had  its  seat  at  Boonesboro. 
The  new  country  received  the  name  of  Transj’l- 
vania. 

Henderson’s  purchase  from  the  Indians 
was  afterward  annulled  liy  the  Legislature 
of  Virginia,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  “ con- 
trary to  the  chartered  rights  of  that  State.” 
But  they  compensated  the  company  of  Hen- 
derson for  any  loss  sustained,  by  granting 
to  it  a tract  of  land  comprising  200,000 
acres  “ lying  on  the  Ohio  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Oreen  River.  ’ ’ Col.  Henderson  died 
in  1785,  aged  fifty  years. 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


599 


Henry  County  was  formed  in  1798,  and 
was  named  in  honor  of  Patrick  Henry,  the 
great  Vu’ginia  orator,  and  governor  of  the 
Old  Dominion  at  the  time  Kentucky  formed 
a part  of  Fincastle  County.  It  was  taken 
fi’om  Shelby  County,  and  was  the  thirty-first 
formed  in  the  new  State.  Afterward  it  contrib- 
uted to  the  formation  of  Oldham  and  Trimble 
Counties.  It  lies  in  the  northern  part  of  the  j 
State,  between  Louisville  and  Frankfort, 
and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Carroll 
County;  on  the  east  by  Owen  County,  on  the  , 
south  by  Franklin  and  Shelby  Counties;  on  j 
the  west  by  Oldham  and  Trimble  Counties, 
and  by  the  census  of  1880  it  had  14,492  in-  j 
habitants.  It  is  drained  by  the  Kentucky 
River,  which  forms  the  boiindary  line  between  , 
it  and  Owen  County,  and  its  tributaries.  | 
The  face  of  the  country  is  generally  undulat- 
ing, with  considerable  hills  in  certain  local- 
ities, and  the  lands  are  designated  the  ‘ ‘ su- 
gar lands,  ’ ’ the  ‘ ‘ oak  lands  ’ ’ and  the  ‘ ‘ beech 
lands.”  The  first  produce  hemp  abundant-  , 
ly;  the  second  the  finest  of  tobacco,  and  the  : 
last  yield  corn  profusely;  the  agricultimal 
statistics  in  1880  were  corn,  889,831  bush- 
els; wheat,  95,162;  oats,  48,968,  and  tobac- 
co, 4,015,708  pounds.  i 

The  bluffs  along  the  Kentucky'  River  are  i 
very  high,  being  375  feet  above  low  water  in  i 
some  places.  Both  lead  and  silver  ore  have  j 
been  reported  to  exist  in  the  county,  but  not 
in  paying  quantities.  A number  of  mineral 
springs  are  in  different  sections.  The  Dren-  i 
non  Springs,  on  the  creek  of  the  same  name,  ! 
and  about  a mile  from  where  it  empties  into 
the  Kentucky  River,  at  one  time  was  a pop- 
ular summer  resort.  In  the  vicinity  of  Emi- 
nence is  a spring  of  saline  chalybeate  water. 
In  a railroad  cut  near  Eminence  a number  of 
bones  of  the  mammoth  were  found,  but  so 
long  had  they  lain  bimed  in  the  earth  that 
upon  being  exposed  to  light  and  air  they 
crumbled  into  dust. 

The  fii-st  white  people,  perhaps,  who  saw 
the  present  county  of  Henry  were  Hancock 
Taylor  and  the  McAfee  Company,  in  the 
summer  of  1773.  Collins  thus  describes  their 
visit : 

Hancock  Taylor  and  the  McAfee  Company 
directed  their  course  up  the  Kentucky  River.  The}' 
ascended  it  to  the  mouth  of  Drennon’s  Creek,  where 
they  found  the  river  nearly  closed  by  a rocky  bar. 
Here  on  the  9th  of  July  (1773)  they  left  their  ca- 
noes, and  went  out  to  the  lick,  where  they  discov- 
ered immense  numbers  of  buffalo,  elk,  deer,  wolves, 
bears,  etc.  They  continued  either  at  or  in  the 
neighborhood  of  tlie  lick  until  the  15th  of  July. 
While  there,  quite  a ludicrous  and  yet  dangerous 
scene  occurred.  A large  herd  of  buffalo  being  in 
the  lick,  Samuel  Adams  was  tempted  to  fire  his  gun 
at  one  of  them,  when  the  whole  herd,  in  terrible 
alarm,  ran  directly  toward  the  spot  where  Adams 


; and  James  McAfee  stood.  Adams  instantly  sprang 
up  a leaning  tree,  but  McAfee,  being  less  active, 
was  compelled  to  take  shelter  behind  a tree  barely 
large  enough  to  cover  his  body.  In  this  condition 
the""whole  herd  passed  them,  the  horns  of  the  buf- 
falo scraping  oft'  the  bark  on  both  sides  of  the  tree 
behind  which  McAfee  was  standing,  drawn  up  to 
his  smallest  dimensions.  After  all  had  passed, 
Adams  crawled  down,  and  McAfee  mildly  said: 
“My  good  boy,  you  must  not  venture  that  again.” 

! New  Castle,  tbe  county  seat,  is  situated 
southwest  of  the  geographical  center  of  the 
county,  and  is  a small  place  of  500  inhabi- 
tants by  the  last  census.  It  has  the  usual 
j public  buildings,  churches,  schools,  general 
business,  and  a newspaper — the  Henry  Coun- 
\ ty  Local. 

Eminence  is  the  largest  town  in  the  county. 

I It  is  situated  on  the  Frankfort  division  of  the 
! Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad,  forty  miles 
east  of  Louisville.'  It  is  an  enterprising, 
pushing  town  of  1.043  inhabitants.  It  is  well 
supplied  with  schools  and  churches,  has  a 
number  of  nourishing  stores,  and  a good 
newspaper  — The  Constitutionalist.  Other 
! villages  and  postoffices  are  Pleasureville, 
Tiumer  Station,  Campbellsbm’g.  Bethlehem, 
Franklinton.  Guestville,  Lockport,  Jericho, 
Sulphur,  Springport,  Pendleton.  Port  Royal 
\ and  Smithfield. 


j Hickman  County  was  created  in  1821  out 
of  parts  of  Caldwell  and  Livingston,  and  was 
the  seventy-first  county  organized.  It  is 
j situated  in  the  Jackson  Purchase,  and  since 
its  organization  it  has  contributed  whollv,  or 
in  part,  to  the  following:  Calloway,  in  1822; 
Graves,  in  1823;  McCracken,  in  1824:  Bal- 
I lard  and  Fulton,  in  1845.  It  is  bounded  on 
' the  north  by  Ballard  County:  on  the  east  by 
Graves;  on  the  south  by  the  State  of  Tennes- 
' see  and  by  Fulton  County:,  on  the  west  by 
Fulton  County  and  the  Mississippi  River, 
and  in  1880  had  a population  of  10,651.  It 
is  generally  level,  with  a very  rich  and  fertile 
soil,  and.  in  1880  produced  784.828  bushels 
I of  corn;  107,006  bushels  of  wheat;  13.857 
' bushels  of  oats,  and  461. 946  pounds  of  tobac- 
co. The  land  is  well  drained  by  the  Little 
Obion  and  Bayou  du  Chien,  and  their  tribu- 
taries. 

IVilliam  Tipton  was  one  of  the  first,  if  not 
the  first  permanent  settler  in  Hickman  County. 
He  came  to  Columbus  about  the  year  ISIS, 
and  purchased  the  old  block-house  that  had 
been  built  there  some  years  previously  ( about 
1804)  and  occupied  by  United  States'  troops 
during  the  Biut  conspiracy.  Other  early 
settlers  were  a man  named  Bowles,  the  Ed- 
rington  family.  Samuel  Lucas,  the  Cook  fam- 
ily, Edmund  Taylor,  Pembroke  M alker,  etc. 


600 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Other  early  settlements  were  made  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Moscow,  also  in  the  Rock 
Springs  neighborhood. 

Clinton,  the  county  seat,  is  situated  near 
the  center  of  the  coiinty,  on  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad,  about  fifteen  miles  south  of 
Cairo,  111. , and  is  a village  of  506  inhabitants 
by  the  last  census.  It  has  a handsome  brick 
court  house,  built  in  1884,  several  churches, 
two  colleges — Clinton  College,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  Marvin 
College,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist 
Church;  also  Clinton  Academy,  an  excellent 
select  school ; a number  of  flourishing  stores, 
the  usual  shops,  and  a sprightly  newspaper — 
the  Democrat. 

Columbus,  the  largest  town  in  the  county 
— also  the  oldest — and  the  original  county 
seat,  is  situated  on  the  Ohio  River  twenty 
miles  below  Cairo.  Its  population,  in  1880, 
was  1,338  souls.  It  was  the  seat  of  justice 
from  the  formation  of  the  county  up  to  1829, 
when  it  was  changed  to  Clinton.  It  was  a 
cherished  scheme  of  the  projectors  of  the 
town  to  make  it  a great  city — one  that  should 
not  only  become  the  commercial  metrojsolis 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley, but  the  national  capital  as  well.  The 
lofty  aspirations  of  its  founders,  however, 
were  doomed  to  remain  ‘ ‘obscurely  dim,  ’ ’ and 
the  town  to-day  is  only  a straggling  river 
village  of  little  more  than  1,000  inhabitants, 
and  not  even  the  seat  of  justice  of  a small 
county.  Other  villages  are  Moscow,  Obion, 
Baltimore,  Wesley,  Oakville,  etc. 

The  county  was  named  in  honor  of  Capt. 
Paschal  Hickman,  a native  of  Virginia.  He 
came  to  Kentucky  with  his  father’s  family 
when  very  young  and  settled  in  Franklin 
County.  His  father.  Rev.  W illiam  Hickman, 
was  one  of  the  pioneer  preachers  of  Ken- 
tucky. Capt.  Hickman  served  in  many  of 
the  campaigns  against  the  Indians,  and  was 
a gallant  officer.  He  commanded  a company 
at  the  battle  of  river  Raisin,  where  he  lost 
his  life. 


Hopkins  County  was  established  in  1806 
from  a part  of  Henderson  County,  and  was 
the  forty-ninth  county  formed.  It  is  situated 
in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  AVebster  County,  on 
the  east  by  McLean  and  Muhlenburg,  on  the 
south  by  Christian,  on  the  west  by  Lyon  and 
Crittenden,  and  in  1880  it  had  19,122  inhab- 
itants. It  is  above  the  average  in  wealth  and 
material  resources,  and  many  portions  abound 
in  coal  of  a superior  quality.  It  is  divided 
into  ridge  or  hill  lands,  bottom  or  black  flats. 


and  rolling  lands,  mostly  fertile  and  product- 
ive. The  Pond  and  Tradewater  Rivers,  with 
I numerous  small  tributaries,  water  and  drain 
I the  county.  It  is  well  timbered,  and  much 
I of  it  is  of  a fine  quality.  The  St.  Louis 
division  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville,  and 
the  Chesapeake,  Ohio  & Southwestern  Rail- 
road pass  through  and  afford  excellent  trans- 
portation facilities.  Of  the  coal  supply  of 
the  county,  the  following  is  given:* 

Ten  veins  of  coal,  generally  well  developed,  ex- 
tend oyGr  nearly  the  whole  county,  in  some  open- 
ings eight  feet  thick,  and  all  the  outcrops  are  of 
easy  access.  The  town  of  Providence  (now  in 
Webster  County)  is  at  the  top  of  a hill,  around 
which  three  veins  of  coal,  each  five  to  six  feet  thick, 
are  exposed,  in  scarcely  125  feet  of  measures.  The 
Henderson  & Nashville  Railroad  runs  between 
numerous  coal  banks;  in  the  southeast  part  of 
the  county,  all  the  creeks — Clear,  Lamb,  Richland, 
Stewart,  Caney  and  Pond,  and  their  tributaries — 
seem  to  run  purposely  to  expose  thick  coal  banks; 
Dozier’s  Mountain,  Buffalo  Mountain,  AVright’s 
Ridge,  Bear  AVallow,  from  base  to  top,  look  like  a 
succession  of  coal,  iron  and  limestone  strata.  The 
coal  from  one  bank  contained  as  little  as  .820,  and 
from  another  as  high  as  2.796  per  cent  of  sulphur. 

Madisonville,  the  county  seat,  is  situated 
near  the  center  of  the  county,  on  the  St. 
Louis  division  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville 
Railroad,  and  was  named  for  President 
Madison.  It  was  incorporated  in  1810,  and 
by  the  last  census  had  a population  of  1,544. 
It  is  a pleasant,  thriving,  business  town,  with 
much  push  and  go-ahead  about  it.  A brick 
court  house  adorns  the  public  square;  there 
are  a number  of  prosperous  stores,  a bank,  a 
newspaper — the  Times — good  schools,  includ- 
ing the  Madisonville  Normal  School  and 
Business  College,  and  several  fine  churches. 
Among  the  other  towns,  villages  and  post- 
offices  are  Ashbysburg,  Charleston,  Dalton, 
Dawson,  Earlington,  Elwood,  Frostburg, 
Gordonville,  Hanson,  Morton’s  Gap,  Norton- 
ville,  Nebo,  Swainville,  Slaughterville,  St. 
Charles  and  AAffiite  Plains. 

Hopkins  County  was  named  in  honor  of 
Gen.  Samuel  Hopkins,  a native  of  Virginia, 
and  a gallant  officer  of  the  Revolutionary 
Army.  He  came  to  Kentucky  in  1797,  and 
settled  on  Green  River.  He  served  several 
terms  in  the  Legislature,  and  one  term  in 
Congress.  He  led  several  expeditions  against 
the  Indians — the  last  to  the  AA" abash  country, 
where  he  destroyed  a number  of  Indian 
villages.  After  his  term  in  Congress,  he  re- 
tired from  public  life. 

There  was  a tradition  among  the  early 
citizens  of  a fort  or  fortification  in  this 
county,  of  which  none  knew  the  history.  It 
was  on  a high  rocky  hill  some  four  miles 
from  where  Madisonville  now  stands.  The 

*From  the  Geological  Survey. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


601 


fortification  contained  about  ten  acres,  and 
was  walled  with  stone.  The  tradition  is,  that 
it  was  found  by  the  first  whites,  even  then 
bearing  the  marks  of  age,  and  that  none 
knew  when  or  by  whom  it  was  built. 


Jackson  County  was  formed  out  of  jjortions 
of  Madison,  Owsley,  Estill,  Laurel,  Clay  and 
Rockcastle  Counties,  in  1858,  and  was  the 
one  hundred  and  fifth  county.  It  was  named 
in  honor  of  Glen.  Andrew  Jackson,  the  hero 
of  New  Orleans  and  the  seventh  President  of 
the  United  States.  It  lies  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  the  State,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north 
by  Estill  County,  on  the  east  by  Owsley,  on 
the  south  by  Laurel  and  Clay,  on  the  west  by 
Rockcastle,  and  in  1880  it  had  6,678  inhabi- 
tants. It  is  watered  by  tributaries  of  the 
Kentucky  and  Cumberland  Rivers,  among 
which  are  Middle  Fork,  Indian,  Laurel  Fork, 
Pond,  Sturgeon,  Horse  Lick,  Moore' s.  South 
Fork,  War  Fork,  etc.  It  is  rich  in  mineral 
productions,  but  agriculturally  it  is  below  the 
average,  its  corn  in  1880  being  244, 191  bush- 
els; oats,  15,067;  wheat,  10,905,  and  tobacco, 
9,288  pounds.  The  county  is  well  timbered; 
its  timber  being  of  the  best,  and  but  little 
yet  consumed,  beyond  home  consumption. 
In  addition  to  coal  there  has  been  found 
what  was  believed  to  be  silver  ore,  whicLi 
created  the  usual  nine  days’  wonder,  and  then 
died  away.  Salt  was  made  in  the  early  times 
on  Horse  Lick. 

The  settlement  of  Jackson  County  was 
made  early.  Among  its  pioneers  were  the 
Casteels,  Fowlers,  McOwens,  and  Harrisons. 
John  Casteel  settled  on  Pond  Creek;  Moses 
Parris  settled  on  Laurel  Fork,  while  others 
settled  in  different  parts  of  the  county. 

McKee,  the  county  seat,  is  situated  near 
the  geographical  center  of  the  county,  and  is 
a small  place  with  only  88  inhabitants  by  the 
last  census.  It  was  named  for  Judge  Ceorge 
R.  McKee,  a imominent  man  of  Kentucky. 
Other  villages  and  postoffices  are  as  follows: 
Tyner,  Moore’s  Creek,  Sand  Spring,  Drip 
Rock  and  Egypt — all  small  places. 


Jefferson  County  is  one  of  the  three  coun- 
ties into  which  Kentucky  was  divided  in  1781 
while  still  a province  of  Virginia.  It  lies  on 
the  Ohio  River,  and  originally  embraced 
“that  part  of  the  south  side  of  Kentucky 
River  which  lies  west  and  north  of  a line  be- 
ginning at  the  mouth  of  Benson’ s Big  Creek, 
and  running  up  the  same  and  its  main  fork 
to  the  head;  thence  south  to  the  nearest 


waters  of  Hammond’s  Creek,  and  down  the 
same  to  its  junction  with  the  Town  Fork  of 
Salt  River;  thence  south  to  Green  River,  and 
down  the  same  to  its  junction  with  the  Ohio.  ” 
Such  was  Jefferson  County  as  originally  or- 
ganized. It  was  named  for  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, governor  of  Virginia  at  the  time  the 
county  was  formed.  At  present,  after  some 
thirty  counties  have  been  formed  fi’om  its  ter- 
ritoiy,  it  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Ohio 
River  and  Oldham  County;  on  the  east  by 
Shelby  and  Spencer;  on  the  south  by  Spen- 
cer and  Bullitt;  on  the  west  by  the  Ohio  Riv- 
er, and  in  1880  it  had  a population,  includ- 
ing the  city  of  Louisville,  of  146,010.  The 
county  is  drained  by  the  Ohio  River  and  a 
number  of  tributaries,  the  most  noted  of  which 
is  Beargrass  Creek,  a stream  of  historic  in- 
terest in  the  early  annals  of  the  State.  The 
central  and  western  portions  of  the  county 
are  level,  rich,  productive,  and  in  a highly 
improved  state,  while  the  eastern  part  is  roll- 
ing, with  a thinner  soil,  but  produces  wheat, 
oats  and  corn  abundantly.  Originally  the 
county  was  heavily  timbered. 

Louisville,  the  county  seat,  is  beautifully 
situated  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  River.  It 
was  incorporated  in  1780,  and  100  years  later 
(1880)  had  123,758  inhabitants.  It  is  132 
miles  below  Cincinnati,  and  368  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Ohio.  It  is  built  on  an  elevated 
plain,  twenty  feet  or  more  above  the  highest 
flood  mark  ever  made  by  the  Ohio,  and  some 
seventy  feet  above  low-water  mark.  It  is 
regularly  and  handsomely  laid  out  with  broad, 
elegant  streets,  which  run  almost  due  east 
and  west  and  north  and  south.  No  city  in  the 
country  contains  more  handsome  buildings, 
magnificent  residences  and  spacious  church 
edifices,  with  learned  pastors,  than  Louisville. 
Its  public  buildings — court  house,  city  hall, 
county  prison,  postoftice  and  custom  house 
(the  latter,  a new  one,  1886,  in  course  of  con- 
struction), are  of  the  best,  and  will  compare 
favorably  with  those  of  any  city  of  its  size. 
Its  public  and  private  schools,  law,  medical 
and  theological  colleges,  widow  and  oi’phan 
asylums,  and  other  institutions,  public  and 
private,  are  not  surpassed  anywhere.  Its 
press  is  not  only  the  ablest  in  the  South, 
but  one  of  the  ablest  in  the  country,  and  its 
bar  is  one  of  erudition  and  brilliance.  Its 
mercantile,  mechanical  and  manufacturing 
interests  are  valuable,  and  are  not  the  least 
of  the  city’s  soiu'ces  of  wealth  and  import- 
ance. It  is  one  of  the  finest,  if  not  the  finest 
tobacco  market  in  the  world,  and  the  thoii- 
sands  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pounds 
handled  here  annually  would  almost  ‘ ‘ bank- 
rupt the  science  of  numbers’  ’ to  express.  Its 


602 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


ample  transportation  facilities,  both  by  rail  ; 
and  by  water,  add  greatly  to  its  importance 
as  a manufacturing  center. 

There  are  quite  a number  of  villages,  rail- 
road stations,  etc. , in  the  county.  Anchor- 
age is  perhaps  one  of  the  largest  and  hand- 
somest of  these.  It  is  situated  on  the  short 
line  division  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville 
Railroad,  twelve  miles  east  of  Louisville,  and 
is  distinguished  as  being  a beautiful  suburb- 
an village,  and  the  seat  of  the  Central  In- 
sane Asylum.  Other  villages  and  hamlets 
are  Buechel,  Floyd’s  Fork,  Fisherville,  Fern 
Creek,  Fairmount,  Eden,  Eastwood,  Doup’s 
Point,  Old  Deposit,  Jeffersontown,  Howes- 
burg.  Hikes’  Point,  Long  Run,  Lyndon,  Mal- 
cott,  O’Bannon’s,  Ormsby,  Prospect,  Middle- 
town,  St.  Matthews,  Valley,  etc.  Some  of 
these  are  beautiful  little  suburban  villages, 
and  others  are  quite  ancient  places. 

Louisville  and  Jefferson  County  form  a 
prominent  part  in  the  history  of  Kentucky. 
The  importance  which  attaches  to  the  early 
settlements  at  “the Falls,”  and  upon  “Bear- 
grass,”  but  increases  in  interest  as  time  rolls 
on.  When  these  settlements  were  made,  the 
primeval  forests  surrounding  them  were  un- 
broken; “the  rank  thistle  nodded  in  the 
wind,  and  the  wild  fox  dug  his  hole  iin- 
scared.  ” The  hundred  years  that  have  come 
and  gone  have  witnessed  changes.  ’ The 
wilderness  has  been  made  “to  rejoice  and 
blossom  as  the  rose;”  the  Indian  trail 
has  been  obliterated  by  the  railway  track, 
and  a city,  grand  and  mighty  in  its  magnifi- 
cence, has  risen  from  the  swamps  that  bor- 
dered the  falls  of  the  Ohio.  Further  history 
of  Louisville  appears  in  preceding  chapters. 

The  first  whites,  in  what  is  now  Jefferson 
County,  were  an  exploring  and  surveying 
party  under  Capt.  Thomas  Bullitt,  who  in 
July,  1773,  camped  above  the  mouth  of  Bear- 
grass  Creek,  and  remained  there  for  six  weeks, 
exploring  and  surveying  the  lands  of  Jeffer- 
son County.  McMurtrie,  in  his  sketches  of 
Louisville,  says  the  first  regular  settlers  com 
prised  “ the  families  of  James  Patton,  Rich- 
ard Chinoweth,  John  Tuel,  William  Faith, 
John  McManus,  and  one  other  whose  name 
was  not  preserved.  ” In  the  spring  of  1778 
they  ‘ ‘ encamped  on  Corn  Island,  opposite 
the  present  city  of  Louisville.”  In  the  fall 
of  the  same  year  they  removed  to  the  mainland 
and  erected  cabins.  The  next  spring  they 
were  joined  by  other  emigrants  from  Virgin- 
ia, and  thus  the  foundation  was  laid  for 
the  settlement  of  Louisville  and  Jefferson 
County. 

James  Porter,  known  as  the  “Kentucky 
Giant,”  was  long  a citizen  of  the  suburb 


called  “ Shippingport,”  now  a part  of  the 
city.  He  wms  born  in  Ohio  in  1810,  and 
when  but  a year  old  his  parents  removed  to 
Kentucky  and  located  in  Shippingport.  He 
was  seven  feet  and  nine  inches  in  height,  and 
a remarkable  fact  concerning  him — until 
fourteen  years  old  he  was  unusually  small 
for  his  age.  He  was  large  boned,  and  when 
in  good  health  weighed  300  pounds.  He 
died  in  1859,  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age. 

Among  the  prominent  men  of  Loiiisville 
and  Jefferson  County — many  of  whom  are 
noticed  in  other  jrortions  of  this  work — may 
be  mentioned  Col.  Richard  C.  Anderson, 
Gen.  Zachary  Taylor,  Col.  Richard  Taylor, 
Commodore  Taylor,  Col.  John  Floyd,  For- 
tunatus  Cosby,  Hon.  Stephen  Ormsby,  Thom- 
as and  Cuthbert  Bullitt,  Thomas  Prather, 
Cols.  William  and  Curran  Pope,  Worden 
Pope,  Gen.  Humphrey  Marshall,  Thomas  A. 
Marshall,  Hon.  Samuel  S.  Nicholas,  Hon. 
Charles  S.  Morehead,  Hon.  Thomas  E. 
Bramlette,  George  D.  Prentice,  John  H. 
Harney,  the  Speeds  and  Caldwells,  Gen. 
Lovell  H.  Rousseau,  Prof.  J.  Lawrence 
Smith,  James  Guthrie,  H.  D.  Newcomb,  Drs. 
Lunsford  P.  Yandell  and  Theodore  S.  Bell, 
etc.  Many  of  these  were  descendants  of  the 
pioneers  who  settled  about  the  falls  and 
assisted  in  wresting  the  county  from  the 
savages.  They  were  all  men  of  note,  and 
have  left  their  impress  iipon  the  history  of 
their  city  and  State — almost  upon  its  every 
l^age,  and  interspersed  all  through  this  vol- 
ume will  be  found  allusions  to  them  and  the 
parts  they  enacted. 


Jessamine  County  was  created  in  1798  from 
a i-)art  of  Fayette  County,  and  was  the  thirty- 
sixth  in  the  order  of  formation.  It  lies  in  the 
blue-grass  region,  and  the  northern  part  is 
very  rich,  the  land  undulating  and  of  the  blue 
limestone  type;  the  south  part,  along  the  river, 
is  more  broken  and  the  soil  thinner,  but  still 
highly  productive.  The  county  is  bounded 
on  the  north  l^y  Woodford  and  Fayette;  on 
the  east  by  Fayette  and  Madison;  on  the 
south  by  Madison  and  Garrard,  from  which 
it  is  separated  by  the  Kentucky  River;  on 
the  west  by  Mercer  and  Woodford,  and  in 
1880  it  had  a population  of  10,864.  The 
principal  products  are  corn,  oats,  wheat, 
grass  and  hemp,  with  a very  little  tobacco. 

’ The  soil  is  drained  by  the  Kentucky  River 
and  its  branches,  the  principal  of  which  are 
Jessamine  and  Sinking  Creeks.  The  latter 
is  something  of  a natural  wonder.  Rising  in 

I this  county,  it  flows  in  a westerly  direction. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


603 


and  in  Woodford  County  unites  'with  another 
Sinking  Creek  and  together  they  form  Clear 
Creek.  It  sinks  into  the  ground  four  times,  ! 
and  each  time  runs  under  the  ground  fi’om 
a quarter  of  a mile  to  a mile,  then  rises  again 
to  the  surface  and  flows  on  as  before.  When 
the  volume  of  water  is  too  great  to  sink  into 
the  earth,  it  rises,  sometimes  until  fifty  feet 
deep  and  a mile  wide. 

The  Elkhorn  River,  a branch  of  the  Kentucky, 
from  the  southeast,  waters  a country  fine  beyond 
description.  Indeed,  the  country  east  and  south  of 
this,  including  the  head  waters  of  the  Licking 
River,  Hickman’s  and  Jessamine  Creeks,  and  the 
remarkable  bend  in  the  Kentucky  River,  may  be 
called  an  extensive  garden.  The  soil  is  deep  and 
black,  and  the  natural  growth,  large  walnuts,  honey 
and  black  locust,  poplar,  elm,  oak,  hickory,  sugar 
tree,  etc.  Grape  vines  run  to  the  tops  of  the  trees; 
and  the  surface  of  the  ground  is  covered  with  clover, 
blue-grass  and  wild  rye.  On  this  fertile  tract,  and 
the  Licking  River,  and  the  head  waters  of  the  Salt 
River,  are  the  bulk  of  the  settlements  in  this  coun- 
try.* 

Nicliolasville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
near  the  center  of  the  county  about  thirty- 
five  miles  from  Frankfort.  It  is  a place  of 
2,300  inhabitants  by  the  last  census,  and  was 
named  for  Col.  George  Nicholas.  It  has  the 
usual  public  buildings,  several  handsome 
churches,  schools,  both  select  and  private,  a 
nmnber  of  flourishing  stores,  and  the  general 
supply  of  shops,  factories,  etc.  Other  vil- 
lages and  postoffices  in  the  county  are  Camp 
Nelson,  Hanly,  High  Bridge,  Keene,  Little 
Hickman,  North  Tower  and  Sulphur  Well. 

“The  Devil’s  Pulpit”  is  one  of  the  curi- 
osities to  be  found  in  the  county.  Collins 
thus  describes  it : 

At  the  foot  of  the  stairway  stands  the  Pulpit, 
rising  from  the  very  brink  of  the  main  ledge,  at 
more  than  200  feet  of  an  elevation  above  the  river, 
but  separated  from  the  portion  which  towers  up  to 
the  extreme  height.  The  space  is  twelve  feet  at 
bottom,  and  as  the  cliff  retreats  slightly  at  this 
point,  the  gap  is  perhaps  thirty  feet  at  the  top. 
The  best  idea  that  can  be  formed  of  this  rock  is  to 
suppose  it  to  be  a single  column,  standing  in  front 
of  the  continuous  wall  of  some  vast  building  or 
ruin,  the  shaft  standing  as  colonnades  are  fre- 
quently built  upon  an  elevated  platform.  From  the 
platform  to  the  capital  of  the  shaft  is  not  less  than 
100  feet,  making  the  whole  elevation  of  the  ‘ ' Devil’s 
Pulpit  ” 300  feet.  It  is  called  by  some  the  inverted 
candlestick,  to  which  it  has  a striking  resemblance. 
There  are  two  swells,  which  form  the  base  mould- 
ing and  occupy  about  forty  feet  of  the  shaft.  It 
then  narrows  to  an  oblong  of  about  three  feet  by 
six,  at  which  point  there  are  fifteen  distinct  projec- 
tions. This  narrow  neck  continues  with  some  irreg- 
ularity for  eight  or  ten  feet,  winding  off  at  an  angle 
of  more  than  one  degree  from  the  line  of  gravity. 
Then  commence  the  increased  swell  and  craggy 
offsets,  first  overhanging  one  side,  and  then  the 
other,  till  they  reach  the  top  or  cap  rock,  which  is  i 
not  so  wide  as  the  one  below  it,  but  is  still  fifteen 
feet  across. 

*Morse’s  American  Geography,  published  in  1789. 


Camp  Nelson,  a noted  place  during  the 
late  civil  war,  is  in  this  county.  It  is  situ- 
ated on  the  Kentucky  River,  at  the  mouth  of 
Hickman’ s Creek,  and  was  named  in  honor  of 
Gen.  William  Nelson.  It  was  established  in 
1863,  and  occupied  by  the  Government 
troops  until  the  close  of  the  war.  There  is  a 
United  States  cemetery  here,  where. 

On  Fame’s  eternal  camping  ground, 
sleep  many  soldiers,  whose  battles  are  o’er. 
It  is  beautifully  improved  and  kept  in  excel- 
lent order  by  the  Government. 

Jessamine  County  was  named  for  .Jessa- 
mine Creek,  and  a sad  and  touching  incident 
furnished  a name  to  the  creek.  A Scotch- 
man, named  Douglass,  entered  the  land 
around  the  source  of  the  creek,  which  is  in 
this  county,  and  settled  there  when  Indians 
still  infested  the  country.  He  had  a daugh- 
ter, Jessamine  Douglass,  and  he  bestowed 
her  name  upon  the  stream.  One  day  she 
was  sittingr  on  a larcfe  rock  near  the  head  of 
the  creek,  wholly  unconscious  of  danger, 
when  an  Indian  stealthily  crept  up  and  bur- 
ied his  tomahawk  in  her  brain. 


Johnson  Countv  was  organized,  in  1843. 
from  parts  of  Lawrence,  Floyd  and  Morgan, 
and  was  the  ninety- seventh  formed  in  the 
State.  It  is  situated  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  State,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Lawrence  County;  on  the  east  by  Martin;  on 
the  south  by  Floyd  and  Magoffin:  on  the 
west  by  Morgan  and  Magoffin,  and  in  1880 
it  had  a population  of  9,155.  Its  products 
are  corn,  wheat,  oats,  etc. — 372.073  bushels 
of  corn  in  1880;  17,267  bushels  of  wheat; 
21,892  bushels  of  oats;  its  exports  are  horses, 
cattle,  hogs,  lumber  and  coal.  The  county 
is  drained  by  the  south  fork  of  the  Big  Sandy 
River  and  its  tributaries. 

Paintsville,  the  county  seat,  is  situated  on 
Paint  Creek,  in  the  central  part  of  the  coun- 
ty. It  is  a small  place  of  310  inhabitants  by 
the  Iasi;  census.  Flat  Gap  and  Barnett’s 
Creek  are  small  places  of  100  or  200  inhab- 
itants. 

The  county  was  named  in  honor  of  a dis- 
tinguished Kentuckian — Col.  Richard  M. 
Johnson,  the  supposed  slayer  of  the  Indian 
chief,  Tecumseh.  He  was  born  in  1781,  and 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  the  period, 
finishing  off  at  Transylvania  University  He 
commenced  the  study  of  law  with  Col.  George 
Nicholas,  who  died  soon  after,  and  he  then 
completed  his  studies  with  Hon.  James 
Brown,  the  first  United  States  senator  fi’om 
i Kentucky,  or  from  the  Mississippi  Valley. 


604 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Mr.  Johnson  was  a man  of  the  highest  sense 
of  honor,  and  withal,  honest  to  a fault.  In 
the  practice  of  law  ‘ ‘ he  despised  injustice 
and  oijpression,  and  never  omitted  an  occa- 
sion to  render  his  services,  without  prospect 
of  reward,  where  honest  poverty  or  injured 
innocence  was  found  struggling  against  the 
oppression  of  wealth.”  He  was  elected  to 
the  Lemslature  as  soon  as  old  enough  to  be 
admitted  to  a seat,  and  served  several  terms, 
at  different  periods  of  his  life.  He  partici- 
pated, with  distinction,  in  the  war  of  1812, 
and  commanded  a regiment  at  the  sanguin- 
ary  battle  of  the  Thames,  where  both  com- 
mander and  regiment  acted  with  the  utmost 
gallantry  and  contributed  greatly  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  day.  Col.  Johnson  has  always 
been  accredited  with  having  “ killed  Tecum- 
seh,  ” the  commander  of  the  Indians  in  that 
hard-fought  battle. 

Col.  Johnson,  after  the  close  of  the  war, 
served  several  terms  in  Congress  and  in  the 
national  Senate,  and  in  1830  was  elected 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  on  the 
ticket  with  Martin  Van  Buren.  In  1840  they 
w’ere  defeated  for  re-election  by  William 
Henry  Harrison  and  John  Tyler.  He  then 
retired  to  his  farm  in  Scott  County,  where, 
with  the  exception  of  a couple  of  terms  in  the 
State  Legislature,  the  remainder  of  his  life 
was  spent.  He  died  in  1850,  in  the  seven- 
tieth year  of  his  age. 


Kenton  County,  one  of  the  smallest  in  the 
State,  was  created  in  1840,  and  was  the  nine- 
tieth in  order  of  formation.  It  was  clipped 
off'  the  western  portion  of  Campbell  County, 
and  was  named  for  that  grand  old  hero  and 
pioneer,  Simon  Kenton,  who,  like  Daniel 
Boone,  is  extensively  mentioned  in  pre- 
ceding chapters.  The  county  is  a nar- 
row strip  of  country,  twelve  miles  wide 
and  twenty  five  long,  lying  between  Camp- 
bell County  on  the  east,  and  Boone  County 
on  the  w'est,  with  the  Ohio  River  on  the 
north,  and  Pendleton  and  Grant  Counties 
on  the  south.  By  the  last  census  it  had  a 
jiopulation  of  43,983,  including  the  city  of 
Covington.  The  soil  of  the  river  bottoms  is 
rich  and  productive;  the  uplands  are  rolling, 
but  produce  fine  crops  of  grain  and  tobacco, 
as  shown  by  the  agricultural  report  of  1880: 
Corn,  428,102  bushels;  oats,  29,405;  wheat, 
55,049;  and  tobacco,  2,322,771  pounds. 
There  are  many  fine  vegetable  gardens  and 
dairy  farms  around  Covington.  The  Short- 
line, Kentucky  Central,  and  Cincinnati 
Southern  Railroads  all  penetrate  the  county. 


and  these,  together  with  the  Ohio  and  Lick- 
j ing  Rivers,  afford  the  best  of  market  facili- 
I ties. 

The  first  white  visitors,  to  what  is  now 
Kenton  County,  were  a small  company 
under  Christopher  Gist,  agent  of  the  Ohio 
Company.  They  crossed  the  Licking  River 
near  its  mouth  in  March,  1751,  and  were  the 
first  white  men  ever  upon  its  waters,  so  far 
as  definitely  known.  In  1756  Mrs.  Mary 
Inglis  and  a companion,  making  their  escape 
from  the  Indians,  passed  through  the  county. 
Several  parties  of  emigrants,  explorers  and 
surveyors  either  camped  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Licking  or  landed  there  on  their  way  to  their 
places  of  destination.  The  mouth  of  the 
Licking  River  was  one  of  the  prominent 
points  in  the  navigation  of  the  Ohio,  and  was 
also  a place  of  rendezvous  of  Kentucky 
troops  on  several  expeditions  against  the 
Ohio  Indians. 

The  first  actual  settler  of  the  county  is 
claimed  to  have  been  Edmond  Rittenhouse, 
who,  with  his  family,  atl.empted  to  make  a 
settlement  at  Bank  Lick  in  1793,  but  was 
driven  away  by  the  Indians.  He  fled  to 
Ruddle’s  Station,  where  he  remained  until 
1795,  when  he  returned  and  settled  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Licking,  a little  below 
Three-Mile  Ripple.  John  Martin,  with  his 
family,  settled  near  by  about  the  same  time. 
Representatives  of  these  families  are  still 
living  in  the  county. 

Independence,  the  original  county  seat,  is 
situated  on  the  Louisville  & Cincinnati  Short- 
line Railroad,  about  twelve  miles  south  of 
Covington.  It  is  a small  place  of  165  in- 
habitants, in  1880,  and  no  longer  of  any 
great  importance.  Nearly  all  the  county 
business  is  transacted  now  at  Covington,  and 
the  courts  are  mostly  held  there  also,  while 
it  may  be  said  of  the  old  capital: 

A place  for  idle  eyes  and  ears, 

A cobwebljed  nook  of  dreams; 

Left  by  the  stream  whose  waves  are  years, 

The  stranded  village  seems. 

Covington  is  situated  on  the  Ohio  River, 
at  or  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Licking, 
and  opposite  the  city  of  Cincinnati.  It  is 
the  second  largest  city  in  the  State,  and  in 
1880  had  29,  720  inhabitants.  The  following 
description  was  recently  given  of  it : “ It 

occupies  a nearly  level  site,  and  is  pleasantly 
situated.  A noble  suspension  bridge  across 
the  Ohio  connects  it  with  Cincinnati.  It  also 
has  a suspension  bridge  connecting  it  with 
Newport.  Covington  is  the  northern  ter- 
minus of  the  Kentucky  Central  Railroad,  and 
is  connected  with  Louisville  by  another  rail- 
road. ’ ’ The  town  is  handsomely  laid  out,  and 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


605 


its  streets,  which  run  south  from  the  river, 
have  the  appearance  of  being  but  a continua 
tion  of  the  streets  of  Cincinnati.  It  has 
some  fine  public  buildings — a coui’t  house 
and  city  hall,  and  a magnificent  postofiice 
and  custom  house.  Its  religious  and  educa- 
tional facilities  are  ample,  comprising  be- 
tween twenty  and  thirty  churches  (white  and 
colored),  a most  excellent  system  of  public 
schools,  and  several  Roman  Catholic  schools. 

It  has  several  newspapers,  water  and  gas 
works,  a number  of  banks,  and  a large  and 
flourishing  »mercantile  business.  Consider- 
able manufacturing  is  carried  on,  and  sev- 
eral large  establishments  are  located  here. 
Its  fine  shipping  facilities  make  it  a most  ad- 
vantageous market,  especially  for  tobacco.  1 

Covington  was  established  in  1815  by  an 
act  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  plat  recorded 
in  August  of  the  same  year.  It  was  named 
in  honor  of  Gen.  Covington,  and  the  streets 
named  for  eminent  and  wise  Kentuck- 
ians, viz. : Gov.  Shelby,  Gov.  Garrard.  Gov. 
Greenup,  Gov.  Scott,  Thomas  Kennedy,  who 
originally  owned  the  land  on  which  the  town 
was  laid  out,  and  Gen.  Thomas  Sandford, 
the  first  representative  in  Congress  fi’om 
this  part  of  the  State.  At  the  time  of  the 
laying  out  of  the  town  the  street  west  of 
Scott  Street  was  left  without  a name,  waiting 
the  i-esult  of  the  election,  and  was  then  called 
Madison,  in  honor  of  George  Madison,  who 
was  elected  governor.  The  original  site_^  of 
the  town  comprised  150  acres  of  land,  pur-  < 
chased  in  1814  fi'om  Thomas  Kennedy,  by 
Gen.  John  S.  Gano,  Richard  M.  Gano  and 
Thomas  D.  Carneal,  for  §50,000,  and  designed 
especially  for  a town. 

Kenton  County  has  a number  of  villages 
dotting  its  plains  and  hill-sides.  The  largest, 
perhaps,  is  Ludlow,  situated  on  the  Ohio 
River  a short  distance  west  of  Covington, 
and  has  about  1,000  inhabitants.  Other  vil- 
lages, stations  and  postoffices  are  Fishburg. 
Milldale,  Visalia,  Bromley,  Mifilins  and  Ben- 
ton. 

Gen.  Leonard  Stephens  and  Col.  John 
Sanderson  were  among  the  prominent  men  of 
Kenton  County.  Both  filled  many  public 
positions,  and  served  several  terms  in  the 
Legislature.  The  former  died  in  Boone 
County  and  the  latter  in  Covington.  Gen. 
Thomas  Sandford  came  to  Kentucky  prior  to 
1800,  and  settled  near  where  Covinston  now 
stands.  He  served  several  terms  in  the  Legis- 
lature, and  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1803. 
and  served  two  terms.  His  death  was  a mel- 
ancholy one;  he  was  drowned  in  the  Ohio 
when  but  forty -six  years  old. 

James  T.  Morehead,  one  of  the  eminent 


men  of  Kentucky,  died  in  Covington  in  1854. 
He  was  born  near  Shepherdsville  in  1797. 
IVhen  but  three  years  old  his  father  removed  to 
Russellville,  where  James  grew  to  manhood. 
He  studied  law  with  Judge  Broadnax,  one  of 
the  early  judicial  lights  of  Kentucky,  and  later 
with  John  J.  Crittenden.  He  served  several 
terms  in  the  Legislatime.  and  in  1832  was 
elected  lieutenant-governor  on  the  ticket  with 
John  Breathitt.  Gov.  Breathitt  died  in  1834, 
and  Mr.  Morehead  filled  out  his  unexpired 
term  as  governor.  In  1841  he  was  elected  to 
the  Fnited  States  Senate. 

John  IV.  Stevenson  was  a native  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  was  educated  at  Hampden- Sidney 
College,  and  at  the  University  of  Virginia. 
He  read  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
and  went  to  Vickburg,  Miss. , where  he  prac- 
ticed for  several  years,  and  in  1841  removed 
to  Kentucky',  where  he  recently  died.  He  rep- 
resented the  countv  several  terms  in  the  Leeds- 
lature,  and  was  a member  of  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  1849;  he  was  elected 
to  Congress  in  1857,  and  re-elected  in  1859. 
He  was  elected  lieutenant-governor  on  the 
ticket  with  John  L.  Helm.  The  latter  died 
five  days  after  his  inauguration,  and  Mr.  Stev- 
enson was  inaugurated  governor,  and  at  the 
next  election  was  elected  to  fill  out  the  term. 
He  was  elected  United  States  senator  in  1869, 
and  after  filling  the  term  retired  from  public 
life. 


Knott  County  lies  in  the  extreme  eastern 
part  of  the  State  and  is  one  of  those  “ " super- 
fluous creations’  ’ designed  chiefly  for  political 
purposes.  It  was  established  in  1884,  and 
was  the  one  huncKed  and  seventeenth 
county  in  order  of  formation.  Its  terirtoi’y 
was  contributed  by  Floyd.  Letcher.  Perry 
and  Breathitt,  and  its  name  by  Hon.  J. 
Proctor  Knott,  governor  of  the  common- 
wealth at  the  time  of  its  formation.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Breathitt.  Magof- 
fin and  Floyd  Counties;  on  the  east  by  Floyd 
and  Pike;  on  the  south  by  Letcher,  and  on 
the  west  by  Perry  and  Breathitt.  It  is  rough, 
hilly  and  broken,  and  its  principal  wealth 
lies  in  its  timber  and  mineral  productions. 
Says  a late  uniter  referring  to  this  county : 

Many  of  the  later  counties  owe  their  origin  to 
other  motives  than  the  demands  of  a sound  public 
policy,  and  a number  of  “pauper  counties”  have 
been  added  to  the  list,  the  existence  of  which  is 
prejudicial  to  nearlv  every  interest  concerned. 
Knott  County  is  a conspicuous  example  of  this  un- 
fortunate legislation. 

Hindman,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  near 
the  center  of  the  county,  and  was  named  in 
honor  of  the  present  (1886)  lieutenant-gov- 


606 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


ernor  of  the  State.  It  is  distinguished  for 
nothing  in  particular,  except  that  of  being 
the  capital  of  the  youngest  county  tbut  one) 
in  the  State.  Other  hamlets  and  postoffices 
are  Carr’s  Fork,  Sassafras  and  Carson. 


Knox  County  was  formed  in  1799,  and  was 
the  forty-hrst  in  the  State.  It  was  formed  out 
of  a part  of  Lincoln  County,  is  situated  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  the  State  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Laurel  and  Clay 
Counties ; on  the  east  by  Bell  County ; on  the 
south  also  by  Bell  County;  on  the  west  by 
IVhitley  and  Laurel  Counties,  and  in  1880  it 
had  10,587  inhabitants.  The  county,  with 
the  exception  of  the  river  bottoms,  is  gener- 
ally hilly.  Corn  is  the  principal  product,  but 
cattle  and  hogs  are  raised  in  great  numbers. 
It  is  drained  by  the  Cumberland  River,  which 
hows  through  the  southern  part,  and  a num- 
ber of  tributaries.  The  county  was  named  for 
Gen.  Henry  Knox,  a gallant  soldier  of  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  one  of  Washington’s 
most  trusted  officers. 

Barboursville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
on  the  Ciimberland  River  a little  south  of  the 
geographical  center  of  the  county,  and  by  the 
last  census  had  250  inhabitants.  Other 
towns,  villages  and  postoffices  are  Jarvis’ 
Store,  Payne’s,  Crane  Nest  and  Flat  Lick — 
all  small  places. 

Among  the  good  and  great  men  of  Knox 
County  may  be  mentioned  Joseph  Eve,  Frank- 
lin Ballinger,  Samuel  F.  Miller,  Green  Adams, 
George  Madison  Adams,  Silas  Woodson,  etc. 
The  mountain  air  seems  conducive  to  brains 
as  well  as  health,  as  the  gentlemen,  whose 
names  are  mentioned,  were  men  of  eminence 
and  ability.  Mr.  Eve  represented  the  county 
ten  years  in  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, served  long  as  circuit  judge, 
and  in  1841  was  appointed  charge  d'af- 
faires to  the  republic  of  Texas,*  and  died  in 
that  service.  Mr.  Ballinger  was  statesman 
and  circuit  ji^dge;  Mr.  Miller  practiced  law 
in  Barboursville,  went  to  Iowa  and  became  a 
judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States.  Green  Adams  served  several  terms 
in  Congress,  and  was  appointed  by  President 
Lincoln  sixth  auditor  of  the  treasury;  George 
M.  Adams  served  eight  years  in  Congress; 
Mr.  Woodson  served  in  the  Legislature,  was 
a member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention 
in  1849,  went  to  Missouri  and  finally  became 
governor  of  the  State. 

*Four  years  later  Texas  was  admitted  into  the  American 
U nion . 


La  Rue  County  was  organized  in  1843.  It 
was  taken  from  Hardin  County,  and  bears  the 
name  of  John  La  Rue,  an  early  settler,  and  a 
prominent  and  good  man.  The  northern  part 
of  the  county  is  rough  and  broken,  extending 
into  the  Muldi'ow  Hills ; the  eastern  portion  is 
undulating  and  is  productive,  while  the  west- 
ern part  partakes  more  of  a level  nature,  and 
produces  well.  Corn  and  tobacco  are  raised 
in  abundance,  and  the  cereals  to  some  exent; 
considerable  attention  is  paid  to  stock  raising, 
particularly  to  that  of  hogs,  the  report  for 
1880  showing  the  following:  Corn,  556,184 
bushels;  oats,  6.7,575;  wheat,  96,848;  tobacco, 
350,350  pounds;  horses  and  mules,  4,130 
head;  cattle,  6,075;  sheep,  4,721,  and  hogs, 

1 9, 8 24.  The  county  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Hardin  and  Nelson  Counties;  on  the  east  by 
Marion  and  Taylor ; on  the  south  by  Hart  and 
Green;  on  the  west  by  Hardin,  and  in  1880 
it  had  9,793  inhabitants.  The  principal 
streams  are  Rolling  Fork.  Nolin  and  Otter 
Creeks.  A pioneer  incident  gave  name  to 
Nolin  Creek,  as  follows: 

On  the  south  side  of  the  creek,  near  the  county 
seat,  is  a knoll  or  hill  some  thirty  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  surrounding  country.  On  the  top  of 
this  knoll  is  a level  spot  of  about  two  acres.  Among 
the  pioneers  of  this  section  was  a preacher  named 
Benjamin  Lynn,  and  with  others  he  erected  a camp 
on  the  summit  of  the  knoll.  Shortly  after,  they  were 
out  hunting  and  Lynn  became  separated  from  the 
others,  who  supposed  he  had  returned  to  the  camp, 
but  arriving  there  he  was  nowhere  to  be  seen,  and 
one  of  the  party  remarked;  “Here  is  the  knoll,  but 
no  Lynn.”  Hence  the  name  Nolin.  The  same  cir- 
cumstance of  Lynn  getting  lost  gave  rise  to  the 
name  of  Lynn  Camp  Creek,  as  described  in  the 
sketch  of  Hart  County. 

Among  tbe  early  settlers  of  La  Rue  County 
were  Jobn  La  Rue,  for  whom  the  county  was 
named ; Robert  Hodgen,  for  whom  the  county 
seat  was  named;  Philip  Philips  and  Benjamin 
Lynn.  Philips,  who  was  a surveyor,  erected 
a fort  on  the  north  side  of  Nolin  Creek,  about 
1780-81.  The  first  settlements  in  the  county 
were  made  around  this  fort  or  block-house. 
La  Rue  and  Hodgen  brought  quite  a colony 
with  them,  and  remained  in  Philips’  fort 
until  it  was  deemed  safe  beyond  its  protect- 
ing walls,  when  they  scattered  and  made  set- 
tlements in  different  parts  of  the  county. 

Hodgensville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
on  Nolin  Creek,  in  the  southwest  part  of  the 
county,  about  fifty  miles  south  from  Louis- 
ville, and  was  named  for  Robert  Hodgen,  who 
located  the  land  upon  which  it  was  laid  out. 
It  is  a small  town  of  382  inhabitants  by  the 
last  census.  It  has  the  usual  county  build- 
ings, churches  and  schools.  Buffalo  and 
Magnolia  are  small  villages.  Uptonville  is 
cpiite  a stirring  village,  and  is  situated  on  the 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


60T 


Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad,  partly  in. 
La  Rue  and  partly  in  Hart  County. 

A number  of  relics  of  the  prehistoric  peri- 
od, consisting  of  mounds,  fortifications,  etc. , 
have  been  discovered  in  this  county.  One 
of  the  most  interesting  of  these  is  thus  de- 
scribed : 

On  one  of  the  bluffs  of  the  Rolling  Fork,  where 
the  creek  makes  a short  below,  is  to  be  seen  a stone 
■wall  three  or  four  feet  high.  The  -walls  at  the  el- 
bow extend  across  the  level  land  from  cliff  to  cliff, 
and  must  have  constituted  at  the  time  of  its  con- 
struction an  impregnable  fortress.  The  cliff  is  about 
200  feet  high  and  so  precipitous  that  an  invading 
army  could  not  possibly  scale  it  where  there  was 
any  show  of  resistance. 

Abraham  Lincoln  -was  born  in  this  county, 
though  at  the  time  of  his  birth  it  "was  a part 
of  Hardin  County.  There  are  many  people 
still  living  in  Hardin  and  La  Rue  Counties 
who  remember  the  Lincolns.  Stuve,  in  his 
History  of  Illinois,  says:  “ His  father  (Abra- 
ham Lincoln’ s)  took  up  a land  claim  in  La 
Rue  County,  Ky. , of  300  acres,  rough,  bro- 
ken and  poor,  containing  a fine  spring,  known 
to  this  day  as  the  ‘Linkum  Spring.  ’ Unable  to 
pay  for  the  unproductive  land,  that  claim  was 
abandoned,  and  the  family  moved  fi’om 
j)lace  to  place  in  the  neighborhood.  These 
removals  occimring  while  Abraham  was 
scarcely  more  than  an  infant,  have  given  rise 
to  different  statements  as  to  the  exact  place 
of  his  birth.  It  is  said  that  in  that  part  of 
Kentucky  four  places  claim  the  honor.” 
There  is  little  doubt  but  that  iH.  Lincoln  was 
born  in  that  portion  of  Hardin  County  now  in 
La  Rue,  but  his  parents  were  married  in 
Washington  County.  Of  this  there  is  indis- 
putable evddence  to  be  seen  in  the  clerk’ s of- 
fice at  Springfield,  in  the  record  of  the  mar- 
riagfe.  His  father,  however,  removed  to 
Hardin  Coimty  shortly  after  his  marriage. 

Gov.  John  L.  Helm  was  born  in  this  coun- 
ty while  it  was  yet  a part  of  Hardin.  In  the 
history  of  Hardin  County,  and  in  the  sketch 
of  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Raih’oad,  more 
is  said  of  him. 

Gen.  Henry  E.  Read  was  long  a citizen  of 
this  county.  He  was  a prominent  lawyer, 
politician  and  soldier.  He  served  in  the 
Hexican  war,  and  was  severely  wounded  in 
the  battle  of  Chapultepec. . F or  his  gallantry 
he  was  presented  with  a handsome  sword  by 
the  Legislature  of  Kentuckvx  He  was  a gen- 
eral  in  the  Confederate  Army  during  the  civil 
war,  and  also  represented  his  district  in  ihe 
Confederate  Congress.  He  died  in  Louisville 
in  1869,  at  the  age  of  forty-four  years. 


L.vueel  County  was  created  in  1825,  and  was 
the  eightieth  in  the  order  of  formation.  Its 


territory  is  composed  of  bits  of  Rockcastle, 
Knox,  Clay  and  "Whitley  Counties,  and  its 
name  is  received  from  the  Laimel  River,  which 
flows  through  the  southeastern  part ; and  the 
name  ‘ * Laui’el  ’ ’ was  given  to  the  river  (ac- 
cording to  tradition)  on  account  of  the  great 
quantity  of  the  laimel  shrub  which  grew  upon 
its  banks.  The  county  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Rockcastle  and  Jackson:  on  the  east 
by  Clay  and  Knox;  on  the  south  by  Knox  and 
Whitley;  on  the  west  by  Pulaski  and  Rock- 
castle, and  in  1880  it  had  a population  of 
9,131  inhabitants.  It  is  drained  by  the  Lau- 
rel River  and  its  tributaries.  The  principal 
products  are  corn  and  oats;  hogs  and  cattle 
are  raised  extensively. 

Laurel  County  is  rich  in  mineral  resoui'ces. 
Iron  ore  has  been  discovered  but  not  in  j)ay- 
ing  quantities.  Coal  abounds  almost  every- 
where in  the  county;  lead  ore  is  believed  to 
exist,  and  at  one  time  the  famous  ‘ ‘ Swift 
Silver  Mine’  ’ was  supposed  to  be  in  this  coim- 
ty. There  are  a number  of  mineral  springs, 
and  the  streams  fuimish  the  very  finest  of 
water-power.  This  latter  will,  no  doubt, 
sooner  or  later  be  utilized  by  the  thrifty 
Swiss  settlers,  who  have  recently  located  in 
the  county,  and  who  are  mentioned  in  a pre- 
ceding chapter. 

London,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  on 
the  Knoxvdlle  branch  of  theLouisville  & Nash- 
ville system,  and  is  a small  town  of  215  in- 
habitants. It  has  the  usual  public  build- 
ings, business,  etc.  Other  villages  and  post- 
offices  are  Hazel  Patch,  Bald  Rock  and  Lily. 


L.vwrence  County  dates  back  to  1821,  and 
was  the  sixty-ninth  in  the  order  of  form- 
ation. It  was  taken  from  parts  of  Floyd  and 
Greenup  Counties,  and  named  for  Capt. 
James  Lawrence,  of  the  United  States  Navy. 
[See  Lawrenceburg,  Anderson  County.]  It 
lies  in  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  the  State, 
and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Carter  and 
Boyd  Coimties ; on  the  east  by  the  State  of 
West  Yirginia,  fr’om  which  it  is  separated  by 
the  Tug  Fork  and  the  Big  Sandy  River ; on  the 
south  by  Johnson  County;  on  the  west  by 
Morgan,  Elliott  and  Carter  Counties,  and  in 
1880  it  had  13, 362  inhabitants.  The  simface 
is  hilly  and  broken,  but  is  fertile  and  produces 
well,  as  is  shown  by  the  agricultural  report 
of  1880:  Corn,  472,071  bushels;  oats  35, 188, 
and  wheat,  16,953.  The  county  is  well  wat- 
ered and  drained  by  the  Big  Sandy  and  a 
number  of  streams  flowing  into  it.  Fine 
timber  abounds,  such  as  oak,  poplar,  beech, 
walnut,  chestnut,  etc.  The  log  business  is 


608 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKYR 


one  of  the  large  industries  of  tlie  county. 
Coal  and  iron  ore  exist  in  many  sections; 
ihe  former  is  as  fine  a quality  of  bituminous 
coal  as  can  be  found  anywhere. 

Louisa,  the  seat  of  justice  of  the  county,  is 
situated  on  the  Big  Sandy,  at  the  confluence 
of  the  West  and  Tug  Forks.  It  is  quite  a 
business  town,  and  by  the  last  census  had  a 
population  of  490.  It  was  laid  out  in  1822, 
and  has  the  usual  public  buildings,  stores, 
churches,  schools,  etc.  Other  villages  and 
postotiices  are  Cherokee,  Blaine,  Peach  Or- 
chard, Glenwood,  Lowmanville  and  Webb- 
ville. 

The  first  settlement,  probably,  in  this 
county,  was  made,  in  1789,  by  Charles  Van- 
couver. He  built  a fort  in  the  forks  of  the 
Big  Sandy,  and  hired  a number  of  men  to 
cultivate  a crop  of  corn.  The  settlement 
was  finally  broken  up  by  the  Indians,  who 
stole  the  horses  and  committed  other  depre- 
dations. 


Lee  County  is  among  the  youngest  in  the 
State,  dating  back  to  1870,  and  was  the  one 
hundred  and  fifteenth  in  order  of  formation. 
It  was  taken  from  Owsley,  Breathitt,  Es- 
till  and  Wolf  Counties,  and  was  named  for 
Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee,  the  great  Confederate 
chieftain.  It  lies  east  of  the  center  of  the 
State,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Powell 
and  Wolfe  Counties;  on  the  east  by  Wolfe 
and  Breathitt;  on  the  south  by  Owsley;  on 
the  west  by  Estill,  and  in  1880  it  had  a pop- 
iilation  of  4, 252.  It  lies  on  both  sides  of  the 
main  fork  of  the  Kentucky  River,  and  is 
watered  by  that  stream  and  its  tributaries. 
The  valleys  and  bottoms  along  the  streams 
are  rich,  and  jrroduce  corn,  oats  and  wheat  in 
abundance;  the  uplands  are  hilly  and  broken. 
In  1880  there  were  produced  140,725  bushels 
of  corn  and  other  grain  in  like  proportion.  A 
great  many  hogs  are  raised.  Coal  of  a supe- 
rior quality  exists  in  great  quantity,  and  is 
extensively  mined  and  shijiped  down  the  Ken- 
tucky River.  Iron  ore  is  found  in  many 
places,  but  is  not  worked.  Log  and  lumber 
are  an  extensive  and  valuable  business. 

Beattyville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
on  the  Kentucky  River  at  the  confluence  of 
the  three  forks,  about  100  miles  above  Frank- 
fort. It  is  the  head  of  navigation  for  several 
months  during  the  year.  It  contains  a sub- 
stantial cotu’t  house,  several  churches,  and 
the  usual  stores  and  shops.  Proctor  is  situ- 
ated across  the  river  from  Beattyville,  and  is 
quite  a business  place.  Canaan  is  a small 
place,  of  some  fifty  inhabitants,  in  the  south- 
east part  of  the  county. 


Leslie  County  is  the  youngest  but  two 
in  the  State.  It  w'as  formed  in  1878 
from  Clay,  Harlan  and  Perry  Counties, . 
and  was  the  one  hundred  and  sixteenth 
in  the  order  of  formation.  It  lies  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  State,  and  is  bounded 
on  the  north  and  east  by  Perry  County;  on 
the  south  by  Harlan  County;  on  the  west  by 
Bell  (formerly  Josh  Bell)  and  Clay  Counties, 
and  in  1880  it  had  a population  of  3,740. 
The  surface  is  rough  and  mountainous,  and 
the  land  heavily  timbered.  Corn,  oats  and 
wheat  are  the  principal  crops,  and  in  1880 
were  produced  111,255  bushels  of  corn,  1,328 
oats,  and  1,681,  wheat.  It  lies  in  the  min- 
eral region,  but  its  lack  of  transportation  ren- 
ders its  mineral  resources  of  but  little  value. 
The  county  was  named  for  ex-Gov.  Preston 
H.  Leslie,  a sketch  of  whom  is  given  in  Bar- 
ren County.  Hyden,  the  seat  of  justice,  is 
situated  a little  north  of  the  geographical  cen- 
ter of  the  county.  It  is  a small  place  of 
fifty-seven  inhabitants  in  1880,  and  has  the 
usual  public  buildings.  Sandy  Fork  and 
Coon  Creek  are  small  villages  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  county. 


Letcher  County  was  formed  in  1842,  and 
was  the  ninety-fifth  established.  It  was 
taken  from  Harlan  and  Perry  Counties,  and 
named  in  honor  of  Robert  P.  Letcher,  then 
governor  of  the  commonwealth.  It  is  situ- 
ated in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Perry  and  Floyd 
Counties;  on  the  east  by  Floyd  and  Pike 
Counties  and  the  State  of  Virginia;  on  the 
south  by  Harlan  County;  on  the  west  by 
Perry  County,  and  in  1880  it  had  a popula- 
tion of  6, 601.  The  county  is  hilly  and  moun- 
tainous, the  Cumberland  and  Black  Moun- 
tains bordering  it  on  the  southeast,  while 
Pine  Mountain  passes  through  it.  Notwith- 
standing the  rough  and  broken  surface,  the 
land  produces  well,  the  report  of  1880  show- 
ing as  follows : Corn,  215,547  bushels;  wheat, 
10,622;  oats,  8,804,  and  rye,  2,284.  Cattle, 
hogs  and  wool  are  the  principal  exports. 

Whitesburg,  the  capital  of  the  county,  was 
named  for  Hon.  C.  White,  a member  of  the 
Legislature  at  the  time  the  county  wms 
formed.  It  is  a small  place,  with  eighty  in- 
habitants by  the  last  census,  and  has  the 
usual  public  buildings.  Other  villages  and 
postoflices  are  Oven  Fork,  Partridge,  Lewis 
Creek,  Line  Fork,  King’s  Creek,  Rockhouse 
and  Rosedale. 

The  county,  like  all  this  portion  of  the 
State,  is  rich  in  mineral  wealth.  Coal  is 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


609 


plenty,  and  mines  are  to  be  seen  in  many 
places,  but  no  coal  is  mined  except  for  home 
use.  Iron  ore  abounds,  but  like  the  coal  is 
not  mined  for  export.  Medicinal  springs  are 
common  in  every  section.  There  is  water- 
power in  the  county  for  countless  factories, 
and  the  finest  of  timber  is  abundant. 

Gov.  Letcher,  for  whom  this  cormty  was 
named,  was  born  in  Gan’ard  County.  He 
studied  law,  and  was  several  times  elected  to 
the  Legislature.  He  served  ten  years  in 
Congress.  He  was  elected  governor  in  1840 
on  the  "Whig  ticket,  receiving  15,720  major- 
ity. He  died  January  24,  1861,  in  Frank- 
fort. 


Lewis  County  was  formed  Horn  a part,  of 
Mason  County  in  1806,  and  was  the  Forty- 
eighth  in  the  State.  It  was  named  for  Capt. 
Merriwether  Lewis,  companion  of  Clark  in  the 
exploring  expedition  over  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains in  1803-6.  It  is  situated  in  the  north- 
east part  of  the  State  on  the  Ohio  River, 
which  forms  its  northern  boundary,  with 
Greenup  County  on  the  east,  Carter,  Rowan 
and  Fleming  on  the  south,  and  Fleming  and 
Mason  on  the  west.  It  had  13,154  inhab- 
itants by  the  last  census.  The  face  of  the 
country  is  somewhat  broken  and  hilly,  and 
the  soil  of  a medium  quality.  The  south- 
eastern portion  is  mainly  valuble  for  the  tim- 
ber and  tan  bark.  It  is  di-ained  by  the  Ohio 
River  and  tributaries  flowing  through  the 
county,  of  which  the  principal  ones  are  Kin- 
nokinnick  and  Cabin  Creek,  and  their  bottoms 
and  that  of  the  Ohio  River  are  rich  and  pro- 
ductive. The  chief  crops  are  corn,  oats, 
wheat  and  tobacco,  and  in  1880  there  was 
produced  584,939  bushels  corn;  84,551  bush- 
els of  oats;  100,342  bushels  of  wheat,  and 
1,036,996  pounds  of  tobacco.  The  principal 
exports  are  cattle,  horses,  hogs,  lumber,  tan- 
bark  and  building  stone. 

Vancebui’g,  the  present  capital  of  the 
county,  is  situated  on  the  Ohio  River,  thirty 
miles  above  Maysville  and  ninety-one  above 
Cincinnati.  It  is  a town  of  1,095  population 
by  the  last  census.  It  has  the  usual  public 
buildings,  churches,  schools,  stores  and  gen- 
eral business.  Clarksburg,  the  former  county 
seat,  is  situated  three  miles  west  of  Yance- 
burg,  but  its  glory  has  passed  away.  Other 
villages  and  postoffices  are  Cabin  Creek,  Con- 
cord, Burtonville,  Mouth  of  Laurel,  Poplar 
Flat,  Petersville,  Quincy  and  Tolesboro. 

Capt.  Thomas  Bullitt  made  the  first  survey 
of  lands  in  this  county  in  1773.  He  was  on 
his  way  to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  to  sui'vey  lands 
for  Gov.  Dun  more  of  Vh'ginia.  The  siu’- 


vey  was  made  in  what  was  known  as  “ F or- 
man’s  Bottom”  on  the  Ohio  River,  Capt. 
Bullitt  afterward  sold  it  to  James  Triplett, 
and  he  to  William  Triplett.  The  latter  in 
1776  located  upon  the  land,  and  together  with 
Samuel  Wales,  Willis  Edwards  and  others  im- 
proved it. 

There  is  considerable  of  historic  interest  con- 
nected with  Lewis  County.  Three  Islands  was 
a place  of  importance  in  the  pioneer  period. 
It  was  near  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
county,  and  it  was  here  the  500  pounds  of 
gunpowder  was  hidden  for  the  Kentucky 
settlements  mentioned  in  a preceding  chap- 
ter. The  mouth  of  Cabin  Creek  was  a noted 
crossing  for  war  parties  of  Indians  on  their 
way  to  and  from  Kentucky.  Two  roads  led 
fi’om  it  to  the  Upper  Blue  Lick;  one  was 
known  as  the  “ Upper  War  Road, ’’  and  the 
other  as  the  ‘ 'Lower  War  Road  ” sometimes  as 
the  “Buffalo  Trace.”  The  mouth  of  Sycamore 
was  also  a noted  Indian  crossing. 

There  is  some  fine  building  stone  in  this 
county.  In  the  hills  below  Yancebui’g  is  a 
fine  vein  of  freestone,  similar  to  that  across 
the  river  in  Ohio,  and  which  is  considered 
among  the  best  building  stcnes  in  the  world. 
Near  Yancebru-g  is  a large  quarry  of  slate 
stone,  and  near  the  water’ s edge  is  a ledge  of 
white  limestone  said  to  produce  very  white 
lime.  A short  distance  above  Yancebui’g  is  a 
quairy  of  alum  rock,  and  on  Salt  Lick  Creek 
near  Yanceburg  is  a copperas  bed,  while  in 
the  near  vicinity  there  is  a bed  of  clay  suit- 
able for  stone  ware  and  fire  brick.  There  are 
a number  of  springs  in  the  county,  mostly 
chalybeate  and  white  sulphur;  there  are  also 
salt  springs,  fr'om  which  in  early  times  this 
portion  of  the  State  was  supplied  with  salt. 


Lincoln  County,  together  with  Fayette 
and  Jefferson,  w’as  one  of  the  three  counties 
into  which  Kentucky  was  divided  in  1780  by 
the  Legislature  of  Yirginia.  F rom  its  origi- 
nal territory  have  been  formed  wholly  or  in 
part,  Mercer,  Madison,  Logan.  Green,  Pu- 
laski, Knox,  Casey,  Rockcastle  and  indii’ectly 
a great  many  others.  The  name  was  given 
in  honor  of  Gen.  Benjamin  Lincoln,  a gal- 
lant officer  in  the  Revolutionary  war  and  who 
was  in  command  of  the  American  Army  at 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  when  it  was  captured  by 
the  British  in  1780.  The  county  lies  in  the 
east  central  part  of  the  State  and  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Boyle  and  Garrard  Counties ; 
on  the  east  by  Garrard  and  Rockcastle;  on  the 
south  by  Rockcastle,  Pulaski  and  Casey;  on 
the  west  by  Casey  and  Boyle,  and  in  1880 


38 


610 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


it  had  15,080  inhabitants.  The  surface  is 
rolling  and  in  places  hdly,  with  a general 
fertile  soil.  The  range  of  hills  extends 
from  the  southern  part  to  the  center  of  the 
county  and  then  to  the  westward  from  a 
‘ ‘ divide,  ’ ’ and  the  streams  south  and  west 
of  it  how  into  the  Green  and  Cumberland  Riv- 
ers, and  north  of  it  into  the  Kentucky  River. 
The  principal  products  are  corn,  wheat  and 
oats  with  small  crops  of  tobacco.  In  1880 
the  agricultural  statistics  were  628,807  bush- 
els of  corn;  13,942  bushels  of  oats,  and  98, 
946  bushels  of  wheat.  The  exports  are  chiehy 
horses,  mules,  cattle,  hogs  and  wool. 

Settlements  were  made  as  early  in  this 
county  as  in  any  portion  of  the  State,  with 
few  exceptions.  Benjamin  Logan,  one  of  the 
famous  pioneers  of  Kentucky,  and  whose  name 
was  as  highly  honored  as  any  of  the  heroes  of 
the  “ dark  and  bloody  ground,  ” came  to  what 
now  forms  Lincoln  County  and  erected  a fort 
which  was  known  as  Logan’s  Fort  at  St. 
Asaph’s,  about  a mile  from  where  Stanford 
now  stands.  This  settlement  and  the  gal- 
lant services  of  Col.  Logan  are  detailed 
in  preceding  chapters  of  this  volume  and 
require  no  further  mention  here.  Other  early 
forts  and  stations  in  the  county  were  Crow’s, 
Craig’s,  Carpenter’s,  Casey’s,  Crab  Orch- 
ard, Clark’s,  Cane  Run,  Gilmer’s,  Forks  of 
Lick’s  River,  McKinney’s,  Knob  Lick,  Whit- 
ley, Wilson’s,  Pettit’s,  Montgomery’s  and 
Worthington’s.  Among  the  early  settlers  in  the 
county  were  Samuel  Daveiss  and  his  family, 
William  Montgomery,  Joseph  Russell,  Capt. 
William  McClure,  Col.  John  Logan,  Capt.  Jo- 
seph Laveiss,  father  of  the  famous  lawyer, 
Joseph  Hamilton  Laveiss,  and  a number  of 
others  who  came  prior  to  1790  and  settled 
around  the  different  stations. 

Stanford,  the  present  capital  of  the  county, 
(Harrodsburg  was  the  first  county  seat)  is 
situated  on  the  Knoxville  branch  of  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad,  103  miles 
from  Louisville.  It  is  quite  an  attractive 
town,  with  1,218  inhabitants  by  the  last  cen- 
sus. Of  it  Collins  says: 

Lincoln  County  in  1781  embraced  an  immense 
territory,  extending  from  Cumberland  Gap  to  the 
Mississippi  River— all  that  lay  south  of  the  Ken- 
tucky River,  and  all  south  and  west  of  the  Green 
River.  Harrodsburg  was  central  enough  in  terri- 
tory, but  not  in  population,  the  bulk  of  which  lay 
east  of  that-  town.  At  the  February  term,  1781, 
Col.  Benjamin  Logan  came  into  court  and  offered 
ten  acres  of  land  at  his  station,  or  St,  Asaph’s,  in- 
cluding the  Buffalo  spring,  for  building  a court- 
house and  other  public  buildings,  and  also  fifty  acres, 
one  mile  distant,  nearly  southeast  from  said  spring 
(now  Stanford),  so  long  as  the  court  of  Lincoln 
County  shall  continue  there.  The  court  resolved: 
“As  it  appears  to  the  court  to  be  the  moat  convenient 
place,  it  is  ordered  that  the  courts  be  held  there  for 
the  future.” 


Stanford  is  thus  one  of  the  old  towns  of 
Kentucky.  It  has  a brick  courthouse, 
several  handsome  churches,  good  schools,  a 
number  of  flourishing  stores,  one  of  the 
ablest  newspapers  in  the  State  outside  of 
Louisville,  and  the  usual  number  of  shops 
and  factories.  Its  location  on  the  railroad 
near  the  junction  of  the  Richmond  branch 
makes  it  a fine  shipping  point. 

Crab  Orchard,  twelve  miles  southeast  of 
Stanford,  and  on  the  same  railroad,  is  a vil- 
lage of  538  inhabitants.  It  was  a noted  sta- 
tion on  the  “old  Wilderness  road,’’  the 
I great  route  of  travel  between  Virginia  and 
the  Kentucky  settlements  a century  ago.  It 
is  now,  and  has  been  for  fifty  years  or  more, 
a popular  summer  resort.  The  accommoda- 
tions are  excellent,  and  no  watering-place  in 
the  State,  perhaps,  is  more  frequented  during 
{ the  summer  months,  or  more  fashionable  as  a 
resort  than  Crab  Orchard. 

The  Crab  Orchard  neighborhood,  in  the  eastern 
part  of  Lincoln  County,  is  distinguished  for  the 
number,  variety  and  excellence  of  its  mineral 
springs.  They  were  known  in  1857  as;  1,  the  two 
Crab  Orchard  springs  (Caldwell’s),  both  chalybeate; 
2,  Brown’s  spring,  chalybeate,  half  a mile  on  the 
Lancaster  turnpike;  3,  Howard’s  white  sulphur 
well,  one  and  a half  miles  out  on  the  Mount  Vernon 
road;  4,  Epsom  spring,  No.  1,  one  mile  out  on  the 
Lancaster  Turnpike;  5,  Epsom  spring  at  Toley’s, 
half  a mile  from  the  center  of  Crab  Orchard,  on  the 
Fall  Dick  road;  6,  Sowder’s  spring,  one  and  a half 
miles  out  on  the  north  of  the  hill  toward  Dick’s 
River;  7,  Bryant’s  springs,  near  Crab  Orchard, 
seven  in  number — chalybeate,  sulphur,  etc.  The 
“Crab  Orchard  salts,”  obtained  by  carefully  evapo- 
rating the  water  of  the  two  Epsom  or  of  Sowder’s 
springs  to  dryness  in  iron  kettles,  have  been  sold 
by  druggists  throughout  the  countiy.  They  are 
less  drastic  and  more  tonic  than  pure  unmixod 
Epsom  salts,  and  more  likely  to  act  on  the  liver  in 
ihe  manner  of  calomel  when  taken  m small  doses.* 

Hustonville  is  a village  of  353  inhabitants 
situated  in  the  western  part  of  the  county. 
Other  towns,  villages  and  postoffices  are 
Milledgeville,  McKinney,  King’s  Mountain 
Station,  Highland.  Hall’s  Gap  and  Mount 
Salem. 

The  Knob  Licks  are  a kind  of  natural  won- 
der. The  ‘ ‘Knobs,  ’ ’ as  they  are  called,  are 
a number  of  hills,  some  of  them  over  200  feet 
high,  and  perhaps  150  yards  in  diameter  at 
the  base.  They  are  of  a “ soft  dry  slate 
formation,  ’ ’ and  are  intersected  by  numerous 
ravines.  A peculiarity  is  they  are  wholly 
destitute  of  Amgetation,  and  present  a rather 
naked  appearance. 

As  Lincoln  County  contained  the  original 
seat  of  justice  for  Kentucky,  a few  statistics 
are  repeated  h'ere  that  are  given  elsewhere. 
The  first  court  held  in  the  State  was  in  the 
town  of  Harrodsburg,  which  was  then  in  this 

*Prof.  Eobert  Peter  in  Geological  Survey. 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


611 


county,  January  16,  1781.  The  first  sheriff 
was  Col.  John  Bowman;  the  first  clerk  was 
William  May;  the  first  surveyor — then  an  im- 
portant county  office — was  James  Thompson, 
and  the  first  county  lieutenant  was  Col.  John 
Bowman. 


Livingston  County  was  organized  in  1798, 
out  of  a part  of  Christian  County,  and  was 
the  twenty-ninth  in  order  of  formation.  It 
is  situated  in  the  extreme  western  part  of  the 
State,  and  bounded  on  the  west  and  north  by 
the  Ohio  River ; on  the  east  by  Crittenden  and 
Lyon  Counties;  on  the  south  by  Marshall 
County,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  the 
Tennessee  River,  and  in  1880  it  had  a popu- 
lation of  9, 165.  The  Cumberland  River 
flows  through  the  county,  and  with  the  Ten- 
nessee and  Ohio  forms  the  boundaries  on 
nearly  three  sides;  it  is  well  supplied  with 
water  highways  and  with  drainage.  The  face 
of  the  county  is  undulating,  but  in  jilaces 
hilly.  It  is  well  timbered,  and  the  bottom 
lands  are  rich.  The  staple  products  are 
corn,  wheat,  oats,  Irish  potatoes,  etc,  the 
following  being  the  statistics  for  1880:  Corn, 
740,746;  wheat,  62,465;  oats,  29,072;  Irish 
potatoes,  73,053,  and  tobacco  769,578 
pounds.  The  principal  exports  are  horses, 
mules,  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs. 

Smithland,  the  capital  of  the  county,  is  sit- 
uated on  the  Ohio  River,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Cumberland,  twelve  miles  above  Paducah 
and  310  below  Louisville.  It  is  a town  of 
570  inhabitants  by  the  last  census.  It  has 
the  usual  public  buildings,  churches,  schools 
and  general  business.  Other  towns,  villages 
and  postoffices  are  Salem,  Carrsville,  Oak- 
ridge,  Birdsville,  Frenchtown  and  Pinkney- 
ville. 

Livingston  County  has  little  of  historical 
interest  beyond  the  mere  fact  of  its  settlement. 
The  first  entry  of  land  was  made  in  1784  by 
William  Brown,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cumber- 
lahd  River.  Lusk’s  Ferry,  over  the  Ohio 
River  between  this  county  and  Golconda, 
111. , was  one  of  the  principal  crossing  places 
for  emigrants  on  their  way  to  the  Illinois  ter- 
ritory. The  county  was  named  in  honor  of 
Robert  R.  Livingston,  a distinguished  Amer- 
ican statesman  (a  native  of  New  York),  and 
one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. 


Logan  County  was  the  thirteenth  county 
formed,  and  one  of  seven  organized  in  1792, 
immediately  after  the  State  was  admitted  into 


the  Union.  It  was  named  for  Gen.  Benjamin 
Logan,  who,  like  Daniel  Boone  and  Simon 
Kenton,  is  mentioned  extensively  in  preced- 
ing chapters.  At  the  time  of  its  organiza- 
tion it  occupied  nearly  all  that  part  of  Ken- 
tucky lying  south  of  the  Green  River,  and 
from  its  original  territory  has  been  created 
wholly,  or  in  part,  Christian,  WaiTen,  Muh- 
lenburg,  Butler,  Simpson  and  Todd,  while 
many  of  these  have,  in  turn,  contributed  to 
the  formation  of  others.  It  lies  on  the  south- 
ern border  of  the  State,  and  is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  Muhlenburg  and  Butler  Coun- 
ties; on  the  east  by  Warren  and  Simpson;  on 
the  south  by  the  State  of  Tennessee;  on  the 
west  by  Todd  County,  and  in  1880  it  had  a 
population  of  24,358.  The  principal  water 
courses  are  the  Green,  Red,  Muddy  and 
Gasper  Rivers,  and  their  tributaries,  Black 
Lick,  Whippoorwill  and  Wolf  Lick  Creeks. 
The  southern  portion  of  the  county  is  what 
was  termed  the  ‘ ‘ barrens ; ” it  lays  well,  is 
very  rich  and  productive,  and  is  highly  im- 
proved. The  northern  part  is  more  rolling, 
and  was  originally  well  timbered,  but  con- 
tains many  fine  tracts  of  land  and  highly  cul- 
tivated farms.  It  is  the  ninth  county  in  the 
State  in  the  production  of  corn  and  the 
seventh  in  tobacco,  the  agricultiu’al  report  of 
1880  showing  the  following;  Corn,  1,181,699 
bushels;  wheat,  340,262;  oats,  130,659;  to- 
bacco, 6,039,983  pounds,  and  of  stock: 
horses,  5,132;  mules,  3,740;  cattle,  8,870; 
hogs,  38,513.  The  railroad  facilities  are 
good,  the  Owensboro  division  of  the  Louis- 
ville & Nashville  system  diverging  fr-om  the 
main  line  in  the  county. 

The  first  white  visitors  to  Logan  County 
of  whom  there  is  any  definite  account,  were 
the  surveyors  employed  to  run  the  boundary 
line  (“Walker’s  line”)  between  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee.  In  the  memory  of  many  still 
living,  there  wei’e  to  be  seen  many  trees  stand- 
ing within  the  present  limits  of  the  county, 
bearing  names  and  dates  cut  in  their  bark. 
Stations,  forts  and  settlements  were  made  as 
early  as  1780.  In  this  year  a station  was 
made  on  the  Red  River,  known  as  Maulding’ s ; 
another  on  the  Muddy  River;  one  on  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Russellville,  and  several  others  a 
few  years  later.  A Mr.  Smart  settled  in  1782 
on  the  Elk  Fork  of  the  Red  River,  a short 
distance  southwest  of  where  Russellville 
stands. 

Russellville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
near  the  center  of  the  county,  at  the  junction 
of  the  Owensboro  division  and  the  main  line 
of  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad.  It 
was  laid  out  in  1795,  incorporated  in  1810, 
when  it  was  the  eighth  town  in  the  State  in 


612 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


point  of  population.  It  was  named  in  honor 
of  Gen.  William  Enssell,  a valiant  soldier  in 
the  Eevolntionaiy  war,  and  the  owner  of  the 
land  upon  which  it  was  located.  It  has  a 
brick  courthouse  and  other  puldic  buildings, 
excellent  schools,  academies  and  colleges,  a 
number  of  handsome  churches,  flourishing 
stores,  an  excellent  newspaper — the  Herald- 
Enterprise,  and  the  usual  amount  of  manu- 
facturing industries. 

The  county  is  dotted  with  pleasant  little 
villages.  Among  them  are  Adairville,  Au- 
burn, Baugh’ s Station,  Cave  Spring,  Costelow, 
Dennis,  Dallam’s  Creek,  Homer,  Keysburg, 
Lewisburg,  Olmstead  and  South  Union.  The 
latter  is  an  exceedingly  neat  and  handsome 
little  village  of  about  100  inhabitants,  most 
of  whom  are  Shakers.  The  other  villages 
range  in  population  from  500  souls  down  to 
a half-dozen,  with  a cross-roads  store,  post- 
office  and  blacksmith  shop. 

Logan  County  has  j^roduced  many  promi- 
nent men.  In  this  the  county  has  kejDt  jaace 
with  the  most  favored  ones  of  the  common- 
w’ealth.  A writer  upon  the  subject  says:. 

Four  times  the  gubernatorial  wreath  of  Kentucky 
ha.s  crowned  the  statues  of  her  fame— John  Breath- 
itt, James  T.  Moreliead,  John  .1.  Crittenden  and 
Charles  S.  Moreliead.  Four  times  the  spotless  man- 
tle of  the  chief-justice  of  the  commonwealth  has 
fallen  ujion  the  shoulders  of  those  who  were  mem- 
bers of  the  bar — Ninian  Edwards,  George  M.  Bibb, 
Ephraim  M.  Ewing  and  Elijah  Hise.  Three  times 
the  laurels  of  the  foreign  ministry  of  the  Nation  have 
been  worn  with  honor  by  those  who  were  her  citi- 
zens— Anthony  Butler,  Ninian  Edwards  and  Elijah 
Hise.  Four  times  the  chief-executive  chairs  of 
other  States  have  been  filled  by  those  who  w'ent 
forth  from  her  midst — Ninian  Edwards,  to  Illinois; 
Richard  K.  Call,  to  Florida;  Robert  Crittenden,  to 
Arkansas,  and  Fletcher  Stockdale,  to  Texas;  besides 
these,  William  L.  D.  Ewing  was  lieutenant-governor 
of  Illinois.  She  has  sent  forth  one  major-gen- 
eral of  the  United  States  Army,  James  Boyle,  and 
one  surgeon-general  of  the  same,  Dr.  D.  McRey- 
nolds.  and  one  supreme  judge  of  Mississippi,  Joseph 
E.  Davis. 

Many  of  these  distinguished  men  are  men- 
tioned in  other  portions  of  this  work,  leaving 
but  little  to  be  said  in  this  connection.  One 
distinguished  character,  however,  reeptiring 
a brief  mention  is  Hon.  Ninian  Edwards.  He 
was  born  in  Maryland  in  1775,  received  an 
excellent  education,  and  studied  law  and 
medicine,  in  both  of  which  he  became  j^ro- 
ficient.  In  1798  he  located  in  this  county 
and  was  several  times  elected  to  the  Legisla- 
ture. He  was  appointed  judge,  and  in  rapid 
succession  filled  the  positions  of  circuit 
judge,  fourth  judge  of  the  court  of  ajDpeals, 
and  chief  justice  of  Kentucky, 

Judge  Edwards,  in  1809,  was  appointed, 
by  President  Madison,  governor  of  the 
Illinois  TeiTitory.  He  accepted  the  po- 


sition and  was  twice  re-appointed,  in  1812 
and  1816  respectively,  and  upon  the  admis- 
sion of  the  State  into  the  Union  he  was 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate.  In  1826 
he  was  elected  governor  of  the  State  over 
which  he  had  presided  three  terms  vvhile  yet 
a territory.  Gov.  Edwards  died  in  1833,  in 
the  fifty-ninth  year  of  his  age. 

John  McLean  was  born  in  North  Carolina 
in  1791,  and  was  brought  by  his  father  to 
Logan  County  in  1795.  His  educational  ad- 
vantages were  limited,  but  by  dint  of  energy 
and  perseverance  he  acquired  a good  English 
education.  He  studied  law  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar,  and  in  1815  removed  to  Shawnee- 
town.  111.,  and  in  that  State  his  brief  career 
was  run.  He  was  elected  to  the  first  Congress 
after  Illinois  was  admitted  to  the  Union  as  a 
State,  and  was  frequently  afterw^ard  elected 
to  the  State  Legislature,  and  was  twice 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate.  He  died 
in  1830,  aged  thirty-nine  years. 


Lyon  County  was  established  in  1854, 
and  was  the  one  hundred  and  second  created 
in  the  State.  It  was  formed  from  a . part 
of  Caldwell  County,  and  is  situated  in  the 
western  part  of  the  State,  on  the  Tennes- 
see River.  It  was  named  for  Col.  Chittenden 
Lyon,  a character  in  his  way,  and  withal  a 
man  of  much  local  and  political  j^rominence. 
The  county  is  bounded  on  the  north  by'  Crit- 
tenden and  Livingston  Counties;  on  the  east 
by  Hopkins  and  Christian;  on  the  south  by 
Trigg;  on  the  west  by  the  Tennessee  and 
Cumberland  Rivers,  and  by  Livingston 
County,  and  by  the  last  census  it  had  6,768 
inhabitants.  The  Cumberland  River  flows 
through  the  western  part,  while  the  Tennessee 
forms  the  western  border  of  the  county,  thus 
watering  and  draining  it  well.  A portion  of 
the  land  is  level,  a portion  undulating,  and  a 
portion  broken  and  hilly,  with  heavy  timber. 
The  soil  is  rich  and  fertile,  producing  grain, 
tobacco  and  potatoes,  and  fruits  in  abundance. 
In  1880  it  produced 405.802  bushels  of  corn; 
12,116  of  oats;  26,485  of  wheat;  10,080  of 
Irish  potatoes,  and  980,403  pounds  of  to- 
bacco. Iron  ore  abounds,  and  considerable 
quantities  of  it  are  annually  exported.  A num- 
ber of  furnaces  have  been  established  and  iron 
manufactured  extensively.  With  the  fine  fa- 
cilities of  transportation — the  Chesapeake, 
Ohio  & Southwestern  Railroad,  and  the  Ten- 
nessee and  Cumberland  Ri  vers — Lyon  County 
has  every  inducement  to  become  a great  man- 
ufacturing region. 

Eddyville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
on  the  Chesapeake,  Ohio  & Southwestern  Rail- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


613 


road,  and  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Cumber- 
land River,  about  forty-five  miles  above  its 
mouth.  There  is  said  to  be  a cavern,  over 
a half  mile  in  length,  extending  under  the 
town,  from  the  mouth  of  which  flows  a large 
stream  of  water.  It  has  the  usual  public 
buildings,  chimches,  schools  and  general  busi- 
ness, and  in  1880  it  had  390  inhabitants. 

Eddyville  enjoys  the  distinction  of  having 
been  the  capital  of  two  different  counties. 
When  Caldwell  was  formed  in  1809  it  was 
made  the  coimty  seat.  It  was  afterward  re- 
moved to  Centerville  but  in  a short  time 
changed  back  to  Eddyville,  and  finally  re- 
moved to  and  permanently  established  at 
Princeton.  When  Lyon  County  was  formed 
Eddyville  was  made  its  capital,  an  honor  and 
dignity  it  has  ever  since  retained.  Other 
towns  and  villages  are  Kuttawa,  a young  and 
enterprising  place  of  294  inhabitants  and  with 
a fine  run  of  business,  and  the  Tennessee 
Rolling  Works,  Eureka,  Star  Lime  Works 
and  Lamasco. 

Col.  Chittenden  Lyon,  for  whom  this  county 
was  named,  was  a man  of  considerable  prom- 
inence in  this  portion  of  the  State.  He  served 
a number  of  terms  in  the  State  Legislatiu’e 
and  also  in  Congress.  He  is  represented  as 
having  been  a large  man,  fully  six  feet  high 
and  weighing  350  pounds.  He  was  the 
champion  fighter  of  the  old  fashioned  times 
when  a man  used  his  fists  instead  of  a 42- 
caliber  Smith  & Wesson  to  settle  his  neigh- 
borly differences.  The  following  is  related 
of  him: 

He  was  engaged  in  an  exciting  race  for  Congress, 
and  during  the  contest  a man  named  Andy  Duncan, 
also  a large  and  powerful  man,  a noted  tighter  and  i 
political  bully,  bitterly  opposed  him.  He  challenged  | 
Lyon  to  combat,  and  proposed  that  if  Lyon  could  | 
whip  him  in  a fair  and  .square  fist-tight,  he  (Duncan)  i 
would  vote  for  him.  This  was  a hit  of  pastime  | 
L3’on  could  not  resist,  and  the  preliminaries  were  [ 
soon  settled.  A hard  fight  it  proved  for  neither 
would  yield,  and  friends  finally  Interfered  and  sep- 
arated them.  It  was  enough,  however,  to  make 
them  good  friends,  and  Duncan,  while  not  really 
whipped,  voted  for  Lyon  with  hearty  good-will. 

Hon.  Matthew  Lyon,  the  father  of  Col. 
Chittenden  Lyon,  was  a remarkable  man  of 
the  period  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  a na- 
tive of  Ireland  and  possessed  all  the  fire  and 
native  eloquence  of  that  spirited  race.  He 
was  born  in  1746  and  died  in  the  Arkansas 
TeiTitory  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years. 
About  1765  he  came  to  America  and  to  the 
New  England  States,  and  when  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  broke  out  he  joined  the  patriots 
and  served  through  the  entire  struggle.  He 
published  a newspaper,  served  several  terms  j 
in  Congress  and  bitterly  opposed  the  admin- 
istration of  John  Adams  and  the  Federalist  ; 


party.  He  was  in  Congress  when  the  contest 
came  up  in  the  House  of  Representatives  be- 
tween Thomas  Jefferson  and  Aaron  Bmu  for 
the  Presidency,  and  on  the  thirty-sixth  ballot 
iVIi’.  Lyon  ended  the  seven  days’  balloting  by 
casting  the  vote  of  his  State  (Vermont)  for 
j\H.  Jefferson,  thereby  electing  him  over 
Aaron  Bm-r.  In  the  spring  of  1804  he  came 
with  his  family  to  Kentucky;  they  came  down 
the  Ohio  and  up  the  Cumberland  River  into 
Caldwell  County  where  they  founded  Eddy- 
ville. He  served  several  terms  in  the  Legis- 
latiu'e,  and  in  Congress  fr’om  1803  to  1811 — 
eight  years.  This  closed  his  political  career 
in  Kentucky,  and  in  1820  he  moved  to 
Arkansas. 


Madison  County  is  one  of  the  nine  estab- 
lished by  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  prior  to 
Kentucky  becoming  a State.  It  was  formed 
fr-om  a part  of  Lincoln  County  in  1785 — the 
seventh  county  formed — and  was  named  for 
James  Madison,  the  fourth  President  of  the 
United  States.  It  lies  in  the  east-central 
part  of  the  State,  and  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Fayette  and  Clark  Counties,  fr’om 
which  it  is  separated  by  the  Kentucky  River; 
on  the  east  by  Estill  County;  on  the  south  by 
Rockcastle;  on  the  west  by  Gaiuard  and  Jes- 
samine, and  in  1880  it  had  22,052  inhabi- 
tants. It  is  a fine  agricultimal  region,  and 
the  largest  of  the  blue-grass  counties;  the 
soil  is  mostly  rich  and  produces  well,  the 
agricultural  report  of  1880  showing  the  fol- 
lowing: Corn,  1,192.350  bushels;  wheat, 

129,652;  oats.  33,601,  and  rye,  44,590. 
Stock  as  follows:  horses,  6,554;  mules,  2,- 
783;  cattle,  18,193,  and  hogs  30,292.  The 
county  is  drained  by  the  Kentucky  River  and 
tributaries,  among  which  are  Otter,  Muddy, 
Tate,  Drowning  and  Silver  Creeks.  The  min- 
eral wealth  is  considerable,  and  consists  of 
shot-iron  ore,  bituminous  coal  and  hydi’aulic 
stone.  Sulphiu’  springs  are  numerous;  one 
of  the  best  white  sulphur  springs  in  the 
county  is  about  foimteen  miles  east  of  Rich- 
mond, and  years  ago  was  quite  a public  re- 
sort. A black  sulphur  spring  is  situated 
near  the  old  town  of  Boonesborough.  This  is 
strongly  impregnated  with  salt,  and  was  a 
deer  and  buffalo  lick  in  early  times. 

John  Finley  or  Findlay  was  doubtless  the 
first  white  man  in  what  is  now  Madison 
County.  In  1767  he  came  out  on  a trading 
and  hunting  expedition.  He  was  a profes- 
sional Indian  trader  and  understood  the 
Indian  character  thoroughly.  Two  years 
after  his  first  visit  he  conducted  Daniel  Boone, 
Joseph  Holden,  William  Cool,  J ames  Mooney, 


614 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


John  Stewart,  etc.,  on  their  first  trip  to  Ken- 
tucky. Mr.  William  Chenault,  in  an  histori- 
cal sketch  of  the  county,  says: 

liladison  County  is  perhaps  more  closefy  con- 
nected with  the  early  history  of  Kentuck}^  than  any 
other  ill  the  State,  and  it  is  believed  that  even  an  im- 
perfect account  of  its  settlement  will  be  of  more  than 
local  interest.  There  are  hundreds  of  citizens  scatter- 
ed throughout  this  State  and  Missouri,  whose  ances- 
tors came  from  this  county,  and  whose  children  and 
grandchildren  natmally  feel  deep  interest  in  the 
early  struggles  of  the  pioneers  of  Madison  County. 
While  Madison  was  not  organized  as  a separate 
county  (juite  so  early  as  either  Lincoln,  Fayette  or 
Jefferson,  its  history  for  a time  was  that  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  the  trials  and  struggles  of  its  first  settlers 
constitute  an  important  part  of  the  early  history  of 
the  commonwealth. 

The  settlement  of  the  county  and  its  his- 
tory are  very  fully  given  in  the  preceding 
chapters  of  this  work;  a few  facts  may,  how- 
ever, be  repeated  here.  Mr.  Collins  informs 
us,  in  his  excellent  history,  that  Madison 
County  was  first  permanently  settled  in  1775, 
but  that  it  was  visited  in  1709  by  Daniel 
Boone  and  John  Stewart,  and  the  McAfee 
brothers  and  Samuel  Adams  in  1773.  To 
again  quote  from  Dr.  Chenault: 

The  local  records  of  the  county  show  that  Col. 
John  Snoddy  and  William  Ward  visited  the  county 
in  1773,  and  that  Michael  Stoner  was  at  Mulberry 
Lick  in  1774.  Although  Daniel  Boone  was  occu- 
jiied  a portion  of  the  year  1775  in  building  a fort  at 
Bo(mesboro,  and  bringing  his  family  and  goods 
from  North  Carolina,  still  he  must  have  traveled 
over  the  country  considerably  in  1775.  From 
records  in  the  county  clerk’s  office,  it  appears  that 
he  was  on  Jliuldy  Creek  during  that  year,  and  there 
“made  ttn  improvement  for  his  friend.  James  Whar- 
ton.” It  appears  from  the  same  testimon3'  that  he 
wuis  at  the  Wallace  Estill  Spring  in  com]>any  with 
John  Boyle,  and  that  Boyle  tliere  "made  an  im- 
provement and  also  planted  a few  peach  seeds.” 
In  June.  1775,  immediately  after  tlie  building  of 
tlie  Boonesboro  fort,  Stpiire  Boone  Iniilt  a cabin  in 
the  county  at  Jerusha’s  Grove,  on  Silver  Creek, 
and  commenced  building  a mill  at  “Boone’s  old 
mill  site.”  He  was  preparing  to  move  his  family 
to  that  pilace  in  October,  1775,  when  he  sold  the 
cabin  to  Joseph  Benny,  and  the  land  adjoining  to 
George  Smith. 

Mucli  more  might  be  given  similar  to  the 
foregoing  extracts,  but  it  is  so  clearly  a repe- 
tition of  what  appears  in  the  early  pioneer 
history  of  the  State  it  is  deemed  needless, 
and  the  reader,  desiring  to  become  familiar 
with  the  early  history  of  the  county  and  of 
Boonesborough,  is  referred  to  the  ju’eceding 
chapters. 

Richmond,  the  capital  of  the  county,  is 
situated  a little  northeast  of  the  geographical 
center  of  the  county.  It  was  first  settled  by 
John  Miller  in  1785,  but  not  incorporated  as 
a town  until  1809.  It  is  the  terminus  of  the 
Richmond  branch  of  the  Loirisville  & Nash- 
ville Railroad,  and  by  it  is  138  miles  from 


Louisville  and  thirty-four  miles  from  the 
Knoxville  division  of  the  Louisville  & Nash- 
ville system.  It  is  one  of  the  best  towns  of 
its  size  in  the  State,  and  a most  excellent 
business  point,  wdth  2,909  inhabitants  in 
1880.  It  has  a handsome  courthouse — one 
of  the  finest  in  the  State — and  other  public 
buildings  of  a good  order;  several  fine 
churches,  representing  the  different  religioirs 
denominations,  and  the  usual  number  of  pro- 
fessional men.  Good  public  schools,  select 
academies  and  the  Central  University  afford 
ample  educational  facilities. 

Central  University  is  located  at  Richmond. 
The  buildings  stand  in  a lot  of  ground  a 
quarter  of  a mile  square,  near  the  head  of 
Lancaster  Avenue.  ‘ ‘ This  location,  ’ ’ says  a 
writer  iipon  the  subject,  “is  the  highest  point 
in  the  blue-grass  plateau  of  the  county,  and 
water  from  the  roof  of  the  main  building  drains 
into  three  distinct  streams — Tate’s,  Otter  and 
Silver  Creeks.  ’ ’ The  college  building  is  four 
stories  high,  and  proportionately  commodious 
otherwise.  Of  its  origin,  the  same  writer 
quoted  fi’om  above  says: 

Central  University  owes  its  origin,  to  the  alumni 
of  Center  College,  who  were  in  connection  or  sj'm- 
pathizecl  witli  the  Soutliern  branch  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  Keuluck3",  the  Northern  synod 
iiaving  retained  control  of  the  present  institution. 
The  university  was  established  under  the  joint  aus- 
pices of  the  Synod  of  Kentucky  and  the  Alumni 
Association.  The  government  of  the  institution  is 
committed  to  the  chancellor  and  fifteen  curators, 
two-thirds  of  whom  must  be  members  of  the  Alumni 
Association.  By  this  plan  it  was  intended  that  the 
dangers  which  arise  from  exclusive  State  or  church 
control  would  be  avoided. 

The  university  within  the  past  two  years 
has  been  greatly  enlarged  and  improved.  It 
is  now  a university  in  the  true  sense  of  the 
term,  and  comprises  eleven  schools.  These 
are  all  in  charge  of  able  scholars  and  fitted 
up  and  furnished  with  everything  necessary 
for  conducting  them  to  the  best  advantage  of 
the  student.  The  institution  is  sufficiently 
large,  and  has  a faculty  capable  of  instruct- 
ing all  who  seek  it  for  kno3vledge. 

Milford  3vas  the  original  seat  of  justice  of 
Madison  County,  and  was  established  in  1789. 
It  was  situated  about  four  miles  southwest 
of  the  present  towm  of  Richmond,  but  has 
now  disappeared  from  the  face  of  the  — maps. 
Here  the  first  courthouse  was  built,  but  the 
first  term  of  court  was  held  at  the  house  of 
George  Adams,  and  the  second  at  the  house 
of  David  Gass.  The  seat  of  justice  was  re- 
moved in  a few  years  to  Richmond,  a pro- 
ceeding that  provoked  the  bitterest  feelings 
on  the  part  of  the  Milfordites,  and  was  the 
cause  of  many  fist-fights  between  the  cham- 
pions of  the  two  towms. 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


615 


Berea  is  a pretty  little  town,  situated  fif- 
teen miles  south  of  Richmond,  and  in  1880 
had  a population  of  580.  It  is  the  seat  of 
Berea  College,  a sketch  of  which  is  given  in 
a preceding  chapter.  Other  villages  and 
postoffices  in  the  county  are  Big  Hill,  Boones- 
boro  (which  has  about  disappeared  as  a vil- 
lage), College  Hill,  Duncannon,  Edenton, 
Foxtown,  Harris,  Kirksville,  Kingston,  Sil- 
ver Creek,  Speedwell,  Rogersville,  Union 
City,  Waco,  White  Hall,  Wallaceton,  etc. 

Madison  County  has  turned  out  a number 
of  prominent  men.  Some  of  these  are  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  other  counties. 
Among  those  who  are  not  noticed  elsewhere 
are  Nathaniel  Hart,  Christopher  and  Will- 
iam Irvine,  Col.  John  Speed  Smith,  Judge 
Daniel  Breck,  Gen  Cassius  M.  Clay  and 
Christopher  Carson.  The  latter  was  famil- 
iarly known  as  ‘ ‘ Kit  Carson,  ’ ’ and  was  a 
noted  scout,  hunter  and  trapper  on  the  w^es- 
tern  frontier.  He  was  born  in  this  county 
on  Tate’s  Creek  in  1809,  and  when  quite 
young,  his  father,  Lindsay  Carson,  emi- 
grated to  Howard  County,  Mo.,  then  the 
very  western  border  of  civilization.  But  few 
men  ever  lived  who  equaled  him  as  a scout, 
hunter  and  a guide.  He  served  in  the  latter 
capacity  to  John  C.  Fremont  in  his  western 
explorations,  and  was  one  of  the  pioneers  in 
the  wool  trade  of  California;  in  1853  he 
drove  6,500  sheep  across  the  plains,  an 
enterprise  of  great  hazard.  He  died  at  Ft. 
Lynn,  Col.,  in  1868,  aged  fifty-eight  years, 
and  Carson  City,  the  capital  of  Nevada,  per- 
petuates the  name  of  the  great  borderer. 

Gen.  Cassius  M.  Clay  Avas  born  in  this 
county  and  is  yet  living.  Judge  Daniel 
Breck  was  a native  of  Massachusetts  and  was 
born  in  1788.  He  came  to  Kentucky  in  1814 
and  located  in  Richmond,  where  he  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law,  rising  rapidly  to  dis- 
tinction. He  was  elected  to  the  Legislature 
in  1824,  and  was  re-elected  for  several  terms 
after;  he  originated  a number  of  important 
measimes,  among  them  the  system  of  in- 
ternal improvement,  and  the  Northern  Bank 
of  Kentucky.  In  1843  he  was  appointed  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  court  of  appeals,  which 
position  he  held  six  years,  and  upon  retiring 
was  elected  to  Congress.  He  died  in  Rich- 
mond in  1871,  and  Gov.  Stevenson  appropri- 
ately noticed  his  death  in  a message  to  the 
Legislature — his  last  official  act  before  retiring 
from  the  gubernatorial  chair.  Samuel  Estill 
was  a brother  of  Capt.  James  Estill,  and  was 
a noted  pioneer  and  Indian  fighter. 

Col.  John  Speed  Smith  was  one  of  the 
prominent  lawyers  and  statesmen  of  this 
county.  He  was  born  in  Jessamine  County, 


and  upon  being  admitted  to  the  bar  came  to 
Richmond.  The  Richmond  bar  was  then 
one  of  the  ablest  in  the  State,  and  he  soon 
became  one  of  its  leading  members.  He 
served  repeatedly  in  the  Legislature  and  the 
State  Senate,  and  in  1821  was  elected  to 
Congress.  He  was  appointed  by  President 
John  Quincy  Adams,  secretary  of  legation  to 
the  South  American  Mission,  and  by  President 
Jackson,  United  States  attorney  for  Ken- 
tucky. He  filled  other  prominent  positions, 
in  all  of  which  he  discharged  his  duties  faith- 
fully. 

The  Irvines,  Christopher  and  William,  were 
pioneers  and  early  settlers  in  this  county. 
They  came  about  1779  and  settled  near  where 
the  town  of  Richmond  stands,  and  at  once 
took  a prominent  part  in  the  border  struggles 
of  the  period.  Christopher  raised  a company 
and  joined  Gen.  Logan's  expedition  against 
the  Ohio  Indians,  in  which  expedition  he 
was  killed.  William  was  quite  as  active  in 
border  life.  He  Avas  in  the  bloody  battle 
known  as  “ Estill’ s defeat,”  in  which  he  was 
severely  wounded,  and  but  for  a heroic  com- 
rade named  Proctor,  Avho  remained  with  him 
and  cared  for  him,  he  would  have  lost  his 
life.  Upon  the  formation  of  Madison  Coun- 
ty he  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  court,  an 
office  he  held  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  1820.  Ii'Aune,  the  county  seat  of  Estill 
County,  perpetuates  the  names  of  these  two 
brothers. 

Capt.  Nathaniel  Hart  came  to  Kentucky  in 
1775.  He  was  connected  Avith  the  Transyl- 
Aunia  Land  Company — Richard  Henderson 
& Co. — and  it  AAms  principally  through  his 
negotiations  that  the  company  succeeded  in 
purchasing  the  lands  of  the  Indians.  Capt. 
Hart,  in  1782,  while  riding  carelessly  out 
alone  was  shot  and  scalped  by  the  Indians. 


Magoffix  County  is  of  modern  formation 
(1860) — the  one  hundred  and  eighth  in  the 
catalogue  of  counties.  It  lies  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  State,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north 
by  Morgan  and  Johnson  Counties  ; on  the  east 
by  Johnson  and  Floyd;  on  the  south  and  south- 
west by  Breathitt  ; on  the  west  by  Breathitt 
and  Morgan  ; and  in  1880  it  had  6,944  in- 
habitants. The  surface  of  the  country  is 
generally  rough  and  broken  ; the  valleA's  and 
bottoms  are  rich  and  highly  productive.  In 
1880  the  productions  were  corn,  267,726 
bushels  ; oats,  20,643  ; wheat,  14,801  ; to- 
bacco, 11,464  pounds  ; horses,  1,407;  cattle 
4,301,  and  hogs  12,091.  The  mineral  wealth 
of  the  county  consists  of  iron  ore,  and  coal 
of  a very  superior  quantity. 


616 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


The  first  settlement  made  in  Magoffin  I 
County  or  the  territory  now  forming  it,  was  i 
about  the  year  1800,  by  Archibald  Prather, 
Ebenezer  Hanna,  John  'Williams,  Clay  Cook 
and  others.  They  were  from  South  Caro- 
lina, and  had  attempted  a settlement  in  1794, 
but  had  been  di’iven  away  by  the  savages. 
Their  settlement  was  made  at  Licking  Sta- 
tion, about  a mile  below  the  present  town  of 
Salyersville,  in  a bend  of  the  river. 

Salyersville,  the  capital  of  the  county,  is 
situated  a little  north  of  the  geographical 
center  of  the  county.  It  was  established  as 
the  county  seat  in  1800,  and  was  named  for 
Hon.  Samuel  Salyer,  a representative  in  the 
Legislature  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the 
county,  and  who  was  instrumental  in  passing 
the  act  creating  it.  It  is  a small  place;  has 
a brick  courthouse,  the  usual  stores,  churches 
and  schools.  Other  villages  and  postoffices 
are  Trace  Fork,  W^hittakerville,  Puncheon, 
Ivyton,  Nehemiah  and  Johnson’s  Fort. 

The  county  was  named  in  honor  of  Hon. 
Beriah  Magoffin,  the  seventeenth  governor 
of  the  Commonwealth.  He  was  born  in  Har- 
rodsburg,  Ky.,  in  1815,  and  died  a few 
years  ago.  He  graduated  at  Center  College, 
Danville,  in  1835,  and  in  the  Lexington  Law 
School  in  1838.  He  was  elected  to  the  State 
Senate,  declined  a nomination  to  Congress, 
was  a'  candidate  for  lieutenant-governor 
in  1855,  but  was  defeated  ; was  elected  gov- 
ernor in  1859,  over  Joshua  F.  Bell,  the 
candidate  of  the  American  party.  He  was 
district  delegate  to  the  Democratic  National 
Convention  at  Baltimore  in  1848,  Cincinnati 
in  1850,  and  Charleston  in  1860.  After  the 
late  war  he  retired  from  piiblic  life.  The  ex- 
citement of  his  gubernatorial  term  is  noticed 
in  chapters  on  the  civil  war  in  this  volume. 


Marion  County  dates  back  to  1834  and  was 
taken  off  the  southern  end  of  Washington 
County.  It  was  the  eighty- fourth  in  the  order 
of  formation  and  was  named  for  Gen.  Francis 
Marion,  a partisan  officer  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war — the  ‘ ‘ Swamp  Fox  of  the  Caro- 
linas.  ” It  is  situated  in  the  central  part  of  the 
State  and  is  mostly  fine  farming  land — a lime- 
stone soil  based  on  red  clay.  It  is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  Nelson  and  Washington  Coun- 
ties, on  the  east  by  Boyle,  on  the  south  by  Tay- 
lor, on  the  west  by  La  Rue  and  Nelson,  and 
in  1880  it  had  a population  of  14,093.  The 
Muldrow  Hills  form  the  boundary  between  it 
and  Taylor  County  and  the  Rolling  Fork  of 
the  Salt  River  runs  through  the  southern 
part  of  the  county  at  the  foot  of  the  hills. 


Other  small  streams  draining  the  county  are 
Pope’s,  North  Fork,  Cloyd’s  and  Collamer’s. 
The  principal  crops  are  corn,  oats,  wheat, 
with  a little  tobacco,  as  follows:  Corn, 

745,464  bushels;  oats,  56,920;  wheat,  77  852 
and  tobacco,  101,980  pounds.  Stock — 
horses,  4,693;  mules,  1,946;  cattle,  8,511; 
sheep,  9,140;  hogs,  21,500;  whisky  is  also 
produced  in  large  quantities.  Iron  ore  is 
found  in  the  hills  of  the  county  but  not  in 
paying  quantities.  The  geological  survey  of 
the  State  developed  the  following  singular 
phenomenon : 

The  southern  boundary  line  of  the  county  is 
the  dividing  ridge  of  the  Muldrow  Hills,  separat- 
ing the  waters  of  the  Rolling  Fork  and  the  Salt 
River  on  the  north  from  those  of  Pittman’s  Creek 
and  the  Green  River  on  the  south.  These  hills 
are  more  than  500  feet  above  the  bed  of  the 
Rolling  Fork.  In  going  northward  there  is  no 
corresponding  descent.  The  face  of  the  country 
south  of  the  Roiling  Fork — extending  from  Casey 
County  around  to  the  Ohio  River — is  considerably 
higher  than  in  the  counties  to  the  north  bordering 
on  the  same  stream.  This  exceptional  peculiarity 
in  the  formation  of  the  earth  in  this  region  gives 
force  and  interest  to  the  theory  of  Volney,  who 
contended  that  a large  portion  of  central  Kentucky 
1 was  once  the  bed  of  an  immense  lake  extending 
into  Indiana  and  perhaps  into  a portion  of  Ohio, 
which  broke  through  its  southern  wall  or  bank  and 
thus  formed  the  Ohio  River.  The  Silver  Creek  Hills 
in  Indiana  correspond  in  elevation  to  the  Muldrow 
Hills  in  Kentucky,  and  being  opposite  and  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Ohio  River,  may  have  formed  a 
portion  of  the  southwestern  border  of  the  sup- 
posed lake.  This  hypothesis,  too,  will  account  for 
the  numerous  petrifactions  of  a marine  formation 
found  all  over  this  part  of  Kentucky.  * * * 
Another  peculiarity  of  this  region  is  the  numerous 
knobs,  some  of  them  conical  or  sugar-loaf  in  form, 
extending  all  along  the  Rolling  Fork  on  the  north, 
apparently  of  the  height  of  the  Muldrow  Hills, 
perhaps  once  connected  with  them  but  detached  by 
some  violent  commotion  of  nature. 

The  early  settlers  of  what  is  now  Marion 
County  were  mostly  from  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land. From  the  latter  State  came  many  of 
the  old  Catholic  families  whose  descendants 
are  still  numerous  and  prominent  in  this  sec- 
tion of  Kentucky.  Among  the  early  settlers 
of  the  county  were  the  families  of  Spalding, 
Wickliffe,  McElroy,  Abell,  Wathen,  Graves, 
Tucker,  Smock,  Ray,  Philips,  Averit  and 
Yowell. 

Lebanon,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
near  the  sources  of  Hardin’ s and  Cartwright’ s 
Creeks,  and  on  the  Knoxville  division  of  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad  sixty-seven 
miles  from  Louisville.  It  is  a beautiful  and 
enterprising  little  city  of  2,054  inhabitants, 
and  was  founded  or  ‘ ‘ commenced  ’ ’ by  Ben. 
Spalding  and  incorporated  in  1815.  It  was 
named  by  Spalding,  Lebanon,  on  account 
of  the  groves  of  cedars  that  surrounded  it  in 
early  times.  A brick  courthouse  and  other 
commodious  public  buildings  are  among  its 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


617 


‘ ‘ accomplishments,  ’ ’ 'svhile  many  handsome  j 
residences  add  beauty  to  the  place.  It  has  j 
an  excellent  newspaper — the  Standard.  It 
contains  some  dozen  church  edifices,  repre- 
senting the  different  denominations  and  both 
the  white  and  colored  people.  Good  schools 
are  not  the  least  of  its  attractions,  and  those 
who  cannot  be  pleased  or  accommodated  in 
the  city,  can  find  at  St.  Mary’s  and  at  Lo- 
retto  the  best  of  select  schools. 

The  county  is  dotted  over  with  pleasant 
little  villacres.  Among  these  are  Bradfords- 
ville,  with  150  inhabitants.  Calvary,  Chicago, 
Gravel  Switch,  Loretto,  New  Market,  Penick, 
Raywick.  Riley,  St.  Mary’ s and  Rush  Branch. 
These  are  small  places,  some  of  them  being 
only  railroad  stations.  I 

Few  counties  in  the  State  are  in  a more 
floiu’ishing  condition  then  Marion.  The  farms 
are  highly  improved,  are  in  a fine  state  of 
cultivation,  and  everything  indicates  thrift 
and  prosperity.  Its  excellent  tiu-njaike  roads 
are  fiu’ther  illustration  of  its  enterprise  and 
wealth,  having  nearly  100  miles  of  such 
roads  in  the  county. 

Lebanon  witnessed  some  stu’ring  scenes 
during  the  late  civil  war;  it  w'as  quite  a battle 
ground.  The  first  battle  was  fought  on  the 
I8th  of  September,  1861,  and  was  more  ex- 
citement than  real  fight  and  carnage.  The 
second  battle  took  place  July  12, 1862.  and  was 
more  a captiu-e  of  the  town  by  Gen.  John 
Morgan  than  an  actual  battle.  The  third 
battle  was  on  the  5th  of  July,  1863,  and  was 
a rather  severe  one.  The  Federals  were 
commanded  by  Col.  Charles  Hanson,  and 
comprised  some  300  of  the  Twentieth  Ken- 
tucky Infantry.  The  Confederates  comprised 
a detachment  of  Morgan’s  cavalry;  the  Fed- 
erals lost  five  killed  and  the  Confederates 
twenty-five.  These  battles,  however,  are  more 
minutely  given  in  preceding  chapters.  k 
soldiers’  cemetery  was  laid  out  in  J anuary, 
1863,  about  a mile  fi’om  town,  and  there  a 
large  number  of  gallant  soldiers  sleep. 


IMakshall  Couxtt  was  established  in  1842, 
and  was  the  ninety-second  in  the  order  of 
formation.  It  is  one  of  the  counties  lying  in 
the  Jackson  Pur-chase,  and  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Livingston  and  Lyon  Counties,  fi-om 
which  it  is  separated  by  the  Tennessee  River ; 
on  the  east  by  Lyon  and  Trigg;  on  the  south 
by  Calloway,  on  the  west  by  Graves  and 
McCracken,  and  in  1880  it  had  a population 
of  9,647.  It  was  named  in  honor  of  Chief 
Justice  John  Marshall,  who  died  a short 
time  previous  to  the  organization  of  the 


coimty.  The  principal  water  com-ses  are  the 
Clark’s  River,  "West  Fork,  Cypress,  Sugar 
and  Jonathan  Creeks.  The  soil  is  generally 
fertile,  and  the  timber  good  of  all  kinds  com- 
mon in  this  section  of  the  State.  Grain  and 
tobacco  are  the  principal  productions,  and  in 
1880  the  agricultui-al  report  showed  as  fol- 
lows: Corn,  602,913  bushels;  wheat,  47,755; 
oats,  32,014,  and  tobacco,  1,411,692  pounds. 
It  has  the  advantage  of  the  Tennessee  River 
for  transportation,  and  the  Chesapeake,  Ohio 
& Southwestern  Railroad,  which  passes 
through  the  north  part. 

Marshall  County  was  not  settled  as  early 
as  some  of  the  counties  east  of  the  Tennes- 
see River,  the  first  settlement  being  made 
about  1818-19,  by  James  Stewart.  He 
located  on  Wade’s  Creek,  a short  distance 
north  of  the  old  town  of  Wadesboro.  Quite 
a number  of  families  came  in  soon  after  iH. 
Stewart. 

There  is  a mineral  spring  near  Calvert 
City,  said  to  contain  strong  medicinal  prop- 
erties. On  top  of  a hill  some  thi-ee  miles 
from  Benton  is  a “sink- hole,”  or  lake,  sixty 
yards  in  diameter  and  fifty  feet  above  the  bed 
of  the  creek.  In  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
county  were  found  the  remains  of  an  Indian 
town. 

Benton,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  near 
the  geographical  center  of  the  county,  and  is 
a small  place  of  277  inhabitants.  It  was  laid 
out  on  land  donated  for  a county  seat  by 
Francis  Clayton  and  John  H.  Bearden:  the 
former  fui-nished  thirty  acres,  and  the  latter- 
fifty  acres.  It  was  incorporated  as  a to-wn 
in  1845,  and  named  for  Thomas  H.  Benton, 
the  distinguished  Missouri  senator.  It  has 
the  usual  public  buildings,  churches,  schools, 
— the  Marshall  County  Seminary — and  gen- 
eral business. 

Birmingham  is  the  second  largest  town  in 
the  cormty  (224  inhabitants)  and  is  situated 
on  the  Tennessee  River,  about  ten  miles  from 
Benton.  It  is  a place  of  considerable  busi- 
ness, and  is  quite  a shipping  point.  Other 
villages  and  postoffices  are  Palma,  Olive, 
Brewer’s  Mill,  Oakland,  Briensburg  and 
Calvert  City.  The  latter  is  the  only  ship- 
ping point  on  the  raili-oad  in  the  county. 


IMartin  County,  the  youngest  county  in 
the  State  but  two,  was  created  in  18  <0, 
and  was  the  one  hundred  and  sixteenth  in 
the  order  of  formation.  It  drew  its  territory 
fr-om  Johnson,  Pike,  Floyd  and  Lawi-ence 
Counties,  and  was  naiiied  in  honor  of  Col. 
John  P.  Martin.  It  is  situated  in  the  east- 


618 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY 


ern  part  of  the  State,  and  has  for  its  northern 
boundary  Lawrence  County  and  the  State  of 
West  Virginia;  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the 
latter,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  the  Tug 
Fork  of  the  Big  Sandy  River;  on  the  south 
by  Floyd  and  Pike  Counties;  on  the  west  by 
Johnson  and  Lawrence  Counties,  and  in  1880 
it  had  a poiDulatiou  of  3,057.  The  water 
courses  are,  besides  the  Tug  Fork,  Rock- 
castle, Wolf  and  Daniel’s  Creeks.  The 
county  is  broken  and  mountainous,  but  has 
some  rich  creek  and  river  bottoms,  which  are 
very  rich  and  productive.  In  1880  it  pro- 
duced corn,  104,527  bushels;  oats,  3,817; 
wheat,  1,431,  and  a very  little  tobacco. 

Warheld,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  a small 
place,  situated  on  the  Tug  Fork,  and  has 
some  200  inhabitants.  Steamboats  proceed 
thus  far  up  the  river  in  good  stages  of  water.  | 
Coal  and  salt  are  shipped  in  large  quantities 
from  here  in  llatboats  and  barges.  Peter 
Cave  and  Inez  are  small  places  in  the  county. 

Col.  John  P.  Martin,  from  whom  the 
county  receives  its  name,  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia in  1811,  and  died  in  Prestonburg,  Ky., 
in  1862,  scarcely  past  the  prime  of  life.  He 
held  numerous  public  positions,  and  served 
several  terms  in  the  Legislature  and  in  Con- 
gress; was  a candidate  for  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor in  1848,  but  was  defeated  by  John  L. 
Helm;  was  a delegate  to  the  Democratic 
convention  that  nominated  James  Buchanan 
and  John  C.  Breckinridge  for  President  and 
Vice-President  in  1856.  No  man,  perhaps, 
wielded  a greater  influence  in  the  mountains 
of  Kentucky  than  Col.  Martin,  and  none  was 
more  popular  with  the  masses. 


Mason  County  was  established  by  the 
Legislature  of  Virginia  before  Kentucky  be- 
came a State.  It  was  formed  in  1788,  and 
was  the  eighth  in  the  order  of  organization. 
Mr.  Collins  gives  the  following  sketch  of  its 
formation : 

It  was  formed  out  of  all  that  part  of  the  theu 
county  of  Bourbon  which  lay  to  the  northeast  of 
Licking  River,  from  its  mouth  to  its  source  : thence 

a direct  line  to  the  nearest  point  on  the  Vir- 
ginia State  line,  and  couniy  line  of  Russell  ; thence 
along  said  line  to  the  Big  Sandy  River,  down  that 
river  to  the  Ohio,  and  down  the  Ohio  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Licking— embracing  all  the  territory  out  of 
which  have  been  formed  (wholly  or  in  part)  the 
following  counties;  Campbell  (part),  in  1794;  Brack- 
en, in  1796;  Fleming  and  part  of  Pendleton,  in 
1798;  part  of  Floyd  and  i>art  of  Nicholas,  in  1799; 
Greenup,  in  1803;  Lewis,  in  1806;  Lawrence  and 
part  of  Pike,  in  1821:  part  of  Morgan,  in  1822; 
Carter,  in  1838;  Johnson,  in  1843;  Rowan,  in  18.16; 
Boyd  and  Magoffin,  in  1860;  Robertson,  in  1867; 
Elliott,  in  1869,  and  Martin,  in  1870 — nineteen  in 
all. 


Mason  County  lies  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  State,  and  as  at  present  limited 
is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  State  of  Ohio , 
from  which  it  is  separated  by  the  Ohio  River; 
on  the  east  by  Lewis  County ; on  the  south  by 
Fleming ; on  the  west  by  Robertson  and 
Bracken,  and  in  1880  it  had  a population  of 
20,469.  It  is  drained  by  the  Ohio  River,  and 
the  following  streams  which  How  into  it: 
Limestone,  Beasley,  Kennedy,  Lawi'ence, 
Bull,  Cabin,  Lee’s,  etc.,  and  the  North  Fork 
of  the  Licking,  with  the  tributaries — Shan- 
non, Wells,  Bracken  and  Mill  Creeks.  The 
face  of  the  country  alternates  between  roll- 
ing, undulating,  broken  and  hilly,  with  a 
rich  and  fertile  soil — much  of  it  being  the 
finest  of  blue-grass  land  and  highly  product- 
ive, as  shown  by  the  report  of  1880;  corn, 
1,011,105  bushels;  oats,  20,706;  wheat,  385,- 
347,  and  tobacco,  6, 261,385  pounds.  It  is 
also  a stock  producing  county,  1880  showing 
4, 890  horses,  936  mules,  9, 574  cattle,  7, 446 
sheep,  and  26,824  hogs.  Mason  County 
tobacco  has  a reputation  unsurpassed  by  any 
tobacco  produced  in  the  State,  and  but  few 
counties  produce  more  hemp. 

Among  the  white  visitors  to  the  original 
Mason  County,  and  who  visited  it  prior  to  the 
first  permanent  settlement  were,  first,  Chris- 
topher Gist,*  and  a boy,  in  the  early  spring 
of  1751.  The  next  whites,  and  the  first  white 
females,  were  Mrs.  Mary  Inglis  and  a German 
woman,  who  had  been  captured  by  the  In- 
dians, and  were  making  their  escape  in  1756. 
The  next  were  a company  of  adventurers  and 
explorers  in  1773.  Capt.  Thos.  Bullitt  and 
the  McAfee  company,  frequently  mentioned 
in  this  work,  were  also  here  for  a short  time, 
in  1773.  Another  company  often  visited  the 
county  in  1773,  under  Capts.  Thomas  Young 
and  John  Hedges,  and  camped  for  several 
days  where  Maysville  now  stands.  In  1774 
William  McConnell  was  in  the  county,  and 
several  companies  of  explorers  and  improvers. 
In  1776  great  numbers  of  visitors  flocked  to 
the  county,  but  it  was  not  until*  several  years 
later  that  a permanent  settlement  was  made. 

Kenton’s  Station  was  established  in  July, 
1784.  It  had,  however,  been  used  as  a camp 
by  Kenton  eight  or  ten  years  before,  perhaps 
about  1775.  This  station  was  located  some 
three  miles  southwest  of  Maysville,  and 
one  mile  north  of  Washington.  This  was 
one  of  the  important  sections  in  the  early 
times,  and  Maysville  (Limestone)  was  one  of 

*Christopher  Gist,  frequently  mentioned  in  this  work,  was 
sent  out  by  the  Ohio  Company,  to  hunt  up  their  lands,  measure 
the  breadth  in  several  places,  and  fix  the  beginning  and  bounds 
in  such  a manner  that  they  may  be  easily  found  again  by  the 
description.  While  encaged  in  this  work,  as  shown  by  his 
journal,  he  visited  many  spots  in  Kentucky. — \^Collins,  Vol.II,  p. 
548.J 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


619 


the  earliest  known  points  in  Kentucky,  and 
hence  is  fully  treated  of  in  the  pioneer  history 
of  the  State. 

Maysyille,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  on 
the  Ohio  Riyer,  sixty-one  miles  aboye  Cincin- 
nati, 193  above  Louisville,  and  sixty-five 
miles  fi’om  Lexington  by  rail.  It  was  origi- 
nally called  Limestone,  and  was  established  by 
an  act  of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  in  1787. 
It  bore  the  name  of  Limestone  for  several 
years  and  was  then  changed  to  Maysville,  in 
honor  of  John  May,  one  of  the  original  pro- 
prietors of  the  land  upon  which  the  town 
stands.  The  location  is  a beautiful  one,  being 
a bank  or  table-land  above  high  water  mark, 
and  is  handsomely  built,  with  a population  by 
the  last  census  of  5,220.  It  is  the  noidhern 
terminus  of  the  Maysville  division  of  the 
Kentucky  Central  Railroad. 

Maysville,  for  a number  of  years  after  it 
was  laid  out,  was  somewhat  retarded  in  its 
growth  by  Washington — a town  that  com- 
pletely overshadowed  it.  In  1848  it  (Mays- 
ville) became  the  county  seat,  and  since 
then  its  growth  and  its  prosperity  have 
steadily  increased.  It  has  a brick  court- 
house, with  fireproof  offices  attached;  a num- 
ber of  handsome  churches,  good  schools,  an 
exceptionally  able  press,  a large  mercantile 
trade  and  the  usual  manufacturing  interests, 

Washington  was  one  of  the  old  towns  of  the 
State,  and  was  originally  laid  out  in  1785, 
and  the  next  year  was  regularly  established 
by  an  act  of  the  Virginia  Legislature.  It 
was  the  seat  of  justice  from  the  organization 
of  the  county  iintil  1848  when  Maysville  suc- 
ceeded to  that  honor.  It  was  designed  for  a 
city  of  “ vast  proportions,  ” its  original  plat 
containing  about  700  acres,  a rather  large 
foundation  for  a town  a hundred  years  ago 
in  the  wilds  of  Kentucky.  It  was  long  one 
of  the  principal  places  in  the  State,  and  as  it 
was  established  about  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  and  given  the  illustrious  name 
of  Washington,  no  doubt  its  founders  and 
projectors  entertained  aspirations  of  its  some 
day  becoming  the  national  capital.  But  with 
the  removal  of  the  county  seat  to  Maysville, 
Washington  started  down  the  “slope  of  de- 
cline,” and  now,  in  the  midst  of  its  “parks 
an.d  streets  ’ ’ 

The  bat, 

Shrill  shrieking,  woos  its  flickering  mate. 

The  serpent  hisses  and  the  wild  bird  screams. 

The  census  reports  show  that  in  1790  it  had 
462  inhabitants;  1800  it  had  570,  and  in 
1810  it  had  815;  that  in  1870,  it  had  but  240 
— the  census  of  1880  not  giving  its  popula- 
tion separate  from  the  magisterial  district  in 
which  it  is  located. 


Charlestown  was  another  village  established 
by  the  Virginia  Legislature,  and  was  laid  out 
in  1787.  It  was  situated  on  the  Ohio  River 
at  the  mouth  of  Lawi’ence  Creek,  on  land  be- 
longing to  Ignatius  Mitchell.  It  is  one  of 
the  towns  that  never  amounted  to  much,  ex- 
cept— on  paper.  Other  towns,  villages,  sta- 
tions and  postoffices  are  Dover,  a town  of 
considerable  importance,  Germantown.  Hel- 
ena. Lewisburg,  Minerva,  Mount  Gilead, 
Mayslick,  Marshall,  Murphyville,  North 
Fork.  Rectorville,  Sardis,  Tuckahoe,  etc. 

Mayslick  in  early  times  was  a place  of 
considerable  note.  It  was  at  first  called 
“May’s  Lick”  or  “ May’s  Spring;”  the  latter 
name  was  attached  to  it  on  account  of  a large 
spring  adjacent,  and  the  former  for  its  being 
a deer  ancl  bufl’alo  lick.  It  was  located  on 
lands  belonging  to  John  May,  and  was  named 
for  him.  It  was  twelve  miles  from  Maysville, 
and  just  when  it  was  laid  out  is  not  definitely 
known,  but  as  early  perhaps  as  1790;  in  1880 
it  had  355  inhabitants,  but  other  towns  grow- 
ing up  around  it  have  deprived  it  of  much  of 
its  former  glory  and  prosperity. 

George  Mason,  John  May,  Gen.  Albert 
Sidney  Johnston,  Judge  Adam  Beatty,  Judge 
i Walker  Reid,  Gov.  John  Chambers,  the  Col- 
linses, Col.  James  C.  Pickett,  Maj.-Gen. 
Thomas  S.  Jesup,  Judge  Lorin  Andi’ews, 
Judge  William  McClung,  Rev.  John  A.  Me 
Clung,  Col.  William  Henry  Wadsworth, 
Judge  Elijah  C.  Phister,  Gen.  William  Nel- 
son, Dr.  Daniel  Drake,  Aaron  H.  Corwine, 
Judge  John  Cobun,  Col.  Devall  Payne,  Dr. 
Basil  Duke,  Col.  Alexander  D.  Orr,  Capt. 
Thomas  Marshall,  Alexander  K.  Marshall, 
Gen.  Henry  Lee,  Capt.  Isaac  Baker,  Col. 
Timothy  Downing  and  Capt.  James  Ward, 
ai’e  among  those  whose  names  are  inscribed 
upon  the  roll  of  Mason  County’s  greatness. 
Space  will  not  permit  a notice  of  all  these  in 
this  chapter.  Mason  and  May,  the  first  two 
mentioned,  and  for  whom  the  county  and 
county  seat  were  named,  the  one  a pioneer 
and  the  other  a statesman,  could  scarcely  be 
called  citizens  of  the  county.  Mason  never 
came  to  Kentucky  to  live,  but  was  a promi- 
nent statesman  of  Virginia  and  the  compeer 
of  Jefferson,  Madison  and  Patrick  Henry. 
May  came  to  Mason  County,  and  owned  con- 
siderable lands,  among  which  was  that  Mays- 
ville and  Mayslick  were  located  on.  He 
was  killed  by  the  Indians  on  a boat  descend- 
ing the  Ohio,  in  1790,  a circumstance  men- 
tioned in  a preceding  chapter.  Gen.  Nelson 
and  Gen.  J ohnston  receive  due  notice  in  the 
war  history,  where  both  figured  conspicuously. 

The  Collins  family  is  a prominent  one  in 
this  portion  of  the  State.  Judge  Lewis  Col- 


620 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


lins  was  born  December  25,  1797,  in  the 
present  county  of  Fayette.  He  learned  the 
printing  business  and  in  1820  became  editor 
and  proprietor  of  the  Maysville  Eagle.  He 
edited  and  published  the  first  edition  of  Col- 
lins’ “ History  of  Kentucliy.  ” He  died  at  Lex- 
ington January  29,  1870,  aged  seventy-two 
years.  Many  of  the  names  given  above  were 
residents  of  the  county  but  a short  time, 
while  many  of  the  others  have  been  noticed 
elsewhere. 


McCeacken  County  lies  in  the  western  part 
of  the  State  in  the  “ Jackson  Purchase,”  and 
was  organized  in  1824.  It  was  the  seventy- 
eighth  county  in  the  order  of  formation  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  and  northeast  by  the  Ohio 
and  Tennessee  Rivers,  on  the  east  by  Mar- 
shall County,  on  the  south  by  Graves  County, 
on  the  west  by  Ballard  County,  and  in  1880 
it  had  a population  of  16,262  inhabitants. 
It  is  drained  by  streams  flowing  into  the  Mis- 
sissippi, Ohio  and  Tennessee  Rivers ; into  the 
former,  Mayfield  Creek;  into  the  Ohio,  Wil- 
low, Massac,  Newton’s  and  Perkins’  Creeks 
and  Spring  Bayou,  and  into  the  Tennessee 
River  the  Clark  River  and  Island  Creek.  The 
face  of  the  country  partakes  something  of 
the  nature  of  the  prairies  inasmuch  as  it  is 
level  and  almost  entirely  without  stone,  but 
differing  from  the  prairies  in  that  it  is  heavily 
timbered.  Tobacco  is  the  great  staple,  but 
grain  and  stock  are  extensively  produced, 
showing;  corn,  483,776  bushels;  oats,  30,- 
677 ; wheat,  64, 549 ; tobacco,  2,419,825  pounds ; 
horses  and  mules,  3,230;  cattle,  3,875;  sheep, 
2,282,  and  hogs,  16,058.  In  addition  to  river 
transportation  the  county  has  the  benefit  of 
the  Chesapeake,  Ohio  & Southw'estern  Rail- 
road, or  as  now  called  the  ‘‘Newport  News 
& Mississippi  Valley  Railway.” 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  McCracken 
Coimty  were  Charles  Ferguson,  John  Rollins 
and  James  Davis,  who  settled  near  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Paducah  about  1820-21;  near 
the  old  town  of  Wilmington,  Luke  Swetman, 
Dr.  J.  D.  Martin,  Braxton  Small,  Frederick 
Harper,  William  Titsworth,  John  Webb  and 
others  settled  between  1820  and  1825.  About 
the  same  time,  or  a little  later,  other  settle- 
ments were  made  in  different  parts  of  the 
county. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Paducah  were  a number 
of  what  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been 
Indian  mounds,  but  most  probably  were  re- 
mains of  the  prehistoric  inhabitants,  who,  from 
all  the  relics  and  remains  left  of  them,  were 
numerous  in  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Val- 
leys. Silver  and  lead  ore  are  believed  to 


exist  and  the  latter  has  been  found,  but  not 
• in  paying  quantities.  A number  of  mineral 
springs  are  in  different  parts  of  the  county. 
A spring  on  Massac  Creek  is  said  to  possess 
strong  medicinal  properties. 

In  the  absence  of  solid  beds  of  freestone  and 
limestone  for  constructions  in  the  quarternary  form- 
ation, a substitute  is  found  in  the  so-called 
“Cement  Rock.”  This  has  been  formed  or  is 
forming  by  the  infiltration  of  chalybeate  waters 
through  the  gravel  which  underlies  the  fine  loams 
and  marls  of  this  region — cementing  it  into  a fer- 
ruginous conglomerate  which  can  be  used  for  under- 
pinning, walling  up  wells,  and  similar  purposes. 
Near  the  mouth  of  the  Clark  River  it  occurs  in 
considerable  quantity,  and  can  lie  observed  in  the 
process  of  formation  ; near  Ballard’s  Ford  are 
immense  masses  of  the  same  kind  of  rock.  It  has 
also  been  observed  at  Robb’s  Mill,  Kenton’s  farm, 
on  Perkin’s  Creek,  five  miles  from  Paducah.  At 
Robb’s  Mill  are  solid  ledges  of  hard  ferruginous 
and  ctuartzose  sandstone  in  the  high  ground  south- 
east of  Mr.  Robb’s  house,  which  ]u'obably  belong 
to  the  age  of  the  Millstone  grit  series.  Masses  of 
the  same  material  exist  also  along  the  waters  of 
the  Clark  River  and  Mayfield  Creek.  (Geological 
Survey.) 

Paducab,  tlie  present  seat  of  justice  of 
McCracken  County,  is  beautifully  situated 
on  the  Ohio  River,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ten- 
nessee, forty-seven  miles  above  Cairo,  111., 
322  below  Louisville  by  way  of  the  river, 
and  225  by  the  Chesapeake,  Ohio  & South- 
western Railroad.  In  point  of  population 
it  is  the  fifth  city  in  the  State,  having,  by 
the  last  census,  8,036  inhabitants.  It  was 
laid  out  and  platted  May  26,  1827,  for  Will- 
iam Clark,  of  St.  Louis,  to  whom  the  land 
belonged  on  which  it  is  located.  It  was  in- 
corporated in  1830  as  a town,  and  in  1856 
as  a city.  Its  founders,  no  doubt,  intended 
it  as  a great  commercial  and  manufacturing 
center,  from  its  advantageous  location  on  the 
Ohio  and  Tennessee  Rivers,  and  contiguity 
to  the  Cumberland,  Mississippi,  Wabash, 
etc.  Although  its  railroad  facilities  are  lim- 
ited it  does  not  lack  in  the  water  transporta- 
tion. It  is  one  of  the  prettiest  towns  on 
the  Ohio  River,  having  broad  and  eleg&nt 
streets,  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles, 
and  upon  which  stand  many  handsome  build- 
ings. It  is  perhaps  the  finest  tobacco  mar- 
ket in  the  State  outside  of  Louisville.  It 
has  a substantial  courthouse,  a handsome 
government  building,  a new  city  hall,  an  able 
press,  many  magnificent  churches,  palatial 
residences,  good  schools,  and  the  usual 
amount  of  manufacturing  industries.  Of  the 
name  of  the  town,  a late  writer  says: 

Concerning  the  origin  of  the  name  Paducah 
(spelled  “ Paduca”  in  the  act  of  the  General 
Assembly  fixing  it  as  the  county  seat),  several 
theories  are  advanced  ; but  the  one  whicu,  owing 
to  its  romantic  character,  seems  to  have  com- 
mended itself  most  thoroughly  to  popular  credence. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


621 


is  the  doctrine  that  in  the  olden  time  an  Indian 
chief  was  buried  on  the  banks  of  the  Tennessee, 
near  the  present  Jersey,  a suburb,  and  that  his 
name  was  given  to  the  beautiful  town.  The  ro- 
mance which  surrounds  this  hypothesis  will  not 
be  willingly  sacrificed  b}'  the  average  Paducahian. 

'Wilmington,  the  original  county  seat,  was 
situated  about  ten  miles  nearly  clue  west 
from  Paducah  and  was  laid  out  in  1827.  Pub- 
lic buildings  were  erected,  and  it  continued 
as  the  seat  of  justice  until  1832,  when  by 
an  act  of  the  Legislature  the  county  seat 
was  removed  to  Paducah,  and  the  glory  of 
Wilmington  departed  forever.  Other  towns, 
stations  and  postoffices  in  the  county  are 
Woodville,  Bond  Station,  Massac,  Belgrade 
Landing,  Norton’s  Bluff,  Gum  Spring, 
Maxon’s  Mill,  Collier’s  and  Florence  Sta- 
tion. 

The  county  was  named  for  Capt.  Yirgil 
McCracken,  a native  Kentuckian.  He  was 
born  in  Woodford  County,  and  grew  up 
amid  the  dangers  and  perils  of  the  early 
times  in  Kentucky.  In  the  war  of  1812 
he  raised  a company  of  riflemen,  joined 
Col.  John  Allen's  regiment,  and  in  the  fatal 
battles  of  the  River  Raisin  met  the  fate  of 
a large  proportion  of  the  members  of  that 
ill-fated  regiment. 


McLean  County  was  organized  in  1854,  and 
was  the  one  hundi'ed  and  third  in  the  order  of 
formation.  It  was  taken  from  Daviess,  Ohio 
and  Muhlenburg  Counties,  and  named  in  honor 
of  Judge  Alney  McLean.*  It  is  situated  in 
the  western  part  of  the  State,  and  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Daviess  County  ; on  the  east 
by  Ohio;  on  the  south  by  Muhlenburg;  on 
the  west  by  Hopkins  and  W’ebster;  and  in 
1880  it  had  9, 223  inhabitants.  It  is  watered 
and  drained  by  the  Green  and  Pond  Rivers, 
and  by  Long  Falls,  Big  Brushy  Fork,  Cypress, 
Yellow,  Buck,  Abe’s  and  Delaware  Creeks, 
etc.  A portion  of  the  county  is  undulating, 
and  a portion  level  (that  known  as  the  ‘ ‘ Green 
River  flats”),  and  upon  the  whole,  is  a tine 
tobacco  producing  section.  Grain  and  stock 
also  receive  considerable  attention.  The 
agricultural  report  of  1880  showed  the  fal- 
lowing: Corn,  542,349  bushels;  oats,  45,752; 
wheat,  69,643;  tobacco,  3,729,616  pounds; 
horses  and  mules,  3,548;  cattle,  3,875;  sheep, 

*Judge  McLean  was  a native  of  North  Carolina,  but  came  to 
Kentucky  in  1805  and  commenced  the  practice  of  law  at  Green- 
ville, in  Muhlenburg  County.  He  served  several  terms  in  the 
Legislature  ; was  a captain  in  the  war  of  1812  ; a representative 
in  Congress  two  terms  ; a Presidential  Elector  in  1824,  and  cast 
his  vote  for  Henry  Clay ; again,  in  1832,  was  elector  for  the  State 
at  large,  and  again  voted  for  Henry  Clay.  He  was  appointed 
circuit  judge  and  held  the  position  for  many  years. 


4,269,  and  17,738  hogs.  The  county  has 
the  advantage  of  both  railroad  and  river 
transportation. 

The  first  settlers  of  McLean  County  prob- 
ably were  Solomon  Rhoads,  who  built  a fort 
or  station  where  Calhoon  now  stands,  in  1788, 
and  James  Inman,  who  built  Pond  Station  in 
1790,  and  their  companions.  The  former 
station  w'as  called  Vienna.  In  1790  a party 
of  hunters  and  trappers  from  it  were  en- 
camped near  the  mouth  of  the  Green  River, 
engaged  in  hunting  and  trapping,  when  they 
were  attacked  by  Indians,  and  a man  named 
McElmurray  killed;  a lad,  IVilliam  Faith, 
seventeen  years  old,  was  wounded,  but  made 
his  escape  to  the  fort. 

Calhoon,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  sitaated  on 
the  Green  River,  a little  north  of  the  center 
of  the  county,  and  was  named  for  Judge  John 
Calhoon.  for  many  years  a circuit  judge  in 
this  section  of  the  State,  and  who  served  two 
terms  in  Congress.  The  town  has  the  usual 
public  buildings,  churches,  schools  and  gen- 
eral business.  In  1880  it  had  484  inhabi- 
tants. Livermore,  the  second  largest  town 
in  the  county,  is  situated  on  the  Green  River, 
where  the  Owensboro  division  of  the  Louis- 
ville & Nashville  Railroad  crosses  it.  It  has 
399  inhabitants,  and  is  an  excellent  business 
point.  Rumsey  is  situated  on  the  Green 
River  opposite  Calhoon,  and  is  a place  of  204 
inhabitants.  Sacramento,  ten  miles  nearly 
west  of  Calhoon,  has  172  inhabitants,  and  is 
noted  for  having  been  the  scene  of  a sharp 
skirmish  during  the  late  war  between  a por- 
tion of  the  Third  Kentucky  (Federal)  Cavalry, 
commanded  by  Col.  Eli  H.  Murray,  and  a 
detachment  of  F orrest' s cavalry,  commanded 
by  the  famous  chieftain  himself.  The  Federal 
troops  were  rather  worsted  in  the  engage- 
ment. Other  villages  and  postoffices  are  Belle- 
view,  Beech  Grove,  Bremen,  'Worthington, 
'Wrightsburg,  Daviessville,  etc. 

The  coal  supply  of  McLean  County  is  de- 
scribed in  the  following  extract ; 

la  the  northeast  part  of  the  county,  at  Mr. 
Samuel’s  on  Deer  Creek,  six  miles  above  its  mouth, 
these  coals  occur  in  a distance  or  eighty  feet — the 
upper  two  and  a half  feet,  and  the  lower,  a thick 
coal  struck  at  the  bottom  of  the  boring,  reported  five 
feet  or  more;  the  intermediate  coal  is  thin,  only  one 
and  a half  feet,  and  lies  about  eight  feet  above  the 
main  coal.  Toward  the  mouth  of  Cypress  Creek, 
dark  shales  andiron  stones— including  a bed  of  coal 
two  and  a half  feet  thick — basset  in  the  banks  of 
that  stream.  On  the  right  bank  of  the  Green  River, 
at  the  Livermore  landing,  fifteen  feet  of  black  shale 
appear,  overlaid  by  ten  feet  of  light  graj'  shale, 
with  clay  ironstone;  under  the  black  shale  there  is 
said  to  be  an  eighteen-inch  coal  under  the  bed  of 
the  river.  These  shales,  ironstones  and  coal  are  sup- 
posed to  be  of  the  same  date  as  those  seen  near  low 
water  of  the  Ohio  River,  at  Coal  Haven  and  also 
near  the  head  of  French  Island. — Geological  Survey. 


622 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Meade  County  was  organized  in  1823,  and 
was  the  seventy-sixth  formed  in  the  common- 
wealth. It  was  taken  from  Breckinridge  and 
Hardin  Counties,  and  named  in  honor  of  Capt. 
James  Meade,  a gallant  soldier,  who  at  the 
head  of  his  command  fell  in  the  battle  of  the 
River  Raisin.  It  lies  on  the  Ohio  River, 
which  forms  its  northern  boundary,  with 
Hardin  County  on  the  east;  Hardin  and 
Breckinridge  on  the  south,  and  Breckinridge 
on  the  west.  By  the  last  census  (1880),  it 
had  a population  of  10, 323.  The  principal 
water  courses  are  tributaries  of  the  Ohio, 
viz. : Otter  Creek,  Doe  Run,  W olf  and  Spring 
Creeks.  A portion  of  the  river  front  is  rich 
bottom,  on  which  are  some  line  farms.  A large 
area  is  composed  of  ‘ ‘ barrens  ’ ’ and  is  rich 
and  productive.  Like  all  the  river  counties, 
there  are  steep  and  rugged  hills  in  certain 
sections,  which  are  rich  in  the  mineral  wealth 
hidden  in  their  bosoms. 

Settlements  were  made  in  what  is  now 
Meade  County  early — but  not  for  years  after 
forts  and  stations  were  established  in  the 
present  territory  of  Breckinridge  and  Hardin 
Counties.  Among  the  early  settlers  of  Meade 
was  a family  of  Boones,  the  Fairleighs,  Ash- 
crafts, Moormans,  Woolfolks,  Richardsons, 
Mimps,  Dowells,  etc  Most  of  these  families 
still  have  representatives  in  the  county. 

Brandenburg,  the  capital  of  Meade  County, 
is  situated  on  the  Ohio  River  about  forty 
miles  below  Louisville.  It  is  a small  town 
of  587  inhabitants,  but  sits  as  boldly  and 
proirdly  upon  the  Ohio  River  bluffs  as  Rome 
upon  her  seven  hills.  Historical  importance 
attaches  to  it  as  being  the  place  where  Gen. 
John  H.  Morgan,  the  noted  Confederate 
raider,  crossed  the  Rubicon  (the  Ohio  River) 
to  his  fate.  It  was  named  for  Solomon  Bran- 
denburg, the  proprietor  of  the  ‘ • hills  ’ ’ upon 
which  it  stands.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  busi- 
ness points  on  the  Ohio  River  between  Louis- 
ville and  Owensboro  and  annually  ships  large 
quantities  of  tobacco,  grain  and  live  stock. 

Big  Spring  is  a small  village  situated  about 
equally  in  Meade,  Hardin  and  Breckinridge 
Counties.  It  receives  its  name  from  a re- 
markable spring  near  the  center  of  the  town, 
which  bursts  forth  from  the  earth  in  a volume 
of  sufficient  force  to  operate  a large  mill, 
flows  a hundred  or  two  yards  and  then  sinks 
into  the  ground  to  appear  again,  perhaps,  as 
a part  of  Sinking  Creek — that  peculiar  stream 
mentioned  in  the  sketch  of  Breckinridge 
County.  Other  villages  and  postoffices  in  the 
county  are  Garnettsville,  Concordia,  Rock 
Haven,  Grahampton,  Garrett,  Paineville, 
Booneport,  Little  York,  Meadeville,  Staple- 
ton,  etc. 


There  are  plenty  of  natural  wonders  in 
Meade  County;  caves,  hills,  knobs,  groves, 
etc. , are  distributed  over  the  entire  surface. 
Of  the  hills  and  groves  has  been  published 
the  following: 

The  Indian  Hill  on  Otter  Creek,  Jennie’s  Knob, 
Bee  Knob,  Buck  Grove,  Jacke}"’s  Grove,  Hill  Grove, 
Indian  Grove  and  Hogback  Grove — these  places  lie 
very  nearly  in  a range  a few  miles  back  or  south 
of  the  Ohio,  and  stretch  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Salt  River  to  the  mouth  of  Sinking  Creek 
(in  Breckinridge  County),  a distance  of  forty 
miles  by  land  and  about  eighty  miles  by  the 
river.  These  knobs  and  groves  being  well  known 
to  many  individuals  before  the  settlement  of  the 
county,  especially  to  the  spies,  they  became  points 
of  observation  with  a view  of  detecting  the 
approach  of  Indians  and  giving  the  alarm  to  the 
settlements  in  Hardin  County.  (Hardin  County 
then  embraced  a large  extent  of  territory.  See 
historical  sketch.)  The  spies  sent  out  from  these 
settlements  were  directed  to  traverse  the  country 
lying  between  the  Salt  River  and  Sinking  Creek, 
these  knobs  and  groves  serving  as  places  of  obser- 
vation. and  giving  direction  of  their  course;  and 
thereby  they  were  enabled  to  discover  the  trails 
of  the  Indians  as  soon  as  they  crossed  the  Ohio 
River  on  their  route  to  attack  the  settlements. 
In  this  way  the  Indians  were  generally  discovered 
and  routed,  and  the  settlements  protected  against 
their  incursions. 

Meade  County  is  rich  in  mineral  wealth 
and  material  resources.  The  geological  for- 
mations indicate  hidden  wealth  almost  beyond 
conception.  The  salt  district  is  rich  and  ex- 
tensive. It  comprises  an  area  of  from  3,000 
to  4,000  acres,  fronting  on  the  river  four  or 
five  miles  and  extending  back  some  two 
miles.  Salt  was  discovered  during  the  early 
oil  excitement  in  prospecting  for  that  now 
valuable  article  of  traffic.  In  boring  foi 
petroleum,  salt  water  was  found  in  sufficient 
quantity  and  quality  as  finally  to  induce  per- 
sons to  undertake  its  manufacture.  Natural 
gas  flowed  in  such  volumes  from  the  salt 
wells  as  to  prove  far  more  than  sufficient  fuel 
to  manufacture  the  salt.  The  only  salt  wells 
utilized  so  far  belong  to  Alonzo  Moorman, 
Esq.,  and  are  not  worked  to  their  full  capac- 
ity. They  yield,  with  very  little  effort, 
about  twenty  barrels  of  salt  per  day,  and  no 
other  fuel  than  the  gas  is  used  in  its  manu- 
facture. J.  E.  Moorman’s  large  flouring- mill, 
with  a capacity  of  from  seventy-five  to  one 
hundred  barrels  of  flour  per  day,  is  run  by 
the  gas  from  the  same  wells.  A company 
has  recently  (in  1886)  been  incorporated  by 
the  Legislature,  styled  the  ‘ ‘ Economic  Heat- 
ing Company,”  with  a capital  of  $1,000,000, 
for  the  purpose  of  utilizing  this  gas  by  means 
of  large  mains  to  Louisville  for  manufactur- 
ing purposes.  The  salt  district  is  east  of 
Brandenburg. 

"West  of  the  salt  district  and  below  Bran- 
denburg, fronting  on  the  river  for  a distance 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


623 


of  some  eighteen  miles,  is  found  the  richest  de- 
posit, perhaps,  of  oolite  in  the  United  States. 
The  Kentucky  Carbonate  Company  erected 
works  on  the  grounds  some  years  ago,  at  a 
cost  of  §10,000,  for  the  manufacture  from 
this  stone  of  whiting  and  marble  dust.  The 
whiting  is  used  for  making  putty,  calcimin- 
ing,  making  paints,  etc.  The  marble  dust  is 
of  a superior  quality  and  is  sold  all  over  the 
United  States. 

Near  Garnettsville,  and  between  that  place 
and  the  river,  is  a deposit  of  white  sand,  ap- 
parently inexhaustible.  It  has  been  pro- 
nounced by  experts  to  be  of  a superior  quality 
for  making  glass.  Adjoining  the  oolite  de- 
posits, and  lying  in  Meade  and  Breckinridge 
Counties,  is  a district  embracing  from  75,000 
to  100,000  acres  known  as  ‘'Fruit  Eidge. ” 
It  is  the  finest  fr’uit- growing  region  In  the 
State,  and  one  of  the  finest  in  the  United 
States,  comprising  some  fine  fruit  farms. 
With  all  this  mineral  and  material  wealth, 
Meade  County  is  a fine  agricultm’al  section, 
and  can  show  some  magnificent  farms,  and  a 
large  area  of  fine  farming  lands.  Tobacco, 
corn,  wheat  and  oats  are  the  principal  crops. 
Stock-raising  receives  considerable  attention, 
and  is  yearly  growing  in  favor. 


Meniuee  Codxty  as  an  independent  organi- 
zation dates  only  to  1869,  and  was  the  one 
hundred  and  thu-teenth  county  in  the  State. 
It  was  made  up  of  clippings  from  Mont- 
gomery, Bath,  Wolf,  Morgan  and  Powell 
Counties,  and  is  situated  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  State.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Bath  and  Kowan  Counties,  on  the  east  by 
Morgan,  on  the  south  by  Wolf  and  Powell, 
on  the  west  by  Powell  and  Montgomery,  and 
in  1880  it  had  3,755  inhabitants.  Is  is  wa- 
tered by  the  Licking  and  Bed  Elvers,  and  by 
State,  Black  water  and  Beaver  Creeks.  The 
land  is  hilly  and  mountainous  and  mostly 
poor,  except  the  river  and  creek  bottoms, 
which  are  rich,  and  produce  tobacco,  corn, 
oats  and  wheat  in  large  quantities.  Eich 
deposits  of  coal  and  iron  ore  abound,  and  the 
county  is  well  timbered. 

Frenchburg,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  a small 
place  of  143  inhabitants  by  the  last  census, 
and  was  named  in  honor  of  Judge  Eichard 
French,  a popular  politician  in  his  day.  The 
town  is  situated  on  the  State  road  fr-om  Mt. 
Sterliug  to  Pound  Gap,  a little  north  of  the 
center  of  the  county.  It  has  the  usual  public 
buildings,  churches,  schools,  business,  etc. 
Eebelville  and  iMillville  are  small  villages  in 
the  county. 


Menifee  County  was  named  in  honor  of 
Eichard  H.  Menefee.  It  is  one  of  those 
counties,  the  name  of  which  is  spelled  differ- 
ently from  the  name  of  the  man  it  was  designed 
to  honor,  the  county  being  spelled  Menifee 
and  the  other  Menefee.  5Ir.  Menefee  was 
born  in  Bath  County  in  1810.  His  facilities 
for  instruction  were  limited,  but  by  energy 
and  perseverance  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
good  education.  He  studied  law,  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  and  soon  secured  a lucrative 
practice.  He  was  elected  to  the  LegislatiU’e 
and  served  several  terms,  and  when  twenty- 
seven  years  old  was  elected  to  Congress.  He 
served  but  one  term,  and  died  at  the  early 
age  of  thirty-one  years.  A few  years  before 
his  death  he  located  at  Lexington,  then  re- 
nowned for  the  brilliancy  of  its  bar;  he  was 
rapidly  amassing  a fortune,  when  death  cut 
short  his  career. 


Meecer  County  was  one  of  the  nine  coun- 
ties created  by  the  Yfrginia  Legislature  be- 
fore Kentucky  became  a State.  It  was  carved 
out  of  Lincoln  Cormty  in  1785,  and  was  the 
sixth  in  the  order  of  formation,  and  was 
named  for  Gen.  Hugh  Mercer,  a Eevolution- 
ary  officer  of  renown.  It  is  situated  in  the 
central  part  of  the  State,  and  is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  Anderson  County : on  the  east  by 
Woodford,  Jessamine  and  Garrard,  fr'om 
which  it  is  separated  by  the  Kentucln^  Eiver; 
on  the  south  by  Boyle,  on  the  west  by  W ashing- 
ton  and  Anderson,  and  in  1880  it  had  a pop- 
ulation of  14,142.  It  is  well  watered  and 
cfratned  by  the  Kentucky,  Dick’s  and  Salt 
Eivers,  and  by  Chaplin,  Jennings,  Eocky, 
McCoun’s,  Lyon’s  and  Thompson  Creeks. 
The  face  of  the  country  is  generally  level  or 
undulating,  the  land  good — some  of  it  very 
rich — and  the  country  a fine  agricultural 
region.  The  statistics  of  1880  are  as  follows ; 
corn.  856,933  bushels;  oats,  28,481;  wheat, 
168,936;  rye,  9,205;  horses  and  mules,  5,654 
head;  cattle,  8,074;  sheep,  16,258,  and  hogs, 
18,941,  The  county,  partaking  of  the  blue- 
grass  soil,  is  highly  improved,  and  shows 
some  as  fine  farms  as  there  are  in  the  State. 

Mercer  County  claims  the  honor  of  the  first 
actual  settlement  in  Kentucky.  Its  early  oc- 
cupation is  so  fully  given,  however,  in  the 
pioneer  history  of  preceding  chapters,  that 
a few  words  only  will  be  added.  Daniel 
Boone  spent  the  winter  of  1769-70  in  what 
is  now  Mercer  County,  in  a cave.  His  name 
was  cut  in  the  bark  of  a tree  near  the  mouth 
of  the  cave,  and  was  to  be  seen  there  for 
many  years,  even  after  the  war-cry  of  the 


624 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


savages  had  died  away.  Mr.  Collins  gives 
the  following  as  the  names  of  some  of  the 
settlers  here  previous  to  the  year  1786:  Har- 
rod,  Ray,  McAfee,  McGary,  Denton,  Hogan. 
Thompson,  Curry,  Adams,  Wood,  Haggin, 
McBride,  Mosby,  Smith,  Armstrong,  Bu 
chanan,  Cowan,  Field,  Jordan,  McCoun, 
Moore,  Prather,  Wilson,  Caldwell,  Irvine, 
Rice  and  Harbison. 

Harrodsburg,  the  oldest  town,  and  the  old- 
est county  seat  in  the  State  (it  was  the  county 
seat  of  Lincoln  and  then  of  Mercer)  is  situ- 
ated in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  county, 
and  is  thirty  miles  almost  due  south  of  Frank- 
fort. was  originally  laid  out  by  Capt. 
J ames  riarrod,  who,  with  a company  of  thirty- 
one  men,  penetrated  the  vast  and  gloomy  wil- 
derness, and  finally  made  his  way  to  the  spot 
where  the  town  stands,  in  May,  1774,  and 
camjDed  ‘ ‘ about  a hundi’ed  yards  below  the 
town  spring.  ’ ’ From  this  camp  he  explored 
the  surrounding  country,  and  about  ‘ ‘the  mid- 
dle of  June,  Capt.  Harrod  and  his  company 
agreed  to  lay  off  a town,  including  their  camj), 
and  extending  down  and  south  of  the  town 
branch;  and  proceeded  to  erect  a number  of 
cabins  on  their  respective  lots  of  one-half  acre 
and  a five-acre  out-lot.  The  town  thus  laid 
off  received  the  name  of  Harrodstown;  subse- 
quently it  was  called  Oldtown — and,  finally, 
its  present  name  of  Harrodsburg” — [Collins], 
Such  was  the  town  of  Harrodslsurg,  the 
pioneer  town  of  Kentucky.  Its  original  pro- 
prietor, James  Harrod,  and  his  tragic  death 
have  already  been  fully  described  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages  in  the  pioneer  history  of  the 
State. 

Harrodsburg  is  and  has  always  been  a fine 
educational  center.  It  was  the  site  of  Bacon 
College,  an  institution  originally  established 
at  Georgetown  under  the  auspices  of  the  Re- 
formed Church,  about  1836;  afterward  re- 
moved to  Harrodsburg,  and  finally  (in  1857) 
merged  into  the  Kentucky  University.  The 
Daughters’  College  is  a female  institution  of 
a high  order.  This,  with  an  excellent  system 
of  jurblic  schools,  still  secures  it  the  title  of  an 
educational  town.  There  are  a number  of 
handsome  church  buildings,  representing  the 
different  denominations;  the  streets  are 
adorned  by  many  elegant  residences,  thus 
making  the  town  a pleasant  one  in  which  to 
reside.  A substantial  courthouse  and  other 
public  buildings,  together  with  stores,  shops, 
etc.,  are  such  as  are  usually  found  in  towns 
of  this  size;  its  pojJulation  was  2,202  by  the 
last  census. 

Many  handsome  little  villages  are  to  be 
seen  in  the  county;  among  them  are  Bergen, 
Bohon,  Benton,  Cornishville,  Duncan,  Har- 


I rodsburg  Junction,  McAfee,  Nevada,  Oak 
Hill,  Rose  Hill,  Salvisa,  Pleasant  Hill  and 
Stewart.  These  have  from  300  inhabitants 
to  a single  store  and  postofifice.  The  follow- 
ing sketch  is  given  of  Pleasant  Hill  by  Col- 
lins: 

Pleasant  Hill,  or  Union  Village,  is  a small  village 
of  rare  beauty  and  neatness,  situated  on  a command- 
ing eminence  about  one  mile  from  the  Kentucky 
River,  on  the  turnpike  road  from  Lexington  to 
Harrodsburg  and  seven  miles  from  the  latter  place. 
It  belongs  exclusively  to  that  orderly  and  industri- 
ous society  called  “ Shakers,”  and  contained  in  1870 
a population  of  362,  divided  into  families  from  sixty 
to  eighty  each.  * * * * Their  main 

edifice  is  a large,  handsome  and  costly  structure, 
built  of  Kentucky  marble;  the  others,  generally,  are 
built  of  brick,  and  all  admirably  arranged  for  com- 
fort and  convenience.  The  internal  and  external 
arrangement  and  neatness  of  their  dwelling.s — the 
beauty  and  luxuriance  of  their  gardens  and  fields — 
the  method  and  economy  displayed  in  their  manu- 
facturing and  mechanical  establishments — their  or- 
derly and  flourishing  schools— their  sleek  and  well- 
fed  stock,  are  all  characteristic  of  this  singular  peo- 
ple, and  evidence  a high  degree  of  comfort  and 
prosperity. 

Many  of  the  pioneers  of  Mercer  County  were 
men  of  intellect,  and  became  prominent  in 
the  affairs  of  the  new  State,  and  these,  too, 
have  received  appropriate  mention,  and  any- 
thing said  here  would  be  a repetition. 

Mercer  County  is  not  devoid  of  interest  to 
the  student  or  the  scientist.  It  presents  a 
variety  of  scenery,  some  of  it  of  sufficient 
grandeur  to  inspire  the  poet  or  painter.  The 
beautiful  scenery  along  the  Kentucky  and 
Dick’ s Rivers  is  said  to  be  among  the  grand- 
est in  the  United  States.  A writer,  with  a 
vein  of  romance  in  his  nature,  says: 

Next  to  the  highlands  of  the  Hudson,  it  is  proba- 
bly unequaled  for  its  imposing  effect.  Those  tow- 
ering cliffs,  rising  in  perpendicular  walls  for  many 
hundred  feet  above-  the  beach,  variegated  by  marble 
strata  of  every  conceivable  thickness  and  color, 
overpower  the  beholder  with  a sense  of  Nature’s 
majesty.  They  look  like  the  battlements  of  a 
world,  standing  there  so  stern  and  erect  in  their 
massive  proportions,  and  as  we  gaze  upon  their 
bald  fronts,  against  which  the  storms  of  ages  have 
beaten,  we  can  almost  realize  the  fable  of  the  Ti- 
tans, and  suppose  they  have  been  thrown  up  in 
some  long-forgotten  battle  of  the  gods. 

There  were  a number  of  relics  of  the  pre- 
historic race  to  be  seen  here  when  the  whites 
first  came.  Ancient  towns  and  fortifications 
were  still  visible,  one  about  a mile  and  a 
half  above  Harrodsburg  on  the  Salt  River, 
and  another  on  the  same  stream  about  four 
miles  above.  The  remains  of  an  Indian  vil- 
lage were  also  discovered  near  the  Salt  River. 

Gabriel  Slaughter,  lieutenant-governor,  and 
governor  of  Kentucky,  was  a native  of  Vir- 
ginia. He  came  to  Kentucky  when  young 
and  settled  near  Harrodsburg,  and  his  place 
was  long  and  widely  known  as  “Traveler’s 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


625 


Rest.”  He  commanded  a regiment  of  Ken- 
tucky troops  in  the  memorable  battle  of  New 
Orleans,  and  distinguished  himself  for  gal- 
lantry. In  1816  he  was  elected  lieutenant- 
governor  on  the  ticket  with  George  Madison, 
klr.  Madison  died,  and  Col.  Slaughter  filled 
out  the  term  as  governor.  At  the  close  of  his 
term  of  office  he  retired  to  his  farm,  where  he 
died  in  1830,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years. 

Gen.  J ames  Ray,  Gen.  Robert  B.  McAfee, 
Capt.  Samuel  Daveiss  and  Joshua  Fry  were 
residents  of  this  county.  They  were  among 
the  pioneers,  were  the  descendants  of  pioneers, 
and  left  them  impress  upon  the  early  history 
of  central  Kentucky. 


Metcalfe  County,  as  a civil  division,  is 
of  recent  origin.  It  was  organized  in  1860, 
was  the  one  hundred  and  sixth  county,  and 
was  named  for  Gen.  Thomas  Metcalfe,  the 
tenth  governor  of  the  commonwealth.  It  lies 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Adair  and  Green 
Counties;  on  the  east  by  Adair  and  Cumber- 
land; on  the  south  by  Cumberland  and  Mon- 
roe; on  the  west  by  Barren,  and  in  1880  it 
had  9,423  inhabitants. 

All  the  surrounding  counties,  viz. : Adair, 
Mom'oe,  Cumberland,  Barren  and  Green, 
contributed  toward  its  formation,  and  it  is 
watered  and  drained  by  tributaries  of  the 
Little  Barren  River.  It  has  a diversity  of 
soil,  the  southern  part  being  hilly  and  broken, 
while  a large  part  of  the  county  is  undula- 
ting and  susceptible  of  the  highest  cultiva- 
tion. The  leading  crops  are  tobacco  and 
grain;  stock-raising,  beyond  the  home  de- 
mand, receives  little  attention. 

Edmonton,  the  county  seat,  is  but  a small 
place,  and  is  situated  near  the  center  of  the 
county.  It  has  the  usual  public  buildings, 
churches,  schools,  stores,  and  general  busi- 
ness. Other  towns,  postoffices,  etc.,  are 
Knob  Lick,  Cross  Plains,  Center,  Randolph, 
East  Fork,  Glover’s  Creek,  Rockland  Mills 
and  Willow  Shade. 

The  county,  being  of  such  recent  origin, 
has  but  little  history  as  a separate  munic- 
ipality. A thrilling  incident,  and  a tragical 
one,  the  hanging  of  an  innocent  man,  oc- 
curred in  that  portion  of  Barren  County 
stricken  off  in  the  formation  of  this,  and  is 
as  follows; 

Dr.  John  P.  Sanderson,  of  Mississippi,  here  to 
purchase  slaves  for  his  plantation,  was  murdered, 
and  John  C.  Hamilton,  a wealthy  citizen  of  this 
(then  Barren)  county,  was  arrested,  tried  and  hung 
for  the  murder.  In  all  the  history  of  criminal  law 
or  of  the  legal  profession,  there  never  was  a case. 


perhaps,  in  which  the  chain  of  circumstantial  evi- 
dence was  more  complete.  Hamilton  was  a stock 
trader  and  followed  the  business  of  bnying  stock  and 
driving  it  to  Mississippi  to  sell.  On  one  of  his  trips 
there  Dr.  Sanderson  accompanied  him  to  Kentucky, 
bringing  with  him  a large  sum  of  money.  He  was 
sick  when  he  arrived,  and  went  with  Hamilton  to 
his  father's,  where  he  remained  several  weeks  until 
he  recovered  his  heaith.  One  day  they  left  the 
house  together,  Sanderson  to  go  to  a neighboring 
count3-  to  attend  an  auction  sale  of  negroes,  and 
Hamilton  going  with  him  as  guide  nine  miles  of  the 
waj",  to  a certain  fork  of  the  road.  The  two  were 
seen  together  at  several  points  along  the  way,  the 
last  time  within  three-quarters  of  a mile  of  the 
fork  of  the  road.  It  was  the  last  time  Sanderson 
was  seen  alive.  His  horse  came  to  Hamilton’s 
riderless,  and  after  several  days  suspicions  were 
aroused  that  he  had  met  with  foul  pi"y-j- "'^rch 
was  made  for  him  and  his  bod>'  was  found  near  the 
fork  of  the  road  (where  he  and  Hamilton  had  been 
seen  together)  covered  with  brush.  His  hat  was 
found  near  by  in  a hollow  stump,  and  under  a log 
a pistol  was  discovered  with  the  hammer  broken. 
In  the  head  of  Sanderson  were  found  several  shot 
and  a piece  of  the  hammer  of  the  pistol.  Under 
the  lining  of  the  hat  was  found  a list  of  bank  bills 
— thirty-lhree  .$100  bills  on  a Mississippi  bank — 
their  numbers,  etc. 

Suspicion  finally  settled  on  Hamilton  and  he  was 
arrested.  The  circumstantial  evidence  was  con- 
vincing to  all,  and  j'et  it  was  but  circumstantial. 
The  bills  corresponding  with  the  list  in  the  dead 
man’s  hat  were  found  in  possession  of  Hamilton 
when  arrested;  it  was  shown  that  he  had  borrowed 
the  fatal  pistol  from  Coi.  Gorin,  of  Glasgow;  that 
the  shot  in  the  head  of  .Sanderson  corresponded  in 
size  with  those  purchased  a few  days  before  by 
Hamilton;  that  Hamilton’s  overalls,  covered  with 
blood,  were  found  concealed  in  his  father’s  barn. 
In  the  trial  of  Hamilton  he  was  defended  by  John 
Rowan,  one  of  the  ablest  law^'ers  of  the  Kentucky 
bar  in  that  day  of  intellectual  giants.  It  was  al- 
leged by  Hamilton  in  his  defense:  First,  that  for 
years  he  and  Sanderson  had  been  the  warmest  of 
friends.  Second,  that  they  had  traveled  for  days 
through  a wild  and  lonely  country  (they  had  trav- 
eled from  Mississippi  to  Kentucky,  on  horseback, 
through  what  was  then  termed  the  Indian  Nation,) 
and  if  he  had  thought  of  murdering  him  for  his 
money  he  would  not  have  waited  until  they  got  to 
Kentucky.  Third,  that  Mississippi  money  was  at  a 
discount  in  Kentucky,  and  Kentucky  monej''  at  a 
discount  in  jMississippi.  Fourth,  that  he  (Hamil- 
ton) being  about  to  return  to  Mississippi  where  he 
could  use  the  mouej'  of  that  State, had  exchanged  Dr. 
Sanderson’s  Kentucky  money  for  it,  who  wanted  to 
purchase  negroes  here.  He  even  proved  that  he 
borrowed  $1,000  from  the  bank  in  Glasgow  to  make 
up  the  sum.  The  pistol  he  alleged  he  borrowed 
from  Col.  Gorin  on  purpose  to  lend  to  Dr.  Sander- 
son, who  wanted  it  for  his  own  protection;  and  that 
his  negro  servant  had  stolen  his  overalls  to  wear  to 
a dance;  had  there  got  into  a fight,  hid  them  in  the 
barn  until  he  could  clean  the  blood  off  and  return 
them  to  their  place.  Strong  as  this  defense  seemed 
he  was  convicted  and  hung. 

For  more  than  fifty  years  the  stain  of  murder 
rested  upon  the  memory  of  Hamilton — at  least  in 
Kentucky — and  the  sequel  of  this  melancholj"  affair 
came  about  as  follows:  Hon.  Richard  H.  Rousseau  of 
Kentucky,  who  was  Minister  to  Central  America  in 
1869,  met  a Col.  Gibson  (a  rich  planter  living  near 
Vicksburg,  Miss.),  in  Honduras,  who  told  him  that 
several  years  prior  to  the  civil  war,  he  was  present 
at  the  execution  of  a man  in  Mississippi  for  murder 
and  heard  him  confess,  under  the  gallows,  to  the 
murder  of  Dr.  Sanderson  in  Kentucky.  He  detailed 

30 


626 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY". 


all  the  circumstances  ■with  sucli  accuracy  as  to  leave 
no  doubt  that  he  was  the  perpetrator  of  the  deed  for 
which  Hamilton  had  innocently  suffered.  Col. 
Gibson  requested  Mr. Rousseau  to  make  known  these 
facts  in  Kentucky,  and  lift  the  stigma  of  crime  from 
the  memory  of  an  innocent  man. 


Moneoe  County  was  established  in  1820, 
and  was  the  sixty-lifth  formed  in  the  State.  It 
was  carved  ont  of  portions  of  Barren  and 
Cumberland  and  was  named  in  honor  of 
James  Monroe,  then  president  of  the  United 
States,  and  just  re-elected  to  a second  term. 
It  lies  in  the  southern  tier  of  counties,  bor- 
dering on  the  Tennessee  line,  and  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Cumberland,  Barren  and 
Metcalfe  Counties;  on  the  east  by  Cumber- 
land ; on  the  south  by  the  State  of  Tennessee ; 
on  the  west  by  Allen  and  Barren  Counties, 
and  in  1880  it  had  a population  of  10,741. 
It  is  watered  and  drained  by  the  Big  Barren 
Elver;  the  Cumberland,  which  flows  through 
the  southeast  corner,  and  by  McFarlane, 
Line,  East  Fork,  Sulphur  Lick,  Long  Fork, 
Mill  and  Indian  Creeks.  In  its  natural  state 
the  county  was  heavily  timbered — oak,  pop- 
lar, beech  and  walnut  predominating.  Large 
quantities  of  walnut  and  poplar  logs  are  an- 
nually shipped  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  to 
other  places.  A part  of  the  county  is  level,  a 
part  undulating,  and  a part  broken  and  hilly, 
blit  all  more  or  less  productive.  Tobacco  and 
grain  are  raised  extensively,  and  are  the  prin- 
cipal crops,  the  statistics  of  1880  being  as 
follows:  corn  463,000  bushels,  oats  44,846, 
wheat  45,034,  and  tobacco  187,141  pounds; 
and  stock — -horses  and  mules  3,734  head,  cat- 
tle 5,566,  sheep  7,480,  and  hogs  15,990. 
The  county  has  no  railroad,  and  the  main 
channel  of  transportation  is  via  the  Cumber- 
land and  the  Big  Barren  Rivers. 

Tompkinsville,  the  capital  of  the  county, 
■was  laid  out  in  1819,  and  is  situated  on  Mill 
Creek,  nine  miles  from  the  Cumberland 
River.  As  Monroe  County  was  named  for  the 
then  President  of  the  United  States,  so  was 
its  seat  of  justice  named  for  Daniel  D.  Tom- 
kins, then  Vice-President.  It  was  laid  out 
on  the  land  of  Samuel  Marrs,  ‘ ‘ the  court- 
house, ’ ’ says  a writer,  ‘ ‘ being  on  the  spot 
■where  his  (Marr’s)  orchard  stood,”  but  leav- 
ing the  reader  in  the  dark  as  to  whether  or 
not  it  covered  the  entire  ground  occupied 
by  the  orchard.  In  1830  it  had  220  inhabi- 
tants, and  in  1880  it  had  248,  an  increase 
of  twenty-eight  in  half  a century.  At  the 
same  rate  of  increase,  a thousand  years 
hence  it  will  be  a town  of  some  800  in- 
habitants. Other  villages  and  postofflces 


of  the  county  are  Rock  Bridge,  Mud  Lick, 
Johnstonville,  Center  Point,  Fountain  Run, 
Hilton,  Martinsburg,  Gamaliel,  Meshach’s 
Run  and  Sulphur  Lick. 

The  best  evidence  of  mineral  wealth  in  the 
county  was  the  discovery  of  zinc  ore  in  1856, 
detailed  in  the  State  Geological  Report  as 
follows : 

Zinc  ore  was  found  running  in  slender  veins 
through  limestone  belonging  to  the  Devonian 
period,  in  the  bed  of  Sulphur  Lick.  The  official 
analysis  proved  it  essentially  a sulphuret  of  zinc, 
containing  51.77  per  cent  of  zinc.  The  sulphuret  is 
combined  in  this  ore  with  17.48  per  cent  of  silica, 
beside  5.19  per  cent  of  carbonate  of  lime  and  mag- 
nesia and  a little  disseminated  sulphuret  of  lead. 
If  found  in  sufficient  abundance  it  might  be  profita- 
bly employed  in  the  manufacture  of  zinc  white 
paint.  Imperfect  veins  of  sulphuret  of  zinc  and 
lead  traverse  the  limestone  under  the  black  slate  in 
the  bed  of  Sulphur  Lick  Creek.  The  dividing  ridge 
between  the  Big  Barren  and  Sulphur  Lick  is  about 
600  feet  above  the  Cumberland  River.  This  ridge 
contains  an  immense  mass  of  gray  and  green  shales 
overlying  the  black  slate  in  the  bed  of  the  latter 
stream.  The  black  slate  here  is  about  twenty-five 
feet  thick,  while  the  overlying  shales  seem  to  be 
270  feet  thick. 

A number  of  names  and  dates  have  been 
found  upon  the  trees  in  Monroe  County, 
showing  that  the  ‘ ‘ pale  face  ” was  here  over 
a century  ago.  One  of  the  oldest  of  these 
was  discovered  upon  a large  beech  tree  near 
the  town  of  Tompkinsville  and  was  as  fol- 
lows: “D.  Boone  1777.”  The  names  of 
“Thomas  Walker”  and  “Daniel  Smith” 
and  the  date  “February  25,  1780,”  were 
found  on  two  beech  trees  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Cumberland  River,  near  the  Tennessee 
line.  Walker  and  Smith  were  the  surveyors 
appointed  to  run  the  line  between  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina,  of  which  States  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee  then  formed  parts. 

Monroe  County  suffered  severely  during 
the  late  civil  war — more  severely  than  many 
of  its  sister  counties — indeed  it  was,  at  times, 
almost  entirely  devastated.  Bands  of  guer- 
rillas, some  claiming  allegiance  to  the  Con- 
federate and  some  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, while  others  acknowledged  no  higher 
authority  than  their  own  will,  infested  every 
quarter  of  the  county,  often  wantonly  destroy- 
ing property  and  not  always  scrupulous  as  to 
the  taking  of  human  life.  Besides  these 
maraiidins:  bands  regular  soldiers  from  both 
armies  were  frequently  guests — thoiigh  un- 
welcome ones — of  the  county.  Camp  Ander- 
son was  a rendezvous  for  Union  troops  in 
1861  and  a place  of  drill  and  instruction.  In 
the  fall  of  the  year  (1861)  Col.  Stanton  of 
Tennessee,  at  the  head  of  a body  of  Confed- 
erate troops,  entered  the  county  and  burned 
Camp  Anderson,  which  had  recently  been 
abandoned  by  the  Federals.  Shortly  after 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


637 


this  Gen.  Pat.  Clebm'ne  passed  through  the 
county  with  several  regiments,  and  in  1862 
Gen.  Bragg’s  entire  army  passed  through. 
These  frequent  incursions  did  not  contribute 
to  the  wealth  of  the  county,  nor  add  mate- 
rially to  the  tranquility  of  the  people. 

In  the  winter  of  1862-63  a little  skirmish 
took  place  in  the  county.  Gen.  John  Morgan 
and  his  cavalry,  who  had  a knack  of  tiuming 
up  when  and  where  least  expected,  in  one  of 
their  periodical  raids  into  Kentucky  “run 
afoul  ” of  a body  of  Federal  troops  under 
Maj.  Jordan,  about  half  a mile  from  Tomp- 
kinsville.  Quite  a sharp  engagement  ensued, 
resulting  in  the  defeat  of  Jordan  and  the 
loss  of  his  tent  and  baggage;  several  were 
killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides. 


Montgomery  County  was  formed  in  1796 
and  was  the  twenty-second  county  organized. 
It  was  named  in  honor  of  Gen.  Richard  Mont- 
gomery, a brave  and  gallant  officer  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  It  was  formed  out  of  a 
part  of  Clark  County  and  in  tmm  has  con- 
tributed in  forming,  wholly,  or  in  part , Floyd 
County  in  1799;  Clay  in  1806;  Bath  in  1811; 
Harlan  in  1819;  Perry  in  1820;  Lawrence 
and  Pike  in  1821;  Morgan  in  1822;  Breathitt 
in  1839;  Letcher  in  lS42;  Owsley  and  John- 
son in  1843;  Powell  in  1852;  Magoffin  and 
Wolfe  in  1860;  Menifee  in  1869  and  Lee  and 
Martin  in  1870— total,  eighteen  counties, 
which  has  diminished  the  territory  of  Mont- 
gomery until  it  is  one  of  the  small  counties  of 
the  State.  It  may  be  termed  a northeastern 
county  and  has  Bourbon,  Nicholas  and  Bath 
lying  north  of  it;  Bath  and  Menifee,  east; 
Powell  and  Clark,  south;  and  Clark  and 
Bourbon,  west.  In  1880  it  had  a population 
of  10,566.  It  has  a rich  and  fertile  soil, 
though  in  the  southern  and  southeastern  por- 
tions it  is  somewhat  mountainous  and  hilly. 
It  is  drained  by  the  Red  River  and  Hinkson 
Creek  and  their  tributaries,  viz. : Spence 
Fork,  Slate,  Flat,  Sycamore,  Somerset  and 
the  famous  little  stream,  Lulbegrud.  The 
following  are  the  statistics  of  1880:  corn, 
575,091  bushels;  oats,  18,624;  wheat,  81,393; 
tobacco,  123,472  pounds;  horses  and  mules, 
3,914  head;  cattle,  11,473;  sheep,  13,914 
and  hogs,  13,226.  Hemp  is  also  largely 
produced. 

Montgomery  County’s  settlement  dates 
back  to  1790,  though  it  was  visited  by  whites 
several  years  earlier.  William  Calk,  with 
several  companions  fr’om  Boonesborough,  ex 
plored  the  country  in  this  section  in  1775. 
They  built  a cabin  about  a mile  from  the 


present  site  of  Mount  Sterling  which  became 
a prominent  landmark.  In  1779  another  com- 
pany, under  the  leadership  of  Benjamin 
White,  were  here  locating  lands.  From  this 
time  land-locators,  as  they  were  called,  in- 
creased in  numbers.  Among  the  first  per- 
manent settlers  was  Capt.  John  A.  Crawford. 
In  1790  he  was  employed  to  clear  four  acres 
of  land  and  cultivate  it  in  corn,  for  which 
he  was  to  receive  100  acres  of  land  near 
Mount  Sterling.  He  made  a permanent  set- 
tlement upon  the  land  thus  obtained,  and 
lived  on  it  until  his  death.  He  was  with 
Gen.  Wayne  in  the  battle  of  the  Fallen 
Timber,  and  in  the  war  of  1812  was  captain 
of  a company  of  volunteers. 

Mount  Sterling,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  sit- 
uated on  Hinkson  Creek,  where  it  is  crossed 
by  the  Chesapeake  & Ohio  Railroad,  about 
sixty  miles  fr’om  Frankfort.  It  had  a popu- 
lation of  2,087  in  1880,  and  is  a handsome 
and  thriving  little  city.  It  was  laid  out  in 
1792  upon  the  land  of  a IMi’.  Sterling,  whose 
name  it  bears.  It  has  the  usual  public  build- 
ings, churches,  schools,  stores  and  general 
business.  Other  villages  and  postoffices  are 
Aaron’s  Run,  Camargo,  Elm  Hill,  Howard’s 
Mill,  Jeffersonville,  Levee  and  Side  View. 

Montgomery  County  seems  to  have  been  a 
favorite  resort  for  the  Mound-Builders.  A 
large  number  of  relics  of  the  prehistoric 
race  were  found  in  different  parts  of  the 
county.  Several  of  them  were  visited  in  1819 
by  Prof.  Rafinesque.  The  prefix.  Mount,  to 
the  capital  of  the  county  was  obtained  in 
consequence  of  a mound  near  its  location 
which  was  so  large  as  to  early  receive  the 
title  of  “Little  Mountain.”  Five  miles 
east  of  Mount  Sterling  was  a mound  that 
when  the  county  was  first  settled  was  15 
feet  high  and  30  feet  in  diameter  at  the 
base.  About  five  miles  west  of  Mount  Ster- 
ling was  another  mound  of  especial  interest. 
It  stood  within  what  was  evidently  a square 
intrenchment,  and  when  first  seen  by  the 
whites  there  were  trees  growing  in  the 
trenches  as  large  as  any  in  the  simrounding 
forest.  On  the  east  side  of  the  intrench- 
ment there  was  the  appearance  of  a gate 
some  20  feet  wude.  From  this  gate 
there  was  an  avenue  of  the  same  width,  in 
which  no  trees  were  growing,  leading  to  a 
spring  thirty  yards  distant. 

This  county  was  the  scene  of  one  of  the 
most  desperately  contested  battles  with  the 
Indians,  considering  the  number  engaged, 
fought  on  the  soil  of  Kentucky.  Estill’s 
defeat,  or  the  battle  of  Little  Mountain, 
took  place  in  1782,  but  two  miles  from  the 
present  site  of  Mount  Sterling,  at  a buffalo 


628 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


crossing  of  a brancli  of  Hinkson  Creek.  The 
details  of  this  bloody  battle  are  given  in  pre- 
ceding chapters  on  the  Indian  wars  of  the 
early  times. 


Morgan  County,  formed  in  1822,  stands 
seventy-third  in  the  list  of  counties.  It  was 
formed  from  parts  of  Floyd  and  Bath  Counties, 
and  named  for  Gen.  Daniel  Morgan,  whose 
famous  riflemen  played  so  conspicuous  a part 
in  the  Revolutionary  war.  It  lies  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  State,  and  is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  Rowan  and  Elliott  Counties;  on 
the  east  by  Lawrence,  Johnson  and  Magoffin; 
on  the  south  l)y  Magoffin,  Breathitt  and 
Wolfe;  on  the  west  by  Wolfe  and  Menifee, 
and  in  1880  it  had  8,455  inhabitants.  It 
contrilnited  to  the  formation  of  Rowan  County 
in  1850,  Magoffin  and  Wolfe  in  I860,  and 
Menifee  and  Elliott  in  1869.  It  is  drained 
by  the  Licking  River,  which  flows  almost 
through  the  center  of  it,  with  the  following 
streams  as  tributaries  in  the  county:  White 
Oak,  Grassy,  Elk  Fork,  Blackwater,  Caney 
and  Rockhoxise.  The  sui’face  is  rather  hilly, 
with  many  fertile  valleys,  however,  which 
produce  well.  Corn  is  the  principal  crop, 
prodiicing  368, 205  bushels  in  1880.  Wheat, 
oats  and  rye  are  grown  to  some  extent,  and 
hogs  and  cattle  are  raised — 5,075  head  of 
cattle  in  1880,  and  11,903  head  of  hogs. 
Iron  ore  and  a most  excellent  quality  of 
cannel  coal,  together  with  other  bituminous 
coal  and  alum  and  copperas,  exist  in  the 
county  in  great  abundance;  also  mineral  and 
oil  sjn’ings. 

Morgan  County  embraces,  probably,  the  largest 
bodies  of  cannel  coal  in  Kentucky;  much  of  it  very 
readily  mined,  but  all  inaccessible  to  market. 
There  appear  to  be  two  horizons  of  cannel  coal  in 
the  county,  varying  from  200  to  300  feet  apart. 
The  lower  bed.  in  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
deposits  in  the  world,  is  well  exposed  on  the  waters 
of  Caney  Creek,  especially  on  the  Stone  Coal  Fork 
of  Caney.  It  is  of  a fine  cuboidal  fracture,  gen- 
erally from  thirty-two  to  thirty-six  inches  thick. 
The  upper  cannel  vein,  where  observed,  is  fourteen 
inches  thick,  underlaid  by  eight  to  ten  inches  of 
clay  and  shale  parting,  and  fifteen  to  eighteen 
inches  of  bituminous  and  shop  coal  at  bottom — in 
all  thirty-nine  to  forty  inches.  * * * ppe 
main  cannel  coal  of  Caney  and  Elk  Fork  is  full  of 
remains  of  stigmaria  impressed  completely  in  the 
substance  of  the  coal  itself,  in  an  excellent  state 
of  preservation — another  evidence  that  this  kind  of 
vegetation  contributed  largely  to  the  formation  of 
cannel  coal.  Above  the  forks  of  the  Stone  Coal 
branch  of  main  Caney  the  stream  runs  for  a long 
distance  over  bare  ledges  of  cannel  coal,  which 
measure  there  from  thirty  to  thirty-six  inches. 

West  Liberty,  the  capital  of  the  county,  is 
situated  on  the  Licking  River,  something 

*State  Geological  Report. 


over  100  miles  from  Frankfort.  It  is  a small 
place  of  225  inhabitants  by  the  last  census. 
It  was  laid  out  as  a town  in  1825,  and  incor- 
porated in  1836.  It  has  the  usual  public 
buildings,  churches  and  schools,  stores  and 
general  business.  Other  villages  and  post- 
offices  are  as  follows;  Bangor,  Blair’s  Mill, 
Caney,  Ezel,  Grassy  Creek,  Relief,  White 
Oak  and  Yokum. 


Muhlenburg  County  was  the  thirty-fourth 
county  organized  in  the  State.  It  was  cre- 
ated out  of  parts  of  Christian  and  Logan 
Counties  in  1798,  and  named  in  honor  of 
Gen.  Peter  Muhlenberg,  a gallant  soldier 
of  the  Revolutionary  war,  who  won  the  epau- 
lettes of  a general  in  front  of  the  cannon’s 
mouth.  It  is  situated  in  the  western  part  of 
the  State,  with  one  tier  of  counties  between 
it  and  the  Tennessee  line,  and  is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  McLean  and  Ohio  Counties;  on 
the  east  by  Ohio  and  Butler ; on  the  south  by 
Logan  and  Todd;  on  the  west  by  Christian 
and  Hopkins,  and  in  1880  it  had  15,098  in- 
habitants. It  is  drained  by  the  tributaries 
of  the  Green  and  Big  Muddy  Rivers — the 
former  separating  it  from  Ohio  County  and 
the  latter  from  Butler  County.  The  county 
is  generally  rolling,  a part  of  it  very  broken 
and  hilly,  but  all  more  or  less  productive, 
and  oi’iginally  was  covered  with  heavy  tim- 
ber. The  agricultural  statistics  for  1880 
show  corn,  652,279  bushels;  oats,  100,340 
bushels;  wheat,  63,874  bushels;  tobacco,  2,- 
731,716  pounds;  horses  and  mules,  4,888 
head;  cattle,  7,650  head;  sheep,  7,035  head, 
and  hogs,  25,347.  Iron  and  coal,  however, 
form  the  great  wealth  of  the  county,  and 
since  the  building  of  the  railroad,  it  is  the 
means  of  great  quantities  finding  a way  to 
market.  Of  the  coal,  the  geological  report 
says: 

At  a coal  bank  on  the  east  side  of  the  Pond  River 
in  the  west  line  of  Muhlenburg  County,  is  the  sin- 
gular phenomenon  of  two  thick  beds  or  veins  of 
coal  within  three  and  one-half  feet  of  each  other — 
the  upper  of  four  and  one-half  and  the  lower  of  six 
and  one-half  feet.  The  latter  has  a thin  clay  part- 
ing about  the  middle.  They  crop  out  at  an  eleva- 
tion of  seventy  feet  above  high  water  in  the  river 
Three  miles  southeast  of  this  the  Marcus  coal  oc- 
curs, six  or  seven  feet  thick,  a few  feet  above  the 
bed  of  the  branch.  Three  miles  northwest  of 
Greenville,  three  beds  of  coal,  eight  feet  in  all,  oc- 
cur in  110  feet  of  a section.  A “ general  section  ” 
of  Muhlenburg  County  shows  some  twenty-six  feet 
of  coal  in  nine  different  seams,  within  445  feet — the 
seams  varying  from  ten  inches  to  five  and  one-half 
feet  in  thickness,  except  one  thin  seam;  of  these 
five  seams  are  of  workable  thickness  three  feet  or 
over. 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


629 


Greenville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
a little  north  of  the  geographical  center  of 
the  county  on  the  Chesapeake,  Ohio  & South- 
western Railroad,  135  miles  from  Louisville, 
and  contains,  by  the  last  census,  866  inhabi- 
tants. It  has  a brick  courthouse  and  other 
public  buildings,  several  handsome  churches, 
excellent  schools,  both  public  and  select,  one 
bank  and  a newspaper.  A number  of  flour- 
ishing stores,  factories  and  mills  furnish  a 
good  trade.  Other  villages,  postoffices  and 
railroad  stations  are  Bremen,  Central  City, 
Dupont,  Earles,  Gordon,  Laurel  Bluil,  Mer- 
cer, Nelson,  Paradise,  Painestown,  Skilesville 
and  South  Carrollton. 

Some  of  the  antiquities,  caverns,  etc.,  dis- 
covered in  this  county  were  of  the  marvelous. 
It  was  said  that  on  a rocky  bank  of  the  Pond 
River,  four  miles  from  Greenville,  tracks  of 
mules  and  horses  were  plainly  visible  in  the 
sandstone.  On  the  Muddy  River  there  was 
said  to  be  a rock  with  a smooth  flat  surface, 
on  which  were  carved  hieroglyphics  strange  to 
the  most  learned  of  the  Anglo-Saxons.  A 
description  of  a cave  ten  miles  from  Green- 
ville partakes  considerably  of  the  Mulhatton 
romance.  It  was  said  to  be  explored  in  Oc- 
tober, 1872,  and  at  the  distance  of  half  a 
mile  from  the  entrance  the  petrified  fig- 
ures of  a man  and  woman  were  found.  Other 
relics  and  curiosities  were  also  found  in  it. 

Among  the  prominent  men  of  Muhlenburg 
County  were  Edward  Rumsey,  Charles  F. 
Wing  and  Gen.  Don  Carlos  Buell.  The  lat- 
ter was  a major-general  in  the  Federal  Army 
during  the  late  war,  and  is  extensively  noticed 
in  the  chapters  on  the  war  history.  Charles 
F.  Wing  was  captain  in  the  American  Army 
in  the  war  of  1812,  and  took  part  in  the  bat- 
tle of  the  Thames.  He  was  clerk  of  the 
courts  of  Muhlenburg  County  from  1798,  the 
time  of  their  organization,  to  1856,  a period 
of  fifty-eight  years. 

Edward  Rumsey  was  a prominent  man  of 
Muhlenburg  County  and  southwestern  Ken- 
tucky for  nearly  half  a centiuy.  He  repre- 
sented the  county  in  the  Legislature,  and  the 
district  in  Congress,  with  great  ability.  He 
was  a nephew  of  James  Rumsey,  whose  claim 
to  the  invention  of  the  steamboat  is  support- 
ed by  much  strong  and  convincing  testimony. 
Edward  Rumsey  was  born  in  1800,  and  re- 
ceived a good  education.  He  studied  law 
with  John  J.  Crittenden,  and  upon  being  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  located  at  Greenville.  He 
died  in  1868  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his 
age. 


Nelson  County  is  one  of  those  formed 
under  act  of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  before 


the  admission  of  Kentucky  as  a State  into  the 
Union,  and  dates  back  to  1784.  It  was  the 
fourth  county  created  in  the  State  (or  dis- 
trict), and  the  first  created  after  the  original 
three  (Jefferson,  Fayette  and  Lincoln,)  into 
which  the  county  of  Kenutcky  was  divided 
in  1780.  It  was  formed  from  a part  of 
Jefferson  County,  and  fr-om  its  original  ter- 
ritory have  been  created  wholly  or  in 
part  the  following:  Washington,  Hardin 

and  Green  in  1792;  Bullitt  in  1796;  Ohio 
in  1798;  Breckinridge  in  1799;  Grayson 
and  Butler  in  1810;  Daviess  in  1815; 
Hart  in  1819;  Meade  in  1823;  Spencer  in 
1824;  Edmonson  in  1825;  Anderson  in  1827; 
Hancock  in  1829;  Marion  in  1834;  La  Rue 
in  1843;  Taylor  in  1848,  and  McLean  in 
1854.  It  is  situated  in  the  north  central  f)art 
of  the  State  and  bounded  on  the  north  by  Bul- 
litt and  Spencer  Counties;  on  the  east  by 
Washington  and  Marion;  on  the  south  by 
Marion  and  La  Rue;  on  the  west  by  La  Rue 
and  Bullitt,  and  by  the  last  census  (1880)  it 
had  a population  of  16,609.  It  is  watered 
and  drained  by  the  Salt  River  and  the  Beech 
and  Rolling  Forks,  and  a number  of  small 
streams  tributary  to  them.  The  surface  is 
undulating,  but  in  places,  particularly  along 
the  water  courses,  it  is  somewhat  hilly  and 
broken;  the  soil  is  generally  fertile  and  pro- 
duces well,  the  agricultux’al  statistics  in  1880 
being  as  follows:  corn,  987,007  bushels;  oats, 
59,783;  wheat,  177,020;  horses  and  mules, 
6,218  head;  cattle,  11,364;  sheep,  15,554; 
and  hogs,  27,279.  In  addition  to  the  above, 
hay,  tobacco  and  hemp  are  raised  to  some 
extent;  whisky  is  also  largely  manufactured, 
and  some  of  the  largest  distilleries  in  the 
State  are  in  this  county.  Gov.  Thomas  Nel- 
son. a native  of  Virginia,  at  one  time  gov- 
ernor of  that  State,  and  one  of  the  signers  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  furnished 
the  county  a name. 

Settlements  were  made  very  early  in  Nel- 
son County  by  the  Hardins,  John  Merrill, 
John  Fitch,  Maj.  Brown,  Charles  AVickliffe, 
and  other  families,  who  afterward  became 
noted  in  Kentucky  history.  Certainly  few 
more  consixicuous  names  appear  in  the  annals 
of  the  State  than  the  Hardins  and  AVicklift'es. 
Many  of  the  early  settlements  of  Nelson 
County,  however,  were  made  in  portions 
since  stricken  off  in  the  formation  of  other 
counties. 

Col.  John  Hardin  (see  sketch  of  Hardin 
County)  settled  in  Nelson  County  as  early  as 
1780,  and  was  appointed  county  lieutenant 
with  the  rank  of  colonel.  This  title  meant 
much  more  in  the  pioneer  period  of  Kentucky 
than  it  did  some  years  later.  Then  every  man 


630 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


able  to  bear  arms  was  forced,  if  force  was 
necessary,  to  assist  in  defending  the  settle- 
ments against  the  Indians,  and  the  county 
lieutenant  was  the  commander-in-chief  of 
such  forces,  and  responsible  for  the  safety  of 
the  settlements  and  stations  in  his  county. 

The  mineral  resources  of  Nelson  County 
consist  in  hydraulic  limestone,  salt  and  iron 
ore.  The  iron  ore  is  said  to  be  of  a most  ex- 
cellent quality,  and  sufficiently  plenty  to  pay 
well  for  working.  The  hydraulic  limestone 
is  also  to  be  found  in  large  quantities.  Salt, 
however,  exists  in  scarcely  paying  quantity. 
In  several  places  were  developed,  by  the 
geological  survey,  clay  which  contained  valu- 
able proportions  of  potash;  lime,  soda,  sul- 
phuric acid,  magnesia,  etc. 

Bardstown,  with  almost  a century  resting 
upon  it,  is  one  of  the  beautiful  little  cities  of 
central  Kentucky.  It  was  established  in 
1788,  under  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of 
Virginia,  and  was  originally  called  Bairds- 
towm  in  honor  of  David  Baird,  one  of  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  land  upon  which  the  town  was 
laid  out.  Blit  custom,  which  makes  many 
laws,  finally  changed  it,  by  dropping  the  i, 
to  the  present  name,  Bardstown.  It  is  forty 
miles  from  Louisville,  and  the  present  ter- 
minus of  the  Bardstown  branch  of  the  Louis- 
ville & Nashville  Railroad.  The  road,  how- 
ever, is  beizig  extended,  and  will  soon  be  com- 
pleted to  Springfield.  A substantial  court- 
house and  other  public  buildings,  a number 
of  elegant  churches,  several  schools,  public 
and  select — Protestant  and  Catholic — in  and 
immediately  contiguous,  are  some  of  the  at- 
tractions of  this  old,  but  handsome  little  city. 
It  has  several  flourishing  stores,  banks,  a No.  1 
newspaper — the  Nelson  Record  — and  the 
usual  manufacturing  industries  common  to  a 
town  of  its  size.  By  the  last  census  it  had 
1,803  population. 

Bloomfield  is  situated  in  the  north  part  of 
the  county  and  has  a population  of  455  souls. 
It  is  an  old  town  and  was  incorporated  in 
1819,  and  is  at  present  the  terminus  of  the 
Shelby ville  branch  of  the  Louisville  & Nash- 
ville Railroad.  New  Haven,  on  the  ‘ ‘ Lebanon 
Branch,”  is  a town  of  437  inhabitants;  New 
Hope,  on  the  same  road,  has  204  inhabitants. 
Other  villages,  postoffices  and  railroad  station, 
are  Boston,  Botland,  Chaplain,  Cox  Creeks 
Deatsville,  Fairfield,  Gethsemane,  Hunter’s 
Station,  Nelson  Furnace  and  Samuel’s  Sta- 
tion. 

A company  of  English  land  speculators  laid 
off  a town  in  Nelson  County,  in  1794,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Rolling  Fork,  between  Salt 
Lick  and  Otter  Creek,  called  Lystra,  which  was 
designed  to  be  the  most  beautiful  city  in  the 


world.  The  conception  was,  indeed,  a grand 
and  magnificent  one  if  it  had  been  carried  out, 
but  the  town  never  had  any  existence,  except 
upon  paper.  Winterbotham’s  United  States 
thus  describes  it: 

It  was  the  choice  spot  of  15,000  acres  of’ land  pur- 
chased, and  waslaid  off  in  twenty-five  large  blocks 
or  squares,  the  center  of  each  being  a kind  of  park. 
In  the  center  of  the  plat  was  a circular  park,  sur- 
rounded by  an  avenue  100  feet  wide.  The  four 
indented  or  semi  circular  quarters  of  the  four  blocks 
whose  corners  are  embraced  in  this  park,  were  dedi- 
cated to  public  use,  as  sites  for  a church,  college, 
town  hall,  and  place  of  amusement.  The  streets 
were  each  100  feet  wide;  the  houses  upon  streets 
running  north  and  south  were  required  to  be  set 
back  twenty-five  feet  from  the  line,  but  upon 
streets  running  east  and  west  to  be  built  on  a line 
with  the  streets.  The  plan  probably  proved  money 
making  in  London,  but  the  town  was  never  built  in 
Nelson  County. 

Ben  Hardin,  the  great  criminal  lawyer, 
was  long  a citizen  of  Bardstown.  He  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1784,  but  when  only 
three  years  of  age  was  brought  by  his  parents 
to  Kentucky,  who  settled  in  Washington 
County.  He  was  a son  of  Ben  and  Sarah 
Hardin,  first  cousins,  and  the  latter  a sister 
of  Col.  John  and  Gen.  William  Hardin,  prom- 
inent in  the  early  history  of  Kentucky.  Mr. 
Hardin  was  Well  educated,  receiving  his 
finishing  polish  from  Daniel  Barry,  one  of 
the  most  popular  educators  of  his  day.  He 
commenced  the  study  of  the  law  with  Gen. 
Martin  D.  Hardin  of  Richmond,  and  com- 
pleted his  course  with  Hon.  Felix  Grundy. 
Upon  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  located  at 
Elizabethtown,  but  two  or  three  years  later 
removed  to  Bardstown.  Here  he  was  soon 
called  to  measure  strength  with  such  master 
spirits  as  Judge  Rowan,  John  Pojze,  Felix 
Grundy,  John  Hays  and  other  great  legal 
luminaries  of  the  time.  When  he  lived  his 
most  active  young  life,  when  his  destiny  was 
shaping  itself,  the  surroundings  were  such  as 
we  know  little  or  nothing  of  now  except  by 
tradition.  The  people  were  rough,  rude, 
simple,  sincere,  honest,  warm-hearted  and 
hospitable ; and  the  men  of  mark  were  mostly 
brilliant,  erratic,  often  irreverent  and  dissipat- 
ed. Their  lives  were  fevered  and  delirious, 
and  upon  the  rostrum  or  in  the  forum,  Avhere 
they  would  gleam  and  flash  like  blazing 
meteors,  they  would  easily  descend  to  the 
revel  and  orgie,  and  their  flashing  lights 
would  be  quenched  in  gloom  and  darkness. 
Amid  these  surroundings  Mr.  Hardin  trod 
his  pathway  of  life,  the  honest  lawyer,  the 
pure  and  spotless  jAolitician.  Few  men  pos- 
sessed more  noble  and  generous  qualities.  He 
was  the  friend  and  the  attorney  of  the  poor, 
and  often  championed  their  causes  without 
the  ‘ ‘ hope  of  fee  or  reward.  ’ ’ His  sympa- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


631 


thies  were  aroused  by  the  distress  of  the 
helpless,  and  the  woes  of  suffering  humanity 
touched  his  pity,  and  awoke  all  the  tender- 
ness of  his  great  heart.  He  practiced  in  the 
courts  of  Nelson,  Hardin,  Marion,  Washing- 
ton, Bullitt,  Breckinridge,  Meade  and  Gray- 
son, and  often  in  Louisville,  Frankfort  and 
Lexington;  and  during  all  the  prime  of  his 
manhood,  few  important  cases  were  tried  in  his 
district  in  which  he  was  not  engaged  upon  one 
side  or  the  other.  As  a great  lawyer  he  had 
few  equals,  and  in  the  criminal  practice,  per- 
haps he  had  none  at  the  bar  in  Kentucky. 
He  was  no  less  a statesman  than  a lawyer. 
He  served  several  terms  in  the  Legislature 
and  State  Senate;  was  Secretary  of  State 
under  Gov.  Owsley,  and  was  in  the  lower 
house  of  the  national  Congress,  comprising 
the  sessions  of  1815-17,  and  1819-23,  and 
1833-37,  ten  years  in  all.  He  died  in  Bards- 
town  in  1852,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years. 

Charles  A.  Wickliffe,  one  of  the  eminent 
men  of  Kentucky,  was  born  June  7,  1788, 
and  was  a son  of  Charles  and  Lydia  (Hardin) 
Wickliffe.  He  was  of  an  illustrious  family  on 
both  sides  of  his  house — his  mother  being  a 
sister  to  Hon.  Ben  Hardin’s  mother,  and 
Col.  John  Hardin,  etc.  After  receiving  his 
education  he  studied  law  with  Gen.  Martin 
D.  Hardin,  and  upon  his  admission  to  the  bar 
located  at  Bardstown.  The  Bardstown  bar 
was  then  considered  the  ablest  (Lexington 
perhaps  excepted)  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 
He  served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  took  part 
in  the  battle  of  the  Thames.  He  was  elected 
repeatedly  to  the  Legislature,  the  State  Senate 
and  the  national  Congress,  and  in  1836  was 
elected  lieutenant-governor  on  the  ticket  with 
Judge  James  Clark.  Gov.  Clark  died  in 
1839  and  Mr.  Wickliffe  filled  out  his  unex- 
pired term.  He  was  Postmaster-General 
under  President  Tyler,  after  he  succeeded  to 
the  Presidency,  September  13,  1841,  until 
the  close  of  his  term,  March  3,  1845.  He 
was  sent  on  a secret  mission  to  Texas  by  Pres- 
ident Polk  in  1845 ; he  was  a member  of  the 
constitutional  convention  of  1849;  he  was  a 
delegate  to  the  celebrated  peace  conference 
in  1861;  he  was  also  elected  to  Congress  in 
1861,  and  in  1863  made  the  race  on  the 
Democratic  ticket  for  governor  against 
Thomas  E.  Bramlette,  but  was  overwhelm- 
ingly defeated. 

The  above  is  merely  the  record  dates  of  the 
different  official  positions  filled  by  Gov.  Wick- 
liffe. He  came  to  Bardstown  at  an  early 
day,  and  his  finger-marks  may  still  be  seen 
telling  the  story  of  his  handiwork,  and  writ- 
ing his  epitaph  in  the  hearts  not  only  of 
his  descendants,  but  of  the  thousands  who 


are  reaping  and  who  will  in  the  future  enjoy 
the  fruits  of  his  labors.  For  several  years 
prior  to  his  death  he  was  blind,  but  he  lived 
on  uncomplainingly  with  his  Christian  faith 
undimmed.  He  died  in  1869  at  the  age  of 
eighty- one  years. 


Nicholas  Countv  was  created  in  1800,  and 
was  the  forty-second  formed  in  the  State.  It 
was  taken  from  Bourbon  and  Mason  Coun- 
ties, and  named  in  honor  of  Col.  George 
Nicholas,  one  of  the  ruling  spirits  in  the  ear- 
ly history  of  Kentucky.  It  is  situated  in 
the  northeast  part  of  the  county,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Robertson  County; 
on  the  east  by  Fleming  and  Bath;  on  the 
south  by  Montgomery ; on  the  west  by  Bour- 
bon and  Harrison,  and  in  1880  it  had  11,869 
inhabitants.  The  Lickingf  River  flows  f hrough 
the  county,  and  the  streams  emptying  into  it 
or  passing  through  the  county  are  Hinkson, 
Somerset,  Cassidy,  Beaver,  Brushy  Fork  and 
Flat  Creeks.  A portion  of  the  county  lying 
next  to  Bourbon  and  Bath  is  undulating  and 
very  rich — the  genuine  blue-grass  soil.  The 
remainder  of  the  county,  except  the  bottoms 
along  the  water-courses,  is  rough  and  broken, 
with  rather  thin  soil.  The  statistics  of  1880 
for  the  county  are  as  follows:  Corn,  688,329 
bushels;  oats,  37,188;  wheat,  159,945;  to- 
bacco, 759,115  pounds;  horses  and  mules, 
5,319  head;  cattle,  7,951;  sheep,  13,311,  and 
hogs,  16,754.  Hemp  is  also  grown  in  some 
parts  of  the  county. 

The  early  settlement  of  Nicholas  County 
dates  back  nearly  a century.  The  coramon 
highway  of  travel  between  Limestone  (Mays- 
ville)  and  the  settlements  at  Lexington, 
Boonesborough,  Harrodsburg,  etc.,  was 
through  this  county,  and  the  salt  works  at  Blue 
Licks  made  the  pioneers  familiar  with  all  this 
country,  but  it  was  not  until  about  1789  that 
a permanent  settlement  was  made  in  what  is 
now  Nicholas  County.  In  that  year  a man 
named  Lyon  established  a station  at  the 
Lower  Blue  Licks.  He  was  a man  well-to- 
do,  had  a family  of  negro  servants,  and  enter- 
tained travelers  passing  from  one  settlement 
or  station  to  another.  He  followed  making 
salt,  which  he  disposed  of  to  the  settlers,  with 
whom  he  is  said  to  have  dealt  fairly.  Irish 
Station  was  an  early  settlement,  and  was  five 
or  six  miles  from  Blue  Licks.  Other  early 
settlers  were  James  Parks,  Jr.,  George  M. 
Bedinger,  James  Stephenson  and  Samuel 
Peyton.  Most  of  these  have  descendants  still 
living. 

Carlisle,  the  capital  of  the  county,  is  sit- 
uated on  the  Maysville  division  of  the  Ken- 


632 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


tucky  Central  Railroad,  about  midway  be- 
tween Maysville  and  Lexington.  It  has  a 
brick  courthouse  of  the  old  Kentucky  pattern 
of  fifty  years  ago,  and  other  public  buildings. 
It  has  a number  of  handsome  churches,  good 
schools,  a bank,  a newspaper,  several  nourish- 
ing stores  and  the  usual  general  business. 
In  1880  it  had  909  inhabitants.  Other  vil- 
lages and  postoffices  are  Blue  Lick  Springs, 
Buffalo  Trace,  Chapel,  Head  Quarters,  Moore- 
field,  Myers  and  Oakland  Mills. 

There  was  an  ancient  burying-ground 
plainly  visible  in  the  county,  when  the  first 
settlements  were  made.  It  was  some  five 
miles  south  of  the  Upper  Blue  Licks.  Frag- 
ments of  human  bones  were  strewed  about  it 
in  large  cpiantities,  some  of  them  very  large, 
denoting  that  they  belonged  to  men  of  giant 
size.  On  the  top  of  a barren  ridge,  a short 
distance  from  the  Upper  Blue  Licks,  was  dis- 
covered a place  over  1(  )0  feet  square,  paved  with 
large  flat  stones,  upon  which  the  marks  of  the 
tools  used  in  dressing  them  were  still  visible. 

The  famous  Blue  Lick  Springs,  among  the 
most  valuable  of  the  kind  in  the  world,  are  in 
this  county.  As  resorts  for  health,  recreation 
and  amusement  they  are  without  superiors, 
particularly  the  lower  spring,  anywhere.  The 
water  from  both  springs  has  a sale  not 
equaled  in  the  United  States.  Analysis  shows 
the  following  ingredients : S ulphuretted  hydro- 
gen gas  and  free  carbonic  acid  gas  (about  one- 
thirty-sixth  of  the  former  and  one-fifth  of  the 
latter  in  the  volume  of  the  water),  carbonates 
of  lime  and  magnesia,  chlorides  of  sodium, 
potassium  and  magnesium,  bromide  and 
iodide  of  magnesium,  sulphate  of  lime  and 
potash,  alumina,  phosphate  of  lime,  oxide  of 
iron  and  silicic  acid,  with  traces  of  oxide  of 
manganese  and  of  apocrenic  and  crenic 
acids.  It  is  a highly  valuable  water,  and  acts 
as  a nervous  stimulant,  diaphoretic,  diuretic 
and  emmenagoecue. 

These  springs  were  known  to  the  whites 
more  than  a century  ago  (from  1773),  and  for 
the  first  forty  years  after  their  discovery  fur- 
nished most  of  the  salt  to  central  and  north- 
eastern Kentucky.  Around  and  about  them 
occurred  some  of  the  stirring  scenes  with 
which  the  early  history  of  the  State  is  em- 
bellished. In  1778  Daniel  Boone  and  a party 
of  twenty  seven  besides  himself  were  cap- 
tured there  while  engaged  making  salt. 
About  half  a mile  north  of  the  Lower  Blue 
Licks  on  the  old  State  road  was  fought  the 
battle  of  Blue  Licks,  the  severest  and  most 
destructive  to  the  whites  ever  fought  on  the 
soil  of  Kentucky.  Col.  John  Todd,  the  com- 
manding officer  of  the  whites,  and  Col. 
Stephen  Trigg,  second  in  command,  were 


both  killed,  and  a number  of  other  commis- 
sioned officers  and  one-third  of  the  entire 
army. 

This  county  was  named  for  Col.  George 
Nicholas,  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  and  pro- 
foundest  jurists  of  early  Kentucky.  Gen. 
Thomas  Metcalfe  was  a citizen  of  this  county 
from  the  time  he  was  five  years  old  until 
his  death.  Maj.  George  M.  Bedinger  was 
also  a citizen  of  this  county.  He  was  one 
of  the  commissioned  officers  who  escaped  the 
carnage  of  the  battle  of  Blue  Licks.  He 
served  in  several  Indian  campaigns,  and  was 
a gallant  soldier.  He  was  a member  of  the 
first  Legislature  in  1792,  after  Kentucky  be- 
came a State. 


Ohio  County  dates  its  existence  back  to 
1798,  and  was  the  thirty-fifth  county  created 
in  the  State.  It  was  taken  from  Hardin 
County,  and  named  for  the  Ohio  River,  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  State.  From  its 
original  territory  has  been  created,  wholly  or 
in  part,  Butler  and  Grayson  Counties,  in 
1810;  Daviess,  in  1815;  Hancock,  in  1829, 
and  McLean,  in  1854.  It  is  one  of  the 
largest  counties  in  the  State,  and  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Daviess  and  Hancock 
Counties;  on  the  east  by  Breckinridge,  Gray- 
son and  Butler;  on  the  south  by  Butler  and 
Muhlenburg;  on  the  west  by  McLean  and 
Daviess,  and  in  1880  it  had  a population  of 
19,609.  The  Green  River  flows  along  its 
southern  border,  separating  it  from  Muhlen- 
burg County  and  a part  of  Butler;  other 
water  courses  are  Rough,  East  Fork  of  Pan- 
ther, Muddy,  White’s  Fork,  Walton,  Barnett 
and  Caney  Creeks.  The  soil  is  of  a medium 
quality,  and  the  county  a very  good  agricult- 
ural one;  the  statistics  for  1880  show  the 
following:  Corn,  935,515  bushels;  oats,  125,- 
244;  wheat,  85,954;  Irish  potatoes,  17,089; 
tobacco,  3,187,999  pounds;  horses  and  mules, 
6,681  head;  cattle,  11,990;  sheep,  12,593; 
hogs,  34,494.  Originally  the  county  was 
heavily  timbered ; ii’on  ore  exists  in  consid- 
erable quantities,  and  coal  is  inexhaustible. 
The  county  has  the  advantage  of  transporta- 
tion by  the  Green  River  and  by  the  Chesa- 
peake, Ohio  & Southwestern  Railroad. 

Ohio  County  was  settled  very  early.  Bar- 
nett’s Station,  two  miles  from  the  present 
site  of  Hartford,  was  established  in  1790  by 
Col.  Joseph  Barnett.  A station  was  also 
established  where  the  town  of  Hartford  now 
stands.  The  Indians  committed  many  depre- 
dations on  the  people  of  these  stations.  In 
1790  they  killed  two  children  of  John  Ander- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


633 


son,  of  Barnett’s  Station,  and  wounded  his 
wife,  but  she  recovered.  The  same  party 
carried  off  Hannah  Barnett,  the  ten-year-old 
daughter  of  Col.  Barnett,  but  she  was 
recovered  from  them  some  months  after- 
ward. There  were  a number  of  forts  or 
stations  on  the  Green  River  in  the  original 
county  of  Ohio,  but  in  what  are  now  other 
counties.  At  one  of  these  forts,  in  1787,  a 
number  of  persons  of  both  sexes  were  pulling 
flax  in  a fleld  some  distance  from  the  fort 
when  they  were  attacked  by  Indians.  Sev- 
eral of  them  were  more  or  less  wounded,  but 
none  seriously. 

Hartford,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  on 
Rough  Creek,  in  the  central  part  of  the 
county,  and  is  110  miles  from  Louisville. 
It  was  one  of  the  flrst  settled  places  in  the 
county,  and  was  incorporated  in  1808.  It 
has  a substantial  brick  comlhouse  and  other 
public  buildings,  several  handsome  churches, 
good  schools,  a bank,  an  excellent  newspaper 
— The  Herald — flourishing  stores  and  a good 
general  business.  Its  population  was  624  by 
the  last  census. 

Beaver  Dam  is  the  station  for  Hartford  on 
the  railroad.  It  is  six  miles  from  Hartford, 
and  is  the  shipping  point  of  the  latter.  It  is  a 
place  of  considerable  business,  and  has  146 
inhabitants, 

Rock23ort,  situated  on  the  Green  River, 
where  it  is  crossed  by  the  Chesapeake,  Ohio 
& Southwestern  Railroad,  is  the  largest  town, 
Hartford  excepted,  in  the  county — having  399 
inhabitants  in  1880,  Hamilton,  on  the  rail- 
road, is  a town  of  283  inhabitants,  and 
Cromwell,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  coun- 
ty on  the  Green  River,  has  200  inhabitants. 
Other  villages,  railroad  stations  and  j)ost- 
offices  are  Beda,  Buford,  Ceralvo,  Cool 
Springs,  Elm  Lick,  Fordsville,  Green  River, 
Haynesviile,  Horse  Branch,  McHenry,  Point 
Pleasant,  Rosine  and  Sulphim  Sj^ring, 


Oldham  County  was  created  in  1823  from 
parts  of  Jefferson,  Shelby  and  Henry  Coun- 
ties, and  was  the  seventy- fourth  formed  in  the 
State,  It  is  situated  in  the  north  middle  j)art 
of  the  State,  bordering  on  the  Ohio  River, 
which  se[3arates  it  from  the  State  of  Indiana, 
and  forms  its  western  and  northern  boundary, 
with  Trimble  and  Henry  Counties  on  the 
east;  Shelby  and  Jefferson  on  the  south,  and 
with  7,667  inhabitants  in  1880.  A part  of 
the  county  bordering  the  Ohio  River  and 
Eighteen  Mile  Creek  is  broken,  hilly,  and  has  ! 
rather  thin  soil;  the  remainder  lays  very  well, 
and  is  rich  and  productive.  The  agricult-  | 


ural  report  for  1880  showed  the  following  sta- 
tistics; Corn,  445,053  bushels;  oats,  49,747; 
wheat,  47,931 ; tobacco,  295,860  pounds;  horses 
and  mules,  3,228  head;  cattle,  5,838;  sheep, 
17,466,  and  hogs,  14,607.  The  short  line 
division  of  the  Louisville  A Nashville  Rail- 
road passes  through  the  county. 

La  Grange,  the  jmesent  seat  of  justice,  was 
named  in  honor  of  the  Marquis  de  La  Fay- 
ette’s residence  in  France.  It  is  situated  on 
the  short  line  division  of  the  Louisville  & 
Nashville  Railroad,  wRere  the  Cincinnati  line 
diversfes  from  the  old  Frankfort  & Lexington 
Railroad,  twenty-eight  miles  from  Louisville; 
has  a handsome  brick  coru’thouse  of  modern 
style,  a number  of  flourishing  stores,  several 
handsome  chiu’ches,  some  elegant  residences, 
good  schools,  and  the  usual  general  business, 
together  with  490  inhabitants. 

IVestjJort,  the  original  county  seat,  had  219 
inhabitants  by  the  last  census.  It  is  situated 
on  the  Ohio  River  about  eight  miles  fi’om  La 
Grange,  and  is  quite  a flomlshing  little  town 
and  shipping  point.  Other  villages,  post- 
offices  and  railroad  stations  are  Ballards- 
ville,  Buckner,  Brownsboro,  Beard's  Station, 
Floydsburg,  Goshen,  Oldhamsbm’g,  Peru  and 
Pee  wee  V alley.  The  latter  is  the  most  beauti- 
ful of  all  of  Louisville's  suburbs,  and  is  the 
2)lace  of  residence  of  many  Louisville  people. 

Oldham  County  was  named  in  honor  of 
Col . IVilliam  Oldham,  a gallant  soldier  and 
officer.  He  was  born  in  Berkeley  County, 
Va. , and  served  with  distinction  in  the  Rev- 
olutionary war,  where  he  arose  to  the  rank 
of  caj^tain.  He  resigned  in  1779,  and  came 
to  Kentucky,  locating'at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio. 
He  commanded  a regiment  in  St.  Clair’s  ill- 
fated  army,  in  1791,  and  fell  in  that  disas- 
trous battle  with  the  savages. 


Owen  County  was  formed  in  1819  from 
parts  of  Scott,  Gallatin  and  Franklin 
Counties,  and  was  the  sixty -seventh  in  the 
order  of  formation.  It  is  situated  in  the 
north  middle  i^art  of  the  State,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Carroll,  Gallatin 
and  Grant  Counties  ; on  the  east  by  Grant 
and  Scott  ; on  the  south  by  Scott  and  Frank- 
lin ; on  the  west  by  Henry,  from  which  it  is 
separated  by  the  Kentucky  River,  and  in 
1880  It  had  17,401  population.  It  is  drained 
by  the  Kentucky  River  and  Eagle  Creek,  and 
tributaries,  comimising  Big  and  Little 
Twin,  Cedar,  Big  Indian,  Caney,  Clay,  Lick 
and  Severn  Creeks.  The  surface  is  mostly 
rolling  or  undulating,  a ^lart  of  the  county  be- 
ing somewhat  hilly,  but  all  productive.  The 


634 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


agricTiltural  report  of  1880  shows  the  follow- 
ing crop  and  stock  statistics ; Corn,  1,016,302' 
bushels  ; oats,  18,479  ; rye,  19,814  ; wheat, 
104,764;  Irish  potatoes,  14,296;  tobacco, 

5,  705,351  pounds  ; horses  and  mules,  6,805 
head;  cattle,  8,020;  sheep,  10,579,  and  hogs, 
29,441,  The  Short  Line  division  of  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad  runs  along 
the  northern  boundary  of  the  county,  which, 
in  connection  with  the  Kentucky  River, 
gives  it  access  to  the  best  markets. 

Owenton,  the  capital  of  the  county,  is  cen- 
trally situated  and  is  about  thirty  miles  from 
Frankfort.  It  has  a brick  courthouse  and  oth- 
er public  buildings,  several  elegant  churches, 
good  schools,  a number  of  flourishing  stores, 
and  a prosperous  general  business.  It  has 
654  inhabitants.  But  few  counties  in 
the  State  are  more  thickly  dotted  over 
with  villages,  of  which  are  the  following: 
Bethany,  Canby,  Dallasburg,  East  Eagle, 
Gratz,  Harmony,  Harrisburg,  Lusby’s  Mills, 
Lone  Oak,  Monterey,  New  Columbus,  New 
Liberty,  Polar  Grove,  Pleasant  Home, 
Squireville,  Sweet  Owen,  Truesville  and 
West  Union.  These  vary  from  some  300 
inhabitants  down  to  a cross-roads  store  and 
postoffice. 

The  county  has  a number  of  mineral 
springs,  the  waters  of  some  of  them  possess- 
ing strong  medicinal  pro23erties.  There  are  a 
number  of  natural  wonders  in  the  county 
that  merit  description. 

The  “JumpofE  ” on  the  Kentucky  River,  is  a 
perpendicular  precipice,  at  least  100  feet  high, 
with  a hollow  passing  through  its  centre  about 
wide  enough  for  a wagon  road.  The  “Point  of 
Rocks,”  on  Cedar  Creek,  just  above  its  mouth,  and 
near  Williamsburg  is  a beautiful  and  highly  ro- 
mantic spot,  where  an  immense  rock,  about  seventy- 
five  feet  high,  overhangs  a place  in  the  creek 
called  the  “ Deep  Hole,”  to  which  no  bottom  has 
ever  been  found,  and  which  abounds  with  fish  of 
a fine  quality.  “Pond  Branch”  is  a stream  of 
water  which  flows  from  a large  pound  in  a rich 
alluvial  valley,  that  from  its  general  appearance 
is  supposed  to  have  been  at  one  time  the  bed  of  the 
Kentucky  River.  It  is  about  a mile  and  a half 
from  Lock  and  Dam  No.  3.  The  waier  flows 
from  the  pond  and  empties  into  tlie  river  by  two 
outlets  and  thus  forms  a complete  mountain  island, 
two  and  a half  miles  long  and  a mile  and  a half 
wide  in  its  broadest  part. — [Collins,  Vol.  II, [p.  671] 

Owen  County  was  named  in  honor  of  Col. 
Abraham  Owen,  a native  of  Virginia,  born 
in  1769,  and  who  came  to  Kentucky  in 
1785,  locating  in  what  is  now  Shelby  County. 
He  served  in  nearly  every  campaign  against 
the  Indians  after  he  came  to  the  State.  He 
was  with  Gen.  St.  Clair  in  his  disastrous  ex- 
pedition in  1791,  and  was  twice  wounded  at 
his  defeat.  He  served  in  the  Legislature 
and  in  the  State  Senate,  and  in  1799  was  | 
chosen  a member  of  the  convention  that  | 


framed  the  second  constitution.  He  was  an 
aid  to  Gen.  Harrison  in  the  battle  of  Tippeca- 
noe, and  fell  in  the  same  charge  with  Col. 
Joseph  Hamilton  Daveiss.  Thus  those  two 
hero-martyrs,  whose  proud  spirits  took  their 
flight  on  the  bloody  field  of  Tippecanoe, 
are  each  perpetuatecl  by  a county  named  in 
their  honor. 


Owsley  County  is  young  in  years,  compared 
to  some  fifty  or  more  others  in  the  State,  hav- 
ing been  created  in  1843,  and  ranking  as  the 
ninety- sixth  in  the  order  of  formation.  It  is 
a small  county,  situated  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  State,  and  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Lee  County;  on  the  east  by  Breathitt  and 
Perry;  on  the  south  by  Clay;  on  the  west  by 
Jackson  and  Estill,  and  in  1880  it  had  4,942 
population.  The  face  of  the  country  is  gener- 
ally hilly  and  broken,  but  along  the  river  and 
creek  bottoms  it  is  rich  and  very  productive, 
corn,  oats,  wheat  and  rye  being  the  principal 
crops,  with  a very  little  tobacco  and  stock- 
raising.  The  South  Fork  of  the  Kentucky 
River  flows  through  the  central  part  of  the 
county ; the  main  Kentucky  River  forms  part 
of  the  north  boundary  line,  while  its  Middle 
Fork  crosses  the  northeast  corner. 

Booneville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
in  the  north  part  of  the  county,  on  the  South 
Fork  of  the  Kentucky  River.  It  has  the 
usual  public  buildings,  and  is  a small  town, 
of  only  201  inhabitants  in  1880.  Other  vil- 
lages and  postoffices  are  Buck  Creek,  South 
Fork  and  Island  City. 

Owsley  County  lies  in  the  eastern  coal 
fields  of  the  State,  and  the  coal  deposits  are 
extensive  and  valuable.  The  lack  of  trans- 
portation facilities,  however,  prevent  the 
mining  interests  from  becoming  as  valuable 
as  they  otherwise  would.  Iron  ore  exists  in 
some  parts  of  the  county.  The  county  was 
named  for  William  Owsley,  the  fourteenth 
governor  of  the  State.  (A  sketch  of  Gov. 
Owsley  is  given  in  Chapter  XIII,  page  315, 
of  this  volume.) 


Pendleton  County,  the  twenty-eighth  or- 
ganized in  the  State,  was  formed  in  1798 
from  parts  of  Campliell  and  Bracken  Coun 
ties,  and  was  named  for  Edmund  Pendieton, 
a prominent  lawyer  and  jurist  of  Virginia. 
It  lies  in  the  north  middle  part  of  the  State, 
and  is  nearly  oblong  in  shape.  It  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Campbell  and  Kenton  Coun- 
I ties;  on  the  east  by  Bracken  County  and  the 
I Ohio  River;  on  the  south  by  Harrison  County; 


HISTORY  OF  KEHTFCKY. 


635 


on  the  west  by  Grant  County,  and  by  the 
census  of  1880  it  had  16,702  inhabitants.  It 
is  drained  by  the  Licking  River  and  its  tribu- 
taries, the  main  one  being  the  South  Lick- 
ing; others  being  Fork  Lick,  Kincaid,  Flower, 
Blanket,  Willow,  Crooked,  Richland  and 
Glassy  Creeks.  The  river  and  creek  bottoms 
are  exceedingly  rich,  and  produce  the  finest 
crops.  Away  fi’om  the  bottoms  the  land  is 
undulating  and  in  places  hilly.  The  agri- 
cultiu’al  statistics  for  1880  show  the  follow- 
ing; Corn,  792,695  bushels;  oats,  20,696 
bushels;  wheat,  181,845  bushels;  potatotes, 
26,012  bushels;  tobacco,  4,070,291  pounds; 
horses  and  mules,  5,890;  cattle,  8,490,  and 
hogs,  23,628.  The  completion  of  the  Ken- 
tucky Central  Railroad  has  been  a gi-eat 
benefit  to  the  county,  and  the  land,  in  con- 
sequence, has  advanced  considerably  in  value. 

Pendleton  County  contains  nothing  of 
special  historical  interest.  No  Indian  battles 
were  fought  within  its  limits,  nor  any  depre- 
dations or  indignities  committed  by  them  on 
the  early  settlers.  The  most  important  event, 
perhaps,  connected  with  the  early  history, 
was  the  march  through  the  county  of  the 
notorious  Col.  Byrd  and  his  army  of  hostile 
British  and  savages  in  1779.  As  detailed  in 
the  early  history  of  the  State,  Col.  Byrd, 
with  an  army  of  600  men  and  six  pieces  of 
cannon,*  invaded  Kentucky  in  that  y^ar  and 
captured  Ruddle’s  and  Martin’s  Stations. 
He  ascended  the  Licking  River  to  the  junc- 
tion of  the  main  stream  and  the  South  Fork, 
where  the  town  of  Falmouth  now  stands,  and 
there  landed  his  cannon  and  concentrated  his 
army.  He  proceeded  directly  toward  Rud- 
dle’ s Station  in  what  is  now  Harrison  County, 
marking  his  route  by  the  blazing  of  tiees. 
His  line  of  march,  by  this  means,  could  be 
traced  many  years  afterward.  He  captured 
Ruddle’s  and  Martin’s  Stations,  then  re- 
turned by  the  same  route,  embarked  at  the 
same  place  and  descended  the  Licking  River 
into  the  Ohio.  His  route  is  laid  down  and 
described  as  above  as  “Byrd’s  War  Road  ’’ 
on  Filson’s  map,  the  first  map  made  of  Ken- 
tucky. 

Falmouth,  the  capital  of  the  county,  is 
situated  at  the  confluence  of  the  Licking 
River  and  its  South  Fork  about  fifty  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  united  stream.  The 
town  is  an  old  one,  was  originally  called 
Fallsmouth  and  its  location  was  the  site  of 
one  of  the  early  settlements  of  the  county,  as 
appears  Rom  the  following  advertisement 
published  in  the  Centinel  of  the  North- 
Western  Territory 

*The  first  cannon  eferin  Kentucky. 

fThe  Centinel  was  established  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  1793. 


Plank  and  Scantling  of  ever3'  kind  delivered  at 
the  mill  or  in  Cincinnati,  on  the  shortest  notice. 
Orders  will  be  thankfully  received  and  pointedly 
attended  to.  Jonx  tVALLERE. 

Fallsmouth,  Forks  of  Licking,  Dec.  15, 1794. 

_ N.  B.  The  subscriber  will  be  down  with  a quan- 
tity of  planks  as  soon  as  the  water  of  the  Licking 
will  admit. 

Falmouth  has  the  usual  county  buildings, 
some  half-dozen  churches,  good  schools,  a 
flourishing  general  business,  and  in  1880  a 
population  of  967.  It  was  originally  settled 
and  laid  out  by  Virginians,  and  named  for 
F almouth  in  the  ‘ ‘ Old  Dominion.  ’ ’ Butler, 
next  to  Falmouth,  is  the  largest  town  in  the 
county,  having,  in  1880,  a population  of  255; 
Boston  had  202  and  De  Mossville  141.  Other 
villages,  postofiices  and  railroad  stations  in 
the  county  are  Ash  Run,  Bachelor’s  Rest, 
Catawba,  Dividing  Ridge,  Elizabethville, 
Gardnersville,  Levingood.  Meridian,  Morgan, 
Motier,  Peach  Grove,  Salem,  etc. 


Perry  County  dates  back  to  1820  and 
ranks  as  the  sixty-eighth  county  in  the  State. 
It  was  named  for  Commodore  Oliver  Hazard 
Perry,  the  hero  of  the  naval  battle  on  Lake 
Erie  during  the  war  of  1812.  Clay  and 
Floyd  Counties  contributed  its  territory,  and 
in  turn  it  contributed  to  the  formation  of 
Breathitt,  Letcher  and  Leslie.  It  is  situated 
in  the  southeastern  and  mountainous  part  of 
the  State,  is  still  large  in  area,  and  is  bound- 
ed on  the  north  by  Breathitt  County;  on  the 
east  by  Letcher;  on  the  south  by  Letcher 
and  Leslie;  on  the  west  by  Clay  and  Owsley, 
and  in  1880  it  had  5,607  population.  It  is 
on  the  headwaters  of  the  Kentucky  River, 
which  is  navigable  for  small  boats  descend- 
ing most  of  the  year.  The  rude  civilization 
of  the  mountainous  section  in  which  the 
county  is  located,  is  attested  by  the  names  of 
the  following  streams,  tributaries  of  the 
Kentucky  River ; Squabble,  Hell-for-Certain, 
Cutshin,  Laiu’el  and  Lost  Forks,  Macy, 
Leatherwood  and  Williams.  The  siu'face  is 
rough  and  mountainous,  and  much  of  the 
land  worthless,  except  for  sheep-grazing ; the 
last  census  showed  the  number  of  sheep  to 
be  4,860 — almost  a sheep  for  every  man, 
woman  and  child  in  the  county.  Consider- 
able cattle  and  hogs  are  raised,  and  the  val- 
leys and  bottoms  along  the  water- courses 
produce  fine  crops  of  ’’corn,  oats  and  wheat. 
Coal,  iron  ore  and  salt  exist,  but  the  limited 
market  facilities  prevent  them  from  being 
very  valuable. 

Hazard,  the  seat  of  justice,  and  the  middle 
name  of  Commodore  Peny,  is  a small  place 
situated  on  the  North  Fork  of  the  Kentucky 


630 


IIISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


River,  about  150  miles  southeast  of  Frank- 
fort. Grapevine,  Salt  Creek  and  Trouble- 
some are  cross-road  stores  and  postoffices. 


Pike  County  was  founded  in  1821  from  a 
part  of  Floyd,  and  was  the  seventieth  created 
in  the  State.  It  was  named  in  honor  of  Gen. 
Zebulon  M.  Pike,  a gallant  soldier  and  officer  in 
the  war  of  1812.  Pike  County  forms  the 
extreme  eastern  point  of  the  State,  having 
IVest  Virginia  and  Virginia  for  its  northeast- 
ern, eastern,  and  southeastern  boundaries; 
Letcher  and  Floyd  Counties  for  its  southern 
and  western  boundaries;  Martin  for  its  north- 
ern boundary.  In  1880  it  had  13,001  inhab- 
itants. Along  the  water-courses  are  some 
fine  lands,  which  produce  excellent  crops, 
but  the  uplands  are  mostly  rough  and  hilly, 
and  the  soil  thin.  The  principal  agricultural 
products  are  corn,  oats,  and  wheat,  with  a 
little  tobacco;  also  cattle  and  hogs  are  raised 
to  some  extent. 

Coal,  iron  ore  and  salt  comprise  the  min- 
eral wealth  of  Pike  County.  With  better 
and  more  extended  transportation  facilities, 
coal  mining  could  be  made  an  important 
industry  of  the  county,  and  give  employment 
to  a large  number  of  men. 

Pikeville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  on 
the  West  Fork  of  the  Big  Sandy  River.  It 
is  a small  place  of  246  inhabitants,  and  was 
incorporated  in  1824.  It  has  the  usual  county 
buildings  and  several  flourishing  stores.  Other 
villages  and  postoffices  in  the  county  are 
Ash  Camp,  Bent  Branch,  Canada,  Coal  Run, 
Cedar,  Dorton,  Fish  Trap,  Grange  Store, 
Long  Fork,  Lookout,  Little  Creek,  Mouth 
Card,  Mouth  of  Pond,  Peter,  Powell’s  Mills, 
Paw-Paw,  Robinson  Creek  and  White  Post. 
Collins  has  the  following  of  Pikeville: 

The  courthouse  of  Pike  County  was  erected  in 
1823,  upon  a public  square  in  the  town  of  Pike- 
ville which,  together  with  a large  portion  of  the 
town  itself,  was  in  such  a disputed  situation,  and 
claimed  by  so  many  persons  holding  adversely  to 
each  other,  that  the  Legislature  was  appealed  to  for 
a remedy,  and  by  law  vested  the  title  of  the  town 
in  trustees,  directing  ( them)  to  sell  the  lots,  and 
return  the  proceeds  of  sale  in  secured  bonds  to  the 
circuit  clerk’s  office  for  the  benefit  of  those  whom 
the  court  should  decree  to  be  the  rightful  owners. 
This  secured  to  the  lot  buyers  a good  title,  to  the 
real  owners  full  paj^  for  their  property,  and  to  the 
town  the  measure  of  prosperity  incident  to  a new 
county  seat. 


Powell  County  was  formed  in  1852,  fi’om 
parts  of  Montgomery,  Clark  ancF  Estill,  and 
was  the  one  hundred  and  first  in  the  State.  It 
was  named  for  Hon.  Lazarus  W.  Powell,  the 


first  Democratic  governor  elected  in  Kentucky 
after  the  organization  of  the  party,  and  a sketch 
of  whom  appears  in  a preceding  chapter.  It  is 
situated  in  the  eastern  middle  portion  of  the 
State,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Mont- 
gomery and  Menifee  Counties ; on  the  east  by 
Menifee  and  Wolfe;  on  the  south,  southwest 
and  west  by  Estill  and  Clark,  and  in  1880  it 
had  3, 639  inhabitants.  The  Red  River  runs 
through  the  county  from  east  to  west,  and 
fiumishes  fine  water  power.  Its  tributaries 
are  Indian,  Cane,  Morris,  Hatcher,  Paint, 
Beech  Fork,  Black  Brush,  Snow,  Mid- 
dle Fork,  Lulbegrud,  South  Fork,  Cow,  Cat, 
Owl,  Picks,  Moppen,  Hatton  and  Raccoon 
Creeks.  The  bottoms  along  the  Red  River 
and  tributaries  show  some  very  fine  farms, 
and  produce  good  crops  of  tobacco  and  grain. 
The  uplands  also  produce  well.  The  entire 
county  was  originally  well  timbered  with 
growths  of  the  best  quality. 

Stanton,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  in 
the  northwestern  part  of  the  county,  and  was 
named  in  honor  of  Hon.  Richard  M.  Stanton, 
a prominent  statesman  of  Kentucky.  It  is  a 
small  place  of  98  inhabitants  by  the  last  cen- 
sus, and  with  but  a small  general  business. 
The  public  buildings  were  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1863,  and  most  of  the  records  of  the  county 
were  thus  lost.  The  courthouse  has  since 
been  rebuilt.  West  Bend  and  Hall’s  Store 
are  merely  postoffices  of  the  county. 


Pulaski  County  was  organized  in  1798,  and 
is  the  twenty-seventh  formed  in  the  State. 
Its  territory  was  contributed  by  Lincoln  and 
Green  Counties,  and  its  name  byCount  Pulaski, 
a distinguished  Polish  officer,  who  came  over, 
joined  the  American  Army,  and  took  an  active 
part  in  the  Revolutionary  war  until  his  death, 
which  resulted  from  a wound  received  in  the 
battle  of  Savannah  in  1779.  It  is  situated  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  State,  one  tier  of 
counties  between  it  and  the  Tennessee  line, 
and  is  liounded  on  the  north  by  Lincoln  and 
Rockcastle  Counties;  on  the  east  by  Rock- 
castle and  Laurel;  on  the  south  by  Whitley, 
and  Wayne;  on  the  west  by  Russel  and  Casey, 
and  in  1880  it  had  21,318  inhabitants.  It  is 
drained  by  the  Cumberland  and  Rockcastle 
Rivers,  and  by  Lime,  South  F'ork,  White 
Oak,  Buck,  Pittman  and  Fishing  Creeks. 
The  Cumberland  River  is  navigable  up  to 
within  six  miles  of  Somerset.  Coal  is  abund- 
ant and  is  extensively  mined  since  the  open- 
ing of  the  Cincinnati  Southern  Railroad.  The 
crop  and  stock  statistics  of  1880,  were  as  fol- 
lows: Corn,  612,388  bushels;  oats,  76,159; 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


637 


wheat 80, 636 ; tobacco,  30,516  pounds;  horses 
and  mules,  6,175  head;  cattle,  11,548;  sheep, 
13,812,  and  hogs,  24,755.  The  Cincinnati 
Southern  Railroad  has  given  the  county  access 
to  the  best  markets. 

Settlements  were  made  early  in  Pulaski 
County,  perhaps  prior  to  1790.  Among  the 
fii-st  settlers  were  John  Newby,  William  Owen, 
the  Prathers,  Pitmans,  Thomas  Hansford, 
the  Jaspers,  Alexander  McKenzie,  Charles 
Neal,  John,  James  and  Jesse  Richardson. 
Collins  relates  the  following  of  an  old  citizen 
of  the  county: 

Elijah  Denny,  of  Pulaski  County,  was  one  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  years  old  September  10_,  1855,  and 
as  active  as  many  men  at  40;  worked  daily  on  the 
farm;  had  been  an  early  riser  all  his  life;  never 
drank  but  one  cup  of  coffee,  and  that  was  in  1848. 
He  served  seven  years  in  the  Revolutionary  war; 
was  wounded  at  the  siege  of  Charleston;  was  also  at 
the  siege  of  Savannah,  and  in  the  battles  of  Eutaw 
Springs,  Camden,  King’s  Mountain  and  Monk’s 
Corner.  * * * He  was  a strict  member  of 

the  Baptist  Church,  and  rode  six  miles  to 
every  regular  church  meeting.  He  had  four  sons 
and  five  daughters,  all  living  in  1855 — the  eldest  in 
his  seventy-eighth  year  and  the  youngest  fifty- one 
years. 

Somerset,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
near  the  center  of  the  county  on  the  Cincin- 
nati Southern  Railroad,  about  eighty  miles 
south  of  Frankfort.  It  has  the  usual  county 
buildings,  several  handsome  churches,  good 
schools,  a number  of  flourishing  stores  and 
factories  on  a small  scale,  and  a population 
of  about  1,300.  Other  towns,  stations  and 
postoffices  are  as  follows:  Harrison,  Grundy, 
Waitsboro,  Stylesville,  Sublimity,  Mount  Gil- 
ead, Charlottesville,  Woodstock,  etc. 

The  county  is  rich  in  mineral  wealth. 
Coal  is  the  richest,  perhaps,  of  all  the  mineral 
deposits  and  is  now  being  mined  in  large 
quantities  and  in  different  parts  of  the  county. 
Salt  was  manufactured  in  early  times  exten- 
sively, and  even  up  to  late  years.  Lead  ore 
has  been  found,  but  in  small  quantities,  and 
iron  ore  is  also  found,  but  of  a not  very 
good  quality.  There  is  an  abundance  of 
water-power  on  the  streams,  and  with  the 
plentiful  supply  of  coal  the  county,  with 
capital  and  energy,  ought  to  be  alive  with 
manufactories. 

The  Indians  committed  numerous  depreda- 
tions on  the  early  settlers  of  the  county,  and 
slight  skirmishes  occurred  now  and  then 
between  them  and  the  whites.  But  they  were 
usually  severely  chastised  by  their  pale-faced 
foes.  One  of  the  most  serious  skirmishes 
occurred  on  the  ridge  between  Rockcastle 
River  and  Buck’s  Creek,  in  which  Lieut. 
McClure,  commander  of  the  whites,  was  mor- 
tally wounded,  and  died  the  next  day. 

The  battle  of  Mill  Springs  was  fought  in 


this  county,  in  1862,  between  Federal  troops 
commanded  by  Gen.  George  H.  Thomas,  and 
Confederates  commanded  by  Gen.  George  B. 
Crittenden.  The  latter  were  defeated,  and 
General  Zollicoffer,  second  in  command,  was 
killed.  This  battle  is  more  particularly  de- 
scribed in  the  general  war  history. 

Pulaski  County  has  a number  of  natural 
wonders.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  is 
described  as  follows: 

Upon  the  line  of  the  Cincinnati  Southern  Rail- 
road, in  Pulaski  County,  fifteen  miles  north  of  the 
Cumberland  River,  there  is  a natural  curiosity 
which  rivals  in  picturesqueness  the  Natural  Bridge 
in  Virginia.  Upon  a high  bluff  is  a natural  bridge, 
with  a clear  span  of  100  feet,  and  sixty  feet  high. 
At  oue  end  of  the  bridge,  and  by  a continuation  of 
the  same  rock,  is  formed  a dome  fifty  feet  deep  and 
extending  from  abutment  to  abutment,  300  feet. 
The  branches  of  the  tallest  trees  extend  under  the 
edge  of  this  dome,  and  a person  can  walk  fifty  feet 
within  its  roof. 


Robeetson  County  is  of  recent  origin,  and 
was  created  in  1867,  being  the  111th  county 
in  the  State.  It  was  formed  of  parts  of 
Nicholas,  Harrison,  Bracken  and  Mason 
Counties,  and  named  in  honor  of  Chief  Justice 
George  Robertson.  It  is  one  of  the  small 
^counties,  and  lies  in  the  northeastern  part 
of  the  State;  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Bracken  County;  on  the  east  by  Mason  and 
Fleming;  on  the  south  by  Nicholas;  on  the 
west  by  Harrison,  and  in  1880  it  had  a popu- 
lation of  5,814.  It  is  drained  by  the  main 
Licking  River,  the  north  fork  of  the  Licking, 
and  by  Cedar,  Johnson’s  Fork,  Clay,  Shan- 
non, Helm,  Painter,  West  and  Fire  Lick 
Creeks.  The  county  is  rolling  and  hilly, 
but  there  is  very  little  land  that  is  not  sus- 
ceptible of  cultivation.  In  some  portions  of 
the  county  the  soil  is  excellent  and  well 
adapted  to  raising  tobacco ; in  other  portions 
it  is  rather  thin.  In  1880  the  tobacco  crop 
was  1,722,398  pounds,  while  the  grain  crops 
were  also  good.  Stock-raising  receives  con- 
siderable attention. 

Mount  Olivet,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situ- 
ated in  the  northeast  part  of  the  county.  It 
is  a small  town  with  only  317  inhabitants  in 
1880.  It  has  a new  brick  courthouse  and 
other  public  buildings,  and  the  usual  gen- 
eral business.  Some  ten  years  ago  it  was 
said  that  the  courthouse  was  the  only  brick 
building  in  the  county.  Other  villages  and 
postoffices  are  Bralton,  Bridgeville,  Ken- 
tontown,  Newtown  and  Pin  Hook. 


Rockcastle  County  was  created  in  1810 
from  parts  of  Lincoln,  Pulaski,  Madison  and 


638 


HISTOKY  or  KENTUCKY. 


Knox  Counties,  and  was  the  fifty- second  in 
the  order  of  formation.  It  was  named  for 
Rockcastle  River,  which  borders  it  on  the 
southeast.  It  is  situated  in  the  southeast 
middle  part  of  the  State,  and  is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  Madison  County;  on  the  east  by 
Jackson  and  Laurel;  on  the  south  by  Laurel 
and  Pulaski ; on  the  west  by  Pulaski,  Lincoln 
and  Garrard,  and  in  1880  it  had  a popula- 
tion of  9,670.  It  is  drained  by  the  Dick’s 
and  Rockcastle  Rivers,  and  by  Roundstone, 
Brush,  Skaggs,  and  Copperas  Creeks.  The 
western  part  of  the  county  lays  well  and  the 
soil  is  good,  the  remainder  is  somewhat 
broken  and  hilly.  Much  fine  timber  is  still 
to  be  seen,  consisting  of  walnut,  poplar,  oak, 
hickory,  linden,  dogwood  and  sycamore.  In 
some  sections  there  are  fine  ‘ ‘ sugar  or- 
chards, ” The  crop  and  stock  statistics  in  1880 
were  as  follows:  Corn,  298,693  bushels;  oats, 
19,421;  wheat,  16,202;  potatoes,  16,678;  to- 
bacco, 17,181  pounds;  horses  and  mules, 
2,610  head;  cattle,  4,730;  sheep,  4,277  and 
hogs,  10,329.  The  Knoxville  branch  of  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  system  passes  through 
the  county,  affording  excellent  market  fa- 
cilities. 

Rockcastle  County,  like  all  of  this  section 
of  Kentucky,  is  rich  in  mineral  wealth. 
Building  stone,  coal,  saltpeter  and  mineral 
springs  abound.  Coal  is  the  most  valuble  of 
all  its  mineral  productions,  and,  since  the 
building  of  the  railroad,  coal  mines  are  being 
opened  in  many  places,  and  a large  business 
developed.  Near  Pine  Hill  a fine  bed  of  block 
coal  has  been  discovered.  During  the  war  of 
1812  saltpeter  was  extensively  manufactured 
in  the  saltpeter  caves  which  abound  in  this 
county. 

Mount  Vernon,  the  county  seat,  is  situated 
on  the  Knoxville  Branch  Railroad,  129  miles 
from  Louisville,  and  on  the  State  road  from 
Crab  Orchard  to  Cumberland  Gap.  It  has 
the  usual  county  buildings  and  professional 
men,  several  churches,  schools,  stores,  etc., 
and  about  600  inhabitants.  Other  towns,  sta- 
tions and  postoffices  are  Broadhead,  Living- 
ston, Mount  Guthrie,  Pine  Hill  and  Pleasant 
Valley. 

The  battle  of  Wild  Cat,  quite  a severe 
battle  during  the  late  war,  took  place  in  this 
county  in  October,  1861.  The  Federal  troops 
were  commanded  by  Col.  T.  T.  Garrard  and 
Gen.  Schoepff,  and  the  Confederates  by  Gen. 
Zollicoff'er.  The  latter  were  defeated,  with 
a loss  of  some  thirty  killed  and  109  wounded. 


Rowan  County  was  created  in  1856,  fr’om 
part  of  Fleming  and  Morgan  Counties,  and 


was  the  one  hundred  and  fourth  in  order  of 
formation  in  the  State.  It  is  one  of  the 
northeastern  mountain  counties,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Lewis  County;  on 
the  east  by  Carter  and  Elliott ; on  the  south 
by  Morgan  and  Menifee , on  the  west  by  Bath 
and  Fleming,  andin  1880  it  had  a population 
of  4, 420.  It  is  drained  by  the  Licking  River 
and  tributaries.  The  county  is  broken  and 
hilly,  but  there  are  some  fine  valleys  which 
produce  well.  Grasses  and  grain  are  the 
principal  crops,  and  stock  raising  is  carried 
on  to  some  extent. 

Coal  and  iron  ore  are  to  be  found  in  the 
county,  but  not  in  so  large  quantities  as  in 
other  portions  of  the  State.  The  completion 
of  the  Chesapeake  & Ohio  Railroad  through 
the  county  is  beginning  to  develop  its  min- 
eral resources. 

Morehead,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county,  on  the  rail- 
road, and  is  a small  place  of  163  inhabitants 
by  the  last  census.  It  contains  the  usual 
public  buildings,  several  churches  and  a 
number  of  flourishing  stores.  It  was  named 
in  honor  of  James  T.  Morehead,  the  eleventh 
governor  (through  the  death  of  Gov. 
Breathitt)  of  the  commonwealth.  Other  vil- 
lages and  postoffices  in  the  county  are  Cassi- 
dy' s Mills,  Cross  Roads,  Gill’ s Mills  and  Pine 
Springs. 


Russell  County  was  created  in  1825  from 
portions  of  Wayne,  Adair  and  Cumberland 
Counties,  and  was  the  eighty-first  in  the  or- 
der of  formation.  It  lies  in  the  south  mid- 
dle part  of  the  State,  and  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Casey  County,  dn  the  east  by 
Casey,  Pulaski  and  Wayne,  on  the  south  by 
Clinton,  on  the  west  by  Cumberland  and 
Adah’,  and  in  1880  it  had  7,591  inhabitants. 
Most  of  the  county  is  rough  and  broken,  and 
not  profitable  as  an  agricultural  region,  but 
along  the  Cumberland  River  bottoms  are  some 
fine  farming  lands.  A niimber  of  streams 
flow  into  the  Cumberland  River,  and  these 
form  a fine  water  power  in  the  county. 

Jamestown,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  a small 
place  of  121  inhabitants,  and  is  situated  in 
the  southeast  part  of  the  county.  Besides 
the  county  buildings  it  has  churches,  schools 
and  a good  general  business.  Other  villages 
and  postoffices  are  Creelsboro,  on  the  Cum- 
berland River;  Lairsville  and  Romena,  also 
on  the  Cumberland;  and  Millersville,  Mont- 
pelier and  Buena  Vista — all  small  places. 

The  county  was  named  in  honor  of  Col. 
William  Russell,  a native  of  Virginia,  born 
in  1758,  and  died  in  Fayette  County,  Ky. , in 


HISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


639 


1825.  He  served  gallantly  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  after  his  removal  to  Ken- 
tucky, in  1780,  he  took  an  active  x^art  in  every 
important  expedition  against  the  Indians, 
and  in  1808  President  Madison  appointed 
him  to  the  command  of  a regiment  in  the 
regular  army.  He  participated  in  the  battle 
of  TijDpecanoe,  and  after  Gen.  Harrison’s 
transfer  to  the  northwestern  army.  Col.  Rus- 
sell succeeded  to  the  imx>ortant  command  of 
the  frontiers  of  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Mis- 
souri. Uf)on  the  establishment  of  peace  he 
retired  to  his  farm  in  Fayette  County,  where, 
except  his  service  in  the  Legislature,  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  was  sj^ent  in  peace  and 
quiet. 


Scott  County  was  formed  in  1792  from 
a part  of  Woodford,  and  was  the  second  cre- 
ated after  Kentucky  became  a sovereign 
State,  but  was  the  eleventh  of  the  entire  num- 
ber. It  is  situated  in  the  north  middle  part 
of  the  State,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Owen,  Grant  and  Harrison  Counties;  on  the 
east  by  Harrison  and  Bourbon;  on  the  south 
by  Fayette  and  Woodford;  on  the  west  by 
Franklin  and  Owen,  and  by  the  census  of 
1880  it  had  a population  of  14,965.  It  is  one 
of  the  blue-grass  counties,  in  which  blooded 
stock  is  indigenous.  Great  attention  is  paid 
to  raisino-  fine  cattle  and  thoroughbred  horses. 
The  crop  and  stock  statistics  for  1880  were 
as  follows;  Corn,  919,757  bushels;  oats,  43,- 
707;  wheat,  322,173;  tobacco,  160,535 
pounds;  horses  and  mules,  6,505  head;  cat- 
tle, 10,842;  sheep,  20,750,  and  hogs,  18,864. 
The  Cincinnati  Southern  Railroad  j)asses 
centrally  through  the  county,  and  has  greatly 
benefited  it  and  enhanced  the  value  of  x>rop- 
erty. 

Settlements  were  made  very  early  in  Scott 
County.  It  is  a fact,  probably  without  dis- 
pute, that  the  first  settlement  in  Kentucky 
north  of  the  Kentucky  River  was  made  at 
what  was  known  as  the  ‘ ‘ Royal  Spring,  ’ ’ the 
present  site  of  Georgetown.  In  October, 
1776,  Col.  Robert  Patterson  and  Ben  and 
John  McClelland,  with  other  jjersons  from 
the  neighboring  stations,  erected  a fort  or 
station  on  the  bluff  above  the  Royal  Spring, 
which  they  called  ‘ ‘ McClelland’ s Fort.  ’ ’ So 
fiercely  did  the  Indians  resent  this  encroach- 
ment upon  their  hunting-grounds,  that  the 
whites  were  finally  forced  to  abandon  it, 
and  returned  to  Harrod’s  Station,  whence 
they  had  come.  In  1782  Elijah  Craig  set- 
tled on  the  lands  on  which  Lebanon  Town 
(afterward  Georgetown)  was  located.  Leb- 
anon Town,  as  it  was  at  first  called,  was  laid 


out,  and  in  1790  was  incorporated  by  the 
Legislature  of  Virginia,  and  the  name  changed 
to  Georgetown,  in  honor  of  George  Washing- 
ton. This  was  the  beginning  of  the  settle- 
ment of  Scott  County,  although  at  that  time 
it  was  a part  of  Fayette,  and  from  1788  to 
1792  a part  of  Woodford  County. 

Georgetown,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
a little  south  of  the  geographical  center  of 
the  county,  and  occujDies  the  old  site  of  Mc- 
Clelland’s Fort,  at  the  Royal  Sf)ring.  It  is 
seventeen  miles  east  of  Frankfort,  and  sev- 
enty miles  south  of  Covington  and  Cincin- 
nati. It  is  one  of  the  handsomest  little  cities 
in  central  Kentucky,  and  by  the  census  of 
1880  it  had  2,061  inhabitants.  It  has  an 
elegant  brick  courthouse  of  modern  architec- 
ture, and  other  ijublic  buildings.  A number 
of  spacious  churches  and  magnificent  resi- 
dences adorn  the  streets,  and  among  the  at- 
tractions of  the  town  are  the  best  of  schools, 
public  and  select,  white  and  colored.  There 
are  a large  number  of  stores,  and  the  usual 
general  business. 

Scott  County  is  dotted  over  with  little  vil- 
lages, some  of  them  exceedingly  pretty. 
They  are  as  follows:  Dry  Run,  Great  Cross- 
ing, Hinton,  Long  Lick,  Little  Eagle,  Minors- 
ville,  Newtown,  Oxford,  Payne’s,  Skinners- 
burg,  Sadieville,  Stamping  Ground,  Turkey 
Foot  and  White  Sulx)hur. 

Georgetown  has  always  been  a fine  educa- 
tional center.  As  early  as  January,  1788,  a 
select  school  was  advertised  to  be  opened  at 
Lebanon  Town  (now  Georgetown)  by  Messrs. 
Jones  and  Worley.  They  advertised  to 
teach  the  “Latin  and  Greek  languages, 
together  with  such  branches  of  the  sciences 
as  are  usually  taught  in  public  seminaries.” 
Bacon  College  and  the  Western  Military  In- 
stitute were  excellent  educational  institutions 
in  their  day.  The  Female  Collegiate  Insti- 
tute was  established  in  1838,  and  had  a very 
popular  existence  for  about  ten  years,  and 
was  then  discontinued.  Georgetown  Female 
Seminary  was  established  in  1846,  and  for 
twenty  years  it  was  one  of  the  most  jjopular 
female  schools  in  the  South  or  West.  The 
buildings  were  burned  in  1865,  and  the 
school  discontinued.  The  Georgetown  Col- 
lege was  chartered  in  1829,  and  is  still  in  ex- 
istence. It  is  under  the  auspices  of  the  Bap- 
tist Chiu’ch,  and  is  a first-class  educational 
institution. 

Among  the  j)rominent  men  of  Scott  County 
may  be  mentioned  Col.  Robert  Johnson,  Gov. 
George  W.  Johnson,  Gen.  Joseph  Desha, 
Capt.  Daniel  Gano  and  Gen.  Charles  Scott. 
The  latter  gentleman,  Gen.  Scott,  was  elected 
the  fourth  governor  of  Kentucky.  He  was 


640 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


born  in  Virginia,  and  was  a gallant  soldier, 
and  almost  entirely  brought  up  in  the  army. 
He  was  in  Braddock’s  defeat  in  1755;  he 
served  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  by  his 
own  gallantry  arose  to  the  rank  of  colonel; 
he  was  at  Charleston,  S.  C. , and  was  surren- 
dered with  the  army  there  to  the  British. 
After  the  war  was  over  he  came  to  Ken- 
tucky, and  in  1785  settled  in  what  is  now 
Scott  County,  and  which  upon  its  formation 
was  named  in  his  honor.  He  was  with  Glen. 
St.  Clair  in  his  memorable  defeat  in  1791;  he 
was  with  Gen.  Wilkinson  the  same  year  in  an 
expedition  against  the  Indians  on  the  Wa- 
bash; in  1794  he  was  with  Gen.  Wayne  at 
the  battle  of  the  Fallen  Timber,  and  com- 
manded a division  of  his  army.  In  1808  he 
was  elected  governor  of  the  commonwealth, 
which  position  he  tilled  with  distinction;  he 
died  in  1820  at  a good  old  age. 

Col.  Robert  Johnson  was  the  father  of 
Hon.  Richard  M.  Johnson,  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States  under  Martin  Van  Buren. 
He  was  born  in  Virginia,  and  immigrated  to 
Kentucky  when  it  formed  a county  of  the 
“ old  Dominion.  ” He  took  an  active  part 
in  the  early  period  of  Kentucky’s  history. 
Gov.  George  W.  Johnson  was  a grandson 
of  the  above.  He  was  born  in  this  county, 
was  educated  in  Transylvania  University, 
and  studied  law.  When  the  civil  war  came 
on  he  adopted  the  Southern  side,  and  was 
provisional  governor  of  Kentucky,  when  a few 
bold  and  intriguing  spirits  ‘ ‘ seceded  Ken- 
tucky,” and  established  a provisional  gov- 
ernment in  the  Green  River  country.  His 
career  was  cut  short  by  his  premature  death 
on  the  field  of  Shiloh. 

Gen.  Joseph  Desha,  the  eighth  governor 
of  Kentucky,  was  born  in  Monroe  County, 
Penn.,  in  17G8.  He  was  a descendant  of  a 
French  Huguenot  family,  who  was  forced  to 
fiy  to  America  to  escape  religious  persecu- 
tions. In  1781  his  father  immigrated  to 
Kentucky  and  in  the  following  year  removed 
to  that  portion  of  the  present  State  of  Ten- 
nessee then  known  as  the  ‘ ‘ Cumberland 
District.”  Josej^h  returned  to  Kentucky 
and  in  1792  settled  in  Mason  County.  He  filled 
many  responsible  positions  both  civil  and  mili- 
tary. He  was  with  Gen.  Wayne  in  1794,  at 
the  battle  of  the  Fallen  Timber;  he  was  a 
major-general  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  com- 
manded a division  in  the  battle  of  the  Thames, 
a battle  in  which  Kentucky  was  well  repre- 
sented. He  was  elected  governor  of  the  State 
in  1824,  and  his  administration  was  marked 
by  ability.  He  died  in  Georgetown  in  1842 
at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years. 

Capt.  Daniel  Gano  was  born  in  North 


Carolina  in  1758,  and  died  in  this  county, 
in  1849,  at  the  age  of  ninety-one  years.  He 
served  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  enlisting 
as  an  ensign  of  artillery  when  seventeen 
years  of  age.  He  participated  in  many  bat- 
tles of  the  Revolution,  and  was  with  Gen. 
Montgomery  in  his  winter  march  to  Quebec 
in  1776,  which,  in  severity  of  weather  and 
climate,  found  an  awful  parallel,  a little  more 
than  a quarter  of  a century  later,  in  the  dis 
astrous  retreat  of  Bonaparte  from  Moscow. 
He  came  to  Kentucky  with  Gen.  Wilkinson, 
as  a captain  in  the  regular  army,  and  was 
among  the  first  settlers  of  Frankfort,  and  as- 
sisted to  lay  off  that  town.  He  was  of  the  or- 
der of  Cincinnati,  and  his  diploma  was  signed 
by  George  Washington.  His  name  is  an  hon- 
ored one  in  Kentucky,  and  he  has  many  rep- 
resentatives living  throughout  the  central 
part  of  the  State. 


Shelby  County  was  the  twelfth  organized 
in  the  State,  and  the  third  after  Kentucky 
was  admitted  into  the  Union.  It  dates  back 
to  1792,  and  was  formed  from  a part  of  Jef- 
ferson County.  From  its  original  territory 
have  been  formed  wholly  or  in  part  the  fol- 
lowing counties:  Franklin  in  1794;  Henry 
and  Gallatin  in  1798;  Oldham  in  1823,  and 
Spencer  in  1824.  It  lies  in  the  north  mid- 
dle part  of  the  State,  and  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Oldham  and  Henry  Counties;  on 
the  east  by  Franklin  and  Anderson;  on  the 
south  by  Anderson  and  Spencer ; on  the  west 
by  Jefferson  and  Oldham,  and  by  the  census 
of  1880  it  had  16,813  population.  It  is  wa- 
tered and  drained  by  the  Kentucky  and  Salt 
Rivers  and  numerous  small  tributaries, 
among  which  are  Benson,  Floyd’s  Fork, 
Beech,  Six  Mile,  Clear,  Fox  Run,  Plum, 
Long  Run,  Bullskin,  Brashear,  Gist  Creek, 
etc. 

Shelby  is  one  of  the  finest  counties  in  the 
State,  The  land  mostly  lies  well,  being 
gently  rolling  or  undulating,  and  is  well 
improved  and  in  a high  state  of  cultivation. 
The  soil  rests  on  limestone  with  red  clay 
foundation,  and  is  very  rich  and  productive. 
The  agricultural  and  live  stock  statistics  for 
1880  were  as  follows:  Corn,  1,493,101 
bushels;  oats,  86,488;  wheat,  282,672;  rye, 
35,244;  tobacco,  620, 262  pounds;  horses  and 
mules,  7,761  head;  cattle,  16,134;  sheep, 
37,237,  and  hogs,  43,804.  Hemp  is  also 
grown,  but  not  very  extensively.  The 
Shelbyville  Railroad,  or,  as  now  known,  the 
Bloomfield  Branch,  has  given  the  county  the 
advantage  of  the  best  of  markets. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


641 


The  settlement  of  the  county  dates  back 
to  1779.  In  that  year  Squire  Boone,  a 
brother  of  Daniel  Boone,  established  a 
station  near  where  the  town  of  Shelbyville 
now  stands.  Besides  himself  and  family, 
the  following  men,  most  of  whom  had  fami- 
lies, were  inmates  of  the  station:  Evan  Hin- 
ton, Peter  Paul,  Richard  Cates,  Charles 
Doleman,  John  Buckles,  John  and  Joseph 
Eastwood,  Alexander  Bryan,  Abraham  Holt, 
John  McFadden,  Jerre  Harris,  Alorgan 
Hughes,  John  Hinton,  John  Nichols,  Robert 
Tyler,  Sr.,  John  Stapleton,  James  Wright, 
Adam,  Jacob  and  Peter  Wickersham,  Abra- 
ham Van  Meter  and  G-eorge  Yunt.  Of  this 
station  Collins  says: 

Squire  Boone’s  Station,  situated  near  where 
Shelbyville  now  is,  on  Clear  Creek,  a branch  of 
Brashear’s  Creek,  was  for  nearly  two  years  the  only 
station  between  Harrodsburg  and  the  small  stations 
around  it,  and  the  important  station  at  the  falls, 
and  the  cordon  of  small  stations  stretching  out 
Beargrass  Creek.  It  was  broken  up,  temporarily, 
by  an  Indian  raid  in  September,  1781.  The  in- 
habitants became  alarmed  at  the  appearance  of 
Indians  in  the  neighborhood,  and  determined  to 
remove  to  the  stronger  settlements  on  Beargrass. 
In  effecting  this  removal,  the  party,  necessarily 
encumbered  with  women,  children  and  household 
goods,  was  attacked  by  a large  body  of  Indians 
near  Long  Run,  defeated  and  dispersed  with  con- 
siderable loss.  * * * Over  one  hundred  per- 

sons, men,  women  and  children,  were  killed  or 
taken  captives  during  this  raid. 

The  station  was  thus  virtually  broken  up 
and  abandoned  for  the  time.  But  about  the 
close  of  the  year  1781,  it  was  again  occupied 
by  the  whites.  Other  stations  began  to 
spring  up  in  different  parts  of  the  county 
about  this  time.  Robert  Tyler,  Sr. , and  his 
fi'iend  and  relative.  Bland  Ballai'd,  Sr.,  es- 
tablished one  about  four  miles  from  the 
present  site  of  Shelbyville;  near  to  that  was 
established  Owen’s  Station;  Whitaker’s  Sta- 
tion was  on  the  west  side  of  Clear  Creek, 
and  Well’s  Station  three  miles  from  the 
present  town  of  Shelbyville,  etc. 

Shelbyville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
a little  south  of  the  geographical  center  of 
the  county,  and  is  thirty  miles  from  Louis- 
ville, and  twenty-one  from  Frankfort,  by 
turnpike  road.  It  was  laid  out  as  a town, 
January  15,  1793,  and  the  original  plat  com- 
prised fifty-one  acres  of  land  ‘ ‘ around  and 
adjacent  to  the  place  whereon  the  public 
buildings  are  to  be  erected.”  The  following 
quaint  ‘ ‘ ordnance  ’ ’ was  among  the  first 
passed  by  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  town: 

Ordered  that  every  purchaser  or  purchasers  of 
lots  in  the  town  of  Shelbyville,  shall  build  thereon 
a hued  log  house,  with  a brick  or  stone  chimney, 
not  less  than  one  story  and  a half  high,  otherwise 
the  lot  or  lots  shall  be  forfeited  for  the  use  of  the 
town. 


Shelbyville  has  a fine  brick  courthouse 
and  other  public  buildings,  several  stores, 
banks,  shops,  etc. , and  a large  and  prosper- 
ous general  business.  It  has  a number  of 
elegant  churches,  representing  the  different 
denominations ; good  schools,  both  public  and 
select,  and  an  able  press.  In  1880  it  had 
2,393  inhabitants.  Simpsonville  is  a town 
of  253  inhaljitants,  and  the  largest  town  in 
the  county,  next  to  Shelbyville.  Other  vil- 
lages, postoffices  and  railroad  stations  are 
Bagdad,  Clay  Village,  Chestnut  Grove, 
Cropper’s  Depot,  Christiansburg,  Finchville, 
Graefenburg,  Harrisonville,  North  Benson, 
Peytona,  Scott’s  Station,  South  ville  and 
Todd’s  Point. 

Squire  Boone,  the  pioneer  of  Shelby 
County,  was  a younger  brother  of  Daniel 
Boone,  and  was  the  only  companion  of  the 
latter  in  his  sojourn  in  the  wilderness  of 
Kentucky  for  quite  a time.  But  like  the  old 
hero  and  pioneer,  so  much  is  said  of  him  in 
the  preceding  pages  of  -this  volume,  as  to 
leave  nothing  for  this  chapter  without  re- 
peating what  is  already  written. 

Gen.  Isaac  Shelby,  for  whom  this  county 
was  named,  was  the  first  governor  of  Ken- 
tucky after  it  was  admitted  as  a State  into 
the  Union.  He  was  born  in  Maryland,  in 
1750,  and  was  of  Welsh  descent,  his  grand- 
father having  emigrated  from  Wales  in  a 
very  early  day.  He  was  born  amid  the  tur- 
bulent scenes  of  the  colonial  period,  and 
cradled,  as  it  were,  in  the  frontier  army. 
When  very  young  he  served  as  a lieutenant 
in  a company  commanded  by  his  father, 
Gen.  Evan  Shelby,  in  the  battle  of  Kanawha 
in  October,  1774 — a battle  of  almost  unprec- 
edented severity  in  Indian  warfare.  He 
(Isaac  Shelby)  came  to  Kentucky  in  1775,  as 
a surveyor  for  the  Transylvania  Company. 
The  Revolutionary  war  having  commenced, 
he  returned  home,  when  he  found  himself  a 
citizen  of  North  Carolina,  owing  to  a change 
of  the  boundary  line  between  that  State  and 
Virginia,  where  he  had  previously  settled. 
He  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  militia  of 
Sullivan  County.  In  1780  he  again  visited 
Kentucky,  to  look  after  the  lands  he  had  lo- 
cated. On  his  return  to  North  Carolina,  he 
again  entered  into  the  Revolutionary  struggle 
and,  collecting  around  him  a force,  attacked 
Col.  Ferguson,  one  of  the  ablest  partisan 
officers  in  the  British  service.  He  planned 
the  campaign,  which  resulted  in  the  battle 
of  King’s  Mountain,  the  defeat  of  Ferguson 
and  the  destruction  of  his  entire  army.  He 
afterward  served  for  a time  under  Gen. 
Marion,  the  ‘ ‘ Swamp  Fox  of  the  Carolinas.  ’ ’ 
In  1783  he  settled  permanently  in  Kentucky, 

40 


643 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


and  when  in  1792  Kentucky  was  admitted 
into  the  sisterhood  of  States,  he  was  chosen 
governor.  In  1812  he  was  again  elected 
governor,  and  during  this  second  term  oc- 
curred our  second  war  with  England.  By 
authority  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  at 
the  solicitation  of  Gen.  Harrison  himself,  he 
called  for  troops,  and  in  thirty  days  4,000 
men  responded  to  the  call.  He  at  once 
marched  to  the  seat  of  war,  and  joined  Gen. 
Harrison  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  battle  of 
the  Thames,  in  which  engagement  he,  at  the 
request  of  Gen.  Harrison,  commanded  the 
Kentucky  troops  in  person,  of  which  he  had 
previously  been  commissioned  major-general. 
For  his  conduct  in  this  campaign,  Congress 
presented  him  a gold  medal.  At  the  close 
of  his  second  term  as  governor,  he  returned 
to  his  farm  determined  to  spend  the  remain- 
der of  his  life  in  quiet.  In  1817  he  was 
appointed  Secretary  of  W ar  in  the  cabinet  of 
President  Monroe,  but  declined  on  account 
of  the  infirmities  of  age  which  were  now 
pressing  upon  him.  His  last  official  act  of 
importance  was  the  purchase  in  1818,  in  con- 
nection with  Gen.  Jackson,  of  that  portion 
of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  lying  between 
the  Tennessee  and  Mississippi  Rivers,  and 
since  known  as  the  “Jackson  Purchase.” 
He  died  at  his  home  in  Lincoln  County,  in 
1826,  full  of  years  and  full  of  honors. 

Col.  Chas.  S.  Todd,  a prominent  states- 
man, diplomatist  and  soldier,  was  long  a citi- 
zen of  this  county.  He  was  born  near  Dan- 
ville, Ky.,  in  1791,  and  was  a son  of  Judge 
Thomas  Todd,  a judge  at  one  time  of  the  su- 
preme court  of  the  United  States.  Col.  Todd 
received  the  best  education  to  be  obtained  in 
that  early  day,  and  graduated  from  William 
and  Mary  College,  Virginia,  in  1809.  He 
served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  arose  to  the 
rank  of  inspector -general  of  the  American 
Army  with  the  rank  of  brevet  colonel  of  cav- 
alry. He  married  a daughter  of  Gov.  Shel- 
by; was  secretary  of  State  under  Gov.  Madi- 
son ; was  several  times  a representative  in  the 
Legislature,  was  charge  d'  affairesto  Columbia, 
South  America,  1818-23;  was  minister  to  St. 
Petersburg  under  President  Tyler,  and  filled 
a great  many  other  important  positions,  po- 
litical, social  and  religious.  He  was  no  less 
a writer  than  soldier  and  statesman,  and  was 
editor  for  a time  of  the  Cincinnati  Republic- 
an, a Whig  newspaper;  he  also  prepared  a 
sketch  of  Gen.  Harrison,  under  whom  he 
served  in  the  army.  He  died  in  Louisiana, 
in  1871,  aged  eighty  years. 

Judge  William  Logan,  for  years  an  honored 
citizen  of  Shelby  County,  was  a son  of  the 
old  pioneer  hero,  Gen.  Benjamin  Logan,  and 


was  born  in  Harrodsburg,  Ky.,  in  1776.  He 
served  repeatedly  in  the  Legislature,  was  sev- 
eral times  speaker  of  the  house;  was  twice 
appointed  judge  of  the  court  of  appeals;  was 
a member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention 
of  1799;  was  a candidate  for  governor  in  1820, 
but  was  defeated.  He  died  in  1822  in  the 
very  prime  and  vigor  of  manhood. 


Simpson  County  was  established  in  1819, 
from  parts  of  Logan  and  AVarren,  and  was 
the  sixty-third  county  in  the  order  of  forma- 
tion. It  was  named  in  honor  of  Capt.  John 
Simpson,  one  of  the  many  victims  of  the  dis- 
astrous battle  of  the  River  Raisin.  It  lies  on 
the  border  of  Tennessee,  and  is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  AVarren  County;  on  the  east  by 
Allen;  on  the  south  by  the  State  of  Tennes- 
see; on  the  west  by  Logan  County,  and  in 
1880  had  10,641  inhabitants.  It  is  drained 
by  the  Big  Barren  River  and  its  tributaries, 
and  by  the  Red  River.  Though  small  in 
area,  it  is  one  of  the  best  and  most  product- 
ive counties  in  the  State,  having  little  land 
that  is  not  susceptible  of  cultivation.  The 
surface  is  generally  level  or  slightly  rolling, 
and  the  soil,  based  on  limestone  with  red  clay 
foundation,  is  rich  and  produces  well.  The 
stock  and  crop  statistics  in  1880  were  as  fol- 
lows: Corn,  579,055  bushels;  oats,  86,709; 
wheat,  117,010;  tobacco,  1,668,055  pounds; 
horses  and  mules,  4,233  head;  cattle,  4,599; 
sheep  3,199,  and  hogs,  20,022.  The  rail- 
road facilities  are  good,  and  furnish  the  best 
markets  to  the  very  doors  of  the  farmer. 

Franklin,  the  county  seat,  is  an  enterprising 
little  city  of  1,686  inhabitants  by  the  census 
of  1880.  It  is  situated  on  the  main  line  of 
the  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad,  and  is 
about  fifty  miles  north  of  Nashville,  Tenn. ; 
it  is  also  on  the  old  Louisville  & Nashville 
Turnpike  Road,  once  as  famous  a thorough- 
fare of  travel  between  North  and  South  as 
the  railroad  is  now.  The  town  contains  a 
good  courthouse,  other  public  buildings,  sev- 
eral handsome  churches,  excellent  schools, 
some  fine  residences,  a good  newspaper  (the 
Sentinel),  and  the  usual  number  of  stores  and 
business  houses.  Other  towns  and  post- 
offices  are  Middleton,  Palmyra,  Miliken’s 
Store,  Sinking  Creek,  Hickory  Flat,  etc. 

Simpson  County  contains  little  of  histori- 
cal interest.  No  thrilling  adventures  with 
the  savages  occurred  upon  its  soil;  no  great 
wonders  of  nature  are  found  within  its  limits. 
Among  the  relics  of  antiquity,  however,  of 
which  it  may  boast,  was  the  discovery,  in 
184i,  of  some  skeletons  in  a mound  near 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


648 


Franklin.  These  skeletons  were  found 
twelve  feet  below  the  sm’face,  and  evidently 
belonged  to  the  prehistoric  race.  They  were 
in  a moderately  fair  state  of  preservation — 
particularly  one,  which  was  of  a large  size. 


Spencer  County  was  foi'med  in  1824  from 
parts  of  Nelson,  Shelby  and  Bullitt  Coun- 
ties, and  was  the  seventy-seventh  in  the 
State.  It  lies  in  the  north  middle  sec- 
tion, and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Shelby 
County ; on  the  east  by  Anderson;  on  the  south 
by  Nelson;  on  the  west  by  Bullitt  and  Jef- 
ferson, and  in  1880  it  had  7, 040  inhabitants. 
It  is  drained  by  the  Salt  River,  which  Hows 
though  the  center  of  the  county  from  east  to 
west,  with  Elk,  Plum,  Brashear,  Big  Beech, 
Simpson  and  Ash  Creeks  as  tributaries.  There 
are  many  tine  productive  valleys  along  the 
water-courses;  the  uplands  are  rolling  or 
hilly  but  are  also  fertile,  and  produce  excel- 
lent crops.  The  agricultural  report  of  1880 
showed  the  following:  Corn,  528,987  bushels; 
oats,  18,743;  wheat,  116,006;  potatoes,  8,- 
550,  and  tobacco,  28, 185  pounds.  The  prin- 
cipal exports  are  tobacco,  stock  and  whisky. 

Taylorsville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
near  the  geographical  center  of  the  county, 
on  the  Salt  River,  and  is  a small  town  of  537 
inhabitants.  It  was  named  in  honor  of 
Richard  Taylor,  the  proprietor  of  the  land 
on  which  it  was  laid  out.  Of  the  town  Col- 
lins says: 

Taylorsville  is  located  in  a beautiful  valley, 
comprising  about  160  acres  of  land,  lying  immedi- 
ately in  the  forks  of  the  Salt  River  and  Brashear’s 
Creek.  The  creek  runs  parallel  with  the  river  for 
several  hundred  yards,  and  then,  making  an  abrupt 
turn,  flows  into  it  at  right  angles;  this,  with  the 
elevation  in  the  rear,  leaves  the  bottom  or  valley  in 
an  oblong  square,  the  longest  sides  extending  up  and 
down  the  river  and  creek. 

The  town  has  a brick  courthouse,  several 
churches,  good  schools,  some  handsome 
residences,  a number  of  flourishing  stores, 
and  a good  general  trade.  Other  villages 
and  postoffices  are  Elk  Creek,  Little  Mount, 
Mount  Eden,  Smileytown,  Waterford  and 
Wilson  ville. 

Spencer  County  was  the  scene  of  early 
Indian  outrages;  in  common  with  many  por- 
tions of  Kentucky,  Kincheloe’s  Station,  one 
of  the  earliest  settlements  in  the  county,  was 
attacked  one  night  and  several  persons  were 
killed.  A number  of  women  and  children 
were  massacred,  and  a number  of  others 
carried  away  captives,  some  of  whom  were 
not  released  until  a final  peace  was  estab- 
lished with  the  Indians. 


Capt.  Spear  Spencer,  in  honor  of  whom 
this  county  was  named,  was  a young  man 
whose  devotion  to  his  country  led  him  up  to 
the  cannon’ s mouth.  He  fell  in  the  battle  of 
Tippecanoe,  where  some  of  the  flower  of 
Kentucky  chivalry  was  sacrificed  upon  the 
altar  of  patriotism,  Capt.  Spencer  com- 
manded a rifle  company  in  that  battle,  and 
occupied  an  exposed  position.  He  was  shot 
three  times,  the  last  proving  instantly  fatal. 
He  was  a warm  and  intimate  friend  of  Col. 
J oseph  Hamilton  Daveiss,  who  also  was  killed 
in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe. 

Collins’  history  has  the  following  relic  of 
the  early  history  of  Spencer  County. 

The  late  Capt.  Joseph  Pierce,  of  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  had  erected  over  the  remains  of  his  old  friend, 
Capt.  Jacob  Yoder,  an  iron  tablet  (the  first  oast 
west  of  the  Alleghenies)  thus  inscribed: 

JACOB  YODER 

Was  born  at  Reading,  Penn.,  August  11,  1758,  and 
was  a soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  Army 
in  1777-78. 

He  emigrated  to  the  West  in  1780,  and  in  May,  1783, 
from  Port  Redstone,  on  the  Monon- 
gahela  River,  in  the 

FIRST  FLAT  BOAT 

That  ever  descended  the  Mississippi  River.  He 
landed  in  New  Orleans  with  a cargo 
of  produce. 

He  died  April  7, 1833,  at  his  farm  in  Spencer  County, 
Ky.,  and  lies  here  interred  beneath  this  tablet. 

Capt.  Yoder  was,  Horn  the  above,  the 
pioneer  of  flatboatmen  of  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  Rivers.  He  long  followed  the 
river,  taking  boat  loads  of  produce  to  New 
Orleans,  and  bringing  back  what  was  most 
needed  in  the  new  country.  He  settled  in 
Bardstown,  Ky.,  in  1785,  and  in  1804  in 
Spencer  County,  where  he  died,  as  stated 
above. 


Taylor  County  was  created  in  1848  from 
the  northeast  half  of  Green  County,  and  was 
the  one-hundredth  in  the  order  of  formation. 
It  was  named  in  honor  of  Gen.  Zachary 
Taylor,  the  gallant  soldier,  the  old  ‘ ‘ Rough 
and  Ready  ’ ’ hero  of  Buena  Vista.  It  is  situ- 
ated in  the  central  portion  of  the  State,  and 
is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Marion  County; 
on  the  east  by  Casey  and  Adair ; on  the  south 
by  Adair  and  Green;  on  the  west  by  LaRue, 
and  in  1880  it  had  9, 259  inhabitants.  It  was 
originally  well  timbered;  much  of  the  timber 
still  exists,  and  the  county  is  watered  and 
drained  by  the  Green  River,  Robinson,  Stoner, 
Wilson,  Long  Branch,  Meadow,  Black  Lick, 
Blockhouse,  Big  and  Little  Brush  Creeks, 
etc.  The  surface  is  rolling,  and  in  places 
broken  and  hilly,  but  much  of  the  land  is 


644 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


productive.  The  crop  statistics  in  1880  were 
as  follows:  Corn,  303,207  bushels;  oats, 

39,511;  wheat,  43,920;  horses  and  mules, 
3,244  head;  cattle,  4,009;  sheep,  4,434,  and 
hogs,  11,070.  The  Muldi’ow  Hills  extend 
through  the  eastern  portion  of  the  county. 

Campbellsville,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situ- 
ated a little  north  of  the  center  of  the 
county,  and  is  a small  town  of  775  inhabit- 
ants by  the  last  census.  It  is  on  the  Cum- 
bei'land  & Ohio  Railroad,  and  on  the  turn- 
pike road  from  Lebanon  to  Columbia,  mid- 
way between  the  two  towns.  It  has  a brick 
courthouse,  with  other  public  buildings,  sev- 
eral churches,  good  schools,  a number  of 
stores,  and  an  excellent  general  trade,  par- 
ticularly in  lumber.  The  town  bears  the 
name  of  Andrew  Campbell,  the  first  settler 
in  the  neighborhood.  Other  villages  and 
postoffices  are  Saloma,  Buena  Vista,  Tam- 
pico, Mannsville  and  Pittmansville. 

Iron  ore  exists  in  the  county,  but  has  not 
been  found  in  any  part  in  paying  cpiantities. 
A sulphur  well  near  Campbellsville  was  a 
rather  popular  resort  some  years  ago. 

Camps  Hobson  and  Andrew  Johnson  were 
Federal  camps  established  in  this  county  dur- 
ing the  late  war.  The  citizens  had  a full 
taste  of  the  civil  war.  Several  skirmishes 
took  place  in  the  county  between  Federal  sol- 
diers and  guerrillas.  Quite  a little  battle 
occurred  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county, 
near  where  the  Lebanon  and  Columbia  pike 
crosses  the  Green  River  between  a portion  of 
the  Twenty-tifth  Michigan  Infantry,  under 
Col.  O.  H.  Moore,  and  a detachment  of  Mor- 
gan’s cavalry,  in  which  the  latter  was 
defeated.  A number  of  other  light  skir- 
mishes occui’red  in  the  county  at  different 
times. 


Todd  County  was  created  in  1819  from 
portions  of  Logan  and  Christian  Counties, 
and  was  the  sixty-fourth  in  the  order  of  form- 
ation. It  is  situated  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  State  adjoining  the  Tennessee  line,  and 
is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Muhlenburg 
Cotinty;  on  the  east  by  Logan;  on  the  south 
by  the  State  of  Tennessee;  on  the  west  by 
Christian  County,  and  in  1880  it  had  a pop- 
ulation of  15,994.  It  is  finely  watered  by 
Whippoorwill,  East  and  West  Forks  of  the 
Pond  River,  Elk,  Big  and  Little  Clifty 
Creeks,  etc.  A large  portion  of  the  county 
is  fine  farming  land,  rolling  or  gently  undu- 
lating, but  most  of  the  north  part  is  very 
rough  and  broken.  The  crop  statistics  in 
1880  were  as  follows:  Corn,  749, 789  bushels; 
•oats,  54,407;  wheat,  259,984;  tobacco,  5,808,- 


425  pounds.  Stock  raising  receives  consid- 
erable attention  of  late  years. 

Elkton,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  on 
Elk  Creek,  near  the  center  of  the  county, 
and  is  now  connected  by  rail  with  the  Louis- 
ville & Nashville  Railroad  by  a road  from  it 
to  Guthrie.  It  is  a pleasant  little  town  of 
874  inhabitants  by  the  last  census.  It  has  a 
brick  courthouse,  several  churches,  schools, 
and  the  usual  business.  Other  villages  and 
postoffices  are  Allensville,  Guthrie,  Hayden- 
ville,  Trenton,  Pilot  Knob,  Clifty,  Kirkmans- 
ville,  Sharon’s  Grove  and  Daysville. 

Col.  J ohn  Todd,  for  whom  this  county  was 
named,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  but  be- 
came a resident  of  Virginia.  He  came 
to  Kentucky  about  1775,  located  considera- 
ble land,  and  returned  to  Virginia.  About, 
the  year  178G  he  again  visited  Kentucky.  He 
was  with  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark  in  his 
expedition  against  Kaskaskia  and  Vincennes, 
and  succeeded  Gen.  Clark  in  the  command 
there.  He  was  ajjpointed  the  first  civil  gov- 
ernor of  Illinois.  He  was  sent  to  the  Vir- 
ginia Legislature  in  1780  as  a representative 
from  the  county  of  Kentucky.  In  1782  he 
was  killed  in  the  disastrous  battle  of  the 
Blue  Licks,  being  in  command  of  the  whites 
at  the  time. 


Trigg  County  was  formed  in  1820  out  of 
parts  of  Christian  and  Caldwell  Counties, 
and  was  the  sixty-sixth  in  the  State.  The 
State  of  Tennessee  forms  its  southern  border, 
with  the  Tennessee  River  on  the  west,  separat- 
ing it  fi’om  Calloway  and  Marshall  Counties; 
Lyon  County  on  the  north,  and  Christian  on 
the  east;  in  1880  it  had  14,489  inhabitants. 
The  Cumberland  River  flows  through  the 
county.  A portion  of  the  county  is  fine 
farming  land  and  a portion  is  rough,  broken 
and  hilly,  but  generally  produces  well.  The 
statistics  for  1880  were,  corn,  796,954 
bushels;  oats,  14,879;  wheat,  94,516,  and 
tobacco,  5,667,143  pounds.  Stock  raising 
is  of  late  years  receiving  considerable  atten- 
tion. 

Trigg  County  was  early  settled.  Prob- 
ably the  first  white  people  were  Dr.  Thomas 
Walker  and  Daniel  Smith,  who  were  ap- 
pointed to  survey  the  line  between  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee,  then  portions  of  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina.  The  first  permanent  settle- 
ment in  the  county,  however,  was  made  in 
the  vicinity  of  Cerulean  Springs.  As  early 
as  1782-83  Robert  Goodwin,  of  North  Caro- 
lina, and  his  sons,  Samuel  and  Jesse,  settled 
in  that  neighborhood.  After  the  Goodwins 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


645 


came  the  Spencers,  James  Daniel,  John 
Blakel,  William  Johnson,  John  Goode,  Joel 
Thompson  and  others.  Thus  the  county  was 
occupied  by  the  whites. 

Cadiz,  the  county  seat,  is  situated  on  Little 
River,  a small  tributary  of  the  Cumberland, 
and  is  one  of  the  handsomest  and  cleanest 
little  towns  in  southern  Kentucky,  having 
640  inhabitants  in  1880.  It  has  a new  court- 
house, which  is  an  honor  to  the  town  and 
county,  several  elegant  churches,  fine  schools, 
a number  of  fiourishing  stores,  and  a good 
general  trade,  together  with  an  excellent 
newspaper. 

Canton,  on  the  Cumberland  River,  was  at 
one  time  (before  the  era  of  railroads)  the 
most  important  place  in  the  county.  It  is 
quite  a shipping  point  yet,  but  railroads  have 
deprived  it  of  much  of  its  former  business. 
It  had  in  1880  a population  of  246.  In  1870 
it  had  320 — a falling  off  of  seventy-four  in 
the  last  decade.  Other  villages  and  post- 
ofiices  are  Cerulean  Springs,  Empire  Iron 
IV^orks,  Caledonia,  Golden  Pond,  Laura 
Furnace,  Linton,  Lindsay’s  Mills,  Maple 
Creek,  Montgomery,  Rockcastle,  Roaring 
Springs  and  Wallonia. 

Trigg  County  possesses  considerable  min- 
eral wealth,  comprising  hydraulic  limestone, 
lead  and  iron  ore.  Several  fuimaces  for  the 
manufacture  of  iron  have  been  erected  in  the 
county  at  different  times,  but  the  limited 
facilities  for  transportation  rendered  them 
expensive,  and  they  were  abandoned.  The 
water  power  of  the  county  is  valuable,  and 
with  railroads  to  develop  it  the  county  will 
be  one  of  the  best  in  this  portion  of  the 
State. 

Col.  Stephen  Trigg,  for  whom  this  county 
was  named,  was  a prominent  man  in  the 
early  history  of  Kentucky.  He  was  born  in 
Virginia,  and  came  to  Kentucky  in  1779  as 
a land  commissioner,  and  finally  established  a 
station  in  the  present  county  of  Mercer.  He 
was  a gallant  soldier,  and  after  coming  to 
Kentucky  took  an  active  part  against  the 
Indians.  He  was  killed  August  19,  1782,  in 
the  disastrous  battle  of  Blue  Licks. 


Thimble  County  was  named  in  honor  of 
Judge  Robert  Trimble,  who  is  extensively 
noticed  in  a preceding  chapter  of  this  volume. 
It  was  formed,  in  1836,  from  parts  of  Gal- 
latin, Oldham  and  Henry  Counties,  and  is 
the  eighty-sixth  in  the  order  of  formation. 
It  is  situated  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
State,  bordering  on  the  Ohio  River,  which 
separates  it  fi’om  the  State  of  Indiana  and 


forms  its  western  and  northern  boundary, 
with  Carroll,  Henry  and  Oldham  Counties 
on  its  east  and  south.  In  1880  it  had  a 
population  of  7,171.  The  Little  Kentucky 
River  flows  across  the  east  corner  of  the 
county,  emptying  into  the  main  stream  a little 
above  the  mouth  of  the  latter;  other  streams 
are  Barebone,  Middle,  Patton  and  Spring 
Creeks.  The  stock  and  crop  statistics  for 
1880  are  as  follows;  Horses  and  mules,  2,- 
882  head;  cattle,  4,013;  sheep,  4,091;  hogs, 
8,610;  corn,  281,183  bushels;  oats,  25,399; 
wheat,  66,027;  tobacco,  1,658,307  pounds. 

Trimble  County  fimnishes  a marble,  termed 
by  geologists  Conchitic  marble,  on  Corn 
Creek  uear  the  Ohio  River.  It  is  a di’ab- 
gray,  and  is  susceptible  of  a fine  polish. 
Portions  of  it  are  variegated  with  “pink, 
pinkish  brown,  or  fiesh-colored  spots  or 
patches.”  The  corresponding  vein  has  been 
worked  to  some  extent  in  Indiana,  and  pro- 
nounced a valuable  marble. 

Bedford,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
near  the  center  of  the  county.  It  is  a small 
place  of  197  inhabitants  in  1880,  and  is  dis- 
tinguished for  nothing  in  particular,  except 
being  the  capital  of  the  county.  It  has  the 
usual  public  buildings,  churches,  schools, 
stores,  general  business,  etc.  Milton,  on  the 
Ohio  River,  opposite  Madison,  Ind. , is  one 
of  the  oldest  towns  in  Kentucky  and  the 
most  important  one  in  the  county.  It  was 
incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  Virginia 
in  1789,  almost  a century  ago.  In  1880  it 
had  352  inhabitants.  Other  villages  and 
postoffices  are  Corn  Creek,  Ewingford,  Kings- 
ton, Palmyra,  etc. 


Union  County  was  created  in  1811,  out  of 
the  western  part  of  Henderson  County,  and 
was  the  fifty-fifth  in  the  State  in  the  order  of 
formation.  It  lies  on  the  Ohio  River,  and 
the  State  line  between  Indiana  and  Illinois 
strikes  the  Ohio  opposite  the  center  of  the 
county.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the 
Ohio  River  and  Henderson  County;  on  the 
east  by  Henderson  and  Webster  Counties; 
on  the  south  by  Webster  and  Crittenden;  on 
the  west  by  the  Ohio  River,  and  in  1880  the 
United  States  census  gave  it  17,809  inhabi- 
tants. The  surface  alternates  between  level, 
undulating  and  hilly  lands.  The  soil  is  good 
and  the  crop  statistics  for  1880  were  as  fol- 
lows: Corn,  1,663,957  bushels;  oats,  53,375; 
wheat,  256,697;  tobacco,  2,996,293  pounds. 
Live  stock  also  receives  due  attention.  ‘ ‘ The 

origin  of  the  county’s  name,”  says  IVL-.  Col- 
lins, “is  in  doubt;  but  the  generally  received 


646 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY". 


opinion  is  that  it  was  so  named  because  of 
the  hearty  unanimity  with  which  the  people 
assented  to  the  division  of  the  old  county.  ’ ’ 

IMorganfield,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  sitiiated 
in  the  northeast  part  of  the  county,  and  by 
the  last  census  has  744  inhabitants.'  It  was 
laid  out  in  1812,  and  named  for  Gen.  Mor- 
gan of  Revolutionary  fame.  It  has  a new 
and  handsome  courthouse  and  other  public 
buildings,  a number  of  churches,  good 
schools  and  the  usual  business.  Uniontown 
is  the  largest  town  in  the  county,  having  in 
1880  a population  of  1,015.  It  is  said  to 
have  attained  its  name  from  the  union  of 
two  villages  that  were  incorporated  as  one  in 
1840.  Other  villages  and  postoffices  are  Bor- 
derly,  Boxville,  Caseyville,  DeKoven,  Gum 
Grove,  Hitesville,  Raleigh  and  Seven  Guns. 

The  county  has  a number  of  springs  of 
sulphur,  chalyVieate  and  tar  or  oil.  Some 
eight  miles  from  Morganfield,  there  is  a rock 
that  is  something  of  a curiosity.  It  has  a 
hat  surface  upon  which  appear  numerous 
barefoot  tracks  of  human  beings  and  of 
dogs,  as  perfect  as  if  just  made  in  clay. 
Says  Collins: 

About  three  miles  from  Caseyville  there  is  a 
rock  called  the  “ Anvil  Rock,”  which  closely  re- 
sembles a blacksmith’s  anvil.  It  is  about  50  feet 
high,  20  feet  in  width,  and  2 feet  thick,  with  a 
projection  or  spur,  like  tlie  horn  of  an  anvil 
This  rock  stands  upon  level  bottom  land,  entirely 
isolated;  and  iiy  what  process  it  was  placed  there, 
in  erect  position,  must  forever  remain  a mystery, 

Gen.  O.  M.  Mitchell,  a major-general  in 
the  Federal  Army  during  the  late  war,  was 
born  in  this  county,  August  28,  1810,  and 
died  at  Beaufort,  S.  C. , October  30,  1802,  of 
yellow  fever,  while  still  in  the  army,  and 
commander  of  the  ‘ ‘ Dei^artment  of  the 
South.”  He  was  a graduate  of  West  Point 
Military  Academy  in  1829,  ranking  as 
fifteenth  in  a class  of  forty-six.  He  was  a 
scholar  and  an  astronomer  of  considerable 
note. 


Warren  County  was  created  in  1796,  out 
of  a part  of  Logan,  and  was  the  twenty- 
fourth  formed  in  the  State.  It  was  named 
for  Gen.  Joseph  Warren,  one  of  the  first 
martyrs  to  the  war  for  independence,  and 
who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  It  is 
situated  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State, 
and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Edmonson 
and  Butler  Counties;  on  the  east  l)y  Barren; 
on  the  south  by  Allen  and  Simpson,  on  the 
west  by  Butler  and  Logan,  and  in  1880  it 
had  27,531  inhabitants.  The  Big  Barren 
River,  which  has  its  source  near  the  Cumber 
land,  flows  through  the  county,  and  is 


navigable  as  far  up  as  Bowling  Green.  The 
other  water-courses  are  the  Gaspar  River, 
Bay’s  Fork,  Drake’s  and  Jenning’s  Creeks. 
The  surface  of  the  county  is  undulating  and 
well  adapted  to  agriculture.  The  soil  is  rich 
and  fertile,  and  the  crop  reports  for  1880 
showed  the  following  statistics : Corn,  1,495,- 
415  bushels;  oats,  204,000;  wheat,  150,750, 
and  tobacco,  2,605,388  pounds.  Of  late 
years  much  attention  has  been  paid  to  stock 
raising  and  with  satisfactory  results. 

The  first  record  of  the  Anglo  Saxon,  in  what 
is  now  Warren  County,  was  discovered  upon 
the  forest  trees.  On  the  north  bank  of  the 
Big  Barren  River,  some  three  miles  from  the 
site  of  Bowling  Green,  the  following  names 
were  found  cut  in  the  bark  of  a large  beech 
tree:  “J.  Neaville,  E.  Bulger,  I.  Hite,  V.  Har- 
man, J.  Jackman,  W,  Buchanon,  A.  Bow- 
man, J.  Drake,  H.  Skaggs,  N.  Nall,  J.  Bow- 
man, Tho.  Slaughter,  J.  Todd.”  The  date 
was  given  upon  the  tree  as  follows:  “ 1775, 
June  Th  13.”  In  the  immediate  vicinity 
were  other  trees  bearing  the  same  silent  rec- 
ords of  the  presence  of  the  white  man.  A 
beech  tree  a few  paces  from  the  one  described 
bore  on  one  side  the  following  inscription: 
“ Wm.  Buchanon,  June  14,  1775;”  and  on 
the  other  side:  “ J.  Todd,  June  17th,  1775.” 
Still  another  beech,  standing  two  or  three 
rods  distant,  showed  the  following:  “ J. 

Drake,  Isaac  Hite,  15  June,  1775,”  and 
above  the  names  the  date  “June  23,  1775.” 
It  does  not  follow  that  these  men  ever  be- 
came actual  settlers  of  the  county.  They 
did  not;  they  were  a company  of  hunters  who 
camped  in  the  vicinity  for  a short  time. 
Some  of  them,  however,  became  prominent 
in  the  State,  and  in  the  Indian  wars  of  the 
early  times. 

Bowling  Green,  the  capital  of  the  county, 
is  the  largest  and  most  important  town  in 
the  Green  River  country.  It  is  situated  on 
the  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad,  114 
miles  south  of  Louisville,  and  on  the  Big 
Barren  River  at  the  head  of  slackwater  nav- 
igation. It  is  one  of  the  handsomest  inland 
cities  in  the  State,  and  is  as  enterprising  as 
handsome,  showing  a steady  growth  and  in- 
crease in  popiilation;  in  1870  it  had  4,574 
inhabitants,  and  in  1880  it  had  5,114.  In 
the  center  of  the  city  is  a beantiful  little  park 
and  fountain  that  are  an  ornament  and  a 
pleasant  place  of  resort.  No  city  of  its  size 
surpasses  it  in  handsome  residences,  business 
blocks,  churches  and  school  buildings.  Its 
courthouse  is  among  the  handsomest  in  the 
State,  and  the  water-works  cannot  be  excelled 
in  any  city,  the  reservoir  being  200  feet 
above  the  general  level  of  the  town,  and  thus 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


647 


obviating  the  necessity  of  fire  engines.  Sev- 
eral banks  afford  the  business  men  of  the 
city  and  surrounding  country  with  ample 
facilities  of  trade,  and  a press,  much  above 
the  average  of  small  inland  cities,  guards 
well  their  interests. 

Other  towns  and  villages  in  the  county  are 
Oakland,  Woodburn,  Smith’s  Grove,  Kock- 
field.  Bristow,  Memphis  Junction,  Rich 
Pond;  these  are  all  situated  on  the  railroad. 
Green  Hill,  Three  Forks  and  Claypool  are 
postal  villages  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
county.  Martinsville  is  situated  on  the  Big 
Barren  River;  Galloway’s  mill  is  in  the 
southeastern  part,  and  Hadley,  Tourgee  and 
Clark’s  Landing  are  in  the  western  and 
northwestern  part. 

Warren  County  has  a great  many  caves, 
and  all  the  natural  wonders  common  to  the 
cavernous  limestone  regions.  Some  of  these  ; 
caves  are  of  considerable  magnitude.  One 
of  the  most  extensive  is  some  six  miles  from 
Bowling  Green  in  a northeast  direction.  In 
the  bottom  of  the  cave  great  numbers  of  hu- 
man bones  were  found,  but  whether  the  cave 
was  a sepulcher  for  the  prehistoric  race,  or 
a den  for  murderers  or  robbers,  who  in  the 
early  times  infested  the  Green  River  country, 
is  not  known.  In  the  level  barrens  about 
three  miles  south  of  Bowling  Green  is  an- 
other cave,  which,  together  with  the  stream 
of  water  flowing  into  it,  is,  even  in  this  cav- 
ernous region,  something  of  a cmiosity.  A 
large  stream  of  water  issues  from  the  earth, 
flows  a short  distance  and  empties  into  the 
cave.  A mile  or  so  from  the  cave  the  stream 
(supposed  to  be  the  same)  breaks  out  again 
and  finally  mingles  its  waters  with  those  of 
the  Big  Barren  River.  ‘ ‘ In  the  cave  a water 
grist-mill  and  wool-carding  machine  were 
erected  years  ago — the  rock  ceiling  of  the 
cave  serving  as  a roof  to  the  mill.  Over  the 
cave  and  mill  passed  the  turnjjike  road  to 
Nashville,  Tenn. , and  the  great  number  of  | 
people  who  traveled  over  the  road  daily 
little  dreamed,  perhaps,  of  the  biasy  hum  of 
machinery  beneath  them.  ’ ’ Another  of  the 
wonders  of  nature,  in  the  county,  is  thus  de- 
scribed; 

In  the  level  open  barrens,  eight  miles  east  of 
Bowling  Green,  there  is  a large  deep  sink,  about 
50  yards  wide  and  100  yards  in  length.  On  the 
south  side  the  descent  is  nearly  20  feet;  on  the  north 
side  it  is  150  feet  deep.  Large  river  trees  are  grow- 
ing on  it.  Shortly  after  the  first  settlement  here  a 
blind  horse  fell  in  this  sink.  A hungry  wolf  had 
the  folly  to  jump  in  after  its  prey,  and  being  un- 
able to  get  out  was  found  and  shot.  Since  that 
time  it  has  been  known  by  the  name  of  the  “Wolf 
Sink.” 

A number  of  mounds  and  earthworks  were 
still  plainly  visible  in  the  county  when  first 


seen  by  the  whites,  but  the  hand  of  time  has 
obliterated  most  of  them.  So  far  as  the 
mounds  were  investigated  they  were  found  to 
contain  human  bones.  On  the  bank  of  the 
Big  Barren  River,  near  Bowling  Green,  were 
the  remains  of  a fort.  Within  the  inclosure 
were  a number  of  graves.  Another  fort  was 
on  the  Green  River,  some  ten  miles  fr’om 
Bowling  Green.  It  was  on  a high  bluff  that 
was  as  inaccessible,  and  as  difficult  to  scale, 
as  the  ‘ ‘ Heights  of  Abraham,  ’ ’ except  from 
a single  point. 

Among  the  noted  men  of  WaiTen  County 
may  be  mentioned  the  Hon.  Joseph  R.  Under- 
wood, who,  though  not  a native  of  the  county, 
was  a citizen  of  it  for  half  a century  or  more. 
He  was  born  in  1791,  in  Virginia,  and  after 
receiving  a good  education  he  was  sent  to 
Transylvania  University  to  “finish  off.’’ 
He  then  entered  upon  the  study  of  the  law 
with  Hon.  Robert  Wickliffe,  of  Lexington. 
He  enlisted  in  a company  of  volunteers  re- 
I cruited  by  Capt.  John  C.  Morrison,  for  the 
j war  of  1812,  and  was  made  a lieutenant  in  it. 
He  was  in  “ Dudley’s  Defeat  ’’  and  narrowly 
escaped  massacre,  being  captured  and  held  a 
prisoner  for  some  time;  many  of  the  Amer- 
ican prisoners  were  massacred  in  cold  blood 
by  the  savages.  After  the  war  he  located  in 
Glasgow,  and  in  1823  removed  to  Bowling 
Green.  In  1828  he  was  commissioned  a 
judge  of  the  court  of  appeals,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  until  he  resigned  in  1835.  He 
was  several  times  elected  to  the  Legislature, 
and  repeatedly  to  Congress,  and  in  1847 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate. 

J udge  Underwood  was  a Mhig  in  politics. 
When  the  great  civil  war  came  on  he  stood 
unflinchingly  by  the  Union,  and  like  many 
other  able  men  of  that  time,  suffered  himself 
to  be  again  elected  to  the  State  Legislature. 
No  period,  perhaps,  in  the  history  of  the 
State  coifld  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky 
boast  of  the  assembly  of  brains  that  flourished 
within  its  halls  during  the  years  of  the  civil 
war.  When  the  war  was  over  Judge  LTnder- 
wood  retired  fr'om  x^olitics,  and  in  x?eace  and 
quiet  spent  the  x’emainder  of  his  days. 


Washington  County  was  the  first  county 
created  by  the  new  State  of  Kentucky,  there 
being  nine  at  the  time  the  State  was  admit- 
ted into  the  Union,  that  had  been  established 
by  the  mother  commontvealth,  Virginia.  It 
was  formed  in  1792,  and  comxnised  a large 
area,  which  has  been  curtailed  by  the  forma- 
tion of  Anderson  and  Marion  Counties.  It 
was  named  for  George  Washington,  Presi- 


648 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


dent  of  the  United  States  at  the  time  of  its 
formation.  It  is  situated  near  the  center  of 
the  State,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Nelson  and  Anderson  Counties;  on  the  east 
by  Mercer;  on  the  south  by  Marion;  on  the 
west  by  Nelson,  and  in  1880  had  14,419  in- 
habitants. The  country  is  generally  level 
or  undulating  and  ju-oduces  well,  the  crop 
and  stock  report  in  1880  showing  as  follows: 
Corn,  987,570  bushels;  oats,  53,942;  wheat, 
135,099;  horses  and  mules,  6,879  head;  cattle, 
10,438;  sheep,  12,242,  and  hogs,  28,035. 
The  county  is  drained  by  the  Salt  River,  and 
numerous  other  small  streams,  among  which 
are  Lick  Run,  Little  Beech  Fork,  Cartwright, 
Long  Lick,  Thompson  and  Hardin  Creeks. 

Settlements  were  made  very  early  in  what 
is  now  Washington  Coimty.  Sandusky  Sta- 
tion was  established  in  1770  by  James  San- 
dusky. It  was  on  Pleasant  Run,  and  was 
occupied  by  him  about  ten  years,  when  he 
removed  to  the  present  county  of  Bourbon 
and  established  a station  there  on  Cane 
Ridge.  Jacob  Sandusky  was  a brother  of 
his,  and  was  with  Harrod  at  his  settlement 
at  Harrodstown,  now  Harrodsburg.  In  1774 
he  traveled  from  the  settlement  to  the  Cum- 
berland River,  and  there  procured  a canoe 
and  in  that  frail  craft  descended  the  Cumber- 
land and  Ohio  into  the  Mississippi,  and  thence 
to  New  Orleans — a wonderful  feat  in  those 
days  of  peril  and  danger.  Upon  his  return 
he  joined  his  brother’s  settlement  in  Washing- 
ton County. 

Springfield,  the  county  seat,  is  an  old 
town,  verging  on  to  a century  in  age.  It  was 
established  in  1793  and  named  Sjuingfield 
on  account  of  a fine  spring  hard  by.  It  is 
still  a small  town,  and  for  the  past  fifty 
years,  with  slight  exceptions,  has  ‘ ‘ grown 
smaller  by  degrees  and  beautifully  less,  ’ ’ hav- 
ing, in  the  decade  preceding  1840,  fallen  off 
twenty;  in  that  preceding  1850,  fallen  off 
seventy-one;  that  preceding  1800,  thirty; 
that  preceding  1870,  gained  five,  and  in 
1880  had  a population  of  but  610.  It  has  a 
substantial  brick  courthouse  and  other  public 
buildings,  churches,  schools,  stores,  a bank,  a 
newspaper  and  the  usual  general  business. 
Other  villages  and  postoffices  are  Brownsburg, 
Antioch,  Beech  Fork,  Mackville,  Frederick - 
town,  Willisburg,  Hadesville,  Beechland, 
Sharpsville,  etc. 

The  Cumberland  & Ohio  Railroad  was  lo- 
cated through  this  county,  but  has  never 
been  built,  except  a link  from  Lebanon  to 
Greensburg.  Recently  (1886)  the  work  has 
been  begun  of  extending  the  Bardstown 
Branch  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville  system  ■ 
to  Springfield — perhaps  beyond.  This  will  j 


give  the  county  a good  outlet  for  its  super- 
fluous stock  and  produce. 

Springfield  and  Washington  County  are 
well  supplied  with  schools,  male  and  female, 
public  and  select.  Catholic  and  Protestant. 
Most  of  the  select  schools,  however,  and 
those  of  a high  order,  comprising  academical 
and  collegiate  courses,  are  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Several 
fine  colleges — one  for  the  education  of  the 
priesthood — are  located  in  the  county,  and  are 
liberally  endowed.  Their  buildings  are  large, 
handsome  and  commodious,  their  property 
valuable,  and  every  means  afforded  for  a 
complete  education. 

Washington  County  claims  some  of  the 
honor  attaching  to  Abraham  Lincoln.  His 
parents,  Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks, 
were  married  in  this  county  September  23, 
1806.  The  following  certificate  is  to  be  seen 
in  the  county  clerk’s  office: 

I do  hereby  certify  that  the  following  is  a list  of 
the  marriages  solemnized  by  me,  the  subscriber, 
since  the  25th  of  April,  1806,  until  the  date  hereof. 
* *•«•*** 

Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks,  September 
23,  1806. 

* •>!•**»  * 

Given  under  my  hand  this  23d  of  A.pril,  1807. 

Jesse  Head,  I).  M.  E.  Church. 

The  above  record  of  the  marriage  of 
Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks  is  given 
with  some  fifteen  or  twenty  others,  solemnized 
by  the  old  minister  during  the  year.  He  was 
one  of  the  well  known  pioneer  Methodist 
preachers  of  Kentucky,  and  his  certificate  of 
the  marriage  of  President  Lincoln’s  parents 
confutes  the  slander  that  he  (President  Lin- 
coln) was  an  illegitimate  child.  The  mar- 
riage, as  recorded,  occurred  September  23, 
1806,*  and  all  authorities  on  the  subject  of 
President  Lincoln’s  birth  agree  on  the  one 
point  that  it  took  place  February  12,  1809. 
If  this  is  authentic  then  the  indisputable  evi- 
dence in  the  clerk’s  office  at  Springfield,  of 
j the  marriage  of  Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy 
Hanks,  proves  President  Lincoln’ s birth  with- 
out a stain.  The  history  of  his  life  by  John 
G.  Nicolay  and  John  Hay,  now  running 
through  the  ‘ ‘ Century  Magazine,  ’ ’ gives  a 
portrait  of  Mr.  Head  and  a view  of  the 
house  in  which  the  marriage  of  Lincoln’s  par- 
ents took  place.  The  writer  of  this  article  has 
seen  the  record  of  the  marriage  in  the  clerk’s 
office. 

*Such  is  the  record,  but  by  <a  transposition  of  dates  in  copy- 
ing, the  date,  September  23,  1806,”  was  placed  to  Thomas  Lin- 
coln’s marriage,  when  it  should  have  been  ‘‘.Tune  12,  1806.” 
Jlr.  Head  in  his  certificate  wrote  the  dates  before  the  names, 
and  the  clerk  in  copying  it  “ lost  the  proper  sequence  of  the 
‘ entries,”  hence,  the  transposition  of  dates,  or  of  giving  to  the 
. Lincolns  the  date  that  properly  belonged  to  the  next  couple  on 
I the  list. 


HISTORY  OF  KEYTUCKY. 


649 


The  Hardins  were  among  the  very  early  ] 
settlers  of  Washington  County.  Col.  John 
Hardin,  a sketch  of  whom  is  given  in  con- 
nection with  Hardin  County,  settled  here  in 
1786.  He  and  his  brother,  Gen.  William  i 
Hardin  (see  sketch  of  Breckinridge  County), 
were  the  first  of  that  noted  family  to  pene- 
trate the  wilderness  of  Kentucky.  They  j 
came  to  the  State  as  early  as  1780,  and  took  j 
an  active  part  in  wi’esting  the  country  from 
the  savages. 

Gen.  Martin  D.  Hardin  was  a son  of  Col. 
John  Hardin,  and  a distinguished  citizen  of 
this  county.  He  was  six  years  old  when  his 
father  immigrated  to  this  county.  After  re- 
ceiving a good  education  for  the  time,  he 
read  law  with  Col.  George  Xicholas,  and  was 
duly  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  commenced 
practice  at  Richmond.  Afterward  he  prac- 
ticed at  Frankfort,  and  was  a leader  at  the 
bar — a bar  distinguished  for  its  talent.  He  ! 
was  a man  of  marked  ability,  and  held  many 
high  and  important  positions.  He  was  a 
major  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  proved  him- 
self a gallant  soldier  and  ofiicer.  He  was 
secretary  of  State  during  Gov.  Shelby’s  last 
term,  1812-16;  and  he  was  appointed  by 
Gov.  Slaughter  to  fill  out  an  unexpired  term 
in  the  United  States  Senate.  He  was  the 
father  of  Col.  John  J.  Hardin,  of  Illinois, 
who  fell  in  the  battle  of  Buena  Yista  in  the 
same  bloody  charge  with  Cols.  Clay  and  Mc- 
Kee of  Kentucky.  He  died  in  Frankfort  in 
1823  at  the  age  of  forty-three  years. 

Hon.  John  Pope,  the  representative  of  a 
distinguished  family,  "was  long  a resident  of 
this  county.  He  was  born  in  Virginia,  in  1770, 
and  brought  to  Kentucky  when  a small  boy. 
Receiving;  a grood  education,  he  read  law  and 
soon  acquired  eminence  at  the  bar.  He 
served  repeatedly  in  the  Legislature,  in  Con- 
gress, and  the  National  Senate,  and  was  ap- 
pointed by  President  Jackson  governor  of 
Arkansas  Teiuitory  in  1829,  which  office  he 
held  for  six  years.  He  died  at  his  home  in 
Washington  County  in  1845,  in  his  seventy- 
sixth  year. 

Judge  Felix  Grundy,  a native  of  Virginia, 
was  brought  to  Kentucky  and  to  Washing- 
ton County  when  quite  young.  He  was  ed- 
ucated at  Bardstown  Academy,  studied  law 
and  commenced  practice  at  Springfield.  He 
served  several  terms  in  the  Legislature,  was  a 
member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of 
1799,  and  in  December,  1806,  was  appointed 
a judge  of  the  court  of  appeals,  and  the 
next  year,  when  lacking  some  months  of  be- 
ing thirty  years  old,  was  commissioned  chief 
justice  of  that  august  tribunal.  He  removed 
to  Nashville,  Tenn. , where  he  took  the  highest 


rank  as  lawyer  and  statesman;  he  was  elected 
to  the  United  States  Senate  fr’om  that  State, 
and  in  1838  was  appointed  attorney-general 
of  the  United  States  by  President  Van  Bu- 
ren.  He  died  in  Nashville,  December  12, 
1840,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three. 


W.XYNE  County  was  created  in  1800  from 
portions  of  Pulaski  and  Cumberland  Coun- 
ties, and  was  the  forty  third  in  the  order  of 
formation.  It  was  named  for  Gen.  Wayne,  a 
Revolutionary  soldier,  and  whose'  signal  vic- 
tory over  the  Indians  at  the  battle  of  the  F ali- 
en Timber  gave  peace  to  the  ‘ ‘ dark  and 
bloody  ground.  ” It  is  situated  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  the  State,  bordering  on  the 
j State  of  Tennessee,  with  Whitley  County  on 
the  east;  Pulaski  on  the  north,  and  Russell 
and  Clinton  on  the  west;  in  1880  it  had  12,- 
512  inhabitants.  A large  portion  of  the 
county  is  broken  and  hilly;  the  valleys  are 
rich  and  produce  well  and  show  some  very 
fine  farms.  In  1880  the  crop  and  stock  sta- 
tistics were  as  follows;  Corn,  462,894 
bushels;  oats,  24,127;  wheat,  59,574;  horses 
and  mules,  3,536  head;  cattle,  8,314;  sheep, 
9,331,  and  hogs,  17,584.  The  Cincinnati 
Southern  Railroad  passes  through  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  county. 

Monticello,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated 
in  the  centi-al  part  of  the  county,  and  is  a 
small  place  of  354  inhabitants  in  1880.  It 
was  incorporated  as  a town  in  1820,  and 
named  for  the  home  of  Thomas  Jefferson, 
the  third  President  of  the  United  States.  It 
has  the  usual  public  buildings,  churches, 
schools,  stores,  business,  etc.  The  other 
villages  and  postoffices  are  as  follows ; Berry- 
ville,  Coopersville,  Mill  Springs,  Mt.  Pisgah, 
Salt  Works,  Shearer’s  Valley,  Parmleysville, 
Powersbui’g,  Steubenville,  etc. 

Wayne  County  is  rich  in  mineral  wealth 
and  resoiu’ces.  Iron  ore  is  plentiful,  and 
also  sandstone  suitable  for  building  piu’poses. 
The  coal  deposits  embrace  at  least  one- half 
of  the  area  of  the  county.  ‘ ‘ Besides  the  five 
sub-conglomerate  coal  veins,  the  large  beds 
of  the  upper  coal  measures,  ’ ’ says  the  State 
Geological  Survey,  ‘ ‘ show  themselves  in  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  county.  ’ ’ 


Webster  County  is  of  recent  creation,  bear- 
ing the  date  of  1860.  and  being  the  one- 
hundred  and  ninth  coimty  in  order  of  forma- 
tion. It  was  taken  fr’om  Hopkins  and  Pinion 
Counties,  and  named  for  Hon.  Daniel  Web- 
ster, the  eminent  statesman.  It  lies  in 


650 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


the  northwestern  part  of  the  State,  and 
is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Union  and  Hen- 
derson Counties;  on  the  east  by  McLean; 
on  the  south  by  Hopkins;  on  the  west  by 
Crittenden  and  Union,  and  in  1880  it  had 
a population  of  14, 24G.  It  is  di’ained  by  the 
Green  River  and  its  tributaries.  It  contains 
a good  deal  of  rich  bottom  land,  and  also 
some  hills,  but  the  lands  are  generally  rich 
and  produce  well,  the  crop  statistics  for 
1880  being  as  follows:  Corn,  847,243  bush- 
els; oats,  57,440;  wheat,  80,401;  tobacco, 
4,740,082  pounds.  Stock  raising  receives 
considerable  attention,  and  is  becoming  more 
profitable  yearly. 

Dixon,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  situated  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  county,  and  is  a 
village  of  515  inhabitants  by  the  last  census. 
It  has  a brick  courthouse,  several  churches, 
good  schools,  a number  of  stores,  and  the 
usual  shops,  etc.  Other  villages  and  post- 
offices  are  Providence,  of  207  inhabitants, 
situated  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
county;  Blaughtersville,  of  209  inhabitants, 
in  the  southern  part  on  the  railroad;  Sebree, 
of  300  inhaljitauts,  in  the  north  part,  also 
on  the  railroad;  Clayville,  of  248  inhabi- 
tants, and  Vanderburg,  Belleville,  Steam- 
port,  Pool’s  Mill,  Montezuma,  etc. 


Whitley  County,  the  fifty-ninth  in  the 
State,  was  formed  in  1818  fi’om  a portion 
of  Knox,  and  was  named  for  Col.  William 
Whitley,  one  of  the  brave  and  gallant  pio- 
neers, who  did  so  much  in  wresting  from 
the  savages  the  ‘ ‘dark  and  bloody  ground.  ’ ’ 
The  county  is  situated  in  the  southeast  part 
of  the  State,  on  the  Tennessee  line,  and  has 
Wayne  County  on  the  west;  Pulaski  and 
Laurel  on  the  north,  and  Knox  and  Bell  on 
the  east;  by  the  last  census  (1880)  it  had 
12,000  inhabitants.  It  is  one  of  the  largest 
counties  in  the  State,  having  over  450  square 
miles.  It  is  drained  by  the  Cumberland 
River  and  its  tributaries.  The  county,  ex- 
cept the  bottoms  along  the  water-courses,  is 
broken  and  hilly,  and  is  rather  poor  and 
unproductive;  corn,  oats  and  wheat  are  the 
principal  products,  and  cattle  and  hogs  are 
exported  in  large  numbers. 

Whitley  Court  House  is  situated  on  the 
Cumberland  River,  near  the  center  of  the 
county.  It  was  formerly,  and  is  still,  some- 
times called  Williamsburg,  and  was  a small 
place  of  208  inhabitants  in  1880.  It  has  the 
usual  public  buildings,  stores,  business,  etc. 
Other  villages  and  postoffices  are  Meadow 


Creek,  Rockhold,  Marsh  Creek,  Lot,  Young’s 
Creek,  Boston,  etc. 

Whitley  is  one  of  the  counties  that  is  rich  in 
mineral  wealth.  Iron  ore  and  coal  are  found 
in  quantities,  and  even  silver  ore  is  believed 
to  exist.  The  famous  Swift  silver  mine  (see 
Bell  County)  has  been  located  in  Whitley,  as 
well  as  in  some  dozen  other  counties  in  the 
State.  There  are  also  quite  a number  of 
mineral  springs,  some  of  them  possessing 
strong  medicinal  properties. 


Wolfe  County  was  created  in  1800,  and 
was  the  one  hundred  and  tenth  formed  in 
the  State.  It  was  taken  from  portions  of 
Breathitt,  Morgan,  Powell  and  Owsley 
Counties,  and  named  for  Hon.  Nat.  Wolfe, 
State  senator  from  the  Louisville  District  at 
the  time  of  its  formation.  It  is  situated  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  and  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Morgan  and  Menifee  Coun- 
ties; on  the  east  by  Morgan  and  Breathitt; 
on  the  south  by  Breathitt  and  Lee;  on  the 
west  by  Powell,  and  in  1880  it  had  5,038  in- 
habitants. It  is  drained  by  the  Kentucky 
and  Red  Rivers  and  tributaries.  The  sur- 
face is  generally  hilly  and  broken,  but  there 
are  some  fine  bottoms  that  lay  well,  and  are 
highly  productive.  Corn  and  wheat  are  the 
principal  crops;  stock  i«  raised  to  a limited 
extent. 

Compton,  the  seat  of  justice,  is  a small 
place  of  102  inhabitants  by  the  last  census. 
It  was  incorporated  in  1800,  and  has  the 
usual  public  buildings,  stores  and  business. 
Other  villages  are  Blackwater,  Spnice  Gap, 
Gillmore  and  Stillwater. 


Woodford  County  is  one  of  the  rich  blue- 
grass  counties,  and  lies  in  the  central  paid 
of  the  State.  It  was  created  in  1788,  four 
years  before  Kentucky  became  a State,  and 
was  the  last  of  the  nine  counties  formed  out 
of  the  district,  under  the  authority  of  the 
Virginia  Legislature.  It  was  taken  from 
Fayette  County,  and  was  named  for  Gen. 
William  Woodford,  a gallant  Revolutionary 
officer  of  Virginia,  who  was  wounded  in  the 
battle  of  the  Brandywine,  and  captured  at 
Charleston,  S.  C. , and  died  a prisoner.  The 
county  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Franklin 
and  Scott  Counties;  on  the  east  by  Fayette 
and  Jessamine;  on  the  south  by  Jessamine 
and  Mercer;  on  the  west  by  Mercer  and  An- 
derson, and  in  1880  it  had  11,800  inhabi- 
tants. The  surface  of  the  county  is  generally 


HISTORY  OF  KEYTHCKY. 


651 


level  or  undulating,  the  soil  rich,  resting  on 
red  clay,  underlaid  with  limestone,  and  is 
highly  productive.  The  crop  and  stock 
statistics  in  1880  were  as  follows:  Horses 

and  mules,  4,780  head;  cattle,  5,680;  sheep, 
9,519;  hogs,  10,160;'*  corn,  601,196  bushels; 
oats,  58,773,  and  wheat,  289,795.  Large 
crops  of  hemp  are  also  produced. 

The  fii’st  white  visitors  to  Woodford 
County  were  those  mentioned  in  connection 
with  other  counties.  Among  them  were  sui'- 
veyors,  hunters,  land  locaters,  adventui’ers, 
etc.  They  were  Hancock  Taylor,  Col.  John 
Floyd,  Col.  William  Preston,  surveyor  of  Fin 
castle  County,  Va.,  Capt.  Isaac  Hite  and 
others.  Some  of  them  were  here  as  early  as 
1774,  according  to  the  most  authentic  infor- 
mation to  be  obtained.  They  hunted  and 
smweyed,  and  did  not  flee  from  a skirmish 
with  the  Indians  if  occasion  demanded  it. 

Versailles,  the  capital  of  the  county,  is  a 
beautiful  little  city  of  2, 126  inhabitants  by 
the  last  census.  It  is  situated  in  the  west 
central  part  of  the  county,  and  has  the  usual 
public  buildings,  several  handsome  churches, 
good  schools,  flourishing  stores,  banks,  and 
an  excellent  general  business. 

Midway  is  a handsome  village  in  the 
northeastern  part  of  the  county,  on  the  Lex- 
ington division  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville 
Railroad,  and  had  (in  1880)  950  inhabitants. 
Other  villages  and  postofiices  of  the  county 
are  Morton ville,  Troy,  Millville,  Ducker’ s and 
Spring  Station — the  last  two  named  are  sta- 
tions on  the  railroad. 

Woodford  County  has  its  antiquities  and 
wonders  of  nature,  in  common  with  other 
historical  sections  of  the  State.  These  con- 
sist of  caverns,  springs  and  ancient  earthworks 
and  fortifications.  Some  of  the  latter  were 
quite  extensive  when  first  seen  by  the  whites, 
but  are  now  nearly  obliterated  by  the  hand  of 
time  and  civilization. 


Capt.  James  Trimble  was  a pioneer  of 
Woodford  County,  and  among  its  early  set 
tiers.  He  was  a native  of  Virginia,  and  was 
captured  by  the  Indians  when  a small  boy, 
but  soon  escaped  from  them.  He  took  a 
prominent  part  in  many  of  the  stirring  scenes 
on  the  western  fr’ontier,  and  died  in  1804. 
His  family  moved  to  Ohio,  where  some  of  his 
sons  became  prominent  men — one  of  them, 
Allen  Trimble,  governor  of  the  State. 

Thomas  F.  Marshall,  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  of  all  Kentucky’ s great  orators,  was 
born  in  Frankfort,  Ky.,  in  1801,  and  was 
a son  of  Dr.  Louis  Marshall.  He  received 
a liberal  education  and  studied  law  with  Hon. 
John  J.  Crittenden,  and  located  in  Wood- 
ford County.  He  took  an  active  part  in  poli- 
tics, and  was  repeatedly  elected  to  the  Legis- 
lature, where  he  took  rank  as  a leader  on 
all  the  great  questions  of  the  time.  He  was 
elected  to  Congress  in  1841,  fr’om  the  ‘ ‘ Ash- 
land District,  ” and  there,  as  in  the  State  Leg- 
islatui’e,  he  became  a leader.  He  advocated 
Gen.  Scott  for  rhe  Presidency  in  1852,  and 
the  following  year  was  again  elected  to  the 
Legislature  fr’om  Woodford  County.  This 
was  his  last  public  service.  He  was  worn  out 
by  the  tiu’bulent  storms  of  political  life,  which 
he  had  encountered,  and  died  at  the  old  home- 
stead near  Versailles,  September  22,  1864. 
His  biographer  thus  closes  a sketch  of  him : 

Ilis  intellect  was  of  the  highest  order,  and  cap- 
able of  mighty  efforts.  He  was  brilliant  alike  at  the 
bar,  on  the  stump,  and  in  the  forum.  His  powers 
of  oratory  and  eloquence  were  unrivaled,  match- 
less, and  yet  he  was  withal  a pre-eminent  logician. 
He  has  been  described  as  a “literary  politician.” 
yet  the  political  economist  may  find  in  his  public 
efforts  thoughts  of  great  practical  value.  There 
was  scarcely  any  position  beyond  his  reach,  but  he 
chose  not  to  strive  for  it.  * * * * He 

was  in  truth  a remarkable  man,  and  we  may  not 
“look  upon  his  like  again.” 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


653 


APPEI^DIX  A. 


NOTE  1,  PAGE  95. 

SEVERAL  shell-heaps  are  noted  in  the  Report  of 
the  Geological  Survey  of  Indiana  for  1873.  On 
page  124,  the  State  geologist,  E.  T.  Cox,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  food  of  the  Mound-Builders,  says: 
Fresh  water  bivalves  (Unionidfe)  and  univalve 
mollusks  were  also  consumed  in  such  quantities 
that  great  banks  of  shells,  miles  in  length,  are  left 
to  mark  the  places,  where,  it  is  possible,  high 
carnivals  were  held  over  fresh-water  “clam-bakes.” 
At  Clarksville,  just  below  the  falls  of  the  Ohio 
River,  in  Clarke  County,  there  is  a shell-heap  ex- 
tending for  a mile  or  more  up  and  down  the  river. 
This  locality  must  have  been  a favorite  place  of 
resort;  an  ancient  Long-Branch  where  it  was  possi- 
ble to  find  enjoyment  and  pass  a pleasant  summer, 
catching  fish  at  the  foot  of  the  falls,  where  they 
congregated  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  in  such 
vast  numbers  as  to  become  an  easy  prey  to  the  bone 
hooks  and  spears  used  for  their  capture  by  these 
pre-historic  people. 

Another  of  these  shell  heaps  is  located  on  the 
farm  of  W.  T.  Aydelotte,  six  miles  below  New 
Albany,  and  was  carefully  examined  by  Dr.  E.  S. 
Crosier  at  the  time  of  its  discovery.  It  is  described 
by  the  assistant  State  geologist,  William  W.  Bor- 
den, on  page  185  of  the  above-mentioned  report, 
as  follows;  It  is  situated  in  the  river  bottom,  a 
short  distance  from  the  stream,  and  covers  a large 
space.  It  is  about  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high,  and 
has  an  oval  or  elliptical  form.  Several  years  ago, 
Mr.  Aydelotte  had  occasion  to  build  a new  house, 
and  located  it  upon  this  mound  above  high  water 
mark.  In  excavating  the  cellar,  the  shells  were 
met  within  a foot  below  the  surface,  and  are  con- 
tinuous to  the  bottom  of  the  cellar.  A quantity  of 
human  bones,  including  fragments  of  a skull,  with 
the  bones  of  animals,  and  quite  a number  of  bone 
implements,  were  exhumed  by  the  laborers,  and 
are  preserved  in  the  museum  of  the  New  Albany 
Society  of  Natural  History.  Subsequently  several 
stone  axes  manufactured  of  syenite  and  granite 
were  found  by  further  excavation,  and  have  been 
also  added  to  the  collection  at  New  Albany.  The 
river  bank  from  Mr.  W.  T.  Aydelotte’s  farm  to 
New  Albany  affords  a fine  field  for  the  collection 
of  Indian  relics. 

Similar  relics  are  found  along  the  Wabash 
River.  See  same  report,  page  371. 

NOTE  2,  PAGE  111. 

Genealogy  of  the  Boone  Family. — It  may  be  in- 


teresting to  the  general  reader  to  learn  as  much  as 
is  known  of  the  genealogy  of  the  family  from 
which  Kentucky’s  honored  pioneer  descended,  and 
the  following  is  therefore  copied  from  the  original 
record  presented  to  the  Polytechnic  Librar}"  in 
Louisville,  some  years  ago: 

Our  genealogy,  or  pedigree,  traced  as  far  back  as 
had  come  to  the  knowledge  of  John  Boone  (son  of 
George  and  Mary  Boone)  wrote  by  James  Boone 
(son  of  James  Boone,  Sr.,  and  Mary,  his  wife, 
and  grandson  of  the  said  George  and  Mary  Boone), 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1787: 

George  Boone  I (that  is  the  first  that  we  have 
heard  of)  was  born  in  old  England. 

George  Boone  II  (son  of  George  Boone  the 
First)  was  born  in  or  near  the  city  of  Exeter,  being 
a blacksmitli.  His  wife’s  maiden  name  was  Sarah 
Uppey.  He  died  aged  sixty;  and  she  died,  aged 
eighty  years,  and  never  had  an  aching  bone  or 
decayed  tooth. 

George  Boone  HI  (son  of  George  and  Sarah 
Boone)  was  born  at  Stoak  (a  village  near  the  city  of 
Exeter),  A.  D.  1666,  being  a weaver.  His  wife’s 
maiden  name  was  Mary  Maugridge,  who  was  born 
at  Bradswick  (a  town  eight  miles  from  the  city  of 
Exeter),  in  A.  D.  1669;  the  said  Mary  Maugridge 
was  a daughter  of  John  Maugridge  and  Mary,  his 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Milton.  They,  the 
said  George  III  and  Mary,  his  wife,  had  nine 
children  that  lived  to  be  men  and  women,  namely: 
George,  Sarah,  Squire,  Mary,  John,  Joseph,  Benja- 
min, James  and  Samuel,  having  each  of  them  sev- 
eral children,  excepting  John,  who  never  married. 
The  said  George  and  Mary  Boone,  with  their  family, 
came  from  the  town  of  Bradwinch,  in  Devonshire, 
old  England.  They  arrived  at  Philadelphia,  Penn., 
in  A.  D.  1717,  September  29th,  old  style  (or  October 
10th,  according  to  the  new  style).  Three  of  the 
children,  to-wit:  George,  Sarah  and  Squire,  they 
sent  in  a few  years  before  from  Abington,  and 
stayed  a few  months  there;  thence  to  North  Wales, 
and  lived  about  two  years  there;  thence  to  Oley,  in 
the  same  county  of  Philadelphia,  where  Sarah  (be- 
ing married)  had  moved  to  sometime  before.  This 
last  place  of  their  residence  (since  the  division  made 
in  the  township  of  Oley  and  county  of  Philadelphia) 
is  called  the  township  of  Exeter,  in  the  county  of 
Berks.  It  was  called  Exeter  because  they  came 
from  a place  near  the  city  of  Exeter.  He,  the  said 
George  Boone  HI,  died  A.  D.  1744,  July  27th,  about 
8 o’clock,  aged  seventy-eight  years,  and  Mary,  his 
wife,  died  February  2,  1740-41,  aged  seventy-two 


G54 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


years,  and  they  were  decently  interred  in  the 
Friend’s  Burying  Ground,  in  the  said  township  of 
Exeter.  When  he  died  he  left  eight  children,  fifty- 
two  grandchildren  and  ten  great-grandchildren  liv- 
ing— in  all  seventy — being  as  many  persons  as  the 
house  of  Jacob,  which  came  into  Eg}'pt. 

George  Boone  IV  (eldest  son  of  George  and  Mary 
Boone)  was  born  in  Bradwinch  aforesaid,  July  13th, 
in  tlieycar  1691,  aud  died  in  Exeter  Townshi))  afore- 
said, aged  about  sixty-three  years  and  four  months. 
He  taught  school  for  several  years  near  Philadelphia, 
was  a good  mathematician,  and  taught  the  several 
branches  of  English  learning;  was  a magistrate  for 
several  years.  His  wife’s  maiden  name  was 
Deborah  Howell 

George  Boone  V (eldest  son  of  George  and  Deb- 
orah Boone)  was  never  married,  aud  died  in  Exeter 
Township  aforesaid,  aged  about  t’wenty-four  years. 

James  Boone,  Sr.  (the  sixth  son  of  George  aud 
JIary  Boone)  was  born  in  Bradwinch  aforesaid, 
A.  D.  1709,  July  7th  (old  style),  about  one-half  past 
two  in  the  morning  then  (when  it  was  between  9 
and  10  o'clock  at  night  here,  in  Pennsylvania),  and 
was  married  May  3,  1735,  in  the  twenty-sixtli  year 
of  his  age,  to  Mary  Foulke  (the  eldest  daughter  of 
Hugh  and  Anne  Foulke),  by  whom  he  had  fourteen 
children,  and  nine  of  tliem  lived  to  be  grown  up, 
namely:  Annie,  Mary,  Martha,  James,  John,  Judah, 
Josliua,  Rachel  and  Moses;  sbe,  the  said  Mary,  his 
first  wife,  died  February  20,  1756,  at  twenty  minutes 
past  one  o’clock,  P.  M.,  aged  forty-one  years  and 
eleven  weeks.  John,  their  second  son,  just  now 
mentioned,  died  in  1773,  March  29,  in  the  twenty- 
eighth  year  of  his  life,  on  the  1st  day  of  September, 
A.  D.  1785,  at  ten  minutes  past  nine  at  night,  in  the 
seventy-seventh  year  of  his  age,  and  was  decently 
interred  in  the  Friends’  Burying  Ground,  at  Exeter. 
Aud  as  he  was  born  in  England  when  it  wasbetween 
9 and  10  here  in  Penn.sylvania,  so  he  died  when  it 
was  9 and  10  at  night  here. 

John  Boone,  Sr.,  (son  of  George  and  Mary 
Boone)  was  born  in  the  town  of  Bradwinch,  in 
Devonshire,  old  England,  on  the  seventh  day  of  the 
week,  about  11  in  the  morning,  and  on  the  3d  of 
January,  1701-2,  old  style,  or  1703,  January  14  (new 
style),  and  he  departed  this  life  on  the  11th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1785,  in  the  eighty-fourth  year  of  his  age  (being 
the  eldest  of  our  name  and  family  that  we  have 
heard  of,  and  the  last  of  all  those  of  our  relations 
who  came  from  England).  He  was  decently  in- 
terred in  the  Friends’  Burying  Ground,  at  Exeter, 
the  next  day  after  his  decease.  He  (.with  his  par-, 
ents,  etc.)  left  England  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  his 
age,  and  ’tis  remarkable  that  he  lived  exactly  sixty- 
eight  years  here  in  North  America  from  the  day  he 
landed  at  Philadelphia,  and  he  lived  only  five  weeks 
and  four  days  after  the  decease  of  his  brother  James. 

This  genealogy,  it  will  be  observed,  does  not 
mention  the  subsequent  history  of  Squire  Boone, 
Sr.  (son  of  George  HI  and  Mary  Boone).  How 
many  children  he  had  is  not  known,  but  Daniel, 


Squire,  Edward,  George,  Hannah,  and  perhaps  two 
other  sisters,  Mrs.  Grant  and  Mrs.  William  Bryan, 
were  residents  of  Kentucky  for  a time.  Daniel 
was  born  February  11,  1731,  and  Squire  about  1737, 
both  in  Berks  County,  Penn.  It  is  not  probable 
that  Daniel  was  the  eldest  of  the  family  of  children, 
though  the  eldest  of  the  brothers  named.  The  chil- 
dren seem  to  have  been  left  orphans  about  1745, 
when  they  were  taken  by  friends  first  to  Winchester, 
Va.,  and  thence  to  Holman’s  Ford,  on  the  South 
Yadkin,  in  North  Carolina.  Here  Daniel  met  Re- 
becca Bryan  and  his  fate  in  a rather  romantic  way, 
if  the  current  story  of  the  event  may  be  credited. 

When  a young  man,  Boone  was  out  one  night 
with  some  companions  on  a “fire  hunt.’’  While 
proceeding  through  a heavily  timbered  piece  of 
bottom  land,  which  bordered  a small  stream,  that 
formed  the  boundary  of  Morgan  Bryan’s  plantation, 
two  brilliant  sparks  in  the  gloom  gave  indication 
that  the  fire  had  “shined  the  eyes”  of  a deer. 
Boone,  who  carried  his  rifie,  ready  to  shoot  the 
game  which  the  light  should  hold  with  its  fascin- 
ating glare,  gave  the  concerted  signal  to  the  torch- 
bearer  who  preceded  him,  dismounted  from  his 
horse,  and  having  secured  him  to  a tree,  crept  cau- 
tiously forward.  Finding  a convenient  covert  in  a 
clump  of  hazel  and  plum  bushes,  he  peered  about 
to  discover  the  exact  location  of  the  surprised  ani- 
mal. Again  the  eyes  turned  with  a steady  gaze 
toward  the  treacherous  light,  and  Boone  raised  his 
rifle  to  fire,  when  some  mysterious  impulse  caused 
him  to  hesitate.  At  that  instant,  the  game, startled 
by  some  sound  or  motion  which  broke  the  fatal 
charm,  sprang  through  the  underbrush  with  a rustle 
and  bound,  the  ardent  young  hunter  following  in 
rapid  pursuit. 

The  chase  led  toward  the  cabin,  and  thinking  he 
had  fallen  upon  a pet  animal  of  the  family,  he  con- 
tinued his  course  to  the  house,  impeded  in  his  prog- 
ress by  hunting-traps  and  dogs  which  beset  him  on 
his  nearest  approach.  Reaching  the  door  he  was 
admitted  and  welcomed,  but  before  the  young  hun- 
ter regained  his  breath  sufficient  to  tell  his  story,  a 
boy  of  ten  years,  accompanied  by  a breathless  girl 
of  sixteen,  “with  ruddy  cheeks,  flaxen  hair,  and 
soft  blue  eyes,”  rushed  into  the  room.  “ Oh  father, 
father,”  cried  the  boy,  “ Sis  was  down  to  the  creek 
to  set  my  lines,  and  was  chased  by  a painter  or 
something.  She’s  too  skeart  to  tell.” 

It  is  not  probable  that  this  was  the  first  meeting 
of  the  young  man  and  maiden,  but  however  that 
may  be,  it  is  said  that  the  circumstances  attending 
this  event  evoked  an  interest  in  each  other  which 
eventually  brought  the  principal  actors  together  in 
marriage. 

NOTE  3,  PAGE  114. 

It  is  eminently  proper  that  the  names  of  the  ad- 
venturers who  bore  subordinate  parts  in  these  early 
surveys  should  be  preserved  as  far  as  painstaking 
researches  have  revealed  them,  and  for  the  results 
achieved  in  this  direction  credit  is  largely  due  to 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


655 


Mr.  R.  C.  Collins.  In  Bullitt’s  company  were  Col. 
James  Harrod,  subsequently  founder  of  Harrods- 
burg,  John  Smith,  Isaac  Hite,  James  Sodousky, 
Abraham  Haptonstall,  Ebenezer  Severns,  John 
Fitzpatrick  and  others.  In  the  McAfee  company 
were  James,  George  and  Robert  McAfee,  brothers; 
James  McCoun,  brother-in-law, and  Samuel  Adams, 
a young  man  and  neighbor.  In  Taylor’s  company 
were  Matthew  Bracken  and  Jacob  Drennon,  per- 
haps others.  James  Douglass  appears  to  have  come 
alone  to  join  Bidlitt.  John  Finley — not  to  be  con- 
fused'with  the  first  pioneer — was  probably  a mem- 
ber of  Thompson’s  company,  the  other  members  of 
which  seem  to  have  left  no  trace  of  their  personality. 

NOTE  4,  PAGE  115. 

In  the  fall  of  1758  Thomas  Decker  and  some 
others  commenced  a settlement  on  thcMonongahela 
River,  at  the  mouth  of  what  is  now  Decker’s  Creek. 
In  the  ensuing  spring  it  was  entirely  broken  up  by  a 
party  of  Delawares  and  Mingoes,  and  the  greater 
part  of  its  inhabitants  murdered.  There  was  at 
this  time  at  Brownsville  a fort  then  known  as  Red- 
stone Fort,  under  the  Command  of  Capt.  Paul.  One 
of  Decker’s  party  escaped  from  tiie  Indians  who 
destroyed  the  settlement,  and  making  his  way  to 
Fort  Redstone  gave  its  commander  the  melancholy 
intelligence.  The  garrison  being  too  weak  to  admit 
of  sending  a detachment  in  pursuit,  Capt.  Paul 
dispatched  a runner  with  the  information  to  Capt. 
John  Gibson,  then  stationed  at  Fort  Pitt.  Leaving 
the  fort  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  Williamson, 
Capt.  Gibson  set  out  with  thirty  men  to  intercept 
the  Indians  on  their  return  to  their  towns.  In  con- 
sequence of  the  distance  which  the  pursuers  had  to 
go,  and  the  haste  with  which  the  Indians  had 
retreated,  the  expedition  failed  in  its  object.  They, 
however,  accidentally  came  on  a party  of  six  or 
seven  Mingoes,  on  the  head  of  Cross  Creek,  in  Ohio, 
near  Steubenville.  These  had  been  prowling  about 
the  river  below  Fort  Pitt  seeking  an  opportunity  of 
committing  depredations.  As  Capt.  Gibson  pa,ssed 
the  point  of  a small  knoll  just  after  daybreak  he 
came  unexpectedly  upon  them.  Some  of  them 
were  lying  down;  the  others  were  sitting  around  a 
lire  making  thongs  of  green  hides.  Kiskepila,  or 
Little  Eagle,  a Mingo  chief,  headed  the  party.  As 
soon  as  he  discovered  Capt.  Gibson  he  raised  the 
war-whoop  and  fired  his  rifle;  the  ball  passed 
through  Gibson’s  hunting-shirt  and  wounded  a sol- 
dier just  behind  him.  Gibson  sprang  forward,  and 
swinging  his  sword  with  herculean  force  severed  the 
head  of  Little  Eagle  from  his  body.  Two  other 
Indians  were  shot  down,  and  the  remainder  escaped 
to  their  towns  on  the  Muskingum. 

When  the  captives  who  were  restored  under  tho, 
treaty  of  1763  came  in,  those  who  were  at  the 
Mingo  towns  when  the  remnant  of  Kiskepila’s 
party  returned  stated  that  the  Indians  represented 
Gibson  as  having  cut  off  Little  Eagle’s  head  with  a 
long  knife.  Several  of  the  white  persons  were 
then  sacrificed  to  appease  the  manes  of  Kiskepila, 


and  a war  dance  ensued,  accompanied  with  terrific 
shouts  and  bitter  denunciations  of  revenge  on  ‘ ‘ the 
big  knife  warrior.”  This  name  was  soon  after 
applied  to  Virginia  militia  generally;  and  to  this 
day  they  are  known  among  the  northwestern  In- 
dians as  the  “Long  Knives”  or  “Big  Knife  Na- 
tion.”— Wither" s Chronicles  of  Border  Warfare, 
1821. 

NOTE  5,  PAGE  115. 

Big  Bone  Lick  is  situated  in  Boone  County,  about 
a mile  and  a half  east  from  Hamilton,  on  the  Ohio 
River.  This  Lick,  widely  known  as  the  original 
depository  of  numerous  remains  of  extinct  animals, 
was  discovered  by  Longueil.  a Frenchman,  in  1739, 
and  was  early  resorted  to  by  the  Indians  in  quest  of 
game.  In  1773  it  was  visited  b}^  various  surveying 
parties,  and  its  appearance  is  described  in  Robert 
McAfee’s  journal.  It  extended  over  about  ten 
acres,  which  was  bare  of  timber  and  herbage,  and 
worn  away  by  the  hoofs  and  tongues  of  the  animals 
that  frequented  the  spot  to  a level  some  three  or 
four  feet  below  the  original  surface.  Through  this 
area  the  creek  ran,  which  is  fed  on  either  side  by 
tw'o  never-failing  streams  of  salt  water.  Here  the 
explorers  of  1773  found  a large  number  of  mam- 
moth bones  in  the  lick  or  near  it,  indicating  that 
the  animals  had  stood  side  by  side  mired  in  mud, 
and  so  died.  Some  portions  of  the  back  bones  lay 
out  upon  solid  ground,  and  were  used  by  the  sur- 
veyors as  seats;  the  ribs  were  found  long  enough  to 
serve  as  tent  poles,  and  one  tusk  protruded  from  a 
bank  some  six  feet,  defying  the  united  efforts  of  six 
men  to  remove  it.  Teeth  w'ere  found  weighing  up- 
ward of  ten  pounds,  and  with  a grinding  surface 
of  seventy-five  inches. 

The  first  collection  of  these  interesting  remains 
was  made  in  1803  by  Dr.  William  Goforth,  then  a 
physician  in  Cincinnati.  In  1804  or  1805  the  collec- 
tor shipped  about  five  tons  of  the  bones  to  Pitts- 
burgh. wdth  the  intention  of  forwarding  them  to 
Philadelphia,  or  where  they  could  be  profitably  dis- 
posed of  for  scientific  purposes.  Unfortunately, 
this  collection  remained  here  until  Thomas  Ash,  an 
Irish  traveler,  whose  onlj^  claim  to  public  notice  is 
based  on  his  literary  piracies  and  base  robbery  of 
Dr.  Goforth,  met  the  collector.  Insinuating  himself 
into  the  confidence  of  his  victim.  Ash  entered  into 
a written  engagement  to  secure  the  sale  of  these 
fossils  for  the  benefit  of  the  owner,  for  which  the 
agent  w'as  to  receive  a percentage  of  the  net  pro- 
ceeds. Thus  gaining  possession  of  the  collection. 
Ash  shipped  it  to  New  Orleans,  where  he  refused  an 
offer  of  .$7, COO  for  it,  and  subsequently  took  it  to 
England.  Here  he  sold  the  valuable  remains  at  a 
large  price  and  pocketed  the  proceeds.  Parts  of 
this  collection  afterward  found  their  way  to  the 
Royal  College  of  Surgeons  in  Loudon,  to  Dr.  Blake, 
of  Dublin,  and  to  Prof.  Monroe,  of  Edinburgh. 

No  complete  description  of  these  fossils  exists, 
but  in  a letter  to  Thomas  Jefferson,  written  in  1807, 

! Dr.  Gofortl)  gives  some  interesting  facts  concerning 
. them  from  memory:  “The  part  of  a head  which 


C56 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


was  in  my  possession,  and  wMcli  I thought  to  he 
the  head  of  the  mammoth,  appeared  small.  I only 
possessed  the  maxilla  superior  and  maxilla  inferior, 
witli  tlie  teeth.  The  maxilla  superior  was  furnished 
with  four  large  teeth,  two  on  each  side  of  the  jaw; 
the  two  nearest  the  jaw  were  molars,  and  had  two 
points  or  cones  on  each  side  of  the  tooth,  making 
double  processes  thickly  enameled  on  the  cones  or 
m.asticating  surface.  The  maxilla  inferior  was  in 
two  parts  naturally,  teeth  the  same  as  in  maxilla 
superior,  and  from  the  appearance  of  both  jaws  I 
concluded  they  had  their  full  complement  of  teeth. 
— I judged  the  head  to  which  these  hones  belonged 
was  small,  as  I had  teeth  of  the  same  kind  more 
than  five  times  the  size  of  the  largest  in  either  jaw 
— each  under  jaw  with  the  teeth  weighing  forty- 
eight  pounds. 

‘T  had  a number  of  teeth  ribbed  transversely  on 
the  masticating  surface,  and  enamelled,  weighing 
from  one  and  a half  to  twelve  pounds  each.  Of 
the  teeth  of  the  mammoth  kind,  furnished  with 
double  coned  or  blunt  pointer  processes  on  the  mas- 
ticating surfaces,  and  thickly  enamelled,  and  gen- 
erally four  processes  for  insertion  in  the  jaw,  as 
many  as  a wagon  and  four  horses  could  draw, 
weighing  from  twelve  to  twenty  pounds  each. 

“One  small  femoris,  weight  31  pounds;  4 ribs, 
weight  and  length  not  recollected;  they  appeared  to 
be  so  connected  with  the  vertebraj  as  to  throw  their 
edge  outward;  one  tusk,  weighing  100  pounds,  31 
inches  in  circumference  in  the  middle,  which  was 
the  thickest  part;  one  other  tusk,  weight  l.oO 
pounds,  33  inches  in  circumference,  and  measuring 
10  feet,  6 inches  in  length;  its  form  thus — J;  one 
horn  .5  feet  long,  weight  31  pounds. 

“The  bones  of  one  jaw  nearlj^  filled  a flour  bar- 
rel; it  had  four  claws,  and  when  the  bones  were 
regularly  placed  together,  measured  from  the 
08  Calais  to  the  end  of  either  middle  claw  5 feet, 
2 inches.  The  bones  of  this  paw  were  similar  to 
those  of  a bear’s  foot.  Where  I found  these  bones 
I found  large  quantities  of  bear’s  bones  at  the  same 
time,  and  had  opportunity  of  arranging  and  com- 
paring the  bones  together,  and  the  similarity  was 
striking  in  every  particular,  except  the  size. 

“The  vertebras  of  the  back  and  neck,  when 
arranged  in  order  with  the  os  sacrum  and  coccygis, 
measured  nearly  60  feet,  allowing  for  cartilages, 
though  I am  not  confident  the  bones  all  belonged  to 
one  animal,  and  the  number  of  vertebrae  I cannot 
recollect.  I had  some  thigh  bones  of  incognita  of 
a monstrous  size  when  compared  with  my  other 
bones,  which  I much  regret  I neither  weighed  nor 
measured,  and  a number  of  large  bones  so  much 
impaired  by  time,  it  was  fruitless  to  conjecture  to 
what  part  of  any  animal  the}"  l)elonged.” 

A second  collection  was  made  by  order  of  Mr. 
Jefferson,  while  he  was  president  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  about  the  year  180.5,  which 
was  divided  between  that  society  and  M.  Cuvier, 
the  distinguished  French  naturalist.  A third  col- 
lection was  made  in  1819,  by  the  Western  Museum 


Society,  and  in  1881  a fourth  collection  was  made 
by  Mr.  Finnell.  In  1840  it  was  estimated  that  the 
bones  of  100  mastodons  and  of  twenty  elephants, 
besides  other  extinct  species,  had  been  collected 
here. 

NOTE  6,  PAGE  115. 

Of  the  plain  on  which  Louisville  is  built — includ- 
ing the  sites  of  Portland  and  Shippingsport— 2,000 
acres  were  patented  December  16, 1773,  in  the  name 
of  Dr.  John  Connolly,  a surgeon’s  mate  in  the  gen- 
eral hospital  of  the  royal  forces.  On  the  same  day 
2,000  acres,  adjoining  and  below  the  former,  were 
patented  to  Charles  de  Warrenstaff,  an  ensign  in  the 
(royal)  Pennsylvania  regiment.  In  1774  the  latter 
conveyed  his  tract  to  Connolly  and  Col.  John  Camp- 
bell. In  the  following  year  Campbell  purchased  of 
Connolly  an  undivided  half  on  the  first  mentioned 
2,000  acres,  and  the  4,000  acres  were  partitioned  in 
such  a way  that  the  upper  and  lower  1,000  acres 
fell  to  the  share  of  Connolly.  On  July  1,  1780, owing 
to  Dr.  Connolly  having  previously  been  active  in 
the  cause  of  the  crown,  the  upper  1,000  acres  were 
escheated  to  the  State,  and  Louisville  established 
thereon  by  an  act  of  the  Virginia  legislature.  The 
other  portion  Connolly  had  conveyed  to  Campbell 
in  1778.  The  proof  that  any  lots  were  sold  on  Bul- 
litt’s plan  is  entirely  inferential,  though  reasonably 
certain.  A new  survey,  however,  was  made  in 
1780  by  Col.  William  Pope,  and  still  another  by 
William  Peyton,  subsequently.  None  of  these 
early  plats  are  pireserved,  however,  and  the  earliest 
recorded  plat  to  be  found  is  that  made  in  1813  by 
Jared  Brooks,  which  is  just  one-half  of  the  2,000 
acres  granted  to  Connolly.  (See  Collins,  Vol.  II, 
p.  360.) 

NOTE  7,  PAGE  118. 

The  names  of  these  first  settlers  have  not  all 
been  preserved.  From  the  examination  of  various 
depositions,  Mr.  Collins  has  discovered  the  follow- 
ing names'  James  Blair,  James  Brown,  Abraham 
Chapline,  John  Clark,  John  Crawford,  Jared 
Cowan,  John  Cowan,  John  Crow,  Azariah  Davis, 
William  Fields,  David  Glenn,  Thomas  Glenn,  Silas 
Harlan,  James  Harlan,  James  Harrod,  Thomas 
Harrod,  Evan  (or  John)  Hinton,  — Rees,  John 
Shelp,  James  Wiley  and  John  Wilson.  Of  Isaac 
Hite’s  company,  the  following  are  derived  from  the 
same  authority;  Robert  Gilbert,  James  Hamilton, 
Isaac  Hite,  James  Knox,  James  McColloch,  Alex- 
ander Petrey,  Jacob  Sanduskey,  James  Sodousky, 
Benjamin  Tutt  and  David  Williams.  (See  Collins, 
Vol.  II,  p.  517.) 

NOTE  8,  PAGES  79-140. 

At  the  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Indians  held  at 
Fort  Stanwix,  where  negotiations  were  opened 
October  24,  1768,  four  grants  were  made  by  the  In- 
dians to  the  whites.  One  to  the  proprietors  of  Penn- 
sylvania; one  to  George  Croghan;  one  to  William 
Trent,  attorney  for  twenty- two  traders;  and  one  to 
his  majesty,  the  king  of  England.  A deed  for  the 
one  to  the  traders  was  executed  on  the  3d  of  No- 
vember, but  Sir  William  Johnson  and  the  commis- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


657 


sioners  recommended  that  the  chiefs  of  the  Six 
Nations  who  had  signed  it,  should  carry  it  into 
congress  and  publicly  acknowledge  the  execution 
of  it,  at  the  same  time  they  executed  the  grant 
to  the  king  of  England  and  the  proprietors 
of  Pennsylvania.  Accordingly,  on  November  5, 
these  deeds  being  laid  upon  a table,  were  exe- 
cuted in  the  presence  of  the  governor  of  New  Jer- 
sey, the  commissioners  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  other  gentlemen  present.  The  tract  thus 
conveyed  to  the  traders  was  between  the  Kanawha 
and  Monongahela  Rivers,  and  ^was  by  the  traders 
named  Indiana.  It  was  subsequently  practically 
confiscated  by  Virginia.  (See  “Plain  Facts,”  pub- 
lished by  R.  Aitken,  Philadelphia,  1781.) 

NOTE  9,  PAGE  143. 

The  dimensions  are  not  found  on  the  original 
draft  but  the  general  estimate  of  twenty  feet  for 
each  cabin  and  opening  would  give  the  fort  a length 
of  about  260  feet  and  a breadth  of  180  feet.  The 
actual  situation  of  the  fort  was  so  changed  from 
the  suggestion  of  the  plan  as  to  present  the  end  of 
the  structure  toward  the  river.  (Romance  of  West- 
ern History,  p.  164.) 


FORT  AT  BOONESBOEOUGH. 

1.  Colonel  Henderson’s  house. 

2.  Stockades. 

3.  Colonel  Henderson’s  kitchen. 

4.  Mr.  Luttrell’s  house. 

5.  Mr.  Luttrell’s  kitchen. 

9.  Fort  gates. 

14.  Houses  built  for  Cols.  Hart  and  Williams. 
Places  not  numbered,  were  cabins. 


NOTE  10,  PAGE  155. 

The  Girty  family,  of  which  this  renegade  was 
but  one  of  several  who  achieved  an  infamous  no- 
toriety, is  thus  described  by  Judge  Campbell; 
“ Girty,  the  father,  was  an  emigrant  from  Ireland, 
about  eighty  years  ago,  if  report  can  be  relied  on. 
He  settled  in  Peuns}dvania,  where  that  liberty  he 
sought  degenerated  in  his  possession  into  the  basest 
licentiousness.  His  hours  were  wasted  in  idleness 
and  beastly  intemperance.  Nothing  ranked  higher 
in  his  estimation,  or  so  entirely  commanded  his  re- 
gard, as  a jug  of  whisky.  ‘Grog  was  his  song,  and 
grog  w’ould  he  have.’  His  sottishness  turned  his 
wife’s  affection.  Ready  for  seduction,  she  yielded 
her  heart  to  a neighboring  rustic,  who,  to  remove 
all  obstacles  to  their  wishes,  knocked  Girty  on  the 
head  and  bore  off  the  trophy  of  his  prowess. 

“ He  left  four  sous,  Thomas,  Simon,  George  and 
James.  The  three  latter  were  taken  prisoners  by 
the  Shawanese,  Delawares  and  Senecas,  in  that  war 
which  developed  the  military  talents  of  Gen.  Wash- 
ington. George  was  adopted  bj"  the  Delawares,  and 
continued  with  them  until  his  death.  He  became  a 
perfect  savage,  his  manners  being  entirely  Indian. 
To  consummate  cunning,  he  added  the  most  fearless 
intrepidity.  He  fought  in  the  battles  of  Kenhawa, 
Blue  Licks  and  Sandusky,  and  gained  himself  much 
distinction  for  skill  and  bravery.  In  his  latter  years 
like  his  father,  he  gave  himself  up  to  intemperance 
and  died  drunk  about  twenty-five  years  ago  on 
the  Miami  of  the  Lake. 

" Simon  was  adopted  by  the  Senecas,  and  became 
as  expert  a hunter  as  any  of  them.  In  Kentucky 
and  Ohio,  he  sustained  the  reputation  of  an  unre- 
lenting barbarian.  Forty-five  years  ago,  with  his 
name  was  associated  everything  cruel  and  fiend- 
like. To  the  women  and  children,  in  particular, 
nothing  was  more  terrifying  than  the  name  of  Simon 
Girty.  At  that  time  it  was  believed  by  many  that- 
he  had  fled  from  justice  and  sought  refuge  among 
the  Indians,  determined  to  do  his  countrymen  all 
the  harm  in  his  power.  This  impression  was  an  er- 
roneous one.  It  is  true  he  joined  the  Indians  in 
their  wars  against  the  whites,  and  conformed  to 
their  usages.  This  was  the  education  he  had  re- 
ceived, and  those  who  were  the  foes  of  his  brethren 
were  also  his  foes.  Although  trained  in  all  his  pur- 
suits as  an  Indian,  it  is  said  to  be  a fact,  susceptible 
of  proof,  that  through  his  importunities,  many  pris- 
oners were  saved  from  death.  His  influence  was 
great,  and  when  he  chose  to  be  merciful,  it  was  gen- 
erally in  his  power  to  protect  the  imploring  captive. 
His  reputation  was  that  of  an  honest  man.  In  the 
payment  of  his  debts,  he  was  scrupulously  exact. 
Knowing  and  duly  appreciating  integrity,  he  ful- 
filled his  engagement  to  the  last  cent.  It  is  stated 
that  on  one  occasion  he  sold  his  horse,  rather  than 
incur  the  odium  of  violating  his  promise. 

“He  was  a great  lover  of  rum;  nothing  could 
afford  him  more  joy  than  a keg  of  this  beverage. 
AVhen intoxicated,  in  abuse  he  was  indiscriminate 
sparing  neither  friends  nor  foes.  Then  it  was  he 

4( 


658 


IIISTOKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


liad  no  compassion  in  liis  heart.  Altliough  much 
disabled  hy  rlicumatism  for  the  last  ten  years  of  Ids 
life,  he  rode  to  his  hunting  grounds  in  pursuit  of 
game.  Suffering  the  most  excruciating  pains,  he 
often  boasted  of  his  warlike  spirit.  It  was  his  con- 
stant wish  that  he  might  breathe  his  last  in  battle. 
So  it  happened.  He  was  at  Proctor’s  defeat  on  the 
Kiver  Thames,  and  was  cut  to  pieces  by  Col.  John- 
son’s mounted  men. 

“James  Girty  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Shaw- 
ancse,  who  adopted  him  as  a son.  As  he  approached 
manhood,  he  became  dextrous  in  all  the  arts  of  sav- 
age life.  To  the  most  sanguinary  spiiit  he  added 
all  the  vices  of  the  depraved  frontiersmen,  with 
whom  he  frequently  associated. 

“ It  is  represented  that  he  often  visited  Kentucky 
at  the  time  of  its  first  settlement,  many  of  the  in- 
habitants feeling  the  effects  of  his  courage  and 
cruelty.  Neither  age  nor  sex  found  mercy  at  his 
hands.  Ilis  delight  was  in  carnage.  When  unable 
to  walk  in  consequence  of  disease,  he  laid  low  with 
his  hatchet  captive  women  and  children,  who  came 
within  his  reach.  Traders,  who  w’ere  acquainted 
with  him,  sa}^  that  so  furious  was  he,  that  he  would 
not  have  turned  on  his  heel  to  save  a prisoner  from 
the  flames.  His  pleasure  wms  to  see  new  and  refined 
tortures  inflicted;  and  to  perfect  his  gratification  he 
frequently  gave  directions.  To  this  barbarian  are 
to  be  attributed  many  of  the  cruelties  charged  upon 
his  brother  Simon.  Yet  this  monster  was  caressed  by 
Elliott  and  Proctor.”  (See  “Campbell’s  Remains,” 
Columbus,  1838). 

NOTE  11,  PAGE  165. 

This  is  not  the  view  taken  by  the  greater  num- 
ber of  writers,  who  have  had  occasion  to  recount 
the  events  which  follow.  Indeed  the  order  of  these 
events  is  generally  reversed,  though  it  must  be  ob- 
served without  very  clear  grounds  for  doing  so.  In 
any  statement  of  the  relation  of  “Rogers’ defeat” 
and  “Bowman’s  expedition,”  however,  harmony 
is  apparently  to  be  secured  only  by  arbitrary  meth- 
ods, and  the  order  determined  by  the  preponderance 
of  circumstantial  evidence.  The  confusion  arrises 
from  the  careless  and  inadeciuate  statement  of  the 
facts  of  McClung,  p.  148.  Marshall  does  not  men- 
tion the  first  event;  Butler  does,  pp.  102-4,  and  it  is 
his  narration  which  the  text  follows,  avoiding 
the  manifest  error  into  which  he  is  betrayed  by 
adopting  McClung’s  conclusion  of  the  story. 

The  order  followed  in  the  text  is  based  upon  the 
following  considerations:  First.— McClung’s  narra- 
tive is  found  to  contain  such  irreconcilable  state- 
ments as  to  require  some  adjustments;  the  chief 
difficulty  in  the  wmy  of  such  adjustment  being  the 
date  of  Capt.  Benham’s  rescue,  i.  e.,  the  “27th  of 
November.”  Second. — Butler,  by  independent  evi- 
dence (pp.  102-3),  indicates  that  the  boats  proceeded 
up  the  river  from  the  falls  “in  the  spring  of  1779.” 
Third. — When  the  wounded  men  were  discovered, 
they  had  only  partially  recovered  from  their 
wounds,  and  a period  of  about  six  weeks  is  generally 


assigned  to  the  interval  between  the  action  and  the 
rescue.  Fourth. — Collins,  Vol.  II,  p.  426,  quotes 
the  narrative  of  Samuel  Frazee  to  the  effect  that 
he  left  the  mouth  of  the  Licking  for  Harrodsburg 
“to  give  the  alarm  of  Indian  depredations  and 
expeditions.”  Returning  with  the  volunteers  to 
this  point,  the  same  narrator  says:  ‘We  struck 

the  trail  of  the  red  men,  and  followed  it  to  Old 
Chillicothe,”  etc.  Fifth.— Marshall,  Vol.  I,  p.  91, 
and  Butler,  p.  108,  place  the  march  of  Bowman’s 
expedition  in  July;  McClung,  p.  113,  in  May.  The 
former  are  accepted  as  correct.  Sixth. — McClung 
speaks  of  the  Indians  as  coming  down  the  Little 
Miami  in  their  retreat  from  Kentucky,  a statement 
which  is  obviously  a mistake.  The  natural  cor- 
rection seems  to  be  that  this  band  of  “four  or  five 
hundred”  Shawuanese— Butler,  p.  105 — was  on  its  wmy 
to  attack  the  frontier  posts  in  Kentucky;  that  falling 
in  with  Rogers,  and  achieving  a signal  victory,  they 
accepted  it  as  glory  enough  for  one  campaign,  and 
retired  — a proceeding  entirely  in  accordance 
with  their  well-known  practice.  Seventh. — Such 
an  explanation  receives  confirmation  from  the 
fact  that  it  is  clearly  improbable  that  so  large  a 
force  should  have  been  repelled  with  such  success 
as  to  cause  so  early  a retreat,  without  finding  some 
more  complete  record  in  the  annals  of  this  year. 
Neither  Ranch,  in  his  “History  of  Lexington,”  nor 
McClung,  in  his  “Outline  History,”  in  Collins,  men- 
tions it.  Eighth. — It  should  be  observed,  also,  that 
such  an  expedition  on  the  part  of  the  savages  was 
more  likely  to  occur  in  the  early  part  of  the  year, 
as  in  September  the  Shawanese  were  attending  a 
conference  at  Fort  Pitt  with  Brodhead,  which  ter- 
minated to  the  satisfaction  of  both  parties.  (“Annals 
of  the  West,”  p.  216.)  Ninth. — It  follows,  therefore, 
that  if  the  Indian  invasion  be  placed  in  the  fall  the 
expedition  must  have  been  organized  immediately 
after  this  conference,  to  which  the  savages  had  been 
drawm  by  the  chastisement  inflicted  upon  the  Penn- 
sylvania frontier,  which  is  improbable.  Tenth. — 
these  considerations  all  tend  to  point  out  the  date  of 
“the  27th  of  November”  as  an  error;  that  “Rogers’ 
defeat”  occurred  in  the  late  spring  or  early  summer 
of  1779,  and  is  so  indicated  in  the  text. 

NOTE  12,  PAGE  180. 

Peter  Duree  was  the  leading  man  in  the  company 
of  Pennsylvanians,  who,  in  1779,  established  Hart’s 
or  White  Oak  Station  on  the  Kentucky  River  in 
connection  with  Nathaniel  Hart.  In  the  fall  of 
1781,  or  in  the  succeeding  winter,  he  determined  to 
build  a new  station  between  the  mouth  of  Muddy 
Creek  and  Estill’s  Station,  and,  having  erected  a 
block-house  on  the  chosen  site,  his  son,  Peter 
Duree,  Jr.,  and  his  son-in-law,  John  Bullock,  with 
their  families,  took  possession  of  it.  Here  they 
were  attacked  by  the  Indians  about  the  20th  of 
March.  The  men  were  outside  of  the  cabin  ad- 
justing a hand-mill,  when  both  were  shot.  After 
running  a short  distance  toward  the  block- house 
Bullock  fell,  but  Duree  succeeded  in  reaching  it  and 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


659 


throwing  himself  upon  a bed.  Mrs.  Bullock,  going 
to  the  door  to  ascertain  the  fate  of  her  husband,  re- 
ceived a shot  in  her  breast,  and  fell  dead  upon  the 
threshhold.  Mrs.  Duree,  doubtful  whether  her  hus- 
band had  been  wounded  or  had  fainted,  drew  the 
murdered  woman  within  the  cabin  and  closed  the 
door.  Grasping  a rifle,  she  told  her  husband  she 
would  help  him  to  defend  the  cabin,  when  he  told 
her  he  was  wounded  and  dying.  Presenting  the 
gun  in  quick  succession  at  the  different  port-holes, 
she  turned  to  her  dying  husband,  and  calmly 
watched  his  life  go  out.  After  waiting  several 
hours  without  seeing  anything  more  of  the  Indians, 
she  ventured  out  to  go  to  the  older  station,  carrying 
an  infant  in  her  arms,  and  leading  a four-year-old 
son  by  her  side.  Avoiding  the  beaten  track,  she 
hurried  through  the  forest,  hoping  to  gain  her  des- 
tination unobserved.  She  struck  the  trail  at  some 
distance  from  her  starting-point,  however,  and  with 
her  strength  so  far  exhausted  that  she  determined 
to  follow  it.  A few  miles  further  on  she  met  the 
elder  Peter  Duree,  with  his  wife  and  youngest  son, 
on  their  way  with  their  household  effects  to  the 
new  station.  The  shocking  story  which  the  poor 
refugee  had  to  relate  changed  their  course,  and, 
unloading  their  horses  in  an  adjacent  cane-brake, 
the  whole  party  hurried  to  White  Oak  Station, 
where  they  arrived  before  daylight. 

NOTE  13,  PAGE  181. 

Of  the  five  descriptions  of  this  heroic  encounter 
examined,  no  two  agree  upon  all  the  essential 
points.  That  of  R.  H.  Collins  (Historical  Sketches 
of  Kentucky,  Vol.  II,  p.  634  et  seq.),  who  bases  his 
statements  upon  an  examination  of  the  evidence 
presented  in  the  case  of  E.  Crews  Crews  Heirs 
and  other  equally  authoritative  data  (see  note,  p. 
636),  is  perhaps  most  entitled  to  credit.  But  this 
account  is  unfortunately  marred  by  such  careless- 
ness of  statement  as  to  throw  some  doubt  upon  an 
otherwise  consistent  narrative.  This  will  be  ob- 
served in  the  last  two  paragraphs  on  page  234,  which 
seem  to  indicate  that  a body  of  men  who  “pressed 
forward,”  consumed  the  time  from  “early  next 
morning” till  “an  hour  before  sunset”  in  making 
the  distance  from  Little  Mountain  to  the  scene  of 
the  battle,  some  two  miles  above  Mount  Sterling. 
If  true,  it  is  of  suiflcient  importance  to  warrant  the 
author  in  giving  the  reason  for  such  an  unusual  de- 
lay, but  it  is  probably  an  inaccuracy,  in  which  the 
writer  has  fallen  in  amending  the  account  as  it  ex- 
isted in  the  original  edition.  Other  accounts  do  not 
attempt  to  fix  the  hour  of  the  engagement.  It  was 
probably  somewhat  earlier  than  “an  hour  before 
sunset;”  it  is  more  probable  that  it  occurred  an  hour 
before  sunrise.  This  time  would  satisfy  all  the 
conditions  much  better. 

Authors  differ  in  their  characterization  of  Mil- 
ler’s conduct.  A tradition  is  mentioned  by  Mar- 
shall which  authorizes  the  statement  that  the  lieu- 
tenant made  the  diversion  as  ordered,  was  met  by 
the  savages,  and  suffered  the  loss  of  three  or  four 


men  killed  or  wounded.  Besides  its  manifest  im 
probability,  this  tradition  is  opposed  by  the  almost 
unanimous  conviction  of  the  settlers  and  their 
descendants  in  the  neighborhood  of  Estill’s  Station, 
and  the  subsequent  action  of  Miller.  For  twenty 
years,  it  is  said,  oire  of  the  men  wounded  in  the 
action  patiently  watched  for  Miller’s  return  to 
Richmond,  vowing  to  kill  him  on  sight.  “If  he 
had  met  the  threatened  fate,  no  jury  in  Madison 
County  would  have  convicted  Cook — so  intense 
was,  and  to  this  day  is,  * * * * the  detesta- 

tion for  those  who  shamefully  retreated.”  Miller 
did  not  return  to  Richmond. 

There  is  a wide  disagreement  as  to  the  date  of 
the  encounter.  Marshall  (Vol.  I,  p.  126)  places  the 
event  in  May,  1782,  and  Butler  quotes  his  account 
without  remark.  The  question  seems  to  be  authori- 
tatively settled,  and  a sufficient  warrant  for  the 
prominence  accorded  this  inconclusive  skirmish  in 
history  is  given  in  the  decision  of  Chief  Justice 
Robertson,  in  the  case  of  Conley’s  Heirs  vs.  Chiles, 
found  in  the  5th  Marshall’s  Reports  (note  p.  124^ 
Butler),  the  chief  justice  said:  The  battle  was  fought 
on  the  22d  of  March,  1782.  in  the  new  county  of 
Montgomery,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Sterling. 
It  is  a memorable  incident,  and  perhaps  one  of  the 
most  memorable  in  the  interesting  history  of  the 
settlement  of  Kentucky.  The  usefulness  and  popu- 
larity of  Capt.  Estill;  the  deep  and  universal  sensi- 
bility excited  by  the  premature  death  of  a citizen 
so  gallant  and  so  beloved;  the  emphatic  character 
of  his  associates  in  battle;  the  masterly  skill  and 
chivalric  daring  displayed  throughout  the  action 
(“every  man  to  his  man,  and  each  to  his  tree  ”);  the 
grief  and  despondence  produced  by  the  catastrophe, 
all  contribute  to  give  to  "EstiH’s  defeat”  a most 
signal  notoriety  and  importance,  especially  among 
the  “ early  settlers.”  All  the  story,  with  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  locality,  and  of  “the  fight,”  was  told 
and  told  again  and  again,  until  even  children  knew 

it  “by  heart.”  No  legendary  tale  was  ever  listened 
to  with  as  intense  anxiety,  or  was  inscribed  in  as 
vivid  and  indelible  an  impress  on  the  hearts  of'  the 
few  of  both  sexes,  who  then  constituted  the  hope 
and  the  strength  of  Kentucky. 

Such  is  the  traditional  as  well  as  the  recorded 
history  of  this  sanguinary  battle  between  the  white 
men  and  the  Indians;  and  such,  too,  is  the  testimony 
embodied  in  this  cause. 

NOTE  14,  PAGE  182. 

The  details  in  regard  to  the  attack  on  Bryant’s 
or  Bryan’s  Station  are  involved  in  the  greatest  con- 
fusion. According  to  Marshall  the  Indians  attacked 
the  station  on  the  15th,  after  the  settlers  had  en- 
gaged in  their  ordinary  work  for  the  day,  and  con- 
tinued their  investment  of  the  place  until  “the 
morning  of  the  fourth  day.”  Butler  describes  the 
enemy  as ' approaching  the  fort  in  the  darkness  of 
the  night  of  the  14th,  and  maintaining  their  siege 
until  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day,  the  18th  inst. 
McClung  says  the  Indians  came  on  the  night  of  the 


660 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


14tli,  and  implies  that  they  left  on  the  morning  of 
the  16th.  Gov.  Morehead,  who  had  access  to  state- 
ments of  those  who  were  actors  in  the  events  of  this 
period,  agrees  with  McClung.  Boone’s  narrative 
says  the  attack  took  place  on  the  15th,  and  that  the 
enemy  retired  on  the  ITth,  but  in  his  letter,  quoted 
below  (note  15),  he  says  the  attack  was  on  the  16th, 
and  the  retreat  “about  10  o’clock  the  next  day.’’ 
An  account  by  one  who  was  present,  quoted  from 
Cist’s  Cincinnati  Mi,scellany  (Vol.  I,  page  236)  makes 
the  attack  occur  on  the  16th,  and  the  retreat  “be- 
fore daylight  ” on  the  17th. 

Later  writers  here  generally  accepted  the  night 
of  the  14th,  as  the  date  of  the  arrival  of  the  In- 
dians, though  why  this  rather  than  the  16th  is  not 
clear.  By  the  concurrent  testimony  of  McClung, 
Morehead,  Boone  and  Cist’s  Miscellany,  the  period 
of  active  hostilities  extended  only  through  one  day. 
The  relieving  party  arrived  on  the  next  day,  and  on 
the  third  day  fought  the  battle  at  the  Lower  Blue 
Lick.  Tiie  date  of  the  battle  is  invariably  fixed  on 
the  liUh,  and  the  date  of  the  arrival  of  the  force 
from  Lexington  and  the  beginning  of  the  pursuit, 
on  the  18th.  This  will  be  found  the  case  in  Mar- 
shall, Butler,  McClung,  Morehead,  Collins,  Perkins’ 
“Annals  of  the  West,”  Ranch’s  “ History  of  Fay- 
ette County,  Ky.,”  McKnight’s  “Our  Western 
Border,’’  and  Shaler’s  “Kentucky.”  If  these  dates 
may  be  considered  established,  it  follows  that  the 
attack  occurred  on  the  17th,  and  the  approach  of 
the  enemy  on  the  night  before,  as  in  the  text 

NOTE  15,  PAGE  188. 

The  various  writers  who  have  recounted  the  bat- 
tle of  Blue  Lick  differ  in  their  account  of  the  open- 
ing details.  The  common  narrative  is  given  by 
Marshall,  Stipp  (Miscellany,  Xenia,  Ohio,  1837), 
McClung  and  Cooper.  They  represent  the  whole 
army  following  McGary  in  headlong  confusion, 
without  previous  examination  of  the  locality  by 
scouts,  or  halt  until  confronted  by  the  enemy. 
Boone’s  account  in  a letter  to  the  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia is  as  follows; 

Boone’s  Station,  Fayette  Co.,  ; 

August  30,  1782.  \ 

Sir: — Present  circumstances  of  affairs  cause  me 
to  write  to  your  Excellency  as  follows:  On  the  16th 
inst,  a large  number  of  Indians  with  some  white 
men  attacked  one  of  our  frontier  stations,  known 
by  the  name  of  Bryan’s  Station.  The  siege  con- 
tinued from  about  sunrise  till  about  10  o’clock  the 
next  day,  when  the}^  marched  off. 

Notice  being  given  to  the  neighboring  stations, 
we  immediately  raised  181  horsemen,  commanded 
by  Col.  John  Todd,  including  some  of  the  Lincoln 
County  militia,  commanded  by  Col.  Trigg,  and  hav- 
ing pursued  about  forty  miles,  on  the  19th  inst.  we 
discovered  the  enemy  lying  in  wait  for  us.  On  this 
discovery  we  formed  our  columns  into  one  single 
line  and  marched  up  to  their  front  within  about 
forty  yards  before  there  was  a gun  fired.  Col. 
Trigg  commanded  on  the  right,  myself  on  the  left, 
Map  McGary  in  the  center,  and  Maj.  Harlan,  the 
advance  party,  in  the  front. 

From  the  manner  in  which  we  had  formed,  it 
fell  to  my  lot  to  bring  on  the  attack.  This  was 
done  with  a very  heavy  fire  on  both  sides,  and  ex- 


tended back  of  the  line  to  Col.  Trigg,  where  the 
enemy  was  so  strong  that  they  rushed  up  and  broke 
the  right  wing  at  the  first  fire.  Thus  the  enemy 
got  in  our  rear,  and  we  were  compelled  to  retreat 
with  the  loss  of  seventy-seven  of  our  men  and 
twelve  wounded. 

Afterward  we  were  enforced  by  Col.  Logan, 
which  made  our  force  460  men.  We  marched  again 
to  the  battle-ground,  but  finding  that  the  enemy 
had  gone  we  proceeded  to  bury  the  dead.  We  found 
forty-three  on  the  ground,  and  many  lay  about 
which  we  could  not  stay  to  find,  hungry  and  weary 
as  we  were,  and  somewhat  dubious  that  the  enemy 
might  not  have  gone  off  quite.  By  the  sign  we 
thought  the  Indians  had  exceeded  400,  while  the 
whole  of  the  militia  of  this  county  does  not  amount 
to  more  than  130. 

From  these  facts  your  Excellency  may  form  an 
idea  of  our  situation.  I know  that  your  own  cir- 
cumstances are  critical,  but  are  we  to  be  wholly  for- 
gotten? I hope  not.  I trust  about  500  men  may  be 
sent  to  our  assistance  immediately.  If  these  shall 
be  stationed  as  our  county  lieutenants  shall  deem 
necessary,  it  may  be  the  means  of  saving  our  part 
of  the  country,  but  if  they  are  placed  under  the  di- 
rection of  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark  they  will  be  of 
little  or  no  service  to  our  settlement.  The  falls  lie 
100  miles  west  of  us,  and  the  Indians  northeast, 
while  our  men  are  frequently  called  to  protect  them. 
I have  encouraged  the  people  in  this  county  all  that 
I could,  but  can  no  longer  justify  them  or  myself  to 
risk  our  lives  here  under  such  extraordinary  haz- 
ards. The  inhabitants  of  this  county  are  very  much 
alarmed  at  the  thought  of  the  Indians  bringing 
another  campaign  into  our  country  this  fall.  If 
this  should  be  the  case  it  will  break  up  these  settle- 
ments. I hope,  therefore,  your  Excellency  will  take 
the  matter  into  your  consideration,  and  send  us  some 
relief  as  quickly  as  possible. 

These  are  my  sentiments  without  consulting  any 
person.  Col.  Logan  will,  I expect,  immediately 
send  you  an  express,  by  whom  I humbly  request 
your  Excellency’s  answer.  In  the  meanwhile 
I remain,  Daniel  Boone. 

In  this  letter  it  will  be  observed  Boone  does  not 
mention  McGary’s  reckless  conduct,  and  leaves  it  to 
be  inferred  that  the  battle  was  brought  on  by  the 
determination  of  the  council  and  in  regular  order. 
That  it  was  begun  in  regular  order  receives  confir- 
mation from  “ a distinguished  citizen  of  Kentucky” 
whom  Mr.  Collins  quotes  (Vol.  II,  p.  659).  This 
gentleman  gained  his  information  from  participants 
in  the  battle,  and  agrees  with  the  accounts  given 
from  actors  in  this  scene  by  Kenton  and  Clark. 

Morehead,  whom  the  text  follows,  takes  a mid- 
dle course;  notes  the  precipitate  action  of  McGary, 
but  describes  the  final  approach  in  accordance  with 
Boone’s  account.  This  account  raises  the  questions 
whether  McGary  would  be  likely  to  stop  when  once 
started  in  his  mad  career,  and  whether,  if  McGary 
did  act  the  part  generally  assigned  to  him,  Boone 
would  be  likely  to  omit  all  mention  of  it.  To  the  lat- 
ter it  may  be  replied  that  Boone  aimed  only  to  give 
the  outlines  of  the  event,and  omits  many  undoubted- 
ly authentic  details  which  have  been  recorded  by  the 
historians;  that  his  purpose  was  not  to  make  an 
official  report,  but  to  picture  the  general  situation, 
and  on  his  own  responsibility  to  seek  relief  for  the 
alarmed  settlers;  and  that  if  the  fact  be  as  Marshall 
states,  McGary’s  action  would  npt  appear  of  such 
importance  as  to  be  noted  in  the  letter  referred  to. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


66 


Whether  McGary  would  be  any  more  amenable  to 
reason  after  crossing  the  river  than  before,  is  a 
question  for  the  decision  of  which  there  exists  no 
evidence.  It  may  be  supposed,  however,  that  the 
crossing  may  have  given  the  crow’d  wdiich  followed  | 
him  an  opportunity  for  a sober  second  thought,  and  ; 
the  “ Rubicon  ” having  been  passed,  thej'  may  ' 
have  been  inclined  to  accept  the  precautionary  ; 
measimes  offered. 

There  is  little  reason  to  doubt  that  McGary 
forced  the  fighting  in  some  way  contrary  to  the  j 
calmer  judgment  of  his  superiors,  and  that  by  his 
contemporaries  he  was  generally  held  responsible, 
to  a large  degree,  for  the  disaster  which  followed. 
This  responsibility,  it  is  said,  he  defended  rather 
than  denied,  and  in  so  doing,  aspersed  the  character 
of  Todd,  a proceeding  which  seems  to  make  his 
culpability  more  probable.  Butler  (p.  129)  refers  to 
his  defense  as  a tradition  in  which  it  was  held  that 
he  “counseled  a delay  at  Bryant’s  Station  for  twen- 
ty-four hours,  until  Logan  could  arrive  with  his 
powerful  re-enforcement.  This  was  rather  taunt- 
ingly rejected,  as  it  is  alleged,  by  Col.  Todd,  who,  in 
the  honorable  ambition  of  a brave  man,  was  fearful 
of  the  escape  of  the  Indians,  and  was  apprehensive 
that  he  should  lose  this  opportunity  of  distinguish- 
ing himself,  by  the  arrival  of  his  senior  colonel.” 
This  view  is  not  at  all  in  keeping  with  the  known 
character  of  the  respective  officers.  McGary  was 
of  a reckless  disposition,  insubordinate,  quarrel- 
some in  his  relations  to  his  superiors.  Todd  was  of 
a quiet,  judicial  temperament,  and  unselfish  in  his 
public  and  private  life.  Of  this  there  is  abundant 
evidence.  It  is  true  that  Logan  ranked  higher  in 
public  esteem  as  an  Indian  fighter  than  any,  save 
Clark,  on  the  border,  but  Cooper  is  authority  for 
the  statement  that  Logan  was  not  certainly  expected, 
and  as  a matter  of  fact  Todd  was  not  only  colonel 
in  the  militia,  but  also  in  the  State  line,  w’hich  made 
him  Logan’s  senior.  In  this  connection,  Mr.  Charles 
McKnight  (“Our  Western  Border,’’  p.  283)  relates; 
“Several  years  after  the  battle  of  the  Blue  Lick,  a 
gentleman  of  Kentucky,  since  dead,  fell  in  com- 
pany of  McGary  at  one  of  the  circuit  courts,  and 
the  conversation  soon  turned  on  the  battle.  Mc- 
Gary frankly  acknowledged  that  he  was  the  im- 
mediate cause  of  the  loss  of  blood  on  that  day, 
and  with  great  heat  and  energy,  assigned  his  rea- 
sons for  m'ging  on  the  battle.  He  said  that  in  the 
hurried  council  that  was  held  at  Bryant’s,  on  the 
18th,  he  strenuously  m’ged  Todd  and  Trigg  to 
halt  for  twenty-four  hours,  assuring  them  that  with 
the  aid  of  Logan,  they  would  be  able  to  follow 
them  even  to  Chillicothe  if  necessary,  and  that  their 
numbers  then  were  too  weak  to  encounter 
them  alone.  He  offered,  he  said,  to  pledge  his 
head  that  the  Indians  would  not  return  with  such 
precipitation  as  was  supposed,  but  would  afford 
ample  time  to  collect  more  force,  and  give  them 
battle  with  a prospect  of  success. 

“He  added  that  Col.  Todd  scouted  his  arguments 


anddeclaied  that,  if  a single  day  were  lost,  the  In- 
dians would  never  be  overtaken ; but  would  cross 
the  Ohio  and  disperse;  that  now  was  the  time  to 
strike  them,  while  they  were  in  a body;  that  to 
talk  of  their  numbers  was  nonsense,  the  more  the 
merrier;  that  for  his  part  he  determined  to  pursue 
them  without  a moment’s  delay  and  did  not  doubt 
that  there  were  brave  men  enough  on  the  ground  to 
enable  him  to  attack  them  with  effect.”  McGary 
declared  that  he  felt  somewhat  nettled  at  the  man- 
ner in  which  his  advice  had  been  received;  that  he 
thought  Todd  and  Trigg  jealous  of  Logan,  who, 
as  senior  colonel,  would  be  entitled  to  the  command 
on  his  arrival;  and  that,  in  their  eagerness  to  have 
the  honor  of  victory  to  themselves,  they  were 
rashly  throwing  themselves  into  a condition  which 
would  endanger  the  safetj"  of  the  country. 

“ ‘However,  sir’(continued  he,  with  an  air  of  un- 
amiable  triumph)  ‘when  I saw  the  gentlemen  so 
keen  for  a fight,  I gave  wmy,  and  joined  in  the  pur- 
suit as  willingly  as  any;  but  when  we  came  in  sight 
of  the  enemy,  and  the  gentlemen  began  to  talk  of 
numbers,  position,  Logan  and  waiting,  I burst  into 

a passion,  d d them  for  a set  of  cowards, 

who  could  not  be  wise  until  they  w^ere  scared  into 
it,  and  sw'ore  that  since  they  had  come  so  far  for  a 
fight,  Xhej  should  fight,  or  I would  disgrace  them 
forever.  That  when  I spoke  of  waiting  for  Logan 
on  the  day  before,  they  had  scouted  the  idea,  and 
hinted  about  courage,  that  now  it  would  be  shown 

who  had  courage,  or  who  were  d d cowards,  who 

could  talk  big  when  the  enemy  were  at  a distance, 
but  turned  pale  when  danger  was  near.  I then 
dashed  into  the  river,  and  called  upon  all  who  were 
not  cowards  to  follow.’  The  gentleman,  upon 
whose  authority  this  is  given,  added  that  even  then, 
JMcGary  spoke  with  bittnerness  of  the  deceased 
colonels,  and  swore  that  they  had  received  just 
what  they  deserved,  and  that  he,  for  one,  was  glad 
of  it.” 

Such  a statement  can  scarcely  be  credited,  but  if 
it  be  true,  as  there  are  indications  that  it  is,  it  leaves 
nothing  further  wanting  to  mark  3IcGary  as  the 
willful  murderer  of  his  comrades  and  the  malicious 
slanderer  of  the  noble  dead. 

The  loss  of  the  Indians  is  stated  generally  as 
equal  to  that  of  the  whites.  This  appears  iucredi- 
ble  when  the  number  and  advantageous  position  of 
the  savages  are  considered.  Logan  found  no  Indian 
burials,  and  but  few  trails  of  blood,  but  Boone 
states  in  his  narrative  that  on  numbering  their  dead 
the  Indians  discovered  that  their  loss  exceeded  the 
whites  by  four,  and  therefore  four  of  the  prisoners 
were,  by  general  consent,  ordered  to  be  killed. 
This  is  confirmed  by  the  statement  of  prisoners 
who  w^ere  exchanged  in  the  next  year.  The  loss  of 
the  Indians  referred  to,  however,  may  have  included 
the  casualties  received  in  both  the  battle  of  the  Blue 
Lick  aud  before  Bryan’s  Station.  In  the  latter 
engagement  the  whites  had  only  two  killed  in  the 
station,  while  the  savages  are  believed  to  have  lost 


0G2 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


hoavily.  The  losses  in  the  two  battles  may' have 
been  equalized  in  the  manner  stated. 

NOTE  16,  PAGE  195. 

In  1803  F.  A.  Michaux.  M.  D.,  a distinguished 
French  naluralist,  made  a tour  of  the  newer  por- 
tions of  the  United  States  under  the  auspices  of  the 
French  miiustcr  of  the  interior,  and  subsequently 
recorded  the  result  of  his  observations  in  a volume 
printed  in  Paris.  This  was  translated  into  English 
b}'  B.  Lambert,  and  published  at  London  in  1805.  It 
is  from  this  work  that  the  following  extract  is 
made: 

The  Barrens  or  meadows  of  Kentucky  comprise 
an  extent  of  sixty  or  seventy  miles  in  length  by 
fifty  or  sixt}^  in  breadth.  From  the  signification  of 
the  word  I expected  to  cross  a bare  tract,  with  a 
few  plants  scattered  here  and  there  upon  it:  and  in 
this  opinion  I was  supported  by  the  notion  which 
some  of  the  inhabitants  had  given  me  of  these 
meadows  before  I reached  them.  They  told  me  that 
at  this  season  (38th  of  August)  I should  perish  with 
heat  and  thirst,  and  that  I shoiild  not  meet  with 
any  shade  the  whole  length  of  the  road,  for  the 
greater  number  of  the  Americans  who  live  in  woods 
have  no  conception  that  countries  can  exist  that  are 
entirely  free  from  them,  and  still  less  that  they  can 
be  habitable.  Instead  of  finding  a country  .such  as 
described  to  me,  I was  agreeably  surprised  to  see  a 
beautiful  meadow  well  covered  with  grass  of  two  or 
three  feet  in  height,  which  is  used  to  feed  cattle,  A 
great  variety  of  plants  also  grow  here,  * * * 

In  some  parts  of  these  meadows  several  species 
of  wild  creeping  vines  are  met  with,  and  particu- 
larly that  called  b}'  the  inhabitants  summer  grapes. 
These  grapes  are  as  large  and  of  as  good  a quality 
as  those  from  the  vineyards  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Paris,  with  this  difference,  that  they  are  not  so  close 
upon  the  bunches. 

-S'  S -X-  -S  -S  -X- 

The  BaiTcns  are  circumscribed  within  a chain  of 
woods  two  or  three  miles  in  breadth,  forming  a 
continuation  of  the  forests  which  cover  the  country, 
Tlie  trees  comprising  them  are  not  very  close,  and 
their  distances  from  each  other  increase  in  ap- 
proaching the  meadows.  On  the  Tennessee  side 
this  chain  is  formed  exclusively  of  post  oaks,  Quer- 
cus  ohtusiloha,  the  wood  of  which  being  very  hard  and 
not  perishing  easily  is  preferred  to  all  others  in  the 
formation  of  fences.  * * Here  and  there  through 
the  meadows  are  also  to  be  seen  black  oaks,  Quercus 
nigra,  and  walnuts,  Juglans  hickery,  which  rise  to 
about  twelve  or  fifteen  feet;  sometimes  they  form 
small  groves,  but  always  so  far  asunder  as  not  in 
ail}’  way  to  interrupt  the  sight.  With  the  exception 
of  little  sallows  about  two  feet  high,  Salix  long- 
rc«frfA',and  some  sumachs,  there  is  not  any  shrub  to 
be  seen.  The  surface  of  these  meadows  is  in  gen- 
eral very  even;  but  toward  the  Dripping  Spring  I 
observed  a long  and  high  hill,  slightly  covered  with 
wood  and  with  enormous  detached  rocks  which  are 
visible  from  the  road. 


There  appears  to  be  a great  number  of  subter- 
raneous caverns  in  the  Barrens,  some  of  which  are 
very  near  the  surface.  A short  time  before  I passed 
this  way,  one  of  them  sunk  in  the  road  near  Bears’ 
Wallow,  under  the  feet  of  a traveler,  who  only  es- 
caped by  a most  fortunate  chance.  The  danger  of 
such  accidents  in  a country  where  the  habitations 
are  so  remote  from  each  other,  and  where,  perhaps, 
a traveler  does  not  pass  once  in  fifteen  days,  may 
be  conceived. 

Tliere  are  also  to  be  seen  in  these  meadows  bro- 
ken holes  of  the  shape  of  a funnel,  the  breadth  of 
which  varies,  according  to  the  depth,  from  fifteen 
to  thirty  feet.  In  some  of  these  cavities,  at  five  or 
six  feet  from  the  bottom,  there  is  a small,  trickling 
stream  of  water,  which  is  totally  lost  in  the  crevice 
at  the  lower  extremity  of  the  funnel.  These  kind  of 
streams  never  drj^  up,  which  has  induced  several  of 
the  inhabitants  to  settle  in  their  vicinity;  for  except 
the  Big  Barren  River,  I did  not  discover  the  smallest 
brook  or  creek  through  all  these  plains.  Neither 
have  I heard  of  any  attempt  having  been  made  to 
dig  wells;  and, therefore, can  form  no  judgment  of  the 
success  of  the  trials,  which  will  doubtless  be  here 
after  made.  From  these  observations  it  is  evident 
that  the  want  of  water,  and  of  wood  fit  for  fences, 
will  long  be  an  obstacle  to  the  increase  of  the 
establishments  in  this  part  of  Kentucky.*  * * 

The  Barrens  are  therefore  at  present  very  thinly  in- 
habited in  comparison  with  their  extent;  for  on  the 
road,  where  the  plantations  are  the  most  contigu- 
ous, there  are  only  eighteen  in  a space  of  seventy 
miles. 

Some  of  the  inhabitants  divide  the  land  of  the 
Barrens  of  Kentucky  into  three  classes,  according 
to  their  qualities,  and  in  their  opinion  the  middle 
class  occupies  the  largest  part  of  them.  That  part 
which  I crossed,  wdiere  the  soil  is  yellowish  and  a 
little  gravelly,  seemed  to  be  very  well  calculated  for 
the  culture  of  wheat.  -x-  -x-  -x-  -x-  -x-  * 

Every  year,  in  the  course  of  the  months  of  March 
and  xipril,  the  inhabitants  set  fire  to  the  herbage, 
which  at  that  period  is  dry,  and  the  extreme  length 
of  which  would  deprive  the  cattle,  for  a fortnight 
or  three  weeks  longer,  of  the  new  grass,  which  then 
begins  to  shoot.  This  custom  is,  however,  gener- 
ally blamed,  and  with  reason;  for,  being  set  fire  to 
early,  the  grass  dries,  and,  in  consequence  of  its 
drooping,  does  not  protect  the  rising  crop  from  the 
spring  frosts,  and  its  vegetation  retarded.  This  cus- 
tom was  formerly  practiced  by  the  natives,  who 
came  to  hunt  in  these  countries,  and  is  still  contin- 
ued by  them  in  other  parts  of  North  America, 
where  there  are  savannahs  of  vast  extent.  Their  ob- 
ject in  setting  fire  to  them  is  to  attract  the  stags,* 
bison,  etc,,  into  the  burnt  parts,  when  they  can  per- 
ceive them  at  a distance. 

No  idea  can  be  formed  of  these  dreadful  confla- 
grations without  having  seen  them.  The  flame, 
which  generally  occupies  a line  of  several  miles  in 
extent,  is  sometimes  driven  forward  with  such  rapid- 
it}'  that  men  on  horseback  have  become  their  prey. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY^ 


663 


The  American  hunters  and  the  savages  preserve 
themselves  from  this  danger  by  a method  as  simple 
as  ingenious;  they  immediately  set  fire  to  that  part  of 
the  meadow  in  which  they  happen  to  be,  and  after- 
ward retreat  to  this  burnt  spot,  where  the  flame, 
which  threatened  them,  stops  for  want  of  fuel. 
This  is  what  the  Canadian  hunters  call  making 
their  own  fire. — Michaux’ s Travels,  pp.  183-190. 

NOTE  17,  PAGE  195. 

The  earl}'  promise  of  success  in  grape  culture  was 
not  confinned  by  experience.  Nearly  eighteen 
years  after  Imlay  wrote,  Michaux  recorded  the  re- 
sult of  the  “agitation,”  to  which  the  text  refers:  I 
left  Lexington  for  Nashville,  in  the  State  of  Ten- 
nessee, on  the  10th  of  August,  wrote  the  French 
traveler,  and  as  the  establishment  formed  for  natur- 
alizing the  vine  in  Kentucky  was  only  a few  miles 
out  of  my  road,  I determined  to  visit  it.  * * * 

At  fourteen  miles  from  Lexington,  I quitted  the 
road  to  Hickman’s  Ferry.  I turned  to  the  left  and 
lost  myself  in  the  middle  of  the  woods,  so  that  I did 
not  reach  the  vineyard  until  evening,  where  I was 
very  politely  received  by  M.  Dufour,  who  directs 
the  undertaking.  He  invited  me  to  sleep  there  and 
pass  the  following  day  with  him,  which  I accepted. 

There  is  a public  spirit  in  the  United  States 
which  causes  them  to  seize  with  avidity  every  pros- 
pect tending  to  enrich  the  country  by  agriculture  or 
commerce.  That  of  acclimating  the  vine  in  Ken- 
tucky was  eagerly  received.  Several  individuals 
formed  themselves  into  a society  to  carry  it  into  ex- 
ecution, and  it  was  determined  to  raise  a capital  of 
10,000  piasters  (dollars,)  divided  into  200  shares  of 
50  piasters  each.  This  subscription  was  soon 
filled.  M.  Defour,  the  principal  of  a small  Swiss  col- 
ony, who  had  established  himself  seven  or  eight 
years  before  in  Kentucky,  and  was  the  proposer  of 
this  scheme,  was  employed  to  look  for  a suitable 
soil  to  procure  some  plants,  and  to  do  everything 
which  he  might  judge  necessary  to  insure  success. 
The  spot  which  he  had  selected  and  cleared  was  j 
situated  on  the  River  Kentucky,  twenty  miles  from 
Lexington.  The  soil  is  excellent,  and  the  vines  are 
planted  on  a small  hill  with  a steep  declivity,  ex- 
posed to  the  south,  and  the  base  of  which  is  about 
200  toises  (a  fathom,  six  French  feet,  or  0.39459 
English  feet)  from  the  river. 

M.  Dufour  intended  to  pass  into  France  to  pro- 
cure the  vine  plants,  and  with  this  view  he  went  to 
New  York,  but  the  war  or  some  other  cause,  with 
which  I am  unacquainted,  prevented  him,  and  he 
contented  himself  with  procuring  there  and  at  Phil- 
adelphia plants  of  every  species,  w^hich  he  could 
obtain  from  individuals  who  had  them  in  their  gar- 
dens. He  collected  twenty-five  species,  which  he 
brought  to  Kentucky,  where  he  has  endeavored  to 
multiply  them.  But  his  success  is  not  equal  to  his 
attention;  not  more  than  four  or  five  varieties  are 
left,  among  which  are  those  which  he  calls  by  the 
names  of  Burgundy  and  Madeira,  and  the  first  does 
not  thrive  well;  the  fruit  always  rots  before  it  ar- 


rives at  maturity.  When  I saw  them  the  bunches 
were  few  and  stinted,  the  grapes  small,  and  every- 
thing appeared  as  though  the  vintage  of  the  year 
1803  would  not  be  more  abundant  than  those  of  the 
preceding  years.  The  Madeira  vines,  on  the  con- 
trary, seemed  to  give  some  hopes  of  150  or  200 
plants — about  a third  were  loaded  with  very  fine 
grapes.  These  vines  do  not  occupy  a space  of  more 
than  six  acres;  they  are  planted  and  supported  by 
props,  as  in  the  environs  of  Paris.  The  vicinity  of 
the  wmods  attracts  a species  of  bird  which  is  very 
destructive  to  them,  and  the  nature  of  the  country 
is  a great  obstacle  to  getting  freed  from  them. 

Such  was  then  the  situation  of  this  establish- 
ment, in  which  the  proprietors  took  but  slight  in- 
terest, and  which  was  likely  to  meet  with  another 
hindrance  in  the  division  of  M.  Dufour's  family,  a 
part  of  which  was  on  the  point  of  quitting  it  to  set- 
tle on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio.  These  details  are 
sufficient  to  give  a very  different  idea  of  the  state  of 
the  pretended  flourishing  vines  of  Kentucky,  from 
that  which  may  have  been  formed  on  the  pompous 
accounts  of  them  some  months  ago  in  the  public 
papers.— Travels,  pp.  163-167. 

NOTE  18,  PAGE  199. 

The  decade  which  preceded  Kenton’s  removal 
from  Kentucky,  marked  the  culmination  and  rapid 
decline  of  his  fortunes.  He  had  entered  large  tracts 
of  land,  which  the  continued  immigration  greatly 
enhanced  in  value.  On  the  site  of  his  old  block- 
house, near  Washington,  he  erected  a fine  brick 
residence,  which  became  widely  noted  for  the  open- 
handed  hospitality  dispensed  by  its  owner.  But 
this  prosperity  was  only  short-lived.  The  great 
tide  of  immigration,  which  at  first  contributed  so 
largely  to  his  prosperity  finally  proved  his  ruin. 
Land  became  more  scarce,  and  the  greedy  specula- 
tor began  to  invade  his  domains  and  involve  him  in 
legal  difficulties,  to  which  his  ignorance  and  cre- 
dulity made  him  an  easy  victim.  One  after  an- 
other of  his  possessions  were  wrested  from  him  on 
legal  informalities,  until  not  only  was  his  valuable 
property  absorbed,  but  even  his  body  taken  to  sat- 
I isfy  the  warranty  of  deeds  to  land  which  he  had 
given  away.  Thus,  four  years  after  the  general 
pacification  of  the  Indians  had  promised  him  a life 
of  ease,  dearly  earned  by  twenty  years  of  constant 
danger  and  hardship,  he  found  himself  beggared  by 
land  suits. 

In  this  predicament  he  turned  to  Ohio,  where 
he  had  previously  pushed  his  speculations.  Here, 
in  1799,  he  “took  up”  land  and  began  anew,  set- 
tling, in  1802,  near  Urbana.  His  misfortunes  still 
followed  him,  and  it  was  not  until  1820,  when  he 
moved  to  the  head-waters  of  the  IMad  River,  in  Logan 
County,  and  entered  land  in  the  name  of  his  wife 
and  children,  that  he  escaped  the  persecutions  of 
the  malign  spirit  which  presided  over  the  lands  of 
Kentucky.  In  all  this  trouble  he  never  inveighed 
against  the  injustice  of  his  country,  which  to  his 
exalted  patriotism,  seemed  incapable  of  doing 


664 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


wrong.  In  1805,  he  M'as  made  brigadier-general  of 
Ohio  militia,  and  was  ready  at  all  times  to  give 
his  services  in  defense  of  the  frontier.  On  the 
breaking  out  of  hostilities  in  1812,  he  was  anxious 
to  take  part  in  the  military  operations,  and  in  the 
succeeding  j'ear,  when  Gov.  Slielby  led  the  Ken- 
tuck}"  troops  northward,  he  joined  them  with  his 
rille  and  horse  as  a volunteer,  though  constrained 
to  act  as  a privileged  member  of  the  Governor's 
military  family.  In  this  capacity  he  was  present 
at  the  battles  of  the  Thames  and  of  the  Moravian 
town,  -where  he  displayed  his  old-time  courage  and 
address.  With  this  he  ended  his  military  career. 

In  1824  he  made  his  first  visit  to  Kentucky  after 
his  removal  from  that  State.  Certain  mountainous 
lands  of  little  value,  which  had,  on  that  account,  es- 
caped the  voracity  of  the  land-hunters,  had  become 
forfeited  to  the  State  for  unpaid  taxes.  To  seek 
the  release  of  this  last  vestige  of  his  Kentucky  for- 
tunes, he  was  induced  to  undertake  the  journey 
alone.  He  made  his  way  to  Frankfort,  where 
the  legislature  was  in  session,  with  as  little  idea  of 
what  steps  were  to  betaken  to  effect  his  wishes  as 
a child.  On  reaching  his  destination,  he  found 
himself  an  utter  stranger.  His  worn  out  horse  and 
tattered  garments  proclaimed  his  fallen  fortunes, 
while  his  simple,  dazed  manner  sharpened  the  cu- 
riosity of  those  who  observed  his  entry  into  the 
town.  Aimlessly  wandering  in  the  street,  peering 
into  each  face  for  some  familiar  countenance,  and 
followed  by  a crowd  of  curious  urchins,  the  old 
white-haired  man  was  at  length  recognized  by  Gen. 
Thomas  Fletcher,  who  provided  him  with  decent 
clothing,  and  took  the  old  pioneer  home  for  enter- 
tainment. His  presence  was  soon  noised  abroad, 
and  large  numbers  came  to  greet  the  renowned 
hunter  and  scout.  He  was  taken  to  the  capitol 
and  placed  in  the  speaker’s  chair,  where  the  leading 
members  of  the  government,  as  well  as  prominent 
citizens,  were  introduced  to  him.  This  spontaneous 
courtesy  completely  won  his  heart,  and  the  simple- 
hearted  old  man  counted  this  the  proudest  day  of 
his  life.  His  lands  w'ere  promptly  released  by  the 
State,  and  in  the  same  year,  through  the  exertions 
of  Judge  Burnett,  of  Cincinnati,  and  Gov.  Vance, 
of  Ohio,  then  members  of  congress,  the  United 
States  granted  Kenton  a pension  of  $20  a month. 
This  thoughtful  provision  enabled  the  old  pioneer  to 
end  his  days  free  from  w'ant.  He  died  April  29, 
1836,  a victim  of  the  cholera,  which  prevailed  in 
this  year. 

Kenton  married  Elizabeth  Jarbo,  probably  in 
Kentucky,  by  whom  he  had  several  children,  though, 
strange  to  say,  of  all  the  notices  of  his  eventfnl  ca- 
reer to  be  found  in  the  various  encyclopedias  and 
reviews,  these  important  details  omitted  by  his  bi- 
ographer have  been  supplied  in  none.  His  descend- 
ants subsequently  moved  to  Indiana.  McDonald, 
who  became  acquainted  w’ith  the  veteran  pioneer  in 
1T89,  and  knew  him  W"ell  during  the  remainder  of 
his  life,  w'rites  thus  of  his  character  and  general 


appearance:  “Gen.  Kenton  was  of  fair  complexion,, 
six  feet  one  inch  in  height.  He  stood  and  walked 
very  erect,  and  in  the  prime  of  life  weighed  about 
190  pounds.  He  never  was  inclined  to  be  corpu- 
lent, although  of  sufficient  fullness  to  form  a grace- 
ful person.  He  had  a soft,  tremulous  voice,  very 
pleasing  to  the  hearer.  He  had  laughing  grey  eyes, 
which  appeared  to  fascinate  the  beholder.  He  was 
a pleasant,  good-humored  and  obliging  companion. 
When  excited  or  provoked  to  anger  (which  was  sel- 
dom the  case)  the  fiery  glance  of  his  eye  would  al- 
most curdle  the  blood  of  those  with  whom  he  came 
in  contact.  His  rage,  when  roused,  was  a tornado. 
In  his  dealing  he  was  perfectly  honest;  his  con- 
fidence in  man  and  his  credulity  were  such  that  the 
same  man  might  cheat  him  twenty  times,  and  if  he 
professed  friendship  he  might  cheat  him  still.”  His 
remains  still  rest  in  the  obscurity  of  his  unmarked 
grave  in  Ohio. 

NOTE  19,  PAGE  200. 

On  leaving  Kentucky,  Boone  seems  to  have  been 
swayed  by  alternating  impulses,  which  carried  him 
hither  and  thither,  the  prey  of  conflicting  desires. 
In  April,  1794,  he  is  found  at  Point  Pleasant,  in 
western  Virginia;  in  February,  1796,  a few  miles- 
from  Paris,  Bourbon  Co.,  Ky.;  in  April,  1797,  float- 
ing down  the  Ohio  River  in  a canoe,  bound  for  that 
part  of  the  Spanish  possessions  now  known  as  Mis- 
souri. In  all  these  wanderings  his  wife  was  his  de- 
voted companion,  and  in  the  last  named  year  this 
aged  couple  found  a resting  place  with  their  son, 
Daniel,  Jr. 

It  appears  that  the  venerable  pioneer  had  received 
assurances  from  the  governor  of  upper  Louisiana 
that  a liberal  grant  of  land  should  be  awarded  him 
and  his  family.  Ten  thousand  acres  of  choice  land 
were  accordingly  marked  out  on  the  Missouri  River, 
and  given  him  for  his  individual  use,  but  the  title 
was  never  completed,  as  it  could  only  be  done  by  a 
trip  to  New  Orleans,  which  Boone  unfortunately 
failed  to  make.  He  became  a citizen  of  Spain,  and 
was  appointed  syndic  or  chief  of  the  district  of  St. 
Charles.  For  a time  prosperity  seemed  to  shine 
upon  him;  he  once  more  enjoyed  the  unbounded 
freedom  of  the  woods,  and  with  his  rifle  and  traps 
earned  sufficient  to  pay  the  debts  which  he  was 
obliged  to  leave  unsettled  on  his  removal  from  Ken- 
tucky. It  is  said,  he  one  day  suddenly  appeared 
amid  the  scenes  of  his  pioneer  labors,  clad  and 
armed  as  of  old,  sought  out  his  various  creditors, 
and  taking  their  account  of  his  indebtedness,  paid 
each  one  in  full,  disappearing  as  suddenly  as  he 
came. 

But  the  settlements  began  once  more  to  intrude 
upon  his  hunting  grounds.  Tlie  territory  was  ceded 
to  the  French,  and  then  to  the  United  States. 
Longer  trips  were  necessary  for  his  hunting  and 
trapping  excursions,  which  took  him  far  up  the 
Missouri  River  and  its  tributaries.  On  one  occasion 
he  went  to  the  Osage,  accompanied  only  by  a negro 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


665 


lad.  Having  pitched  his  camp  he  was  suddenly 
taken  sick,  and  continued  seriously  ill  for  so  long  a 
time  that  the  old  woodsman  thought  the  end  was 
approaching.  One  pleasant  day,  when  feeling 
somewhat  stronger,  he  took  his  attendant  to  a 
slight  eminence,  and  imperturbably  marked  out  his 
own  grave,  and  gave  minute  directions  in  regard  to 
the  distribution  of  his  personal  effects,  and  the  man- 
ner of  his  burial.  This  done,  he  returned  to  his 
camp  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  “awful  summons,” 
but  his  strong  vitality  weathered  the  storm,  and  he 
recovered  to  live  some  years. 

About  1810  he  again  fell  a victim  to  his  incapacity 
for  business  affairs.  Settlers  intruded  upon  his 
land,  and  when  he  laid  his  claim  before  the  commis- 
sioners of  land  claims,  appointed  by  congress,  they 
were  compelled  by  their  instructions  to  reject  it, 
because  he  had  failed  to  settle  on  and  cultivate  the 
land.  These  were  the  usual  conditions  annexed  by 
the  Spanish  to  their  grauts  of  land,  but  in  the  case 
of  Boone,  his  oiQcial  duties  in  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment requiring  his  residence  elsewhere,  these  con- 
ditions were  dispensed  with.  However,  his  failure 
to  complete  his  title  of  gift,  and  his  failure  to  occupy 
the  land  claimed,  defeated  his  case  before  the  com- 
missioners. He,  therefore,  memorialized  congress 
to  afford  relief,  and  “left  once  more,  at  about  the 
age  of  eighty,  to  be  a wanderer  in  the  world,”  he 
prayed  the  legislature  of  Kentucky  “to  support  his 
application  to  congress  by  their  aid  and  influence.” 
This  petition  promptly  received  the  favorable  at- 
tention of  the  legislature,  and  its  instruction  to  the 
Kentucky  senators  and  representatives  in  congress 
to  use  their  exertions  to  secure  a confirmation  of  the 
Spanish  grant,  or  a suitable  quantity  as  a donation, 
was  prefaced  by  a tribute  to  the  “many  eminent 
services  rendered  by  Col.  Daniel  Boone,”  which  was 
alike  honorable  to  the  sentiment  which  moved  the 
assembly  and  grateful  to  the  simple,  guileless  spirit, 
whose  keen  sagacity  and  generous  bravery  had  done 
so  much  for  the  infant  fortunes  of  the  common- 
wealth. It  is  pleasant  to  record  that  this  effort  on 
the  part  of  the  assembly  was  crowned  with  success. 
On  February  10,  1814,  congress  granted  Boone,  as  a 
donation,  1,000  arpens  of  land. 

His  old  misfortunes  still  followed  him.  Hot 
only  did  he  lose  the  lands  which  he  called  his  own, 
but  such  as  he  had  sold  became  a source  of  loss  and 
trouble.  In  selling  these  he  gave  a “warrantee 
deed,”  and  subsequently  when  the  original  title 
proved  invalid,  under  the  jugglery  of  the  Virginia 
law,  he  was  obliged  to  part  with  his  late  grant  from 
the  United  States  to  satisfy  the  purchaser.  A 
greater  misfortune  befel  Boone,  however,  about 
1813,  in  the  death  of  his  aged  wife.  He  mourned 
her  loss  as  one  who  “would  not  be  comforted,”  and 
from  this  event  forward  his  spirit  seems  to  have 
been  completely  broken.  He  took  up  his  residence 
with  his  son,  Nathan,  and  sought  forgetfulness  in 
long  hunting  excursions,  which  he  extended  in  1816 
as  far  as  Fort  Osage,  on  the  Kansas  River,  a hun- 


dred miles  from  his  home.  In  these  expeditions  he 
was  accompanied  by  an  attendant  who  was  bouna 
by  a written  agreement  to  return  his  body,  wherever 
he  might  die,  to  be  buried  beside  his  wife.  But  the 
infirmities  of  age  curbed,  at  last,  even  the  untiring 
energies  of  this  indefatigable  man.  Obliged  to 
forego  his  hunting  excursions,  and  unable  to  walk 
far,  he  would  sit  at  his  cabin  door  for  hours  at  a 
time,  his  trusty  rifle  across  his  knee,  and  his  eyes 
directed  toward  the  forest  with  a dreamy  gaze, 
while  in  fancy  he  lived  again  amid  the  stirring 
scenes  of  his  vigorous  manhood. 

His  narrative,  preserved  by  Filson,  was  a con- 
stant source  of  enjoyment  to  the  kind-hearted  old 
man,  and  he  was  never  more  gratified  than  when 
some  friend  would  read  to  him  the  meager  story  of 
his  eventful  life.  He  listened  with  the  keenest  in- 
terest, occasionally  rubbing  his  hands  with  excess 
of  satisfaction,  and  ejaculate,  “All  true,  every  word 
true;  not  a lie  in  it.”  But  while  thus  pleased  with 
the  record  of  his  exploits,  he  seldom  spoke  of  him- 
self, save  when  particularly  questioned.  It  was  the 
printed  memorial  that  “completely  overcame  the 
cold  philosophy  of  his  general  manner,  and  he 
seemed  to  think  it  a master-piece  of  composition.” 

In  1819  an  American  artist,  prompted  by  a patri- 
otic wish  to  preserve  the  portrait  of  this  notable 
man,  visited  him  in  Missouri,  and  communicated 
the  following  description  of  his  surroundings  to 
Gov.  Morehead,  who  embodied  it  in  his  address: 
“He  found  him  in  a small  rude  cabin,  indisposed 
and  resting  on  his  bed.  A slice  from  the  loin  of  a 
buck,  twisted  round  the  rammer  of  his  rifle,  within 
reach  of  him  as  he  lay,  was  roasting  before  the  tire. 
Several  other  cabins,  arranged  in  the  form  of  a par- 
allelogram, marked  the  spot  of  a dilapidated  sta- 
tion. They  were  occupied  by  the  descendants  of 
the  pioneer.  Here  he  lived  in  the  midst  of  his  pos- 
terity. His  withered  energies  and  locks  of  snow 
indicated  that  the  sources  of  existence  were  nearly 
exhausted.”  A fever  terminated  his  life  on  Septem- 
ber 26,  1820,  at  the  house  of  his  son-in-law,  Flanders 
Callaway,  in  Charette  Village,  on  the  Missouri 
River.  He  was  buried  by  the  side  of  his  wife. 

The  legislature  in  session  at  St.  Louis,  on  the 
announcement  of  this  event,  adjourned  for  the  day 
in  token  of  respect  to  his  memory,  and  wore  the 
usual  badge  of  mourning  for  twenty  days.  In  Ken- 
tuck5^  no  special  observance  of  the  event  was  made 
for  some  years.  In  its  session  of  1844-45,  the  Ken- 
tucky legislature  adopted  measures  to  have  the 
mortal  remains  of  the  celebrated  pioneer  and  his 
wife  removed  from  Missouri  to  the  public  cemetery 
at  Frankfort.  On  the  13th  of  September,  1845, 
these  efforts  were  consummated  by  the  elaborate 
obsequies  with  which  the  remains  of  the  pioneer 
couple  were  placed  in  their  new  resting  place.  Since 
then  a handsome  monument  has  been  erected,  which, 
though  somewhat  marred  by  time,  and  relic  hunters, 
still  remains  to  mark  the  resting  place  of  Daniel  and 
Rebecca  Boone. 


G06 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


NOTE  20,  PAGE  202. 

It  is  probable  that  Ilarrod’s  life  was  ended  by 
murder.  He  had  had  a suit  at  law  with  one  Bridges, 
in  regard  to  some  property,  the  result  of  which  had 
produced  a bitter  enmity  between  the  two  litigants. 
They  had  not  spoken  to  each  other  for  some  time, 
when,  one  day  in  1793,  Bridges  returned  after  sev- 
eral weeks’  absence,  and,  professing  to  wish  a 
reconciliation,  disclosed  to  Harrod  that  he  had  dis- 
covered an  abandoned  silver  mine,  of  which  there 
was  a current  tradition,  and  solicited  him  to  fur- 
nish the  capital  to  work  it.  Ilarrod’s  wife  earnestly 
opposed  his  going  alone  with  Bridges  to  examine 
the  alleged  discovery,  and  prevailed  on  him  to  allow 
a third  person  to  join  the  investigation. 

On  reaching  the  Three-Forks  of  the  Kentucky 
River,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  the  mine  was  supposed 
to  be  located,  the  company  halted,  prepared  a camp, 
and  then  set  out  in  quest  of  game,  each  one  pur- 
suing his  own  course.  Bridges  and  Harrod  were 
not  widely  separated  and  proceeded  some  distance 
from  camp,  while  the  third  man  explored  the  less 
remote  regions.  He  soon  heard  the  report  of  a gun 
in  the  direction  and  about  the  vicinity  he  supposed 
Harrod  was,  and  thinking  he  had  secured  a deer, 
returned  to  camp.  Here  he  found  Bridges  appar- 
ently greatly  alarmed;  he  said  he  had  seen  fresh 
Indian  “signs,”  and  believed  Harrod  had  been  killed; 
and  insisted  upon  a precipitate  retreat,  in  spite  of  the 
earnest  remonstrance  of  his  companion, who,  rather 
than  be  left  alone,  soon  followed  to  the  settlements. 

Bridges  subsequently  sol^l  a quantity  of  furs  to  a 
hatter  in  Lexington,  and  at  the  same  time  disposed 
of  a pair  of  silver  buttons  engraved  with  the  letter 
H.  These  being  sent  to  Mrs.  Harrod,  she  instantly 
recognized  them  as  the  ones  the  colonel  had  worn 
in  his  linen  hunting-shirt,  when  he  set  out  on  the 
expedition.  A party  of  men  at  once  set  out  for  the 
Three-Forks,  where  they  discovered  the  bones  of  a 
human  being,  picked  bare  by  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
woods,  but  a hunting-shirt  with  the  buttons  gone 
remained,  and  was  identified  as  belonging  to  Har- 
rod. In  the  meanwhile.  Bridges  took  the  alarm,  left 
the  country,  and  was  never  more  heard  of.  (See 
Dr.  Graham’s  narrative  in  Collins,  Vol.  II,  p.  614.) 

NOTE  21,  PAGE  208. 

The  “Kentucky  boat,”  or  “broad  horn,”  was  a 
flat-boat,  constructed  upon  the  crudest  principles  of 
naval  architecture.  Until  1800,  it  was  the  only 
traffic  boat  on  the  western  rivers,  but  at  this  time 
the  “keel-boat”  was  introduced,  which  gradually 
superseded  its  predecessor  in  the  public  service,  al- 
though flat-boats  were  found  on  the  Mississippi  in 
considerable  numbers  until  the  steam-boat  ended 
the  career  of  all  such  craft. 

The  numerous  water-ways  and  the  utter  lack  of 
roads  made  travel  and  transportation  by  water  an 
earl}"  necessity,  and  the  flat-boat  was  an  outgrowth 
of  the  self-help  of  the  pioneers.  It  was  earliest  in 
demand  as  a means  to  transport  immigrants  and 


their  goods  to  Kentucky,  which  gave  rise  to  its 
name.  At  first  these  boats  were  constructed  by 
those  who  had  need  of  them.but  immigration  subse- 
quently increased  to  such  an  extent  that  their  con- 
struction became  one  of  the  more  prominent  indus- 
tries of  Brownsville  and  Pittsburgh,  Penn,,  and  of 
Wheeling,  W.  Va.  The  business  was  not  confined  to 
these  points,  however,  and  almost  every  settlement 
upon  the  navigable  portion  of  the  Monongahela  and 
Youghiogheny  Rivers,  did  more  or  less  of  boat 
building.  Subsequently,  when  the  “keel-boat”  be- 
came prominent,  the  flat-boat  lost  its  distinctive 
name,  and  was  chiefly  used  by  the  farmers  and 
merchants  of  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Illinois  and  Indiana 
to  convey  their  produce  to  the  New  Orleans  market. 

The  form  of  these  boats  was  a parallelogram, 
varying  in  length  from  fifteen  to  fifty  feet,  and  in 
width  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet,  affording  a capacity 
which  varied  from  fifty  to  .'iOO  tons  burthen.  On 
the  Kentucky  and  Illinois  Rivers  they  were  some- 
times built  seventy-five  feet  long,  and  Carried  from 
2,000  to  5,000  bushels  of  grain.  The  method  and 
style  of  construction  was  simple,  and  suited  to  the 
meager  resoui'ces  of  the  times.  The  plan  was  to 
take  a fine  poplar  or  sycamore  tree,  hew  it  in  rect- 
angular shape  about  eighteen  by  twenty-four  inches. 
This  was  split  through  the  middle,  leaving  strips 
about  twelve  by  eighteen  inches  and  of  varying 
length  to  suit  the  boat.  These  formed  the  gunwales, 
and  constituted  the  main  strength  of  the  boat.  The 
heart  side  was  placed  outward,  amd  on  the  inner 
corner  was  cut  a “gain”  large  enough  to  allow  the 
two-inch  flooring  to  rest  in  it,  and  come  to  the  level 
of  the  bottom  of  the  gunwale.  The  width  of  the 
boat  was  established  by  cross  pieces  framed  in  the 
gunwales  at  moderate  distances  apart.  Lengthwise 
the  boat  was  further  strengthened  by  “streamers” 
running  parallel  with  the  gunwales  about  four  feet 
apart.  Upon  this  framework,  securely  framed  and 
fastened  together,  flooring  of  two  inch  oak  planks 
was  laid  double,  pinned  with  wooden  pins  and 
heavy  nails. 

The  boat,  thus  far  constructed,  was  bottom  side 
up,  and  after  being  well  caulked,  the  difficulty  en- 
countered was  to  turn  it  over  to  be  finished  and 
launched.  Among  the  farmers  the  practice  was  to 
choose  a location  on  the  bank  of  the  river  conven- 
ient for  launching,  and  when  the  work  reached  this 
stage  to  turn  it  on  the  land,  though  the  more  skill 
ful  turned  it  on  the  water.  If  it  was  done  on  the 
land,  the  men  of  the  neighborhood  were  invited, 
and  all  joined  in  lifting  one  side  of  the  wooden 
leviathan,  and  letting  it  fall  over  on  brush  heaps 
and  a multitude  of  hoop-poles,  somewhat  inclined 
to  break  its  fall.  This  was  attended  with  consider- 
able risk  of  damage,  and  the  other  way  was  pre- 
ferred. That  was  to  place  a temporary  board  rail- 
ing on  one  side  and  the  ends.  Against  this  railing 
an  embankment  of  earth  was  placed  on  the  boat, 
and  thus  iDrepared,  it  was  launched  into  the  stream 
and  towed  by  yawls  into  deep  water.  The  side  of 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


667 


the  boat,  weighted  with  earth  was  placed  up  stream 
across  the  current,  and  while  held  in  this  position 
the  embankment  was  broken  in  two  places,  to  allow 
the  water  to  find  its  way  into  the  boat.  The  weight 
of  the  earth  held  this  side  lower  than  the  other,  to 
which  was  added  the  weight  of  the  admitted  water; 
this  resulted  in  such  a depression  of  this  side  as  to 
give  the  current  such  hold  of  the  structure  as  to 
turn  it  under  the  stream,  when,  the  dirt  falling  off, 
it  righted  with  the  proper  side  uppermost.  Great 
care  was  necessary  to  prevent  the  embankment  from 
being  prematurely  broken,  and  for  those  who  man-  j 
aged  the  turning  to  escape  a serious  wetting  by 
leaping  into  a small  boat  kept  near  at  hand.  j 

When  turned,  it  was  hauled  ashore  by  a cable 
previously  fastened  to  it,  and  then  completed.  The 
gunwales  were  trimmed  off  at  the  prow  to  give  the 
boat  the  proper  “rake;”  sides  about  fom-  feet  high 
were  added  by  nailing  clapboards  on  studding,  j 
framed  in  the  sills  or  gunwales,  and  caulking  ap- 
plied to  the  first  and  second  joints  from  the  bottom,  * 
and  sometimes  higher.  In  case  of  boats  bound  for  . 
New  Orleans,  about  three  feet  of  the  prow  was  left  I 
uninclosed  to  prevent  snags  piercing  into  the  cargo.  ' 
The  inclosed  portion  was  roofed  over  with  boards  j 
projecting  over  the  sides  to  shed  the  water  per-  [ 
fectly,  and  rounded  from  one  side  to  the  other,  the 
center  being  about  five  and  a half  to  six  feet  high.  ! 
This  was  the  rule  in  case  of  traffic  boats,  but  in 
other  cases  only  the  cabin  was  provided  with  roof.  I 
This  was  located  at  the  stern,  about  six  feet  of  I 
which  was  devoted  to  bunks,  a stone  fireplace  with  j 
“cat  and  clay”  chimney.  Emigrant  boats  were 
made  to  resemble  a box  and  were  abandoned  to  the 
current  without  any  effort  or  means  of  navigating 
them.  Traffic  boats  were  provided  with  “ sweeps,” 
and  a steering  oar.  ! 

Such  a craft  could  be  purchased  of  regular  builders 
at  a price  varying  from  .$1  to  $1.25  per  linear  foot,  but 
the  purchaser  found  it  necessary  to  provide  a cable, 
pump  and  fire-place  at  an  additional  cost  of  about 
$10.  Flat-boats  were  built  with  square  prow  to 
resist  the  rapid  current,  and  were  illy  adapted  to  I 
progress  up  stream.  Traffic  boats  were,  therefore, 
sold  as  lumber  or  firewood  on  reaching  their  desti-  | 
nation.  Emigrant  boats  found  some  purchasers  | 
who  would  use  them  to  continue  the  trip  to  New 
Orleans,  but  they  were  generally  disposed  of  cheaply 
for  the  lumber  in  them. 

NOTE  22,  PAGE  209. 

In  his  reminiscential  letters.  Dr.  Drake,  speak- 
ing of  a visit  in  1845  to  the  scene  of  his  early  home 
at  Mayslick,  Mason  Co.,  Ky.,  says;  “It  is 
a remarkable  fact  that  in  the  early  period  of  which 
I am  writing,  from  1794  to  1800,  the  white  popula- 
tion was  greater  in  that  neighborhood  than  I found 
it  in  the  visit  referred  to.  In  a single  solitary  walk  , 
of  two  miles,  which  included  the  spot  of  our  old  ' 
home,  I passed  over  the  foundation — the  decayed 
logs  and  dust — of  no  less  than  twelve  cabins,  on  the 
broad  hearths  of  which  I used  to  warm  myself  in 


winter,  or  play  around  in  other  seasons,  when  sent 
to  them  on  errands,  or  permitted  to  visit  the  boys 
and  girls  with  which  they  were  redolent.  Besides, 
I saw  two  of  a better  kind  than  the  first,  erected  of 
hewed  logs,  which  were  tenantless  and  surrounded 
by  hemp.  *******  The 
loss  of  white  population  so  impressively  shown 
forth  by  what  I have  said,  has  occurred  in  various 
parts  of  Kentucky.  (“Pioneer  Life  in  Kentucky.” 
pp.  182-3.) 


The  following  table  shows  the  population  at  each 
census,  1790-1880: 


Census  Years. 

Whites. 

Free 

Colored 

Slaves. 

Total. 

1790 

61,133 

114 

12,430 

73,677 

1800 

179,873 

739 

40,343 

220,955 

1810 

324,237 

1,713 

80,561 

406,511 

1820 

434,647 

2,759 

126,732 

564,135 

1830 

517,787 

4,917 

165,213 

687,917 

1840 

590,253 

7.317 

182,258 

779,828 

1850 

761,413 

10,011 

210,981 

982,405 

1860 

1870 

919,484 

1.098,692 

1,377,187 

10,684 

222,210 

271,521* 

225,483 

1,155,684 

1,321,011 

1,648,708 

1880 

^Including  10  Chinese  and  50  Indians. 


The  following  cities  had  in  1880  a population 
exceeding  5,000; 

Louisville 12.3,045 

Covington 29,720 

Newport 20,4.33 

Lexington , 16,656 

Padueah 8,376 

Frankfort  (State  capital) 6,9-58 

Jlaysville 5,220 

NOTE  23,  PAGE  214. 

“We  have  individuals  in  Kentucky,”  wrote  the 
famous  naturalist,  Audubon,  “that  even  there  are  con- 
sidered wonderful  adepts  in  the  management  of  the 
rifle.  Having  resided  some  years  in  Kentucky,  and 
having  more  than  once  been  witness  of  rifle  sport, 
I shall  present  the  results  of  my  observation,  leav- 
ing the  reader  to  judge  how  far  rifle  shooting  is  un- 
derstood in  that  State. 

“Several  individuals  who  conceive  themselves 
adepts  in  the  management  of  the  rifle,  are  often 
seen  to  meet  for  the  purpose  of  displaying  their 
skiU;  and,  betting  a trifling  sum,  put  up  a target,  in 
the  center  of  which,  a common  sized  nail  is  ham- 
mered for  about  two  thirds  its  length.  The  marks- 
men make  choice  of  what  they  consider  a proper 
distance,  and  which  may  be  forty  paces.  Each  man 
cleans  the  interior  of  his  tube,  which  is  called 
wiping  it,  places  a ball  in  the  palm  of  his  hand, 
ponring  as  much  powder  from  his  horn  as  will 
cover  it.  This  quanity  is  supposed  to  be  sufficient 
for  any  distance  short  of  100  yards.  A shot  which 
comes  very  close  to  the  nail  is  considered  that  of 
an  indifferent  marksman;  the  bending  of  the  nail  is 
of  course  somewhat  better;  but  nothing  less  than 
hitting  it  right  on  the  head  is  satisfactoiy.  One 
out  of  three  shots  generally  hits  the  nail ; and  should 
the  shooters  amount  to  half  a dozen,  tivo  nails  are 
frequently  needed  before  each  can  have  a shot. 


668 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Tliose  -who  drive  the  nail  have  a further  trial 
among  themselves,  and  the  two  best  shots  out  of 
these  generally  settle  the  affair,  when  all  the 
sportsmen  adjourn  to  some  house  and  spend  an 
hour  or  two  in  friendly  intercourse,  appointing  be- 
fore they  jrart  a day  for  another  trial.  This  is 
technically  termed,  ‘driving  the  nail.’ 

“Barking  of  squirrels  is  delightful  sport,  and  in 
my  opinion,  requires  a greater  degree  of  accuracy 
than  any  other.  I first  witnessed  this  manner  of 
procuring  squirrels  while  near  the  town  of  Frank- 
fort. The  performer  was  the  celebrated  Daniel 
Boone.  We  walked  out  together  and  followed  the 
rocky  margins  of  the  Kentucky  River  until  we 
reached  a piece  of  flat  land,  thickly  covered  with 
black  walnuts,  oaks  and  luckories.  As  the  general 
mast  was  a good  one  for  that  year,  squirrels  were 
seen  gamboling  on  every  tree  around  us.  My 
companion,  a stout,  hale,  atidetic  mau,  dressed  in 
a homespun  hunting  shirt,  bare-legged  and  mocca- 
sined,  carried  a long  and  heavy  rifle,  which,  as  he 
was  loading,  he  said  had  proved  efficient  in  all  of 
Ids  former  undertakings,  and  which  he  hoped 
would  not  fail  on  this  occasion,  as  he  felt  proud  to 
show  me  his  skill.  The  gun  was  wiped,  the  powder 
measured,  the  ball  patched  with  six-hundred-thread 
linen,  and  a charge  sent  home  with  a hickory  rod. 
We  moved  not  a step  from  the  place,  for  the 
squirrels  were  so  thick  that  it  was  unnecessary  to 
go  after  them. 

“Boone  pointed  to  one  of  these  animals,  which 
had  observed  us,  and  was  crouched  on  a bough 
about  fifty  paces  distant,  and  bade  me  mark  well 
where  the  ball  should  hit.  He  raised  his  piece 
gradually  until  the  bead,  or  sight  of  the  barrel,  was 
brought  to  a line  with  he  spot  he  intended  to  hit. 
The  whip-like  report  resounded  through  the  woods, 
and  along  the  hills  in  repeated  echoes.  Judge  of 
my  surprise  when  I perceived  that  the  ball  had  hit 
the  piece  of  bark  immediately  underneath  the 
squirrel,  and  shivered  it  into  splinters,  the  concus- 
sion produced  by  which  had  killed  the  animal,  and 
sent  it  whirling  through  the  air  as  if  it  had  been 
blown  up  by  the  explosion  of  a powder  magazine. 
Boone  kept  up  his  firing,  and  before  many  hours 
had  elapsed,  we  had  procured  as  many  squirrels  as 
we  wished.  Since  that  first  interview  with  the  vet- 
eran Boone,  I have  seen  many  other  individuals 
perform  the  same  feat. 

“The  snuffing  of  a candle  with  a ball  I first  had  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  near  the  banks  of  the  Green 
River,  not  far  from  a large  pigeon-roost,  to  which  I 
had  previously  made  a visit.  I had  heard  many 
reports  of  guns  during  the  early  part  of  a dark 
night,  and  knowing  them  to  be  those  of  rifles,  I 
went  forward  toward  the  spot  to  ascertain  the  cause. 
On  reaching  the  place  I was  welcomed  by  a dozen 
tall,  stout  men,  who  told  me  they  were  exercising 
for  the  purpose  of  enabling  them  to  shoot  after 
night,  at  the  reflected  light  from  the  eyes  of  a deer 
or  wolf  by  torch-light.  A fire  was  blazing  near. 


the  smoke  of  which  rose  curling  among  the  thick 
foliage  of  the  trees.  At  a distance  which  rendered 
it  scarcely  distinguishable,  stood  a burning  candle, 
but  which  in  reality  was  only  fifty  yards  from  the 
spot  on  which  we  all  stood.  One  man  was  within  a 
few  yards  of  it  to  watch  the  effect  of  the  shots,  as 
well  as  to  light  the  candle  should  it  chance  to  go 
out,  or  to  replace  it  should  the  shot  cut  it  across. 
Each  marksman  shot  in  his  turn.  Some  never  hit 
either  the  snuff  or  the  candle,  and  were  congratu- 
lated with  a loud  laugh,  while  others  actually  snuffed 
the  candle  without  putting  it  out,  and  were  recom- 
pensed for  their  dexterity  with  numerous  hurrahs. 
One  of  them,  who  was  particularly  expert,  was  very 
fortunate,  and  snuffed  the  candle  three  times  out  of 
seven,  while  the  other  shots  either  put  out  the  can- 
dle or  cut  it  immediately  under  the  light. 

“Of  the  feats  performed  by  the  Kentuckians  with 
the  rifle,  I might  say  more  than  might  be  expedient 
on  the  present  occasion.  By  way  of  recreation, 
they  often  cut  off  a piece  of  the  bark  of  a tree,  make 
a target  of  it,  using  a little  powder  wetted  with 
water  or  saliva,  for  the  bulls-eye,  and  shoot  into 
the  mark  all  the  balls  they  have  about  them,  pick- 
ing them  out  of  the  wood  again.” 

NOTE  24,  PAGE  223. 

A great  part  of  the  insecurity  of  land-titles  arose 
from  the  eagerness  of  ignorant  men.  The  location 
of  land  at  that  date  was  attended  with  no  little 
danger,  arising  from  the  hostility  of  the  Indians, 
and  demanded  for  its  successful  accomplishment 
such  qualifications  as  were  seldom  possessed  by  the 
frontiersmen.  To  the  technical  proficiency  of  the 
surveyor,  the  situation  demanded  the  addition  of 
the  wood-craft  of  the  pioneer  and  the  bold  hardi- 
ness of  the  scout.  Those  who  possessed  the  last 
two  generally  lacked  the  first  qualification,  and  it 
was  believed  it  could  better  be  omitted  in  choosing 
a locator  than  the  others.  Hence  it  followed  that, 
in  their  eagerness  to  anticipate  their  competitors  for 
possession  of  public  lands,  many  holders  of  land- 
warrants  entrusted  their  interests  to  persons  who 
were  more  skilled  in  wood-craft  than  in  the  legal 
requirements  of  the  legislative  enactment.  But  the 
success  of  such  locators  was  generally  hindered  by 
the  dangers  and  natural  difficulties  of  the  work,  as 
well  as  by  the  urgency  of  their  employers,  and  the 
inevitable  result  was  that,  notwithstanding  the  hon- 
est intentions  of  the  agents,  “locations”  were  strewn 
“over  the  face  of  the  country,  as  autumn  distributes 
its  falling  leaves.”  The  character  of  the  consequent 
confusion  is  aptly  illustrated  by  Marshall  (Vol.  I, 
pp.  150,  151)  as  follows  : “Lewis  Craig  enters  500 
acres  of  land  rqron  a treasury  warrant,  adjoining 
his  former  entry  on  the  north  side,  and  running 
along  northwardly  with  Christian’s  and  Todd’s  line 
for  quantity.” 

Here,  it  is  to  be  remarked,  that  of  all  the  country 
north  of  the  Kentucky  River,  no  particular  water- 
course is  called  for,  or  other  object  of  general  de- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


669 


script! on  named,  whereby  the  attention  of  the  subse- 
quent locator  could  be  led  to  a particular  section  or 
circuit,  within,  or  about,  which  to  look  for  the  par- 
ticular objects  of  location.  Again,  it  does  not  ap- 
pear what  former  entry  of  Craig’s  is  meant;  neither 
is  it  certain  what  line  of  Christian  and  Todd  is  in- 
tended, or  who,  among  many  of  the  name,  they  are; 
or  what  line  of  theirs  is  to  be  followed,  or  where  it 
is  to  be  found;  or,  if  one  be  found,  whether  it  be 
the  same  called  for  by  Craig  or  not.  This  exem- 
plifies a vague  entry. 

The  same  day  “George  Smith  enters  500  acres  of 
land  on  a treasury-warrant,  lying  on  the  north  side 
of  Kentucky,  a mile  below  a creek,  beginning  about 
twenty  poles  below  a lick,  running  down  the  river, 
westerly  and  northwestwardly,  for  quantity.” 

It  is  obvious  that  the  location-calls  in  this  entry 
are  all  vague  and  uncertain  to  a subsequent  locator. 

The  “north  side  of  Kentucky”  comprehended 
the  whole  county  of  Fayette,  and  more  than  one- 
third  of  the  whole  country.  The  next  call  is,  “a 
mile  below  a creek,”  but  which  of  the  500  creeks 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Kentucky  does  not  appear 
either  by  name  or  description;  and  finally  it  is  to 
begin  “about  twenty  poles  from  a lick,”  but  what 
lick,  or  where,  are  questions  all-important  to  the  lo- 
cator of  the  adjoining  land,  but  which  are  left  un- 
answered and  unanswerable  by  anything  in  Mr. 
Smith’s  entry.  It  is  presumable  that  the  person 
who  made  Mr.  Smith’s  location  knew  the  place 
which  he  intended  to  include,  but  certainly  those 
holding  unlocated  warrants  were  not  bound  to  find 
him;  nor  could  his  verbal  explanation,  if  seen,  aid 
an  entry  which  the  law  required  should  be  in  writ- 
ing. The  holder  of  a warrant,  which  he  desired  to 
locate,  with  a copy  of  Mr.  Smith’s  entry  in  his 
hand,  could  not  know  how  to  adjoin  it,  nor  yet  how 
to  avoid  an  interference.  He  would,  however,  pro- 
ceed to  make  his  entry,  and  possibly,  with  a simi- 
lar degree  of  vagueness.  When  they  came  to  be 
surveyed,  very  probably,  and  to  the  very  great  sur- 
prise of  both  owners,  the  two  interfered. 

Another  instance:  “Edward  Hall  enters  622 
acres  of  land,  upon  a treasury  warrant,  on  Eagle 
Creek,  a branch  of  Kentucky;  beginning  at  a small 
beech,  marked  thus,  ‘I.  N,’  on  the  north  side  of  a 
small  drain ; then  east  320  poles ; then  north  at  right 
angles  for  quantity.” 

To  see  that  this  entry  is  wholly  vague  and  un- 
certain to  a subsequent  locator,  it  is  onty  necessary 
to  observe  that  Eagle  Creek  is  fifty  miles  in  length, 
has  1,000  drains,  aud  1,000,000  of  beech  trees; 
while  I.  N.  being  cut  on  any  one  of  them  left  it  still 
destitute  of  notoriety.  Hence  it  was  totalty  unrea- 
sonable to  require  of  a subsequent  locator  that  he 
should  find  where  it  was  in  order  to  avoid  an  inter- 
ference. He,  of  course,  proceeded  wuthout  know- 
ing. 

Besides  these,  there  were  other  circumstances 
which  contributed  to  produce  interference  between 
the  claims  to  land,  and  which  the  importance  of 


the  subject  requires  should  be  mentioned.  The 
country,  being  unknown  and  unsettled  in  its  great- 
est extent,  was  explored  by  individuals,  or  small 
parties,  who  often  gave  different  names  to  the  same 
objects,  such  as  water-courses,  traces,  licks,  etc.,  and 
often  mistook  or  confounded  places  and  distances 
from  the  one  to  the  other. 

Whence  sprang  an  infinitude  of  confiicting 
claims.  Others  made  or  referred  to  obscure  marks, 
which,  not  having  acquired  the  attention  of  those 
conversant  in  their  vicinity,  wanted  notoriety  to 
supply  the  absence  of  description,  and  relied  on 
them  as  the  foundation  of  their  locations.  To  no- 
tice another  source  of  interference,  though  last 
not  least  productive,  it  often  happened  that  two 
sets  of  locators,  commencing  their  entries  on  paral- 
lel creeks,  and  running  out  each  way  until  they  in- 
terlocked. were  quite  astonished  to  find  their  sm-- 
veyors  crossing  each  other’s  lines. 

NOTE  25,  PAGE  228. 

This  plant,  known  to  the  botanist  as  Panax 
quinque  folium,  is  highly  prized  by  the  Chinese. 
The  root,  when  dried,  is  of-a  yellowish  white  color, 
with  a mucilaginous  sweetness  in  the  taste,  some- 
what resembling  licorice,  accompanied  with  a slight 
aromatic  bitterness.  It  is  found  in  America,  from 
Lower  Canada  as  far  as  the  State  of  Georgia.  It 
thrives  most  in  the  mountainous  regions  of  the 
Alleghanies,  where  it  is  more  abundant.  It  is  also 
met  with  in  the  environs  of  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia, as  well  as  in  those  parts  of  the  northern 
States  situated  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea, 
but  it  is  so  scarce  as  not  to  be  worth  the  trouble  of 
seeking.  It  is  not  found  in  the  lower  parts  of  Vir- 
ginia and  the  Carolinas.  It  grows  on  declivities  of 
mountains,  in  cool  shady  places,  and  in  the  richest 
soil.  A man  will  not  take  up  more  than  eight  or 
nine  pounds  of  the  fresh  roots  in  a day;  these  roots 
are  always  less  than  an  inch  in  diameter,  even  after 
a growth  of  fifteen  years,  if  any  dependence  can  be 
placed  on  the  number  of  rings  on  the  upper  part  of 
the  neck  of  the  root,  which  are  produced  by  the 
annual  addition  of  successive  layers. 

Its  collection  in  the  United  States  is  begun  in  the 
spring  and  ends  when  frost  begins.  Its  root  shrivels 
in  drying,  and  finally  becomes  extremely  hard, 
losing  a third  of  its  volume,  and  nearly  half  its 
weight  in  the  process.  a simple  process  the 
Chinese  give  it  a semi-transparency,  which  greatly 
enhances  its  commercial  value.  A description  of 
this  operation,  though  no  secret,  was  early  sold  for 
$400  to  persons  in  Kentucky,  who  turned  the 
knowledge  to  a valuable  account.  Ginseng,  thus 
prepared,  brought  $6  or  $7  a pound  in  Philadelphia, 
and  was  sold  at  $50  to  $100  in  Canton.  A consid- 
erable quantity  was  exported  direct  to  China  from 
Kentucky.  It  is  still  gathered  and  sold  to  some 
extent. 

NOTE  26,  PAGE  265. 

On  January  1,  1785,  all  that  part  of  Jefferson 


670 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


south  of  Salt  River  became  Nelson  County,  in  ac- 
cordance with  an  act  of  the  legislature  passed  the 
previous  year.  In  the  fall  session  of  this  year  acts 
were  passed  forming  three  new  counties,  and  all 
that  part  of  Fayette  lying  “within  a line  beginning 
at  the  mouth  of  Upper  Howard’s  Creek,  on  Ken- 
tucky River,  running  up  the  main  fork  thereof  to 
the  head;  thence  with  the  dividing  ridge  between 
Kentucky  and  Licking,  until  it  comes  opposite 
Eagle  Creek;  from  thence  a direct  line  to  the  near- 
est part  of  Raven  Creek,  a branch  of  Licking,  and 
down  Raven  Creek  to  the  mouth  thereof;  thence 
with  Licking  to  the  Ohio;  thence  with  the  Ohio  to 
the  mouth  of  Sandy  Creek,  up  said  creek  to  Cum- 
berland Mountain;  thence  with  the  said  mountain 
to  the  line  of  Lincoln  County;  thence  with  that 
line  and  the  Kentucky  River  to  the  beginning,”  was 
constituted  the  county  of  Bourbon,  and  organized 
May  1,  1786. 

The  county  of  Mercer  was  formed  of  that  part 
of  Lincoln  County  lying  within  “a  line  beginning 
at  the  confluence  of  Sugar  Creek  and  Kentucky 
River;  thence  a direct  line  to  the  mouth  of  Clark’s 
Run;  thence  a straight  line  to  Wilson’s  Station,  in 
the  fork  of  Clark’s  Run;  then  the  same  course  con- 
tinued to  the  line  of  Nelson  County;  thence  with 
the  said  line  to  the  line  of  Jefferson  County;  thence 
with  that  line  to  the  Kentucky  River;  thence  up 
the  said  river  to  the  beginning.” 

Madison  County  was  formed  at  the  same  time 
from  that  portion  of  Lincoln  lying  within  “a  line  be- 
ginning at  the  confluence  of  Kentucky  River  and 
Sugar  Creek;  thence  up  said  creek  to  the  fork  that 
James  Thompson  lives  on;  thence  up  said  fork  to 
the  head  thereof;  thence  a straight  line  to  where  an 
east  course  from  John  Ellis’  will  intersect  the  ridge 
that  divides  the  waters  of  Paint  Lick  from  the 
waters  of  Dick’s  River;  thence  along  the  top  of  said 
ridge  southwardly,  opposite  to  Hickman’s  Lick; 
thence  south,  forty-five  degrees  east,  to  the  main 
Rockcastle  River;  thence  up  the  said  river  to  the 
head  thereof;  thence  with  the  ridge  that  divides  the 
wnxters  of  Kentucky  River  from  the  waters  of  Cum- 
berland River  to  the  line  of  Washington  County; 
thence  along  said  line  to  the  main  fork  of  Kentucky 
River  that  divides  the  county  of  Fayette  from  the 
county  of  Lincoln;  thence  down  the  said  river  to 
the  beginning.” 

This  will  suffice  to  indicate  the  order  and  char- 
acter of  this  development,  which  may  be  summar- 
ized in  the  following  table: 


Kew  Counties.  Formed  from.  Year. 

1 Jefferson  . . .Kentucky 1780 

2 Fayette  . . . .Kentucky 1780 

3 Lincoln Kentucky 1780 

4 Nelson Jefferson 1784 

5 Bourbon Fayette 1785 

6 Mercer Lincoln 1785 

7 Madison. ..  .Lincoln 1785 

8 Mason Bourbon 1788 

9 Woodford. . Fayette 1788 

10  Washington. Nelson 1792 

11  Scott Woodford 1792 


New  Counties.  Formed  from.  Year. 

12  Shelby Jefferson 1792 

13  Logan Lincoln 1792 

14  Clark Fayette  and  Bourbon 1792 

15  Hardin Nelson 1792 

16  Greene Lincoln  and  Nelson 1792 

17  Harrison. . ..Bourbon  and  Scott 1793 

18  Franklin Woodford,  Mercer  and  Shelby.1794 

19  Campbell. . .Harrison,  Scott  and  Mason. . . .1794 

20  Bullitt Jefferson  and  Nelson 1796 

21  Christian.  .Logan 1796 

22  Montgomery  Cl  ark 1796 

23  Bracken Mason  and  Campbell  1796 

24  Warren Logan 1796 

25  Garrard Mercer,  Lincoln  and  Madison.  1796 

26  Fleming. . . .Mason 1798 

27  Pulaski Lincoln  and  Greene 1798 

28  Pendleton.  .Bracken  and  Campbell 1798 

29  Livingston. . Christian 1798 

30  Boone  Campbell 1798 

31  Henry Shelby 1798 

32  Cumberland  Greene 1798 

33  Gallatin . . . .Franklin  and  Shelby 1798 

34  Muhlenburg  Logan  and  Christian 1798 

35  Ohio Hardin .• . .1798 

36  Jessamine  . .Fayette i 1798 

37  Barren Warren  and  Greene 1798 

38  Henderson. .Christian 1798 

39  BreckinridgeHardin 1799 

40  Floyd Fleming,  Montgomery  and 

Mason  1799 

41  Knox Lincoln  1799 

42  Nicholas  . . .Bourbon  and  Mason 1799 

43  Wayne Pulaski  and  Cumberland 1800 

44  Adair Greene 1801 

45  Greenup. . . .Mason 1803 

46  Casey Lincoln 1806 

47  Clay Madison,  Knox  and  Floyd 1806 

48  Lewis Mason 1806 

49  Hopkins. . . .Henderson 1806 

50  Estill Madison  and  Clark  1808 

51  Caldwell. . . . Livingston 1809 

52  Rockcastle. . Lincoln,  Pulaski,  Madison  and 

Knox 1810 

53  Butler Logan  and  Ohio 1810 

.54  Grayson. . . .Hardin  and  Ohio 1810 

.55  Union Henderson 1811 

56  Bath Montgomery 1811 

57  Allen Warren  and  Barren 1815 

58  Daviess Ohio 1815 

59  Whitley. . . .Knox 1818 

60  Harlan Floyd  and  Knox 1819 

61  Hart Hardin  and  Greene 1819 

62  Owen Scott,  Franklin  and  Greene. . .1819 

63  Simpson Logan,  Warren  and  Allen 1819 

04  Todd Logan 1819 

65  Monroe Barren  and  Cumberland 1820 

66  Trigg Christian  and  Caldwell 1820 

67  Grant Pendleton.^ 1820 

68  Perry Clay  and  Ford. . 1820 

69  Lawrence. . .Greenup  and  Floyd 1821 

70  Pike Floyd 1821 

71  Hickman  . . .Caldwell  and  Livingston 1821 

72  Calloway ...  Hickman  1822 

73  Morgan Floyd  and  Bath 1822 

74  Oldham  . . . .Jefferson,  Shelby  and  Henry.  .1823 

75  Graves Hickman 1823 

76  Meade Hardin  and  Breckinridge 1823 

77  Spencer  . . . .Nelson,  Shelby  and  Bullitt. . . .1824 

78  McCracken. Hickman 1824 

79  Edmonson.. Warren,  Hart  and  Grayson  . . .1825 

80  Laurel Rockcastle,  Clay,  Knox  and 

Whitley 1825 

81  Russell Adair,  Wayne  and  Cumberland.  1825 

82  Andersont . .Franklin,  Mercer  and  Washing- 

ton  1827 

83  Hancock...  . Breckini’idge, Daviess andOhio.  1829 


HISTORY  OF  ICENTUCKY. 


67] 


New  Counties.  Formed  from.  Year. 

84  Marion Washington 1834 

85  Clinton Wayne  and  Cumberland 1835 

86  Trimble Gallatin,  Henry  and  Oldham.  .1836 

87  Carroll Gallatin 1838 

88  Carter Greenup  and  Lawrence 1838 

89  Breathitt Clay,  Perry  and  Estill 1839 

90  Kenton Campbell 1840 

91  Crittenden.. Livingston 1842 

92  Marshall Calloway 1842 

93  Ballard Hickman  and  McCracken 1842 

94  Boyle Mercer  and  Lincoln 1842 

95  Letcher Perry  and  Harlan 1842 

96  Owsley Clay,  Estill  and  Breathitt 1843 

97  Johnson Floyd,  Lawrence  and  Morgan.  1843 

98  Larue  Hardin 1843 

99  Fulton Hickman 1845 

100  Tavlor Greene 1848 

101  Powell Montgomery,  Clark  and  Estill.  1852 

102  Lyon Caldwell 1854 

103  McLean  . . . .Daviess,Muhlenburg  and  Ohio.1854 

104  Rowan Fleming  and  Morgan 1856 

105  Jackson Estill,  Owsley,  Clay,  Lam-el,  ■ 

Rockcastle  and  Madison. . . .1858 

106  Metcalfe Barren,  Greene,  Adair,  Cum- 

berland and  Monroe 1860 

107  Boyd Greenup, Carter  andLawrence.1860 

108  Magoffin  . . .Morgan,  Johnson  and  Floyd.  .1860 

109  Webster. . . .Hopkins, Henderson  andUnion.1860 

110  Wolfe Morgan,  Breathitt,  Owsley  and 

Powell 1860 

111  Robertson  . .Nicholas,  Harrison,  Bracken 

and  Mason 1867 

112  Bell Harlan  and  Knox 1867 

113  Menifee ...  .Bath,  Morgan,  Powell,  Mont- 

gomery and  Wolfe 1869 

114  Elliott Morgan,  Carter  and  Lawrence. . 1869 

115  Lee Owsley.  Estill,  Wolfe  and 

Breathitt....  1870 

116  Martin Pike,  Johnson,  Floyd  and  Law- 

rence  1870 

117  Knott Floyd,Letcher,Perry,Breathitt.l884 

118  Carlisle  . . . .Ballard 1886 

For  a time  the  organization  of  successive  coun- 
ties indicated  the  gradual  development  of  the  coun- 
try, but  that  period  has  passed  sometime  since. 
Many  of  the  later  counties  owe  their  origin  to  other 
motives  than  the  demands  of  a sound  public  policy, 
and  a number  of  “pauper  counties”  have  been 
added  to  the  list,  the  existence  of  which  is  preju- 
dicial to  nearly  every  interest  concerned.  The  last 
county  formed  is  a conspicuous  example  of  this  un- 
fortunate legislation,  the  origin  of  which  is  given 
in  a very  readable  article  found  in  the  Louisville 
Commercial  for  July  8,  1885,  as  follows: 

The  last  legislature  included  a plain-looking  man 
of  forty-five,  of  the  average  size,  cheaply  dressed, 
slightly  bald  and  wearing  spectacles — Robert  Bates, 
the  member  from  Letcher  and  some  other  counties. 
He  occupied  a seat  in  a remote  corner  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  never  arose  to  speak  even 
to  a “point  of  order.”  The  chief  distinction  he 
wore  was  that  of  being  a brother  to  “Baby  Bates,” 
the  celebrated  Kentucky  giant,  known  to  the  patrons 
of  every  museum  in  the  land.  Back  of  the  seat 
occupied  by  Bates,  frequently  leaning  over  the  rail- 
ing of  the  lobby  to  talk  with  him,  sat  an  ex-member 
named  Fitzpatrick,  tall,  awkward,  smooth-faced, 
and  always  appearing  in  the  same  heavy  drab  over- 
coat. Before  the  session  closed  an  act  was  passed 


to  create  a county  to  be  called  Knott,  with  a county- 
seat  named  Hindman,  in  honor  of  the  two  officials 
wearing  these  names.  Perhaps  it  would  not  have 
been  termed  inappropriately  “An  act  to  establish  a 
county-seat  upon  the  land  of  Robert  Bates.” 

The  traveler  southward  from  Catlettsburg,  on 
the  Chattaroi  Railroad,  will  find  that  the  cars  stop 
at  Richardson,  on  the  Big  Sandy  River.  In  the 
winter  some  sort  of  a boat  can  be  procured  to  Pres- 
tonbm-g,  in  Floyd  County,  but  at  this  season  part 
of  the  distance  must  be  traveled  in  a vehicle,  which 
may  be  described  as  an  ambulance,  and  part  on 
horseback.  Here  the  traveler  is  still  forty-two 
miles  from  the  Forks  of  Troublesome,  indicated  by 
the  act  as  the  seat  of  government  for  the  new 
county.  Another  horse  must  be  procured  for  the 
ride  over  the  rough  road  which  follows  Beaver 
Creek  during  a greater  part  of  the  way.  Upon  ar- 
riving at  the  Forks  of  Troublesome  nothing  appears 
but  two  or  three  log  houses,  not  grouped  together 
with  any  view  of  making  a beginning  for  a town, 
while  vast  forests  extend  in  every  dii-ection.  A road 
extends  to  Whitesburg,  the  county-seat  of  Letcher; 
another  to  Hazard,  in  Perry  County,  and  a third  to 
Jackson,  in  Breathitt.  Two  of  these  counties,  at 
least,  have  made  a reputation  for  outlawry  that  has 
extended  beyond  the  State. 

On  Monday,  July  7,  1884,  the  commissioners 
named  to  form  the  new  county  of  Knott  assembled 
at  the  “forks.”  The  event  had  been  duly  advertised 
throughout  those  parts  of  Breathitt,  Floyd,  Perry 
and  Letcher  Connties,  which  were  to  be  embraced . 
in  the  new  organization.  A few  persons  from  a 
distance  were  lodged  in  the  “double”  log-house, 
which  served  as  the  only  inn  in  that  section.  It 
consisted  of  two  log  pens,  covered  by  one  roof,  with 
a space  between  them  large  enough  for  another 
room.  The  second  largest  house  was  the  store  of 
“Chick”  Allen,  a son-in-law  of  Robert  Bates  afore- 
said. The  third  house  was  what  is  facetiously 
known  in  the  “moonshine”  districts  as  a “bonded 
wai-ehouse.”  No  distillery  was  in  sight,  but  a 
plentiful  supply  of  white  native  whisky  was  served 
from  the  log-cabin  with  the  high-sounding  name. 
Mr.  Bates  was  on  hand,  of  course,  as  was  his  friend, 
Fitzpatrick,  the  latter  being  the  spokesman  of  the 
commissioners. 

Early  in  the  day  the  neighboring  people — and 
not  all  of  them  near  neighbors — began  to  assemble. 
The  young  people  predominated,  because  a “good 
time”  was  promised.  Rustic  maidens,  accompanied 
by  their  swains,  and  rugged  farmers  with  their 
families  came  on  foot  or  on  horseback,  according 
to  the  distance.  Soon  two  fiddlers  of  local  repute 
made  an  appearance,  which  was  a signal  for  clear- 
ing a small  level  space  near  the  store,  which  was 
used  for  dancing  through  the  day.  The  “bonded 
warehouse”  was  the  chief  attraction,  however,  and 
the  pure  mountain  liquor,  as  the  good  people  deemed 
it,  flowed  steadily  from  morning  until  night.  With 
some,  numerous  potations  proved  an  incentive  for 


673 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


greater  agility  oa  the  dancing-ground — not  that 
anybody  was  drunk,  but  “they  war  a drinkin’ 
some.”  Ihe  effect  upon  others  was  to  make  them 
boisterous,  singing  and  shouting,  now  and  then  fir- 
ing a pistol  to  add  to  the  general  “hilarity.”  The 
people  of  these  counties  are  the  most  hospitable  in 
the  world,  and  the  most  amiable  toward  strangers, 
who  give  no  grounds  for  suspicion.  Everything 
was  good  natured,  therefore,  though  a few  small 
disputes  had  to  be  settled  by  personal  encounters  in 
which  no  weapons  were  employed. 

A marked  figure  on  this  scene  was  old  man 
Everidge,  evidently  of  the  age  of  sixty,  who  had 
never  owned  a hat,  “’cause  it  made  his  head  too 
warm.”  Nor  did  he  wear  any  shoes  in  summer. 
Not  even  a coat  was  needed  to  complete  his  costume 
for  the  dance.  He  drank  nothing,  but  was  none 
the  less  hilarious  for  that,  and  danced  as  regularly 
as  any  of  the  younger  bloods.  The  dancing  ground 
was  small,  bounded  on  one  side  by  a dry  ditch, 
which,  during  part  of  the  year,  is  one  of  the 
branches  of  Troublesome  Creek.  Once,  while  danc- 
ing a cotillion,  the  old  man  was  led  to  the  brink  of 
the  ditch  by  two  of  the  women,  whose  hands  held 
him,  when  they  suddenly  let  him  go,  with  the  effect 
of  landing  him  on  his  back  on  the  sand  below.  It 
was  great  spct  for  everybody,  and  the  old  man  lost 
no  temper  in  consequence.  A fignre  more  notice- 
able was  the  belle  of  the  ball — a young  woman  of 
twenty,  with  a most  attractive  form  and  the  bear- 
ing of  a princess.  A ruddy  complexion,  great 
brown  eyes,  and  a profusion  of  auburn  ringlets 
were  additioual  attractions.  Dressed  tastefully, 
she  would  have  attracted  wide  admiration  on  any 
of  our  fashionable  streets  Perhaps  she  would  have 
excited  greater  curiosity,  however,  in  her  native 
habiliments.  She  wore  a dress,  of  red  calico, 
severely  plain  with  the  exception  of  a yellow  ruffle 
about  the  bottom  of  the  skirt  and  a narrow  blue 
ribbon  around  the  waist.  A small  green  sun-bonnet, 
which  did  not  hide  half  her  ringlets,  formed  the 
rest  of  her  attire.  The  belle  wore  shoes,  without 
stockings,  upon  her  arrival,  but  like  the  other 
dancers  she  placed  these  against  the  stone  wall 
which  lined  one  side  of  the  dancing-ground.  She 
was  heard  to  say  that  she  “couldn’t  dance  to  do  no 
good  with  shoes  on.”  The  ladies  drank  more  spar- 
ingly than  their  lords  of  the  white  whisky,  so  that 
none  of  them,  except  one  or  two  of  dubious  reputa- 
tions, became  intoxicated. 

Meanwhile  the  commissioners  were  compelled, 
by  the  general  excitement,  to  adjourn  to  a farm- 
house half  a mile  down  the  creek,  where  their  busi- 
ness was  transacted.  The  nature  of  that  business 
perhaps  was  never  recorded.  It  was  not  altogether 
a peaceable  meeting.  The  territory  to  be  formed 
into  a new  county  embraced  the  homes  of  the 
assessor  of  Floyd  County,  the  sheriff  of  Letcher, 
the  coroner  of  Breathitt  and  the  surveyor  of  Perry. 
The  first  mentioned,  Bolling  Hall,  was  named  as 
the  head  of  a committee  to  divide  the  county  into 


magisterial  districts,  but  refused  to  serve,  asserting 
that  he  would  never  con.sent  to  any  arrangement 
which  would  deprive  him  of  his  former  well-paying 
office,  as  the  formation  of  the  new  county  would 
do.  Another  work  of  the  commissioners  was  to  ar- 
range for  the  election  of  county  officers  a month 
later,  and  to  order  a set  of  blank  books  for  the 
county  records.  The  latter  have  been  secured,  and 
the  bill  for  them  sent,  as  the  law  requires,  to  Frank- 
fort, to  be  paid  by  the  State.  The  shrewdness  of 
these  unsophisticated  people  is  shown  in  the  fact 
that  while  no  other  new  county  has  expended  more 
than  f 1,200  for  an  outfit  of  record  books,  the  bill 
sent  by  Knott  was  $2, 100,  an  amount  which  Auditor 
Hewitt  has  refused  to  pay  until  forced  by  law  to  do 
so.  Thus  it  seems  that  one  of  the  first  acts  of  the 
new  county  was  to  raid  the  State  treasury  for  the 
private  benefit  of  a few  citizens.  There  is  a story 
told  at  Frankfort  which  is  a 'propoi:  The  late  James 
Davidson,  while  State  treasurer,  always  doled  out 
the  public  moneys  grudgingly,  as  if  bestowing  pri- 
vate alms  upon  undeserving  persons.  One  day  the 
sheriff  of  Perry  County  came  in  to  make  his  settle- 
ment with  the  State.  There  were  twenty-five 
“idiot  claims,”  which  were  approved  by  the  auditor, 
who  gave  a warrant  upon  the  treasurer  for  their 
payment.  Mr.  Davidson  counted  the  claims  slowly 
and  aloud,  turning,  as  he  finished,  to  the  sheriff 
with  the  remark: 

“Why,  Mr.  Coombs,  you  must  all  be  idiots  up  in 
Perry  County.  ” 

“Pretty  near,  I guess,”  was  the  reply,  “but  we 
generally  have  sense  enough  to  get  what’s  cornin’ 
to  us  from  the  treasury.” 

In  the  latter  respect  it  seems  that  Perry  County 
people  are  not  unlike  all  the  others. 

The  close  of  the  festivities  at  what  had  become, 
during  the  day,  the  town  of  Hindman,  was  a fitting 
climax.  The  local  magistrate  and  the  only  phy- 
sician in  the  community  lay  on  their  backs  in  the 
sand,  which  lined  the  bottom  of  tlie  dry  creek,  the 
former  singing  with  all  his  might  until  he  became 
too  drowsy  longer  to  make  any  exertion.  Many 
others  lay  stretched  at  full  length  upon  the  grass. 
The  growth  of  the  darkness  made  the  enthusiastic 
survivors  more  reckless,  and  pistol  shots  became 
more  frequent  until  late  in  the  night.  Since  the 
first  day’s  performance  in  making  the  new  county 
it  is  not  reported  that  any  further  measures  have 
been  taken  toward  setting  the  county  machinery  in 
motion.  The  double  log-house  is  the  only  known 
repository  of  the  expensive  record  books,  and  no 
accommodations  have  been  provided  for  holding 
courts.  Such  is  the  new  county  named  for  the 
present  governor  of  Kentucky.  Such  is  the,  county 
formed  for  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Bates  and  his  friends. 

Yet  these  are  not  bad  people.  Their  quarrels 
are  among  themselves,  and  they  do  not  offer  to  mo- 
lest a stranger.  Their  ideas  are  narrow  because 
they  have  no  relations  with  the  rest  of  the  world. 
The  man  among  them  who  happens  to  get  to  Frank- 


HISTOEY  or  I^XTUCKY'. 


673 


fort  once  or  twice  in  a lifetime,  as  tlie  steerer  of  a 
raft  of  logs,  is  listened  to  thereafter  on  public 
questions  as  an  oracle.  Probably  not  more  than 
two  dozen  persons  present  at  the  organization  of 
Knott  County  could  read,  but  there  was  evident  a 
certain  amount  of  respect  for  the  man  able  to  read 
and  write.  Some  one  was  being  discussed  with 
reference  to  his  becoming  a candidate  for  the  legis- 
lature. 

“Hell!”  says  one;  “he  ain’t  fitten  for  no  legis- 
lature.” 

“Yes  he  is!”  ejaculated  his  neighbor;  “he  can 
read  and  repeat!” 

What  degree  of  qualification  this  may  be  is  left 
for  the  reader  to  conjecture. 

NOTE  27,  PAGE  268. 

J ames  Wilkinson  was  born  in  Maryland  in  1757, 
studied  medicine  in  Philadelphia,  but  after  the  bat- 
tle of  Bunker  Hill  repaked  to  Cambridge,  and  was 
soon  appointed  captain  in  Reed’s  New  Hampshire 
regiment,  serving  as  such  with  Arnold  in  the 
northern  army ; promoted  brigade-major  July, 
1776,  and  lieutenant-colonel  January  12, 1777;  bear- 
er of  dispatches  to  Gen.  Washington  from  Gen. 
Gates  December,  1776,  he  participated  in  the  bat 
ties  of  Trenton  and  Princeton.  Upon  Gates’  ac- 
cession to  command  of  the  northern  army,  Wilkin- 
son was  made  his  adjutant-general  May,  1777,  and 
upon  surrender  of  Burgoyne  he  conveyed  the  of- 
ficial dispatches  to  congress.  Breve  tted  brigadier- 
general  in  November,  he  was,  in  January,  1778,  ap- 
pointed secretary  of  the  board  of  war,  of  which 
Gates  was  president.  A quarrel  arising  with  the  latter 
at  the  time  of  the  Conway  cabal,  Wilkinson  resigned 
his  secretaryship,  and  in  July,  1779,  was  appointed 
clothier-general  of  the  army.  Settled  in  Kentucky 
after  the  peace,  and  engaged  in  mercantile  affairs. 
Appointed  lieutenant-colonel  Second  Infantry  No- 
vember, 1791,  and  conducted  an  expedition  against 
the  Wabash  Indians  in  1791-92;  promoted  to  be 
brigadier-general  March  1792,  and  commanded  the 
right  wing  of  Wayne’s  army  at  Maumee  Rapids, 
and  in  December,  1796,  became  general-in-chief  of 
the  army,  serving  on  the  western  frontier;  one  of 
the  commissioners  to  receive  Louisiana  from  the 
French  in  1803;  he  was  governor  of  that  territory  in 
1805-06;  ordered  to  command  on  the  Mississippi  De- 
cember, 1808;  he  was  recalled  to  Washington  in 
1810,  and  tried  by  court-martial  in  1811  on 
charges  of  corruptly  receiving  money  from  Spain, 
and  being  in  complicity  with  Aaron  Burr.  The 
court  acquitted  him  with  credit,  and  he  returned  to 
the  southern  department.  In  1813  he  was  ap- 
pointed major-general  and  transferred  to  the  north- 
ern frontier.  Owing  to  the  failure  of  Hampton  to 
co-operate  with  him,  his  plans  for  the  occupation 
of  Canada  totally  failed.  He  was  superseded  in 
command,  and  a court  of  inquiry  ordered  in  1815, 
which  acquitted  him  of  all  blame.  On  the  re-or- 
ganization of  the  army  in  1815,  he  was  discharged. 


and  passed  the  later  years  of  his  life  upon  his  es- 
tates in  Mexico.  In  1816  he  published  “Memoirs  of 
My  Own  Times”  (3  Vols.,  8vo.);  died  near  the 
City  of  Mexico  December  28,  1825.  (Johnson’s  Cy- 
clopedia.) 

NOTE  28,  PAGE  275. 

A memoir  by  Daniel  Clark,  supposed  to  be  the 
nephew  of  the  gentleman  of  the  same  name  who 
was  appointed  Wilkinson’s  agent,  gives  a concise 
history  of  the  matter,  which  is  extracted  from 
American  State  Papers,  Vol.  XX,  p.  707.  Wilkinson, 
in  his  “Memoirs  of  My  Own  Times,”  confirms  this 
account  as  substantially  correct.  “About  the 
period  of  which  we  are  now  speaking,  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  3'ear  1787,  the  foundation  of  an  inter- 
course with  Kentucky  and  the  settlements  on  the 
Ohio  was  laid,  which  daily  increased.  Previous  to 
that  time,  all  those  who  ventured  on  the  Mississip- 
pi had  their  property  seized  by  the  first  command- 
ing officer  whom  they  met,  and  little  or  no  commu- 
nication was  kept  up  between  the  countries.  Now 
and  then  an  emigrant  who  wished  to  settle  in 
Natchez,  by  dint  of  entreaty,  and  solicitation  of 
friends  who  had  interests  in  New  Orleans,  procured 
permission  to  move  there  with  his  family,  slaves, 
cattle,  furniture  and  farming  utensils,  but  was  al- 
lowed to- bring  no  other  property  except  cash.  An 
unexi^ected  incident,  however,  changed  the  face  of 
things,  and  was  productive  of  a new  line  of  con- 
duct. The  arrival  of  a boat,  belonging  to  Gen. 
Wilkinson,  loaded  with  tobacco  and  other  produc- 
tions of  Kentuckj^  is  announced  in  town,  and  a 
guard  was  immediately  sent  on  board  of  it.  The 
general’s  name  had  hindered  this  being  done  at 
Natchez,  as  the  commandant  was  fearful  that  such 
a step  might  be  displeasing  to  his  superiors,  who 
might  wish  to  show  some  respect  to  the  property  of 
a general  officer;  at  any  rate  the  boatwas  proceed- 
ing to  New  Orleans,  and  they  would  there  resolve 
on  what  measures  they  ought  to  pursue  and  put  in 
execution.  The  government,  not  much  disposed  to 
show  any  mark  of  respect  or  forbearance  toward 
the  general’s  property,  he  not  having  at  that  time 
arrived,  was  about  proceeding  in  the  usual  way  of 
confiscation,  when  a merchant  in  New  Orleans, 
who  had  considerable  influence  there,  and  who  was 
formerly  acquainted  with  the  general,  represented 
to  the  governor  that  the  measures  taken  by  the 
intendant  would  very  probably  give  rise  to  disa- 
agreeable  events;  that  the  people  of  Kentucky  were 
already  exasperated  at  the  conduct  of  the  Spaniards 
in  seizing  on  the  property  of  all  those  who  navigat- 
ed the  Mississippi;  and  if  this  system  was  pursued, 
thej^  would  very  probably,  in  spite  of  congress  and 
the  executive  of  the  United  States,  take  upon  them- 
selves to  obtain  the  navigation  of  the  river  by  force, 
which  they  were  well  able  to  do;  a measure  for 
some  time  before  much  dreaded  by  this  government, 
which  had  no  force  to  resist  them,  if  such  a plan 
was  put  in  execution.  Hints  were  likewise  given 


674 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


tliat  Wilkinson  was  a very  popular  man,  who  could 
inlluence  the  whole  of  that  country;  and  probably 
that  his  sending  a boat  before  him  with  a wish  that 
she  might  be  seized  was  but  a snare  at  his  return 
to  influence  the  minds  of  the  people,  and,  having 
brought  them  to  the  point  he  wished,  induce  them 
to  appoint  him  their  leader,  and  then,  like  a torrent, 
spread  over  the  eountiy,  and  carry  fire  and  desola- 
tion from  one  end  of  the  province  to  the  other. 

“Gov.  Miro,  a weak  man,  unacquainted  with  the 
American  government,  ignorant  even  of  the  posi- 
tion of  Kentucky  with  respect  to  his  own  province, 
but  alarmed  at  the  very  idea  of  an  irruption  of  Ken- 
tucky men,  whom  he  feared  without  knowing  their 
strength,  communicated  his  wishes  to  the  intend- 
ant  that  the  guard  might  be  removed  from  the  boat, 
which  was  accordingly  done,  and  a Mr.  Patterson, 
who  was  the  agent  of  the  general,  was  permitted  to 
take  charge  of  the  property  on  board,  and  to  sell  it 
free  of  duty.  The  general,  on  his  arrival  in 
Orleans,  sometime  after,  was  informed  of  the  obli- 
gation he  lay  under  to  the  merchant,  who  had  im- 
pressed the  government  with  such  an  idea  of  his 
importance  and  influence  at  home,  waited  on  him, 
and  in  concert  with  him,  formed  a plan  for  their 
future  operations.  In  his  interview  with  the  gov- 
ernor, that  he  might  not  seem  to  derrogate  from 
the  character  given  of  him,  liy  appearing  concerned 
in  so  trifling  a business  as  a boat  load  of  tobacco, 
hams  and  butter,  he  gave  hiip  to  understand  that 
the  property  belonged  to  many  citizens  of  Ken- 
tucky, who,  availing  themselves  of  his  return  to  the 
Atlantic  States,  by  way  of  Orleans,  wished  to 
make  trial  of  the  temper  of  this  government,  as 
he,  on  his  arrival,  might  inform  his  own  what  steps 
had  been  pursued  under  his  eye,  that  adequate 
measures  might  be  afterward  taken  to  procure  sat- 
isfaction. He  acknowledged  with  gratitude  the 
attention  and  respect  manifested  by  the  governor 
toward  himself  in  the  favor  shown  to  his  agent; 
but  at  the  same  time  mentioned  that  he  would  not 
wish  the  governor  to  expose  himself  to  the  anger  of 
his  court  by  refraining  from  seizing  on  the  boat  and 
cargo,  as  it  was  but  a trifle,  if  such  were  the  positive 
orders  from  the  court,  and  that  he  had  not  power  to 
relax  them  according  to  circumstances.  Convinced 
by  this  discourse  that  the  general  rather  wished  for 
an  opportunity  of  embroiling  affairs  than  sought  to 
avoid  it,  the  governor  became  more  alarmed.  For 
two  or  three  years  before,  particularly  since  the  ar- 
rival of  the  commissioners  from  Georgia,  who  had 
come  to  Natchez  to  claim  that  country,  he  had  been 
fearful  of  an  invasion  at  every  annual  rise  of  the 
waters,  and  the  news  of  a few  boats  being  seen  was 
enough  to  alarm  the  whole  province.  He  revolved 
in  his  mind  what  measures  he  ought  to  pursue 
(consistent  with  the  orders  he  had  from  home  not  to 
permit  the  free  navigation  of  the  river),  in  order  to 
keep  the  Kentucky  people  quiet;  and  in  his  suc- 
ceeding interviews  with  Wilkinson,  having  pro- 
cured more  knowledge  than  he  had  hitherto  ac- 


quired of  their  character,  population,  strength  and 
dispositions,  he  thought  he  could  do  nothing  better 
than  hold  out  a bait  to  Wilkinson  to  use  his  influ- 
ence in  restraining  the  people  from  an  invasion  of 
this  province  till  he  could  give  advice  to  his  court, 
and  require  further  instructions.  This  was  the 
point  to  which  the  parties  wished  to  bring  him,  and 
being  informed  that  in  Kentucky  two  or  three  crops 
were  on  hand,  for  which,  if  an  immediate  vent  was 
not  to  be  found,  the  people  could  not  be  kept  within 
bounds,  he  made  Wilkinson  the  offer  of  a permis- 
sion to  import,  on  his  own  account  to  New  Orleans, 
free  of  duty,  all  the  productions  of  Kentucky, 
thinking  by  this  means  to  conciliate  the  good  will 
of  the  people,  without  yielding  the  point  of  naviga- 
tion, as  the  commerce  carried  on  would  appear  the 
effect  of  an  indulgence  to  an  individual,  which 
could  be  withdrawn  at  pleasure.  On  consultation 
with  his  friends,  who  well  knew  what  further  con- 
cessions WiUcinson  would  extort  from  the  fears  of 
the  Spaniards,  by  the  promise  of  his  good  offices  in 
preaching  peace,  harmony,  and  good  understanding 
with  this  government,  until  arrangements  were 
made  between  Spain  and  America,  he  was  advised 
to  insist  that  the  governor  should  insure  him  a 
market  for  all  the  flour  and  tobacco  he  might  send, 
as  in  the  event  of  an  unfortunate  shipment,  he 
would  be  ruined  whilst  endeavoring  to  do  a service  to 
Louisiana.  This  was  accepted.  Flour  was  always 
wanted  in  New  Orleans,  and  the  king  of  Spain  had 
given  orders  to  purchase  more  tobacco  for  the  sup- 
ply of  his  manufactories  at  home  than  Louisiana  at 
that  time  produced,  and  which  was  paid  for  at 
about  $9.50  per  cwt.  In  Kentucky  it  cost  but  $2, 
and  the  profit  was  immense.  In  consequence,  the 
general  had  appointed  his  friend  Daniel  Clark  his 
agent  here,  returned  byway  of  Charleston  in  a ves- 
sel, with  a particular  permission  to  go  to  the  United 
States,  even  at  the  very  moment  of  Gardoqui’s  in- 
formation; and  on  his  arrival  in  Kentucky,  bought 
up  all  the  produce  he  could  collect,  which 
he  shipped  and  disposed  of  as  before  mentioned, 
and  for  some  time  all  the  trade  for  the  Ohio  was 
carried  on  in  his  name,  a line  from  him  sufficing  to 
ensure  the  owner  of  the  boat  every  privilege  and 
protection  he  could  d.esire.” 

NOTE  29,  PAGE  284. 

An  act  concerning  the  erection  of  the  District  of 
Kentucky  into  an  independent  State.  Passed 
the  ISth  of  December,  1789. 

Whereas  it  is  represented  to  this  present  General 
Assembly,  that  the  act  of  last  session  entitled  “an 
act  concerning  the  erection  of  the  District  of  Ken- 
tucky into  an  independent  State,”  which  contains 
terms  materially  different  from  those  of  the  act  of 
October  session,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-five,  are  found  incompatible  with  the  real 
views  of  this  Commonwealth,  as  well  as  injurious  to 
the  good  people  of  said  district: 

Section  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly, 
That  in  the  month  of  May,  next,  on  the  respective 
court  days  of  the  counties  within  the  said  district, 
and  at  the  respective  places  of  holding  courts  therein, 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


675 


Representatives  to  continue  in  appointment  for  one 
year,  and  to  compose  a convention, 'with  the  powers, 
and  for  the  purposes  hereinafter  mentioned,  shall 
be  elected  by  the  free  male  inhabitants  of  each 
county  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  in  like 
manner  as  delegates  to  the  General  Assembly  have 
been  elected  within  said  district  in  the  proportions 
following:  In  the  county  of  Jefferson  shall  be 

elected  five  representatives;  in  the  county  of  Nelson, 
five  representatives;  in  the  county  of  Mercer,  five 
representatives;  in  the  county  of  Lincoln,  five  re- 
presentatives; in  the  county  of  Madison,  five  repre- 
sentatives; in  the  county  of  Fayette,  five  representa- 
tives; in  the  county  of  Woodford,  five  representa- 
tives; in  the  county  of  Bourbon,  five  representa- 
tives; and  in  the  county  of  Mason,  five  representa- 
tives; Provided,  That  no  free  male  inhabitant 
above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  shall  vote  in 
any  other  county  except  that  in  which  he  resides, 
and  that  no  person  shall  be  capable  of  being  elected 
unless  he  has  been  a resident  within  the  said  district 
at  least  one  year. 

Sec.  2.  That  full  opportunity  may  be  given  to 
the  good  people  of  exercising  their  right  of  suf- 
ferage  on  an  occasion  so  interesting  to  them, each  of 
the  otficers  holding  such  elections,  shall  continue 
the  same  from  day  to-day,  passing  over  Sunday,  for 
five  days,  including  the  first  day,  and  shall  cause 
this  act  to  be  read  on  each  day  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  opening  of  the  election  at  the  door  of 
the  court  house  or  other  convenient  place;  each  of 
the  said  officers  shall  deliver  to  each  person  duly 
elected  a representative,  a certificate  of  his  election, 
and  shall  transmit  a general  return  to  the  clerk  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  to  be,  b}^  him,  laid  before  the 
convention. 

Sec.  3.  For  every  neglect  of  any  of  the  duties 
hereby  enjoined  on  such  officer,  he  shall  forfeit  one 
hundred  pounds,  to  be  recovered  by  action  of  debt 
by  any  person  suing  for  the  same. 

Sec.  4.  The  said  convention  shall  be  held  at 
Danville,  on  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  July  next,  and 
shall  and  may  proceed,  after  choosing  a president 
and  other  proper  officers,  and  settling  the  proper 
rules  of  proceeding,  to  consider  and  determine 
whether  it  be  expedient  for,  and  the  will  of  the  good 
people  of  the  district,  that  the  same  be  erected  into 
an  independant  State,  on  the  terms  and  conditions 
following: 

Sec.  5.  First,  that  the  boundary  between  the  pro- 
posed State  and  Virginia,  shall  remain  the  same  as 
at  present  separates  the  district  from  the  residue  of 
this  commonwealth. 

Sec.  6.  Second,  that  the  proposed  State  shall 
take  upon  itself  a just  proportion  of  the  debt  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  payment  of  all  the  certificates 
granted  on  account  of  the  several  expeditionscarried 
on  from  the  Kentucky  district  against  the  Indians, 
since  the  first  daj^  of  January,  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  eighty-five. 

Sec.  7.  Third,  that  all  private  rights  and  inter- 
ests of  lands  within  the  said  district,  derived  from 
the  laws  of  Virginia  prior  to  such  separation,  shall 
remain  valid  and  secure  under  the  laws  of  the  pro- 
posed State,  and  shall  be  determined  by  the  laws 
now  existing  in  this  State. 

Sec.  8.  Fourth,  that  the  lauds  within  the  pro- 
posed State  of  non-resident  proprietors,  shall  not  in 
any  case  be  taxed  higher  than  the  lands  of  resi- 
dents, at  any  time  prior  to  the  admission  of  the 
proposed  State  to  a vote  by  its  delegates  in  Con- 
gress, where  such  non-residents  reside  out  of  the 
United  States,  nor  at  anytime  either  before  or  after 
such  admission,  where  such  non-residents  reside 
within  this  Commonwealth,  within  which  the  stip- 
ulation shall  be  reciprocal;  or  where  such  non-resi- 
dents reside  within  any  other  of  the  United  States, 


which  shall  declare  the  same  to  be  reciprocal  within 
its  limits;  nor  shall  a neglect  of  cultivation  or  im- 
provement of  any  land  within  either  the  proposed 
State  of  this  Commonwealth,  belonging  to  non-res- 
idents, citizens  of  the  other,  subject  such  non-res- 
idents to  forfeiture  or  other  penalty,  within  the 
term  of  six  years,  after  the  admission  of  the  said 
State  into  the  Federal  Union.  - 

Sec.  9.  Fifth,  that  no  grant  of  land  or  land  war- 
rant to  be  issued  by  the  proposed  State,  shall  inter- 
fere with  any  warrant  heretofore  issued  from  the 
land  office  of  Afirginia,  which  shall  be  located  on 
land  within  the  said  district,  now  liable  thereto,  on 
or  before  the  first  day  of  September,  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  ninety-one. 

Sec.  10.  Sixth,  that  the  unlocated  lands  within 
the  said  district,  which  stand  appropriated  to  indi- 
viduals of  description  of  individuals,  by  the  laws  of 
this  Commonwealth,  for  military  or  other  services, 
shall  be  exempted  from  the  disposition  of  the  pro- 
posed State,  and  shall  remain  subject  to  be  disposed 
of  by  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  according  to 
such  appropriation  until  the  first  day  of  May,  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-two,  and  no 
longer;  thereafter  the  residue  of  all  lands  remaining 
within  the  limits  of  the  said,  shall  be  subject  to  the 
disposition  of  the  proposed  State. 

Sec.  11.  Seventh,  that  the  use  and  navigation 
of  the  river  Ohio,  so  far  as  the  territory  of  the  pro- 
i posed  State,  or  the  territory  which  shall  remain 
i within  the  limits  of  this  Commonwealth  lies  therein, 

I shall  be  free  and  common  to  the  citizens  of  the 
j United  States,  and  respective  jurisdictions  of  this 
Commonwealth  and  of  the  proposed  State  on  the 
river  as  aforesaid,  sh^ll  be  concurrent  only  with  the 
! States  which  may  possess  the  opposite  shores  of 
I the  said  river. 

i _ Sec.  12.  Eighth,  that  in  case  any  complaint  or 
I dispute  shall  at  anj^time  arise  between  the  Com- 
i monwealth  of  Virginia  and  the  said  district,  after 
^ it  shall  be  an  independent  State,  concerning  the 
meaning  or  execution  of  the  foregoing  articles,  the 
same  shall  be  determined  by  six  commissioners,  of 
whom  two  shall  be  chosen  by  eacli  of  the  parties, 
and  the  remainder  by  the  commissioners  so  first  ap- 
ointed. 

Sec.  13.  Provided,  however.  That  five  member's 
assembled  shall  be  a sufficient  number  to  adjourn 
from  day  to  day,  and  to  issue  writs  for  supplying 
vacancies  which  may  happen  from  deaths,  resigna- 
tions or  refusals  to  act;  a majority  of  the  whole 
shall  be  a sufficient  number  to  choose  a President, 
settle  the  proper  rules  of  proceeding,  authorize  any 
number  to  summon  a convention  during  a recess, 
and  to  act  in  all  other  instances  where  a greater 
number  is  not  expressly  required.  Two-thirds  of 
the  whole  shall  be  a sufficient  number  to  determine 
on  the  expediency  of  forming  the  said  district  into 
an  independent  State  on  the  aforesaid  terms  and 
conditions:  Provided,  that  a majority  of  the  whole 
number  to  be  elected  concur  therein. 

Sec.  14.  And  be  it  further  enacted. Hh&t  it  the  sa.\d 
convention  shall  approve  of  the  erection  of  the  said 
district  into  an  independent  State  on  the  foregoing 
terms  and  conditions,  they  shall  and  may  proceed 
to  fix  a day  posterior  to  the  first  day  of  November, 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-one,  on 
which  the  authority  of  this  Commonwealth,  and  of 
its  laws,  under  the  exceptions  aforesaid,  shall  cease 
and  determine  forever  over  the  proposed  State,  and 
the  said  articles  become  a solemn  compact  mutually 
binding  on  the  parties,  and  unalterably  by  either 
without  the  consent  of  the  other. 

Sec.  15.  Provided,  however,  That  prior  to  the 
first  day  of  November,  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  ninety-one,  the  general  government  of  the 
United  States  shall  consent  to  the  erection  of  the 


C76 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


said  district,  into  au  independent  State,  shall  release 
this  Commonwealth  from  all  its  Federal  obligations 
arising  from  the  said  district  as  l)eing  part  thereof, 
and  shall  agree  that  the  proposed  Stale  shall  im 
mediatel_v  after  the  day  to  he  fixed  as  aforesaid, 
posterior  to  the  first  day  of  November,  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  ninety-one,  or  at  some  conven- 
ient time  future  thereto,  be  admitted  into  the  Fed- 
eral Union. 

Sicc.  U).  And  to  the  end  that  no  period  of  an- 
archy may  happen  to  the  good  people  of  the  pro- 
posed State,  it  is  to  be  understood  that  the  said  con- 
vention shall  have  the  authority  to  lake  the  neces- 
sary provisional  measures  for  the  election  and 
meeting  of  a convention,  at  some  time  prior  to  the 
day  fixed  for  the  determination  of  the  authority  of 
this  Commonwealth,  and  of  its  laws  over  said  dis- 
trict, and  posterior  to  the  first  day  of  November, 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-one  afore- 
said, with  full  power  and  authority  to  frame  and 
establish  a fundamental  constitution  of  government 
for  the  proposed  Slate,  and  to  declare  what  laws 
shall  be  in  force  therein,  until  the  same  shall  be 
alirogated  or  altered  by  the  legislative  authority 
acting  under  the  constitution  so  to  be  framed  and 
estaljlished. 

Sec.  17.  And  he  it  further  enacted.  That  the 
electors  in  going  to,  continuing  at,  and  returning 
from  an  election  of  members  to  the  said  conven- 
tion, shall  be  entitled  to  the  same  privileges  from 
arrest,  as  are  by  law  allowed  at  an  election 
of  members  to  tlie  General  Assembly;  and  each 
person  returned  to  serve  as  a member  in  said  con- 
vention, shall  be  entitled  to  the  same  privileges 
from  arrest  in  going  to,  during  his  attendance  on, 
and  returning  from  said  convention,  as  are  by  law 
allowed  to  members  of  the  General  Assembly. 

Sec.  18.  This  act  shall  he  transmitted  by  the 
Executn'e  to  the  representatives  of  this  Common- 
wealth in  Congress,  who  are  hereby  instructed  to  use 
their  endeavors  to  obtain  from  Congress  a speedy 
act  to  the  efl'ect  above  specified. 

NOTE  30,  PAGE  2!)7. 

The  House,  according  to  the  standing  order  of 
the  day,  resolved  itself  into  a Committee  of  the 
Whole  on  the  state  of  the  Commonwealth,  Mi-. 
Caldwell  in  the  chair.  And  after  some  time  spent 
therein,  the  Speaker  resumed  the  chair,  and  Mr. 
Caldwell  reported  that  the  committee  had,  accord- 
ing to  order,  had  under  consideration  the  Govern- 
or’s address,  and  had  come  to  the  following  resolu- 
tions thereupon,  which  he  had  delivered  in  at  the 
Clerk’s  table,  where  they  w'ere  twice  read  and 
agreed  to  by  the  House.* 

I.  Resolved.  That  the  several  States  composing 
the  United  Slates  of  America,  are  not  united  on 
the  principle  of  unlimited  submission  to  their  gen- 
eral government;butthatby  compactunderthe  style 
and  title  of  a Constitution  for  the  United  States 
and  of  amendments  thereto,  they  constituted  a gen- 
eral government  for  special  purposes,  delegated  to 
that  government  certain  definite  powers,  reserving 
each  State  to  itself,  the  residuary  mass  of  right  to 
their  own  self-government;  and  that  whensoever 
the  general  government  assumes  undelegated  pow- 
ers, its  acts  are  unauthoritative,  void  and  of  no  force; 
That  to  this  compact  each  State  acceded  as  a State, 
and  is  an  integral  party,  its  co- States  forming,  as 
to  itself,  the  other  party;  That  the  government  cre- 
ated by  this  compact  was  not  made  the  exclusive  or 
final  judge  of  the  extent  of  the  powers  delegated  to 
itself ; since  that  would  have  made  its  discretion, 
and  not  the  Constitution,  the  measure  of  its  pow- 
ers; but  that  as  in  all  other  cases  of  compact  among 


parties  having  no  common  judge,  each  party  has 
an  equal  right  to  judge  for  itself,  as  well  of  infrac- 
tions as  of  the  mode  and  measure  of  redress. 

II.  Resolved,  Tliatthe  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  having  delegated  to  Congress  a power  to  pun- 
ish treason,  counterfeiting  the  securities  and  cur- 
rent coin  of  the  UnitedStates,  piracies  and  felonies 
committed  on  the  high  seas,  and  offensesagainst  the 
laws  of  nations,  and  no  other  crimes  whatever,  and 
it  being  true  as  a general  ]irinciple,  and  one  of  the 
amendments  to  the  Constitution  having  also  de- 
clared “that  the  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United 
States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibitedby  it  to 
the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively, 
or  to  the  people,”  therefore,  also,  the  same  act  of 
Congress  passed  on  the  14th  day  of  July,  1798,  en- 
titled ‘‘An  act  in  addition  to  the  actentitled  an  act  for 
the  punishment  of  certain  crimes  against  theUnited 
States;”  as  also  the  act  passed  by  them  on  the  27th 
day  of  June,  1798,  entitled  “An  act  to  punish  frauds 
committed  on  the  Bank  of  the  United  States”  (and 
allotherof  their  acts  which  assume  to  create,  define 
or  punish  crimes  other  than  those  enumerated  in 
the  Constitution),  are  altogether  void  and  of  no 
force,  and  that  the  power  to  create,  define  and  pun- 
ish such  other  crimes  is  reserved,  and  of  right  ap- 
pertains solely  and  'exclusively  to  the  respective 
States,  each  -within  its  own  territory. 

III.  Resolved,  That  it  is  true  as  a general  prin- 
ciple, and  is  also  expressly  declared  by  one  of  the 
amendments  to  the  Constitution  that  “ the  powers 
not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitu- 
tion nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved 
to  the  States,  respectively,  or  to  the  people;”  and 
that  no  power  over  the  freedom  of  religion,  freedom 
of  speech,  or  freedom  of  the  press  being  delegated 
to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  pro- 
hibited by  it  to  tlie  States,  all  lawful  powers  re- 
specting the  same  did  of  right  remain,  and  were  re- 
served to  the  States  or  to  the  people:  That  thus 
was  manifested  their  determination  to  retain  to 
themselves  the  right  of  judging  how  far  the  licen- 
tiousness of  speech  and  of  the  press  may  be  abridged 
without  lessening  their  useful  freedom,  and  hovv  far 
those  abuses,  which  cannot  be  separated  from  their 
use,  should  be  tolerated,  rather  than  the  use  be 
destroyed,  and  thus  also  they  guarded  against  all 
abridgement  by  the  United  States  of  the  freedom  of 
religious  opinions  and  exercises,  and  retained  to 
themselves  therightof  protecting  the  same,  as  this 
State,  by  a law  passed  on  the  general  demand  of  its 
citizens,  had  already  protected  them  from  all  Iniman 
restraint  or  interference.  And  that  in  addition  to 
this  general  principle  and  express  declaration, 
another  and  more  special  provision  has  been  made 
by  one  of  the  amendments  to  the  Constitution  which 
expressly  declares  that  “Congress  shall  make  no 
law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion  or  pro- 
hibiting the  free  exercises  thereof,  or  abridging  the 
freedom  of  speech  or  of  the  press,”  whereby  guard- 
ing in  the  same  sentence  and  under  the  same  words, 
the  freedom  of  religion,  of  speech,  or  of  the  press 
insomuch,  that  whatever  violates  either,  throws 
down  the  sanctuary  which  covers  the  others,  and 
that  libels,  falsehoods,  defamation  equally  with 
heresy  and  false  religion,  are  withheld  from  the 
cognizance  of  Federal  tribunals.  That  therefore  the 
act  of  Congress  of  the  United  States  passed  on  the 
14th  day  of  July,  1798,  entitled  “Au  act  iu  addi- 
tion to  the  act  for  the  punishment  of  certain  crimes 
againsttheUnitedStat.es,”  which  does  abridge  the 
freedom  of  the  press,  is  not  law,  but  is  altogether 
void  and  of  no  effect. 

I'V.  Resolved,  That  alien  friends  are  under  the 
jurisdiction  and  protection  of  the  laws  of  the 
State  wherein  they  are;  that  no  power  over  them 
has  been  delegated  to  the  United  States  nor  pro- 


*Proceedings  Kentucky  Legislature,  November  10,  1798. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


677 


hibited  to  the  individual  State  distinct  from  their 
power  over  citizens;  and  it  being  true  as  a general 
principle  and  one  of  the  amendments  to  the  Con- 
stitution having  also  declared  that  “the  powers  not 
delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution, 
nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to 
the  States  respectively,  or  to  the  people,”  the  act 
of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  passed  on  the 
22d  day  of  June,  1798,  entitled  “An  act  concern- 
ing aliens,”  which  assumes  power  over  alien 
friends  not  delegated  by  the  Constitution,  is  not 
law,  but  is  altogether  void  and  of  no  force. 

V.  Resolved,  That  in  addition  to  the  general 
principle  as  well  as  the  express  declaration,  that 
powers  not  delegated  are  reserved,  another  and 
more  special  provision  inserted  in  the  Constitution 
from  abundant  caution  has  declared,  “that  the 
migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of 
the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit, 
shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to 
the  year  1808.”  That  this  Commonwealth  does 
admit  the  migration  of  alien  friends  described  as 
the  subject  of  the  said  act  concerning  aliens;  that 
a provision  against  the  prohibiting  their  migration 
is  a provision  against  all  acts  equivalent  thereto, 
or  it  would  be  nugatory;  that  to  remove  them 
when  migrated  is  equivalent  to  a prohibition  of 
their  migTation,  and  is  therefore  contrary  to  the 
said  provision  of  the  Constitution,  and  void. 

VI.  Resolved,  That  the  imprisonment  of  a per- 
son under  the  protection  of  the  laws  of  this  Com- 
monwealth on  his  failure  to  obey  the  simple  order 
of  the  President  to  depart  out  of  the  United  States, 
as  is  undertaken  by  the  said  act  entitled  “An  act 
concerning  aliens,”  is  contrary  to  the  Constitution, 
one  amendment  to  which  has  provided  that  “no 
person  shall,  be  deprived  of  liberty  without  due 
process  of  law,”  and  that  another  having  provided 
“that  in  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused 
shall  enjo}^  the  right  to  a public  trial  by  an  impar- 
tial juiy,  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of 
the  accusation,  to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses 
against  him,  to  have  compulsory  process  for  obtain- 
ing witnesses  in  his  favor,and  to  have  the  assistance 
of  counselforhis  defense, ’’the  same  act  undertaking 
to  authorize  the  President  to  remove  a person  out  of 
the  United  States  who  is  under  the  protection  of 
the  law,  on  his  own  suspicion,  without  accusation, 
without  jury,  without  public  trial,  without  con- 
frontation of  the  witnesses  against  him,  without 
having  witnesses  in  his  favor,  without  defense, 
without  counsel,  is  contrary  to  these  provisions  also 
of  tne  Constitution,  is  therefore  not  law,  bututterly 
void  and  of  no  force.  That  transferring  the 
power  of  judging  any  person  who  is  underthe  pro- 
tection of  the  laws,  from  the  courlstothe  President 
of  the  United  States,  as  is  undertaken  by  the  same 
act  concerning  aliens,  is  against  the  article  of  the 
Constitution  which  provides  that  “the  judicial 
power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in 
courts,  the  judges  of  which  shall  hold  their  offices 
during  good  behavior,”  and  that  the  said  act  is 
void  for  that  reason  also;  and  it  is  further  to  be 
noted,  that  this  transfer  of  judiciary  power  is  to 
that  magistrate  of  the  general  government  who 
already  possesses  all  the  executive,  and  a qualified 
negative  in  all  the  legislative  nowers. 

VII.  Resolved,  Thatthe  construction  appliedby 
the  general  government  (as  is  evinced  by  sun- 
dry of  their  proceedings)  to  those  parts  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  which  delegate  to 
Congress  a power  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties, 
imposts,  and  excises;  to  pay  the  debts  and  provide 
for  thp  common  defense,  and  general  welfare  of 
the  United  States,  and  to  make  all  laws  which  shall 
be  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying  into  execution 
the  powers  vested  by  the  Constitution  in  tne  gov- 


ernment of  the  United  States,  or  any  department 
thereof,  goes  to  the  destruction  of  all  the  limits 
prescribed  to  their  power  by  the  Constitution;  that 
words  meant  by  that  instrument  to  be  subsidiary 
only  to  the  execution  of  the  limited  powers  ought 
not  to  be  so  construed  as  themselves  to  give  unlim- 
ited powers,  nor  a part  so  to  be  taken  as  to  destroy 
the  whole  residue  of  the  instrument;  that  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  general  government,  under  color  of 
these  articles,  will  be  a fit  and  necessary  subject  for 
revisal  and  correction  at  a time  of  greater  tranquil- 
ity, while  those  specified  in  the  preceding  resolu- 
tions call  for  immediate  redress. 

VIII.  Resolved,  That  the  preceding  resolutions 
be  transmitted  to  the  senators  and  representatives 
in  Congress  from  this  Commonwealth,  who  are 
hereby  enjoined  to  present  the  same  to  their  re- 
spective houses,  and  to  use  their  best  endeavors  to 
procure,  at  the  next  session  of  Congress, a repeal  of 
the  aforesaid  unconstitutional  and  obnoxious  acts. 

IX.  Resolved,  Lastly,  that  the  governor  of  this 
Commonwealth  be,  and  is  herebj"  authorized  and 
requested  to  communicate  theprecedingresolutions 
to  the  legislatures  of  the  several  States,  to  assure 
them  that  this  Commonwealth  considers  union  for 
specified  national  purposes,  and  particularly  for 
those  specified  in  their  late  Federal  compact,  to  be 
friendly  to  the  peace,  happiness,  and  prosperity  of 
all  the  States;  that  faithful  to  that  compact,  accord- 
ing to  the  plain  intent  and  meaning  in  which  it  was 
understood  and  acceded  to  by  the  several  parties, 
it  is  sincerely  anxious  for  its  preservation;  that  it 
does  also  believe,  that  to  take  from  the  States  all 
the  powers  of  self-government,  and  transfer  them 
to  a general  and  consolidated  government,  without 
regard  to  the  special  delegations  and  reservations 
solemnly  agreed  to  in  that  compact,  is  not  for  the 
peace,  happiness,  or  prosperity  of  these  States. 
And  that,  therefore,  this  Commonweal; h is  deter- 
mined, as  it  doubts  not  its  co-States  are,  to  tamely 
submit  to  undelegated  and  consequent!}^  unlimited 
powers  in  no  man  or  body  of  men  on  earth;  that  if 
the  acts  before  specified  should  stand,  these  conclu- 
sions would  flow  from  them;  that  the  general  gov- 
ernment may  place  any  act  they  think  proper  on 
the  list  of  crimes  and  iDunish  it  themselves,  whether 
enumerated  or  not  enumerated  by  the  Constitution 
as  cognizable  by  them;  that  the}"  may  transfer  its  cog- 
nizance to  the  President  or  any  other  person,  who 
may  himself  be  the  accuser,  counsel,  judge  and 
jury,  whose  suspicions  may  be  the  evidence,  his  or- 
der the  sentence,  his  officer  the  executioner,  and  his 
breast  the  sole  record  of  the  transaction:  that  a very 
numerous  and  valuable  description  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  these  States  being  by  this  precedent  reduced 
as  outlaws  to  the  absolute  dominion  of  one  man, 
and  the  barrier  of  the  Constitution  thus  swept 
away  from  us  all,  no  rampart  now  remains  against 
the  passions  and  the  powers  of  a majority  of  Con- 
gress, to  protect  from  a like  exportation  or  other 
niore  grievous  punishment  the  minority  of  the  same 
body,  the  Legislature,  judges,  governors,  and 
counselors  of  the  States,  nor  their  other  peaceable 
inhabitants  who  may  venture  to  reclaim  the  consti- 
tutional rights  and  liberties  of  the  State  and  people, 
or  who  for  other  causes,  good  or  bad,  may  be  ob- 
noxious to  the  views  or  marked  by  the  suspicions 
of  the  President,  or  l)e  thought  dangerous  to  his  or 
their  elections  or  other  interests,  public  or  personal; 
that  the  friendless  alien  has  indeed  been  selected 
as  the  safest  subject  of  a first  experiment,  but  the 
citizens  will  soon  follow,  or  rather  has  already  fol- 
lowed; for  already  has  a sedition  act  marked  him 
as  its  prey;  that  these  and  successive  acts  of  the 
same  character,  unless  arrested  on  the  threshold, 
may  tend  to  drive  these  States  into  revolution  and 
blood,  and  will  furnish  new  calumnies  against  Re- 


678 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


publican  governments,  and  new  pretexts  for  those 
who  wish  it  to  be  believed  that  man  cannot  be  gov- 
erned but  by  a rod  of  iron;  that  it  would  be  a 
dangerous  delusion  were  a confidence  in  the  men  of 
our  choice  to  silence  our  fears  for  the  safety  of  our 
rights;  that  confidence  is  everywhere  the  parent  of 
despotism.  Free  government  is  founded  in  jeal- 
0US3'  and  not  in  confidence.  It  is  jealous}",, and  not 
confidence  which  prescribes  limited  constitutions  to 
bind  down  those  whom  we  are  obliged  to  trust  with 
power;  that  our  Constitution  has  accordingly  fixed 
the  limits  to  which  and  no  further  our  confidence 
may  go;  and  let  the  honest  advocate  of  confidence 
read  the  alien  and  sedition  acts,  and  say  if  the  Con- 
stitution has  now  been  wise  in  fixing  limits  to  the 
government  it  created,  and  whether  we  should  be 
wise  in  destroying  those  limits,  Let  him  say  what  the 
government  is  if  it  be  not  a tyranny,  which  the  men 
of  our  choice  have  conferred  on  the  President,  and 
the  President  of  onr  choice  has  assented  to  and  ac- 
cepted over  the  friendly  strangers,  to  whom  the 
mild  spirit  of  our  country  and  its  laws  had  pledged 
hospitality  and  protection;  that  the  men  of  our 
choice  have  more  respected  the  bare  suspicions  of 
the  President  than  the  solid  ‘rights  of  innocence, 
the  claims  of  justification,  the  sacred  force  of  truth, 
and  tlie  forms  and  substance  of  law  and  justice. 
In  questions  of  power  then  let  no  more  be  heard  of 
confidence  in  man,  but  bind  him  down  from  mis- 
chief by  the  claims  of  tlie  Constitution.  That  this 
Commonwealth  does  therefore  call  on  its  co-States 
for  an  expression  of  their  sentiments  on  the  acts  con- 
cerning aliens,  and  for  the  punishment  of  certain 
crimes  hereinbefore  specified,  plainly  declaring 
whether  these  acts  are  or  are  not  authorized 
by  the  Federal  compact.  And  it  doubts  not 
that  their  sense  will  be  so  announced  as  to  prove 
their  attachment  unaltered  to  limited  govern- 
ment, whether  general  or  particular,  and  that 
the  rights  and  liberties  of  their  co-States  will  be  ex- 
posed to  no  dangers  by  remaining  embarked  on  a 
common  bottom  with  their  own;  that  they  will  con- 
cur with  this  Commonwealth  in  considering  the 
said  acts  as  so  palpably  against  the  Constitution  as 
to  amount  to  an  undisguised  declaration,  that  the 
compact  is  not  meant  to  be  the  measure  of  the  pow- 
ers of  the  general  government,  but  that  it  will  pro- 
ceed in  the  exercise  over  these  States  of  all  powers 
whatsoever;  that  they  will  view  this  as  seizing  the 
rights  of  the  States  and  consolidating  them  in  the 
hands  of  the  general  government  with  a power  as- 
sumed to  bind  the  States  (not  merely  in  cases  made 
Federal)  but  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  by  laws  made 
not  with  their  consent;  that  this  would  be  to  sur- 
render the  form  of  government  w"e  have  chosen, 
and  to  live  under  one  deriving  its  power  from  its 
own  will,  and  not  from  out  authority;  and  that  the 
co-States,  recurring  to  their  natural  right  in  cases 
not  made  Federal,  will  concur  in  declaring  these 
acts  void  and  of  no  force,  and  will  each  unite  with 
this  Commonweath  in  requesting  their  repeal  at  the 
next  session  of  Congress. 

Edmund  Buldock. 

Speaker  House  of  Representatives. 

John  Campbell, 
Speaker  Senate,  ]Jro  tem. 

Passed  the  House  of  Representatives  Novem- 
ber 10,  1798. 

Attest:  Thomas  Todd, 

Chairman  House  of  Representatives. 

In  Senate,  November  13,  1798,  unanimously 
concurred  in. 

Attest:  B.  Thhuston, 

Clerk  Senate. 


Approved  November  16,  1798,  by  the  Governor. 

James  Garkard, 

Governor  Kentucky. 

Harry  Toulmin, 

Secretary  of  State. 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  Secretary’s  De- 
partment Boston,  October  20,  1884. 

A true  copy  of  the  original,  on  file  in 
this  Department. 

[l.  s.]  Witnessthe  Seal  of  the  Commonwealth. 

Henry  B.  Pierce, 
Secretary. 

NOTE  31.  PAGE  32.5. 

CONSTITUTION  OF  1850. 

Article  I. 

CONCERNING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OP  THE  POM"ERS  OF 
GOVERNMENT. 

Section  1.  The  powers  of  the  government  of 
the  State  of  Kentucky  shall  be  divided  into  three 
distinct  departments,  and  each  of  them  to  be  con- 
fided to  a separate  body  of  magistracy,  to-wit,  those 
which  are  legislative  to  one;  those  M"liich  are  execu- 
tive to  another,  and  those  which  are  judiciary  to 
another. 

Sec.  2.  No  person,  or  collection  of  persons,  be- 
ing of  one  of  those  departments,  shall  exercise  any 
power  properly  belonging  to  either  of  the  others, 
except  in  the  instances  hereinafter  expressly 
directed  or  permitted. 

Article  II. 

concerning  the  legislative  department. 

Section  1.  The  legislative  power  shall  be 
vested  in  a House  of  Representatives  and  Senate, 
which  together  shall  be  styled  “The  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  Commonwealth  of  Kentucky.” 

Sec.  2.  The  members  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives shall  continue  in  service  for  the  term  of 
two  years  from  the  day  of  the  general  election,  and 
no  longer. 

Sec.  3.  Representatives  shall  be  chosen  on  the 
first  Monday  in  August  in  every  second  year,  and 
the  mode  of  holding  the  election  shall  be  regulated 
by  law. 

Sec.  4.  No  person  shall  be  a Representative, 
who,  at  the  time  of  his  election,  is  not  a citizen  of 
the  United  States,  has  not  attained  the  age  of 
twenty-four  years,  and  who  has  not  resided  in  this 
State  two  years  next  preceding  his  election,  and 
the  last  year  thereof  in  the  county,  town  or  city  for 
which  he  may  be  chosen. 

Sec.  5.  The  General  Assembly  shall  divide  each 
county  of  this  Commonwealth  into  convenient 
election  precincts,  or  may  delegate  power  to  do  so 
to  such  county  authorities  as  may  be  designated  by 
law;  and  elections  for  Representatives  for  the 
several  counties  shall  be  held  at  the  places  for  hold- 
ing their  respective  courts,  and  in  the  several  elec- 
tion precincts  into  which  the  counties  may  be 
divided.  Provided,  That  when  it  shall  appear  to 
the  General  Assembly  that  any  city  or  town  hath  a 
number  of  qualified  voters  equal  to  the  ratio  then 
fixed,  such  city  or  town  shall  be  invested  with  the 
privilege  of  a separate  Representative,  in  either  or 
both  houses  of  the  General  Assembly,  which  shall 
be  retained  so  long  as  such  city  or  town  shall  con- 
tain a uumtier  of  qualified  voters  equal  to  the  ratio 
which  may  from  time  to  time  be  fixed  by  law,  and, 
thereafter,  elections  for  the  county  in  which  such 
city  or  town  is  situated  shall  not  be  held  therein; 
but  such  city  or  town  shall  not  be  entitled  to  a 
separate  representation  unless  such  county,  after 
the  separation,  shall  also  be  entitled  to  one  or  more 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


679 


representatives.  That  whenever  a city  or  town 
shall  be  entitled  to  a representation  in  either  house 
of  the  General  Assembly,  and  by  its  members 
shall  be  entitled  to  more  than  one  representative, 
such  city  or  town  shall  be  divided,  by  squares 
which  are  contiguous,  so  as  to  make  the  most 
compact  form,  into  representative  districts,  as 
nearly  equal  as  may  be,  equal  to  the  number  of 
representatives  to  which  such  city  or  town  may  be 
entitled;  and  one  representative  shall  be  elected 
from  each  district.  In  like  manner  shall  said  city 
or  town  be  divided  into  senatorial  districts,  when  by 
the  apportionment  more  than  one  Senator  shall  be 
allotted  to  such  cit}^  or  town,  and  a Senator  shall  be 
elected  from  each  senatorial  district;  but  no  ward 
or  municipal  division  shall  be  divided  by  such  di- 
vision of  senatorialor  representative  districts,  unless 
it  be  necessary  to  equalize  the  elective,  senatorial  or 
representative  districts. 

Sec.  6.  Representation  shall  be  equal  and  uni- 
form in  this  Commonwealth,  and  shall  be  forever- 
regulated  and  ascertained  by  the  number  of  quali- 
fied voters  therein.  In  the  year  1850,  again  in  the 
year  1857,  and  every  eighth  year  thereafter,  an 
enumeration  of  all  qualified  voters  of  the  State  shall 
be  made,  and  to  secure  uniformity  and  equality  of 
representation,  the  State  is  hereby  laid  off  into  ten 
districts.  The  first  district  shall  be  composed  of  the 
counties  of  Fulton,  Hickman,  Ballard,  McCracken, 
Graves,  Calloway,  Marshall,  Livingston  Crittenden, 
Union, Hopkins,  Caldwell  and  Trigg.  The  second  dis- 
trict shall  be  composed  of  the  counties  of  Christian, 
Muhlenburgh,  Henderson,  Daviess.  Hancock,  Ohio, 
Breckinridge,  Meade,  Grayson,  Butler  and  Edmon- 
son. The  third  district  shall  be  composed  of  the  coun- 
ties of  Todd.  Logan,  Simpson,  Warren,  Allen,  Monroe, 
Barren  and  Hart.  The  fourth  district  shall  be  com- 
posed of  the  counties  of  Cumberland.  Adair,  Green, 
Taylor,  Clinton,  Russell,  Wayne,  Pulaski,  Casey, 
Boyle  and  Lincoln.  The  fifth  district  shall  be  com- 
posed of  the  counties  of  Hardin,  Larue,  Bullitt, 
Spencer,  Nelson,  Washington,  Marion,  Mercer  and 
Anderson.  The  sixth  district  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Garrard.  Madison,  Estill,  Owsley, 
Rockcastle,  Laurel,  Cla^^  Wliitley,  Knox,  Harlan, 
Perry,  Letcher,  Pike,  Floyd  and  Johnson.  The 
seventh  district  shall  be  composed  of  the  counties 
of  Jefferson,  Oldham,  Trimble,  Carroll,  Henry  and 
Shelby  and  the  city  of  Louisville.  The  eighth  dis- 
trict shall  be  com]3osed  of  the  counties  of  Bourbon, 
Fayette,  Scott,  Owen.  Franklin,  Woodford  and 
Jessamine.  The  ninth  district  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Clark,  Bath,  Montgomery,  Fleming, 
Lewis,  Greenup,  Carter,  Lawrence,  Morgan  and 
Breathitt.  The  tenth  district  shall  he  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Mason,  Bracken,  Nicholas,  Harri- 
son, Pendleton,  Campbell,  Grant,  Kenton,  Boone 
and  Gallatin.  The  number  of  Representatives 
shall,  at  the  several  sessions  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly next,  after  making  tlie  enumerations,  be  appor- 
tioned among  the  ten  several  districts,  according  to 
the  number  of  qualified  voters  in  each;  and  the 
representatives  shall  be  apportioned,  as  near  as  may 
be,  among  the  counties,  towns  and  cities  in  each 
district;  and  in  making  such  apportionment  tlie 
following  rules  shall  govern,  to-wit;  Every  coun- 
ty, town  or  city,  having  the  ratio,  shall  have  one 
Representative;  if  double  the  ratio,  two  Representa- 
tives, and  so  on.  Next  the  counties,  towns  or  cities 
having  one  or  more  Representatives,  and  the  largest 
number  of  qualified  voters  above  the  ratio,  and 
counties  having  the  largest  number  under  the  ratio, 
sliall  have  a Representative,  regard  being  always 
had  to  the  greatest  number  of  qualified  voters. 
Prrivided,  That  when  a county  may  not  have  a 
sufficient  number  of  qualified  voters  to  entitle  it  to 
one  Representative,  then  such  county  may  be 
joined  to  some  adjacent  county  or  counties,  which 


counties  shall  send  one  Representative.  When  a 
new  county  shall  be  formed  of  territory  belonging 
to  more  than  one  district,  it  shall  form  a part  of 
that  district  having  the  least  number  of  qualified 
voters. 

Sec.  7.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall 
choose  its  speaker  and  other  officers. 

Sec.  8.  Every  free  white  male  citizen  of  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  who  has  resided  in  the 
State  two  j-ears,  or  in  the  county,  town,  or  city  in 
which  he  offers  to  vote,  one  year  next  preceding 
the  election,  shall  be  a voter;  but  such  voter  shall 
have  beeu  for  sixt}-  days  next  preceding  the  elec- 
tion a resident  of  the  precinct  in  which  he  offers  to 
vote,  and  he  shall  vote  in  said  precinct  and  not  else- 
where. 

Sec.  9.  Voters,  in  all  cases,  except  treason,  fel- 
ony, breach  or  surety  of  the  peace,  shall  be  privi- 
leged from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at,  going 
to,  and  returning  from  elections. 

Sec.  10.  Senators  shall  be  chosen  for  the  term 
of  four  years,  and  the  Senate  shall  have  power  to 
choose  its  officers  biennially. 

Sec.  11.  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  be 
elected  under  the  first  apportioament  after  the 
adoption  of  this  Constitution,  in  the  year  1851. 

Sec.  12.  At  the  session  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly next  after  the  first  apportionment  under  this 
Constitution,  the  Senators  shall  be  divided  by  lot, 
as  equally  as  may  be,  into  two  classes;  the  seats  of 
the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  end  of  two 
years  from  the  day  of  the  election,  and  those  of  the 
second  class  at  the  end  of  four  years,  so  that  one- 
half  shall  be  chosen  every  two  years. 

Sec.  13.  The  number  of  Representatives  shall 
be  one  hundred,  and  the  number  of  Senators  thirty- 
eight. 

Sec.  14.  At  every  apportionment  of  represen- 
tation, the  State  shall  be  laid  off  into  thirty-eight 
senatorial  districts,  which  shall  be  so  formed  as  to 
contain,  as  near  as  may  be,  an  equal  number  of 
qualified  voters,  and  so  that  no  county  shall  be  di- 
vided in  the  formation  of  a senatorial  district,  except 
such  county  shall  be  entitled,  under  the  enumera- 
tion, to  two  or  more  Senators;  and  where  two  or 
more  counties  compose  a district,  they  shall  be  ad- 
joining. 

- Sec.  15.  One  Senator  for  each  district  shall  be 
elected  by  the  qualified  voters  therein,  who- shall 
vote  in  the  precincts  where  they  reside,  at  the  places 
where  elections  are  by  law  directed  to  be  held. 

Sec.  16.  No  person  shall  be  a Senator,  -who  at 
the  time  of  his  election,  is  not  a citizen  of  the 
United  States,  has  not  attained  the  age  of  thirty 
years,  and  who  has  not  resided  in  this  State  six 
years  next  preceding  his  election,  and  the  last  year 
thereof  in  the  district  for  which  he  may  be  chosen. 

Sec.  17.  The  election  for  Senators,  next  after  the 
first  apportionment  under  this  constitution  shall  be 
general  throughout  the  State,  and  at  the  same  time 
that  the  election  for  representatives  is  held,  and 
thereafter  there  shall  be  a biennial  election  for  Sen- 
ators to  fill  the  places  of  those  whose  term  of  serv- 
ice may  have  expired. 

Sec.  18.  The  General  Assembly  shall  convene  on 
the  first  Monday  in  November,  after  the  adoption 
of  this  constitution,  and  again  on  the  first  Monday 
in  November,  1851,  and  on  the  same  day  of  every 
second  year  thereafter,  unless  a different  day  be 
appointed  by  law,  and  their  sessions  shall  be  held 
at  the  seat  of  government. 

Sec.  19.  Not  less  than  a majority  of  the  members 
of  each  house  of  the  General  Assembly  shall  consti- 
tute a quorm  to  do  business,  but  a smaller  number 
may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  shall  be  author- 
ized by  law  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent 
members  in  such  manner  and  under  such  penalties 
as  may  be  prescribed  thereby. 


680 


HISTOEY  or  KENTUCKY. 


Sec.  20.  Each  house  of  the  General  Assembly 
shall  judge  of  the  qualifications,  elections  andreturns 
of  its  members;  but  a contested  election  shall  be 
determined  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  directed  by 
law. 

Sec.  21.  Each  house  of  the  General  Assembly  may 
determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings, punish  a mem- 
ber for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence 
of  two-thirds,  expel  a member,  but  not  a second 
time  for  the  same  cause. 

Sec.  22.  Each  house  of  the  General  Assembly 
shall  keep  and  publish,  weekly,  a journal  of  its 
proceedings,  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members 
on  any  question  shall,  at  the  desire  of  any  two  of 
them,  be  entered  on  their  journal. 

Sec.  23’.  Neither  house  during  the  session  of  the 
General  Assembly  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the 
other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any 
other  place  than  that  in  wEich  they  may  be  sitting. 

Sec.  24.  The  members  of  the  General  Assembly 
shall  severally  receive  from  the  public  treasury  a 
compensation  for  their  services,  which  shall  be 
three  dollars  aday  during  their  attendance  on,  and 
twelve  and  a half  cents  per  mile  for  the  necessary 
travel  in  going  to,  and  returning  from,  the  sessions 
of  their  respective  houses;  Promded,  That  the 
same  ma}'’  be  increased  or  diminished  by  law;  but 
no  alteration  shall  take  effect  during  the  session  at 
wdiicli  such  alteration  shall  lie  made;  nor  shall  a 
session  of  the  General  Assembly  continue  beyond 
sixty  days,  except  by  a vote  of  two-thirds  of  all  the 
members  elected  to  each  house,  but  this  shall  not 
apply  to  the  first  session  held  under  this  constitu- 
tion. 

Sec.  2:').  The  members  of  the  General  Assembly 
shall,  in  all  cases,  except  treason,  felony,  breach  or 
surety  of  thepeacc,  be  privileged  fromarrest  during 
their  attendance  at  the  sessions  of  their  respective 
houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the 
same;  and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  house, 
they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  place. 

Sec.  26.  No  Senator  or  Representative  shall, 
during  the  term  for  which  he  was  elected,  nor  for 
one  year  thereafter  be  appointed  or  elected  to  any 
civil  ofiice  of  profit  under  this  Commonwealth, 
which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emoluments 
of  which  shall  have  been  increased,  during  said 
term,  except  to  such  offices  or  appointments  as  may 
be  filled  by  the  election  of  tbe  people. 

Sec.  27.  No  person,  while  he  continues  to  ex- 
ercise the  functions  of  a clergyman,  priest  or 
teacher  of  any  religious  persuasion,  society  or  sect, 
nor  while  he  holds  or  exercises  any  ofiice  of  profit 
under  this  Commonwealth,  or  under  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  shall  be  eligible  to  the 
General  Assembly  except  attornej's  at  law,  justices 
of  the  peace  and  militia  officers:  Provided,  That 
attorneys  for  the  Commonwealth  wEo  receive  a 
fixed  annual  salary,  shall  be  ineligible. 

Sec.  28.  No  person  who  at  any-time  may  have 
a collector  of  taxes  or  public  moneys  for  the  State 
or  the  assistant  or  deputy  of  sucii  collector,  shall 
be  eligible  to  the  General  Assembly  unless  he  shall 
have  obtained  a quietus,  six  mo'nths  before  the 
election,  for  the  amount  of  such  collection,  and 
for  all  public  moneys  for  which  lie  may  have  been 
responsible. 

Sec.  29.  No  bill  shall  have  the  force  of  a law 
until  on  three  several  days  it  be  read  over  in  each 
House  of  the  General  Assembl3q  and  free  discussion 
allowed  thereon,  unless,  in  cases  of  urgency,  four- 
fifths  of  the  house  where  the  bill  shall  be  depend- 
ing, may  deem  it  expedient  to  dispense  with  this 
rule. 

Sec.  30.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  origi- 
nate in  the  House  of  Representatives,  but  the  Sen- 
ate may  propose  amendments,  as  in  other  bills; 
Provided,  that  they  shall  not  introduce  any  new 


matter,  under  color  of  amendment,  which  does  not 
relate  to  raising  revenue. 

Sec.  31.  The  General  Assembly  shall  regulateby 
law  by  whom  and  in  what  manner  writs  of  election 
shall  be  issued  to  fill  the  vacancies  which  may  hap- 
pen in  either  branch  thereof. 

Sec.  32.  The  General  Assembly  shall  have  no 
power  to  grant  divorces,  to  change  the  names  of  in- 
dividuals, or  direct  the  sales  of  estates  belonging  to 
infants  or  other  persons  laboring  under  legal  disa- 
bilities, by  special  legislation;  but  by  general  laws 
shall  confer  such  powers  on  the  courts  of  justice. 

Sec.  33.  The  credit  of  this  Commonwealth  shall 
never  be  given  or  loaned  in  aid  of  any  person,  asso- 
ciation, municipality  or  corporation. 

Sec.  34.  The  General  Assembly  shall  have  no 
power  to  pass  laws  to  diminish  the  resources  of  the 
sinking-fund,  as  now  established  by  law,  until  the 
debt  of  the  State  be  paid,  but  may  pass  laws  to  in- 
crease them;  and  the  whole  resources  of  said  fund 
from  year  to  year,  shall  be  sacredly  set  apart  and 
applied  to  the  payment  of  the  interest  and  princi- 
pal of  the  State  debt,  and  to  no  other  use  or  pur- 
pose, until  the  vhole  debt  of  the  State  is  fully  paid 
and  satisfied. 

Sec.  35.  The  General  Assembly  may  contract 
debts  to  meet  casual  deficits  or  failures  in  the  reve- 
nue; but  such  debts,  direct  or  contingent,  singly  or 
in  the  aggregate,  shall  not  at  any  time  exceed 
1500,000;  and  the  moneys  arising  from  loans  creat- 
ing such  debts  shall  be  applied  to  the  purposes  for 
which  they  were  obtained  or  to  repay  such  debts; 
Provided,  That  the  State  may  contract  debts  to  repel 
invasion,  suppress  insurrection,  or  if  hostilities  are 
threatened,  provide  for  the  public  defense. 

Sec.  36.  No  act  of  the  General  Assembly  shall 
authorize  any  debt  to  be  contracted  on  behalf  of 
the  Common  wealth,  except  for  the  purposes  men- 
tioned in  the  thirty-fifth  section  of  this  article,  un- 
less provision  be  made  therein  to  lay  and  collect  an 
annual  tax  sufficient  to  pay  the  interest  stipulated, 
and  to  discharge  the  debt  within  thirty  years;  nor 
shall  such  act  take  effect  until  it  shall  have  been 
submitted  to  the  people  at  a general  election,  and 
shall  have  received  a majority  of  all  the  votes  cast 
for  or  against  it:  Provided,  that  the  General  Assem- 
bly may  contract  debts,  by  borrowing  money  to 
pay  any  part  of  the  debt  of  the  State,  without  sub- 
mission to  the  people,  and  without  making  provis- 
ion in  the  act  authorizing  the  same  for  a tax  to  dis- 
charge the  debt  so  contracted,  or  the  interest 
thereon. 

Sec.  37.  No  law  enacted  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly shall  relate  to  more  than  one  subject,  and  that 
shall  be  expresssed  in  the  title. 

Sec.  38.  The  General  Assembly  shall  not  change 
the  venue  in  any  criminal  or  penal  prosecution,  but 
shall  provide  for  the  same  by  general  laws. 

Sec.  39.  The  General  Assembly  may  pass  laws 
authorizing  writs  of  error  in  criminal  or  penal  cases, 
and  regulating  the  right  of  challenge  of  jurors 
therein. 

Sec.  40.  The  General  Assembly  shall  have  no 
power  to  pass  any  act  or  resolution  for  the  appro- 
priation of  any  money,  or  the  creation  of  any  del)t, 
exceeding  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars,  at  any 
one  time,  unless  the  same,  on  its  final  passage,  .shall 
be  voted  for  by  a majority  of  all  the  members  then 
elected  to  each  branch  of  the  General  Assembly, 
and  the  yeas  and  nays  thereon  entered  on  the  jour- 
nal. 

Article  III. 

concerning  the  executive  department. 

Section  1.  The  supreme  executive  power  of  the 
Commonwealth  shall  be  vested  in  a chief  magis- 
trate, who  shall  be  styled  the  Governor  of  the  Com 
monwealth  of  Kentucky. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


681 


Sec.  2.  The  Governor  shall  be  elected  for  the 
term  of  four  years  by  the  qualified  voters  of  the 
State,  at  the  time  when  and  places  where  they  shall 
respectively  vote  for  Representatives.  The  person 
having  the  highest  number  of  votes  shall  be  Gov- 
ernor; but  if  two  or  more  shall  be  equal  and  highest 
in  votes,  the  election  shall  be  determined  by  lot,  in 
such  manner  as  the  General  Assembly  may  direct. 

Sec.  3.  The  Governor  shall  be  ineligible  for  the 
succeeding  four  years  after  the  expiration  of  the 
term  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected. 

Sec.  4.  He  shall  be  at  least  thirty-five  years  of 
age,  and  a citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  have 
been  an  inhabitant  of  this  State  at  least  six  years 
next  preceding  his  election. 

Sec.  5.  He  shall  commence  the  execution  of  the 
duties  of  his  office  on  the  fifth  Tuesday  succeeding 
the  da}"  of  the  general  election  on  w"hich  he  shall 
have  been  chosen,  and  shall  continue  in  the  execu- 
tion thereof  until  his  successor  shall  have  taken  the 
oath  or  affirmation  prescribed  by  this  Constitution. 

Sec.  6.  No  member  of  Congress,  or  person  hold- 
ing any  office  under  the  United  States,  or  minister 
of  any  religious  society,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office 
of  Governer. 

Sec.  7.  The  Governor  shall,  at  stated  times,  re- 
eeive  for  his  services  a compensation,  which  shall 
neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  during  the  term 
for  which  he  was  elected. 

Sec.  8.  He  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  and  navy  of  this  Commonwealth,  and  of  the 
militia  thereof,  except  when  they  shall  be  called 
into  the  service  of  the  United  States;  but  he  shall 
not  command  personally  in  the  field,  unless  advised 
so  to  do  by  a resolution  of  the  General  Assembly 

Sec.  9.  He  shall  have  power  to  fill  vacancies 
that  may  occur,  by  granting  commissions,  w'hich 
shall  e.xpire  when  such  vacancies  shall  have  been 
filled  according  to  the  provisions  of  this  Constitu- 
tion. 

Sec.  10.  He  shall  have  power  to  remit  fines  and 
forfeitures,  grant  reprieves  and  pardons,  except  in 
cases  of  impeachment.  In  cases  of  treason  he  shall 
have  power  to  grant  reprieves  until  the  end  of  the 
next  session  of  the  General  Assembly,  in  wdiich  the 
power  of  pardoning  shall  be  vested;  but  he  shall 
have  no  power  to  remit  the  fees  of  the  Clerk,  Sheriff, 
or  Commonwealth  Attorney  in  penal  or  criminal 
cases. 

Sec.  11.  He  may  require  information, in  writing, 
from  the  officers  in  the  executive  department  upon 
any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective 
offices. 

Sec.  13.  He  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the 
General  Assembly  information  of  the  state  of  the 
Commonwealth,  and  recommend  to  their  consid- 
eration such  measures  as  he  may  deem  expedient. 

Sec.  13.  He  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions, 
convene  the  General  Assembly  at  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment, or  at  a different  place  if  that  should  have 
become,  since  their  last  adjournment,  dangerous 
from  an  enemy  or  from  contagious  disorders;  and  in 
case  of  disagreement  between  the  twm  Houses,  with 
respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn 
them  tosucli  time  as  he  shall  think  proper,  not  ex- 
ceedingfour  months. 

Sec.  14.  He  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be 
faithfully  executed. 

Sec.  15.  A Lieutenant-Governor  shall  be  chosen 
at  every  regular  election  for  Governor,  in  the  same 
manner,  to  continue  in  office  for  the  same  time,  and 
possess  the  same  qualifications  as  the  Governor. 
In  voting  for  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor 
the  electors  shall  state  for  whom  they  vote  as  Gov- 
ernor and  for  whom  as  Lieutenant-Governor. 

Sec.  16.  He  shall,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  be 
Speaker  of  the  Senate,  have  a right,  when  in  Com- 


mittee of  the  Whole,  to  debate  and  vote  on  all  sub- 
jects, and,  when  the  Senate  are  equally  divided  to 
give  the  casting  vote. 

Sec.  17.  Should  the  Governor  be  impeached,  re- 
moved from  office,  die,  refuse  to  qualify,  resign,  or 
be  absent  from  the  State,  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
shall  exercise  all  the  power  and  authority  apper- 
taining to  the  office  of  Governor,  until  another 
be  duly  elected  and  qualified,  or  the  Governor  ab- 
sent or  impeached  shall  return  or  be  acquitted. 

Sec.  18.  Whenever  the  government  shall  be  ad- 
ministered by  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  or  he  shall 
fail  to  attend  as  Speaker  of  the  Senate,  the  Senators 
shall  elect  one  of  their  own  members  as  Speaker  for 
that  occasion.  And  if  during  the  vacancy  of  the 
office  of  Governor,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  shall 
be  impeached, removed  from  office, refuse  to  qualify, 
resign,  die,  or  be  absent  from  the  State, the  Speaker 
of  the  Senate  shall,  in  like  manner,  administer  the 
government:  Provided,  That  whenever  a vacancy 
shall  occur  in  the  office  of  Governor,  before  the  first 
two  years  of  the  term  shall  have  expired,  a new 
election  for  Governor  shall  take  place  to  fill  such 
vacancy. 

Sec.  19.  The  Lieutenant-Governor,  or  Speaker 
pro  tempore  of  the  Senate,  while  he  acts  as  Speaker 
of  the  Senate,  shall  receive  for  his  services  the  same 
compensation  which  shall,  for  the  same  period,  be 
allowed  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repiresent- 
atives,  and  no  more;  and  during  the  time  he  admin- 
isters the  government,  as  Governor,  shall  receive 
the  same  compensation  which  the  Governor  would 
have  received  had  he  been  employed  in  the  duties 
of  his  office,  / 

Sec.  20.  If  the  Lieutenant-Governor  shall  be 
called  upon  to  administer  the  government,  and 
shall,  while  in  such  administration,  resign,  die,  or 
be  absent  from  the  State  during  the  recess  of 
the  General  Assembly,  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  Secretary  of  State,  for  the  time  being, to  con- 
vene the  Senate  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  a 
Speaker, 

Sec.  31.  The  Governor  shall  nominate  and,  by 
and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  ap- 
point a Secretary  of  State,  who  shall  be  commis- 
sioned during  the  term  for  which  the  Governor  was 
elected,  if  he  shall  so  long  behave  himself  well.  He 
shall  keep  a fair  register,  and  attest  all  the  official 
acts  of  the  Governor,  and  shall,  when  required,  laj' 
the  same,  and  all  papers,  minutes  and  vouchers 
relative  thereto,  before  either  House  of  the  General 
Assemby;  and  shall  perform  such  other  duties  as 
may  be  required  of  him  by  law. 

Sec.  23.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  both 
Houses  shall  be  presented  to  the  Governor.  If  he 
approve,  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not,  he  shall  retuim 
it,  with  his  objections,  to  the  House  in  which  it 
originated,  who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large 
upon  their  journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it. 
If,  after  such  reconsideration,  a majority  of  all  the 
members  elected  to  that  House  shall  agree  to  pass 
the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  with  the  objections,  to  the 
other  House,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  consid 
ered,  and,  if  approved  by  a majority  of  all  the  mem- 
bers elected  to  that  House,  it  shall  be  a law:  but  in 
such  cases,  the  votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  de- 
termined by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the 
members  voting  for  and  against  the  I ill  shall  be 
entered  upon  the  journals  of  each  House  respect- 
ively. If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  Gov- 
ernor within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it 
shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  it  shall  be  a law 
in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the 
General  Assembly,  by  their  adjournment,  prevent 
its  return;  in  which  case  it  shall  be  a law,  unless 
sent  back  within  three  days  after  their  next  meet- 
ing. 


682 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Sec.  23.  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  in 
which  the  concurrence  of  both  Houses  may  he 
necessary,  except  on  a question  of  adjournment, 
shall  be  presented  to  the  Governor,  and  before  it 
shall  take  effect  be  approved  by  him;  or,  being 
disapproved,  shall  be  repassed  by  a maj  ority  of  all 
the  members  elected  to  both  Houses,  according  to 
the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  case  of  a 
bill. 

Sec.  24.  Contested  elections  for  Governor  and 
Lieutenant-Governor  shall  be  determined  by  both 
houses  of  the  General  Assembly,  according  to  such 
regulations  as  may  be  established  by  law. 

Sec.  25.  A Treasurer  shall  be  elected  by  the 
qualified  voters  of  the  State,  for  the  term  of  two 
years;  and  an  Auditor  of  Public  Accounts,  Register 
of  the  Land-Office,  and  Attorney-General  for  the  term 
of  four  years.  Tlie  duties  and  responsibilities  of 
these  officers  shall  be  prescribed  by  law;  Provided-, 
That  inferior  State  officers,  not  specially  provided 
for  in  this  Constitution, may  be  appointed  or  elected 
in  such  manner  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  law,  for  a 
term  not  exceeding  four  years. 

Sec.  26.  The  first  election  under  this  Constitu- 
tion for  Governor,  Lieurenant-Goveruor,  Treasurer, 
Auditor  of  Public  Accounts,  Register  of  the  Land- 
Office  and  Attorne3^-General,  shall  be  held  on  the 
first  Monday  in  August,  in  the  year  1851. 

Article  IV. 

CONCERNING  THE  JUDICIAL  DEPARTMENT. 

Section  1.  The  judicial  iiower  of  this  Common- 
wealth, both  as  to  matters  of  law  and  equity,  shall 
be  vested  in  one  Supreme  Court  (to  be  styled  the 
Court  of  Appeals),  the  courts  established  by  this 
Constitution,  and  such  courts,  inferior  to  the  Su- 
preme Court,  as  the  General  Assembly  may,  from 
time  to  time,  erect  and  establish. 

CONCERNING  THE  COURT  OP  APPEALS. 

Sec.  2.  The  Court  of  Appeals  shall  have  appellate 
jurisdiction  ouly,  which  shall  be  co-extensive  with  the 
State,  under  such  restrictions  and  regulations,  not 
repugnant  to  this  Constitution, as  may,  from  to  time 
be  prescribed  by  law. 

Sec.  3.  The  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  shall, 
after  their  first  term,  hold  their  offices  for  eight 
years,  from  and  after  their  election,  and  until  their 
successors  shall  be  duly  qualified,  subject  to  the 
conditions  hereinafter  prescribed;  but  for  any  rea- 
sonable cause  the  Governor  shall  remove  any  of  them 
on  the  address  of  two-thirds  of  each  House  of  the 
General  Assembly;  Provided,  hou-ever.  That  the 
cause  or  causes  for  which  such  removal  may  be  re- 
quired shall  be  stated  at  length  in  such  address 
and  on  the  journal  of  each  House.  They  shall,  at 
stated  times,  receive  for  their  services  an  adequate 
compensation,  to  be  fixed  by  law,  which  shall  not 
be  diminished  during  the  time  for  which  they  have 
been  elected. 

Sec.  4.  The  Court  of  Appeals  shall  consist  of 
four  Judges,  any  three  of  whom  may  constitute  a 
court  for  the  transaction  of  business.  The  General 
Assembly  at  its  first  session  after  the  adoption  of 
this  Constitution,  shall  divide  the  State, by  counties, 
into  four  districts,  as  nearlj^  equal  in  voting  popula- 
tion and  with  as  convenient  limits  as  may  be,  in  each 
of  which  the  qualified  voters  shall  elect  one  Judge  of 
the  Court  of  Appeals;  Provided,  That  whenever 
a vacancy  shall  occur  in  said  court,  from  any  cause, 
the  General  Assembly  shall  have  the  power  to 
reduce  the  number  of  Judges  and  districts;  but  in  no 
event  shall  there  be  less  than  three  Judges  and  dis- 
tricts. Should  a change  in  the  number  of  the  Judges 
of  the  Court  of  Appeals  be  made,  the  term  of  office 


and  number  of  districts  shall  be  so  changed  as  to 
preserve  the  principle  of  electing  one  Judge  every 
two  years. 

Sec.  5.  The  Judges  shall,  by  virtue  of  their 
office,  be  conservators  of  the  peace  throughout  the 
State.  The  style  of  all  process  shall  be  “The  Com- 
monwealth of  Kentucky.”  All  prosecutions  shall 
be  carried  on  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of 
the  Commonwealth  of  Kentucky,  and  conclude 
“against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  same.” 

Sec.  6.  The  Judges  first  elected  shall  serve  as 
follows,  to  wit;  One  shall  serve  until  the  first  Mon- 
day in  August,  1852;  one  until  the  first  Monday  in 
August,  1854;  one  until  the  first  Monday  in 
August,  1856;  and  one  until  the  first  Monday  in 
August,  1858.  The  Judges,  at  the  first  term  of  the 
court  suceeding  their  election,  shall  determine,  by 
lot,  the  length  of  time  which  each  one  shall  serve; 
and  at  the  expiration  of  the  service  of  each  an  elec- 
tion in  the  proper  district  shall  take  place  to  fill  the 
vacancy.  The  Judge  having  the  shortest  time  to 
serve  shall  be  styled  Chief  Justice  of  Kentucky. 

Sec.  7.  If  a vacancy  shall  occur  in  said  court 
from  any  cause,  the  Governor  shall  issue  a writ  of 
election  to  the  proper  district  to  fill  such  vacancy 
for  the  residue  of  the  term;  Provided,  That  if  the 
unexpired  term  be  less  than  one  year,  the  Governor 
shall  appoint  a Judge  to  fill  such  vacancy. 

Sec.  8.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of 
Judge  ohthe  Court  of  Appeals  who  is  not  a citizen 
of  the  United  States,  a resident  of  the  district  for 
which  he  may  be  a candidate  two  years  next  pre- 
ceding his  election,  at  least  thirty  years  of  age,  and 
who  has  not  been  a practicing  lawyer  eight  years  or 
whose  service  upon  the  bench  of  any  court  of  record 
when  added  to  the  time  he  may  have  practiced  law, 
shall  not  be  equal  to  eight  years. 

Sec.  9.  The  Court  of  Appeals  shall  hold  its  ses- 
sions at  the  seat  of  government,  unless  otherwise 
directed  by  law;  but  the  General  Assembly  may, 
from  time  to  time,  direct  that  said  court  shall  hold 
sessions  in  any  one  or  more  of  said  districts. 

Sec.  10.  The  first  election  of  the  Judges  and 
Clerks  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  shall  take  place  on 
the  second  Monday  in  May,  1851,  and  thereafter,  in 
each  district,  as  a vacancy  may  occur,  by  the  expir- 
ation of  the  term  of  office;  and  the  Judges  of  the 
said  court  shall  be  commissioned  by  the  Governor. 

Sec.  11.  There  shall  be  elected,  by  the  qualified 
voters  of  this  State,  a Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
who  shall  hold  his  office,  from  the  first  election, 
until  the  first  Monday  in  August,  1858,  and  there- 
after for  the  term  of  eight  years  from  and  after  his 
election;  and  should  the  General  Assembly  provide 
for  holding  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  anyone  or  more  of 
said  districts,  they  shall  also  provide  for  the  election 
of  a Clerk  by  the  qualified  voters  of  such  district, 
who  shall  hold  his  office  for  eight  years,  possess  the 
same  qualifications,  and  be  subject  to  removal  in 
the  same  manner,  as  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Ap- 
peals; but  if  the  General  Assembly  shall,  at  its  first 
or  any  other  session,  direct  the  Court  of  Appeals  to 
hold  its  session  in  more  than  one  district,  a Clerk 
shall  be  elected  by  the  qualified  voters  of  such  dis 
trict.  And  the  Clerk  first  provided  for  in  this  section 
shall  be  elected  by  the  qualified  voters  of  the  other 
district  or  districts.  The  same  principle  shall  be 
observed  whenever  the  court  shall  be  directed  to 
hold  its  sessions  in  either  of  the  other  districts. 
Should  the  number  of  Judges  be  reduced, the  term 
of  the  office  of  Clerk  shall  be  six  years. 

Sec.  12.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  the 
office  of  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  unless  he  be 
a citizen  of  the  United  States,  a resident  of  the 
State  two  years  next  preceding  his  election,  of  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  have  a certificate 
from  a Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals, or  a Judge  of 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


683 


a Circuit  Court,  that  he  has  been  examined  by  the 
Clerk  of  his  Court,  under  his  supervision,  and  that 
he  is  Ciualified  for  the  office  for  which  he  is  a candi- 
date. 

Sec.  13.  Should  a vacancy  occur  in  the  office  of 
Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  the  Governor  shall 
issue  a writ  of  election,  and  the  qualified  voters  of 
the  State,  or  of  the  district  in  which  the  vacancy 
may  occur,  shall  elect  a Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Ap- 
peals, to  serve  until  the  end  of  the  term  for  which 
such  Clerk  was  elected:  Provided,  That  when  a 

vacancy  shall  occur  from  any  cause,  or  the  Clerk 
be  under  charges  upon  information,  the  Judges  of 
the  Court  of  Appeals  shall  have  power  to  appoint  a 
clerk  joro  tempore,  to  perform  the  duties  of  Clerk 
until  such  vacancy  shall  be  filled  or  the  Clerk  ac- 
quitted: And  provided  further.  That  no  writ  of 
election  shall  issue  to  fill  a vacancy  unless  the  unex- 
pired term  exceed  one  year. 

Sec.  14.  The  General  Assembly  shall  direct,  by 
law,  the  mode  and  manner  of  conducting  and  mak- 
ing due  returns  to  .the  Secretary  of  State  of  all 
elections  of  the  Judges  and  Clerk  or  Clerks  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  and  of  determining  contested  elec- 
tions of  any  of  these  offices. 

Sec.  1.5.  The  General  Assembly  shall  provide 
for  an  additional  Judge  or  Judges,  to  constitute, 
with  the  remaining  Judge  or  Judges,  a special  court 
for  the  trial  of  such  cause  or  causes  as  may,  at  any 
time,  be  pending  in  the  Court  of  Appeals,  on  the 
trial  of  which  a majority  of  the  Judges  cannot  sit, 
on  account  of  interest  in  the  event  of  the  cause,  or 
on  account  of  their  relationship  to  either  party,  or 
w'hen  a Judge  may  have  been  employed  in  or 
decided  the  cause  in  the  inferior  court. 

CONCERNING  THE  CIRCUIT  COURTS. 

Sec.  16.  A Circuit  Court  shall  be  established  in 
each  county  now  existing,  or  which  may  hereafter 
be  erected  in  this  commonwealth. 

Sec.  17.  The  jurisdiction  of  said  court  shall  be 
and  remain  as  now  established,  hereby  giving  to 
the  General  Assembly  the  power  to  change  or  alter 
it. 

Sec.  18.  The  right  to  appeal  or  sue  out  a writ 
of  error  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  shall  remain  as  it 
now  exists,  until  altered  by  law,  hereby  giving  to 
the  General  Assembly  the  power  to  change, alter,  or 
modify  said  right. 

Sec.  19.  At  the  first  session  after  the  adoption 
of -this  Constitution,  the  General  Assembly  shall 
divide  the  State  into  twelve  judicial  districts,  having 
due  regard  to  business,  territory,  and  population: 
Provided,  That  no  county  shall  be  divided. 

Sec.  20.  They  shall,  at  the  same  time  that  the 
judicial  districts  are  laid  off,  direct  elections  to  be 
held  in  each  district,  to  elect  a Judge  for  said 
district,  and  shall  prescribe  in  what  manner  the 
election  shall  be  conducted.  The  first  election  of 
Judges  of  the  Circuit  Court  shall  take  place  on  the 
second  Monday  in  May,  1851;  and  afterward  on 
the  first  Monday  in  August,  1856,  and  on  the  first 
Monday  in  August  in  every  sixth  year  thereafter. 

Sec.  21.  All  persons  qualified  to  vote  for  mem- 
bers of  the.  General  Assembly,  in  each  district,  shall 
have  the  right  to  vote  for  Judges. 

Sec.  22.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  as  Judge 
of  the  Circuit  Court  who  is  not  a citizen  of  the 
United  States,  a resident  of  the  district  for  which 
he  may  be  a candidate  two  years  next  preceding 
his  election,  at  least  thirty  years  of  age,  and  who 
has  not  been  a practicing  lawyer  eight  years,  or 
whose  service  upon  the  bench  of  any  court  of 
record,  when  added  to  the  time  he  may  have 
practiced  law,  shall  not  be  equal  to  eight  years. 

Sec.  23.  The  Judges  of  the  Circuit  Court  shall, 
after  their  first  term,  hold  their  office  for  the  term 


of  six  years  from  the  day  of  their  election.  They 
shall  be  commissioned  by  the  Governor,  and  con- 
tinue in  office  until  their  successors  be  qualified, 
but  shall  be  removable  from  office  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals;  and  the 
removal  of  a Judge  from  his  district  shall  vacate  his 
office. 

Sec.  24.  The  General  Assembly,  if  they  deem  it 
necessary,  may  establish  one  additional  district 
every  four  years,  but  the  judicial  districts  shall  not 
exceed  sixteen,  until  the  population  of  this  State 
shall  exceed  1,500,000. 

Sec.  25.  The  Judges  of  the  Circuit  Court  shall, 
at  stated  times,  receive  for  their  service  an  adequate 
compensation,  to  be  fixed  by  law,  which  shall  be 
equal  and  uniform  throughout  the  State,  and 
which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  the  lime  for 
which  they  were  elected. 

Sec.  26.  If  a vacancy  shall  occur  in  the  office 
of  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court,  the  Governor  shall 
issue  a writ  of  election  to  fill  such  vacancy  for  the 
residue  of  the  term:  Provided,  that  if  the  unexpired 
term  be  less  than  one  year,  the  Governor  shall 
appoint  a Judge  to  fill  such  vacancy. 

Sec.  27.  The  judicial  districts  of  this  State  shall 
not  be  changed,  except  at  the  first  session  after 
enumeration,  unless  when  a new  district  may  be 
established. 

Sec.  28.  The  General  Assembly  shall  provide  by 
law  for  holding  Circuit  Courts  when,  from  any 
cause,  the  Judge  shall  fail  to  attend,  or,  if  in  attend- 
ance, cannot  properly  preside. 

CONCERNING  COUNTY  COURTS. 

Sec.  29.  A County  Court  shall  be  established 
in  each  county  now  existing,  or  which  may  here- 
after be  erected  within  this  Commonwealth,  to  con- 
sist of  a Presiding  Judge  and  two  Associate  Judges, 
any  two  of  whom  shall  constitute  a court  for  the 
transaction  of  business:  Provided,  the  General  As- 
sembly may  at  any  time  abolish  the  office  of  the 
Associate  Judges, whenever  it  shall  be  deemed  expe- 
dient; in  which  event  they  may  associate  the  said 
court  any  or  all  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the 
transaction  of  business. 

Sec.  30.  The  Judges  of  the  County  Court  shall 
be  elected  by  the  qualified  voters  in  each  county, 
for  the  term  of  four  years,  and  shall  continue  in 
office  until  their  successors  be  duly  qualified,  and 
shall  receive  such  compensation  for  their  services  as 
may  be  provided  by  law. 

Sec.  31.  The  first  election  of  County  Court 
Judges  shall  take  place  at  the  same  time  of  the  elec- 
tion of  Judges  of  the  Circuit  Court.  The  Presiding 
Judge, first  elected, shall  hold  his  office  until  the  first 
Monday  in  August,  1854.  The  Associate  Judges  shall 
hold  their  offices  until  the  first  Monda}"  in  August. 
1852,  and  until  their  successors  be  qualified;  and 
afterward  elections  shall  be  held  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  August,  in  the  years  in  which  vacancies  reg- 
ularly occur. 

Sec.  32.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office 
of  Presiding  or  Associate  Judge  of  the  County  Court, 
unless  he  be  a citizen  of  the  United  States,  over 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  shall  have  been  a resi- 
dent of  the  county  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen  one 
year  next  preceding  the  election. 

Sec.  33.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  County  Court 
shall  be  regulated  by  law;  and,  until  changed,  shall 
be  the  sam'e  now  vested  in  the  County  Courts  of 
this  State. 

Sec.  34.  Each  county  in  this  State  shall  be  laid 
off  into  districts  of  convenient  size,  as  the  General 
Assembly  may  from  time  to  time  direct.  Two  Jus- 
tices of  the  Peace  shall  be  elected  in  each  district, 
by  the  qualified  voters  therein,  at  such  time  and 
place  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law,  for  the  term  of 


684 


IIIS'J  OKY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


four  years,  whose  jurisdiction  shall  be  co-exteusive 
with  the  county.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  as  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace  unless  he  be  a citizen  of  the 
United  States,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  a resi- 
dent of  the  district  in  which  he  may  be  a candidate. 

Sec.  35.  Jiulgcs  of  the  County  Court  and  Jus- 
tices of  the  Peace  shall  be  conservators  of  the  peace. 
They  shall  be  conunissioued  by  the  Governor. 
County  and  district  officers  shall  vacate  their  offices 
by  removal  from  the  district  or  county  in  which 
they  shall  be  appointed.  The  General  Assembly 
shall  provide  by  law  the  manner  of  conducting  and 
making  due  return  of  all  elections  of  Judges  of  the 
County  Court  and  Justices  of  the  Peace,  and  for 
determining  contested  elections,  and  provide  the 
mode  of  filling  vacancies  in  these  offices. 

Sec.  36.  .Judges  of  the  County  Court  and  Jus- 
tices of  the  Peace,  Sheriffs,  Coroners,  Surveyors, 
Jailors,  County  Assessor,  Attorney  for  the  County, 
and  Constables,  shall  be  subject  to  indictment  or 
presentment  for  malfeasance  or  misfeasance  in 
office,  or  willful  neglect  in  the  discharge  of  their 
official  duties,  in  such  mode  as  may  be  prescribed 
by  law,  subject  to  appeal  to  the  Court  of  Appeals; 
and  upon  conviction,  their  offices  shall  become  va- 
cant. 

Sec.  37.  The  General  Assembly  may  provide  by 
law  that  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  each  County 
shall  sit  at  the  Court  of  Claims  and  assist  in  laying 
the  county  levy  and  making  appropriations  only. 

Sec.  38.  When  any  city  or  Town  shall  have  a 
separate  representation,  such  city  or  town,  and  the 
county  in  which  it  is  located,  may  have  such  sepa- 
rate municipal  courts  and  executive  and  ministerial 
officers  as  the  General  Assembly  may  from  time  to 
time  provide. 

_ Sec.  39.  The  Clerks  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  Cir- 
cuit aud  County  Courts,  shall  be  removable  from 
office  by  the  Court  of  Appeals,  upon  information 
aud  good  cause  shown.  The  court  shall  be  judges 
of  the  fact  as  well  as  the  law.  Two-thirds  of  the 
members  present  must  concur  in  the  sentence. 

Sec.  40.  The  Louisville  Chancery  Court  shall 
exist  under  this  Constitution,  subject  to  repeal,  and 
its  jurisdiction  to  enlargement  and  modification  of 
the  General  Assembly.  The  Chancellor  shall  have 
the  same  ([ualiflcations  as  the  Ciremit  Court  Judge, 
and  the  Clerk  of  the  said  Court  as  the  Clerk  of  the 
Circuit  Court,  and  the  Marshal  of  said  Court  as  a 
Sheriff;  and  the  General  Assembly  shall  provide  for 
the  election,  by  the  qualified  voters  within  its  juris- 
diction, of  the  Chancellor,  Clerk  and  ilarshal  of 
said  Court,  at  the  same  time  that  the  Judge  and 
Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  are  elected  for  the  Coun- 
ty of  Jefferson,  and  they  shall  hold  their  offices  for 
the  same  time,  aud  shall  be  removable  in  the  same 
manner;  Provided,  that  the  Marshal  of  said  Court 
shall  be  ineligible  for  the  succeeding  term. 

Sec.  41.  The  City  Court  of  Louisville,  the  Lex- 
ington City  Court,  and  all  other  police  courts  estab- 
lished in  any  city  or  town,  shall  remain  until  other- 
wise directed  by  law,  with  their  present  powers  and 
jurisdictions;  and  the  Judges,  Clerks,  and  Marshals 
of  said  Courts  shall  have  the  same  qualifications, 
and  shall  be  elected  by  the  qualified  voters  of  such 
cities  or  towns  at  the  same  time,  and  in  the  same 
manner,  and  hold  their  offices  for  the  same  term, 
as  Count}"  Judges,  Clerks  and  Sheriffs,  respectively, 
and  shall  be  liable  to  removal  in  the  same  manner. 
The  General  Assembly  may  vest  judicial  powers, 
for  police  purposes,  in  Mayors  of  cities.  Police 
Judges  and  Trustees  of  towns. 

Article  V. 

CONCERNING  IMPEACHMENTS. 

Section  1.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall 
have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 


Sec.  2.  All  impeachments  shall  be  tried  by  the 
Senate.  When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  the  Sena- 
tors shall  be  on  oath  or  affirmation.  No  person 
shall  be  convicted  without  the  concurrence  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  present. 

Sec.  3.  The  Governor  and  all  civil  officers  shall 
be  liable  to  impeachment  for  any  misdemeanor  in 
office;  but  judgment  in  such  cases  shall  not  extend 
further  than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualifi- 
cation to  hold  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit 
under  this  Commonwealth;  but  the  party  convicted 
shall,  nevertheless,  be  subject  and  liable  to  indict- 
ment, trial,  and  punishment  by  law. 

Article  VI. 

concerning  executive  and  ministerial  officers 
FOR  counties  and  DISTRICTS. 

Section  1.  A Commonwealth’s  Attorney  for 
each  Judicial  District,  and  a Circuit  Court  Clerk  for 
each  County,  shall  be  elected,  whose  term  of  office 
shall  be  the  same  as  that  of  the  Circuit  Judges;  also 
a County  Court  Clerk,  an  Attorney,  Surveyor,  Cor- 
oner, and  Jailer,  for  each  County,  whose  term  of 
office  shall  be  the  same  as  that  of  the  presiding 
Judge  of  the  County  Court. 

Sec.  2.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  the  offices 
mentioned  in  this  article  who  is  not  at  the  time 
twenty-four  years  old  (except  Clerks  of  the  County 
and  Circuit  Courts,  Sheriffs,  Constables  and  County 
Attorneys,  who  shall  be  eligible  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years),  a citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  w'ho  has  not  resided  two  years  next  preceding 
the  election  in  the  State,  and  one  year  in  the  county 
or  district  for  which  he  is  a candidate.  No  person 
shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  Commonwealth’s 
Attorney  or  County  Attorney  unless  he  shall  have 
been  a licensed  practicing  attorney  for  two  years. 
No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  Clerk  un- 
less he  shall  have  procured  from  a Judge  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  or  a Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court,  a 
certificate  that  he  has  been  examined  by  the  Clerk 
of  his  court,  under  his  supervision,  and  that  he  is 
qualified  for  the  office  for  which  he  is  a candidate. 

Sec.  3.  The  Commonwealth’s  Attorney  and 
Circuit  Court  Clerk  shall  be  elected  at  the  same 
time  as  the  Circuit  Judge — the  Commonwealth’s 
Attorney  by  the  qualified  voters  of  the  district,  the 
Circuit  Court  Clerk  by  the  qualified  voters  of  the 
county.  The  County  Attorney,  Clerk,  Surveyor, 
Coroner  and  Jailer  shall  be  elected  at  the  same  time 
and  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Presiding  Judge  of 
the  County  Court. 

Sec.  4.  A Sheriff  shall  be  elected  in  each  county 
by  the  qualified  voters  thereof,  whose  term  of  office 
shall,  after  the  first  term,  be  two  years,  and  until 
his  successor  be  qualified;  and  he  shall  be  re-eligible 
for  a second  term;  but  no  Sheriff  shall,  after  the  ex- 
piration of  the  second  term,  be  re-eligible,  or  act  as 
deputy,  for  the  succeeding  term.  The  first  election 
of  Sheriff  shall  be  on  the  second  Monday  in  May, 
1851;  and  the  Sheriffs  then  elected  shall  hold  their 
offices  until  the  first  Monday  in  January,  1853,  and 
until  their  successors  be  qualified;  and  on  the  first 
Monday  in  August,  1852,  and  on  the  first  Monday 
of  August  every  second  year  thereafter,  elections 
for  Sheriff  shall  be  held;  Provided,  That  the 
Sheriffs  first  elected  shall  enter  upon  the  duties  of 
their  respective  offices  on  the  first  Monday  in  June, 
1851,  and  after  the  first  election  on  the  first  Monday 
in  January  next  succeeding  their  election. 

Sec.  5.  A Constable  shall  be  elected  in  every 
Justice’s  district,  who  shall  be  chosen  for  two  years, 
at  such  time  and  place  as  may  be  provided  by  law, 
whose  jurisdiction  shall  be  co-extensive  with  the 
county  in  which  he  may  reside. 

Sec.  6.  Officers  for  towns  and  cities  shall  be 
elected  for  such  terms,  and  in  such  manner,  and 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


685 


■with  such  qualifications  as  may  be  prescribed  by 
law. 

Sec.  7.  Vacancies  in  offices  under  this  article 
shall  be  filled,  until  the  next  regular  election, in  such 
manner  as  the  General  Assembly  may  provide. 

Sec.  8.  When  a ue-w  county  shall  be  erected, 
officers  for  the  same  to  serve  until  the  next  stated 
election,  shall  be  elected  or  appointed  in  such  a 
■way  and  at  sucli  times  as  the  general  assembly  may 
prescribe. 

Sec.  9.  Clerks,  Sheriffs,  Surveyors,  Coroners, 
Constables  and  Jailers,  and  such  other  officers  as 
the  General  Assembly  may  from  time  to  time  require, 
shall,  before  they  enter  upon  the  duties  of  their  re- 
spective offices,  and  as  often  thereafter  as  may  be 
deemed  proper,  give  such  bond  and  security  as  shall 
be  prescribed  by  law. 

Sec.  10.  The  General  Assembly  may  provide  for 
the  election  or  appointment,  for  a teim  not  exceed- 
ing four  years,  of  such  other  county  or  district 
ministerial  and  executive  officers  as  shall,  from  time 
to  time,  be  necessary  and  proper. 

Sec.  11.  A County  xlssessor  shall  be  elected  in 
each  county  at  the  same  time  and  for  the  same 
term  that  the  Presiding  Judge  of  the  County  Court 
is  elected,  until  other'wise  provided  for  by  law. 
He  shall  have  power  to  appoint  such  assistants  as 
may  be  necessary  and  proper. 

Article  VII. 

CONCERNING  THE  MILITIA. 

Section  1.  The  militia  of  this  Commonwealth 
shall  consist  of  all  free,  able-bodied  male  persons 
tyegroes,  mulattoes  and  Indians  excepted)  resident 
in  the  same,  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and 
forty-five  years;  except  such  persons  as  now  are, 
or  hereafter  may  be,  exempted  by  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  or  of  this  State;  but  those  who  be- 
long to  religious  societies,  whose  tenets  forbid  them 
to  carry  arms,  shall  not  be  compelled  to  do  so,  but 
shall  pay  an  equivalent  for  personal  services. 

Sec.  2.  Tlie  Governor  shall  the  Adjutant-Gener- 
al and  his  other  staff-officers,  the  Major-Generals, 
Brigadier-Generals,  and  Commandants  of  regiments 
shall  respectively  appoint  their  staff-officers;  and 
commandants  of  companies  shall  appoint  their  non- 
commissioned officers. 

Sec.  3.  All  militia  ofiicers,  whose  appointment 
is  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for,  shall  be  elected 
by  persons  subject  to  military  duty  within  their 
respective  companies — battalions,  regiments,  brig- 
ades and  divisions — under  such  rules  and  regula- 
tions, and  for  such  terms,  not  exceeding  six  years, 
as  the  General  Assembly  may,  from  time  to  time, 
direct  and  establish. 

Article  VIII. 

GENERAL  PROVISIONS. 

Section  1.  Members  of  the  General  Assembly 
and  all  officers,  before  they  enter  upon  the  ex- 
ecution of  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices, 
and  all  members  of  the  bar,  before  they  enter  upon 
the  practice  of  their  profession,  shall  take  the  fol- 
lowing oath  or  affirmation:  “I  do  solemnly  swear 
[or  affirm,  as  the  case  may  be]  that  I will  support 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  the  Con- 
stitution of  this  State,  and  be  faithful  and  true  to 
the  Commonwealth  of  Kentucky  so  long  as  I con- 
tinue a citizen  thereof,  and  that  I will  faithfully 

execute,  to  the  best  of  my  abilities,  the  office  of 

according  to  law;  and  I do  further  solemnly  swear 
for  affirm]  that  since  the  adoption  of  the  present 
Constitution  I,  being  a citizen  of  this  State,  have 
not  fought  a duel,  with  deadly  weapons,  within  this 
State,  nor  out  of  it,  with  a citizen  of  this  State,  nor 


have  I sent  or  accepted  a challenge  to  fight  a duel, 
with  deadly  weapons,  with  a citizen  of  this  State; 
nor  have  I acted  as  second  in  carrying  a challenge, 
or  aided  or  assisted  any  person  thus  offending:  So 
help  me  God.” 

Sec.  2.  Treason  against  this  Commonwealth 
shall  consist  only  in  levying  war  against  it,  or  in 
adhering  to  its  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  com- 
fort. No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  un- 
less on  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  to  the  same 
overt  act,  or  his  own  confession  in  open  court. 

Sec.  3.  Every  person  shall  be  disqualified  from 
holding  any  office  of  trust  or  profit  for  the  term  for 
which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  who  shall  be 
convicted  of  having  given  or  offered  any  bribe  or 
threat  to  procure  his  election. 

Sec.  4.  Laws  shall  be  made  to  exclude  from 
office  and  from  suffrage  those  who  shall  be  here- 
after convicted  of  bribery,  perjury,  forgery,  or  other 
crimes  or  high  misdemeanors.  The  privilege  of 
free  suffrage  shall  be  supported  by  laws  regulating 
elections  and  prohibiting,  under  adequate  penalties, 
all  undue  influence  thereon  from  power,  bribery, 
tumult  or  other  improper  practices. 

Sec.  5.  No  mone}''  shall  be  drawn  from  the 
treasury  but  in  pursuance  of  appropriations  made 
by  law,  nor  shall  any  appropriations  of  money  for 
the  support  of  an  army  be  made  for  a longer  time 
than  two  years,  and  a regular  statement  and  ac- 
count of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public 
moneys  shall  be  published  annually. 

Sec.  6.  The  General  Assembly  may  direct  by 
law,  in  what  manner,  and  in  what  courts,  suits  may 
be  brought  against  the  Commonwealth. 

Sec.  7.  The  manner  of  administering  an  oath 
' or  affirmation  shall  be  such  as  is  most  consistent 
with  the  conscience  of  the  deponent,  and  shall  be 
! esteemed  by  the  General  Assembly  the  most  solemn 
appeal  to  God. 

i Sec.  8.  All  laws  which, on  the  first  day  of  June. 
1792,  were  in  force  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  and 
which  are  of  a general  nature,  and  not  local  to  the 
State,  and  not  repugnant  to  this  Constitution,  nor 
to  the  laws  which  have  been  enacted  by  the  Gener- 
al Assembly  of  this  Commonwealth, 'shall  be  in 
force  within  this  State,  until  they  shall  be  altered 
or  repealed  by  the  General  Assembly. 

Sec.  9.  The  compact  with  the  State  of  Virginia, 
subject  to  such  alterations  as  may  be  made  therein 
agi’eeably  to  the  mode  prescribed  by  the  said  com- 
pact, shall  be  considered  as  a part  of  this  Constitu- 
tion. 

Sec.  10,  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  General 
Assembty  to  pass  such  laws  as  shall  be  necessary 
and  proper  to  decide  differences  by  arbitrators,  to 
be  appointed  by  the  parties  who  may  choose  that 
summary  mode  of  adjustment. 

Sec.  11.  All  civil  officers  for  the  Commonwealth 
at  large  shall  reside  within  the  State,  and  all  district, 
county,  or  town  officers,  within  their  respective 
districts,  counties  or  towns  (trustees  of  towms  ex- 
cepted), and  shall  keep  their  offices  at  sucli  places 
therein  as  may  be  required  by  law;  and  all  militia 
officers  shall  reside  in  the  bounds  of  the  division, 
brigade,  regiment,  battalion  or  company  to  which 
they  may  severally  belong. 

Sec.  12.  Absence  on  the  business  of  this  State  or 
the  United  States,  shall  not  forfeit  a residence  once 
obtained,  so  as  to  deprive  any  one  of  the  right  of 
suffrage,  or  of  being  elected  or  appointed  to  any 
office  under  this  Commonwealth,  under  the  excep- 
tion contained  in  this  Constitution. 

Sec.  13.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  General 
Assembly  to  regulate,  by  law,  in  what  cases,  and 
what  deductions  from  the  salaries  of  f)ublic  officers 
shall  be  made,  for  neglect  of  duty  in  their  official 
i capacity. 


m 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Sec.  14.  Returns  of  all  elections  by  the  people 
shall  be  made  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  for  the  time 
being,  except  in  those  cases  otherwise  provided  for 
this  Constitution,  or  which  shall  be  otherwise 
directed  by  law 

Sec.  15.  In  all  elections  by  the  people,  and  also 
Ity  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  jointly 
or  separately,  the  votes  shall  be  publicly  and  per- 
sonally given  viva  voce:  Provided,  That  dumb 

persons,  entitled  to  suffrage,  may  vote  by  ballot. 

Sec.  10.  All  elections  by  the  people  shall  be  held 
between  the  hours  of  six  o’clock  in  the  morning  and 
seven  o’clock  in  the  evening. 

Sec.  17.  The  General  Assembly  shall,  by  law, 
prescribe  the  time  when  the  several  officers  author- 
ized or  directed  by  this  Constitution  to  be  elected  or 
appointed  shall  enter  upon  the  duties  of  their  respec- 
tive offices,  except  where  the  time  is  fixed  by  this 
Constitution. 

Sec.  18.  No  member  of  Congress,  nor  person 
holding  or  exercising  any  office  of  trust  or  profit 
under  the  United  States,  or  either  of  them,  or  under 
any  foreign  power,  shall  be  eligible  as  a member  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  this  Commonwealth,  or 
hold  or  exercise  any  office  of  trust  or  profit  under 
the  same. 

Sec.  19.  The  General  Assembly  shall  direct  by 
law  how  persons  who  now  are,  or  who  may  hereafter 
become,  securites  for  public  officers  may  be  relieved 
or  discharged  on  account  of  such  securityship. 

Sec.  20.  Any  person  who  shall,  after  the  adoption 
of  this  Constitution,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
give,  accept,  or  knowingly  carry  a challenge  to  any 
person  or  persons  to  fight  in  single  combat,  with  a 
citizen  of  this  State,  with  any  deadly  weapon, either 
in  or  out  of  the  State,  shall  be  deprived  of  the  right 
to  hold  any  office  of  honor  or  profit  in  this  Common- 
wealth, and  shall  be  punished  otherwise  in  such 
manner  as  the  General  Assembly  may  prescribe 
by  law. 

Sec.  21.  The  Governor  shall  have  power,  after  five 
years  from  the  time  of  the  offence,  to  pardon  all  per- 
sons who  shall  have  in  anywise  participated  in  a duel, 
either  as  principals,  seconds  or  otherwise,  and  to 
restore  him  or  them  to  all  the  rights,  privileges  and 
immunities  to  which  he  or  they  were  entitled  before 
such  participation.  And  upon  the  presentation  of 
such  pardon,  the  oath  prescribed  in  the  first  section 
of  this  article  shall  be  varied  to  suit  the  case. 

Sec.  32.  At  its  first  session  after  the  adoption  of 
this  Constitution,  the  General  Assembly  shall 
appoint  not  more  than  three  persons,  learned  in  the 
law,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  revise  and  arrange  the 
statute  laws  of  this  Commonwealth,  both  civil  and 
criminal,  so  as  to  have  but  one  law  on  any  subject; 
and  also  three  other  persons,  learned  in  the  law, 
whose  duty  it  .shall  be  to  prepare  a code  of  practice 
for  the  courts  both  civil  and  criminal  in  this  Com- 
monwealth, by  abridging  and  simplifying  the  rules 
of  practice  and  laws  in  relation  thereto;  all  of  whom 
shall,  at  as  early  a day  as  practicable,  report  the 
re.sult  of  their  labors  to  the  General  Assembly  for 
their  adoption  or  modification. 

wSec.  23.  So  long  as  the  Board  of  Internal  Im- 
provement shall  be  continued,  the  President  thereof 
shall  be  elected  by  the  qualified  voters  of  this  Com- 
monwealth, and  hold  the  office  for  the  term  of  four 
years,  and  until  another  be  duly  elected  and  quali- 
fied. The  election  shall  be  held  at  the  same  time, 
and  be  conducted  in  the  same  manner,  as  the  elec- 
tion of  Governor  of  this  Commonwealth  under  this 
Constitution:  but  nothing  herein  contained  shall 
prevent  the  General  Assembly  from  abolishing  said 
Board  of  Internal  Improvement,  or  the  office  of 
President  thereof. 

Sec.  24.  The  General  Assembly  shall  provide 
by  law  for  the  trial  of  any  contested  election  of 


Auditor,  Register,  Treasurer,  Attorney-General, 
Judges  of  Circuit  Courts,  and  all  other  officers  not 
otherwise  herein  specified. 

Sec.  35.  The  General  Assembly  shall  provide  by 
law  for  the  making  of  the  returns,  by  the  proper  offi- 
cers, of  the  election  of  all  officers  to  be  elected  under 
this  Constitution;  and  the  Governor  shall  issue  com- 
missions to  the  Auditor,  Register,  Treasurer,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Internal  Improvement,  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction,  and  such  other  officers 
as  he  may  be  directed  by  law  to  commission,  as  soon 
as  he  has  ascertained  the  result  of  the  election  of 
those  officers  respectively. 

Sec.  26.  When  a vacancy  shall  happen  in  the 
office  of  Attorney-General,  Auditor  of  Public  Ac- 
counts, Treasurer, Register  of  the  Land  Office,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Internal  Improvements,  or  Su- 
perintendent of  Public  Instruction,  the  Governor,  in 
the  recess  of  the  Senate,  shall  have  power  to  fill  the 
vacancy,  by  granting  commissions  which  shall  ex- 
pire at  the  end  of  the  next  session,  and  shall  fill  the 
vacancy  for  the  balance  of  the  time  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate. 

Article  IX. 

CONCERNING  THE  SEAT  OP  GOVERNMENT. 

The  seat  of  government  shall  continue  in  the 
city  of  Frankfort,  until  it  shall  be  removed  by  law; 
Provided,  however,  That  two-thirds  of  all  the  mem- 
bers elected  to  each  House  of  the  General  Assembly 
shall  concur  in  the  passage  of  such  law. 

Article  X. 

CONCERNING  SLAVES. 

Section  1.  The  General  Assembly  shall  have 
no  power  to  pass  laws  for  the  emancipation  of 
slaves  without  the  consent  of  their  owners,  or  with- 
out paying  their  owners,  previous  to  such  emancipa- 
tion, a full  equivalent  in  money  for  the  slaves  so 
emancipated,  and  providing  for  their  removal  from 
the  State.  They  shall  have  no  power  to  prevent  im- 
migrants to  this  State  from  bringing  with  them  such 
persons  as  are  deemed  slaves  by  the  laws  of  any  of 
the  United  States,  so  long  as  any  person  of  the  same 
age  or  description  shall  be  continued  in  slavery  by 
the  laws  of  this  State.  They  shall  pass  laws  to  per- 
mit owners  of  slaves  to  emancipate  them,  saving  the 
rights  of  creditors,  and  to  prevent  them  from  re- 
maining in  this  State  after  they  are  emancipated. 
They  shall  have  full  power  to  prevent  slaves  being 
brought  into  this  State  as  merchandise.  They  shall 
have  full  power  to  prevent  slaves  being  brought  in- 
to this  State  who  have  been,  since  the  first  day  of 
January,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine,  or  may  hereafter  be,  imported  into  any  of  the 
United  States  from  a foreign  country.  And  they 
shall  have  full  power  to  pass  such  laws  as  may  be 
necessary  to  oblige  the  owners  of  slaves  to  treat 
them  with  humanity;  to  provide  for  them  necessary 
clothing  and  provisions;  to  abstain  from  all  injuries 
to  them,  extending  to  life  or  limb,  and  in  case  of 
their  neglect  or  refusal  to  comply  with  tne  directions 
of  such  laws,  to  have  such  slave  or  slaves  sold  for 
the  benefit  of  their  owner  or  owners. 

Sec.  2.  The  General  Assembly  shall  pass  laws 
providing  that  any  free  negro  or  mulatto  hereafter 
immigrating  to,  and  any  slave  hereafter  emanci- 
pated in,  and  refusing  to  leave  this  State,  or  having 
left,  shall  return  and  settle  within  this  State,  shall 
be  deemed  guilty  of  felony,  and  punished  by  con- 
finement in  the  penitentiary  thereof. 

Sec.  3.  In  the  prosecution  of  slaves  for  felony 
no  inquest  by  a grand  jury  shall  be  necessary,  but 
the  proceedings  in  such  prosecutions  shall  be  regu- 
lated by  law,  except  that  the  General  Assembly 


HISTOEY  OE  KENTUCKY. 


087 


shall  have  no  power  to  deprive  them  of  the  privilege 
of  an  impartial  trial  by  a petit  jury. 

Article  XI. 

CONCEKSrftG  EDUCATION. 

Section  1.  The  capital  of  the  fund  called  and 
known  as  the  “common  school  fund,”  consisting  of 
one  million  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  sixty-eight  dollars  and  forty-two 
cents,  for  which  bonds  have  been  executed  by  the 
State  to  the  Board  of  Education,  and  seventy-three 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars  of  stock  in  the  Bank 
of  Kentucky;  also,  the  sum  of  fifty-one  thousand 
two  hundred  and  twenty-three  dollars  and  twenty- 
nine  cents,  balance  of  interest  on  the  school-fund  of 
the  year  1848,  unexpended,  together  with  any  sum 
which  may  be  hereafter  raised  in  the  State  by  taxa- 
tion, or  otherwise,  for  the  purposes  of  education, 
shall  be  held  inviolate,  for  the  purpose  of  sustaining 
a system  of  common  schools.  The  interest  and 
dividends  of  said  funds,  together  with  any  sum 
which  may  be  produced  for  that  purpose,  by  taxa- 
tion, or  otherwise,  may  be  appropriated  in  aid  of 
common  schools,  but  for  no  other  purpose.  The 
General  Assembly  shall  invest  said  fifty-one  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  twenty-three  dollars  and 
twenty-nine  cents  in  some  safe  and  profitable  man- 
ner, and  any  portion  of  the  interest  and  dividends 
of  said  school-fund,  or  other  money  or  property 
raised  for  school  pm-poses,  which  may  not  be  needed 
in  sustaining  common  schools,  shall  be  invested  in 
like  manner.  The  General  Assembly  shall  make 
provision  by  law  for  the  payment  of  the  interest  of 
said  school-fund.  Provided,  That  each  county  shall 
be  entitled  to  its  proportion  of  the  income  of  said 
fund,  and  if  not  called  for  for  common  school  pur- 
poses, it  shall  be  re-invested  from  time  to  time  for 
the  benefit  of  such  county. 

Sec.  2.  A Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 
shall  be  elected  by  the  qualified  voters  of  this  Com- 
monwealth at  the  same  time  the  Governor  is  elect- 
ed. who  shall  hold  his  office  for  four  years,  and  his 
duties  and  salary  shall  be  prescribed  and  fixed  by 
law. 

Article  XII. 

MODE  OF  RETISrXG  THE  CONSTITHTIOIf. 

Section  1.  When  experience  shall  point  out 
the  necessity  of  amending  this  Constitution,  and 
when  a majority  of  all  the  members  elected  to  each 
house  of  the  General  Assembly  shall,  within  the 
first  twenty  daj^s  of  any  regular  session,  concur  in 
passing  a law  for  taking  the  sense  of  the  good  peo- 
ple of  this  Commonwealth  as  to  the  necessity  and 
expediency  of  calling  a convention,  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  several  Sheriffs  and  other  officers  of 
elections,  at  the  next  general  election  which  shall 
be  held  for  Representatives  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly after  the  passage  of  such  a law,  to  open  a poll 
for,  and  make  a return  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  for 
the  time  being,  of  the  names  of  all  those  entitled  to 
vote  for  Representatives  who  have  voted  for  calling 
a convention;  and  if  thereupon  it  shall  appear  that 
a majority  of  all  the  citizens  of  the  State  entitled  to 
vote  for  Representatives  have  voted  for  calling  a 
convention,  the  General  Assembly  shall,  at  their 
next  regular  session,  direct  that  a similar  poll  shall 
be  opened  and  return  made  for  the  next  election  for 
Representatives,  and  if  thereupon  it  shall  appear 
that  a majority  of  all  the  citizens  of  this  State  en- 
titled to  vote  for  Representatives  have  voted  for 
callin^^  a convention,  the  General  Assembly  shall, 
at  their  next  session,  pass  a law  calling  a convention 
to  consist  of  as  many  members  as  there  shall  be  in 
the  House  of  Representatives,  and  no  more,  to  be 


chosen  on  the  first  Monday  in  August  thereafter,  in 
the  same  manner  and  proportion,  and  at  the  same 
places,  and  possessed  of  the  same  qualifications  of  a 
qualified  elector  by  citizens  entitled  to  vote  for  Rep- 
resentatives, and  to  meet  within  three  months  after 
their  election  for  the  purpose  of  re-adopting,  amend- 
ing or  changing  this  Constitution;  but  if  it  shall  ap- 
pear by  the  vote  of  either  year,  as  aforesaid,  that  a 
majority  of  all  the  citizens  entitled  to  vote  for  Rep- 
resentatives did  not  vote  for  calling  a convention,  a 
convention  shall  not  then  be  called.  And  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  a majority  of  the  cit- 
izens entitled  to  vote  for  Representatives,  did  or  did 
not  vote  for  calling  a convention  as  above,  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  passing  the  law  authorizing  such  vote 
shall  provide  for  ascertaining  the  number  of  citizens 
entitled  to  vote  for  Representatives  within  the  State. 

Sec.  2.  The  convention  when  assembled  shall 
judge  of  the  election  of  its  members,  and  decide 
contested  elections,  but  the  General  Assembly  shall, 
in  calling  a convention,  provide  for  taking  testimo- 
ny in  such  cases  and  for  issuing  a writ  of  election 
in  case  of  a tie. 

• Article  XIII. 

_BILL  OF  RIGHTS. 

That  the  general,  great  and  essential  principles 
of  liberty  and  free  government  may  be  recognized 
and  established,  we  declare: 

Sectioh  1.  That  all  freemen,  when  they  form 
a social  compact,  are  equal,  and  that  no  man  or  set 
of  men  are  entitled  to  exclusive,  separate  public 
emoluments  or  privileges  from  the  community,  but 
in  consideration  of  public  services. 

Sec.  2.  That  absolute,  arbitrary  power  over  the 
lives,  liberty  and  property  of  freemen,  exists  no- 
where in  a Republic,  not  even  in  the  largest  ma- 
jority. 

Sec.  3.  The  right  of  property  is  before  and 
higher  than  any  constitutional  sanction;  and  the 
right  of  the  owner  of  a slave  to  such  slave,  and  its 
increase,  is  the  same,  as  inviolable  as  the  right  of 
the  owner  of  any  property  whatever. 

Sec.  4.  That  all  property  is  inherent  in  the 
people  and  all  free  governments  are  founded  on  their 
authority  and  instituted  for  their  peace,  safety,  hap- 
piness, security  and  the  protection  of  property. 
For  the  advancement  of  these  ends,  they  have  at  aU 
times  an  inalienable  and  indefeasible  right  to  alter, 
reform  or  abolish  their  government,  in  such  manner 
as  they  may  think  proper. 

Sec.  .5.  That  all  men  have  a natural  and  inde- 
feasible right  to  worship  Almighty  God  according  to 
the  dictates  of  their  own  consciences;  that  no  man 
shall  be  compelled  to  attend,  erect  or  support  any 
place  of  worship,  or  to  maintain  any  ministry  against 
his  consent;  that  no  human  authority  ought,  in  any 
case,  whatever,  to  control  or  intefere  with  the  rights 
of  conscience;  that  no  preference  shall  ever  be  given, 
by  law,  to  any  religious  societies  or  modes  of  wor- 
ship. 

Sec.  6.  That  the  civil  rights,  privileges  or 
capacities  of  any  citizen  shall  in  no  wise  be  dimin- 
ished or  enlarged  on  account  of  his  religion. 

Sec.  7.  That  all  elections  shall  be  free  and 
equal. 

Sec.  S.  That  the  ancient  mode  of  trial  by  jury 
shall  be  held  sacred,  and  the  right  thereof  remain 
inviolate,  subject  to  such  modifications  as  may  be 
authorized  by  this  Constitution, 
i Sec.  9.  That  printing-presses  shall  be  free  to 
every  person  who  undertakes  to  examine  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  general  assembly,  or  any  branch  of 
government,  and  no  law  shall  ever  be  made  to  re- 
strain  the  right  thereof.  The  free  communication 
of  thoughts  and  opinions  is  one  of  the  invaluable 


C88 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


rights  of  man,  and  every  citizen  may  freely  speak, 
write  and  print  on  any  subject,  being  responsible 
for  the  abuse  of  that  liberty. 

Sec.  10.  In  prosecutions  for  the  publication  of 
papers  investigating  the  official  conduct  of  officers 
or  men  in  a public  capacity,  or  where  the  matter 
published  is  proper  for  public  information,  the  truth 
thereof  may  be  given  in  evidence;  and  in  all  indict- 
ments for  libels,  the  jury  shall  have  a right  to 
determine  the  law  and  the  facts,  under  the  direction 
of  the  court  as  in  other  cases. 

Sec.  11.  That  the  people  shall  be  secure  in  their 
pei'sons,  houses,  papers  and  possessions  from  un- 
reasonable seizures  and  searches,  and  that  no  war- 
rant to  search  any  place,  or  to  seize  any  person  or 
thing,shall  issue, without  describing  them  as  nearly 
as  may  be,  nor  without  probable  cause  supported  by 
oath  or  affirmation. 

Sec.  12,  That  in  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the 
accused  hath  a right  to  be  heard  by  himself  and 
counsel;  to  demand  the  nature  and  cause  of  the 
accusation  against  him;  to  meet  the  witness  face  to 
face;  to  have  compulsory  process  for  obtaining  wit- 
nesses in  his  favor;  and,  in  prosecutions  by  indict- 
ment or  information,  a speedy  public  trial  by  an 
impartial  jiuyof  the  vicinage;  that  he  cannot  be 
compelled  to  give  evidence  against  himself;  nor  can 
he  be  deprived  of  his  life,  liberty  or  property  unless 
by  the  judgment  of  his  peers  or  the  law  of  the  laud. 

Sec.  13.  That  no  person  shall,  for  any  indictable 
offence,  be  proceeded  against  criminally,  by  infor- 
mation, except  in  cases  arising  in  the  laud  or  naval 
forces,  or  in  the  militia  when  in  actual  service,  in 
time  of  war  or  public  danger,  or  by  leave  of  the 
court,  for  oppression  or  misdemeanor  in  office. 

Sec.  14.  No  person  shall,  for  the  same  offence, 
be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  his  life  or  limb;  nor 
shall  any  man’s  property  be  taken  or  applied  to 
public  use  without  the  consent  of  his  representatives 
and  without  just  compensation  being  previously 
made  to  him. 

Sec.  1.5.  That  all  courts  shall  be  open,  and 
every  person,  for  an  injury  done  him  in  his  lands, 
goods,  person  or  reputation,  shall  have  remedy  by 
the  due  course  of  law  and  right  and  justice  admin- 
istered without  sale,  denial  or  delay. ' 

Sec.  16.  That  no  power  of  suspending  laws  shall 
be  exercised,  unless  by  the  General  Assembly  or  its 
authority. 

Sec.  17.  That  excessive  bail  shall  not  be  re- 
quired, nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel 
punishments  infiicled. 

Sec.  18.  That  all  prisoners  shall  be  bailable  by 
sufficient  securities,  unless  for  capital  offences,  when 
the  proof  is  evident  or  presumption  great;  and  tlie 
privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be 
suspended,  unless,  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  in- 
vasion, the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

Sec.  19.  That  the  person  of  a debtor,  where 
there  is  not  strong  presumption  of  fraud,  shall  not 
be  continued  in  prison  after  delivering  up  his  estate 
for  the  benefit  of  his  creditors,  in  such  manner  as 
shall  be  prescribed  by  law. 

Sec.  20.  That  no  ex  post  facto  law,  nor  any  law 
impairing  contracts,  shall  be  made. 

Sec.  21.  That  no  person  shall  be  attainted  of 
treason  or  felony  by  the  General  Assemblj^ 

Sec.  22.  That  no  attainder  shall  work  corruption 
of  blood,  nor,  except  duringthe  life  of  the  offender, 
forfeiture  of  the  estate  to  the  Commonwealth. 

Sec.  23.  Thatth3estatesofsuch  personsasshall 
destroy  their  own  lives  shall  descend  or  vest  as  in 
case  of  natural  death;  and  if  any  person  shall  be 
killed  by  casualty,  there  shall  be  no  forfeiture  by 
reason  thereof. 

Sec.  24.  That  the  citizens  have  the  right,  in  a 
peaceable  manner,  to  assemble  together  for  their 


common  good,  and  to  apply  to  those  invested  with 
the  powers  of  government  for  redress  of  grievances, 
or  other  proper  purposes,  by  petition,  address  or 
remonstrance. 

Sec.  25.  That  the  rights  of  the  citizens  to  bear 
arms  in  defense  of  themselves  and  the  State  shall 
not  be  questioned;  but  the  General  Assembly  may 
pass  laws  to  prevent  persons  from  carrying  con- 
cealed arms. 

Sec  26.  That  no  standing  army  shall,  in  time  of 
peace,  be  kept  up  without  the  consent  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  and  the  military  shall,  in  all  cases 
and  at  all  times,  be  in  strict  subordination  to  the 
civil  power. 

Sec.  27.  That  no  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace, 
be  quartered  in  any  house  without  the  consent  of 
the  owner;  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a manner  to 
be  prescribed  by  law. 

Sec.  28.  That  the  General  Assem.bly  shall  not 
grant  any  title  of  nobilit}^  or  hereditary  distinc- 
tion, nor  create  an}^  office,  the  appointment  to  which 
shall  be  for  a longer  time  than  for  a term  of  years. 

Sec.  29.  That  emigration  from  the  State  shall 
not  be  prohibited. 

Sec.  30.  To  guard  against  transgressions  of  the 
high  powers  which  we  have  delegated,  we  declare 
that  everything  in  this  article  is  excepted  out  of  the 
general  powers  of  government,  and  shall  forever 
remain  inviolate,  and  that  all  laws  contrary  thereto, 
or  contrary  to  this  Constitution,  shall  be  void. 

schedule. 

That  no  inconvenience  may  arise  from  the  alter- 
ations and  amendments  made  in  the  Constitution  of 
this  Commonwealth,  and  in  order  to  cany  the  same 
into  complete  operation,  it  is  hereby  declared  and 
ordained: 

Section  1.  That  all  the  laws  of  this  Common- 
wealth, in  force  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this 
Constitution,  and  not  inconsistent  therewith,  and 
all  rights,  actions,  prosecutions,  claims,  and  con- 
tracts, as  well  of  individuals  as  of  bodies-corporate, 
shall  continue  as  if  this  Constitution  had  not  been 
adopted. 

Sec.  2.  The  oaths  of  office  herein  directed  to  be 
taken,  may  be  administered  by  any.Iudge  or  Justice 
of  the  Peace,  until  the  general  assembly  shall  other- 
wise direct. 

Sec.  3.  No  office  shall  be  superseded  by  the 
adoption  of  this  Constitution,  but  the  laws  of  the 
State  relative  to  the  duties  of  the  several  officers, 
legislative,  executive,  judicial,  and  military,  shall 
remain  in  full  force,  though  the  same  be  contrary 
to  this  Constitution,  and  the  several  duties  shall  be 
performed  by  the  respective  officers  of  the  State, 
according  to  the  existing  laws,  until  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  government,  as  provided  for  under  this 
Constitution,  and  the  entering  into  office  of  the  offi- 
cers to  be  elected  or  appointed  under  said  govern- 
ment, and  no  longer. 

Sec.  4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly which  shall  convene  in  the  year  1850,  to  make 
an  apportionment  of  the  representation  of  this 
State,  upon  the  principles  set  forth  in  this  Constitu- 
tion; and  until  the  first  apportionment ’shall  be  made 
as  herein  directed,  the  apportionment  of  Senators 
and  Representatives  among  the  several  districts  and 
counties  in  this  State  shall  remain  as  at  present  fixed 
by  law;  Provided,  That  on  the  first  Monday  in  Au- 
gust, 1850,  all  Senators  shall  go  out  of  office,  and 
on  that  day  an  election  for  Senators  and  Representa- 
tives shall  be  held  throughout  the  State,  and  those 
then  elected  shall  hold  their  offices  for  one  year,  and 
no  longer;  Provided  further,  that  at  the  elections 
to  be  held  in  the  year  1850,  that  provision  in  this 
Constitution  which  requires  voters  to  vote  in  the 
precinct  within  which  they  reside,  shall  not  apply. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


689 


Sec.  5.  All  recognizances  heretofore  taken,  or 
which  may  be  taken  before  the  organization  of  the 
judicial  department  under  this  Constitution,  shall 
remain  as  valid  as  though  this  Constitution  had  not 
been  adopted,  and  may  be  prosecuted  in  the  name 
of  the  Commonwealth.  All  criminal  prosecutions 
and  penal  actions  which  have  arisen  or  may  arise, 
before  the  reorganization  of  the  judicial  department 
under  this  Constitution,  may  be  prosecuted  to  judg- 
ment and  execution  in  the  name  of  the  Common- 
wealth. 

We,  the  Representatives  of  the  freemen  of  Ken- 
tucky, in  convention  assembled,  in  their  name,  and 
by  the  authority  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Kentucky, 
and  in  virtue  of  the  powers  vested  in  us,  as  delegates 
from  the  counties  respectively  affixed  to  our  names, 
do  ordain  and  proclaim  the  foregoing  to  be  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  Commonwealth  of  Kentucky  from 
and  after  this  day. 

Done  at  Frankfort  this  eleventh  day  of  June,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand,  eight  hundred 
and  fifty,  and  in  the  fifty-ninth  year  of  the  Common- 
wealth. 

James  Guthrie,  President. 
Tho.  S.  Helm,  Secretary, 

Tho.  D.  Tilford,  Assistant  Secretary. 


NOTE  32,  PAGE  .542. 

The  Mammoth  Cave  in  Edmonson  County,  Ky.,by 
rail  eighty-five  miles  south-southwest  of  Kouisville, 
was  discovered  in  1809  by  a hunter  named  Hutchins, 
while  in  pursuit  of  a wounded  bear.  Its  mouth  is  in  a 
forest  ravine,  194  feet  above  Green  River,  and  600 


feet  above  the  sea.  This  aperture  is  not  the  origi- 
nal mouth,-  the  latter  being  a chasm  a quarter  of  a 
mile  north  of  it,  and  leading  into  what  is  known  as 
Dixon’s  Cave.  The  two  portions  are  not  now  con- 
nected, though  persons  in  one  can  make  themselves 
heard  by  those  in  the  other.  Saltpetre  was  for- 
merly made  from  the  nitrousearth.in  which  the  cave 
abounded,  but  it  is  now  mainly  turned  to  account 
as  a place  of  exhibition. 

The  cavernous  limestone  of  Kentucky  covers  an 
area  of  8,000  square  miles,  is  massive  and  homo- 

f eneous,  and  belongs  to  the  subcarboniferous  period, 
t shows  few  traces  of  djmamic  disturbance,  but  has 
been  carved  since  the  Miocene  epoch  into  many 
caverns,  of  which  the  Mammoth  Cave  is  the  noblest 
specimen  known.  The  region  is  undulating,  but 
its  valleys  are  mostly  funnel-shaped  depressions, 
emptying  through  fissures  into  subterranean 
streams,  which  feed  rivers,  often  of  navigable  size, 
and  whose  waters  are  never  frozen  over,  even  in 
severe  winters.  Such  valleys  are  called  sink-holes. 

The  natural  arch  that  admits  one  to  the  Mam- 
moth Cave  has  a span  of  seventy  feet,  and  from  a 
ledge  above  it  a cascade  leaps  fifty  feet  to  the  rocks 
below,  where  it  disappears.  A winding  flight  of 
stone  steps  leads  the  way  down  to  a narrow  pas- 


sage, through  which  the  air  rushes  with  violence, 
outward  in  summer  and  inward  in  winter.  The 
temperature  of  the  cave  is  uniformly  54°  Fahren- 
heit throughout  the  year,  and  the  atmosphere  is  both 
chemically  and  optically  of  singular  purity.  While 
the  lower  levels  are  moist  from  the  large  pools 
that  have  secret  connection  with  Green  River,  the 

43 


090 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


upper  galleries  are  extremely  dry.  These  condi- 
tions led,  at  one  time,  to  the  erection  , of  thirteen 
cottages,  at  a point  about  a mile  under  ground,  for 
the  use  of  invalids,  especially  consumptives.  The 
experiment  ended  in  failure,  and  only  two  cottages 
now  remain. 

The  main  cave,  from  forty  to  300  feet  wide,  and 
from  thirty-five  to  IS.")  feet  high,  has  several  vast 
rooms,  e.  g.,  the  Rotunda,  where  are  the  ruins  of  the 
old  saltpetre  works;  the  Star  Chamber,  where  the 
protrusion  of  white  crystals  through  a coating  of  the 
black  oxide  of  manganese,  creates  an  optical  illu- 
sion of  great  beauty;  the  Chief  City,  where  an  area 
of  two  acres  is  covered  by  a vault  125  feet  high, 
and  the  floor  is  strewn  with  rocky  fragments,  among 
which  are  found  numerous  half-burnt  torches  made 
of  canes,  and  other  signs  of  prehistoric  occupancy. 
Two  skeletons  were  exhumed  near  the  Rotunda, 
but  no  other  bones  have  been  found.  The  so-called 
Mammoth  Cave  “mummies”  (i.  e.,  bodies  kept  by 
being  inhumed  in  nitrous  earth),  with  accompany- 
ing utensils,  ornaments,  braided  sandals,  and  other 
relics  were  found  in  Short  and  Salt  Caves  near  by, 
and  removed  to  Mammoth  Cave  for  exhibition. 
The  main  cave,  which  abruptly  ends  four  miles  from 
the  entrance,  is  joined  by  winding  passages,  with 
spacious  galleries  on  different  levels,  and  although 
the  diameter  of  the  area  of  the  whole  cavern  is  less 
than  ten  miles,  the  combined  length  of  all  acces- 
sible avenues  is  supposed  to  be  about  150  miles.* 

The  chief  points  of  interest  are  ranged  along 
two  lines  of  exploration,  beside  which  there  are  cer- 
tain side  excursions.  The  “ short  route  ” requires 
about  four  hours,  and  the  “long  route”  nine. 
Audubon’s  Avenue,  the  one  nearest  the  entrance,  is 
seldom  visited  except  by  the  bats  that  hang  from 
the  walls  in  clusters  like  swarms  of  bees.  The 
Gothic  Avenue  contains  numerous  large  stalactites 
and  stalagmites,  and  an  interesting  place  called  the 
Chapel,  and  ends  in  a small  double  dome  and  cas- 
cade. Among  the  most  suprising  features  of  cave 
scenery  are  the  vertical  shafts  that  pierce  through 
all  levels,  fi'om  the  uppermost  galleries,  or  even  from 
the  sink-holes,  down  to  the  lowest  floor.  These  are 
styled  pits  or  domes  according  to  the  position  occu- 
pied by  the  observer.  A crevice  behind  a block  of 
stone,  forty  feet  long  by  twenty  wide,  called  the 
Giant’s  Coffin,  admits  the  explorer  to  a place  where 
six  pits,  varj'ing  in  depth  from  65  to  220  feet,  exist 
in  an  area  of  600  yards.  This  includes  Gorin’s 
Dome,  which  is  viewed  from  a point  midway  in  its 
side,  and  is  by  many  regarded  as  the  finest  room  in 
the  cavern.  Others  admire  more  the  Mammoth 
Dome,  at  the  termination  of  Spark’s  Avenue,  where 
a cataract  falls  from  a hei,ght  of  250  feet  amid  walls 
wonderfully  draped  with  stalactitic  tapestry.  The 
Egyptian  Temple,  which  is  a continuation  of  the 
Mammoth  Dome,  contains  six  massive  columns, two 
of  them  quite  perfect,  and  eighty  feet  high  and 
twenty-five  feet  in  diameter.  The  combined  length 
of  these  contiguous  chambers  is  400  feet.  By  a 
crevice  above,  they  are  connected  with  an  arm  of 
Audubon’s  Avenue.  Lucy’s  Dome,  about  300  feet 
high,  is  supposed  to  be  the  loftiest  of  all  these  ver- 
tical shafts.  A pit,  called  the  “Maelstrom,”  in 
Croghan’s  Hall,  is  the  spot  most  remote  from  the 
mouth  of  the  cave.  A son  of  Prentice,  the  poet, 
permitted  himself  to  be  lowered  190  feet  by  a rope 
to  the  bottom  in  1859.  There  are  some  fine  stalac- 
tites_  near  this  pit,  and  others  in  the  Fairy  Grotto 
and  in  Pensico  Avenue,  but  considering  the  magni- 
tude of  Mammoth  Cave,  its  poverty  of  stalactitic 


*The  present  manager,  Mr.  F.  Klett,  has  undertaken  the 
difficult  task  of  a thorough  survey,  the  results  of  which,  so  far 
as  completed,  are  presented  on  the  accompanying  map.  The 
ortion  beyond  River  Hall  is  supplemented  by  an  older  survey 
y Stephen,  the  guide. 


ornamentation  is  remarkable.  The  wealth  of  crys- 
tals is,  however,  surprising.  These  are  of  endless 
variety  and  fantastic  beauty.  Beside  the  sparkling 
vault  of  the  Star  Chamber  (300  feet  long  and  80 
feet  high),  there  are  halls  canopied  by  fleecy  clouds 
or  studded  with  mimic  snowballs,  and  others  dis- 
playing various  grotesque  resemblances  on  the  walls 
and  ceiling. 

Cleveland’s  Cabinet  and  Marion’s  Avenue,  each 
a mile  long,  are  adorned  by  myriads  of  gypsum  ro- 
settes and  curiously  twisted  crystals  called  “ouloph- 
olites.”  These  cave  flowers  are  unfolded  by  pressure, 
as  if  a sheaf  were  forced  through  a tight  binding,  and 
the  crystal  fibres  curl  outward  from  the  center  of 
the  group.  Thus  spotless  arches  of  fifty  feet  span 
are  embellished  by  floral  clusters  and  garlands,  hid- 
ing nearly  every  foot  of  grey  limestone.  The 
botryoidal  formations,  hanging  by  thousands  in 
Mary’s  Vineyard,  resemble  mimic  clusters  of  grapes 
as  the  oulopholites  resemble  roses.  Again,  there 
are  chambers  with  drifts  of  snowy  crystals  of  the 
sulphate  of  magnesia,  the  ceilings  so  thickly  cov- 
ered with  .their  efflorescence  that  a loud  concussion 
of  the  air  will  cause  them  to  fall  like  the  flakes  of 
a snow  storm. 

- Many  small  rooms  and  tortuous  paths,  where 
nothing  of  special  interest  can  be  found,  are  avoided 
as  much  as  possible  cn  the  regular  routes;  but  cer- 
tain disagreeable  experiences  are  inevitable.  There 
is  a peril  also  in  the  vicinity  of  the  deep  pits.  The 
one  known  as  the  Bottomless  Pit  was  for  many 
years  a barrier  to  all  further  exploration,  but  is  now 
crossed  by  a wooden  bridge.  Long  before  the  shaft 
had  been  cut  as  deep  as  now,  the  water  flowed  away 
by  a channel  gradually  contracting  to  a serpentine 
way,  so  extremely  narrow  as  to  be  called  the  Fat 
Man’s  Misery.  The  walls,  only  eighteen  inches 
apart,  change  direction  eight  times  in  105  yards, 
while  the  distance  from  the  sandy  path  to  the  ledge 
overhead  is  but  five  feet.  The  rocky  sides  are  finely 
marked  with  waves  and  ripples,  as  if  running  wa- 
ter had  suddenly  been  petrified.  This  winding  way 
conducts  one  to  River  Hall,  beyond  which  lie  the 
crystalline  gardens  that  have  been  described.  It 
used  to  be  said  that  if  this  narrow  passage  were 
blocked  up,  escape  would  be  impossible;  but  lately 
an  intricate  web  of  Assures,  called  the  Corkscrew, 
has  been  discovered,  by  means  of  which  a good 
climber,  ascending  only  a few  hundred  feet,  lands 
1,000  yards  from  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  and  cuts  off 
one  or  two  miles. 

The  waters  entering  through  numerous  domes 
and  pits,  and  falling,  during  the  rainy  season,  in 
cascades  of  great  volume,  are  finally  collected  at 
River  Hall,  where  they  form  several  extensive  lakes 
or  rivers,  whose  connection  with  Green  River  is 
known  to  be  in  two  deep  springs,  appearing  under 
arches  on  its  margin.  Whenever  there  is  a freshet 
in  Green  River  the  streams  in  the  cave  are  joined 
in  a continuous  body  of  water,  the  rise  being  some- 
times sixty  feet  above  the  low  water  mark.  The 
subsidence  within  is  less  rapid  than  the  rise;  and 
the  streams  are  impassable  for  about  seven  months 
in  each  year.  They  are  navigable  from  May  to 
October,  and  furnish  interesting  features  of  cave 
scenery.  The  first  approached  is  called  the  Dead 
Sea,  embraced  by  cliffs  sixty  feet  high  and  100  feet 
long,  above  which  a path  has  been  made,  whence  a 
stairway  conducts  us  down  to  the  banks  of  the  River 
Styx,  a body  of  water  forty  feet  wide  and  400  feet 
long,  crossed  by  a natural  bridge.  Lake  Lethe 
comes  next,  a broad  basin,  enclosed  by  walls  ninety 
feet  high,  below  which  a narrow  path  leads  to  a 
pontoon  at  the  neck  of  the  lake.  A beach  of  the 
finest  yellow  sand  extends  for  500  yards  to  Echo 
River,  the  largest  of  all,  being  from  twenty  to  200 
feet  wide,  ten  to  forty  feet  deep,  and  about  three 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


691 


quarters  of  a mile  long.  It  is  crossed  by  boats. 
The  arched  passage-way  is  very  symmetrical,  vary- 
ing in  height  from  ten  to  thirty-live  feet,  and  fa- 
mous for  its  musical  reverberations, — not  a distinct 
echo, but  an  harmonious  prolongation  of  sound  for 
from  ten  to  thirty  seconds  after  the  original  tone  is 
produced.  The  long  vault  lias  a certain  key-note  of  its 
own,  which,  when  firmly  struck,  excites  harmonies, 
including  tones  of  incredible  depth  and  sweet- 
ness. 

The  fauna  of  Mammoth  Cave  has  been  classed 
by  Putman,  Packard  and  Cope,  who  have  cata- 
logued twenty-eight  species  truly  subterraneous, 
besides  those  that  may  be  considered  as  stragglers 
from  the  surface.  They  are  distributed  thus: 
Vertebrata,  4 species;  insects,  11,  arachnida,  6;  my- 
riapoda,  2;  Crustacea,  2;  vermer,  8.  Ehrenberg  adds 
a list  of  8 polygastric  infusoria,  1 fossil  infusorian, 
5 phytolitharia",  and  several  microscopic  fungi.  A 
bed  of  Agaricus  was  found  by  the  writer  near  the 
River  Styx;  and  upon  this  hint  an  attempt  has  been 
made  to  propagate  edible  fungi  in  this  locality.  The 
most  interesting  inhabitants  of  the  Mammoth  Cave 


are  the  blind,  wingless  grasshoppers,  with  extremely 
long  antenme;  blind,  colorless  crayfish  (cambarus 
pellucidus,  telk);  and  the  blind  fish  {amblyopsis 
spelmus),  colorless  and  viviparous,  from  one  inch  to 
six  inches  long.  The  cambarus  and  amblyopsis 
have  wide  distinction,  being  found  in  many  other- 
caves,  and  also  in  deep  wells  in  Kentucky  and  In- 
diana. Fish  not  blind  are  occasionally  caught, 
which  are  apparently  identical  with  species  existing 
in  streams  outside.  The  true  subterranean  fauna 
may  be  regarded  as  chiefly  of  pleistocene  origin; yet 
certain  forms  are  possibly  remnants  of  tertiary  life. 
The  strongly  marked  divergence  of  these  animals 
from  those  found  outside,  convinced  the  elder 
Agassiz  that  they  were  especially  created  for  the 
limits  in  which  they  dwell.  But  the  opinion  now 
held  is  that  they  are  modified  from  allied  species  ex- 
isting in  the  sunlight,  and  that  their  peculiarities 
may  all  be  accounted  for  on  principles  of  evolution, 
the  process  being  accelerated  (or  retarded)  by  their 
migration  from  the  outer  world  to  a realm  of  abso- 
lute silence  and  perpetual  darkness. — Bev.  H.  G. 
Honey,  in,  the  Encjyclopedia  Britannica. 


692 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


APPE^TDIX  B. 


UNITED  STATES  ARMY. 

Alphabetical  List  of  General  and  Staff  Officers  from  Kentucky,  Appointed  and  Commissioned  by  the 

President* 

Anderson,  Robert,  Brig. -Gen.,  May  15,  1861;  Bvt.  Maj.-Gen.,  Feb.  9,  1865.  i 

Adams,  Geo.  M.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Aug.  17,  1861;  resigned  Dec.  23,  1862. 

Alexander,  ,Jas.  B.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Sept.  23,  1861;  since  vacated. 

Allen,  Chas.  J.  F.,  Maj.  and  Paymaster,  .July  16, 1862;  honorably  mustered  out  Nov.  15,  1865. 

Ambrose,  M.  J.  W.,  Hospital  Chap.,  Sept.  28,  1863;  expired  by  constitutional  limitation. 

Adams,  Geo.  M.,  Maj.  and  Paymaster,  May  28,  1864;  resigned  May  19,  1865. 

Artsman,  Gus.,  Capt.  and  Ass’t  Q.  M.,  Sept.  13,  1864. 

Boyle,  Jeremiah  T.,  Brig.-Gen.,  Nov.  9,  1861;  resigned  Jan.  26,  1864. 

Bradford,  J.  T.,  Maj.  and  Surg.,  Apr.  4,  1862;  discharged  Feb.  19,  1863. 

Burl)ridge,  Stephen  G.,  Brig. -Gen.,  June  9,  1862;  brevetted  Maj.-Gen,  July  4,  1864;  resigned  Dec.  1,  1865. 
Buford,  Louis  M.,  Maj.  and  Aid-de-Camp,  Mar.  11,  1863;  resigned  Dec.  17,  1864. 

Boyd,  Joseph  F.,Capt.  and  Ass’t  Q.  M.,  Mar.  4, 1863;  brevetted  Brig.-Gen.;  honorably  mustered  out  March 
13,  1866. 

Bramlette,  Thomas  E.,  Brig.-Gen.,  Apr.  24,  1863;  declined  accepting. 

Badger,  Norman,  Hospital  Chap.,  June  30,  1864;  honorably  mustered  out  Sept.  23,  1865. 

Butler,  John  S.,  Capt.  and  Ass’t  Adj.- Gen.,  Dec.  5, 1863;  honoralily  mustered  out  June  14,  1865. 

Brooks,  D.  A.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.  May  18,  1864;  declined  accepting. 

Bruch.  Samuel,  Capt.  and  Ass't  Q.  M.,  Aug.  8,  1862;  died  March  31,  1865,  at  Memphis,  Tenn. 

Boone,  J.  Rowan,  Bvt.-Col.,  Mar.  13,  1865;  was  Lieut. -Col.  Twenty-eighth  Kentucky  Veteran  Infantry. 
Crittenden,  Thomas  L.,  Maj.-Gen.,  July  17,  1862;  was  Brig.-Gen.  from  Sept.  27,  1861,  to  July  17,  1862;  re- 
signed Dec.  13,  1864. 

Clay,  Ileury,  Capt.  and  Ass’t  Adj. -Gen..  Oct.  15,  1861;  died  June  5,  1862,  at  Louisville,  Ky. 

Clay,  Cassius  M.,  Maj.-Gen.,  Apr.  11,  1862;  resigned  Mar.  11,  1863. 

Cloak,  Burkitt,  Maj.  and  Surg.,  June  9, 1862;  brevetted  Lieut. -Col;  honorably  mustered  out  Nov.  22,  1865. 
Curtis,  Albert  A.,  Capt,  and  Ass’t  Q.  M.,.Nov.  26,  1862;  resigned  Apr.  21,  1864. 

Cramer,  Michael  J.,  Hospital  Chap.,  June  30,  1864;  honorably  mustered  on  June  29,  1865. 

Croxton,  John  T.,  Brig.-Gen.,  July  30,  1864;  brevetted  Maj. -Gen;  resigned  Dec.  26,  1865. 

Clark,  .James  T..  Capt.  and  Ass't  Q.  M.,  Dec.  2, 1863;  honorably  mustered  out  Mar.  13,  1866. 

Campbell,  JohnB.,  Capt.  and  Ass't  Q.  M.,  May  7,  1864;  brevetted  Maj.;  honorably  mustered  out  June  20, 
1866. 

Chevalier,  Arthur  H.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  May  18,  1864;  honorably  mustered  out  Feb.  2,  1866. 

Cook,  Milton  J.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Feb.  21,  1865;  honorably  mustered  out  June  15,  1865. 

Dobyns,  Geo.  H.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Q.  M.,  Feb.  29,  1864;  honorably  mustered  out  Jan.  8,  1866. 

Dunlap,  H.  C.,  Bvt.  I3rig.-Gen.,  Mar.  13,  1865;  was  Col.  Third  Kentucky  Infantry. 

Edwards,  Z.  C.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Q.  M.,  Sept.  18,  1861. 

Ernest,  Wm.  D.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Q.  M.,  Nov.  26,  1862;  dismissed  March  25,  1865. 

Fry,  John,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Oct.  31,  1861;  brevetted  Maj.  Mar.  13,  1865;  honorably  mustered  out 
Feb.  2,  1866. 

Fry,  Speed  S.,  Brig.-Gen.,  Mar.  21,  1862;  honorably  mustered  out  Aug.  24,  1865. 

Fullerton,  Wm.  G.,  Maj.  and  Paymaster,  Nov.  26,  1862;  resigned  April  1,  1865. 

Goldsmith,  M.,  Maj.  and  Surg.,  Oct.  30,  1861;  brevetted  Lieut. -Col.;  honorably  mustered  out  Jan.  18,  1866. 
Garrard,  Theophilus  T.,  Brig.-Gen.,  Nov.  29,  1862;  honorably  mustered  out  Apr.  4,  1864. 

Goodloe,  Wm.  C.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.,  June  1,  1863;  resigned  Jan.  31,  1864. 

Gordon,  Wm.  A.,  Asst.  Surg.,  Nov.  25,  1864;  brevetted  Maj.;  honorably  mustered  out  Nov.  22,  1865. 
Huber,  J.  F.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Oct.  25,  1861;  brevetted  Maj.;  honorably  mustered  out  Oct.  12,  1865. 
Hatchitt,  James  G.,  Maj.  and  Surs.,  Apr.  4,  1862;  brevetted  Lieut. -Col.;  honorably  mustered  out  Dec.  8, 
1865. 

Hopkins,  Orlando  J.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  July  17,  1862;  brevetted  Maj. ; honorably  mustered  out  May 
31,  1866. 

Hall,  Gustavus  A.,  Military  Storekeeper,  .July  21,  1862. 

Hobson,  Edward  H.,  Brig.-Gen.,  Nov.  29,  1862;  honorably  mustered  out  Aug.  24,  1865. 

Hoffman,  Joel  E.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.,  .July  21,  1863;  resigned  May  19,  1864. 

Hayes,  Job.  J.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Sept.  4,  1863;  brevetted  Maj.;  honorably  mustered  out  .July  15,  1865. 
Hawthorn,  Leroy  R.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Apr.  7,  1864;  honorably  mustered  out  Jan.  27,  1866. 

Henry,  Thos.  H.,  Asst.  Surg.,  June  30,  1864. 

Hunter,  Hiram  A.,  Hospital  Chaplain,  Sept.  28,  1864;  honorably  mustered  out  Oct.  12,  1865. 

Holloway,  Geo.  A.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen., ; resigned  Dec.  27,  1864. 

Hollingsworth,  C.  P.,  Bvt.  Capt.,  March  13,  1865. 

Holloway,  William,  Maj.  and  Paymaster,  Feb.  19, 1863;  honorably  mustered  out  Nov.  15,  1865. 

Jones,  Stephen  E.,  Capt.  and  Aide-de-Camp,  July  9,  1862;  resigned  Mar.  13,  1865. 

Jackson,  James  S.,  Brig.-Gen,,  July  16,  1862;  killed  Oct.  8,  18fe,  at  battle  of  Perryville,  Ky. 

Johnson,  J.  H.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Oct.  22,  1862;  brevetted  Maj.;  honorably  mustered  out  Dec.  8,  1865. 

*From  the  report  of  the  Adjutant-General  of  Kentucky,  from  1861-65. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


693 


Johnson,  Richard  W.,  Brig.-Gen.,  Oct.  11,  1R61;  brevetted  Maj.-Gen.  Dec.  16,  1864;  honorably  mustered 
out  Jan.  15,  1866. 

Keenon,  John  G.,  Maj.  and  Surg.,  Oct.  9,  1861;  died  Aug.  12,  1864,  at  Memphis,  Tenn. 

Keefer,  H.  G.,  Asst.  Surg.,  June  30,  1864;  brevetted  3IaJ.  Mar.  13,  1865:  honorably  mustered  out  Jan.  27, 
1866. 

Kniffln,  G.  C.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Aug.  20,  1861 ; Lieut.-Col  and  Chief  C.  S.  Twentj’-first  Army  Corps, 
Jan.  20,  1861;  honorably  mustered  out  July  19,  1865. 

Letcher,  Sami.  M.,  Bvt.  Col.,  July  25,  1865;  was  Major  of  Twelfth  Kentucky  Infantry. 

Long,  Eli,  Brig.-Gen.,  Aug.  18,  1864;  brevetted  Maj. -Gen.  Mar.  13.  1865;  honorably  mustered  out  Jan.  15, 
1866. 

Mackenzie,  J,  M.,Capt.  and  Com.  Sub., Oct.  31,  1864;  brevetted  Maj. ; honorably  mustered  out  Aug.  31, 1865. 
McMillan,  Thos.,  Asst.  Surg.,  Aug.  19,  1862;  brevetted  Maj.  Mar.  13,  1865. 

McDowell,  H.  C.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.,  Nov.  19,  1861;  resigned  Aug.  27,  1862. 

McDowell,  Wm.  P.,  Maj.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.,  Mar.  11,  1863;  resigned  Dec.  9,  1863. 

McKenzie,  Alex.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Q.  M.,  Jan.  27,  1865;  honorably  mustered  out  Aug.  15,  1865. 

Murray,  Eli  H.,  I3vt.  Brig.-Gen.,  Mar.  25,  1865;  was  Col.  Third  Kentucky  Veteran  Cavalry. 

Monroe,  Geo.  W..  Bvt.  Brig.-Gen.,  Mar.  13,  1865;  was  Col.  Seventh  Kentucky  Veteran  Infantry. 

Milward,  H.  K.,  Bvt.  Col.,  "Mar.  13,  1865;  was  Lieut.-Col.  Eighteenth  Kentucky  Veteran  Infantry. 

Nelson.  Wm.,  Maj. -Gen.,  July  7,  1862;  was  Brig.-Gen.  from  Sept.  16,  1861;  died  Sept.  29,  1862,  at  Louis- 
ville. Kj"-. 

Neal,  Wm.  L.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Q.  M.,  May  18,  1864;  honorably  mustered  out  July  28,  1865. 

Nelson,  Abial  W.,  Asst.  Surgeon,  Dec.  13,  1864. 

Oldershaw,  Percival  P.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.,  Aug.  26,  1862;  resigned  Nov.  6,  1863. 

Piatt,  Benjamin  M.,  Maj.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.,  May  16,  1862;  honorably  mustered  out  Nov.  22,  1865. 
Peay,  J.  Speed,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.,  July  15,  1862;  resigned  iMay  2,  1863. 

Paul.  Augustus  C.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.,  June  1,  1863;  appointed  Second  Lieut.  Twelfth  U.  S. 
Infantry,  May  11,  1866. 

Purnell,  Thomas  F.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Q.  M.,  May  8,  1863;  honorably  mustered  out  March  20,  1866. 
Rousseau,  Lovell  H.,  Maj. -Gen.,  Oct.  8,  1862;  was  Brig.-Gen.  from  Oct.  1,  1861;  resigned  Nov.  30,  1865. 
Speed,  Philip,  Maj.  and  Paymaster,  Sept,  11,  1861;  resigned  Dec.  23,  1862. 

Starling,  Lyne,  Maj.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.,  Aug.  13,  1862;  was  Capt.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.  from  Oct.  10, 
1861;  resigned  Jan.  20,  1864. 

Sinton,  T.  R.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Sept.  23,  1861;  resigned  Oct.  10,  1862. 

Spillman,  G.  F.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Ma}'  12,  1862;  brevetted  Maj. ; honorably  mustered  out  July  19,  1865. 
Smith,  Green  Clay,  Brig.-Gen.,  June  11,  1862;  resigned  Dec.  1,  1863. 

Semple,  Alexander  C.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.,  Sept.  29,  1862;  resigned  March  18,  1864. 

Shackleford,  James  M.,  Brig.-Gen.,  Jan.  2,  1863;  resigned  Jan.  18,  1864, 

Speed,  John.  Capt.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.,  March  11,  1863;  vacated  by  appointment  as  additional  Pay- 
master March  22,  1865. 

Smith,  Rodney,  Maj.  and  Paymaster,  Feb.  23,  1864. 

Sanders,  Wm.  P.,  Brig.-Gen.,  Oct.  18,  1863;  died  Nov.  19,  1863,  of  wounds  received  in  action  atKnoxville, 
Tenn. 

Starks,  Wm.  M.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Q.  M.,  May  18,  1864;  canceled. 

Speed,  John,  Maj.  and  Paymaster,  March  22,  1865;  resigned  May  19  1865. 

Speer,  Alexander  M.,  Asst.  Surgeon,  Feb.  19,  1863;  brevetted  Maj.;  honorably  mustered  out  Oct.  7,  1865. 
Stout,  Alexander  M.,  Bvt.  Brig.-Gen.,  March  13,  1865;  was  Col.  Seventeenth  Kentucky  Infantry. 

Terrell,  Wm.  G.,  Maj.  and  Paymaster,  Aug,  31,  1861;  brevetted  Lieut.-Col. ; honorably  mustered  out  Dec. 
1,  1865. 

Thustin,  L.  T.,  Maj.  and  Paymaster,  Sept.  11,  1861;  brevetted  Lieut.-Col. ; honorably  mustered  out  April 
30,  1866. 

Terrell,  C.  M.,  Maj.  and  Paymaster,  June  30,  1862. 

Terry,  Josiah  M.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Nov.  26,  1862. 

Tevis,  Joshua,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Nov.  26,  1862;  canceled. 

Tarbell,  Doctor,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Nov.  26,  1862;  honorably  mustered  out  July  27,  1865. 

Threlkeld,  Wm.,  Maj.  and  Surgeon,  July  9,  1863;  was  Asst.  Surg.  from  April  23,  1863;  brevetted  Lieut.- 
Col.  ; honorably  mustered  out  Aug.  25.  1865. 

Talbott,  Wm.  K.,  Hospital  Chaplain,  April  22,  1863;  honorably  mustered  out  July  15,  1865. 

Tureman,  James  F.,  Maj.  and  Paymaster,  April  21,  1864;  died  Oct.  28,  1864,  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Thorp,  James  C.,  Asst.  Surg.,  Nov.  a5,  1864;  resigned  April  17,  1865. 

Ward,  Wra.  T.,  Brig.-Gen.,  Sept.  18,  1861;  brevetted  Maj. -Gen.  Feb.  24,  1865;  honorably  mustered  out 
Aug.  24,  1865. 

Williams,  J.  D.,  Capt.  and  Com.  Sub.,  Sept.  18, 1861;  honorably  mustered  out  Jan.  3,  1866. 

Waggener,  Robert  J.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.,  Oct.  8. 1861;  killed  in  action  May  28. 1864,  near  Dallas,  Ga. 
Webster,  George  P.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Q.  M.,iMay  12,  1862. 

Wolfley,  Wm.  J.,  Maj.  and  Surgeon,  May  18,  1864;  was  Asst.  Surgeon  from  April  16, 1862;  brevetted  Lieut.- 
Col.  June  1,  1865;  honorably  mustered  out  July  18,  1865. 

Webster,  R.  C.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Q.  M.,  Sept.  30,  1861. 

Whitaker,  Walter  C.,  Brig.-Gen.,  June  25,  1863;  brevetted  Maj. -Gen.  March  13,  1865;  honorably  mustered 
out  Aug.  24,  1865. 

Williams.  B.  D.,  Capt.  and  A.  D.  C.,  March  11,  1863;  honorably  mustered  out  Nov.  11,  1865. 

Wright,  John  A.,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen.,  May  18,  1864;  honorably  mustered  out  Feb.  21,  1866. 
Woodson,  Wm.  C.,  Maj.  and  Paymaster,  May  28,  1864;  honorably  mustered  out  Nov.  15,  1865. 

Watkins,  Louis  D.,  Brig.-Gen.,  Sept.  25,  1865;  was  Bvt.  Brig.-Gen.  from  June  24,  1864;  honorably  mus- 
tered out  April  30,  1866. 

Wolcott.  Francis  E.,  Maj.  and  Judge  Advocate,  Dec.  17,  1864;  for  the  Army  of  the  Ohio. 

Wood,  Thomas  J.,  Maj. -Gen.,  Jan.  27,  1865;  was  Brig.-Gen.  from  Oct.  11,  1861;  appointed  Bvt.  Brig.- 
Gen.,  U.  S.  A.,  March  13,  1865. 

Young,  Berry  S.,  Maj.  and  Paymaster,  April  21,  1864:  resigned  Feb.  24,  1865. 


C94 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


INFAXTRY — PTRST  REGIMENT. 

James  V.  Guthrie, colonel;  resigned  Dec.  21,  1861. 

David  A.  Enyart,  colonel;  lieutenant-colonel, 
from  muster-in  to  January  22,  1862. 

Bart  G.  Leiper,  lieutenant-colonel;  major  from 
muster-in  to  Jan.  22,  1862. 

Frank  P.  Cahill,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel  Nov.  6,  1862;  resigned  Aug.  17, 
1863. 

Alva  R.  Hadloek,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel  Sept.  1,  1863. 

James  W.  Mitchell,  major;  eaptain  Company  G; 
promoted  major  Sept.  1,  1863. 

James  W.  Conine,  adjutant;  transferred  to  Com- 
pany E,  Sept.  1,  1861,  as  1st  lieutenant. 

Courtland  W.  King,  adjutant;  promoted  adju- 
tant from  sergeant  major  Sept.  1,  1861. 

John  A.  Wright,  adjutant;  appointed  from  eivil 
life  Jan.  22,  1862. 

Franklin  W.  Fee,  regimental  quartermaster. 

Samuel  G.  Menzies,  surgeon. 

William  L.  White,  assistant  surgeon;  resigned 
Jan.  22,  1862. 

John  Dickerson,  assistant  surgeon;  pi-omoted 
from  hospital  steward  Jan.  22,  1862. 

COMPANY  A. 

Joseph  T.  Wheeler,  eaptain;  Samuel  L.  Christie, 
captain;  Charles  F.  Groves,  captain;  .John  Jack- 
son,  1st  lieutenant;  Legrand  LaBoiteaux,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Theodore  Harrol,  2d  lieutenant;  Byron  R. 
Underhill,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Alva  R.  Hadloek,  captain;  John  B.  Wagener, 
captain;  Thomas  Ix.  Fraser,  1st  lieutenant;  David 
Hammond,  1st  lieutenant;  George  W.  Henson,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Ralph  Hunt,  captain;  Frank  W.  Fee,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; John  A.  Snediker,  1st  lieutenant;  John  F. 
Lamme,  2d  lieutenant;  John  B.  Guthrie,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

COMPANY  D. 

David  Y.  .Johns,  captain;  Samuel  Barr,  Jr.,  cap- 
tain; David  J.  Jones,  captain;  Patrick  J.  Brown, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  Farran,  2d  lieutenant;  John 
D.  Kautz,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E 

was  detached  as  Artillery  early  in  1861. 

COMPANY  F. 

Jesse  J.  Stepleton,  captain;  David  M.  Dryden, 
captain;  Thomas  Cox,  Jr.,  captain;  Albert  H. 
Smith,  1st  lieutenant;  Joseph  B.  Sockwell,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; James  G.  J^awrence,  2d  lieutenant;  Joseph 
M.  Leiper,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

James  W.  Mitchell,  captain;  Edward  S.  Atkin- 
son, captain;  John  W.  Gorin,  1st  lieutenant;  Joseph 
M.  Leiper,  1st  lieutenant;  George  Hunter,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; John  C.  Hyland,  1st  lieutenant;  Gilbert 
Ely,  2d  lieutenant;  James  C.  Cozine,  2d  lieutenant; 
Samuel  M.  Starling,  2d  lieutenant;  H.  W.  Benton, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Frank  Cahill,  captain;  James  T.  Williamson, 
captain;  John  F.  Lamme,  captain;  Samuel  L.  Chris- 
tie, 1st  lieutenant;  C.  F.  W.  Tahrenhorst,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; William  II.  Lyons,  2d  lieutenant;  Louis  H. 
Hocke,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Thomas  Cox.  Jr.,  captain;  Andrew  J.  Hagan, 


captain;  Courtland  W.  King,  1st  lieutenant;  Will- 
iam R.  McChesney,  1st  lieutenant;  William  James 
Mclvee,  1st  lieutenant;  Leonidas  L.  Tittle,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; James  Farran,  2d  lientenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

John  Becker,  captain;  Jacob  Theis,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Samuel  B.  Lowenstein,  1st  lieutenant;  George 
Homung,  1st  lieutenant;  Frederick  Wolf,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; Alexander  Tilley,  2d  lieutenant. 

This  regiment  was  organized  at  Canm  Clay, 
Ohio,  in  June,  1861,  under  Col.  James  V.  Guthrie, 
and  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  on 
the  4th  day  of  June,  1861,  by  Maj.  S.  Burbank,  1st 
United  States  Infantry.  After  organization  it  was 
ordered  to  the  Department  of  West  Virginia,  where 
it  performed  much  valuable  service  in  the  early  en- 
gagements of  the  war. 

INFANTRY — SECOND  REGIMENT. 

William E.  Woodruff,  colonel;  taken  prisoner  at 
battle  of  Scury  Creek,  Va.,  July  17,  1861. 

Thomas  D.  Sedgewick,  colonel;  promoted  from 
major  to  colonel,  Jan.  25,  1862. 

George  W.  Neff,  lieutenant-colonel;  taken  pris- 
oner July  17,  1861,  at  battle  of  Scury  Creek,  Va. 

Warner  Spencer,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel  Jan.  25,  1862. 

John  R.  Hurd,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel  .Ian.  13,  1863. 

Oliver  L.  Baldwin,  major;  promoted  to  colonel 
Fifth  Kentucky  Cavalry  Jan.  1,  1864. 

Fernando  Cook,  major;  promoted  from  captain. 
Company  E.  to  major  March  9,  1864. 

Henry  VVimedell,  adjutant;  assigned  to  Company 
A as  1st  lieutenant  Jan.  1,  1864. 

Thomas  N.  Davis,  adjutant;  appointed  adjutant 
Jan.  1,  1864. 

Gilbert  H.  Clemens,  regimental  quartermaster; 
appointed  regimental  quartermaster  June  12,  1861. 

Joseph  M.  Blundell,  regimental  quartermaster; 
appointed  regimental  quartermaster  Sept.  16,  1861. 

James  W.  Poe.  regimental  quartermaster;  ap- 
pointed regimental  quartermaster  April  13,  1863. 

John  F.  White,  surgeon;  resigned  Jan.  20,  1862. 

David  J.  Griffiths,  surgeon;  appointed  surgeon 
Feb.  6,  1862. 

Stepiien  P.  Bonner,  ass’t  surgeon;  resigned 
Feb.  12,  1862. 

Lawrence  Russell,  ass’t  surgeon;  resigned  May 
7,  1862. 

James  E.  Cox,  ass’t  surgeon;  resigned  Dec.  6, 
1863. 

' William  L.  Reed,  ass’t  surgeon;  promoted  from 
hospital  steward  to  ass’t  surgeon  Dec.  12,  1862. 

Frederick  Rectanus,  ass’t  surgeon;  appointed 
ass’t  surgeon  IMarch  2,  1864. 

COMPANY  A. 

Alfred  J.  M.  Browne,  captain;  Henry  B.  Mar- 
tin, captain;  Joseph  M.  Blundell.  1st  1'ieutenant; 
Thomas  N.  Davis,  1st  lieutenant;  Henry  Wimedell, 
1st  lieutenant;  George  Taylor,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Thomas  D.  Sedgewick,  captain;  George  Austin, 
captain;  Oliver  L Baldwin,  captain;  Seth  W.  Tuley, 
captain;  Archibald  McLellan,  1st  lieutenant;  Will- 
iam Brannin,  1st  lieutenant;  William  P.  Bell,  1st 
lieutenant;  George  R.  McFadden,  1st  lieutenant; 
Gideon  V.  Vandyke,  2d  lieutenant;  Sidmund 
Huber,  2d  lieutenant;  Orlando  C.  Bryant,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

John  H.  Spellmeyer,  captain;  Anthony  Lauman. 
captain;  Francis  Miller,  1st  lieutenant;  William 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


693 


Pettibone,  1st  lieutenant;  James  E.  Stewart,  2d 
lieutenant;  William  Miller,  2d  lieutenant;  John  H. 
Albers,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Warner  Spencer,  captain;  Joseph  W.  Miller, 
captain;  Lemach  Duvall,  captain;  William  B.  Fol- 
ger,  1st  lieutenant;  Calvin  W.  Brown,  1st  lieutenant; 
Daniel  W.  Finch,  2d  lieutenant;  John  Milton 
Blair,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Flamen  Ball,  captain;  George  W.  Dasher,  cap- 
tain; Ferdinand  Cook,  captain;  Charles  W.  Karr, 
captain;  Frederick  E,  Roelofson,  1st  lieutenant; 
Seth  W.  Tuley,  1st  lieutenant;  Edward  B,  Kirman, 
1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

John  R.  Hurd,  captain;  Jacob  H.  Smith,  cap- 
tain; J.  M.  Blair,  captain;  Jesse  C.  Hurd,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Cyrenus  J,  Coe,  1st  lieutenant;  James  A, 
Miller,  2d  lieutenant. 

CjMPANY  g, 

James  M.  Bodine,  captain;  .Tohn  D.  Parkhurst, 
captain;  David  McK.  Ong,  1st  lieutenant;  Joseph 
C.  Bontecon,  1st  lieutenant;  Hiram  D.  Bodine,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  Bell,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

James  E.  Stacy,  captain;  John  H.  Archdeacon, 
captain;  William  H.  Taylor,  1st  lieutenant;  George 
W.  Dasher,  1st  lieutenant;  John  D.  Parkhurst,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  R McChesney,  2d  lieutenant; 
Delos  Alden,  2d  lieutenant;  Thomas  J.  Elliott,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Joseph  Whittlesey,  captain;  Henry  Gross,  cap- 
tain; Jesse  C.  Hurd,  captain;  Atherton  Thayer,  1st 
lieutenant;  George  Potter,  1st  lieutenant;  Herman 
Alms,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K, 

John  F.  Wisnewski,  captain;  Louis  Steubing, 
captain;  George  Beinert,  1st  lieutenant;  Theodore 
Leiser,  1st  lieutenant;  Herman  Horst,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; Oscar  Mitchel,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Second  Regiment  Kentucky  Volunteer  In- 
fantry was  organized  at  Camp  Clay,  Ohio,  under 
Col.  \Villiam  E.  Woodruff,  and  was  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service  on  the  13th  day  of  June, 
1861,  by  Maj,  Burbank,  United  States  mustering 
officer. 

OPANTEY — THIRD  REGIMENT. 

Thomas  E.  Bramlette,  colonel;  resigned  July 
13,  1862.  at  Decherd,  Tenn. 

William  T.  Scott,  colonel;  promoted  colonel 
July  13,  1862, 

Samuel  McKee,  colonel;  promoted  colonel  Dec, 
7.  1862. 

William  H.  Spencer,  colonel,  promoted  colonel 
Dec.  7,  1862. 

Henry  C.  Dunlap,  colonel;  promoted  from  cap- 
tain, Company  A. 

Daniel  R.  Collier,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel  Dec.  7, 1862. 

William  A.  Bullitt,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
lieutenant- colonel  April  19,  1863. 

Charles  H.  Buford,  major;  resigned  May  2d,  1862. 

John  Brennan,  major;  wounded  at  Kenesaw, 
Ga.,  June  27,  1864. 

Garvin  D.  Hunt,  adjutant;  died  Nov.  30,  1863, 
of  wounds  received  at  Mission  Ridge. 

Henry  Porter,  adjutant;  promoted  from  1st 
lieutenant.  Company  C,  April  5,  1864. 

Benj.  F.  Wayne,  regimental  quartermaster;  re- 
signed May  1,  1862. 


Thomas  M.  Selby,  Jr.,  regimental  quartermaster; 
resigned  Sept.  15,  1862. 

Richard  J.  West,  regimental  quartermaster;  pro- 
moted from  private  5th  Kentucky  Infantry. 

Hector  Owens,  surgeon ; resigned  Jan,  22,  1863. 

Joseph  Foreman,  surgeon;  resigned  Sept.  9, 
1863. 

John  B.  Burns,  surgeon. 

James  G.  Tui’k,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned  Aug, 
5,  1862. 

Samuel  K.  Rhorer,  asst,  surgeon;  promoted  from 
hospital  steward. 

James  R.  Scott,  asst,  surgeon. 

Richard  H.  Gray,  chaplain;  resigned  April  13, 
1862,  at  Shiloh,  Tenn. 

Jacob  Cooper,  chaplain;  resigned  Sept.  30,  1863, 
at  Nashville,  Tenn. 

COMPANY  A. 

Samuel  McKee,  captain ; Henry  C.  Dunlap,  cap- 
tain; Benjamin  F.  Powell,  captain;  Wm.  T.  Ep- 
person, 1st  lieutenant;  Alban  D.  Bradshaw,  1st 
lieutenant;  Joseph  Russell,  1st  lieutenant;  Abram 
P.  Brown,  2d  lieutenant;  Norman  R.  Christie,  2d 
lieutenan*^. 

COMPANY  B _ 

Augustine  Dunn,  captain;  Daniel  R.  Collier, 
captain;  William  J.  Hogan,  captain;  William  H. 
Barnett,  captain;  Uriah  T.  Merritt,  1st  lieutenant; 
Peter  Haldeman,  1st  lieutenant;  Morton  Scott,  2d 
lieutenant;  Samuel  Newton,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

D.  H.  Denton,  captain;  Lucien  H.  Ralston,  cap- 
tain; John  L.  Logan,  captain;  Henry  Porter,  1st 
lieutenant;  Sidney  F.  Collins,  1st  lieutenant;  Tyrey 
Turpin,  2d  lieutenant;  Monroe  Floyd,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; Wm.  H.  Barnett,  2d  lieutenant;  John  W. 
Warren,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

John  C.  Bolin,  captain;  John  L.  Gilmore,  cap- 
tain; Reuben  B.  Dunbar.  1st  lieutenant;  Mathew 
Cullen,  1st  lieutenant;  Wm.  H.  Barnett,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Christopher  C.  Gossett,  2d  lieutenant; 
Robert  Gilmore,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

James  A.  Rosseau,  captain;  Austin  M.  Burbank 
captain;  James  M.  Bristow,  captain;  George  R. 
Price,  1st  lieutenant;  William  B.  Skaggs,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Christopher  T.  Grinstead,  1st  lieutenant; 
McHaley  Yates,  1st  lieutenant;  James  D.  Salmons, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

HarbertKing,  captain;  John  Brennan,  captain; 
Joseph  J.  Carson,  captain;  James  M.  Gooch,  cap- 
tain; Albert  F.  Hoarine,  1st  lieutenant;  Daniel 
Severence,  1st  lieutenant;  Samuel  D.  Powel,  1st 
lieutenant;  James  H.  Bridgewater,  2d  lieutenant; 
Nathaniel  D.  Wilmot,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Isham  Bolin,  captain;  Wm.  T.  Jackman,  cap- 
tain; John  W.  Tuttle,  captain;  Benjamin  J.  Bolin, 
1st  lieutenant,  James  L.  Hardin,  1st  lieutenant; 
John  Akers,  1st  lieutenant;  John  C.  Bolin,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; James  T.  Bramlette,  2d  lieutenant;  Barnett 
C.  Young,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Henry  S.  Taylor,  captain;  William  H.  Hudson, 
captain;  John  W.  Tuttle,  1st  lieutenant;  James  M. 
Bristow.  1st  lieutenant;  Harrison  B.  Carter,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  L.  Bramlette,  2d  lieutenant. 


696 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


COMPANY  I. 

Milton  Frazer,  captain;  John  S.  S.  Maret,  cap- 
tain; Norman  R,  Christie,  captain;  JohnL.  Gilmore, 
1st  lieutenant;  Joseph  J.  Carson,  1st  lieutenant; 
William  D.  Murrah,  1st  lieutenant;  George  W. 
Roberts,  2d  lieutenant;  Solon  D.  Moore,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

COMPANY  K. 

James  T.  W.  Barnett,  captain;  John  Roberts, 
captain;  George  W.  Roberts,  captain;  Wm.  R.  Bu- 
ford, 1st  lieutenant;  George  McClure,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; John  H.  Black,  2d  lieutenant;  Robert  L.  Tra- 
cy, 2d  lieutenant;  Spencer  B.  Hughes,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

The  Third  Regiment,  Kentucky  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, was  organized  at  Camp  Dick  Robinson, 
under  Col.  Thomas  E.  Bramlette,  and  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service  on  the  8th  day  of  October, 

1861,  by  Gen.  George  II.  Thomas.  The  regiment 
was  one  of  the  first  to  respond  to  the  callof  the 
government  for  troops  to  guard  munitions  of  war 
to  the  Unionists  of  east  Tennessee. 

INFANTRY — FOURTH  REGIMENT. 

Speed  S.  Fry,  colonel;  promoted  to  brigadier- 
general  March  21,  1862. 

John  T.  Croxton,  colonel;  promoted  brigadier- 
general  Aug.  16,  1864. 

Robert  M.  Kelly,  colonel;  promoted  colonel  Aug. 
25,  1864. 

P.  Burgess  Hunt,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel  March  23,  1862 

Josephus  H.  Tompkins,  lieutenant-colonel;  pro- 
moted lieutenant-colonel  Aug.  25,  1864. 

Joshua  W.  Jacobs,  major;  promoted  major  June 
7,  1865. 

William  Goodloe,  adjutant;  resigned  Nov.  6, 

1862. 

Charles  V.  Ray,  adjutant;  transferred  as  1st 
lieutenant  to  Company  H,  Sept.  29,  1864. 

CliarlesT.  Sellable,  adjutant;  promoted  adjutant 
Sept.  29,  1864. 

Michael  B.  Hope,  regimental  quartermaster; 
transferred  to  Company  B,  Aug.  16,  1863. 

jVIinor  C.  Humston,  regimental  quartermaster; 
promoted  regimental  quartermaster  Aug.  15,  1863. 

James  R.  White,  regimental  quartermaster;  pro- 
moted regimental  quartermaster  Dec.  19,  1864. 

Stephen  L.  Burdett,  surgeon. 

Mathew  H.  Young,  surgeon;  promoted  surgeon 
Oct.  24,  1864. 

Harrison  Phillips,  asst,  surgeon. 

John  W.  Jacobs,  chaplain;  died  at  Lebanon, 
Ky.,  Jan.  20,  1862. 

John  R.  Eades,  chaplain;  resigned  June  4,  1863. 

COMPANY  A. 

Wellington  Harlan,  captain;  William  W.  San- 
ders, captain;  Joshua  W.  Jacobs,  captain;  James 
H.  Linney,  1st  lieutenant;  Charles  T.  Schable,  1st 
lieutenant;  Sidney  M.  Wiehl,  2d  lieutenant;  Thomas 
P.  Young,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Peter  J.  Hiatt,  captain;  James  A.  Vaughan,  cap- 
tain; Emory  R.  Harrington,  captain;  Lewis  C.  Lan- 
caster, captain;  Mason  C.  Miller,  1st  lieutenant;  G. 
D.  Ilunt,  1st  lieutenant;  Michael  B.  Hope,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; James  M.  Hall,  2d  lieutenant;  Henry  B. 
Stanwood,  2d  lieutenant;  James  M.  Duke,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Jolm  L.  Williams,  captain;  Luther  Jenkins,  cap- 
tain; Robert  T.  Williams,  1st  lieutenant;  Granville 
C.  West,  1st  lieutenant;  George  F.  Rowland,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  W.  Lewis,  2d  lieutenant;  Edward 
M.  Anderson,  2d  lieutenant. 


COMPANY  P. 

James  J.  Hudnall,  captain;  Jno.  A.  Roberts, 
captain;  Nicholas  M.  Kelley,  1st  lieutenant;  Charles 
V.  Ray,  1st  lieutenant;  Geo.  H.  Patten,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Charles  T.  Swope,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Geo.  M.  Jackson,  captain;  Nathaniel  L.  Tur- 
ner, captain;  James  A.  Moores,  captain;  Isaac  N. 
Jacobs,  1st  lieutenant;  Archibald  Moores,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; James  A.  Moores,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

W.  F.  Hoch,  captain;  Josephus  H.  Tompkins, 
captain;  Robert  F.  Long,  captain;  Merrill  Hicks, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  M.  Burton,  2d  lieutenant; 
John  T.  Merrimee,  2d  lieutenant;  Luther  Jenkins, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Richard  L.  Myers,  captain;  James  H.  West,  cap- 
tain; Robt.  D.  Cook,  1st  lieutenant;  Allen  S. Whet- 
stone, 1st  lieutenant;  Lindsey  C.  Duncan,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; William  F.  Hoch,  2d  lieutenant;  James  C. 
Broughton,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  II. 

Sylvester  Rockwell,  captain;  Milton  Graham, 
captain;  Mathew  H.  Jenkins,  captain;  Henry  P. 
Merrill,  captain;  Henry  Teney,  1st  lieutenant;  Rob- 
ert F.  Long,  1st  lieutenant;  Charles  V.  Ray,  1st 
lieutenant;  Francis  M.  Hardin,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

James  B.  Brewer,  captain;  Wm.  B.  Riggs,  cap- 
tain; Charles  T.  Swoope,  captain;  Sidney  B.  Jones, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  McDermott,  1st  lieutenant; 
Elliott  Kelley,  1st  lieutenant;  Samuel  A.  Spencer, 
2d  lieutenant;  Harvey  W.  Secrest,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K, 

Robt.  M.  Kelly,  captain;  James  M.  Givens,  cap- 
tain; Alfred  S Stewart,  captain;  Burwell  S.  Tucker, 
1st  lieutenant;  Samuel  S.  Rich,  1st  lieutenant;  Robt. 
F.  Long,  2d  lieutenant;  Charles  T.  Schable,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

The  Fourth  Regiment  of  Kentucky  Volunteer 
Infantry  was  organized  at  Camp  Dick  Robinson, 
Ky.,  under  Col.  Speed  S.  Fry,  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service  on  October  9,  1861,  by  Brig.- 
Gen.  George  H.  Thomas,  United  States  mustering 
officer. 


INFANTRY — FIFTH  REGIMENT. 

Lovell  H.  Rousseau,  colonel;  promoted  to  brig- 
adier-general Oct.  5,  1861. 

Harvey  M.  Buckley,  colonel;  promoted  colonel 
Oct.  5,  1861. 

William  W.  Berry,  colonel;  promoted  colonel  Feb. 
9,  1863. 

John  L.  Treanor,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel  Feb  23,  1863. 

Charles  L.  Thomasson,  major;  killed  at  battle  of 
Chickamauga  Sept.  19,  1863. 

Henry  C.  Dunlap,  adjutant;  resigned  to  accept 
commission  as  captain  in  3d  Kentucky  Infantry. 

Edward  W.  Johnstone,  adjutant;  promoted  to  ad- 
jutant Dec.  22,  1862. 

Thomas  C.  Pomroy,  regimental  quartermaster; 
resigned  June  17,  1862. 

John  M.  Moore,  regimental  quartermaster;  pro- 
moted regimental  quartermaster  Sept.  10,  1862. 

John  Matthews,  surgeon;  resigned  Feb.  1,  1862. 

Enos  S.  Swain,  surgeon;  promoted  from  as.sistant 
surgeon  to  surgeon  Oct.  1,  1862. 

William  E.  Gilpin,  assistant  surgeon;  resigned 
Nov.  23,  1861. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


697 


Samuel  J.  F.  Miller,  assistant  surgeon;  promoted 
to  assistant  surgeon  May  1,  1862. 

James  H.  Bristow,  Chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

William  Mangan.  captain;  Thomas  Foreman,  cap- 
tain; James  F.  Cullen,  captain;  John  M.  Smith,  1st 
lieutenant;  Henry  Cassen,  1st  lieutenant;  John  Fin- 
ley, 1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Laifayette  P.  Lovett,  captain;  John  P.  Hurley, 
Ut  lieutenant;  Horatio  C.  MeCorkhill,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Thomas  J.  McManen,  2d  lieutenant;  David 
•Jones,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Asaph  H.  Speed,  captain;  Christopher  Leonard, 
captain;  Richard  Jones,  1st  lieutenant;  John  Leaf, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

John  L.  Treanor,  captain;  William  W.  Rowland, 
captain;  Theodore  F.  Cummings,  1st  lieutenant; 
Joseph  E.  Miller,  1st  lieutenant;  John  Baker,  1st 
lieutenant;  Milton  W.  Curry,  2d  lieutenant;  James 
H.  Baty,  2d  lieutenant;  John  Ryan,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E 

August  Schweitzer,  captain;  Stephen  Linden- 
felser,  captain;  Jno.  C.  Scheible,  1st  lieutenant; 
Adolph  Rentlinger,  2d  lieutenant;  Frank  Dessell, 
2d  lieutenant;  Wm.  H.  H.  Ayars,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

John  E.  Vansant.  captain;  John  Lucas,  captain; 
William  H.  Powell,  1st  lieutenant;  William  Bat- 
man, 1st  lieutenant;  John  Martz,  2d  lieutenant; 
Terrance  F.  Burns,  2d  lieutenant;  Thomas  M.  Hite, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

John  M.  Huston,  captain;  Joseph  E.  Miller,  cap- 
tain; Wm.  H.  Powell,  captain;  David  Q.  Rousseau, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  W.  Huston,  1st  lieutenant; 
Charles  Anderson,  1st  lieutenant;  Theodore  E. 
Elliott,  2d  lieutenant;  David  Thomas,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Charles  L.  Thomasson,  captain;  Norman  B. 
Moninger,  captain;  George  A.  Albert,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Edmund  B.  Randolph,  2d  lieutenant;  Edward 
W.  Johnson,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Alexander  B.  Ferguson,  captain;  Upton  Wilson, 
captain;  William  H.  H.  A}mrs,  captain;  Charles  J. 
Cook,  1st  lieutenant;  A.  Sidney  Smith,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Wilson  J.  Green,  2d  lieutenant;  Henry  R.  Wil- 
lett, 2d  lieutenant. 

COMP.ANT  K. 

John  D.  Brent,  captain;  John  P.  Hurley,  cap- 
tain; Michael  Zoller,  captain;  Geo.  W.  Richardson, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  D.  Sheppard,  1st  lieutenant; 
Morgan  Piper,  1st  lieutenant;  George  W.  Wyatt, 
2d  lieutenant. 

The  Fifth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organized  in 
the  summer  of  1861  under  Lovell  H.  Rousseau,  as 
colonel,  and  was  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service  on  the  9th  day  of  September,  1861.  at  Camp 
Joe  Holt,  Ind.,byW.  H.  Sidell,  major  Fifteenth 
United  States  Infantry,  and  mustering  officer. 

At  the  alarm  of  an  invasion  of  Kentucky  by 
Buckner,  this  gallant  command  was  thrown  out  in 
defense  of  Louisville  by  General,  then  Col.  Rousseau, 
and  held  them  in  check  until  re-enforcements  arrived 
from  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  forever  refuted  the  idea 
of  a State  standing  in  a neutral  position  when  the 
integrity  or  unity  of  the  nation  was  assailed. 


INFANTRY — SIXTH  REGIMENT. 

Walter  C.  Whitaker,  colonel;  promoted  briga- 
dier-general June  60,  1863. 

George  T.  Shackelford,  colonel;  promoted  to 
colonel  .July  27, 1863;  wounded  at  battle  of  Chicka- 
niauga. 

George  T.  Cotton,  lieutenant-colonel;  killed  at 
battle  of  Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1862. 

Richard  C.  Dawkins,  lieutentant-colonel;  pro- 
moted to  lieutenant  colonel  May  2.1, 1864, 

William  N.  Hailman,  major;  appointed  Dec,10, 
1861;  honorably  discharged  March  14,  1862, 

Alfred  Martin,  major;  promoted  major  March 28, 
1862. 

Richard  T.  Whitaker,  major;  appointed  major 
March  12,  1863;  resigned  May  11,  1864. 

Ferdinand  Evans,  adjutant;  promoted;  resigned 
Nov,  15,  1862. 

William  H.  Middleton, adjutant;  appointed  from 
civil  life;  died  of  disease  March  1,  1863. 

William  Jones,  adjutant;  promoted  to  capt<‘ln 
Company  A May  22,  1864. 

Lewis  M.  Perry,  adjutant;  promoted  adjntant 
June  7,  1864. 

Michael  Billings,  quartermaster;  appointed  Dec. 
10,  1861 ; resigned  March  10,  1862, 

Harvey  R.  Wolfe,  quartermaster;  appointed  from 
private  Company  H,  March  28,  1862. 

Joseph  S.  Drane,  surgeon;  appointed  Dec.  12, 
1861. 

Abner  B.  Coons,  asst,  surgeon;  appointed  Dec. 
10,  1861;  died  of  disease  March  4,  1862. 

Edmund  S.  Long,  asst,  surgeon;  appointed  May 
15,  1862,  from  civil  life. 

James  J.  Johnston,  chaplain;  appointed  from 
civil  life  Aug.  15,  1862;  resigned  Sept.  24,  1863. 

COMPANY  A. 

Alfred  Martin,  captain;  John  McGraw,  captain; 
William  Jones,  captain;  Richard  Rockingham,  1st 
lieutenant;  Thomas  Bates,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Richard  Lee,  captain; Richard  C.  Dawkins,  cap- 
tain; Joseph- H.  Dawkins,  captain;  Lundsford  D. 
Carrington,  1st  lieutenant;  Martin  L.  Boner,  Ist 
lieutenant;  John  L,  Lee,  2d  lieutenant;  Thomas 
Eubanks,  2d  lieutenant, 

COMPANY  C. 

Joseph  J.  Hauphoff,  captain;  Charles  S,  Todd, 
captain;  Henry  C.  Schmidt,  captain;  German  Dett- 
weiler,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  R.  Danks,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Gustavus  Bohn,  2d  lieutenant;  Frederick 
V,  Lockman,  2d  lieutentant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Elisha  Hedden,  captain;  Bluford  N.  Sampson, 
1st  lieutenant;  Harrison  Choate,  1st  lieutenant; 
James  W,  Briscoe,  1st  lieutenant;  James  H How- 
ard, 2d  lieutenant;  James  H,  McCampbell,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

C03IPANY  E. 

Bernhard  Hund,  captain;  William  Frank,  cap- 
tain; John  Sensbach,  1st  lieutenant;  Lorenzo  Am- 
mon, 1st  lieutenant;  Anton  Hund,  2d  lieutenant; 
Valentine  Melcher,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

William  S.  Long, captain;  Robert  H.  Armstrong, 
captain;  John  P.  Mason,  1st  lieutenant;  William  B. 
Dunlap,  2d  lieutenant;  Charles  Clark,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Peter  Emge,  captain;  Peter  Marker,  captain; 
Gottfried  Rentschler.  captain;  George  Marker,  1st 
lieutenant;  Henry  Canning,  2d  lieutenant;  Nicholas 
Sehr,  2d  lieutenant. 


G98 


HISTORY  or  KENTUCKY. 


COMPANY  H. 

Isaac  N.  Johnston,  captain;  John  L.  Chilton, 
1st  lieutenant;  Harrison  Roberts.  2d  lieutenant; 
Richard  T.  Whitaker,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

August  Stein,  captain;  Friedrich  Nierhofl,  cajv 
tain;  Deitrich  Hesselbein.  captain;  William  Frank, 
1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Henry  C.  McLeod,  captain;  Daniel  W.  Owens, 
captain;  Thomas  W.  Robertson;  1st  lieutenant; 
Thomas  C.  Campbell,  2d  lieutenant;  William  W. 
Furr,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Sixth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organized  at 
Camp  Sigel,  Jefferson  County,  Ky. , in  December, 
1861,  under  Col.  Walter  C.  Whitaker,  and  was  mus- 
tered into  the  United  States  service  on  the  24th 
December,  1861,  by  Maj.  W.  H.  Sidell,  United 
States  Mustering  Olflcer 


IXPANTIIY — SEVENTH  KEGIMENT. 

T.  T.  Garrard,  colonel;  promoted  to  brigadier- 
general  Nov.  24,  1862. 

Reuben  May,  colonel;  promoted  from  lieutenant- 
colonel  8th  Kentucky  Infantry  May  12,  1863. 

,T.  W.  Ridgell,  lieutenant-colonel;  resigned  Jan. 
23,  1863. 

John  Lucas,  lieutenant-colonel;  appointed  lieu- 
tenant-colonel Apr.  23,  1863;  resigned  Jan.  30,  1864, 

T.  J.  Daniel,  lieutenant-colonel;  appointed 
lieutenant-colonel  May  9,  1864;  resigned  Sept.  24, 
1864. 

I N.  Cardwell,  major;  resigned  Feb.  15,_  1863. 

H.  W.  Adams,  major;  promoted  to  major  Feb. 
16,  1863;  resigned  Aug.  5,  1863. 

E.  B.  Treadway,  major;  promoted  major  Jan.  1, 
1864;  resigned  Sept.  24,  1864. 

Henry  Brennan,  adjutant;  promoted  to  captain 
in  20th  Infantry  Nov.  1,  1862. 

J.  C.  Culton,  adjutant;  promoted  adjutant  Julj" 
4,  1864. 

J.  C.  Horton,  f(uartermaster;  resigned  March 
27,  1862. 

W.  W.  Watkins,  quartermaster;  promoted 
regimental  quartermaster  March  27  1862. 

W.  H.  Jackson,  quartermaster;  promoted  from 
quarter-master  sergeant  Jan.  1,  1863. 

William  Berry,  surgeon;  resigned  Apr.  30,  1864. 

A.  B.  Conant,  surgeon;  promoted  surgeon  from 
assistant  surgeon  May  10,  1864. 

Henry  Tammage,  assistant  surgeon;  resigned 
Apr.  13,  1862. 

C.  L.  C.  Herndon,  assistant  surgeon;  promoted 
assistant  surgeon  May  10,  1864. 

T.  S.  Paul,  chaplain;  appointed  chaplain  Aug.  16, 
1863. 

COMPANY  A. 

Elisha  B.  Treadway,  captain;  James  M.  Beatty, 
captain;  William  J.  Smallwood,  1st  lieutenant; 
George  W.  Daniel,  1st  lieutenant;  Jesse  H.  Cole, 
1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  J.  Daniel,  2d  lieutenant; 
Thomas  J.  Greer,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

.John  Lucas,  captain;  Daniel  G.  Williams, 
captain;  Larkin  A.  Byron,  1st  lieutenant;  Hender- 
son Eversole,  1st  lieutenant;  James  W.  Smith,  2d 
lieutenant;  Benjamin  L.  Allen,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

James  H.  McNeill,  captain;  Levi  Pennington, 
captain;  David  Stillings,  captain;  Alex.  H.  Stephens, 
captain;  Melville  Phelps,  1st  lieutenant;  William 
R.  Robinson,  2d  lieutenant. 


COMPANY  D. 

A.  H.  Clark,  captain;  Thomas  H.  Wilson,  cap- 
tain; Henry  J.  Clark,  captain;  Andrew  Hurd.  1st 
lieutenant;  Hampton  Flanery,  1st  lieutenant; 
James  N.  Culton,  1st  lieutenant;  G.  Isaacs,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

E.  W.  Murphy,  captain;  Beverly  P.  White, 
captain;  John  T.  Bates,  1st  lieutenant;  John  B. 
Stivers,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F, 

William  Sears,  captain;  Larkin  A.  Byron,  cap- 
tain; William  J.  Eaton,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas 
Buchanan,  1st  lieutenant;  George  W.  Hai’man,  1st 
lieutenant;  Simeon  J.  Brummitt,  1st  lieutenant: 
John  Q.  Early,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Granville  L.  Maret,  captain;  Martin  V.  Sutton, 
1st  lieutenant;  Samuel  Sutton,  2d  lieutenant; 
Mathias  C.  Roach,  2d  lieutenant;  John  W.  Burch, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

George  M.  Adams,  captain ; Adam  Reeder,  cap- 
tain; Joseph  H.  Davis,  1st  lieutenant;  Stephen  T. 
S.  Cook,  1st  lieutenant;  James  H.  Tinsley,  2d 
lieutenant;  Lawson  Reeder,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

William  A.  Dozier,  captain;  Peter  Hinkle, 
captain;  Gale  S.  Dowis,  captain;  Stephen  Dowis, 
1st  lieutenant;  Isaac  Deane,  2d  lieutenant;  Joseph 
Frisbee,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Philos  Stratton,  captain;  Thomas  P.  Caldwell, 
captain;  S.  H.  Thompson,  1st  lieutenant;  Joseph 
F.  Baugh,  1st  lieutenant;  Elhanon  M.  Botkin,  2d 
lieutenant;  Jesse  C.  Speak,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Seventh  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organized 
at  Camp  Dick  Robinson,  Ky.,  under  Col.  T.  T. 
Garrard,  and  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service  on  the  22dday  of  September,  1861,  by  Brig. 
Gen.  George  H.  Thomas.  As  soon  as  organized  it 
was  ordered  to  Wild  Cat,  Ky.,  to  repel  the  invasion 
of  Gen.  Zollicoffer,  and  participated  in  an  engage- 
ment with  the  enemy  at  that  point,  which  was  the 
first  general  engagement  fought  on  Kentucky  soil. 
In  this  battle  the  Seventh  won  distinction  for  the 
gallant  manner  in  which  it  repelled  the  repeated  at- 
tacks of  the  enemy. 

INPAHTRY — EIGHTH  REGIMENT 

Sidney  M.  Barnes,  colonel;  resigned  Jan.  11,1864. 

Reuben  May,  lieutenant  -colonel;  promoted  to 
colonel  7th  Kentucky  Infantry  May  8,  1863. 

James  D.  Mayhew,  lieutenant-colonel;  jiromoted 
from  captain.  Company  A,  May  8,  1863. 

Green  B.  Broaddus,  major;  resigned  April  26, 
1863. 

John  S.  Clark,  major;  promoted  from  adjutant 
April  27,  1863. 

Thomas  E.  Park,  adjutant;  iiromoted  from  ser- 
geant-major April  28,  1863. 

JosepliH.  Gardner,  quartermaster;  resigned  Nov. 
20,  1861. 

Thompson  Burnham,  Jr., quartermaster;  resigned 
March  15,  1863. 

James  M.  Kindred,  quartermaster;  promoted 
from  quartermaster-sergeant  May  28,  1863. 

John  R.  Pirtle,  surgeon;  resigned  Dec.  23,  1862. 

John  Mills,  surgeon;  promoted  from  assistant 
surgeon  Dec.  24,  1862. 

William  Robinson,  assistant  surgeon;  dismissed 
Aug.  4,  1863. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


699 


C.  H.  Morton,  assistant  surgeon;  resigned  Dec. 
2,  1863. 

Timothy  S.  Paul,  ch  iplain. 

James  W.  Kindred,  chaplain. 

COMPiNT  A. 

James  D.  Mayhew,  captain;  Wm.  H.  Catching, 
captain;  Jacob  P.  Phipps,  1st  lieutenant;  James  A. 
McCullah,  3d  lieutenant;  John  S.  Tye,  3d  lieuten- 
ant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Ansil  D.  Powell,  captain;  Jordan  Neal,  1st 
lieutenant;  Joseph  Blackwell.  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

John  Wilson,  captain;  TV.  W.  Park,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; C.  M.  Park,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Robert  B.  Jamison,  captain;  John  P.  Gum,  cap- 
tain; Henry  C.  Thomas,  captain;  Wm.  G.  Small- 
wood, captain;  Thomas  H.  Carson,  1st  lieutenant; 
James  W.  Stewart,  1st  lieutenant;  Bowles  H.  Sale, 
1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  Murrell,  3d  lieutenant;  Jo- 
seph McGuire,  2d  lieutenant;  John  S.  Tye,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Robert  B.  Hickman,  captain;  Coleman  D.  Ben- 
ton, captain;  Perry  A.  Nickell,  1st  lieutenant; 
George  W.  Jacobs,  1st  lieutenant;  John  M.  Puckett, 
3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

John  B.  Banton,  captain;  Barton  S.  Dixon, 
captain;  Christopher  C.  Jackson,  1st  lieutenant; 
James  Harkleroad,  1st  lieutenant;  Nimrod  C.  Jones, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Landon  C.  Minter,  captain;  Chas.  L.  Burleigh, 
captain;  Newton  J.  Hughes,  1st  lieutenant;  W.  Scott 
Spencer,  3d  lieutenant;  Caleb  S.  Hughes,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Rhodes  Winburn,  captain;  Thos.  J.  Wright, cap- 
tain; Wade  B.  Cox,  1st  lieutenant;  James  R.  Will- 
iams, 1st  lieutenant;  Geo.  W.  Lewis,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

William  McDaniel,  captain;  Brown  Martin,  cap- 
tain; Wiley  J.  Crook,  1st  lieutenant;  Nathan  Ell- 
iott, 1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  Amis,  3d  lieutenant; 
Jesse  McDaniel,  3d  lieutenant;  George  C.  Watson, 
2d  lieutenant. 

Note. — Company  K was  consolidated  with  Com- 
pany D,  by  order  of  the  War  Department. 

The  Eighth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organized  at 
Estill  Springs,  Ky.,  under  Col.  S.  M.  Barnes,  and 
was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  on  the 
15th  day  of  January,  1863,  at  Lebanon,  Ky.,  by 
Capt.  C.  C.  Gilbert,  First  United  States  Infantry. 
This  regiment  was  raised  chiefly  in  the  mountain 
counties  of  Kentucky,  and  was  composed  of  men 
who  were  distinguished  for  their  unflinching 
bravery  and  patriotism. 

IlsFAXTRT — NINTH  REGIMENT. 

Benjamin  C.  Grider,  colonel;  resigned  Feb.  3, 
1863. 

George  H.  Cram,  colonel;  promoted  to  colonel 
March  10,  1863. 

Allen  J.  Roark,  lieutenant-colonel;  died  Apr. 
17,  1862,  at  Nashville,  Tenn. 

John  H.  Grider,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted  to 
lieutenant-colonel  March  18,  1863. 

Chesley  D.  Bailej\  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
to  lieutenant  colonel  May  18,  1863. 

William  J.  Henson,  major;  resiarned  Apr.  17, 
1863. 


William  Starling,  major;  promoted  major  from 
captain,  Company  G,  May  18,1863. 

John  H.  Shepherd,  adjutant;  wounded  and  cap- 
tured at  Chickamauga,  Sept.  19,  1863, 

Benjamin  S.  Coffey,  regimental  quartermaster; 
resigned  June  9,  1863. 

Francis  M.  Cummings,  regimental  quartermaster; 
resigned  Feb.  17,  1863. 

Frank  White,  regimental  quartermaster;  appoint- 
ed from  59th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  March  3, 
1863. 

James  R.  Duncan,  surgeon;  resigned  Jan.  11, 
1863. 

Thomas  R.  W.  Jeffray,  surgeon. 

John  A.  Lindsay,  assistant  surgeon. 

John  Chamberlain,  assistant  surgeon;  resigned 
April  16,  1863. 

James  C.  Rush,  chaplain;  resigned  Nov.  7, 1863. 

COMPANY  A. 

John  R.  Wheat,  captain;  Henry  F.  Leggitt,  cap- 
tain; Francis  M.  Stone,  1st  lieutenant;  John  W. 
Lucas,  1st  lieutenant;  Rufus  Somerby,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; William  II.  Pitkin,  1st  lieutenant;  R.  R.  W. 
Gillenwaters,  1st  lieutenant;  Dr.  H.  Roark,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; Andrew  J.  Pipkin,  2d  lieutenant;  William 
T.  Barton,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

William  T.  Bryan,  captain;  Silas  Clark,  captain; 
Warner  Underwood,  1st  lieutenant;  Benjamin 
M.  Johnson,  1st  lieutenant;  Turner  Hestand,  1st 
lieutenant;  Wm.  TI.  Woodcock,  1st  lieutenant; 
Anderson  Smith,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Gilbert  M.  Mulligan,  captain;  William  Starling, 
captain;  Theodore  F.  Heeter,  captain;  Jesse  Howell, 
1st  lieutenant;  Charles  R.  Tate,  1st  lieutenant; 
Ancil  B.  Mayhew,  1st  lieutenant;  Toliver  Moore, 
2d  lieutenant;  David  W.  Pope,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Lafayette  Harling,  captain;  Wiley  A.  Whitley, 
1st  lieutenant;  Algernon  S.  Leggitt,  1st  lieutenant; 
James  Goad,  1st  lieutenant;  William  H.  Morrow, 
1st  lieutenant;  William  M.  Gregory,  3d  lieutenant; 
Pleasant  Chitwood,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Archibalds.  Chenoweth,  captain;  Toliver  Moore, 
captain;  Moses  L.  Norvell,  1st  lieutenant;  Isaac  N. 
Chenoweth,  1st  lieutenant;  -John  P.  Grinstead,  1st 
lieutenant;  Jasper  N.  Butram,  1st  lieutenant;  Sam- 
uel C.  Stout,  3d  lieutenant;  Daniel  J.  Stout,  2d 
lieutenant;  David  Witty,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Henry  C.  Martin,  captain;  .John  M.  Vetter,  cap- 
tain; Riley  A.  Read,  captain;  Robert  T.  Patton,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  Moore,  2d  lieutenant;  Fred.  F. 
Carpenter,  2d  lieutenant;  Emery  H.  Read,  3d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Isaac  Dickerson,  captain;  Demetrius  B.  Coyle, 
captain;  Jas.  M.  Simmons,  captain;  Henry  W. 
Mayes,  1st  lieutenant;  Henry  W.  Jenkins,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Thos.  W.  Batdorf,  1st  lieutenant;  Charles 
A.  McCue,  3d  lieutenant;  Elijah  A.  Purcell,  2d 
lieutenant;  Chas.  J.  Coyle,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  n. 

George  H.  Cram,  captain;  Samuel  A.  Lodge, 
captain;  Wellington  J.  Cram,  captain;  .John  P. 
Grinstead,  captain;  John  W.  Combs,  1st  lieutenant; 
Chesly  D.  Bailey,  1st  lieutenant;  Smith  Pipkins, 
1st  lieutenant,  William  O.  Boyle,  1st  lieutenant; 
William  D.  Page,  2d  lieutenant;  Turner  Bartley, 
3d  lieutenant. 


700 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


COMPANY  I. 

Jonathan  W.  Roark,  captain;  Chesley  D. 
Bailey,  captain;  John  II.  Wheat,  captain;  James 
Rhody,  1st  lieutenant;  Dewitt  C.  Downing,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; John  B.  Austin,  2d  lieutenant;  Henry  H. 
Townsend,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Wm.  F.  Austin,  captain;  Rufus  Somerby.  cap- 
tain; Boyle  O.  Rodes,  captain;  Demetrius  B.  Coyle, 
1st  lieutenant;  George  Faulkner,  1st  lieutenant; 
James  Lane,  2d  lieutenant;  James  M.  Simmons, 
2d  lieutenant;  Maj.  B.  MeDufEee,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Ninth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organized  at 
Columbia,  Ky.,  under  Col.  Benjamin  C.  Grider, 
and  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  at 
Camp  Boyle,  Adair  Co.,  Ky.,  on  the  26th  day  of 
Nov.,  1861,  by  Maj.  W.  II.  Sidell,  Fifteenth  United 
States  Infantry,  mustering  officer. 


INFANTRY — TENTH  REGIMENT. 

John  M.  Harlan,  colonel;  resigned  March  6, 
1863. 

William  H.  Hays,  colonel;  promoted  from  lieu- 
tenant-colonel to  colonel,  March  11,  1863. 

Gabriel  C.  Wharton,  lieutenant-colonel;  promot- 
ed from  major  to  lieutenant-colonel  March  11, 
1863. 

Henry  G.  Davidson,  major;  promoted  from  cap- 
tain, Company  A.  to  major  March  11,  1863. 

William  J.  Lisle,  adjutant;  was  adjutant  to 
March  11,  1863. 

Austin  P.  McGuire,  adjutant;  promoted  to  1st 
lieutenant  and  adjutant  March  11,  1863. 

Samuel  Matlock,  quartermaster;  on  detached 
service  March  6,  1863,  to  Nov.  21, 1864. 

William  Atkisson,  surgeon;  died  April  14, 
1862. 

James  G.  Hatchitt,  surgeon;  promoted  brigade 
surgeon  June  26,  1862. 

Jabez  Perkins,  surgeon;  Nov.  18,  1863,  com- 
missioned as  surgeon  United  States  Volunteers. 

Charles  H.  Stocking,  surgeon;  promoted  from 
assistant  surgeon  to  surgeon  April  4,  1864. 

Thomas  M.  Knott,  asst,  surgeon;  died  April  5, 
1862. 

Charles  Hardesty,  asst,  surgeon;  appointed  as- 
sistant surgeon  April  5,  1862. 

Richard  C.  Nash,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

Henry  G.  Davidson,  captain;  William  J.  Lisle, 
captain;  Charles  W.  McKay,  captain;  James  Rey- 
nolds, 1st  lieutenant;  Henry  11.  Warren,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; John  Estes,  2d  lieutenant;  Austin  P.  Mc- 
Guire, 2d  lieutenant;  Richard  Grace,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

.John  T.  Milburn,  captain;  Robert  S.  Short,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  F.  O’Bryan,  1st  lieutenant; 
James  M.  Davenport,  2d  lieutenant;  John  T.  Mc- 
Cauley, 2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Edward  Hilpp,  captain;  William  L.  Musson,  1st 
lieutenant;  James  E.  Sallee,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

George  W.  Riley,  captain;  William  Hupp,  1st 
lieutenant;  James  J.  Mills,  1st  ieutenant;  Stephen 
N.  Dorsey,  2d  lieutenant;  Edward  Y.  Penick,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Seth  P.  Bevill,  captain;  Andrew  Thompson, 
captain;  Clem.  Funk,  1st  lieutenant. 


COMPANY  F. 

Franklin  S.  Hill,  captain;  Charles  W.  McKay,  1st 
lieutenant;  Benjamin  R.  Smith,  1st  lieutenant;  Jo- 
seph T.  Adcock,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

William  R.  Hunter,  captain;  James  M.  Daven- 
port, captain;  James  M.  Fiddler,  1st  lieutenant; 
Charles  E.  Spalding,  1st  lieutenant;  Edward  O. 
Blemford,  1st  lieutenant;  Edward  C.  Ferrill,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Buford  R.  Pendleton,  captain;  William  T. 
Shively,  captain;  Henry  W.  Barry,  1st  lieutenant;. 
Henry  C.  Dunn,  1st  lieutenant;  William  F.  Beg- 
low,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Israel  B.  Webster,  captain;  William  E.  Kelley, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  H.  Myers  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

William  Tweddle,  captain;  Henry  Waller,  cap- 
tain; .John  H.  Denton,  captain;  James  R.  Watts, 
1st  lieutenant. 

The  Tenth  Regiment  Kentucky  Volunteer  In- 
fantry was  organized  at  Lebanon,  Ky.,  under  Col. 
John  M.  Harlan,  and  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service  Nov.  21.  1861,  by  Maj,  Sidell,  Unit- 
ed States  mustering  officer, 

INFANTRY — ELEVENTH  REGIMENT 

Pierce  B,  Hawkins,  colonel. 

S.  P.  Love,  colonel;  promoted  from  lieutenant- 
colonel  to  colonel  June  26,  1863. 

Erasmus  L.  Mottley,  lieutenant-colonel;  pro- 
moted from  major  to  lieutenant  colonel  June  26, 
1863. 

Woodford  M.  Houchin,  major;  promoted  from 
captain,  Company  E,  to  major  Feb.  1,  1864. 

Eugene  F.  Kinnaird,  major. 

JohnT.  Kinnaird,  adjutant. 

.1.  H.  Reno,  quartermaster. 

Vincent  S.  Hay,  quartermaster. 

Joseph  Kerby,  quartermaster;  promoted  from 
private  Company  G. 

John  F.  Kimbley,  surgeon. 

James  T.  Higgins,  assistant  surgeon;  promoted 
from  hospital  steward. 

Samuel  Simpson,  assistant  surgeon. 

Porter  H.  Calvert,  chaplain;  promoted  from 
private.  Company  K,  to  chaplain  Sept.  25,  1863. 

Lewis  P.  Arnold,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

Eugene  F.  Kinnaird,  captain;  James  M.  Elms, 
captain;  John  G.  Daniels,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas. 
Cherry,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Edward  R.  Weir,  captain;  William  F.  Ward, 
captain;  James  W.  Pattesou,  1st  lieutenant;  Hud- 
son Brown,  2d  lieutenant;  Templeton  P.  Martin,. 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

John  B.  Tyler,  captain;  Curren  G.  Neel,  cap- 
tain; John  B.  Graves,  captain;  James  M.  Tyler, 
1st  lieutenant;  William  B.  Neel,  1st  lieutenant; 
Jesse  C.  Atkinson,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Newman  M.  Peay,  captain;  Charles  W.  Han- 
way,  captain;  John  J.  Washer,  captain;  Daniel 
M.  Stahl,  captain;  George  Fortner,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Woodford  M.  Houchin,  captain;  Noah  Morris, 
captain;  Seldon  R.  Sanders,  1st  lieutenant;  Francis. 
Houchin,  2d  lieutenant. 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTHCKY. 


01 


(.■OMPANT  F. 

Joseph  S.  Willis,  captain;  David  Poole,  captain; 
Boyd  Mercer,  1st  lieutenant;  James  R.  Wise,  1st 
lieutenant;  Thomas  M.  Bobbett,  1st  lieutenant; 
William  J.  Long,  1st  lieutenant;  Preston  P. 
Doughty,  2d  lieutenant;  Columbus  Neel,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; Fred  G,  Price,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Elijah  C.  Phelps,  captain;  Oliver  P.  Johnson, 
captain;  William  R.  Willis,  captain;  William 
Smith,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Isaac  R.  Sketo,  captain;  Jesse  K.  Freeman, 
captain;  Addison  Turner,  1st  lieutenant;  Joseph  D. 
Youtz,  1st  lieutenant;  Jesse  S.  Hill,  2d  lieutenant; 
John  C.  Ham,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Joseph  Fox,  captain;  James  R.  Wise,  captain; 
.Jonathan  Simmons,  captain;  Thomas  Bobbett,  1st 
lieutenant;  David  Pool.  1st  lieutenant;  Robert  T. 
Kennedy,  1st  lieutenant;  William  H.  Smith,  1st 
lieutenant;  BoydMercer,  1st  lieutenant;  Preston  P. 
Doughty,  2d  lieutenant;  William  J.  Long,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; Coiumbus  Neel,  2d  lieutenant. 

C03IPANY  K. 

Martin  Jefferson  Roark,  captain;  Columbus  H. 
Martin,  captain;  Wash.  C.  Shannon,  captain;  James 
L.  Roark,  1st  lieutenant;  Green  B.  Eades,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

The  Eleventh  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organized 
in  December,  1861,  at  Calhoon,  Ky.,  under  Col.  P. 
B.  Hawkins,  and  was  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service  by  Maj.  W.  H.  Sidell,  United  States 
mustering  officer. 

rXFAJXTRT — TWELFTH  BEGIJLENT. 

William  A.  Hoskins,  coionel. 

Laurence  H.Rosseau,  lieutenant-colonel;  promot- 
ed from  captain  of  Company  C to  lieutenant-colonel 
August  11,  1862;  commissioned  colonel  April  21, 
1864,  but  never  mustered  as  such;  transferred  to 
12th  Kentucky  Veteran  Infantry. 

Montgomery  Howard,  lieutenant-colonel. 

William  M.  Worsham,  major. 

Joseph  M.  Owens,  major;  promoted  from  cap- 
tain, Company  B,  July  15,  1862. 

John  M.  Hail,  adjutant. 

James  F.  McKee,  adjutant. 

Ephraim  F.  Hay,  adjutant. 

G.  K.  Noland,  regimental  quartermaster. 

Snowden  P.  Worsham,  regimental  quartermaster; 
transferred  to  the  12th  Kentucky  Veteran  Infantry. 

Edward  Richardson,  surgeon. 

Wm.  H.  Mullins,  surgeon;  promoted  from  assist- 
ant surgeon  June  6,  1862;  transferred  to  12th  Ken- 
tucky Veteran  Infantry. 

Americus  V.  Winfrey,  assistant  surgeon. 

W.  Morgan  Pollitt,  assistant  surgeon;  promoted 
from  hospital  steward  of  the  16th  Kentucky  Infant- 
ry April  9,  1863. 

Lewis  Parker,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

Cornelius  C.  Ham,  captain;  Ephraim  F.  Hays, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  W.  Lewis,  1st  lieutenant;  Tho. 
Speed,  1st  lieutenant;  Sami.  F.  Tomlinson,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; L.  C.  Waddle,  3d  lieutenant;  Nathaniel  B. 
Dobbs,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Joseph  M.  Owens,  captain;  John  Travis,  captain; 
Wm.  R.  Smith.  1st  lieutenant;  John  W.  Vander- 
pool,  2d  lieutenant;  Jasper  H.  -Johnson,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; .James  T.  W.  Barnett,  2d  lieutenant. 


C03IPANT  C. 

Laurence  H.  Rosseau,  captain;  Wm.  J.  Henson, 
captain;  Wm.  C.  Crozier,  captain;  Israel  C.  Win- 
frey, 1st  lieutenant;  Robert  H.  Mullins,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Moses  Higgenbottom,  2d  lieutenant;  Jno.  R. 
McClure,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Martin  Van  Buren  Duvall,  captain;  John  H. 
Brown,  captain;  Reuben  Hurt,  1st  lieutenant; 
Joseph  Hurt,  1st  lieutenant;  Lewis  W.  Duvall,  2d 
lieutenant;  James  Duvall,  2d  lieutenant;  Thomas 
Davison,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Andrew  .J.  Veatch,  captain;  Geo.  W.  Hill,  cap- 
tain; Alzy  C.  Smith,  1st  lieutenant;  Granville  C. 
Brassfield,  1st  lieutenant;  Milton  A.  Sive}^,  2d  lieu- 
j tenant. 

' COMPANY  F. 

Wm.  A.  Collier,  captain;  William  Williams, 
captain;  Green  C.  Freeman,  1st  lieutenant;  Benj. 
Marlin,  2d  lieutenant;  Wm.  C.  Crozier,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Wm.  P.  Payne,  captain;  Samuel  M.  Letcher, 
captain;  Wm.  W.  Bradley,  1st  lieutenant;  Foun- 
tain J.  Wolford,  1st  lieutenant;  Lewis  Irvine,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Elisha  Simpson,  captain;  James  L.  Burch,  cap- 
tain; Peter  J.  Hiatt,  caijlain;  Jno.  L.  Warden,  cap- 
tain; E.  G.  Jacobs,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  Ballow, 
2d  lieutenant:  Snowden  P.  Worsham,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; Chas.  Orman,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

John  Johnson,  captain;  John  R.  McClure,  cap- 
tain; Nathan  Jacobs,  1st  lieutenant;  Snowden  P. 
Worsham,  1st  lieutenant;  Jno.  B.  Francis,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; David  Gray,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Joseph  Ballow,  captain;  Thomas  J.  Mercer,  1st 
lieutenant;  Watson  Ballow,  1st  lieutenant;  Francis 
R.  Winfrey,  1st  lieutenant;  Edward  Dolen,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

The  Twelfth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organized  in 
October,  1861,  at  Camp  Clio.  Pulaski  County,  K}l, 
under  Col.  W.  A.  Hoskins,  and  was  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service  on  the  30th  of  January, 
1862,  by  Capt.  J.  M.  Kellogg,  mustering  officer. 


EXFA2sTRY — THIRTEENTH  REGIilEXT. 

Edward  H.  Hobson,  colonel. 

William  E.  Hobson,  colonel;  promoted  to  lieu- 
tenant-colonel  Feb.  15,  1863,  to  colonel  March 
13,  1863. 

John  B.  Carlisle,  lieutenant-colonel. 

Benjamin  P.  Estes,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
to  lieutenant-colonel  May  15,  1863. 

John  P.  Duncan,  major;  promoted  to  major 
March  25,  1863. 

Wm.  W.  Woodi’uff,  adjutant. 

John  S.  Butler,  adjutant:  promoted  to  captain 
and  asst,  adjutant-general  Dec.  5,  1863. 

George  W.  Flowers,  adjutant;  promoted  to  ad- 
jutant Aug.  15,  1864. 

Wm.  B.  Craddock,  regimental  quartermaster. 

Gann  M.  Smith,  regimental  quartermaster;  pro- 
moted to  regimental  quartermaster  March  12, 
1862. 

Charles  D.  Moore,  surgeon. 

Isaac  G.  Ingram,  asst,  surgeon. 

Edward  S.  Cooper,  asst,  surgeon. 

Flavu  J.  Taylor,  asst,  surgeon;  promoted  to  asst, 
surgeon  Jan.  10,  1863. 


703 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Isaac  W.  Emmerson,  chaplain. 

Wm.  C.  Johnston,  chaplain. 

John  R.  Barbee,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

David  T.  Towles,  captain;  George  W,  Thomp- 
son, captain;  Newbury  G.  Forbis,  1st  lieutenant; 
Beny  M.  AY  ebb,  2d  lieutenant;  William  L.  Des- 
pain,  2d  lieutenant;  Abraham  Chapline,  2d  lieuten- 
ant, 

COMPANY  E, 

Tbos,  T.  Alexander,  captain;  Harrison  Q. 
Hughes,  captain;  Oliver  B,  Patterson,  captain; 
Nathan  G.  Butler,  1st  lieutenant;  William  J.  At- 
kins, 1st  lieutenant;  James  R,  Hindman,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Rodophil  E.  Jeter,  captain;  Benjamin  V.  Banks, 
captain;  Christopher  C.  Christie,  1st  lieutenant; 
Samuel  H.  Murrell,  3d  lieutenant;  Charles  M.  Sal- 
lee, 2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Benjamin  P.  Estes,  captain;  William  W.  Wood- 
ruff, captain;  William  P.  Oldham,  1st  lieutenant; 
John  R.  Price,  2d  lieutenant;  Wm.  H.  Hall,  3d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Thomas  O.  Moore,  captain;  James  W.  Wood- 
ward, captain;  Samuel  Bottom,  captain;  Nathaniel 
F.  Twyman,  captain;  Edward  P.  Allen,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Elisha  B.  Gardner,  1st  lieutenant;  Richard 
Henderson,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

John  P.  Duncan,  captain;  Champness  D.  But- 
ler, captain;  John  H.  Hazard,  captain;  Robert  H. 
Turner,  1st  lieutenant;  Luther  Morris,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Holland  Jones,  2d  lieutenant;  Samuel  A. 
Jones,  3d  lieutenant;  William  T.  Martin,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Isaac  R.  H.  Caldwell,  captain;  Samuel  W. 
Moore,  captain;  Elija  F.  Tucker,  captain;  Isaac  T. 
Hizer,  1st  lieutenant;  Samuel  -T.  Cabbell,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Jacob  D.  Bradford,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas 
A.  Low,  2d  lieutenant;  Tucker  W.  Sullivan,  2d 
lieutenant;  William  H.  Stearman,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Edward  W.  Graham,  captain;  AY allace  Victor, 
captain;  James  R.  Hindman,  captain;  Elijah  J. 
Graham,  1st  lieutenant;  George  AV.  Flowers;  1st 
lieutenant;  Jesse  Despain,  1st  lieutenant;  James  H. 
Hagan,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Charles  Stewart,  captain;  Giles  A.  Gallup,  cap- 
tain; AYilliam  H.  Stratton,  captain;  James  M. 
Bradley,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Peter  S.  Rush,  captain;  Patrick  G.  Fisher,  cap- 
tain; Albert  N.  Jett,  captain;  Wm.  L.  Lee,  1st 
lieutenant;  Joel  S.  Veluzat,  1st  lieutenant;  Charles 
McCracken,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Thirteenth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organ- 
ized in  December,  1861,  at  Camp  Hobson,  Ken- 
tucky, under  Col.  Edward  H.  Hobson,  and  was 
mustered  in  December  30,  1861,  by  Capt.  S.  M. 
Kellogg,  United  States  mustering  officer. 


INFANTRY — FOURTEENTH  REGIMENT. 

Laban  T.  Moore,  colonel. 

John  C.  Cochran,  colonel. 

George  W.  Gallup,  colonel;  promoted  to  colonel 
Jan.  13,  1863. 

Joseph  R.  Brown,  lieutenant-colonel. 


Orlando  Brown,  Jr.,  lieutenant-colonel;  pro- 
moted to  lieutanant-colonel  Jan.  13,  1863. 

Rhys  M.  Thomas,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
to  lieutenant-colonel  Sept.  29, 1864. 

Wm,  B.  Burke,  major. 

Drury  J.  Burchett,  major;  promoted  to  major 
Sept.  29,  1864. 

John  F.  Babbitt,  adjutant. 

Edward  J.  Roberts,  adjutant;  promoted  from 
sergeant-major  March  1,  1862. 

James  D.  Foster,  regimental  quartermaster;  pro- 
moted to  regimental  quartermaster  June  3,  1863. 

S.  J.  Yates,  surgeon. 

Akin  C.  Miller,  surgeon. 

Strother  J.  Yates,  surgeon 

Franklin  M.  Meacham,  assistant  surgeon 

Samuel  D.  Richards,  assistant  surgeon. 

Benj.  A.  Stubbins,  assistant  surgeon. 

Cyrus  L.  Mobley,  assistant  surgeon;  promoted 
from  hospital  steward  Dec.  15, 1862. 

A.  .1.  McMillan,  chaplain. 

Robert  B.  Herron,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

James  C.  Whitten,  captain;  Rhys  M.  Thomas, 
captain,  William  C.  Brown,  1st  lieutenant;  Henry 
B.  Brodess,  1st  lieutenant;  John  M.  Lowthere,  3d 
lieutenant;  George  W.  Hopkins,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Walter  O.  Woods,  captain;  James  H.  Davidson, 
captain;  George  W.  Green,  captain;  Chilton  A. 
Osburn,  1st  lieutenant;  James  W.  Chafin,  1st 
lieutenant;  Ralph  W.  AVolbrook,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

David  A.  Mims,  captain;  Oliver  M.  Frasher, 
captain;  William  Killgore,  1st  lieutenant;  David  H. 
McGhee,  1st  lieutenant;  Geo.  B.  Patton,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Thomas  McKinster,  captain;  Charles  A.  Wood, 
captain;  John  C.  Henderson,  1st  lieutenant;  Henry 
A.  Borders,  1st  lieutenant;  Russell  T.  Thompson, 
1st  lieutenant;  Samuel  T.  Moore,  3d  lieutenant; 
Bluford  F.  Hale,  2d  lieutenant;  John  S.  Thompson, 
2dlieutenant;  Henry  H.  Hill,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Archibald  Means,  captain;  Dwight  A.  Lefflng- 
well,  captain;  AYilliam  Price,  1st  lieutenant;  James 
T.  AYomack,  1st  lieutenant;  Jacob  M.  Poage,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Solomon  Davis,  captain;  David  L.  Worthington, 
captain;  John  Cochran,  Jr.,  captain;  Patrick  0. 
Hawes,  captain;  Henry  G.  Gardner,  captain; 
Dwight  A.  Leffingwell,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  H. 
Stewart,  1st  lieutenant;  James  H.  Sperry,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; John  Murphy,  2d  lieutenant;  Henry  H. 
Gallup,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

John  C,  Collins,  captain;  Oliver  D.  Botner, 
captain;  Daniel  H.  Brown,  1st  lieutenant;  George 
H.  Roberts,  2d  lieutenant;  Lawrence  P.  Daven- 
port, 3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Isaac  Hollingsworth,  captain;  JohnF.  Babbitt, 
captain;  AYm.  H.  Bartram,  Captain;  Geo.  R.  B. 
Chapman,  1st  lieutenant;  Geo.  F.  Johnson,  1st 
lieute-nant;  Francis  M.  Burgess,  2d  lieutenant; 
James  H.  Carey,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  1. 

John  Powers,  captain;  Wiley  C.  Patrick,  cap- 
tain; John  M.  Atkinson,  captain;  Henry  G.  Gard- 
ner. 1st  lieutenant;  Mason  H.  Power,  1st  lieuten- 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


03 


ant:  Richard  M.  Elam.  2d  lieutenant;  Andrew  B. 
Fitch,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

John  M.  Smith,  captain;  Drury  J.  Burchett, 
captain;  Tho.  D.  Marcum,  captain;  Andrew  J. 
Fox,  1st  lieutenant;  James  W.  Shannon,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

The  Fourteenth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organ- 
ized in  October,  1861,  at  Louisa,  Ky.,  under  Col. 
Laban  T.  Moore,  and  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service  December  10,  1861,  by  Lt.  C.  B. 
Throckmorton,  Fourth  United  States  Artillery, 
mustering  officer. 


INFAXITRY — FIFTEENTH  REGIMENT. 

Curran  Pope,  colonel;  died  Nov.  5.  1862,  of 
wounds  received  at  battle  of  Chaplin  Hills  Oct.  8, 
1862. 

James  B.  Forman,  colonel;  killed  at  battle  of 
Stone  River,  Tenn.,  Dec.  31.  1862. 

Marion  C.  Taylor,  colonel;  promoted  from  cap- 
tain, Company  A,  to  colonel  Jan.  1,  1863. 

George  P.  Jouett,  lieutenant-colonel;  killed  at 
battle  of  Chaplin  Hills  Oct.  8,  1862. 

Josepli  R.  Snider,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
from  captain,  Company  B,  Oct.  9,  1862. 

Noah  Cartwright,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
to  lieutenant-colonel  July  13,  1863. 

William  G.  Halpin,  lieutenant-colonel; promoted 
to  lieutenant-colonel  Jan.  26,  1864. 

William  P.  Campbell,  major;  killed  in  battle  of 
Chaplin  Hills.  Ky.,  Oct.  8,  1862. 

Henry  F.  Kalfus  major;  promoted  major  Oct. 

James  S.  Allen,  major;  promoted  to  major 
March  1,  1864, 

Ahimaaz  H,  Chambers,  major;  promoted  to  ma- 
jor April  11,  1864. 

William  P.  McDowell,  adjutant;  major  in  adju- 
tant-general’s department. 

David  N.  Sharp,  adjutant;  promoted  to  adjutant 
April  15,  1863. 

John  W.  Clarke,  regimental  quartermaster;  re- 
signed Feb.  10,  1863. 

Woodford  Hall,  regimental  quartermaster; 
promoted  to  1st  lieutenant  and  quartermaster 
March  15,1863. 

Luther  P.  Weatherby,  surgeon;  resigned  July  16, 

Richard  F.  Logan,  surgeon;  promoted  from  asst, 
surgeon  July  16,  1862. 

Edward  H.  Dunn,  surgeon;  promoted  from  asst, 
surgeon  Nov.  28,  1862. 

Eli  D.  Whitaker,  asst,  surgeon. 

Ezra  Woodruff,  asst,  surgeon. 

Jeremiah  J.  Talbott,  ohaplain;  resigned  Nov.  18, 
1863. 

William  C.  Atmore,  chaplain,  resigned  Aug.  7, 
1862. 

Samuel  T.  Poinier,  chaplain;  resigned  April  5, 
1863. 

COMPANY  A. 

Marion  C.  Taylor,  captain;  John  S.  Churchill, 
captain;  James  A.  T.  McGrath,  1st  lieutenant; 
Coleman  S.  Daniel,  1st  lieutenant;  Henry  M.  Lyle, 
1st  lieutenant:  Joseph  W.  Lyle, 1st  lieutenant;  Fran- 
cis A.  Winlock,  2d  lieutenant;  Joseph  L.  Atherton, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Joseph  R.  Snider,  captain;  Wm.  H.  Harrison, 
captain;  Abraham  Rothchild,  captain;  Benjamin  H. 
Howser,  1st  lieutenant;  Janies  W.  Gray, 1st  lieuten- 
ant; Richard  Foster,  2d  lieutenant. 


C03rP\NT  c. 

William  T.  McClure,  captain;  James  B.  Forman, 
captain;  Ahimaaz  II.  Cliambers,captaiu;Hemy  Wil- 
son, captrdn;  L.  Frank  Todd,  1st  lieutenant;  Eze- 
kiel S.  Forman,  1st  lieutenant;  Joseph  L.  McClure, 
2d  lieutenant;  Robert  H.  Roberts,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  r>. 

Henry  F.  Kalfus,  captain;  John  B.  McDowell, 
captain;  John  L.  Foster,  captain;  John  V.  Thomp- 
son, 1st  lieutenant;  William  H.  Brooks,  1st  lieuten- 
ant. 

COjMPANT  e. 

Noah  Cartwright,  captain;  Charles  L.  Easum, 
captain;  John  B.  Wood,  1st  lieutenant;  Richard  F. 
Shafar,  1st  lieutenant;  Harrison  Hikes,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Aaron  S.  Bayne,  captain;  .John  C.  Carroll,  cap- 
tain; William  V.  Wolfe,  1st  lieutenant;  Judson 
Bayne,  1st  lieutenant;  James  P.  Carroll,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; William  H.  Booker,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

John  Spalding,  captain;  John  B.  Wood,  captain; 
John  D.  Lenahan,  1st  lieutenant,  Frank  D.  Ger- 
rety,  1st  lieutenant;  John  Gormly,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Joshua  P.  Prather,  captain;  Richard  H.  M.  Crup- 
per, captain;  Joseph  L.  Atherton,  captain;  William 
H.  Thomas,  1st  lieutenant;  Jefferson  Dickerson,  1st 
lieutenant;  Edward  Clemmons,  1st  lieutenant;  Ed- 
ward S.  Runnell,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

George  T.  Limberg,  captain;  James  S.  Allen, 
captain;  E.  Irvine  McDowell,  captain;  Joseph  Wey- 
man,  1st  lieutenant;  John  H.  Crockett,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Frederick  D.  Walker,  2d  lieutenant;  Louis 
Constans,  2d  lieutenant;  William  Giesman,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; John  M.  McGrath,  2d  lieutenant;  Henry 
Koch,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

William  G.  Halpin,  captain;  Daniel  O’Leary, 
captain;  George  Wilson,  1st  lieutenant;  Nelson  C. 
Boyd,  1st  lieutenant;  Peter  Kaps,  1st  lieutenant. 

The  Fifteenth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organized 
in  the  fall  of  1861,  at  Camp  Pope,  near  New  Haven, 
Ky.,  under  Col.  Cm’ran  Pope,  and  was  mustered 
into  the  United  States  service  on  the  14th  day  of 
December,  1861,  at  Camp  Pope,  by  Capt.  C.  C.  Gil- 
bert, United  States  mustering  officer. 


INFANTRY — SIXTEENTH  REGIMENT. 

Charles  A.  Marshall,  colonel;  resigned  May  1, 
1862. 

James  W.  Craddock,  colonel;  died  .June  2,  1863. 

James  W.  Gault,  colonel;  promoted  to  colonel 
June  3,  1863. 

Joseph  Doniphan,  lieutenant-colonel;  resigned 
March  13,  1862. 

Joseph  B.  Harris,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
from  major  to  lieutenant-colonel  March  15,  1862. 

Tho.  E.  Burns,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted  to 
lieutenant-colonel  June  3,  1863. 

Jno.  S.  White,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted  from 
1st  lieutenant.  Company  A. 

James  P.  Harbeson,  major;  promoted  from  cap- 
tain, Company  H,  to  major,  July  20,  1862. 

Ralph  Robinson  Maltby,  adjutant;  resigned  July 
29,  1862. 

Joseph  Dudley,  adjutant;  promoted  to  adjutant 
July  29,  1862. 


704 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Chas.  A.  Love,  adjutant;  promoted  to  adjutant 
July  14,  1864. 

Samuel  B.  Patterson,  quartermaster;  dismissed 
March  25,  1863. 

Wiley  T.  Poynter,  quartermaster. 

James  A.  Andrews,  quartermaster;  promoted 
from  quartermaster  sergeant. 

Simon  M.  Cartmell,  surgeon. 

Frederick  M.  Taylor,  surgeon;  promoted  from 
asst,  surgeon  to  surgeon  Dec.  4,  1864. 

AVilliam  C.  R.  Harrison,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned 
Jan.  9,  1862. 

Lewis  J.  Jones,  asst,  surgeon;  transferred  to  16th 
Kentucky  Veteran  Infantry. 

John  S.  Bayless,  chaplain;  transferred  to  16th 
Kentucky  Veteran  Infantry. 

COMPANY  A. 

James  W.  Gault,  captain;  Jno.  S.  White,  captain; 
Samuel  D.  Pumpelly,  captain;  Geo.  M.  DeGarmo, 
1st  lieutenant;  Marcus  A.  D.  L.  Allen,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Job  F.  Lewman,  captain;  Luther  F.  Warder, 
captain;  Jno.  W.  Knight,  captain;  John  S.  Ham- 
mer, captain;  Oliver  B.  Doyle,.  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

,lacoh  Miller,  captain;  John  W.  Wallace,  1st 
lieutenant;  Joseph  C.  Hiser,  1st  lieutenant;  James 
Lawrie,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Thomas  N.  Wiley,  captain;  Theodore  C.  Bratton, 
captain;  Henry  C.  Weaver,  1st  lieutenant;  Richard 
C.  Nugent,  2d  lieutenant;  James  B.  Shane,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Abraham  Murphy,  captain;  Joseph  B.  Morris,  1st 
lieutenant;  Tho.  C.  Dickey,  1st  lieutenant;  Nathan- 
iel S.  Wood,  2d  lieutenant;  Martin  V.  Markley,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Embassy  F.  King,  captain;  Tho.  E.  Burns,  cap- 
tain; Nathaniel  S.  Wood,  captain;  Henry  L.  Gillis, 
1st  lieutenant;  Wm.  E.  Ellis,  1st  lieutenant;  Leon- 
idas A.  King,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Thomas  A.  Curran,  captain;  David  L.  Wells, 
captain;  Jno.  E.  Wells,  captain;  Thos.  H.  Manning, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  T.  Gault,  1st  lieutenant; 
Thomas  J.  Galbraith,  2d  lieutenant;  Chas.  A.  Love, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

James  P.  Harl)eson,  captain;  Henry  D.  Palmer, 
captain;  Geo.  H.  Taylor,  captain;  Thomas E.  Burns, 
1st  lieutenant;  Tho.  J.  Wood,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Carr  B.  White,  captain;  Morris  C.  Hutchins, 
captain;  Thaddeus  P.  Bullock,  1st  lieutenant;  Otho 
W.  Estell,  1st  lieutenant;  Salathiel  Brown,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

James  A.  Lee,  Jr.,  captain;  John  M.  Freeman, 
1st  lieutenant;  Lewis  M.  Clarke,  2d  lieutenant;  -John 
C.  Sanders,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Si.xteenth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organized 
in  December,  1861,  at  Camp  Lee,  near  Maysville, 
Ky.,  under  Col.  Charles  A.  Marshall,  and  was  mus- 
tered into  the  United  States  service  on  the  27th  day 
of  -January,  1862,  h.y  Lieut.  George  H.  Burns,  United 
States  mustering  officer. 

INFANTRY — SEVENTEENTH  REGIMENT. 

James  !M.  Shackelford,  colonel;  resigned  March 


23,  1862,  as  colonel  25th  Kentucky  Volunteer  In- 
fantry. 

John  H.  McHenry,  Jr.,  colonel;  organized  17th 
Regiment. 

Alexander  M.  Stout,  colonel;  promoted  colonel 
Jan.  27,  1863;  was  wounded  severely  at  Shiloh. 

Benj.  H.  Bristow,  lieutenant-colonel;  resigned 
April  1,5,  1862,  as  lieutenant-colonel  25th  Kentucky 
Volunteers. 

Robert  Vaughan,  lieutenant-colonel;  wounded 
Sept.  20,  1863,  at  Chickamauga,  Ga. 

William  B.  Wall,  major;  resigned  April  15, 
1862,  as  major  25th  Kentucky  Volunteers. 

Isaac  Calhoou,  major;  promoted  major  Dec.  31, 
1861. 

David  M.  Claggett,  major;  was  captain  Company 
C,  25th  Kentucky  Volunteers,  to  April  13,  1862. 

John  P.  Ritter,  adjutant;  resigned  April  16, 
1862,  as  adjutant  25th  Kentucky  Volunteer  In- 
fantry. 

Edmund  L.  Starling,  adjutant;  resigned  April 
16,  1862,  as  adjutant  17th  Kentucky  Volunteer  In- 
fantry. 

George  W.  Gi.st,  adjutant;  promoted  captain 
Company  D,  April  23,  1863. 

-John  M.  Williams,  adjutant;  promoted  adjutant 
June  15,  1863;  died  Aug.  9,  1863. 

George  Deering,  adjutant;  promoted  adjutant 
Oct.  14,  1863. 

Benjamin  T.  Perkins,  regimental  quartermaster; 
resigned  April  16,  1862. 

Richeson  W.  Allen,  regimental  quartermaster; 
resigned  July  3,  1862. 

John  T.  -Jackson,  regimental  quartermaster; 
resigned  March  11,  1863. 

Richard  C.  Gill,  regimental  quartermaster. 

Burkett  Cloak,  surgeon;  resigned  April  16,  1862, 
as  surgeon  25th  Iventucky  Volunteer  Infantry. 

Warren  J.  Burgess,  surgeon. 

Addison  P.  Shackelford,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned 
March  4,  1862,  as  asst,  surgeon  25th  Kentucky  Vol- 
unteers. 

Albert  D.  Cosby,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned  Dec. 
13,  1862. 

George  W.  Warmoth,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned 
April  16,  1862,  as  asst,  surgeon  25th  Kentucky  Vol- 
unteers. 

Stuart  Hubbard,  asst,  surgeon. 

-Jno.  W.  Compton,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned  March 

24,  1863. 

George  W.  Kinsoloing,  chaplain;  resigned  April 
3,  1862. 

COMPANY  A. 

Preston  Morton,  captain;  William  Keith,  cap- 
tain; Samuel  Ia.  Cox,  captain;  Thomas  R.  Brown, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  D.  Millman,  1st  lieutenant; 
Isaac  Ferry,  1st  lieutenant;  Wm.  -J.  White,  1st 
lieutenant;  James  B.  Harrison,  2d  lieutenant;  -John 
W.  Howard,  2d  lieutenant;  -John  H.  Frost,  2d 
lieutenant;  Wm,  J,  Littell,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

William  H.  Davison,  captain;  William  W. 
Briggs,  captain;  Isaac  Perry,  captain;  Barney  M, 
Harwood,  1st  lieutenant;  Avery  Byers,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; Alexander  B.  Sandefur,  2d  lieutenant, 

COMPANY  C. 

Isaac  Calhoon,  captain;  Robert  L.  Beckham, 
captain;  David  Duncan,  captain;  Finis  H.  Little, 
1st  lieutenant;  William  J.  Lendrum,  1st  lieutenant; 
Linus  Fuller,  1st  lieutenant;  Marcus  D.  Bandy,  2d 
lieutenant;  Barney  M.  Harwood,  2d  lieutenant; 
Robert  J.  Allen,  2d  lieutenant;  Curtis  A,  Brasher, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I). 

James  Hudson,  captain;  David  M.  Claggett, 
captain;  Elisha  B.  Edwards,  captain;  Frank  H. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


705 


Bristow,  captain;  George  W.  Gist,  captain;  Jesse 
W.  Griffln,  1st  lieutenant;  Richard  F.  Taylor,  1st 
lieutenant;  Edward  S.  Campbell,  1st  lieutenant; 
Robert  M.  Davis,  1st  lieutenant;  Aaron  S.  Hicks, 
1st  lieutenant;  Walter  Evans,  2d  lieatenant;  Sey- 
more H.  Perkins,  2d  lieutenant;  Jno.  D.  Mill- 
man,  2d  lieutenant;  Isaac  Ferry,  2d  lieutenant; 
James  M.  Rogers,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMP.VNT  E. 

Wesley  Garey,  captain;  Thomas  W.  Campbell, 
captain;  James  W.  Anthony,  captain;  Wm.  J. 
Lendrum,  captain;  John  H.  Frost,  captain;  Perry 
Campbell,  1st  lieutenant;  Albert  R.  Shackelford,  1st 
lieutenant;  George  L.  Sullivan,  1st  lieutenant; 
Wm.  S.  Johnson,  1st  lieutenant;  Samuel  K.  Cox, 
1st  lieutenant;  Boanerges  V.  Tyler,  1st  lieutenant; 
Richard  L.  Peyton,  2d  lientenant;  Benjamin  T. 
Hobbs,  2d  lieutenant;  James  M.  Wilson,  2d  lieuten-  j 
ant;  Charles  Bratcher,  2d  lieutenant;  Campbell  H.  1 
Johnson,  2d  lieutenant;  Michael  Mulvey,  2d  lieu-  ] 
tenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Henry  S.  Barnett,  captain;  Ion  Nall,  captain; 
William  T.  King,  1st  lieutenant;  Jefferson  H.  Jen- 
nings, 1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  J.  A1  verson,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  G.  Ferguson,  2d  lieutenant;  Oscar 

D.  Kress,  2d  lieutenant;  Thomas  D.  Davis,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Benjamin  T.  Underwood,  captain;  Hugh  C. 
Cooper,  captain;  Thomas  J.  Kirby,  captain;  John 
V.  Boyd,  captain;  Samuel  T.  Fruit,  captain;  Will- 
iam Ashby,  1st  lieutenant;  Rich.  W.  Williams,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  H Frost,  1st  lieutenant;  Alexan- 
der B.  Sandefur,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  B.  Boyd, 
2d  lieutenant;  Isaac  Condett,  2d  lieutenant;  ^Albert 

E.  Brown,  2d  lieutenant;  David  Cartright,  2d 
lieutenant;  Wm.  H.  Meglemer}^  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

George  A.  Little,  captain;  Robt.  M.  Davis,  cap- 
tain; Richard  F.  Taylor,  1st  lieutenant;  Williams. 
Dillahay,  1st  lieutenant;  Henry  M.  West,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Garton  C.  Pruett,  2d  lieutenant;  H.  Clay 
Marlow  2d  lieutenant;  George  C.  Merritt,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  1. 

Robert  Vaughan,  captain;  Thomas  R.  Brown, 
captain;  Silas  Heston,  1st  lieutenant;  H.  Clay 
Marlow,  1st  lieutenant;  Jefferson  H.  Jennings,  2d 
lieutenant;  Boanerges  V.  Tyler,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

James  H.  Holloway,  captain;  Putnam B.  Trible,  i 
captain;  Robert  C.  Sturgis,  captain;  George  C.  ; 
Merritt,  captain;  Newton  M.  Miller,  1st  lieutenant; 
Pius  Clarke,  1st  lieutenant;  Samuel  Mitchell,  1st 
lieutenant;  Samuel  W.  Pruett,  1st  lieutenant;  John 
J.  Holloway,  2d  lieutenant;  William  A.  Fitts,  2d 
lieutenant;  Aaron  S.  Hicks,  2d  lieutenant;  Thomas 
J.  Alverson,  2d  lieutenant;  Noah  C.  Dean,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

The  Seventeenth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organ- 
ized in  December,  1861,  at  Calhoon,  Ky.,  under 
Col.  John  H.  McHenry,  Jr.,  and  was  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service  on  the  4th  day  of  January,  ' 
1862,  at  Calhoon,  Ky.,  by  Capt.  John  E.  Edwards, 
Third  United  States  Artillery,  mustering  officer. 

INFANTRY — EIGHTEENTH  REGIMENT. 

William  A.  Warner,  colonel;  wounded  at  Rich- 
mond, Ky.,  Aug.  30,  1862. 

John  j.  Landrum,  lieutenant-colonel;  wounded 
at  Richmond,  Ky. , Aug.  30,  1862. 

H.  K.  Mihvard,  lieutenant-colonel;  commissioned 
colonel  Dec.  19,  1863,  but  never  mustered. 


Fred’k  G.  Bracht,  major;  resigned  Jan.  14,  1863. 

Abram  G.  Wileman,  major;  killed  by  guerrillas 
Oct.  5,  1863,  in  Pendleton  County,  Ky. 

John  W.  Robbins,  major;  commissioned  lieuten- 
ant-colonel Dec.  19,  1863,  but  never  mustered. 

John  J.  Hall,  major;  promoted  from  2d  lieuten- 
ant, Company  H,  to  1st  lieutenant,  August  2,  1862; 
to  captain  AugustSO,  1862;  to  major  November  10, 
1864;  transferred  to  18th  Kentucky  Veteran  Infantry. 

Alvin  B.  Clark,  adjutant;  promoted  adjutant 
Jan.  15,  1863. 

John  W.  Hamilton,  adjutant;  transferred  to 
18th  Kentucky  Veteran  Infantry. 

James  T.  Clark,  regimental  quartermaster;  pro- 
moted to  captain  and  assistant  quartermaster  Dec. 
15,  1863. 

John  Moss,  regimental  quartermaster;  trans- 
ferred to  field  and  staff  as  regimental  quartermaster 
Dec.  25,  1863. 

Joseph  Fithian,  surgeon;  resigned  March  30,  1865. 

,J.  C.  Elliott,  ass’t  surgeon:  surgeon  of  the  100th 
United  States  Colored  Infantry. 

Asa  Drury,  chaplain;  resigned  Oct.  4,  1863. 

L.  D.  Parker,  chaplain;  transferred  to  18th  Ken- 
tucky Veteran  Infantry. 

COMPANY  A. 

_ Mathew  Mullins,  captain;  John  W.Rotoins,  cap- 
tain; J.  M.  Wilson,  captain;  James  T.  Applegate, 
1st  lieutenant;  H.  F.  Monroe,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Wm.  C.  Johnson,  captain;  Chas.  S.  Williams, 
captain;  Jas.  T.  Chrisman,  1st  lieutenant;  Wm. 
McPherson,  1st  lieutenant;  Sami.  J.  Kuhn,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; John  W.  Puthuff,  2d  lieutenant;  Junius  B. 
Bracht,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Wm.  R.  Fisk,  captain;  Wm.  C.  Reeder,  captain, 
Andrew  B.  Clark.  1st  lieutenant;  Hiram  M.  Bryson, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  D.  Oldham,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Abram  G.  Wileman,  captain;  J.  L.  Dougherty, 
captaiu;  William  McPherson,  captain;  Henry  F. 
Monroe,  captain;  Sami.  S.  Patterson,  1st  lieutenant; 
James  A.  Simpson,  1st  lieutenant;  L.  H.  Sanders, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  H.  Johns,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

David  E.  Pugsley,  captain;  James  C.  Bacon, 
captain;  Henry  P.  Ritchey,  captain;  Weeden  C. 
Sleet,  1st  lieutenant;  Silas  Howe,  1st  lieutenant; 
Elijah  Regan,  1st  lieutenant;  JohnC.  Richards,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Wm.  H.  Littlejohn,  captain;  Jas.  F.  Miller,  cap- 
tain: JohnM.  Poston,  captain;  Augustus  G.  Hatry, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  R.  Miller,  1st  lieutenant;  John 
W.  Washburn,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Hiram  W.  Effelston,  captain;  Benj.  T.  Riggs, 
captain;  David  "Boys,  1st  lieutenant;  Kemp  G. 
Carter,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Win.  M.  Oden,  captain;  OrrinM.  Lewis,  captain; 
.John  J.  Hall,  captain;  Jos.  C.  Pritchard,  captain; 
John  W.  Grose,  1st  lieutenant;  Alfred  S.  Lewis,  1st 
lieutenant;  James  E.  Bell,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Sam’l  G.  Rogers,  captain;  John  W.  Grose,  cap- 
tain; Joseph  M.  Shaw,  captain;  James  Dunlap,  1st 
lieutenant;  Win.  IM.  Dayton,  1st  lieutenant;  David 
H.  Goyen,  1st  lieutenant;  Thos.  Clements,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 


44. 


706 


HISTORY  OF  IvENTUCKY. 


COMPANY  K. 

Y^ni.  ^y.  Culbertson,  captain:  John  B.  Helte- 
mus,  captain;  John  Moss,  1st  lieutenant;  A.  B. 
Clark,  1st  lieutenant;  Junius  B.  Bracht,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Wm.  A.  Ridenour,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Eighteenth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  recruited 
during  the  winter  of  1861-62,  and  was  mustered 
into  tile  United  States  service  on  the  8th  day  of 
February,  1862.  During  its  organization,  and  until 
August  20,  1862,  the  command  was  on  duty  guard- 
ing the  Covington  & Lexington  R.  R.,  with  its 
headquarters  at  Falmoutli,  Ky.,  until  April  16, 
1862,  and  then  at  Lexington,  Ky.  On  the  16th  day 
of  June,  1862,  a detachment  of  the  regiment,  under 
command  of  Lieut. -Col.  Landram,  participated  in 
the  defense  of  Cynthiana,  Ky.,  against  Gen.  John 
PL  Morgan,  where  it  sustained  a loss  of  two  killed. 


INFANTRY — NINETEENTH  REGIMENT. 

William  J.  Landrum,  colonel. 

John  Cowan,  lieutenant-colonel. 

John  R.  Duncan,  major;  resigned  Feb.  14,  1863. 

Morgan  V.  Evans,  major;  "killed  in  battle  of 
Vicksburg,  Miss.,  Ma^'’  22,  1863. 

Josiah  J.  Mann,  major;  promoted  from  captain, 
Co.  F,  to  majorMay  23,  1863. 

Richard  L.  Cochran,  adjutant;  resigned  Feb.  14, 

1863. 

George  C.  Rue,  adjutant;  promoted  to  adjutant 
April  2,  1863. 

George  II.  McKinney,  regimental  quartermaster. 

James  B.  Sparks,  surgeon;  resigned  Jan.  21,  1863. 

William  K.  Sadler,  surgeon;  killed  Dec.  2,  1864, 
at  Baton  Rouge,  La. 

Pleasant  W.  Logan,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned  July 
15,  1862. 

James  F.  Peyton,  asst,  surgeon;  promoted  to 
assistant  surgeon  Nov.  20,  1862. 

Anthony  H.  Semlire,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned  June 
30,  1864. 

William  N.  Forbes,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned  July 
19,  1864. 

James  Matthews,  chaplain;  resigned  Aug.  25, 

1864. 

COMPANY  A. 

William  B.  Kelly,  captain;  William  II.  Cundiff, 
captain;  Ansel  L.  Wood,  1st  lieutenant;  Reid  Les- 
lie McMurtry,  1st  lieutenant;  Vincent  L.  Lester, 
1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Aaron  Blakeman,  captain:  John  J.  Goodnight, 
captain;  Henry  L.  Whitehouse,  captain;  Abraham 
Whitenack,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

-James  0.  Norris,  captain;  William  H.  Bolar,  cap- 
tain; John  Landrum,  1st  lieutenant;  Elihu  H. 
Moles,  2d  lieutenant;  George  W.  Graham,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Alexander  E.  Adams,  captain;  Henry  C.  Hogg, 
captain;  Edwin  F.  Hogg,  1st  lieutenant;  Elijah  C. 
Baker,  1st  lieutenant;  John  D.  Mitchell,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; Zachariah  Morgan,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Hanibal  Downey,  captain;  John  Barnett,  cap- 
tain; Willis  O.  Egerton,  1st  lieutenant;  John  Walls, 
1st  lieutenant;  Charles  H.  Talbot,  1st  lieutenant; 
Luther  Hale,  2d  lieutenant;  Squire  Pinkston,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Josiah  J.  Mann,  captain;  Harbert  K.  Forbis,  cap- 
tain; George  Rose,  1st  lieutenant;  William  D. 
James,  1st  lieutenant. 


COMPANY  G. 

Merideth  G.  Richardson,  captain;  Joshua  W. 
Hansford,  captain;  Lincoln  A.  Hamblin,  captain; 
Thomas  A.  Warren,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  H. 
Cundiff,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Morgan  V.  Evans,  captain;  Alexander  Logan, 
captain;  Thomas  A.  Elkin,  1st  lieutenant;  Stephen 
W.  Hedger,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Henry  Hicks,  captain;  William  T.  Cummins,  cap- 
tain; William  G.  Bowen,  1st  lieutenant;  George  H. 
Vandevere,  1st  lieutenant;  Harrison  S.  Poulter,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

William  F.  McKinny,  captain;  Isaac  Singleton, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  F.  Peyton,  1st  lieutenant; 
Eberle  Wilson,  1st  lieutenant;  George  C.  Rue,  2d 
lieutenant;  James  J.  McKinney,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Nineteenth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  recruited 
and  organized  at  Harrodsburg,  Ky.,  in  the  fall  of 
1861  by  Col.  William  J.  Landrum  and  Lieut. -Col. 
John  Cowan,  and  was  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service  on  the  2d  day  of  January,  1862,  by 
Capt.  H.  C.  Bankhead,  United  States  mustering 
oiScer.  Prom  Harrodsburg  the  regiment  marched 
to  Somerset,  Ky.,  in  January,  1862,  and  was  en- 
gaged for  some  time  in  destroying  the  intrench- 
ments  of  Gen.  Zollicoffer,  and  collecting  property 
captured  at  the  battle  of  Mill  Spring. 

INP.YNTRY — TWENTIETH  REGIMENT. 

Sanders  D.  Bruce,  colonel;  resigned  June 24, 1864, 

Charles S.  Hanson,  lieutenant-colonel;  transferred 
to  37th  Kentucky  Mounted  Infantry  as  colonel  Dec. 
31,  1863. 

Thomas  B.  Waller,  lieutenant-colonel;  commis- 
sioned colonel  Oct.  5,  1864,  but  never  mustered  as 
sucti. 

Benjamin  F.  Buckner,  major;  resigned  April 
17,  1861 

Frank  E.  Wolcott,  major,  commissioned  lieuten- 
ant-colonel October  14,  1864,  but  never  mustered  as 
such. 

John  Brennan,  adjutant;  transferred  to  3d  Ken- 
tucky Infantry  as  Captain  Company  F,  Sept.  29, 
1862. 

.James  A.  McCampbell,  adjutant;  promoted  to 
adjutant  Sept.  29.  1862. 

James  W.  Swing,  adjutant;  promoted  to  adju 
taut  Oct.  13, 1864. 

Alonzo  Jackson,  quartermaster;  died  Jan.  15, 
1863,  at  Claysville,  Ky. 

Abner  Crane,  quartermaster;  promoted  to  quar- 
termaster Oct.  10,  1863. 

John  C.  Welch,  surgeon. 

W.  H.  Curran,  assistant  surgeon;  resigned  Aug. 
2,  1862. 

Prior  N.  Norton,  assistant  surgeon;  promoted 
from  hospital  steward  to  assistant  surgeon  Aug.  2, 
1862. 

Daniel  W.  Axline,  chaplain;  resigned  Nov.  6, 
1862. 

COMPANY  A. 

James  W.  Craddock,  captain;  Henry  S.  Pamsh, 
captain;  Daniel  T.  Buckner,  captain;  Benjamin  M. 
Chiles,  1st  lieutenant;  William  A.  Attersall,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Abram  G.  Smith,  captain;  Adam  W.  Trebein, 
captain;  Lawson  Gray,  1st  lieutenant;  John  Glenn, 
1st  lieutenant;  Leonidas  Denny,  1st  lieutenant;  Jo- 
seph N.  Reid,  1st  lieutenant;  James  R._  B.  Cole, 
1st  lieutenant;  William  N.  Rice,  2d  lieutenant; 
Elijah  Yates,  2d  lieutenant. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


707 


COMPANY  C. 

Clinton  J.  True,  captain;  Francis  E.  Wolcott, 
captain;  Lucius  A.  Bachus,  captain;  Benjamin  R. 
Waller,  1st  lieutenant;  Cassander  Hall,  3d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Theodore  B.  Rushing,  captain;  James  C.  Morris, 
captain;  Wm.  C.  Musselman,  captain;  Samuel  Co- 
rum,  1st  lieutenant;  Hugh  M.  Hiatt,  1st  lieutenant; 
John  W.  Hale,  1st  lieutenant;  James  R.  B.  Cole, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Robert  F.  Haynes,  captain;  Franklin  Gipson, 
captain;  Henry  C.  Brennan,  captain;  Walter  M. 
Asher,  1st  lieutenant;  James  C.  Guess,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Saunders  A.  Crowell,  2d  lieutenant;  Robert  B. 
McNary,  2d  lieutenant;  James  D.  Young,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

William  B.  Dunn,  captain;  William  C.  Mussel- 
man,  1st  lieutenant;  John  C.  Northcutt,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; James  C.  Morris,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Thomas  B.  Waller,  captain;  John  P.  Gapen, 
captain;  Thomas  J.  Gregory,  1st  lieutenant;  Francis 
C.  Sternberg,  1st  lieutenant;  Benjamin  R.  Waller, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Thomas  M.  Duvall,  captain;  John  Glenn,  cap- 
tain; John  R.  Flemming,  1st  lieutenant;  Fianklin 
S.  Loyd,  1st  lieutenant;  'Orlean  B.  Herring  2d  lieu- 
tenant; Wickliffe  Cooper,  2d  lieutenant;  Bartholo- 
mew J.  Scott,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Cornelius  McLeod,  captain;  Henry  Kimbrough, 
1st  lieutenant;  Henry  C.  Oots,  1st  lieutenant;  Win- 
der Kinney,  1st  lieutenant;  Robert  Becket,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; Joseph  M.  Wilson,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Andrew  McCampbell,  captain;  Charles  R.  West, 
captain;  George  W.  Baker,  1st  lieutenant;  Benj.  F. 
Thornbrough,  1st  lieutenant;  Allen  A.  Burton,  1st 
lieutenant;  S.  Thompson  Corn,  2d  lieutenant;  Jas. 
A.  McCampbell,  2dlieutenant;  Samuel M.  Anderson, 
2d  lieutenant. 

The  Twentieth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organized 
in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1861,  by  Col.  Sanders  D. 
Bruce,  and  was  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service  on  the  6th  day  of  January,  1863,  at  Smith- 
land,  Ky.,  by  Lieut.-Col.  Chetlain,  United  States 
mustering  officer.  Soon  after  organization,  it  was 
ordered  to  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  from  there  to  Bards- 
towu,  Ky.,  where  it  was  assigned  to  a brigade  com- 
manded by  Col.  Bruce  and  marched  to  Nashville, 
Tenn. 

INFANTRY — TWENTY-FIRST  REGIMENT. 

Ethelbert  L,  Dudley,  colonel;  died  February  20, 
1863. 

Sami.  W.  Price,  colonel;  transferred  to  21st  Ken- 
tucky Veteran  Infantry;  wounded  at  Kenesaw 
Mountain. 

Basil  A.  Wheat,  lieutenant-colonel;  resigned  Oc- 
tober 26,  1862. 

James  C.  Evans,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
from  major  to  lieutenant-colonel  October  27,  1862. 

Wm.  W.  Dowden,  major;  wounded  at  Stone 
River,  January  1,  1863;  resigned  April  19,  1863. 

Jesse  E.  Hoskins,  major;  promoted  from  captain. 
Company  G,  to  major  April  30,  1863. 

M.  Scott  Dudley,  adjutant;  resigned  May  16, 1863. 

Chas.  F.  Spillman,  adjutant;  promoted  from  pri- 
vate of  Company  E to  adjutant  June  14,  1863. 


John  T.  Gunn,  adjutant ; promoted  from  1st  lieu- 
tenant Company  E to  adjutant  Feb.  28,  1864. 

Albert  H.  Bohannon,  adjutant;  promoted  adju- 
tant Nov.  21,  1864;  transferred  to  31st  Kentucky 
Veteran  Infantry. 

Samuel  P.  Ta3'lor,  regimental  quartermaster;  re- 
signed Nov.  14,  1863. 

Thomas  Res,  regimental  quartermaster:  pro- 
moted regimental  quartermaster  March  1,  1863. 

Claiborne  J.  Walton,  surgeon. 

Jas.  0.  Wheat,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned  Feb.  13, 
1862. 

T.  C.  Fitzhugh,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned  Jan.  8, 
186.5. 

Wm.  L.  Morrison,  chaplain;  resigned  March  15, 
1863. 

Thos.  M.  Gunn,  chaplain,  never  mustered. 

M.  H.  B.  Burkett,  cliaplain;  acted  as  such  from 
Sept.  4,  1863,  until  July  30,  1864. 

COMPANY  A. 

Wm.  W.  Dowden,  captain;  Wm.  R.  Milward, 
captain;  Edward  Knoble,  1st  lieutenant;  John  D. 
Carpentei’,  2d  lieutenant;  Wm.  D.  Vanpelt,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

James  P.  Sandidge,  captain;  Jonathan  Williams, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  H.  Hayes,  1st  lieutenant;  James 

L.  Sublett,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Matt.  M.  Clay,  captain;  Sam’l  R.  Sharrard,  cap- 
tain; Edmund  B.  Davidson,  captain;  Jolin  B.  Buck- 
ner, 1st  lieutenant;  Lucien  W.  Dunniugtou,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

David  Russell,  captain;  Henry  F.  Temple,  capt- 
ain; George  T.  Stagg,  1st  lieutenant;  Nathaniel  C. 
Brown,  1st  lieutenant;  Elijah  Logan,  3d  lieutenant; 
Wm.  F.  Ware,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Williamson  Irvin,  captain;  James  Dudley,  cap- 
tain; Dudley  M.  Craig,  captain;  William  Bright, 
captain;  John  T.  Gunn,  1st  lieutenant;  Charles  F. 
Spillman,  1st  lieutenant;  Job  S.  Bailey,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Jackson  W.  Reynolds,  3d  lieutenant;  Hugh 
Lonney,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Zachariah  S.  Taylor,  captain;  John  G.  Evans, 
captain;  Jasper  F.  Morton,  captain;  Robert  L.  Bul- 
lock, 1st  lieutenant;  William  Spencer,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Thos.  P.  Dudley,  Jr.,  2d  lieutenant;  John  H. 
Bevell,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Jesse  E.  Hoskins,  captain;  John  D.  Nash,  cap- 
tain; Sebastian  Stone,  1st  lieutenant;  Hugh  A. 
Hedger,  1st  lieutenant;  George  Y.  O’Neal,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Jeremiah  R.  Dean,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Wm.  C.  Edwards,  captain;  Jno.  R.  Jameson,  cap- 
tain; George  W.  Twyman,  captain;  William  Prew- 
itt, 1st  lieutenant;  Michael  B.  Gratz,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; William  Ritter,  1st  lieutenant;  Benj.  Pans- 
ier, 1st  lieutenant;  Holman  F.  Hardy,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Newton  M.  Hutchens,  captain;  George  T.  Stagg, 
captain;  Langston  P.  Bryant,  1st  lieutenant;  Thos. 

M.  Gunn,  1st  lieutenant;  Wm.  A.  Bryant,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; George  S.  Nunn,  2d  lieutenant;  Newton 
Scearce,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Memory  J.  Thompson,  captain;  Thomas  A.  Con- 
yer,  1st  lieutenant;  Daniel  R.  Gray,  1st  lieutenant; 


708 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Joseph  A.  Fagg,  2d  lieutenant;  Herbert  G.  W.  Brad- 
let',  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Twenty-first  Kentucky  Infantiy  was  formed 
by  the  consolidation  of  the  troops  recruited  by  E.  L. 
Dudley  and  B.  A.  Wheat,  and  was  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service  at  Camp  Ward,  Ky.,  Dec. 
30,  1861. 


INFANTRY — TWENTY-SECOND  REGIMENT. 


COMPANY  H. 

Edwin  Cook,  captain ; John  T.  Gathright,  cap- 
tain; Stephen  Nethercutt,  captain;  Thomas P.  Har- 
per, 1st  lieutenant;  John  Everinan,Sr.,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Jordon  Nethercutt,  captain;  Prank  A.  Estep, 
captain;  William  K.  Gray,  captain;  Jeremiah  No- 
land, 1st  lieutenant;  Charles  G.  Shanks,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; William  Nethercutt,  2d  lieutenant. 


Daniel  W.  Lindsey,  colonel;  resigned  Oct.  14, 
1863. 

George  W.  Monroe,  colonel;  promoted  from 
lieutenant-colonel  to  colonel  Oct.  15,  1863. 

William  J.  Worthington, lieutenant-colonel;  pro- 
moted to  lieutenant-colonel  Oct.  15,  1863. 

Wesley  Cook,  major;  resigned  Oct.  20,  1862. 

John  Hughes,  major;  iiromoted  to  major  Oct.  15, 

1863. 

Orlando  Brown,  Jr.,  adjutant;  promoted  to  ma- 
jor 14th  Ky.  Vol.  Inf.  April  15,  1862. 

Joseph  W.  Roberts,  adjutant;  promoted  adju- 
tant April  15,  1862. 

Francis  C.  Robb,  adjutant;  promoted  to  adju- 
tant June  21,  1863. 

E.  F.  Duliu,  quartermaster;  resigned  Jan.  10, 
1862, 

John  Paul  Jones,  quartermaster;  resigned  June 
5,  1862. 

James  F.  Tureman,  quartermaster;  resigned 
March  24,  1863. 

Shadrack  L.  Mitchell,  quartermaster;  promoted 
to  quartermaster  March  25,  1863. 

James  W.  Barbee,  quartermaster;  promoted  to 
quartermaster  Dec.  14,  1863. 

Benj.  P.  Stevenson,  surgeon;  resigned  Feb.  16, 

1864. 

Henry  Manfred,  surgeon;  promoted  to  surgeon 
Feb.  16,  1864. 

William  R Davidson,  assistant  surgeon;  trans- 
ferred to  7th  Ky.  Vet.  Vol.  Inf. 

Samuel  S.  Sumner,  chaplain;  I'esigned  March  15, 
1864. 

COMPANY  A. 

John  Hughes,  captain;  Arthur.!.  Harrington,  1st 
lieutenant;  James  W.  Barbee,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

William  J.  Worthington,  captain;  .John  L.  God- 
man,  captain  ; Henry  E.  Evans,  1st  lieutenant;  Dan- 
iel W.  Steele,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

.John  F.  Lacy,  captain;  Francis  C.  Robb,  1st 
lieutenant;  Robert  Slontgomery,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

James  W.  Scott,  captain;  James  G.  Milligan, 
captain;  James  W.  Barbee,  1st  lieutenant;  John  A. 
Gilbert,  2d  lieutenant;  James  A.  Watson,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Lewis  P.  Ellis,  captain;  Alexander  Bruce,  cap- 
tain; David  C.  Thofoman,  1st  lieutenant;  Elijah 
Scott,  2d  lieutenant;  William  B.  Hegan,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; Jabez  Truett,  2d  lieutenant. 


COMPANY  K. 

Louis  Schweizer,  captain;  Charles  Gutig,  cap- 
tain; Gustav  Wehrle,  1st  lieutenant. 

The  Twenty-second  Kentucky  Infantry  was  or- 
ganized at  Camp  Swigert,  Greenup  County,  Ky.,  on 
the  12th  day  of  December,  1861,  under  D.  W.  Lind- 
sey, as  colonel;  George  W.  Monroe,  lieutenant-col- 
onel; and  Wesley  Cook,  major,  by  which  officers 
the  regiment  was  principally  recruited. 

INFANTRY — TWENTY-THIRD  REGIMENT. 

Marcellus  Mundy,  colonel;  resigned  Dec.  31, 
1863. 

John  P.  Jackson,  lieutenant-colonel;  resigned 
Nov.  24,  1862. 

James  C.  Foy,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted  to 
lieutenant-colonel  April  18,  1863. 

Geo.  W.  Northup,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
to  lieutenant-colonel  July  27,  1864. 

Thomas  II.  Hamrick,  major;  resigned  Feb.  26, 
1863. 

William  Boden,  major;  promoted  to  major  Aug. 
8,  1864. 

Wm.  H.  Mundy,  adjutant;  resigned  Jan.  17, 1864. 

Jephson  P.  Puke,  adjutant;  promoted  adjutant 
from  1st  lieutenant.  Company  K. 

Wm.  N.  Air,  regimental  quartermaster;  dismissed 
the  service  June  20,  1862. 

Leroy  R.  Hawthorn,  regimental  quartermaster; 
promoted  regimental  quartermaster  June  20,  1862. 

Alvin  Tarvin,  regimental  quartermaster;  pro- 
moted to  regimental  quartermaster;  July  28,  1864. 

Arnold  Strothotte,  surgeon;  resigned  Nov.  28, 
1862. 

Alonzo  M.  Morrison,  surgeon;  promoted  to  sur- 
geon Nov.  28,  1862. 

Benj.  F.  Stevenson,  asst,  surgeon;  promoted  sur- 
geon of  22d  Kentucky  Infantry  Jan.  10,  1862. 

Wm.  L.  Hashbrook,  asst,  surgeon;  promoted  to 
asst,  surgeon  Nov.  28,  1862. 

Wm.H.  Black,  chaplain;  transferred  to  23d  Ken- 
tucky Veteran  Infantry. 

COMPANY  A. 

James  C.  Foy,  captain;  William  A.  Seiter,  cap- 
tain; Asaph  A.  Quigley,  captain;  Joseph  Greene, 
1st  lieutenant;  Joseph  C.  Hoffman,  1st  lieutenant; 
John  B.  Korman,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

George  W.  Northup.  captain;  Thomas  W.  Hard- 
iman,  captain;  Levi  S.  Peters,  captain;  Claudius 
Tifft,  1st  lieutenant;  Henry  G.  Shiner,  1st  lieutenant; 
William  Hudson,  2d  lieutenant;  Robert  Townsend, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 


COMPANY  F. 

Daniel  Garrard,  Jr.,  captain;  Williamson  W. 
Bacon,  captain;  James  Morton,  1st  lieutenant;  Will- 
iam H.  Sneed,  2d  lieutenant;  Richard  J.  Frayne,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  Q. 

John  Paul  Jones,  captain;  William  B.  Hegan,  | 
captain;  Evan  D.  Thomas,  captain;  Jacob  Swigert, 
Jr.,  captain;  Charles  L.  Nevius,  1st  lieutenant;  | 
Harry  B.  Litteral,  2d  lieutenant. 


William  G.  Holden,  captain;  William  Hudson, 
captain;  Ryland  V'illett,  1st  lieutenant;  John  Squiers 
1st  lieutenant;  Eldridge  G.  Holden,  2d  lieutenant, 
Asaph  A.  Quigley,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Henry  Speier,  captain;  William  Boden,  captain; 
Charles  Theis,  1st  lieutenant;  Reuben  Hamer,  1st 
lieutenant;  Thos.  M.  Barton,  2d  lieutenant;  Wm, 
H.  Spencer,  2d  lieutenant. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


709 


COMPANY  E. 

William  P.  Egan,  captain;  John  Barnes,  captain;  [ 
William  A.  Morgan,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  S.  Luk- 
ens,  3d  lieutenant.  i 

COMPANY  F.  I 

Charles  R.  Cotton,  captain;  Benjamin  A.  Thomp- 
son, captain;  Frank  Jukes,  captain;  Alvin  O.  Pat-  j 
tee,  1st  lieutenant;  Patrick  S.  Reeves,  1st  lieutenant; 
Jephson  P.  Duke,  Sd  lieutenant:  Jacob  S.  Fox,  3d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  8. 

Thomas  J.  Williams,  captain;  Thomas  W.  Har- 
diman,  1st  lieutenant;  Martin T.  Hennessy,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; James  Barker,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Lewis  Voight,  captain;  Claudius  TifEt,  captain; 
William  A.  Seiter,  1st  lieutenant;  Frank  A.  Black, 
1st  lieutenant;  Henry  G.  Shiner,  3d  lieutenant;  Mar- 
tin T.  Henness3^  3d  lieutenant;  William  H.  Whit-  j 
ney,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Augustus  C.  Paul,  captain;  Frank  A.  Black,  cap- 
tain; Henry  G.  Shiner,  captain;  Douglas  Pritchard, 
1st  lieutenant;  Green  Clay  Goodloe,  1st  lieutenant; 
Alonzo  W.  Tarviu,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

.Joseph  W.  Cottingham,  captain;  Kavanaugh  O. 
Bullock,  captain;  Ephraim  P.  Mavity,  captain; 
Jephson  P.  Duke,  1st  lieutenant;  AVilliam  H.  Tyree, 
3d  lieutenant;  Win.  A.  Morgan,  3d  lieutenant;  John 
Atkinson,  3d  lieutenant. 

The  Twentj’- third  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organ- 
ized in  December,  1861,  at  Camp  King,  Ky.,  by  Col 
Marcellus  Mundy,  and  was  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service  by  Maj.  Jno.  R.  Edie,  15th  United 
States  Infantiy. 


INFAXTEY — TWENTT-FOUETH  EEGIIIENT. 

Lewis  B.  Grigsby,  colonel;  resigned  July  16, 
1863. 

John  S.  Hurt,  colonel;  promoted  colonel  July  17, 
1863. 

Lafayette  North,  lieutenant  colonel;  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel  October  34,  1863. 

William  H.  Smith,  major;  resigned  March  4, 
1863. 

James  H.  Turner,  adjutant;  resigned  Aug.  30, 
1863. 

John  A.  Joyce,  adjutant;  discharged  on  account 
of  wounds  received  in  action  .June  37,  1864. 

Cornelius  E.  Mastin,  adjutant;  promoted  to  adju- 
tant Nov.  4,  1864. 

David  S.  Trumbo,  quartermaster. 

James  Sympson,  surgeon. 

William  L.  White,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned  March 
37,  1863. 

Marcus  E.  Poynter,  asst,  surgeon ; resigned  Jan. 
1,  1863. 

W.  H.  T.  Moss,  asst,  surgeon. 

Joseph  Gardner,  asst,  surgeon;  wounded  in 
action  Aug.  5,  1864. 

COMPANY  A. 

Hector  H.  Scoville,  captain;  Wiley  .Jones,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  B.  Johnson,  1st  lieutenant; 
Daniel  O.  Morin,  3d  lieutenant;  George  W.  Free- 
man, 3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

James  Carey,  captain;  Washington  J.  Mclntire, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  Henry,  3d  lieutenant;  Daniel 
F.  Winchester,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Green  V.  Hall,  captain;  Joseph  L.  Judy,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; John  Kinney,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  J. 


Bush,  1st  lieutenant;  Stephen  G.  Lewis,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; James  McChristy,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

George  R.  Barbei-,  captain;  Mathias  T.  S.  Lee, 
1st  lieutenant;  Lander  Barber,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Lafayette  North,  captain;  John  M.  Gill,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Wilkins  Warren,  3d  lieutenant;  Jesse  P. 
Nelson,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

I James  A.  Hawkins,  captain;  James  Blue,  captain; 

I Thomas  J.  Bush,  captain;  John  N.  Mclntire,  cap- 
tain; William  H.  Norris,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas 
M.  Likes,  1st  lieutenant;  Cornelius  E.  Martin,  1st 
lieutenant;  Dillion  White,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  O. 

Peter  T.  Hedges,  captain;  John  J.  Sewell,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  C.  Padgett,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Edmund  .Jones,  captain;  Robert  G.  Potter,  cap- 
tain; Reuben  Langford,  captain;  James  H.  Wilson, 
1st  lieutenant;  Richard  L.  Ewell,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  1. 

RoyD.  Davidson,  captain;  Fountain  Goodpaster, 
captain;  William  G.  Howard,  1st  lieutenant;  John 
A.  Joyce.  1st  lieutenant,  Daniel  Wilson,  3d  lieuten- 
ant; Julius  C.  Miller,  3d  lieutenant;  Benjamin  P. 
DeSilve,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

John  J.  Evans,  captain;  James  M.  Anderson,  cap- 
tain; James  Caugliliu,  1st  lieutenant;  T.  D.  Moss, 
3d  lieutenant;  David  G.  Howell,  3d  lieutenant. 

The  Twenty-fourth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  or- 
ganized in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1861  under  Col. 
Lewis  B.  Grigsby,  and  was  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service  on  the  31st  of  December, 
1861,  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  byCapt.  Bankhead,  United 
States  mustering  officer. 

The  Twenty-fifth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  consoli- 
dated with  the  Seventeenth  Kentucky  Infantry 
April  13,  1863. 


IXFANTETY — ^TWEXTY-SIXTH  EEGIIIEXT. 

Stephen  G.  Burbridge,  colonel;  promoted  briga- 
dier-general June  13,  1863. 

Cicero  Maxwell,  colonel;  promoted  to  colonel 
June  13,  1863. 

Tims.  B,  Fairleigh,  colonel;  promoted  to  colonel 
Jan.  3,  i860. 

James  F.  Lauck,  lieutenant-colonel;  was  lieu- 
tenant-colonel of  33d  Kentucky  Infantry. 

John  L.  Davidson,  major;  killed  in  action  at 
Shiloh,  Tenn.,  April  10,  1863. 

Jos.  L.  Frost,  major;  promoted  from  adjutant 
to  major  April  10,  1863. 

Ignatius  IMattingly,  major;  promoted  from  cap- 
tain Company  C to  major  June  13,  1863. 

Cyrus  J.  Wilson,  major;  resigned  May  14,  1864. 

Francis  M.  Page,  major;  promoted  from  captain 
of  Company  E to  Major  Nov.  15,  1864. 

A.  .1.  M'ells,  adjutant;  promoted  to  adjutant 
April  10,  1863. 

James  A.  Dawson,  adjutant;  was  adjutant  of 
33d  Kentucky  Infantry. 

Richard  Vance,  adjutant;  promoted  adjutant  Jan. 
1,  1863. 

John  H.  Morton,  regimental  quartermaster;  dis- 
charged April  1,  1864,  by  reason  of  consolidation  of 
33d  with 36th  Kentucky  Infantry. 

Robert  W.  Compton,  regimental  quartermaster: 


710 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


was  regimental  quartermaster  of  33d  Kentucky 
Infantry. 

Dcnsil  P.  Walling,  regimental  quartermaster; 
was  adjutant  of  33d  Kentucky  Infantry  from  May 
4,  to  consolidation. 

.lonathan  Baily,  surgeon;  resigned  April  10, 
1862. 

James  M.  Baily,  surgeon;  promoted  from  ass’t 
surgeon  to  surgeon  April  10,  1862, 

L.  Bennett]  ass’t  surgeon;  promoted  to  surgeon 
of  8tli  Kentucky  Cavalry  June  10,  1863. 

James  Walsire,  ass't  surgeon;  discharged  April 
1,  1864,  by  reason  of  consolidation, 

E,  0.  Brown,  ass’t  surgeon;  honorably  dis- 
charged May  10, 1865,  per  order  of  War  Department. 

W.  II.  Jett,  ass’t  surgeon;  was  ass’t  surgeon  of 
33d  Kentucky  Infantry  prior  to  consolidation, 

Wm,  M.  Grubbs,  chaplain. 

CnjIP.VNY  A. 

.Tolin  W.  B(dt,  captain;  Rowland  E.  Hackett, 
captain;  Wm.  W.  Kauney,  1st  lieutenant;  Stephen 
AVoodward,  1st  lieutenant;  Tho.  B.  Bayne,  I't 
lieutenant;  Richard  Shockley,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  li. 

Gabriel  Netter,  captain;  D.  H.  Butler,  captain; 
Robert  Earnest,  captain;  Woodford  M.  Taylor,  cap- 
tain; Al)ram  B.  Stanley,  captain;  John  T.  Higdon, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  M.  Holland,  1st  lieutenant; 
Francis  M.  Gillstrap,  1st  lieutenant;  Jeremiah 
O’Brien,  2d  lieutenant;  Richard  Vance,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; John  C.  AVest,  2d  lieutenant;  Seth  Rupard,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Ignatius  Mattingly,  captain;  Henry  Smallhouse, 
captain;  James  AV.  Overstreet,  captain;  Joseph 
Fisher,  1st  lieutenant;  John  A.  Hendrix,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; Wm,  T,  Hansford,  2d  lieutenant, 

COMPANY  D. 

Albert  N.  Keigwin,  captain;  Fred  Guy,  captain; 
James  McConnell,  1st  lieutenant;  Joseph  B.  Harris, 
1st  lieutenant;  Andrew  J.  AA^ells,  2d  lieutenant; 
Thos.  J,  Mershon,  2d  lieutenant, 

COMPANY  E. 

Francis  M,  Page,  captain;  Wm.  C.  Burgher,  1st 
lieutenant;  Jeremiah  Redfearn,  1st  lieutenant; 
Henrj'  C.  Morgan,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Micliael  T.  Hall,  captain;  AVm.  M.  Claypool,  1st 
lieutenant;  David  AV,  Thomas,  1st  lieutenant;  Sam- 
uel H.  Haden,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Thos.  B.  Fairleigh,  captain;  James  H.  Ashcraft, 
captain;  Samuel  D.  Brown,  1st  lieutenant;  George 
T,  Elder,  2d  lieutenant;  Reuben  C.  Powell,  2d 
lieutenant, 

COMPANY  H. 

Lafayette  S,  Beck,  captain;  Thomas  G.  Laird, 
1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  M,  Sherrall,  2d  lieutenant; 
Pleasant  P,  Collier,  2d  lieutenant, 

COMPANY  I. 

AVm.  Knight,  Jr.,  captain;  James  M.  Adams, 
captain;  John  M.  AVilkins,  1st  lieutenant;  Densil 
P.  Availing,  2d  lieutenant;  AVm.  K.  AValters,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Cju'us  J.  Wilson,  captain;  Wm,  P,  Gorin,  cap- 
tain; Jacob  M,  Sallee,  1st  lieutenant;  AVilliam  L, 
Macey,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Twenty-sixth  Kentuck}Mnfantry  vras  organ- 
ized at  Calhoon,  Ky.,  under  Col.  S.  G.  Burbridge, 
in  the  fall  of  1861,  and  mustered  into  the  United 


States  service  Alarch,  1862,  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  by 
H.  C.  Bankhead,  captain  5th  United  Stales  Infantry 
mustering  officer. 


INFANTRY — TWENTY-SEVENTH  REGIMENT. 

Charles  D.  Pennebaker,  colonel;  resigned  April 
10,  1864. 

John  H.  Ward,  lieutenant-colonel;  commis- 
sioned colonel  April  14,  1864,  but  never  mustered  as 
such, 

James  Carlile,  major;  died  Feb,  25,  1862, 

Samuel  J , Coyne,  major;  promoted  major  April 
15,  1862, 

Alexander  Magruder,  major;  promoted  from 
adjutant  to  major  Feb.  6,  1863. 

Daniel  B.  AVaggener,  adjutant;  promoted  to  ad- 
jutant Jan.  21,  1862;  resigned  May  1,  1862. 

James  B.  Speed,  adjutant, 

Thomas  R.  McBeath,  ejuartermaster;  promoted 
to  regimental  quartermaster  Jan,  21,  1862, 

Robert  L,  Heston,  surgeon. 

Thomas  Sanders,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned  March 
29,  1863. 

Robert  Dinwiddle,  asst,  surgeon. 

Robert  G.  Gardner,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

Anderson  Gray,  captain;  William  W.  Brady, 
captain;  Thomas  R.  McBeath,  1st  lieutenant;  Benj. 
AV.  Cleaver,  1st  lieutenant;  Robert  V.  Sands,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Lucian  K.  Cox,  captain;  Thomas  S.  Hiner,  cap- 
tain; Alanson  M.  Pulliam,  captain;  Aaron  Nor- 
ton, 1st  lieutenant;  Obediah  Bassham,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Andrew  .1.  Bailey,  captain;  .John  W.  MeWhar- 
ter,  1st  lieutenant;  James  AV.  Defevers,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Edmund  R.  Goode,  2d  lieutenant;  James  A. 
Figgett,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Samuel  J.  Coyne,  captain;  George  Hammers, 
captain;  Peterson  Rolf,  1st  lieutenant;  John  W.  S. 
Smith,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

John  R.  Robinson,  captain;  John  R.  Fisher, 
captain;  Thomas  T.  Fisher,  captain;  Benjamin  A. 
Rice,  1st  lieutenant;  Robert  D.  Willian,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Daniel  B.  AVaggener,  2d  lieutenant;  Alexan- 
der Shiveley,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Henry  B.  Grant,  captain;  John  H.  Adams,  1st 
lieutenant;  Riley  Wilson,  1st  lieutenant;  Daniel  B. 
Goode,  1st  lieutenant;  John  AV.  Taylor,  1st  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Harvey  W.  Sutton,  captain;  James  Giffin,  cap- 
tain; William  Wilson,  1st  lieutenant;  Henry  H. 
Didway,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Albert  B.  Ragsdale,  captain;  Beckwith  Beal- 
mear,  captain;  John  AV.  Jennings,  1st  lieutenant; 
George  AV.  AVilliams,  2d  lieutenant;  Basil  B.  Sum- 
mers, 2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

William  H.  Hervey,  captain; Benjamin  F.  Pum- 
phrey,  captain;  E.  W.  Frank,  captain;  Samuel  H. 
Haynes,  1st  lieutenant,  AVilliam  B.  White;  2d  lieu 
tenant;  Joseph  S.  Higdon,  2d  lieutenant. 

Company  K never  organized. 

The  Twenty-seventh  Kentucky  Infantry  organ- 
ized at  Grayson  Springs,  Ky.,  under  Col.  C. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCirr. 


711 


D.  Pennebaker,  was  mustered  into  the  Enited 
States  service  (627  strong)  on  the  21st  of  March, 
1862,  by  Major  W.  H.  Sidell,  United  States  muster- 
ing officer. 

INFANTRY — TWENTY-EIGHTH  REGIMENT. 

William  P.  Boone,  colonel;  resigned  June  28, 
1864. 

J.  Rowan  Boone,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
to  lieutenant-colonel  Dec.  18,  1863. 

Absalom  Y.  Johnson,  major;  commissioned  lieu- 
tenant-colonel,  to  take  rank  from  Nov.  6,  1861. 

John  Gault,  Jr.,  major;  resigned  Marcli  30,  1864. 

George  W.  Barth,  major;  promoted  from  captain, 
Company  C,  to  major  March  30,  1864. 

Edward  Winkler,  adjutant;  was  1st  lieutenant 
Company  B;  promoted, adjutant  Dec.  18,  1863. 

Tiieodore  B.  Hays,  regimental  quartermaster; 
promoted  to  captain  Company  C,  April  30,  1864. 

AlbcrtM.  Healy,  regimental  quartermaster;  trans- 
ferred to  held  and  staff  as  regimental  quartermaster. 

Alfred  W.  Hynes,  surgeon;  resigned  October  28, 
1864. 

James  A.  Post,  surgeon;  promoted  from  asst, 
surgeon  to  surgeon  Dec.  22,  1864. 

Joseph  Hab^ermeal,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned  Nov. 
23,  1862. 

William  V.  Marquis,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned 
September  17,  1864. 

Charles  H.  Stocking,  asst,  surgeon;  transferred 
to  28th  Kentucky  Veteran  Infantiy. 

Hiram  A.  Hunter,  chaplain;  resignec  March  1, 
1864. 

COMPA.VY  A. 

William  E.  Benson,  captain;  Paul  Byerly,  cap- 
tain; John  W.  Hogue,  1st  lieutenant;  Martin  En- 
right, 1st  lieutenant;  John  A.  Weatherford,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Jas.  H.  White,  captain;  Thos.  J.  Randolph,  cap- 
tain; Jno.  W.  Tydings.  1st  lieutenant;  Edward 
Winkler,  1st  lieutenant;  Wm.  T.  Applegate,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; Nathan  B.  Skinner,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Geo.  W.  Barth,  captain;  Theodore  B.  Hays,  cap- 
tain; Robert  17.  Catlin,  1st  lieutenant;  Joseph  F. 
Hawley,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  JD. 

Henry  J.  O’Neill,  captain;  John  Martin,  captain; 
Henry  Slonohan,  1st  lieutenant;  Patrick  O’Malia, 
1st  lieutenant;  Anthony  Hartman,  2d  lieutenant; 
James  B.  True,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Franklin  M.  Hughes,  captain;  George  W.  Cona- 
way, captain;  Wm.  C.  Irvine,  captain;  Andrew  B. 
Norwood,  captain;  Granville  J.  Sinkhorn,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Joseph  H.  Davis,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

James  R.  Noble,  captain;  Wm.  C.  McDowell, 
captain;  Wm.  G.  Shane,  1st  lieutenant;  Henry 
Hooker,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

John  W.  Wilson,  captain;  Frederick  Brooks, 
captain;  James  E.  Loyal,  captain;  Albert  M.  Healy, 
1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

John  W.  Tydings,  captain;  Robert  Cairns,  cap- 
tain; Daniel  C.  Collins,  captain;  Nathaniel  Wolfe, 
Jr.,  1st  lieutenant;  William  R.  Cox,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Geo.  W.  Conoway,  captain;  John  Schmidt,  cap- 
tain; Charles  Obst,  1st  lieutenant;  Frederick  Buck- 


ner, 1st  lieutenant;  Anthony  P.  Hefner,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Wm.  T.  Morrow,  1st  lieutenant;  William 
Troxler,  2d  lieutenant;  Isaac  Everett,  Jr.,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

Company  K never  organized. 

The  Twenty-eighth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  or- 
ganized in  the  fall  of  1861  at  New  Haven,  Ky., 
under  Col.  Wm.  P.  Boone,  and  was  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service  October  8,  1861,  at  New 
Haven,  K3^,  by  Capt.  C.  C.  Gilbert,  1st  United 
States  Infantry,  mustering  officer. 


INFANTRY — THIRTIETH  REGIMENT. 

Francis  N.  Alexander,  colonel;  promoted  colonel 
30th  Kentucky  Infantry,  April  19,  1864. 

Wm.  B.  Craddock, lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
to  lieutenant-colonel  March  31.  1864. 

Thomas  Malioney,  major;  wounded  in  action  at 
Cynthiana,  Kj',,  June  10,  1864. 

Thomas  J.  Hardin,  adjutant;  detailed  as  A.  A. 
Ins.  Gen.  of  4tli  Brig,,  1st  Div.  Mil.  Dep’t  of  Ky., 
April  28,  1864. 

George  T.  Finnell,  regimental  quartermaster;  de- 
tailed as  brigade  quartermaster  of  2d  Brig.,  1st  Div., 
Mil.  Dep’t  of  Ky.,  Novembers,  1864. 

Wm.  H.  Gardner,  surgeon;  captured  at  Saltville, 
Va.,  October  3,  1864. 

Columbus  A. Cox,  asst,  surgeon. 

company  a. 

Milton  P.  Hodges,  captain;  Wm.  B.  Craddock, 
1st  lieutenant;  Ambrose  L.  King,  1st  lieutenant; 
Berrie  C.  Craddock,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Robert  J Dyas,  captain;  John  T.  Ford,  1st  lieu- 
tenant, James  Ranton,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Fleming  Bates,  captain;  Joseph  Miller,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Jenkins  J.  Vickery,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

James  S.  Burk,  captain;  Gains  L.  Burk.  1st 
lieutenant;  William  Burk,  1st  lieutenant;  William 
H.  Gregory,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

William  P.  Bacon,  captain;  George  W.  Young, 
1st  lieutenant;  Jesse  A.  Suter,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

John  B.  Brownlee,  captain;  John  W.  S.  Smith, 
1st  lieutenant;  Andrew  H.  Brownlee,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Wiley  Searc}',  captain;  James  L.  Curtsinger,  1st 
lieutenant;  James  S.  Searcy,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Leander  .1.  Stephenson,  captain;  .lolin  W.  S. 
Brooks,  1st  lieutenant;  Ephraim  B.  Guffey,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Gains L.  Burk,  captain;  Calvin  Bell,  1st  lieuten- 
ant: James  Phipps,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Richard  Reynolds,  captain;  Nathan  Buchanan, 
1st  lieutenant;  George  A.  Muse,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Thirtieth  Kentucky  Mounted  Infantry  was 
organized  under  the  20,00U  call,  and  was  mustered 
into  the  United  States  service  for  one  year.  Compa- 
nies A,  B,  E and  F were  mustered  in  at  Frankfort, 
Ky.,  February  19,  1864,  and  Company  G March  29, 
1864. bj^  Capt.  Charles  H.  Fletcher,  1st  United  States 
Infantry 


712 


HISTORY  OF  KE^JTUCKY. 


INFANTRY — THIRTY-SECOND  REGIMENT. 

Thos.  Z.  Morrow,  lieutenant-colonel. 

John  A.  Morrison,  major. 

Wm.  J.  Hume,  adjutant. 

R.  H.  Kinney,  adjutant. 

J.  C.  Sayers,  regimental  quartermaster, 

Wm.  Woodcock,  regimental  quartermaster. 

John  Carnes,  regimental  quartermaster. 

John  J.  Matthews,  surgeon. 

Wm.  F.  Scott,  surgeon. 

Benj.  F.  Davidson,  assistant  surgeon. 

COMPANY  A. 

Robert  J.  Dyas,  captain;  Isaac  N.  Slade,  1st 
lieutenant;  George  W.  Drinkard,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Ben.  T.  Nix,  captain;  JolinW.  Zinn,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Thomas  E.  Tlhodes,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Harrison  M.  Hurt,  captain;  Roily  W.  Chapman, 
1st  lieutenant;  William  D.  Lowe,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Parish  G.  Buster,  captain;  Benjamin  D.  Owens, 
1st  lieutenant;  Wm.  M.  Northrup,  1st  lieutenant; 
James  L.  Francis,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

William  B.  White,  captain;  CyreniusW.  Smith, 
1st  lieutenant;  William  Patrick,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Bourne  G.  Tate,  captain;  Speed  S.  Farris,  1st 
lieutenant;  Thomas  S.  Hamilton,  1st  lieutenant; 
John  M.  Neal,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  a. 

Alexander  C.  Surber,  captain;  Nelson  S.  Gooch, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  M.  Nunnelly,  2d  lieutenant; 
Edwin  Sadler,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Robert  B.  Taylor,  captain;  Wm.  K.  Gray,  1st 
lieutenant;  Thos.  J.  Hutchinson,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Thirty-second  Kentucky  Infantry  was  or- 
ganized from  various  detachments,  and  mustered 
into  service  with  Thos.  Z.  Morrow,  colonel,  on  the 
15tli  day  of  April,  1868,  at  Camp  Burnside,  Ky. 


INFANTRY — THIRTY-FOURTH  REGIMENT. 

Henry  Dent,  colonel;  was  lieutenant-colonel 
from  Sept.  23,  1861,  to  Oct.  2,  1862;  then  colonel. 

Selby  Harney,  colonel;  was  major  from  March 
10,  1862,  to  February  6,1863;  then  lieutenant-colonel 
to  June  2,  1863;  then  colonel. 

William  Y.  Dillard,  colonel;  was  major  to  June 
2,  1863;  then  lieutenant-colonel  to  Dec.  24,  1863; 
then  colonel. 

Lewis  H.  Ferrell,  lieutenant-colonel;  was  cap- 
tain of  Company  D to  Oct.  2,  1862;  then  lieutenant- 
colonel. 

Milton  T.  Callahan,  major;  was  captain  of  Com- 
pany I to  June  2,  1863;  then  major. 

Joseph  B.  Watkins,  major;  was  captain  of  Com- 
pany F to  January  4,  1865;  then  major. 

Charles  A.  Gruber,  adjutant;  promoted  to  cap- 
tain of  Company  A Feb.  7,  1863. 

Edward  G.  Parmele,  adjutant;  dismissed  April 
4,  1865. 

David  A.  Harvey,  regimental  quartermaster;  re- 
signed Oct.  23,  1863. 

Christopher  B.  Tharp,  regimental  quartermaster; 
was  private  to  Nov.,  1862;  then  regimental  quarter- 
master sergeant  to  Dec.  1,  1863;  then  regimental 
quartermaster. 


^^George  W.  Ronald,  surgeon;  resigned  April  12, 

Henry  Tammadge,  surgeon;  was  assistant  sur- 
geon from  Nov,  12,  1862,  to  April  13,  1863;  then 
surgeon. 

Hugh  Ryan,  assistant  surgeon;  commissioned 
surgeon  April  13,  1863,  but  declined  accepting 

Joseph  Foreman,  assistant  surgeon. 

COMPANY  A. 

William  Y.  Dillard,  captain;  Charles  A.  Gruber, 
captain;  John  C.  Slater,  1st  lieutenant;  Jacob  S. 
Pearce,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Francis  M.  Looney,  captain;  Rodolph  H.  Whit- 
mer,  captain;  Thomas  M.  Alexander,  1st  lieutenant; 
Joseph  W.  Adams,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

William  H.  Fagan,  captain;  Simeon  S.  Leather- 
man,  captain;  Jas.  M.  Leatherman,  1st  lieutenant; 

COMPANY  D. 

Lewis  H.  Ferrell,  captain;  James  P.  Tapp,  cap- 
tain; Joel  M.  Coward,  captain;  Alfred  V.  D.  Ab- 
bott, captain;  George  W.  Coward,  1st  lieutenant; 
Alfred  M.  Hoagland,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

John  O.  Daly,  captain;  Thomas  H.  Tindell,  cap- 
tain; Eugene  O.  Daly,  captain;  John  B.  Smith,  1st 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Jos.  B.  Watkins,  captain;  Wm.  F.  Stars,  cap- 
tain; John  Wood,  1st  lieutenant;  Jas.  W.  Fowler, 
1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Christopher  C.  Hare,  captain;  Henry  Watson, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  R.  Farmer,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Francis  A.  McHarry,  captain;  Henry  Sutton, 
captain;  Alpha  R.  Sharp,  1st  lieutenant;  Benjamin 
D.  Strange,  1st  lieutenant;  John  M.  Williams,  2d 
lieutenant;  John  O.  Beard,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Milton  T.  Callahan,  captain;  Joseph  Pickering, 
captain;  James  M.  Callahan,  captain ;R.  M.Mosby, 
captain;  JohnM.  Richardson,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Eli  P.  Farmer,  captain;  James  Boultinghouse, 
captain;  William  Duberry,  captain;  John  Arm- 
strong, 1st  lieutenant;  Foster  A.  Wheeler,  1st  lieu- 
tenant. 

The  Thirty-fourtli  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organ- 
ized at  Louisville,  Ky.,  Sept.  26,  1861,  under  Lieut.- 
Col.  Henry  Dent,  and  was  then  designated  as  the 
“First  Battalion  Louisville  Provost  Guards.”  On  the 
2d  of  Oct.,  1862,  the  Provost  Guard  ceased,  and  the 
organization  of  the  34th  Kentucky  Infantry  com- 
menced. 

INFANTRY — THIRTY-FIFTH  REGIMENT. 

Edmund  A.  Starling,  colonel. 

Edward  R.  Weir,  Jr.,  lieutenant-colonel. 

Frank  H.  Bristow,  major. 

Theodore  W.  Wing,  adjutant. 

Finnis  H.  Little,  quartermaster. 

Albert  D.  Cosby,  surgeon. 

William  B.  Stage,  assistant  surgeon. 

Benjamin  Letcher,  assistant  surgeon. 

William O.  Smith,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

Robert  Brodie.  captain;  David  C.  Goad,  1st 
lieutenant;  Thomas  Y.  Hampton,  2d  lieutenant. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


713 


COMPANY  B. 

Hendrick  D.  Baker,  captain;  Ransom  C.  Hay- 
slip,  1st  lieutenant;  Alfred  Harrell,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Volney  Baker,  captain;  Wesley  Cole,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; John  L.  Bennett,  1st  lieutenant;  John  H. 
Vertrees,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Charles  W.  D.  Prange,  captain;  George  W. 
Moseley,  1st  lieutenant;  James  T.  Goode,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Edward  Camphell,  captain;  Thomas  J.  Trice, 
1st  lieutenant;  Charles  D.  King,  1st  lieutenant; 
Tyberius  M.  Anthony,  2d  lieutenant;  Charles  F. 
Post,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Hutson  Brown,  captain;  Edwin  M.  Randolph, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  H.  Martin,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Hartford  M.  Meredith,  captain;  Golson  Phelps, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  R.  McGrew,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Avery  Byers,  captain;  Anderson  R.  Byers,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  R.  Reno,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

John  Alsop,  captain;  William  A.  Roberts, 
1st  lieutenant;  Robert  L.  Samuel,  1st  lieutenant; 
Moses  Long,  2d  lieutenant;  Samuel  W.  Trible, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

William  A.  Sasseen,  captain;  Nathan  H.  Graves, 
1st  lieutenant;  Richard  F.  Cra^^ord,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Thirty -fifth  Kentucky  Mounted  Infantry  was 
organized  September  26,  1863,  at  Owensboro,  Ky., 
un'der  Col.  E.  A.  Starling,  and  was  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service  October  2,  1863,  by  Capt. 
Knight,  United  States  mustering  officer.  This 
regiment  was  recruited  under  the  most  difficult 
circumstances,  the  State,  at  that  time  being  over- 
run with  guerrillas,  making  it  exceedingly  hazard- 
ous for  officers  to  recruit  and  retain  their  men  in 
camp.  From  Owensboro  it  marched  to  Hender- 
son, on  the  10th  of  October;  and  from  thence  to 
Hopkinsville,  Ky.  During  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  1863  it  was  constantly  on  the  march,  guard- 
ing the  country  between  the  Green  and  Cumber- 
land Rivers,  which  was  infested  with  many  preda- 
tory bands  of  guerrillas.  The  arduous  duties  per- 
formed by  this  regiment,  during  its  early  existence, 
did  not  afford  much  time  for  drill;  still,  through 
the  indefatigable  exertions  of  its  officers,  it  arrived 
at  apoint  of  excellence  in  drill  and  discipline  which 
was  the  admiration  of  all  who  were  connected 
with  the  regiment  and  the  division  to  which  it  was 
attached. 

During  the  month  of  August,  1864,  this  regi- 
ment, with  others,  under  command  of  Gen.  E.  H. 
Hobson,  marched  from  Elizabethtown  in  pursuit  of 
the  rebel  Gen.  Adam  Johnson,  who  held  possession 
of  the  country  between  the  Green  and  Cumberland 
Rivers.  After  a loug  and  tedious  march,  with  vari- 
ous skirmishes,  they  succeeded  in  driving  him  out  of 
Kentucky  into  Tennessee  in  the  direction  of  Cadiz. 
It  then  returned,  via  Hopkinsville,  to  Lexington, 
and,  on  the  1.5th  of  September,  moved  in  Gen. 
Burbridge’s  command  in  the  first  expedition  on 
Saltville,  Va.  It  returned  to  Lexington  on  the  oth 
of  November,  and  from  there  was  ordered  to  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  where  it  was  mustered  out  December  29, 
1864.  It  participated  in  ihe  battle  of  Saltville,  Va., 
and  in  numerous  skirmishes  with  guerrillas,  in 
various  portions  of  Kentucky. 


rXPAItTRY — THIRTY-SEVENTH  REGIMENT. 

Charles  S.  Hanson,  colonel. 

Benj.  Spaulding,  lieutenant-colonel. 

Samuel  Martin,  major. 

Caswell  B.  Watts,  adjutant. 

William  0.  Watts,  regimental  quartermaster. 

James  M.  Mattingly,  regimental  quartermaster, 

James  R.  Duncan,  surgeon. 

Richard  W.  Hazelwood,  asst,  surgeon. 

Ira  Henderson,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

Isaac  A.  Chinowth,  captain;  Oscar  H.  M. 
Heusted,  1st  lieutenant;  William  H.  Low,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; Alonzo  H.  Chism,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Jonathan  W.  Roark,  captain;  Anderson  W. 
Smith,  1st  lieutenant;  Ira  A.  Holland,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; James  W.  King,  1st  sergeant. 

COMPANY  C. 

George  P.  Stone,  captain:  Charles  A.  McCue, 
1st  lieutenant;  William  J.  Stone,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

James  A.  Middleton,  captain;  John  W.  Kerrick, 
1st  lieutenant;  Charles  McBeath,  1st  lieutenant; 
Thomas  J.  Wilkins,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

William  0.  Watts,  captain;  Robert  Purdy,  1st 
lieutenant;  David  A.  Ray,  2d  lieutenant;  John  R. 
Watts.  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

James  H.  White,  captain.  James  H.  Spalding, 
1st  lieutenant;  Wayne  Furgason,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

James  L.  Strange,  captain;  Abraham  A.  Spears, 
1st  lieutenant;  Joseph  D.  Borden,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Zacheus  S.  Stroube,  captain;  Beale  Hale,  1st 
lieutenant;  Thomas  Youtsey,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

James  W.  Read,  captain;  Archibald  C.  Wade, 
1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  B.  Youtsey,  1st  lieutenant;. 
Silas  E.  Duckworth,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Joseph  J.  Borrell,  captain;  Thomas  M.  Morris, 
2d  lieutenant. 

The  Thirty-seventh  Kentucky  Volunteer  Infant- 
ry was  organized  under  Col.  Chas.  S.  Hanson,  in 
the  summer  of  1863,  and  Companies  A,  B and  C 
were  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  at 
Glasgow,  Ky.,  September  17,  1863.  Companies  D, 
E,  F and  G were  mustered  in  October  24,  1863,  at 
Glasgow,  Ky.  Capt.  Stroube’s  Company,  origin- 
ally raised  for  the  Fifty-first  Kentucky  Infantry, 
was  mustered  in  September  4,  1863,  at  Covington, 
Ky.,  and  consolidated  with  the  Thirty-seventh, 
forming  Company  H.  Companies  I and  K were 
mustered  in  at  Glasgow,  Ky.,  Dec.  21  and  22,  1863. 
Charles  S.  Hanson  was  mustered  in  as  colonel  Dec. 
29,  1863,  and  commanded  the  regiment  until  the 
battle  of  Saltville,  Va.,  on  the  2d  day  of  Oct., 
1864,  when  he  was  severely  wounded,  and  made 
prisoner  of  war.  It  was  composed  of  the  best  ma- 
terial, and  though  a one-year  regiment,  bore  as 
honorable  a part  in  the  war  as  many  three  years’ 
regiments,  and  w'as  engaged  in  the  battles  occur- 
ring in  the  locality  in  which  it  served,  though  the 
records  of  the  regiment  only  show  it  to  have  been 
engaged  in  the  battles  of  Glasgow,  Ky. ; Jackson 
County,  Tenn. ; Saltville,  Va. ; and  Mt.  Sterling, 


714 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Ky.  The  regiment  was  mustered  out  Dec.  29,  1864, 
at  Louisville,  Ky.,  the  re-enlisted  men  being  trans- 
ferred to  the  Fifty-fifth  Kentucky  Infantry,  and  the 
Fourth  Kentucky  Mounted  Infantry 


INF.\NTRY — THIRTY-NINTH  REGIMENT. 

John  Dils,  .Ir.,  colonel. 

David  A.  Mims,  colonel. 

Stephen  M.  Ferguson,  lieutenant-colonel. 

John  B.  Auxier,  major. 

Martin  Thornbury,  major. 

Levi  J.  Hampton,  adjutant. 

John  F.  Stewart,  adjutant. 

Robert  S.  Huey,  adjutant. 

Martin  Fulkerson,  quartermaster. 

Lindsey  Layne,  quartermaster. 

James  H.  Hereford,  surgeon. 

Wm.  E.  Phillips,  surgeon. 

James  N.  Draper,  ass’t  surgeon. 

James  H.  Phillips,  ass’t  surgeon. 

Marcus  L.  King,  chaplain. 

C IMPANY  A. 

John  B.  Auxier,  captain;  David  V.  Auxier,  cap- 
tain; Henry  R.  Brown,  captain;  Isaac  Goble,  1st 
lieutenant;  Richard  L.  Burchett,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

William  Ford,  captain;  Jacob  S.  Eberman,  cap- 
tain; Ellington  Kilgore,  1st  lieutenant;  John  Breed- 
ing, 1st  lieutenant;  John  F,  Stewart,  2d  lieutenant; 
Andrew  J.  Adkins,  2d  lieutenant;  John  Harkens, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Thomas  J.  Sowards,  captain;  Andie w J.  Sowards, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  W.  Allison,  1st  lieutenant; 
Jacob  Helvey,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Martin  Thornbui-y,  captain;  Isaac  E.  Gray,  cap- 
tain; Alfred  C.  Hailey,  1st  lieutenant;  Hughy  Ply- 
male,  1st  lieutenant;  Walter  Thornbury,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; William  Waddington,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Lewis  Sowards,  captain;  Alfred  C.  Hailey,  cap- 
tain; Dillard  Parsons,  1st  lieutenant;  James  M. 
Sowards,  1st  lieutenant;  William  T.  Berry,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Paris  L.  Reed,  2d  lieutenant;  Shadle  R.  Pau- 
ley, 2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Hezekiah  Webb,  captain;  George  J.  Allen,  1st 
lieutenant;  Augustus  E.  Kendrick,  1st  lieutenant; 
Calvin  Preston,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  a. 

Allen P.  Haws,  captain;  John  B.  Vanhoose,  1st 
lieutenant;  James  M.  Rice,  1st  lieutenant;  Addison 
Miller,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

William  King,  captain;  Richard  D.  Coleman,  1st 
lieutenant;  .James  M.  Thornbury,  1st  lieutenant; 
James  H.  Stump,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Joseph  M.  Kirk,  captain;  Benjamin  A.  Rodgers, 
captain;  W^illiam  Hagerman,  1st  lieutenant;  John 
D.  Reinhart,  1st  lieutenant;  Charles  Helton,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; Simeon  L.  Payne,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Harrison  Ford,  captain;  Nathaniel  Collins,  cap- 
tain; Joseph  D.  Powers.  1st  lieutenant,  Samuel 
Keel,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Thirty-ninth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organ- 
ized at  Peach  Orchard,  Ky.,  under  Col.  John  Dils, 
and  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service 


February  16,  1863,  by  Capt.  W.  B.  Royall,  United 
States  mustering  officer.  This  command  was  raised 
entirely  in  the  Sandy  Valley  and  the  counties  ad- 
joining, and,  being  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
country,  was  stationed  in  that  section  of  the  State 
for  its  protection  against  the  frequent  incursions  of 
rebels  from  Virginia.  In  April,  1863,  the  regiment 
had  a fight  near  Pikeville,  Ky,,  and  captured  Col. 
French  and  his  command,  and  in  June  engaged  the 
enem3r  again  at  Pond  Creek,  some  thirty  miles  from 
Pikeville.  The  regiment  being  divided,  a portion 
of  it  proceeded  with  other  troops  to  Gladeville,  Va., 
and  succeeded  in  capturing  Col.  Condil  and  his 
command,  'who  were  brought  back  as  prisoners  of 
war.  Through  the  constant  and  vigilant  service  of 
this  regiment,  the  eastern  portion  of  Kentucky 
remained  uninterrupted  from  any  invasion  of  the 
rebels  for  many  months. 

The  regiment  participated  in  many  battles  and 
skirmishes,  in  which  loss  was  sustained,  among 
which  the  following  are  mentioned,  viz.:  Pond 
Creek,  Pike  Co.,  Ky.,  May  16,  1864;  boat  fight  in 
Johnson  County,  December  4,  1862;  Beaver  Creek, 
Floyd  County,  June  27,  1863;  Marrowbone,  Pike 
County,  September  22,  1863;  Clark’s  Neck,  Law- 
rence County,  August  27,  1863;  Paintsville,  John- 
son County,  April  13,  1864;  Half  Mount,  Magoffin 
County,  April  14,  1864;  Mount  Sterling,  Ky.,  June 
9,  1864,  Cynthiana,  Ky.,  June  12,  1864;  Saltville, 
Va.,  October  2, 1864.  It  was  mustered  out  Septem- 
ber 15,  1865,  at  Louisville,  Ky. 


INFANTRY — FORTIETH  REGIMENT. 

Clinton  J.  True,  colonel. 

Matliew  Mullins,  lieutenant-colonel. 

Thomas  H.  Mannen,  major. 

Fred’k  H.  Bierbower,  major. 

Edward  C.  Barlow,  adjutant. 

James  B.  True,  adjutant. 

A.  L.  Burke,  quartermaster. 

John  C.  Ball,  quartermaster. 

George  W.  Littlejohn,  quartermaster. 

Joseph  G.  Roberts,  surgeon. 

William  B.  Bland,  surgeon. 

James  H.  Phillips,  asst,  surgeon. 

Oscar  E.  Holloway,  asst,  surgeon. 

James  A.  Snead,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

Frederick  H.  Bierbower,  captain;  Charles  R. 
Curtis,  captain;  Charles  Roberts,  1st  lieutenant; 
Alex.  W.  Lawwill,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Simon  Rice,  captain;  Edward  C.  Barlow,  captain 
.John  S.  Reed,  1st  lieutenant;  Noah  Johnson,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; Raphael  J,  Tomlinson,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

James  B.  Nipp,  captain;  Robert  D.  Adams,  1st 
lieutenant;  Warren  H.  Devore,  1st  lieutenant;  Rob- 
ert C.  Snead,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

John  McGuire,  captain;  Elias  P.  Davis,  captain; 
Middleton  McGuire,  1st  lieutenant;  Alexander  John- 
son, 2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Harrison  B.  Literal,  captain;  George  W.  Little- 
john, 1st  lieutenant;  John  Poster,  1st  lieutenant; 
James  Garvin,  2d  lieutenant;  John  M.  Tyree,  2d 
lieutenant 

COMPANY  F. 

James  H.  Johns,  captain;  William E.  Arnold,  1st 
lieutenant;  Zachariah  H.  Mullins,  2d  lieutenant. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


715 


COMPANY  G. 

Thomas  R.  Rorer,  captain;  Christ’ er  C.  McGine- 
t}5  1st  lieutenant;  Isaac  A.  Whitaker,  2d  lieutenant; 
Llo3^d  McGill,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Greenberry  Reid,  captain;  Cornelius  B.  Pettet, 
1st  lieutenant;  JohnW.  Evans,  2d  lieutenant;  Will- 
iam S.  Waugh,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Isaac  Kelly,  captain;  Thomas  H.  Larimore,  1st 
lieutenant;  Mark  Wallace,  1st  lieutenant;  Marshal 
W,  Stubblefield,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Stephen  H.  Young,  captain;  William  Frisby, 
1st  lieutenant;  Henry  E.  Evans;  1st  lieutenant; 
James  McGuire,  2d  lieutenant;  John  W.  Frazer,  2d 
lieutenant. 

The  Fortieth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  recruited 
under  the  20,000  call,  by  Col.  C.  J.  True,  and  was 
mustered  in  at  Grayson,  Carter  Co.,  Ky,,  in  Sep- 
[y' tember,  1863.  Being  raised  for  twelve  months’  serv- 
ice, and  during  a time  when  the  State  was  overrun 
with  guerillas,  and  all  troops  were  ordered  into 
active  service  immediately  after,  and  sometimes  be- 
fore they  were  thoroughly  organized,  it  had  no  time 
for  drill  and  discipline.  Being  mounted,  it  was  con- 
stantly employed  in  defending  different  portions  of 
eastern  Kentucky,  and  rendered  good  service.  It 
was  with  Gen.  Burbridge  in  his  expedition  against 
Saltville,  Virginia,  and  participated  in  all  the  battles 
in  Kentucky  during  ilie  frequent  raids  of  Morgan.  It 
was  mustered  out  at  Catlettsburg,  Ky.,  December  30, 
1864 

INFANTRY — FORTY-FIFTH  REGIMENT. 

John  Mason  Brown,  colonel. 

Lewis  M.  Clark,  lieutenant-colonel. 

Nathan  A.  Browui.  major. 

John  C.  Henderson,  major. 

James  Seaton,  adjutant. 

John  C.  Ball,  quartermaster. 

Harman  Conley,  quartermaster. 

Samuel  Maguire,  surgeon. 

William  E.  Scobey,  asst,  surgeon. 

Joseph  L.  Rowland,  asst,  surgeon. 

Elisha  Thacker,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

Joseph  W.  Cottingham.  captain;  Daniel  Hen- 
•drickson,  1st  lieutenant;  Pleasant  M.  Stricklett.  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Benjamin  R. Haley,  captain;  WTlliam  B.  Shock- 
ley,  captain;  James  H.  Loh,  1st  lieutenant;  John 
W.  Thornton,  1st  lieutenant;  William  A.  Haley, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY'  C. 

George  W.  Browui,  captain;  Frank  Mott,  cap- 
tain; Edwin  S.  Turner,  1st  lieutenant;  David  W’. 
German,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

W.  S.  Adams,  captain;  J.  J.  Matnej',  1st  lieuten- 
ant; William  P.  Cooper,  1st  lieutenant;  Calvin  F. 
Vaughn,  2d  lieutenant;  George  F.  Ratliff,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Thomas  Damron,  captain;  Daniel  H.  Walker, 
1st  lieutenant;  Jasper  Hatten,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Thomas  Russell,  captain;  Richard  Williamson, 
1st  lieutenant;  Mordecai  IMcClure,  2d  lieutenant. 

C03IPANY  G. 

William  B.  Jones,  captain:  William  B.  .Johnson, 
1st  lieutenant;  Erastus  IM.  Gates,  2d  lieutenant- 
Coburn  D.  Outten,  2d  lieutenant. 


COMPANY  H. 

Jackson  J.  Matney,  captain;  Calvin  F.  Vaughn, 
1st  lieutenant;  Horace  January,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

James  H.  O'Brien,  captain;  Robert  H.  Wilson, 
1st  lieutenant;  Milton  J.  Smith,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Jacob  L.  Ross,  captain;  Edward  W.  Brown,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  Thompson,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Forty-fifth  Regiment  Kentuck}'  Mounted 
Infantry  Volunteers  was  at  first  designed  as  a bat- 
talion for  local  service  on  the  Virginia  front  and  in 
the  eastern  counties  of  Kentuckj'.  The  recruiting 
and  organization  of  the  command  was  intrusted  to 
Maj.  Lewis  II.  Clark,  formerly  lieutenant  Six- 
teenth Kentucky  Infantrj^,  and  captain  Tenth  Ken- 
tuckj^  Cavalry.  For  some  months  in  the  summer 
of  1863  the  recruits  of  four  companies  were  em- 
ploj'ed  as  above  indicated;  but  it  was  determined  to 
increase  the  command  to  a regiment  and  muster  it 
into  the  United  States  service.  Although  the 
requisite  number  of  recruits  were  rapidly  collected, 
and  the  regiment  put  on  active  duty  in  October, 
1863,  and  the  organization  effected  at  Ashland, Kj'., 
the  formal  muster-in  of  the  two  companies  was  un- 
avoidably delayed  until  the  beginning  of  the  fol- 
lowing January,  when  Col.  John  Mason  Brown  was 
assigned  to  the  command,  and  Maj.  L.  M.  Clark 
promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel.  In  May  it  rendez- 
voused at  Lexington,  K}'.,  and  under  the  im- 
mediate command  of  Lieut. -Col.  Clark  (Col.  Brown 
commanding  brigade)  was  attaclied  to  Hobson’s 
Cavalry  Division,  and  marched  to  the  Virginia  line, 
near  Pound  Gap.  It  led  the  pursuit  after  Morgan 
in  June,  1864,  and  was  the  leading  regiment  of  an 
assaulting  column  at  the  battle  of  jMt.  Sterling,  9th 
June,  1864.  It  participated  in  the  battle  of  Cynthi- 
anaJune  12,  1864,  in  which  Morgan's  force  was 
finally  destroj^ed,  having  up  to  that  engagement 
been  continuously  on  duly  for  twenty-six  days  and 
nights,  with  no  halt  of  as  much  as  four  hours. 

During  the  months  of  Julj-  and  August,  1864,  a 
part  of  the  regiment,  under  Lieut. -Col.  Clark,  was 
detailed  bj'  Gen.  Burbridge  to  pursue  guerrillas 
and  scattered  Confederate  troops  in  Owen,  Trimble, 
and  the  adjacent  counties  of  Kentucky.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1864,  the  Forty-fifth  Kentuckj"  formed  part  of 
Burbridge’s  command  in  the  unsuccessful  attack  on 
Saltville,  Va.,  and  covered  the  retreat  thence. 
In  November  and  December,  1864,  it  was  in  Stone- 
man’s  column,  at  the  capture  of  Bristol,  east  Ten- 
nessee, Marion,  Abingdon,  and, Saltville,  Va.,  and 
participated  in  all  the  eugagehients  of  that  cam- 
paign. 

Besides  a great  number  of  skirmishes  of  greater 
or  less  note,  the  Forty-fifth  Kentucky  took  part  in 
the  engagements  of  Mt.  Sterling,  C.vuthiana,  Ma- 
rion, Bristol,  Laurel  Gap,  and  Saltville.  From  its 
constant  duty  in  most  inclement  weather  the  regi- 
ment suffered  even  more  seriouslj' than  from  the 
bullets  of  the  enemy,  and  a large  proportion  of  the 
men  were  mustered  out  much  injured  hy  frost- 
bites. 

INFANTRY’ — FORTY’-SEVENTH  REGIMENT. 

Andrew  H.  Clark,  colonel. 

Alfred  C.  Wilson,  lieutenant-colonel. 

Thos.  H.  Barnes,  major. 

George  A.  Hanaford,  adjutant. 

Peter  D.  Scholl,  quartermaster. 

John  M.  Daniel,  surgeon. 

Wilson  II.  Glass,  assistant  surgeon. 

Geo.  Sumner,  assistant  surgeon. 

Mordecai  .1.  W.  Ambrose,  chanlain. 


716 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


COMPANY  A. 

John  Penington,  captain;  Godfrey  Isaacs,  1st 
lieutenant;  Andrew  Isaacs,  3d  lieutenant;  Isaac  S. 
Jones,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Jackson  Roberts,  captain ; David  V.  Roberts,  1st 
lieutenant;  Francis  M.  Herd,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

John  C.  Wilson,  captain;  Wm.  J.  Monas,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  Baker,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

David  W.  Clark,  captain;  Edward  Clark,  1st 
lieutenant;  Edward  Chestnut,  1st  lieutenant;  Daniel 
G.  Allen,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Henry  J.  Clark,  captain;  Hiram  Metcalf,  1st 
lieutenant;  Henry  Smith,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Henry  Skidmore,  captain;  Nathan  Noe,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Acles  Winn,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Thomas  J.  Engle,  captain;  Joseph  Herd,  captain; 
Robert  M.  Green,  1st  lieutenant;  Heniy  H.  Gab- 
bard, 2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  II. 

Benj.  F.  Blankenship,  captain;  George  W.  Mor- 
gan, 1st  lieutenant;  Wm.  G.  Dixon,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Simon  Cockrill,  captain;  James  P.  Smallwood, 
1st  lieutenant;  Hiram  Rogers,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

John  McQueen,  captain;  John  McCracken,  1st 
lieutenant;  Charles  H.  Mosley,  2d  lieutenant. 

This  regiment,  raised  under  the  call  for  20,000 
men,  was  recruited  chiefly  from  the  mountain  coun- 
ties of  the  State,  and  the  greater  portion  of  the  men 
were  mustered  in  at  Irvine,  Ky.,  October  5,  1863, 
and  at  Camp  Nelson,  Ky.,  December,  1863,  and 
January,  1864.  The  officers  of  this  regiment  failed 
to  furnish  any  data  from  which  to  make  up  a state- 
ment of  its  operations,  marches,  etc.,  which  is  to  be 
regretted,  as  it  was  due  to  the  gallant  men  of  this 
command  that  their  record  should  be  as  complete  as 
possible.  It  did  most  excellent  service  in  the  cen- 
tral and  eastern  portions  of  the  State.  Company 
I,  commanded  by  Capt.  Cockrill,  after  being  mount- 
ed, scouted  the  country  thoroughly,  sending  terror 
to  the  hearts  of  guerrillas  and  all  lawless  bands. 


INFANTRY — FORTY-EIGHTH  REGIMENT. 

Hartwell  T.  Burge,  colonel. 

William  W.  Hester,  lieutenant-colonel. 

William  H.  Hoyt,  major. 

John  W.  Lockhead,  adjutant. 

William  Shuler,  adjutant. 

James  M.  Courtney,  quartermaster. 

William  Randolph,  surgeon, 

R.  R.  Bush,  asst,  surgeon. 

Jolm  D.  Mott,  asst,  surgeon. 

John  W.  Ricks,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

Fountain  P.  Hawkins,  captain;  John  M.  Gregory, 
1st  lieutenant;  Jasper  N.  Scott,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Hugh  M.  Hiett,  captain;  William  H.  Rushing, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  T.  Rushing,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

John  J.  Wright,  captain;  John  F.  Lay,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Willis  S.  McNeely,  2d  lieutenant. 


COMPANY  D. 

Hiram  J.  Belt,  captain;  John  Tyer,  1st  lieutenant; 
Logan  Belt,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Richard  F.  Minner,  captain;  William  Hoyt.  1st 
lieutenant;  William  J.  Small,  1st  lieutenant;  Will- 
iam J.  Wilson,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Charles  E.  VanPelt,  captain;  William  B.  Rogers, 
1st  lieutenant;  Charles  Adams,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

John  W.  Bush,  captain;  William  B.  Wallington, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  R.  Sedberry,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

James  M.  Wilson,  captain;  George  L.  Lovier,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  S.  Lovier,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Joseph  Mitchell,  captain;  William  Porter,  cap- 
tain; Turney  G.  Driskill,  1st  lieutenant;  Louis  C. 
Chatham,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Samuel  Jarrett,  captain;  Jeremiah  S.  Garner,  1st 
lieutenant;  Thomas  Lynch,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Forty-eighth  Kentucky  Volunteers  was 
enlisted  principally  from  the  counties  of  Trigg, 
Lyon,  Livingston,  Crittenden,  Union,  Christian, 
Caldwell,  Muhlenburgh,  Breckinridge  and  Grayson, 
and  was  organized  and  mustered  into  service  at 
Princeton,  Ky.,  by  Charles  H.  Fletcher,  captain. 
Thirteenth  United  States  Infantry,  on  the  26th  day 
of  October,  1863,  for  the  period  of  one  year,  with 
Hartwell  T.  Burge,  of  Louisville,  as  colonel. 

This  regiment  was  raised  for  especial  service  in 
Kentucky  to  serve  as  a mounted  force  to  aid  in  pre- 
venting raids,  and  to  clear  the  State  of  guerrillas. 
Immediately  upon  muster  it  was  assigned  to  First 
Brigade,  Second  Division,  Department  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  remained  on  duty  at  Princeton  until  the 
1st  of  December,  1863,  when  it  was  ordered  and 
marched  to  Russellville,  Ky.  Here  it  was  ordered 
in  detail  on  December  5,  viz. : Companies  A,  D,  I 
and  K to  Bowling  Green,  with  Col.  Burge  as  post 
commandant;  companies  B,  F,  G and  H remaining 
at  Russellville,  with  Lieut. -Col.  Hester  as  post  com- 
mandant. It  remained  on  duty  at  these  stations 
until  April  6, . 1864,  when,  by  direction  of  Bvt. 
Maj.-Gen.  Burbridge,  it  was  removed,  with  ex- 
ception of  one  company,  and  distributed  along 
the  line  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad, 
garrisoning  that  line  from  Cave  City  to  Louisville, 
headquarters  at  Munfordsville,  with  Col.  Burge  as 
post  commandant,  and  Lieut.-Col.  Hester  in  com- 
mand of  regiment  and  supervision  of  the  railway 
line  guarded  by  his  force. 


INFANTRY— FORTY-NINTH  REGIMENT. 

John  G.  Eve,  colonel. 

Philos  Stratton,  lieutenant-colonel. 

James  H.  Davidson,  major. 

James  H.  Tinsley,  adjutant. 

George  Smith,  quartermaster. 

Walter  M.  Prentice,  surgeon. 

Henry  C.  Miller,  surgeon. 

William  B.  Swisher,  ass’t  surgeon. 

Hugh  W.  Hogan,  ass’t  surgeon. 

Ebenezer  Ingram,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

Stephen  Golden,  captain;  Hugh  H.  York,  1st 
lieutenant;  Moses  F.  Ingram,  2d  lieutenant. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


717 


COMPANY  B. 

Francis  Catron,  captain;  Henr}^  L.  Vinsant,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  P.  Davis,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Wm.  T.  Bryant,  captain;  Marion  Bryant,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  W.  Siler,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

John  M.  Cook,  captain;  Wm.  Carson,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Henry  S.  Branaman,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

James  G.  Howard,  captain;  Benj.  F.  Howard, 
captain;  James  C.  Howard,  1st  lieutenant;  John  W. 
Forrester,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  r. 

John  A.  Ward,  captain;  Augustus  B.  Culton, 
1st  lieutenant:  William  G.  Bingham,  1st  lieutenant; 
Thomas  S.  Ward,  2d  lieutenant, 

COMPANY  G. 

Lee  Leforce,  captain;  Isaac  J.  Black,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; John  A.  Hayden,  1st  lieutenant;  Francis 
A.  Creekmore,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Isaac  J.  Black,  captain;  Jesse  Mattingly,  1st 
lieutenant;  Wm.  B.  Eve,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Isaac  L.  Hardgrove,  captain;  Joshua  8.  Taylor, 
1st  lieutenant;  Hardin  Simpson,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

John  Goodin,  captain;  Henry  Blendowski,  1st 
lieutenant;  Thomas  J.  Ingram,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Forty-ninth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organ- 
ized at  Camp  Nelson,  Ky.,  under  Col.  John  G.  Eve. 
This  regiment  was  originally  recruited  for  the  cav- 
alry service,  but  prior  to  muster  in,  viz.,  on  De- 
cember 14,  1863,  the  various  detachments  were  con- 
solidated into  ten  companies,  and  the  officers  were 
duly  commissioned  from  that  date.  All  the  com- 
panies and  detachments  were  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service  on  the  19th  day  of  September, 
1863,  except  two,  one  of  which  was  mustered  in 
October  7,  1863,  and  the  other  November  3,  1863. 


INFANTRY — FIFTY-SECOND  REGIMENT. 

John  H.  Grider,  colonel. 

Samuel  F.  Johnson,  lieutenant-colonel. 

John  B.  Tyler,  major. 

Wm.  H.  Murrell,  adjutant. 

Wm.  H.  Johnson,  quartermaster. 

James  H.  Lile,  quartermaster. 

George  W.  Wyer,  surgeon. 

Robert  D.  Hawthorn,  asst,  surgeon. 

Henry  H.  Alter,  asst,  surgeon. 

George  Mitchell,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

Samuel  J.  Richards,  captain;  Wm.  H.  Walker, 
1st  lieutenant;  Daniel  Huntsman,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

John  D.  Gilliam,  captain;  George  D.  Read,  1st 
lieutenant;  James  A.  Carter,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Jno.  M.  Billingsley,  captain;  Tho.  W.  Mitchell, 
1st  lieutenant;  Isaac  T.  Lee,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

George  W.  Hoy,  captain;  Wm.  M.  Beson,  1st 
lieutenant;  Jno.  W.  Arnett,  2d  lieutenant;  William 
Jackson,  2d  lieutenant. 


COMPANY  E. 

Henry  C.  Watkins,  captain;  John  W.  Underhill, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  M.  Atwood,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

John  B.  Tyler,  captain;  William  P.  King,  cap- 
tain; Jasper  Forrest,  1st  lieutenant;  James  A.  Cald- 
well, 2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Edward  Hartie,  captain;  Hugh  L.  Scott,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; James  H.  Lile,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMP.ANY  H. 

Francis  Houchin,  captain;  S.  W.  Willis,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Daniel  C.  Parrish,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

James  M.  Childress,  captain;  Lewis  P.  Arnold, 
1st  lieutenant;  Alexander  Dockery,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Lewis  Buckner,  captain;  Romulus  N.  Taylor,  1st 
lieutenant;  Richard  W.  Hayes,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Fifty-second  Kentucky  Mounted  Infantry 
was  organized  under  the  authority  of  an  act  of  Con- 
gress, dated  February  7,  1863,  authorizing  the  gov- 
ernor to  raise  20,000  troops  for  the  better  defense  of 
Kentucky.  Companies  A,  B,  C and  E were  mus- 
tered in  at  Scottsville,  Ky.,  October  16,  1863,  and 
Company  D on  the  17th  of  October.  Company  F 
was  mustered  in  November  12,  1863,  and  Company 
G December  21,  1863,  at  Franklin,  Ky.  Companies 
H,  I and  K were  mustered  in  March  3,  1864,  at 
Franklin,  Ky. 

This  regiment  was  raised  for  twelve  months’  serv- 
ice, and,  under  provisions  of  the  act,  was  to  be  em- 
ployed within  the  limits  of  the  State  of  Kentucky 
in  repelling  invasions,  suppressing  insurrection,  and 
guarding  and  protecting  the  public  property.  For 
the  purpose  of  enabling  it  to  cope  more  readily  with 
the  guerrillas  that  infested  the  State,  it  was  mounted 
and  stationed  in  the  lower  and  central  portions  of 
the  State,  and  rendered  efficient  aid  to  the  govern- 
ment in  protecting  its  line  of  communication  with 
the  army  at  the  front.  In  the  many  fights  and  skir- 
mishes in  which  it  engaged,  the  bearing  of  both 
officers  and  men  sustained  the  gallant  record  so 
bravely  won  by  all  Kentucky  troops  during  the  Re- 
bellion. It  was  mustered  out  at  Bowling  Green, 
Ky.,  in  January  and  March,  1865. 


INFANTRY — FIFTY-THIRD  REGIMENT. 

Clinton  ,J.  True,  colonel. 

W.  C.  Johnson,  lieutenant-colonel. 

James  G.  Francis,  major. 

Frank  D.  Tunis,  adjutant. 

S.  J.  Housh,  quartermaster. 

William  B.  Bland,  surgeon. 

Henry  C.  Miller,  asst,  surgeon. 

James  M.  Montmollin,  asst,  surgeon. 

COMPANY  A. 

John  A.  Thompson,  captain;  James  F,  Thomp- 
son, 1st  lieutenant;  John  Mullens,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Henry  F.  Falls,  captain;  John  J.  Creighton,  1st 
lieutenant;  Wm.  H.  Robinson,  2d  lieutenant; 
Ferdinand  Burch,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Henry  Hagerty,  captain;  Richard  S.  Robson,  1st 
lieutenant;  Chas.  T.  Chambers,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Benj.  T.  Nix.  captain;  James  T.  Chrisman,  1st 
lieutenant;  Alfred  Bickers,  2d  lieutenant. 


718 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


COMPANY  E. 

Jiunes  G.  Francis,  captain;  Albert  C.  Breith, 
captain;  Jno.  W.  West,  1st  lieutenant;  Win.  H. 
Croat,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

.1.  H.  Lennin,  captain;  Alfred  T.  Morin,  1st 
lieutenant;  Adam  Weaver,  1st  lieutenant;  J.  Hazard 
Davis,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Robert  H.  Wilson,  captain;  Jesse  J.  Dennis,  1st 
lieutenant;  Ed’n  N.  Vallandingham,  3d  lieutenant. 

company  h. 

James  W.  Read,  captain;  David  Berry,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Joseph  M.  Hukel,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

James  H.  Carey,  captain;  John  W.  Thornton, 
1st  lieutenant;  Henry  C.  Ball,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Samuel  A.  Crawford,  captain;  Riley  Richards, 
1st  lieutenant;  Charles  W.  Russell,  3d  lieutenant. 

The  Fifty  third  Kentucky  Infantry  was  organ- 
ized at  Paris,  Ky.,  in  the  winter  of  1864  and  spring 
of  1865,  and  the  exigencies  of  the  service  demanding 
all  the  available  forces  about  that  time,  this  regi- 
ment was  called  on  to  perform  arduous  duty  which 
retarded  its  speedy  organization.  Being  mounted, 
it  was  constantly  emploj^ed  in  scouting  the  counties 
in  the  central  portion  of  the  State  and  along  the 
Kentucky  Central  Railroad.  In  the  second  expedi- 
tion of  Gen.  Burbridge  against  Saltville,  Va.,  this 
regiment  suffered  much  from  the  excessive  cold,  and 
the  long  and  fatiguing  marches.  It  participated  in 
many  skirmishes  and  in  the  battles  of  Clinch  River, 
Marion  and  Saltville,  Va.,  in  all  of  which  it  per- 
formed its  duty  to  the  entire  satisfation  of  the 
commanding  general.  It  was  mustered  out  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  September  15,  1865. 


INFANTRY — FIFTT-POURTII  REGIMENT. 

Harvey  M.  Buckley,  colonel. 

John  G.  Rogers,  lieutenant-colonel. 

John  D.  Russell,  major. 

Edward  Mitchell,  adjutant. 

Thomas  J.  Owens,  quartermaster. 

Lewis  B.  Brasher,  quartermaster. 

Frederick  C.  Leber,  surgeon. 

James  II.  McMahon,  assistant  surgeon. 

Thomas  B.  Hunt,  assistant  sugeon. 

COMPANY  A. 

Greenup  Nickell,  captain;  George  W.  Herron, 
1st  lieutenant;  Benj.  C.  Lockwood,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Robert  H.  Young,  captain;  Mastin  Campbell, 
1st  lieutenant;  Robert  A.  Hancock,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Dexter  B.  Gray,  captain;  James  W.  Stewart, 
1st  lieutenant;  Robert  W.  Sanders,  3d  lieutenant 

COMPANY  D. 

L.  D.  Brown,  captain;  W.  T.  Moore,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; John  Searcy,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

William  Carroll,  captain;  George  T.  Buckley, 
captain;  John  W.  Ridgway,  1st  lieutenant;  Posey 
Buckley,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Robert  D.  Barr,  captain;  John  Moran,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Benj.  F.  Meadows,  3d  lieutenant. 

OMPANY  G. 

Emzy  W.  Easley,  captain;  Nelson  Parish,  1st 
lieutenant;  Lewis  W.  Sewell,  3d  lieutenant. 


COMPANY  n. 

David E.  Roberts,  Jr.,  captain;  Joseph  G.  Cooper  - 
1st  lieutenant;  Archibald  L.  Scudder,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Robert  P.  Crupper,  captain;  John  N.  Shane,  1st 
lieutenant;  Dudley  O.  Bravard,  3d  lieutenant. 

Company  I was  never  organized. 

The  Fifty-fourth  Kentucky  Mounted  Infantry 
was  organized  at  New  Castle,  Ky,,  in  September, 
1864,  under  special  authority  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment. The  difSculties  attending  the  recruiting  and 
organization  of  this  regiment  were  great,  owing  to 
the  frequent  raids  by  guerrillas,  and  the  constant 
presence  of  predatory  bands  in  the  vicinity  of  its 
camp.  It  was  mounted  and  performed  duty  in  vari- 
ous portions  of  Kentucky,  and  by  the  energy  displayed 
by  its  officers  soon  dispelled  the  guerrillas  from  the 
section  of  country  in  which  it  was  stationed.  On 
the  second  Saltville  expedition  the  Fifty-fourth  lost 
many  men  by  exposure  to  the  extreme  cold  weather. 
It  participated  in  the  battles  of  Clinch  River,  Ma- 
rion and  Saltville,  Va.,  beside  various  skirmishes 
and  minor  engagements.  It  was  mustered  out  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  September  1,  1865. 


INFANTRY — 'PIPTY-FIPTH  REGIMENT. 

Weden  O’Neal,  colonel. 

Tho.  J.  Williams,  lieutenant-colonel. 

Silas  Howe,  major. 

John  E.  Calvert,  adjutant. 

Robert  C.  Snead,  adjutant. 

Geo.  L.  Huey,  quartermaster. 

Benj.  F.  Slaughter,  surgeon. 

E.  R.  Palmer,  assistant  surgeon. 

John  R.  Reasoner,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

James  M.  Riddell,  captain;  Wm.  E.  Arnold, 
captain;  Wm.  S.  Butts,  1st  lieutenant;  Washington 
Craven,  1st  lieutenant;  George  B.  Clore,  3d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

John  C.  Richards,  captain;  Gary  Longfellow, 
1st  lieutenant;  George  W.  Story,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

James  P.  Robinson,  captain;  Calvin  Griffin,  1st 
lieutenant;  Nehemiah  Spradliug,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

John  E.  Calvert,  captain;  Wm.  H.  Drinkard, 
1st  lieutenant;  Dennis  W.  Haley,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Charles  McBeath,  captain;  James  H.  White,  1st 
lieutenant;  Geo.  W.  White,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Thos.  W.  Hardiman,  captain;  Thomas  J.  Mc- 
Hatton,  1st  lieutenant;  Cincinnatus  Murphy,  3d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Peter  S.  Jones,  captain;  George  M.  Harper,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  N.  Buchanan,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

George  Welker,  captain;  Gottleib  Jennerich,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  C.  Bishop,  3d  lieutenant;  Robert 
C.  Snead,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Alex.  W.  Lawwill,  captain;  James  S,  Hise,  1st 
lieutenant;  Prank  Blanchard,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Wm.  E.  Gillaspie,  captain;  Jonathan  R.  Ward, 
1st  lieutenant;  Jacob  P.  Phipps,  3d  lieutenant. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


719 


The  Fifty-fifth  Kentucky  Infantry  was  raised 
under  special  authority  from  the  War  Department, 
and  was  oi-ganized  at  Covington,  Ky.,  in  November, 
1864.  It  was  mounted,  and  performed  duty  in  the 
counties  bordering  on  the  Kentucky  Central  Rail- 
road, until  ordered  on  the  Saltville  expedition  un- 
der Gen.  Burbridge.  On  this  expedition  it  per- 
formed good  and  etficient  service,  and  was  favor- 
ably mentioned  by  the  commanding  general, 
among  other  troops  of  his  division,  for  gallant 
bearing  in  face  of  the  enemy.  After  the  return 
from  Virginia  the  regiment  was  by  detail  posted  in 
various  counties  to  protect  the  citizens  from  the 
depredations  of  guerrillas,  upon  which  duty  it  re- 
mained until  mustered  out  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  Sep- 
tember 19,  1865. 


Patterson’s  company  of  mechanics  and  en- 
gineers. 

William  F.  Patterson,  captain;  Andrew  Patter- 
son, 2d  lieutenant. 

Patterson’s  company  of  Mechanics  and  Engineers 
was  organized  at  Somerset,  Ky.,  under  Capt.  W.  F. 
Patterson,  and  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service  by  Charles  S.  Medary,  lieutenant.  United 
States  mustering  officer,  and  has  marched  as  fol- 
lows: 

This  company,  as  enlisted,  was  employed  in  the 
construction  of  defenses  for  Camp  Hoskins,  Ky., 
then  under  command  of  Col.  Hoskins,  up  to  the  2d 
of  December,  1861,  when  Brig.-Gen.  ShoepflE  as- 
sumed command,  and  continued  the  work  of  defense 
in  the  vicinity  of  Somerset,  Ky.,  until  the  battle  of 
Mill  Springs,  on  the  19th  of  January,  1862.  On  the 
16th  of  January  this  company,  together  with  seven 
companies  from  the  command,  were  employed  in 
the  repair  of  the  road  from  Somerset  to  Stanford, 
Ky.  On  the  8th  of  February  the  seven  companies 
were  relieved,  and  the  work  continued  by  this  com- 
pany under  orders  of  Gen.  Thomas.  .On  the  12th 
of  April  it  was  ordered  to  report  to  headquarters  Sev- 
enth Division,  ArmyofOhio,  Cumberland  Ford,  Ky., 
b}"  Gen.  George  W.  Morgan,  where  it  arrived  on  the 
20th,  repairing  roads  on  the  way.  From  the  25th  of 
April  to  May  1 engaged,  with  large  detailed  force 
added,  in  the  repair  of  the  road  for  supplies.  From 
the  1st  of  May  this  company  constructed  roads  and 
bridges  forty  miles  for  a flank  movement  upon 
Cumberland  Gap,  through  Cumberland  Mountains, 
which  was  accomplished  successfully  on  the  18th  of 
June.  From  this  date  a new  detail  was  added  of 
230  men,  and  engaged  in  the  construction  of  build- 
ing roads.  etc.,  up  to  the  18th  of  September,  when 
all  was  destroyed  by  order  of  Gen.  Morgan,  to- 
gether with  nine  siege  guns.  Marched  with  the 
advance  of  Morgan’s  division  to  the  Ohio  River, 
and  accompanied  it  to  Memphis,  where,  in  Decem- 
ber, it  embarked  with  the  division  for  an  attack 
upon  Vicksburg.  From  the  26th  to  the  1st  of  Jan- 
uary, 1863,  this  companj^  was  constantly  engaged, 
nigiit  and  day,  in  preparing  earthworks,  and  on  the 
28th  was  greatly  exposed  in  an  effort  to  throw  a 
pontoon  bridge  across  Chickasaw  Bayou  under  a 
destructive  fire  from  the  enemy.  Sergt.  Welsh, 
in  charge  of  the  party,  relinquished  the  effort  only 
when  the  boats  were  so  damaged  as  to  be  useless. 
On  the  1st  of  January,  1863,  embarked  on  trans- 
ports for  Arkansas  Post,  arriving  on  the  10th. 
After  the  battle  and  surrender  the  demolition  of  the 
fort  and  siege  guns  was  assigned  to  this  company, 
with  a large  detail  from  the  command. 

From  this  time  until  the  date  of  its  return  to 
Kentucky,  November  23,  1864,  the  company  was 
constantly  on  dut3^  adding  to  the  courage  and  dis- 
cipline of  true  soldiers  the  skill  and  intelligence  of 
competent  engineers  and  mechanics. 


CAVALRY — FIRST  REGIMENT. 

Frank  Wolford,  colonel;  entered  service  at  or- 
ganization, 

Silas  Adams,  colonel;  promoted  colonel  June  16, 
1864. 

John  W.  Letcher,  lieutenant-colonel;  resigned 
Nov.  28,  1862. 

Francis  N.  Helveti,  lieutenant-colonel;  promot- 
ed lieutenant-colonel  June  16,  1864. 

John  A.  Brents,  major;  resigned  July  2,  1862. 

William  A.  Coffee,  major;  resigned  Oct.,  1863. 

William  N.  Owens,  major;  promoted  major  July 
31,  1862. 

Thomas  Rowland,  major;  wounded  at  Dutton 
Hill,  Ky. 

Alverson  T.  Keen,  major;  promoted  major  Julv 
16,  1864. 

Fountain  T.  Fox,  major;  promoted  to  major 
June  27,  1864. 

George  W.  Drye,  major;  wounded  at  Rockford, 
Tenn.,  Nov.  14,  1862. 

Francis  M.  Wolford,  adjutant;  promoted  captain 
Company  A Nov.  14. 

William  D.  Carpenter,  adjutant;  wounded  in 
siege  of  Knoxville,  'Tenn. 

Matthew  H.  Blackford, regimental  quartermaster. 

Elijah  Cox,  regimental  commissary  subsistence; 
promoted  regimental  commissary  subsistence  June 
3,  1863. 

John  A.  Brady,  surgeon;  resigned  Dec.  26,  1862. 

Hawkins  Brown,  surgeon;  promoted  surgeon 
Dec.  26,  1862. 

James  C.  Riffe,  assistant  surgeon;  resigned  June 
11,  1862. 

Andrew  A.  Campbell,  assistant  surgeon. 

Albert  G.  Huffman,  assistant  surgeon;  resigned 
June  9,  1864. 

Wm.  H.  Honnell,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

George  W.  Sweeney,  captain;  Silas  G.  Adams, 
captain;  Francis  M.  Wolford,  captain;  James  Hum- 
phrey, 1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  Watson.  2d  lieuten- 
ant; William  Adams,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

William  Rains,  captain;  George  W.  Drye,  cap- 
tain; Samuel  Belden,  captain;  Wm.  B.  Carter,  1st 
lieutenant;  Stephen  H.  Coppage,  1st  lieutenant; 
Vincent  Peyton,  1st  lieutenant;  Stephen  G.  Averitt, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

John  A.  Brents,  captain;  Jno.  A.  Morrison,  cap- 
tain; Wm.  Perkins,  captain;  Dulany  R.  Carr,  cap- 
tain; James  E.  Chilton,  1st  lieutenant;  Wm.  C. 
Roots,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

George  Coppage,  captain;  Samuel  H.  Boone, 
captain;  Daniel  A.  Kelley, captain;  Richard  H.  Van- 
dyke, 1st  lieutenant;  Henry  H.  Thornton,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Warren  Lamme,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Boston  Dillion,  captain;  Franklin  W.  Dillion, 
captain:  John  Kimbrell,  1st  lieutenant;  William  P. 
Ballard,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Jarrard  W.  Jenkins,  captain;  Robert  C.  Blain, 
captain;  George  C.  Jenkins,  1st  lieutenant;  Oliver 
M.  Dodson,  1st  lieutenant;  Wm.  B.  Kelley,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; Richard  E.  Huffman,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  S. 

Thornton  K.  Hacklejq  captain;  Irvine  Burton, 
captain;  Win.  D.  Carpenter,  1st  lieutenant;  Henry 
S.  Robson,  2d  lieutenant;  Daniel  Murphy,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 


720 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


COMPANY  H. 

F.  N.  Alexander,  captain;  James  G.  Dick,  cap- 
tain; Chas.  W.  Huflaker,  1st  lieutenant;  Samuel 
Duncan,  1st  lieutenant;  Wm.  M.  Hadley,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; Abraham  Grubb,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

John  Smith,  captain;  Alexanaer  Smith,  captain; 
James  L.  PankeJ^  captain;  James  M.  Mayes,  1st 
lieutenant;  Buford  Scott,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas 
J,  Graves,  1st  lieutenant;  Alexander  Thompson,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  J. 

M.  H.  Owsley,  captain;  Jesse  M.  Carter,  cap- 
tain; Anderson  T.  Keen,  captain;  John  T.  McLain, 
captain,  Ale.xauder  C.  Smith,  1st  lieutenant;  Mere- 
dith Martin,  2d  lieutenant;  Sandusky  Braton,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Nelson  B.  Burris,  captain;  Thomas  Rowland, 
captain;  Philip  Roberts,  captain;  Tilford  N.  Bru- 
ner, 1st  lieutenant;  Jno.  F.  N.  Hill,  1st  lieutenant; 
F.  T.  Fox,  1st  lieutenant;  A.  J.  Alexander,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Stephen  Sully,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  L. 

Wm.  N.  Owens,  captain;  John  B.  Fishback, 
■captain;  Joe  D.  Beatie,  captain;  Robert  M.  Griffin, 
1st  lieutenant;  Matthew  H.  Blackford,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Benj.  H.  Milton,  2d  lieutenant;  Wm,  A.  Lock- 
ett, 2d  lieutenant;  Geo.  K.  Speed,  2d  lieutenant; 
•Granville  J.  Vaught,  2d  lieutenant.' 


CAVALRY — SECOND  REGIMENT. 

Buckner  Board,  colonel;  resigned  Dec.  25,  1862. 

Thomas  P.  Nicholas,  colonel;  promoted  colonel 
Dec.  26,  1862. 

Thos.  B.  Cochoran,  lieutenant-colonel;  resigned 
Nov.  24,  1862. 

Elijah  S Watts,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted  to 
lieutenant-colonel  Nov.  25,  1862. 

W.  H.  Eifort,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted  lieu- 
tenant-colonel June  22,  1864;  killed  in  action. 

Owen  Starr,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted  to  lieu- 
tenant-colonel Oct.  18,  1864. 

Henry  E.  Collins,  major;  promoted  major  Dec. 
26,  1862;  resigned  June  2,  1864. 

Jesse  J.  Craddock,  major;  promoted  major  Nov. 
25,  1862;  resigned  Jan.  26,  1864. 

Joseph  T.  Foreman,  major;  promoted  to  major 
May  1,  1865. 

R.  M.  Gilmore,  major;  promoted  major  May  12, 
1865. 

Wm.  H.  Lower,  major;  promoted  to  major  July 
10,  1865. 

John  M.  Hewitt,  adjutant. 

Geo.  W.  Griffith,  adjutant;  promoted  captain 
•Company  A,  April  30,  1864. 

Garrard  S.  Morgan,  adjutant. 

Elias  Thomasson,  regimental  quartermaster. 

William  G.  Rogers,  regimental  quartermaster. 

Edward  B.  Ayres,  regimental  commissary;  re- 
signed Dec.  29,  1864, 

John  F.  Finley,  surgeon. 

David  J.  Griffith,  assistant  surgeon;  resigned 
Feb.  6,  1862. 

Robert  Stewart,  assistant  surgeon;  resigned  June 
18,  1863. 

J.  H.  Layman,  assistant  surgeon. 

George  J.  Reed,  chaplain;  resigned  Oct.  17, 1862. 

COMPANY  A. 

Elijah  S.  Watts,  captain;  John  D.  WicklifEe, 
captain;  George  W.  Griffith,  captain;  George  A. 
Hosmer,  1st  lieutenant;  Edward  B.  Curran,  1st 
lieutenant;  Robert  E.  Pogue,  2d  lieutenant;  William 
Bradney,  2d  lieutenant. 


COMPANY  B. 

Henry  E.  Collins,  captain;  William  Arthur,  cap- 
tain; William  Higgins,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  H. 
Soward,  1st  lieutenant;  Henry  C.  Car.r,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; Charles  J.  Norton,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Henry  G.  Thomas,  captain  ; Owen  Starr,  captain; 
James  A.  Warder,  captain;  William  H.  Lower,  cap- 
tain; Wm.  H.  Eifort,  1st  lieutenant;  Bird  P.  Brooks, 
1st  lieutenant;  Lewis  H.  Little,  1st  lieutenant; 
George  A.  Hosmer,  2d  lieutenant;  William  G.  Jen- 
kins, 2d  lieutenant;  Edward  B.  Curran,  2d  lieutenant; 
Wm.  A..  McCammon,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Jesse  J.  Craddock,  captain;  Charles  D Arm- 
strong, captain;  John  E.  Stillwell,  1st  lieutenant; 
Bird  P.  Brooks,  2d  lieutenant;  John  L.  Bomar,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Oliver  T.  Booth,  captain:  Owen  Starr,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Robt.  E.  Pogue,  1st  lieutenant;  John  Cal- 
der,  1st  lieutenant;  Richard  W.  Davis,  2d  lieutenant; 
Wm.  C.  Adams,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Edward  J.  Mitchell,  captain;  Charles  A.  Zachary, 
captain;  James  M.  Patterson,  1st  lieutenant;  Wm. 
T.  Jenkins,  1st  lieutenant;  Wm.  Bradney,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Sylvanus  C.  Runyon,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  O. 

Miller  R.  McCulloch,  captain;  Harvey  S.  Parke, 
captain;  John  Baker,  captain;  Cornelius  Nall,  1st 
lieutenant;  Sanford  H.  Thurman,  1st  lieutenant; 
Granville  J.  blastings,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Tho.  C.  Wiley,  captain;  Wm.  H.  Eifort,  captain; 
Samuel  Lyon,  captain;  Wm.  T.  Hoblitzell,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Augustus  T.  Gulitz,  1st  lieutenant;  Geo.  S. 
Coyle,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Augustus  C.  Van  Dyke,  captain;  Wm.  T.  Hob- 
litzell,  captain;  Lovell  H.  Thrixton,  captain;  Oscar 
O.  Gregg,  1st  lieutenant;  George  W.  L.  Batman,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  L.  Bomar,  1st  lieutenant;  Chas. 
Corum,  2d  lieutenant;  Wm.  H.  Lower,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

J.  Griswold,  1st  lieutenant;  Stephen  E.  Jones, 
1st  lieutenant;  Lovell  H.  Thrixton,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  L. 

Monroe  Bateman,  captain;  Jos.  T.  Foreman, 
captain;  Jas.  A.  Warder,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  H. 
Soward,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  M. 

Robert  M.  Gillmore,  captain. 

The  Second  Kentucky  Cavalry  was  organized  at 
Camp  Joe  Holt,  under  Col.  Buckner  Board,  mus- 
tered into  the  United  States  service  on  the  9th  day 
of  September,  1861,  by  Maj.  W.  H.  Sidell,  United 
States  mustering  officer. 


CAVALRY — THIRD  REGIMENT. 

James  S.  Jackson,  colonel;  promoted  brigadier- 
general  of  Volunteers  Aug.  13,  1862. 

Eli  H.  Murray,  colonel;  commissioned  and 
entered  service  as  major  Nov.  26,  1861;  promoted 
colonel  Aim.  13,  1862. 

Alvin  C.  Gillen,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
colonel  of Regiment,  Tennessee  Volunteers. 

James  M.  Holmes,  lieutenant-colonel ;_  promoted 
to  lieutenant-colonel  Aug.  13,  1862;  resigned  May 
27  1863. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


721 


Robert  H.  King,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted  to 
lieutenant-colonel  May  27,  1863. 

Green  Clay,  major;  resigned  Jan.  11,  1862. 

W.  S.  D.  Megowan,  major;  resigned  Dec.  17, 
1862 

Aaron  C.  Shacklett,  major;  promoted  major 
Aug.  13,  1862. 

Lewis  H.  Wolfley,  major;  promoted  major  Dec. 
18,  1862. 

Geo.  F.  White,  major;  promoted  major  April 
13,  1863 

John  W.  Breathitt,  major;  promoted  major  May 
27,  1863. 

Zachary  L.  Taylor,  adjutant;  resigned  April  16, 
1862. 

Jesse  S.  Gray,  adjutant. 

John  Feland,  regimental  quartermaster. 

A.  J.  Gillett,  regimental  quartermaster;  pro- 
moted from  2d  lieutenant  Company  G,  June  20, 
1862. 

Jos.  F.  Anderson,  regimental  commissary;  pro- 
moted from  commissary  sergeant  March  8,  1864. 

Wm.  Singleton,  surgeon;  resigned  June  16, 1862. 

Robert  M.  Fairleigh,  surgeon;  promoted  from 
asst,  surgeon  June  19,  1862. 

Robert  B.  McNairy,  asst,  surgeon;  promoted 
from  hospital  steward  April  10,  1863. 

Hartwell  T.  Burge,  chaplain;  resigned  June  23, 
1863. 

John  H.  McRae,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

Jno.  W.  Breathitt,  captain;  Chas.  L.  White, 
captain;  Thomas  H.  Ashford,  1st  lieutenant;  Milton 
J.  Coleman,  1st  lieutenant;  N.  C.  Petree,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; Alex.  C.  Lakin,  2d  lieutenant;  Edward 
Kelly,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

James  M.  Holmes,  captain;  Mathew  H.  Jouett, 
captain;  John  L.  Waters,  1st  lieutenant;  Drury  C. 
Mitcherson,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Albert  G.  Bacon,  captain;  Robert  H.  King,  cap- 
tain; Lewis  M.  Buford,  captain;  John  J.  Roberts, 
1st  lieutenant;  Edward  H.  Morin,  1st  lieutenant; 
Charles  Smock,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Arthur  N.  Davis,  captain;  Tho.  J.  Lovelace, 
captain;  M.  J.  Davis,  1st  lieutenant;  Robert  O. 
Gaines,  2d  lieutenant;  Calvin  N.  Jarrell,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Oliver  N.  Spencer,  captain;  Robert  Bogle,  cap- 
tain; Percival  P.  Oldershaw,  1st  lieutenant;  David 
M.  Oglesby,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  Newton,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Isaac  Miller,  captain;  Elisha  Baker,  captain; 
W.  H.  Burghardt,  1st  lieutenant;  Leonard  Pearler, 
2d  lieutenant;  Wm.  T.  Buckner,  2d  lieutenant; 
John  C.  Corey,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

J.  Speed  Peay,  captain;  Tho.  C,  Foreman,  cap- 
tain; L.  L.  Drown,  captain;  Edward  W.  Ward, 
captain;  William  Starling,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas 
Coyle,  1st  lieutenant;  John  Weist,  1st  lieutenant; 
A.  J.  Gillett,  2d  lieutenant;  Garnett  Duncan,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  n. 

Lewis  Wolfley,  captain;  James  Beggs,  captain; 
Frederick  Overbury,  1st  lieutenant;  Edward  H. 
Morin,  2d  lieutenant;  James  T.  Leavy,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 


COMPANY  I. 

George  F.  Mercer,  captain;  John  M.  Thomas, 
captain;  Lewis  R,  Dunn,  1st  lieutenant;  Peter  S. 
Bruner,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Aaron  C.  Shacklett,  captain;  Francis  H.  Crosby, 
captain;  Horace  Scott,  captain;  Frank  M.  Jolly, 
1st  lieutenant;  William  Waters,  1st  lieutenant; 
Samuel  C.  Chalfant,  2d  lieutenant;  Charles  Blanford, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  L. 

John  P.  Cummings,  captain;  W.  W.  Hester,  1st 
lieutenant;  W.  W.  Weatherholt,  1st  lieutenant; 
Wm.  R.  Gardner,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  M. 

Geo.  F.  White,  captain;  A.  G.  Sloo,  captain; 
Benjamin  Johnson,  1st  lieutenant. 

The  Third  Kentucky  Cavalry  was  organized  at 
Calhoon,  Ky.,  under  Col.  James  S.  Jackson;  mus- 
tered into  the  United  States  service  on  the  13th  day 
of  December,  1861,  by  Maj.  W.  H.  Sidell,  United 
States  mustering  officer. 


CAVALRY — FOURTH  REGIMENT. 

Jesse  Bayles,  colonel;  resigned  April  14,  1863. 

G.  Glay  Smith,  colonel;  promoted  brigadier-gen- 
eral Volunteers,  June  11,  1862. 

Wickliffe  Cooper,  colonel;  promoted  colonel 
April  5,  1863. 

Jacob  Ruckstuhl,  lieutenant-colonel;  resigned 
May  8,  1863. 

Llewllyn  Gwj''iine,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
from  major  Aug.  10,  1863. 

John  F.  Gunkel,  major;  resigned  Feb.  3,  1863, 

Sidney  S.  Lyon,  major;  promoted  froili  captain, 
Company  F,  Aug.  13,  1863.  • 

Moses  C.  Bayles,  adjutant;  mustered  out  April 
14,  1862. 

George  K.  Speed,  adjutant;  promoted  captain 
Company  G Nov.  7,  1863. 

Chas.  Kurfiss,  regimental  quartermaster;  mus- 
tered out  of  service. 

Chas.  II.  Swift,  regimental  quartermaster; trans- 
ferred to  Fourth  Kentucky  Veteran  Cavalry. 

Sami.  L.  Adams,  surgeon;  resigned  Sept.  20, 
1862. 

Henry  Mallory,  surgeon;  resigned  July  10,  1863. 

Chas.  H.  Butler,  surgeon;  promoted  from  asst, 
surgeon  Oct.  1.  1863. 

David  P.  Middleton,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned 
April  10,  1862. 

J.  P.  Bachman,  asst,  surgeon;  transferred  to 
Fourth  Kentucky  Veteran  Cavalry. 

Mathew  N.  Lasley,  chaplain ; resigned  April  9, 
1862. 

COMPANY  A. 

Levi  Chilson,  captain;  William  D.  Hooker,  cap- 
tain; Joseph  A.  Cowell,  captain;  William  J.  Hun- 
ter, 1st  lieutenant;  James  Barnes,  2d  lieutenant; 
Basil  N.  Hobbs,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

John  Kurfiss,  captain;  Adam  Rogers,  _ captain; 
Henry  Tanner,  1st  lieutenant;  John  Feitsch,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Charles  L.  Unthank,  captain;  Sylvester  W.  Rap- 
lee,  captain;  .John  M.  Bacon,  captain;  James 
O’Donnell,  1st  lieutenant  ; William  J.  Killmore,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  M.  Nichols,  2d  lieutenant;  A. 
G.  Rosengarten,  2d  lieutenant;  James  Hines,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

George  Welling,  captain;  William  J.  Barnett, 
captain;  Frank  N.^'Sheets,  1st  lieutenant;  John  B. 


45 


723 


HISTORY  OF  KEXTUCKY. 


Lee,  1st  lieutenant;  James  A.  Kemp,  2d  lieutenant; 
John  P.  Brown,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Nelson  B.  Church,  captain;  Sidney  Lyons,  cap- 
tain; Basil  N.  Hobhs,  captain;  Spencer  Cooper,  cap- 
tain; John  D.  Bird,  Istlieutenaut;  Thomas  P.  Ilar- 
not,  1st  lieutenant;  Wm.  G.  Milton,  1st  lieutenant; 
Abel  R.  Church,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Henry  A.  Schaeffer,  captain;  Leopold  Preuss, 
captain;  James  O'Donnell,  captain;  Max  Cohn,  1st 
lieutenant;  Henry  G.  Waller,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 


Patrick  M.  Conly,  regimental  commissary; 
promoted  from  sergeant  Company  A. 

George  E.  Willett,  regimental  commissary. 

COMPANY  A. 

Hal.  Palmer,  captain;  James  L.  Wharton,  cap- 
tain; Thomas  A.  Elkin,  captain;  James  V.  Conrad, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  Funk.  3d  lieutenant;  Francis 
B.  McAllister,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

James  T.  A.  J.  Duncan,  captain;  Christopher  T. 
Cheek,  captain;  Andrew  Offutt,  captain;  Jonathan 
S.  Harlen,  1st  lieutenant;  Henry  D.  Gorham,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  Right,  2d  lieutenant. 


Casper  Blume,  captain;  John  Sailer,  captain; 
George  K.  Speed,  captain;  William  Shriver,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  H.  McKinney,  1st  lieutenant; 
Thomas  Hoffman,  2d  lieutenant;  Rodolph  Curtis, 
2d  lieutenant;  George  Rothchild,  1st  sergeant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Patrick  W.  McGowan,  captain;  John  F.  Weston, 
captain;  Isaac  Burch,  1st  lieutenant:  Lewis  Ryan, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  Burke,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Fourth  Kentucky  Cavalry  was  organized  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  under  Col.  Jesse  Bayles,  mustered 
into  the  United  States  service  on  the  24th  day  of 
Dee.  1861,  by  Capt.  Bankhead,  United  States  mus- 
tering officer. 


CAVALRY— FIFTH  REGIMENT. 

David  R.  Haggard,  colonel;  mustered  out  March 
24,  1863,  on  account  of  disability. 

Win.  P.  Sanders,  colonel;  died  of  wounds  re- 
ceived in  action  at  Campbell’s  Station,  Tenn., 
November  30,  1863. 

Oliver  L.  Baldwin,  colonel;  promoted  from  ma- 
jor 3d  Kentucky  Infantry;  resigned  March  24,  1865. 

Isaac  Scott,  lieutenant-colonel;  resigned  March 
9.  1863. 

William  T.  Hoblitzell,  lieutenant-colonel;  pro- 
moted from  captain.  Company  I,  3d  Kentucky  Cav- 
alry, March  10,  1863. 

Michael  H.  Owsley,  major;  resigned  Sept.  5, 
1863. 

Thomas  C.  Winfrey,  major;  promoted  major 
December  4,  1861. 

John  Q.  Owsley,  major;  promoted  major;  re- 
signed Aug,  13,  1863. 

Christopher  T.  Cheek,  major;  promoted  from 
captain  Company  B. 

James  L.  Wharton,  major;  promoted  from  cap- 
tain Company  A. 

Hugh  Muiholland,  surgeon;  resigned  April  11, 
1863. 

William  Forrester,  surgeon;  promoted  from  asst, 
surgeon  April  13,  1863. 

Marcellus  Baugh,  chaplain;  resigned  Dec.  23, 
1863. 

William  B.  Chrisler,  chaplain;  transferred  to  3d 
Kentucky  Cavalry  January,  1865. 

Jacob  B.  Mitchell,  asst,  surgeon;  promoted  sur- 
geon 12th  Tennessee  Cavalry. 

William  T.  Owsley,  asst  surgeon;  mustered  out 
June,  1863. 

John  H.  C.  Sandridge,  adjutant;  killed  in  action 
March  10,  1865,  at  Monroe’s  Cross  Roads,  N.  C. 

William  D.  Mitchell,  adjutant;  detached  from 
regiment  before  muster  in. 

John  T.  Farris,  regimental  quartermaster,  pro- 
moted from  sergeant  125th  Illinois  Infantry. 

James  H.  McKee,  regimental  quartermaster; 
promoted  from  sergeant  Company  D. 

Andrew  T.  Vincent,  regimental  quartermaster; 
promoted  from  private  Company  A. 


COMPANY  C. 

John  Q.  Owsley,  captain;  Samuel  Martin,  cap- 
tain; John  D.  Smith,  captain;  Leonidas  S.  Sullivan, 
1st  lieutenant;  Wily  S.  Holland,  1st  lieutenant; 
Granville  B.  McGee,  3d  lieutenant;  George  M. 
Vandever,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

William  W.  Bradshaw,  captain;  Robert  Higgin- 
bottom,  captain;  Edwin  Vincent,  1st  lieutenant; 
Andrew  J.  Jones,  1st  lieutenant;  Edward  Hughes, 
2d  lieutenant;  Edward  Davis,  3d  lieutenant 

COMPANY  E. 

.John  A.  P.  Glore,  captain;  Robert  Story,  1st 
lieutenant;  Abijah  C.  Riddle.  3d  lieutenant;  Isaac 

S.  Bow,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  P. 

Daniel  W.  Clay  well,  captain;  Joseph  C.  Hill, 
captain;  James  W.  Lawless,  captain;  Christopher 

T.  Cheek,  1st  lieutenant;  Robert  Higginbottom,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  W.  Baker,  1st  lieutenant;  William 
D.  Baugh,  3d  lieutenant;  Rufus  F.  Thorn,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY/B. 

John  R.  Poindexter,  captain;  John  B.  Riggs, 
captain;  Elias  C.Keen,  1st  lieutenant;  John  Brown, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Michael  B.  Freeman,  captain;  Fleming  Parris, 
captain;  Richard  B.  Freeman,  1st  lieutenant:  John 
A.  Burk,  1st  lieutenant;  Jas.  W.  Lawless,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

John  L.  Carter,  captain;  Asa  C.  Wells,  captain; 
Doctor  G.  Sheplierd,  1st  lieutenant;  Hiram  Camp- 
bell, 2d  lieutenant;  William  H.  Bryan,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

COMPANY  K. 

John  B.  Page,  captain;  John  W.  Forrester,  cap- 
tain; James  W.  Strode,  1st  lieutenant;  Fleming 
Farris,  1st  lieutenant;  Andrew  Offutt,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; James  W.  Lawless,  1st  lieutenant;  Charles  Gill, 
1st  lieutenant;  .Joseph  G.  Hardin,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Fifth  Kentucky  Cavalry  was  organized  at 
Camp  Sandidge,  Gallatin,  Tenn.,  under  Col.  David 
R.  Haggard, and  mustered  into  the  service  March  31, 
1862,  "by  Maj.  W.  H.  Sidell,  United  States  muster- 
ing officer. 

CAVALRY — SIXTH  REGIMENT. 

Dennis  J.  Halisy,  colonel;  killed  in  action  near 
Newmarket,  Ky.,  Dec.  31,  1863. 

Lewis  D.  Watkins,  colonel;  promoted  to  brevet 
brigadier-general  June  24,  1864. 

Reuben  Munday,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel  Dec.  11,  1861. 

Wm.  P.  Roper,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted 
major,  then  lieutenant-colonel. 

Lewis  A.  Gratz,  major. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


723 


Wm.  H.  Fidler,  major;  perished  on  steamer 
Sultana  April  28,  1865,  near  Memphis,  Tenn. 

Walter  F.  Stafford,  major;  promoted  major 
March  25,  1863. 

Hugh  B.  Kelly,  adjutant. 

Jas.  R.  Meagher,  adjutant;  promoted  from  1st 
lieutenant  Company  K. 

Geo.  W.  McMillan,  surgeon. 

Wm.  H.  Newman,  surgeon;  honorably  dis- 
charged May  1,  1863. 

Levan  J.  Keeler,  surgeon;  promoted  from  asst, 
surgeon  June  13,  1863. 

John  Drye,  surgeon;  promoted  from  captain 
Company  G. 

Chas.  B.  Chapman,  asst,  surgeon. 

Milton  C.  Clark,  chaplain;  discharged  on  account 
of  wounds  received  in  action  July  8,  1864. 

Geo.  Sambrock,  regimental  quartermaster. 

LeeR.  Yates,  regimental  commissary,  resigned 
March  1,  1864. 

COMPANY  A. 

Edwin  K.  Stephens,  captain;  Walter  F.  Stafford, 
captain;  David  L.  Cook,  captain;  Robert  A.  Kerr, 
1st  lieutenant;  Jerome  S.  Hale,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

William  P.  Roper,  captain;  James  H.  Coffman, 
captain;  Archie  P.  McLeod,  1st  lieutenant;  Samuel 
Kenbrough,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Chas.  Milward,  captain;  Jas.  C.  Martin,  cap- 
tain; Scott  H.  Robinson,  eaptain;  Benj.  F.  Sheets, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  Robinson,  2d  lieutenant;  Wm. 
C.  Hunter,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

John  B.  Buchanan,  captain;  Isaac  Taylor,  cap- 
tain; Owen  W.  Ballew,  1st  lieutenant;  Andrew  .1. 
Henderson,  2d  lieutenant;  Allen  K.  Collins,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

James  C.  Dunham,  1st  lieutenant;  Stephen  H. 
Shiplar.  1st  lieutenant;  Philip  N.  Heath,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Henry  Tachua,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Perry  G.  Lanham,  captain;  Warren  H.  Mead,  1st 
lieutenant;  Daniel  Cheatham,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

John  Drye,  captain;  Levin  M.  Drye,  captain; 
Henry  S.  Robson,  1st  lieutenant;  James  J.  Sur- 
ber,  1st  lieutenant;  John  T.  Belden,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

George  W.  Craven,  captain;  G.  J.  Brothers,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  Murphy, . 1st  lieutenant;  Isaac 
Graham.  2d  lieutenant;  Frank  M.  Vowels,  2ci  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Edward  Penn,  captain;  Samuel  W.  Crandell, 
1st  lieutenant;  Elijah  Bright,  1st  lieutenant;  Daniel 
M.  Richmond,  2d  lieutenant;  James  G.  McAdams, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

James M.  McCown,  captain;  James  R.  Meagher, 
1st  lieutenant;  James  D.  Wilson,  1st  lieutenant; 
James  P.  Conley,  1st  sergeant. 

COMPANY  L. 

Otto  Ernst,  captain;  Albert  M.  Green,  captain; 
Edwin  R.  Phillips,  captain;  Christopher  C.  Bybee, 
1st  lieutenant;  Lemuel  W.  Gee,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  M. 

Robert  H.  Brentlinger.  captain;  George  Williams, 
1st  lieutenant;  George  W.  Richardson,  2d  lieuten- 


ant; Samuel  R.  Hartman,  2d  lieutenant;  John  Fow- 
ler, 2d  lieutenant. 

The  First  Battalion  of  the  Sixth  Kentucky 
Cavalry  was  organized  at  Camp  Irvine,  Jefferson 
Co.,  Ky.,  under  Maj.  Reuben  Munday,  and  was 
mustered  into  the  United  States  service  December 
23,  1861,  by  Maj.  W.  H.  Sidell. 

CAVALRY — SEVENTH  REGIMENT. 

Leonidas  Metcalfe,  colonel;  never  mustered  into 
United  States  service. 

Johnh..  Faulkner,  colonel;  was  major  till  Feb. 
9,  1863;  then  lieutenant-colonel  April  2d,  1863. 

Thomas  T.  Vimont,  lieutenant-colonel;  killed  in 
a quarrel  Jan.  16,  1864,  at  Dandridge,  Tenn. 

William  W.  Bradley,  lieutenant-colonel;  major 
to  Sept.  17,  1864. 

William  O.  Smith,  major;  resigned  Feb.  5,  1863. 

Robert  Collier,  major;  was  captain  Company  H 
to  Ma}^  29,  1863;  resigned  Feb.  21,  1865. 

Andrew  S.  Bloom,  major. 

Charles  C.  McNeeley,  major;  was  captain  of 
Company  B to  March  11,  1865;  not  mustered  as 
major. 

William  S.  Sharp,  surgeon;  resigned  May  8th, 
1863. 

Charles  T.  Spillman,  surgeon;  was  asst,  surgeon 
to  May  9th,  1863. 

Solomon  S.  Wolff,  asst,  surgeon;  resigned  Dec. 
14,  1864. 

Andrew  .1.  Burnam,  asst,  surgeon. 

JohnB.  Campbell,  adjutant;  appointed  captain 
and  A.  Q.  M.  April  30,  1864. 

Felix  G.  McCrea.  adjutant;  was  quartermaster- 
sergeant  to  Dec.  11,  1862;  promoted  to  captain 
Company  G Nov.  14,  1864. 

DetmerP.  Watson,  adjutant;  was  sergeant-ma- 
jor to  Nov.  14,  1864. 

John  W.  Campbell,  regimental  quartermaster, 
resigned  Feb.  3,  1863. 

H.  O.  Newman,  regimental  quartermaster;  re- 
signed Sept.  22,  1864. 

Arthur  B.  Masoner,  regimental  quartermaster; 
resigned  May  25,  1865. 

.Toseph  C.  Masoner,  regimental  commissary; 
promoted  from  commissary  sergeant  Feb.  19,  1863. 

M.  J.  W.  Ambrose,  chaplain;  resigned  Sept.  6, 
1863. 

Coleman  W.  York,  chaplain;  resigned  Feb.  3, 
1865. 

COMPANY  A. 

Barnabas  T.  Hayden,  captain;  Aaron  Lee,  1st 
lieutenant;  Sanford  D.  Vanpelt,  1st  lieutenant; 
Samuel  H.  Royce,  2d  lieutenant;  William  Ingram, 
2d  lieutenant;  Henry  H.  Talbott,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Chas.  C.  McNeely,  captain;  Jesse  H.  Berry, 
captain;  Jno.  S.  Stodghill,  1st  lieutenant;  Tho.  M. 
Oden,  1st  lieutenant;  Wallace  W.  Gruelle,  1st 
lieutenant;  Jno.  T.  Hopkins,  1st  lieutenant;  Geo. 
M.  Sisson,  2d  lieutenant;  Jas.  H.  Oden,  2d  lieuten- 
ant; Dennis  Nichols,  1st  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Thomas  T.  Vimont,  captain;  James  P.  Ashley, 
captain;  Augustus  H.  Trotter,  1st  lieutenant:  Thom- 
as L.  Scott,  1st  lieutenant;  John  H.  Sims,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; Lewis B.  Vimont,  2dlieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

W.  W.  Bradley,  captain;  Jesse  Bryant,  captain; 
Andrew  J.  Jones,  1st  lieutenant;  James  P.  Rober- 
son, 2d  lieutenant;  James  H.  Robey,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Benjamin  F.  Robbins,  captain;  William  A.  Mc- 
Ginety,  captain;  William  Hamilton,  1st  lieutenant 


724 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Sidney  i\I.  Goslihorn,  1st  lieutenant;  John  P.  Mc- 
Gincty,  1st  lieutenant;  Silas  Gohagen,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Robert  Scott,  captain;  Felix  G.  McCrea,  cap- 
tain; James  W.  Brewer,  1st  lieutenant;  Robert 
Chaney,  2d  lieutenant;  Richard  Brewer,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Robert  Collier,  captain;  Jephtha  D.  Thornton, 
captain;  Edwin  H.  Walker,  1st  lieutenant;  Will- 
iam M.  Kerby,  1st  lieutenant;  James  L.  Baird,  2d 
lieutenant;  Thomas  Dunn,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Elihu  Price,  captain;  Seneca  Goulding,  captain; 
Mathew  R.  McDowell,  l.st  lieutenant;  Charles  G. 
Ogden,  1st  lieutenant;  Tliomas  E.  Willett,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Alfred  Mitchell,  2d  lieutenant. 

C&MPANY  L. 

John  E.  Burns,  captain;  Simeon  Crane,  captain; 
Curtis  R.  Beedle,  1st  lieutenant;  Wilkins  Warren, 
2d  lieutenaut:  li.  McCalla  McGee,  2d  lieutenant. 

Company  F,  originally  recruited  by  Capt.  John 
E.  Burns,  was  consolidated  with  Company  M. 

Company  I,  originally  recruited  by  Capt.  Jesse 
H.  Berry,  was  consolidated  with  Company  B. 

This  regiment  was  organized  at  Paris,  Ky., 
in  August,  1862,  under  Col.  Leonidas  Metcalfe,  and 
was  mustered  into  service  by  Maj.  Sitgraves,  United 
States  mustering  officer. 

CAVALRY — EIGnTH  REGIMENT. 

Benjamin  II.  Bri.stow,  colonel;  promoted  from 
lieutenant-colonel  Apr.  1,  1863. 

James  H.  IIollowa3L  lieutenant-colonel;  pro- 
moted from  major  May  1,  1863. 

Joseph  M.  Kennedy,  major. 

.Tames  W.  Weatherford,  major. 

Samuel  M.  Starling,  major;  promoted  from  cap- 
tain Company  M June  1,  1863. 

L.  Bennett,  surgeon. 

R.  W.  Whittington,  assistant  surgeon, 

George  F,  Penticost,  chaplain, 

Edward  Campbell,  quartermaster, 

E.  C,  Spiceland,  commissary;  promoted  from  2d 
lieutenant  Comiumy  L June  9,  ISfe, 

Joel.  E.  Huffman,  adjutant. 

William  A.  Speed,  sergeant  major;  appointed 
from  Company  II  August  4,  1862. 

Thomas  E.  White,  quartermaster- sergeant;  ap- 
pointed August  15,  1862. 

Henry  D.  Belden,  commissary-sergeant. 

John  Black,  steward;  appointed  from  Company 
A. 

Isaac  B.  Schoolfield,  steward;  appointed  from 
Company  M Dec.  8,  1862. 

Cyrus  W.  Faulkland,  saddler,  appointed  from 
Company  E Sept.  13,  1862. 

Paul  A.  Neff,  bugler;  appointed  bugler  Sept.  13, 
1862. 

George  N.  Masks, veterinary  surgeon;  appointed 
from  Company  E May  10,  1863. 

James  M.  Shackelford  (transferred),  colonel; 
promoted  brigadier-general  Jan.  2,  1863. 

Wm.  S.  Ross  (transferred),  surgeon;  resigned 
May  21,  1863. 

John  Feland  (transferred),  quartermaster;  re- 
signed March  24,  1863. 

John  Belden  (transferred),  commissary;  promot- 
ed captain  Company  M June  9,  1862. 

.lames  Lunathian  (transferred),  veterinary  sur- 
geon; discharged  for  disability  Apr.  13,  1863. 

COMPANY  A. 

George  W.  McCullough,  captain;  Wm.  H. 
Poindexter,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  HardjL  2d  lieu- 


tenant; James  T.  Donaldson,  Jr.,  brevet  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Isaac  Singleton,  captain;  Robert  F.  Yantis,  1st 
lieutenant;  Archibald  Carson,  2d  lieutenant;  James 
H.  Richmond,  sup.  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  0. 

Charles  M.  Whipp,  captain;  John  E.  Sharp,  1st 
lieutenant;  Daniel  W.  Coleman,  2d  lieutenant;  Roy- 
all  B.  Wilkinson,  sup.  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Samuel  F.  Johnsou,  captain;  Presley  L.  More- 
head,  1st  lieutenant;  Clark  E.  Ritter,  2d  lieutenant; 
Thomas  B.  Boyd,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

John  A.  Arthur,  captain;  John  ,1.  Hollaway,  1st 
lieutenant;  James  R.  Morin,  1st  lieutenant;  David 
R.  Lock,  2d  lieutenant;  George  S.  Fawkner,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

William  F.  Hunter,  captain;  James  B.  Carson, 
captain;  James  M.  Combest,  1st  lieutenant;  JohnT. 
Richards,  2d  lieutenant;  Elijah  A.  Coppage,  2d 
lieutenant;  Newton  J.  Smith,  su]).  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

James  M.  Morrow,  captain;  Samuel  M.  Crandell, 
1st  lieutenant;  Lewis  Buckner,  2d  lieutenant;  Field- 
ing W.  Starling,  2d  lieutenant;  S.  B.  Reed,  sup.  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  i:. 

Samuel  Allen,  captain;  Peter  P.  Brown,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Mathew  H.  Owens,  2d  lieutenant;  Samuel 
N.  Melton,  2d  lieutenant;  John  Farmer,  sup.  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

John  Dever,  captain;  John  F.  Cunningham,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  Penn,  2d  lieutenant;  Felland 
P.  Bland,  sup.  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

James  H.  Hudspeth,  captain;  William  A.  Sas- 
seen,  1st  lieutenant;  Richard  L.  Boulware,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; William  D.  Crain,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  L. 

Elisha  Owens,  captain;  Robert  V.  Gunter,  cap- 
tain; Samuel  Talley,  1st  lieutenant;  Josephs.  Rich- 
ards, 2d  lieutenant;  Edward  C.  Spiceland,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  M. 

John  D.  Belden,  captain;  Daniel  S.  Parker,  cap- 
tain; John  R.  Curry,  1st  lieutenant;  Moses  Kinnett, 
1st  lieutenant;  Logan  S.  McWhorton,  2d  lieutenant; 
Philip  T.  Hardwick,  2d  lieutenant;  George  Damer- 
on,  2d  lieutenant;  John  B.  Brown,  sup.  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

CAVALRY — NINTH  REGIMENT. 

Richard  T.  Jacob,  colonel. 

John  Boyle,  lieutenant-colonel. 

John  T.  Farris,  major;  resigned  Nov.  10,  1862. 

William  C.  Moreau,  major. 

George  W.  Rue,  major. 

James  R.  Page,  major;  resigned  Feb.  14,  1863. 

John  C.  Brent,  major;  promoted  from  1st  lieu- 
tenant Company  B Feb.  15,  1863. 

Uriah  W.  Oldham,  adjutant;  promoted  to  cap- 
tain Company  F Aug.  18,  i862. 

Prank  H.  Pope,  adjutant;  resigned  May  23, 1863. 

Andrew  J.  Hyter,  adjutant;  promoted  from  ser- 
geant-major June  4,  1863. 

Charles  A.  Clarke,  regimental  quartermaster; 
resigned  Aug.  17,  1862. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


725 


W.  Rector  Gist,  regimental  quartermaster;  pro- 
moted from  sup.  2d  lieutenant  Company  K Aug.  18, 
1862. 

Edwin  J.  Clark,  regimental  commissary,  re- 
signed. 

William  A.  Craig,  regimental  commissary;  pro- 
moted from  sup.  2d  lieutenant  Company  L. 

William  Bailey,  surgeon. 

William  H Botts,  assistant  surgeon. 

B.  F.  Hungerford,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

Ben.  M.  Harney,  captain;  Thos.  P.  Shanks,  1st 
lieutenant;  Frank  H.  Pope,  1st  lieutenant;  Alfred 
C.  Morris,  2d  lieutenant;  C.  Harrison  Somerville, 
brevet  2d  lieutenant. 

C03IPANT  B. 

Milton  P.  Hodges,  captain;  William  A.  Smyth, 
captain;  Charles  S.  Brent,  1st  lieutenant;  John  C. 
Brent,  Istlieutenant;  Green. M.  C.  Self,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Thomas  J.  Hardin,  captain;  Theodric  J.  Macey, 
1st  lieutenant;  Edward  S.  Stewart,  2d  lieutenant; 
John  C.  Jackson,  2d  lieutenant;  W.  Ashton  Craig, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

John  L.  Neal,  captain;  Thomas  M.  Dear,  1st 
lieutenant;  Moses  A.  Dear,  Istlieutenant;  John  W. 
Jenkins,  2d  lieutenant;  Gideon  J.  Stivers,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Henry  J.  Sheets,  captain;  James  R.  Page,  cap- 
tain; Thomas  Mahoney,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  M. 
Page,  2d  lieutenant;  Richard  H.  Parrant,  brevet  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Uriah  W.  Oldham,  captain;  John  G.  Gillipsie, 
1st  lieutenant;  Samuel  D.  McMeekin,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Jackson  Armstrong,  2d  lieutenant;  Lilburn  A. 
Black,  2d  lieutenant;  Edwin  J.  Clark,  brevet  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  Q. 

John  D.  Gore,  captain;  Charles  W.  Quiggins, 
1st  lieutenant;  Dennis  W.  Gore,  2d  lieutenant; 
Frank  Hewitt,  brevet  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Joseph  N.  Luckett.  captain;  Samuel  Porter,  1st 
lieutenant;  S.  B.  Colgrave,  2d  lieutenant;  John  A. 
Mobley,  2d  lieutenant;  Francis  Steadman,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Harvey  J.  Burns,  captain;  Cincinnatus Hendren, 
1st  lieutenant;  Turner  W.  Bottom,  1st  lieutenant; 
John  W.  Edwards,  2d  lieutenant;  John  D.  Hale, 
brevet  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

William  Edwards,  captain;  James  P.  Sharp,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  Craig,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  L. 

William  M.  Searcy,  captain;  Benjamin  L.  Bos- 
ton, captain;  Charles  K.  Elder,  1st  lieutenant; 
Wiley  Searcy,  2d  lieutenant:  W.  Rector  Gist,  brevet 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  M. 

William  G.  Connor,  captain;  Wm.  W.  Edwards, 
Istlieutenant;  H.  C.  Rodenbaugh,  Istlieutenant; 
Samuel  E.  Bratton,  2d  lieutenant. 

This  regiment  was  organized  at  Eminence,  under 
Col.  Richard  T.  Jacob,  and  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service  on  the  22d  day  of  August,  1862,  by 
Maj.  L.  Sitgraves,  United  States  mustering  officer. 


CAVALRY — TERTH  REGIMENT. 

Joshua  Tevis,  colonel;  resigned  Nov.  17,  1862. 

Charles  J.  Walker,  colonel;  resigned  Sept.  1, 
1863. 

R.  R.  Maltby,  lieutenant-colonel;  commissioned 
Aug.  22,  1862. 

James  L.  Foley,  major;  commissioned  Sept.  9, 
1862. 

William  A.  Doniphan,  major;  resigned  March 
17,  1863. 

John  Mason  Brown,  major;  commissioned  Oct. 
27,  1862. 

James  M.  Taylor,  major;  promoted  to  major 
March  18,  1863. 

Ridgly  Wilson,  adjutant;  resigned  June  28, 1863. 

John  N.  Wallingford,  adjutant;  promoted  adju- 
tant June  29,  1863. 

George  G.  Fetter,  quartermaster. 

John  F.  Moore,  commissary;  commissioned  Aug. 
15,  1862. 

Washington  Fithian,  surgeon;  commissioned 
Aug.  12,  1862. 

J.  F.  Fleming,  surgeon;  commissioned  Sept.  20, 
1862. 

Samuel  Maguire,  asst,  surgeon. 

James  P.  Hendrick,  chaplain;  commissioned 
Sept.  5,  1862. 

COMPANY  A. 

Newton  S.  Dudley,  captain;  Robert  G.  Rinra, 
captain;  James  M.  Taylor,  captain;  Charles  H. 
Burns,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  A.  Jones,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Charles  S.  Rogers,  captain;  Henry  W.  Caldwell, 
1st  lieutenant;  Burton  W.  Darnall,  2nd  lieutenant, 
George  A.  Trumbo,  sup.  2d  lieut. 

COMPANY  C. 

William  E.  Rice,  captain;  Andrew  T.  Wood,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  T.  Berry,  2d  lieutenant;  Jno. 
N.  Wallingford,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Jno.  G.  Rogers,  captain ; George  H.  Wheeler,  1st 
lieutenant;  Wm.  B.  Shockley.  2d  lieutenant;  John 
F.  Moore,  2d  lieutenant;  C.  J.McClelland,  brevet  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Wm.  D.  Ratcliffe,  captain;  Joseph  T.  Lokey,  1st 
lieutenant;  Henry  E.  Ware,  1st  lieutenant;  Theo- 
dore B.  Harlan,  2d  lieutenant;  Newton  Devore, 
sup.  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Frank  Mott,  captain;  Simeon  Sumpter,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Casper  Castner,  1st  lieutenant;  James  M. 
Bm’k,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Milton  Evans,  captain;  Andrew  J.  Farow,  1st 
lieutenant;  James  B.  Brewer,  2d  lieutenant;  Daniel 
Hendrickson,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Charles  Nute,  captain;  James  C.  Bierbower,  1st 
lieutenant;  Samuel  B.  Kelley,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Henry  C.  White,  captain;  Lewis  M.  Clarke,  cap- 
tain; George  L.  McCord,  1st  lieutenant;  James  W. 
Steward,  2d  lieutenant;  .Joseph  T.  Cottingham, 
brevet  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

.Tohu  D.  Russell,  captain;  Jacob  Nelson, captain; 
David  L.  Evans,  1st  lieutenant;  George  F.  Hertel, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  L. 

John  M.  Gray,  captain;  Thomas  Barber,  1st 
1 lieutenant;  John  R.  Taoer,  2d  lieutenant. 


72G 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


COMPANY  M. 

Francis  M.  Rathburn,  captain;  Jobn  A.  Thomp- 
son, 1st  lieutenant-  James  M.  Blackburn,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

CAVALRY — ELEVENTH  REGIMENT. 

Alexander  W.  Holeman,  colonel;  resigned  Sept. 

26,  1864. 

William  E.  Riley,  lieutenant-colonel;  resigned 
July  18,  1863. 

Arcbil)ald  J.  Alexander,  lieutenant-colonel;  re- 
signed June  9,  1864. 

iMilton  Graham,  lieutenant-colonel. 

William  O.  Boyle,  major;  killed  in  action 
Dec.  18,  1864,  at  Marion,  Va. 

Duvall  English,  major, 

Frederick  Slater,  major;  promoted  to  major 
from  captain  Company  E. 

L.  L.  Pinkerton,  surgeon;  resigned  March  22, 

1863. 

James  H.  Peyton,  surgeon;  resigned  March  8, 

1864. 

James  F.  Peyton,  surgeon;  promoted  surgeon 
March  9,  1 864. 

John  F.  Rodgers,  asst,  surgeon;  discharged  to 
date  from  appoititment. 

Thomas  W.  Hewitt,  asst,  surgeon. 

Wm.  P.  Pierce,  adjutant;  discharged  Aug.  6, 
1864. 

Harry  Gee,  adjutant;  promoted  from  sergeant- 
major  to  adjutant  June  23,  1864. 

Stephen  Slone,  quartermaster;  resigned  March 

27,  1863. 

Wm.  M.  Simpson,  quartermaster;  promoted 
quartermaster  June  7,  1863. 

iiluaroe  B.  Pulliam,  commissary;  captured  at 
Philadelphia,,  Tenn.,  Oct.  20,  1863. 

Louis  Bieu  Karnp,  commissary;  promoted  com- 
missary Jan  23.1865. 

John  Taffe,  chaplain. 

COMPANY  A. 

.John  G.  Pond,  captain;  Wm.  P.  Pierce,  captain; 
Reuben  F.  Scott,  1st  lieutenant;  John  M.  Cotton, 
2d  lieutenant;  Howard  Warren,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

James  A.  Johnson,  captain;  PreSiy  F.  Hans- 
hrough,  captain;  George  .1.  Burgess,  2d  lieutenant; 
Wm.  j\I.  Simpson,  sup.  2d  lieutenant ; Abraham  W. 
Stone,  2(1  lieutenant. 

COMPANY’  C. 

Jacob  Cozatt,  captain;  Samuel  P.  Debaun,  1st 
lieutenant;  Charles  H.  Edwards,  1st  lieutenant; 
Wm.  H.  Norton.  2d  lieutenant;  John  J.  Rose,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

W.  II.  Bell,  captain;  James  W.  Robinson,  1st 
lieutenant;  John  W.  Burton.  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Frederick  Slater,  captain;  Edward  H.  Green, 
captain;  Robert  Q.  Terrill,  1st  lieutenant;  Solomon 
Huffman,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Robert  S.  Curd,  captain;  Benjamin  W.  Blincoe, 
1st  lieutenant;  John  H.  Dickerson,  1st  lieutenant; 
John  J.  Curtis,  1st  lieutenant;  Harrison  F.  Davis, 
2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Joseph  Lawson,  captain;  Allen  Purdy,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Joseph  M Willerman,  1st  lieutenant; 
John  H.  Skinner,  brevetted  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

George  H.  Wheeler,  captain;  Daniel  E.  W^. 
Smith,  1st  lieutenant;  George  W.  Taylor,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; B.  H.  Niemeyer,  2d  lieutenant. 


Companies  I,  K,  L,  M of  this  regiment,  were 
transferred  to  the  Twelth  Kentucky  Cavalry,  per 
S.  0.  No.  70,  headquarters  Department  of  Cumber- 
land, dated  June  23,  1865. 

The  Eleventh  Kentucky  Cavalry  was  mustered 
into  the  United  States  service  on  the  22d  day  of 
September,  at  Loui.sville,  Ky.,  by  Capt.  V.  N. 
Smith,  United  States  mustering  officer. 


CAVALRY— TWELFTH  REGIMENT. 

Quintus  C.  Shanks,  colonel;  commissioned  Oct. 
11,  1862. 

Eugene  W.  Critttenden,  colonel;  promoted  from 
captain  4th  United  States  Cavalry. 

Alexander  W. Holeman,  lieutenant-colonel;  pro- 
moted colonel  11th  Kentucky  Cavalry  Nov.  2, 
1863. 

James  T.  Bramlette,  lieutenant-colonel;  commis- 
sioned Nov.  9,  1863. 

Nathaniel  L.  Lightfoot,  major;  commissioned 
Oct.  11,  1862. 

Wm.  R.  Kinney,  major;  commissioned  Oct.  11, 
1862. 

Ira  Hart  Stout,  major;  promoted  Oct.  11,  1862. 

Julius  N.  Delfosse,  major;  killed  in  action  at 
Philadelphia,  Tenn,,  Oct.  20,  1863. 

James  B.  Harrison,  major;  promoted  from  cap- 
tain of  Company  B Nov.  17,  1863. 

George  F.  Barnes,  major;  transferred  to  12th 
Kentucky  Cavalry. 

Garland  J.  Blewitt,  adjutant;  was  commissioned 
Aug.  16,  1862. 

Zeno  B.  Freeman,  adjutant;  resigned  Dec.  23, 
1863. 

Wdliam  Noland,  adjutant;  promoted  from  com- 
missary sergeant. 

Thomas'E.  Tyler,  adjutant;  promoted  from  1st 
sergeant  July  30,  1865. 

James  A.  Thomas,  regimental  quartermaster; 
commissioned  Aug.  19,  1862. 

John  T.  Feaman,  regimental  quartermaster, 
promoted  regimental  quartermaster  April  11,  1863. 

Daniel  J.  King,  regimental  quartermaster;  pro- 
moted regimental  quartermaster  June  17,  1865. 

Charles  S.  Clary,  commissary;  commissioned 
Oct.  11,  1862. 

Erasmus  O.  Brown,  surgeon;  mustered  into  date 
Sept.  12,  1862. 

Thomas  J.  Swan,  surgeon;  resigned  May  11, 

1865. 

Samuel  B.  Littlepage,  asst,  surgeon;  hospital 
steward  from  August  10,  1862,  to  Jan.  30,  1863. 

Horace  Fletcher,  asst,  surgeon;  commissioned 
Oct.  25,  1862. 

A.  T.  Bennett,  asst,  surgeon;  commissioned 
March  6,  1865. 

John  Pell,  chaplain;  commissioned  Oct.  11,1862. 

COMPANY  A. 

Andrew  G.Hamilton.captain;  Thomas  J.  Cherry, 
captain;  James  B.  Harrison,  captain;  James  L.  Hix, 
captain;  Moses  P.  Gott,  1st  lieutenant;  Edgar  M. 
Gwynn,  1st  lieutenant;  Hiram  D.  Roberts,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; John  H.  Stone,  2d  lieutenant  David  J. 
Block,  2d  lieutenant;  Cinciunatus  Condit,  2d  lieu- 
tenant; William  F.  Denton,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Wm.  P,  Pierce,  captain;  Wm.  H.  Ritchey,  1st 
lieutenant;  Benj.  F.  Lewis,  2d  lieutentant. 

COMPANY  C. 

George  W.  Webb,  captain;  Henry  A.  Denton, 
captain;  Robert  Karnes,  captain;  Thomas  S.  Cole- 
man, 1st  lieutenant;  Isaac  T.  Montgomery,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Samuel  R.  Jones,  2d  lieutenant;  Louis  Berg- 
man, 2d  lieutenant. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


727 


COMPANY  r. 

Mason  Hedrick,  captain;  Jno.  L.  Woodward,  cap- 
tain; Stephen  D.  Dial,  captain;  Robert  Karnes,  cap- 
tain; Felix  G,  Bannon,  1st  lieutenant;  Obediah  B. 
Chapman,  1st  lieutenant;  Europe  F.  Littlepage,  1st 
lieutenant;  Thomas  B.  Perrigo,  1st  lieutenant;  Wm. 
K.  Wallace,  1st  lieutenant;  Porter  A.  Hudson,  2d 
lieutenant;  Thomas  Lloyd,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Henry  M.  Bennett,  captain;  Henry  F.  Samuels, 
captain;  Newton  Smock,  1st  lieutenant;  Nathaniel 
M.  Priest,  1st  lieutenant;  Charles  B.  Mitchell,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Silvinas  B.  Johnson,  captain;  Adam  Elms,  cap- 
tain; Samuel  Baker,  captain;  Simon  P.  Morgan,  1st 
lieutenant;  Hiram  D. Roberts,  1st  lieutenant;  Sidney 

C.  Swift,  1st  lieutenant;  David  H.  Baker,  1st  lieu- 
tentant;  James  A.  Anderson, 2d  lieutenant;  William 
T.  Flora,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

John  W.  Hill,  captain;  Samuel  E.  Hill,  captain; 
John  H.  Quisenberry,  1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  Cul- 
len, 2d  lieutenant. 

Company  h. 

W.  L Payne,  captain;  Benjamin  Duvall,  cap- 
tain; Geo.  W.  Bullitt,  captain;  Guy  D.  Howe,  1st 
lieutenant;  Amos  Lippincott,  1st  lieutenant;  Will- 
iam H.  Hines,  2d  lieutenant;  James  Butler,  2d  lieu- 
tenant. 

COMPANY  i. 

Charles  Baclimann, captain : Men-it  M. Peirce,  1st 
lieutenant;  William  H.  Bunting,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

John  E.  Williamson,  captain;  Wm.Mangan, cap- 
tain; Elias  J Pendick,  1st  lieutenant;  Samuel  B. 
McAfee,  1st  lieutenant;  Henry  H.  Hamilton,  2d 
lieutenant. 

COMPANY  L. 

John  H.  StarKS,  captain-.  William  G.  Hurt,  cap- 
tain; Benj.  K Stephenson,  1st  lieutenant;  William 

D.  James,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  M. 

Thomas  P.  Carter,  captain;  Levi  Linn,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Charles  H.  Turner,  1st  lieutenant;  William 
D.  Lee,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Twelfth  Kentucky  Volunteer  Cavalry  was  ■ 
organized  in  the  winter  of  1802-63.  A portion  of  | 
the  regiment  wms  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service  on  the  17th  day  of  Kovember,  1862,  at  Ow- 
ensboro, Ky.,  by  W.  B.  Royall,  captain  5th  United 
States  Cavalry ; the  remainder  of  the  regiment  was 
mustered  in  at  Munfordsville,  Ky.,  February  12, 
1863,  by  Capt.  T.  E.  Noell. 

CAVALRY — THtRTEENTH  REGIMENT. 

James  W.  Weatherford,  colonel;  promotea  from 
lieutenant-colonel  Dec.  23,  1863. 

John  A.  Morrison,  lieutenant-colonel. 

Harrison  M.  Hurt,  major;  promoted  from  cap- 
tain Company  E December  23,  1863. 

Ferdinand  D.  Rigney,  major. 

George  W.  Sweeney,  major;  on  duty  as  major 
Uoin  Oct.  28,  1863. 

Daniel  S.  Parker  adjutant. 

Fielding  P.  Bland,  regimental  quartermaster. 

George  F.  Cunningham,  commissary;  cashiered 
by  order  No.  90,  Department  of  the  Ohio,  dated 
Oct.  28,  1864. 

Lafayette  Bennett,  surgeon. 

Wm.  D.  Stone,  assistant  surgeon;  absent,  sick, 
since  Dec.  1,  1864. 

Josephs.  Harper,  assistant  surgeon. 

Robert  F.  Mills,  chaplain. 


COMPANY  A. 

James  M.  Giboney,  captain;  Benj.  F.  Bransom, 
1st  lieutenant;  Joseph  W.  Cartwright,  2d  lieutenant; 
David  Murphy,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Asa  Bryant,  captain;  Napoleon  B.  Portman,  1st 
lieutenant;  Strother  Bowman,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Thomas  Wood,  captain;  RicliardH.  McWhorter, 
1st  lieutenant;  Mathew  H.  Turner,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Thomas  Watson,  captain;  Jesse  C.  Newell,  1st 
lieutenant;  George  T.  Rigney,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Harrison  M.  Hurt,  captain;  William  D.  Lowe, 
captain;  James  M.  Stephenson,  1st  lieutenant;  R. 
W.  Chapman.  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

James  R.  Howard,  captain;  Elza  C.  Smith,  1st 
lieutenant;  Martin  Hurt,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G- 

Samuel  M.  Crandall,  captain;  James  H.  Smith, 
1st  lieutenant;  Jesse  A.  Skeen,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

William  M.  Northrip.  captain;  John  E.  Murrah, 
1st  lieutenant;  William  G.  Gabbart,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I . 

Edmund  Wilkerson,  captain;  John  A.  Stone,  1st 
lieutenant;  Reuben  Ard,  2d  lieutenant;  Moses 
Sweeney,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Nathan  G.  Wells,  captain;  George  S.  Hughes, 
1st  lieutenant;  William  D.  Wolford,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  L. 

John  R Curry,  captain;  Black  Hughs,  1st  lieu- 
tenant, Francis  Montgomery,  1st  lieutenant;  James 
M.  Williams,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  M. 

George  W.  Penn,  captain;  John  Ellis,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Franklin  L.  Shipman,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Thirteenth  Kentucky  Cavalry  was  organized 
at  Columbia,  Ky.,  under  Col.  J.  W.  Weatherford, 
and  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  on  the 
23d  day  of  December,  1863,  by  Capt.  S.  M.  Letcher, 
United  States  mustering  olHcer. 


CAVALRY— FOURTEENTH  REGIMENT. 

Henry  C.  Lilly,  colonel;  promoted  from  private 
Company  B Feb.  13,  1863. 

Andrew  Herd,  lieutenant-colonel;  promoted  from 
captain  Company  E Feb.  20.,  1863. 

Joseph  W.  Stivers,  major;  promoted  from  2d 
lieutenant  to  major  August  21,  1862. 

Alfred  Smith,  major. 

.John  C.  Eversole,  major. 

R.  T.  Williams,  major. 

Frank  B.  Tucker,  adjutant;  resigned  August  28. 
1862. 

John  H.  Massie,  adjutant;  resigned  April  23, 
1863. 

Tho.  C.  Reed,  adjutant;  was  commissary  to 
August  24,  1863. 

Alex.  M.  Barnes,  regimental  quartermaster;  re- 
signed August  28,  1862. 

Lewis  M.  Ricketts,  regimental  quartermaster. 

Sami.  W.  Hatton,  commissary;  promoted  from 
sergeant  major  Oct.  2,  1863. 


728 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Washington  Fithian,  surgeon;  resigned  March 
31,  1863. 

James  P.  Turner,  surgeon. 

James  W.  Hensley,  assistant  surgeon. 

Mathew  G.  Jones,  assistant  surgeon. 

Win.  F.  Cole,  sergeant-major;  promoted  from 
sergeant  Company  E Sept.  1,  1863. 

A.  C.  Laneharl,  quartermaster  sergeant;  promot- 
ed from  sergeant  Company  F Jan.  1,  1864. 

Hezekiah  Creech,  commissary  sergeant. 

Stephen  P.  Wallace,  saddler  sergeant. 

Elias  Smith,  hospital  steward. 

Robert  Pendley,  hospital  steward;  promoted 
from  private  Company  E January  1,  1864. 

COMPANY  A. 

Fountain  Finnell,  captain;  John  W.  Ogden,  1st 
lieutenant;  Joseph  T.  Smart,  1st  lieutenant;  Will- 
iam P.  Schooler,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Will.  D.  Craig,  captain;  Mason  C.  Miller,  1st 
lieutenant;  Robert  A.  Thomas,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Seldon  F.  Bowman,  captain;  Clayton  C.  Bell, 
1st  lieutenant;  Zachariah  W.  Owen,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Samuel  McKee,  captain;  Allen  H.  Rupard,  1st 
lieutenant;  James  Kinnard,  3d  lieutenant;  Henry 
C.  Rainey,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Sylvester  Isaacs,  captain;  Andrew  Herd,  captain; 
William  A.  Smith,  1st  lieutenant;  Abraham  H. 
Wilder,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Jefferson  Hall,  captain;  Abraham  W.  Baker,lst 
lieutenant,  David  W.  Gentry,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

Jackson  H.  Jacobs,  captain;  Jones  A.  Crawford, 
1st  lieutenant;  Pleasant  Gillum,  3d  lieutenant; 
James  H.  Armstrong,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H. 

Hiram  Shons,  captain;  Moses  P.  Daniel,  1st 
lieutenant;  James  M.  Williams,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Thomas  Amis,  captain;  John  Amis,  1st  lieuten- 
ant; Wiley  Amis,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

William  Strong,  captain.;  Edward  Marcum,  1st 
lieutenant;  Nimrod  McIntosh,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  L. 

William  B.  Eversole,  captain;  Thomas  Johnson, 
1st  lieutenant;  Abner  Eversole,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  M. 

Harrison  Fields,  captain;  James  Eversole,  1st 
lieutenant;  Shadrach  Stacey,  Jr.,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  Fourteenth  Kentucky  Cavalry  was  organized 
in  the  fall  of  1863,  under  Col.  H.  C.  Lilly.  Companies 
A,  B,  C,  and  D were  mustered  in  on  the  6th  day  of 
November,  1863,  at  Mt.  Sterling,  Ky.,  by  Capt.  S.  E. 
Noell.  Companies  E,  F,  G,  H,  I,  K,  L,  and  Mwere 
mustered  in  at  Irvine,  Ky.,  on  the  13th  of  February, 
1863. 

CAVALRY — FIFTEENTH  REGIMENT. 

Gabriel  Netter.  lieutenant-colonel;  killed  in 
action  at  Owensboro,  Ky.,  Sept.  19, 1863. 

Albert  P.  Henry,  lieutenant-colonel;  captured 
June  39, 1863,  at  Spring  Creek,  Tenn. 


Willia  Waller,  major. 

John  VV.  Lockhead,  adjutant;  promoted  adju- 
tant Dec.  16,  1863. 

Thomas  Alexander,  regimental  quartermaster; 
promoted  regimental  quartermaster  Dec.  4,  1863. 

Patrick  H.  Darby,  regimental  commissary;  pro- 
moted sergeant-major  May  1,  1863;  promoted  1st 
lieutenant  and  regimental  commissary  June  15th, 

Selathiel  Medaris,  assistant  surgeon;  discharged 
April  25,  1863. 

James  O.  Castilow,  quartermaster-sergeant. 

Eugene  Dodd,  commissary-sergeant. 

COMPANY  A. 

Samuel  Duncan,  captain;  Henry  W.  Rose,  1st 
lieutenant;  George  F.  Barnes,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Samuel  M.  Purcell,  captain;  Isham  S.  Mallory, 
1st  lieutenant;  Thomas  Alexander,  1st  lieutenant; 
Francis  M.  Gilliland,  1st  lieutenant;  James  Clem- 
ent, 2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Jonathan  Belt,  captain;  Fountain  P.  Hawkins, 
1st  lieutenant;  William  B.  Bush,  3d  lieutenant; 
Houston  L.  Keesee,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  D. 

Wm.  C.  Frizzell,  captain;  AxelNyberg,  captain; 
Morgan  T.  Williams,  1st  lieutenant;  Robert  L. 
Lockhead,  3d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Lewis  A.  Hanson,  captain;  John  B.  Key,  1st 
lieutenant;  Joseph  F.  Peck,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Edward  L.  Maxwell,  captain;  Chas.  J.  Aker- 
strom,  1st  lieutenant;  Joseph  A.  Gates,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

The  Fifteenth  Kentucky  Cavalry  was  organized 
in  the  fail  of  1862,  and  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service  at  Paducah,  Ky.,  by  Capt.  Noell, 
United  States  army,  on  the  6th  day  of  October, 
1863.  Gabriel  Netter  was  commissioned  lieutenant- 
colonel,  July  2.5,  1862,  and  was  killed  at  Owensboro, 
Ky.  A.  P.  Henry  was  afterward,  on  February  14, 
1863,  commissioned  lieutenant-colonel,  and  entered 
on  duty  as  such  March  5,  1863,  remaining  in  com- 
mand until  his  capture  at  Spring  Creek,  Tenn., 
June  29th,  1863,  when  Maj.  Willia  Waller  became 
the  senior  officer  with  the  regiment,  and  commanded 
it  on  its  muster  out  of  service  at  Paducah,  Ky., 
October  6,  1863.  Company  C,  of  this  regiment,  was 
not  mustered  out  until  Oct.  39,  1863. 

The  Fifteenth  Cavalry  was  chiefly  engaged  in 
scouting  through  the  First  District  and  western 
portion  of  the  State  of  Kentucky,  and  was  for  some 
time  the  only  protection  afforded  to  the  loyal  citi- 
zens of  that  section.  Itsustained  losses  in  numer- 
ous skirmishes,  and  at  Owensboro,  Ky.,  and  the 
battle  of  Spring  Creek,  Tenn. 


CAVALRY — SEVENTEENTH  REGIMENT. 

Samuel  F.  Johnson,  colonel. 

Thomas  W.  Campbell,  lieutenant-colonel. 
John  B.  Tyler,  major. 

Nelson  C.  Lawrence,  major. 

Thomas  J.  Lovelace,  major. 

David  R.  Murray,  adjutant. 

Virgil  A.  Jones,  regimental  quartermaster. 
Robert  Brodie,  regimental  quartermaster. 
Thomas.!.  Buchanan,  regimental  commissary. 
William  Randolph,  surgeon. 

Charles  P.  Hart,  surgeon. 

Joseph  T.  Harper,  assistant  surgeon. 

Robert  Y.  Thomas,  chaplain. 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


729 


COMPANY  A. 

James  C.  Bacon,  captain;  Junius  R.  Clift,  1st 
lieutenant;  Robert  R.  Davis,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

James  C.  Wilson,  captain;  John  M.  Cranor,  1st 
lieutenant;  Robert  D.  Chatman,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Stephen  M.  Overby,  captain;  John  C.  Young,  1st 
lieutenant;  David  Jackson,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  JD. 

James  H.  Lile,  captain;  Thomas  Blythe,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Jack  S.  Bradley,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  E. 

Ed.  Hartee,  captain;  James  M.  Young,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; George  W.  Tatum,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

John  Alsop,  captain;  B.  V.  Tyler,  1st  lieutenant; 
Wm.  F.  Richards,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  G. 

J.  H.  Sturdivant,  captain;  Wm.  J.  McGhee,  1st 
lieutenant;  Alfred  V.  Townes,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  H, 

Wm.  H.  Lawrence,  captain;  Thomas  M.  Lewis, 
1st  lieutenant;  George  W.  Shelton,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  I. 

Charles  E.  Van  Pelt,  captain;  Finis  H.  Little,lst 
lieutenant;  Uriah  M.  Brown,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K. 

Washington  C.  Shannon,  captain;  William  L. 
Travis,  1st  lieutenant;  A.  Wood  Pollard,  2d  lieuten- 
ant. 

COMPANY  L. 

Elisha  F.  Lemen,  captain;  John  G.  Daniel,  1st 
lieutenant;  Wm.  C.  Bourland,  2d  lieutenant. 

COMPANY  M. 

John  R.  Reno,  captain;  David  C.  Goad,  1st  lieu- 
tenant; Wm.  H.  Roark,  2d  lieutenant. 

The  following  is  taken  from  the  official  records 
on  file  in  the  adjutant  generars  office; 

The  Seventeenth  Kentucky  Cavalry  was  organ- 
ized in  the  winter  of  1864-6.5.  A portion  of  the  reg- 
iment was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service 
by  Lieut.  Russell,  in  December,  1864,  at  Russellville, 
Ky. ; a portion  by  Capt.  Smith,  at  Owensboro,  Ky., 
in  April.  1865;  the  remainder  was  mustered  in  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  in  the  months  of  Januaiy. February 
and  March.  Thos.  W.  Campbell,  was  commissioned 
lieutenant-colonel,  March  22.  1865.  Sami.  F.  John- 
son was  commissioned  colonel,  April  25,  1865.  The 
regiment  did  good  service  in  the  southern  portion 
of  the  State  and  along  the  line  of  the  Louisville  & 
Nashville  Railroad,  guarding  that  great  military 
thoroughfare.  It  was  fin  ally  mustered  out  at  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  on  the  20lh  day  of  September,  1865.  It 
was  engaged  in  numerous  skirmishes,  in  which  loss 
was  sustained,  beside  the  battles  at  Hopkinsville, 
Bunker  Hill,  and  in  Lyon  County,  Ky. 

The  officers  of  this  command  having  failed  to 
furnish  any  memorandum  or  official  history  of  its 
marches  and  the  battles  and  skirmishes  in  which  it 
was  engaged,  a more  extended  notice  of  the  same 
cannot  be  given. 

KENTUCKY  LIGHT  ARTILLERY. 

FIRST  LIGHT  ARTILLERY — BATTERY  A. 

David  C.  Stone,  captain;  dismissed  May  4,  1863, 
disability,  removed  by  the  President. 


Theodores.  Thomasson,  captain;  promoted  cap- 
tain May  26,  1863,  mustered  out  Nov.  15,  1865. 

Alphonso  W.  Roath,  1st  lieutenant;  resigned 
Nov.  29,  1861. 

John  H.  Mellen,  1st  lieutenant;  honorably  dis- 
charged for  disability  Oct.  22,  1864. 

Robert  A.  Moffett,  1st  lieutenant;  resigned  May 
2,  1864. 

John  D.  Irwin,  1st  lieutenant;  resigned  March 
1,  1865. 

William  H.  Sinclare,  1st  lieutenant;  dismissed 
July  3,  1865. 

John  H.  Landwehr,  1st  lieutenant;  mustered  out 
Nov.  14,  1865. 

George  W.  Clark,  2d  lieutenant;  resigned  Feb. 
6,  1862. 

William  R.  Irwin,  2d  lieutenant;  died  in  hos- 
pital at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Aug.  15,  1864. 

Frederick  R.  Sanger,  2d  lieutenant;  mustered  out 
Nov  15,  1865. 

FIRST  LIGHT  ARTILLERY — BATTERY  B. 

John  W.  Hewett,  captain;  mustered  out  with 
battery,  Nov.  15,  1864. 

George  W.  Nell,  1st  lieutenant;  mustered  out 
with  battery  Nov.  15,  1864. 

Albion  A.  Ellsworth,  1st  lieutenant;  mustered 
out  with  battery  Nov.  15,  1864. 

William  H.  Spence,  2d  lieutenant;  mustered  out 
with  battery  Nov.  15,  1864. 

William  N.  Snail,  2d  lieutenant;  mustered  out 
with  battery  Nov.  15,  1864. 

Mathew  H.  Turner,  2d  lieutenant;  mustered  out 
with  battery  Nov.  15, 1864. 

FIRST  LIGHT  ARTILLERY — BATTERY  C. 

John  W.  Neville,  captain;  mustered  out  with 
battery  Nov.  14,  1864. 

Charles  Bradley,  1st  lieutenant;  mustered  out 
with  battery  Nov.  14,  1864. 

Hugh  S.  Rawle,  1st  lieutenant. 

Richard  W.  McReynolds,  2d  lieutenant;  veteran 
on  detached  service. 

Thomas  J.  Walters,  2d  lieutenant;  mustered  out 
with  battery  Nov.  14,  1864. 

FIRST  LIGHT  ARTILLERY — BATTERY  E. 

John  J.  Hawes,  captain;  mustered  out  Jan.  20, 
1865. 

L.  E.  P.  Bush,  captain;  resigned  June  12,  1865. 

Samuel  A.  Miller,  captain;  mustered  out  with 
battery  Aug.  1,  1865. 

Frank  G.  Clark,  2d  lieutenant;  mustered  out  with 
battery  Aug.  1,  1865. 

LIGHT  ARTILLERY — FIRST  INDEPENDENT  BATTERY. 

Daniel  W.  Glassie,  captain;  mustered  out  with 
battery  July  10,  1865, 

Seth  J.  Simmonds,  captain;  cashiered. 

James  W.  Kerr,  1st  lieutenant;  mustered  out  July 
10,  1865,  with  battery. 

George  Hattersley,  1st  lieutenant;  mustered  out 
March  17,  1865. 

Robert  C.  Steele,  1st  lieutenant;  discharged  for 
disability.  Sept.  5,  1864. 

Arthur  Erenburg,  1st  lieutenant;  mustered  out 
.May  15,  1865;  wounded  at  Antietam. 

James  W.  Conine,  1st  lieutenant;  promoted  col- 
onel 5th  U.  S.  C.  T.,  Nov.  23,  1863. 

Leonard  Magnos,  1st  lieutenant;  dropped  from 
rolls  June  6,  1861. 

Frederick  A.  Danie,  2d  lieutenant;  dismissed  Nov. 
17,  1862. 

Hamilton  B.  White,  2d  lieutenant;  promoted 
captain  10th  Ohio  Battery,  January  10,  1862. 

Robert  Johnson,  2d  lieutenant;  mustered  out  with 
batteiy  July  10,  1865. 


no 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Battery  A was  organized  in  July,  1861,  at  Camp 
Joe  Holt,  Ind.,  by  Capt.  David  C.  Stone,  and  mus- 
tered into  the  United  States  service  Sept.  27,1861.  Af- 
ter three  years  of  active  and  distinguished  service  in 
the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  this  battery  veteran- 
ized at  Nashville.  Tenn,,  in  February,  1864.  After 
the  defeat  of  Gen.  Hood  in  December,  1864,  the 
battery  was  ordered  to  Texas,  where  it  remained 
until  October,  when  it  returned  to  Louisville,  and 
was  mustered  out  of  service  Nov.  15,  1865. 

Battery  B was  organized  at  Camp  Dick  Robin- 
son, KJ^,  in  August,  1861,  by  Capt.  J.  W.  Hewitt, 
and  was  mustered  into  service  Oct.  8,  1861.  This 
battery  took  an  active  part  in  the  early  engage- 
ments in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  and  was  dis- 
tinguished for  soldierly  bearing  and  excellent  disci- 
pline. It  was  mustered  out  at  Louisville,  Ky., 
Nov.  16, 1864,  the  recruits  and  veterans  being  trans- 
ferred to  Battery  A. 

Battery  C was  orsmnized  for  one  year’s  service  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  in  September,  1863,  by  Capt.  .John 
Vi.  Neville,  and  was  mustered  into  service  on  the 
10th  of  the  same  month.  After  serving  one  year  in 
the  Department  of  Kentucky,  the  battery  re- 
enlisted for  three  years,  and  was  ordered  to  Arkan- 
sas, where  it  participated  in  several  severe  engage- 
ments. 

Battery  E was  organized  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  by 
Capt.  Jolin  J.  Hawes,  in  September,  1863,  and  was 
mustered  into  the  service  at  Camp  Nelson,  Ky.,  Oc- 
tober 6,  1863.  It  re-enlisted  for  three  years  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1864.  The  service  performed  by  this  battery 
in  Kentucky  and  east  Tennessee  was  peculiarly 
arduou.s,  and  the  gallant  behavior  of  its  members 
won  the  repeated  commendation  of  superior  of- 
ficers. 

The  First  Independent  Battery  was  organized 
as  Company  E,  1st  Kentucky  Infantry,  and  de- 
tached as  artillery  at  the  instance  of  Gen.  Rose- 
crans,  then  commanding  in' Western  Virginia,  Oct. 
31,  1861.  The  battery  served  with  distinction  in  the 
campaigns  in  West  Virginia,  participating  in  the 
engagements  at  Tylus  Mountain,  Horse  Shoe  Bend, 
Cotton  IMountain  and  Greeley  Bridge,  Va.,  Freder- 
ick City  and  Antietam,  Md.,  Cloyrd  Mountain,  New 
River  Bridge,  Lyncliburg  and  Salem,  Va,  After 
four  years  of  honorable  service,  the  battery  was 
mustered  out  July  10,  1865,  at  Louisville,  Ky. 

BATTLE  LIST  OF  KENTUCKY  TROOPS. 

Following  is  a list  of  engagements  during  the 
Rebellion  in  which  Kentucky  troops  were  engaged: 

1861. 

Wild  Cat,  Ky.,  Oct.  21 — Seventh  Infantry,  First 
Cavalry. 

1862. 

Mill  Springs,  Jan.  19 — Fourth,  Tenth,  Twelfth 
Infantry,  First  Cavahy,  Patterson’s  Engineers. 

Middle  Creek, Ky., Jan.  10 — Fourteentli  Infantry. 

Fort  Donelson,  Feb.  16 — Seventeenth,  Twenty- 
fifth  Infantry. 

Shiloh,  Tenn,,  April  6,  7 — First,  Second,  Fifth, 
Sixth,  Ninth,  Eleventh,  Thirteenth.  Seventeenth, 
Twentieth,  Twenty-fourth,  Twenty-fifth,  Twenty- 
sixth  Infantry. 

Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  July  13 — Battery  B. 

Richmond,  Ky.,  Aug.  30 — Seventh,  Fourteenth, 
Eighteenth  Infantry,  Sixth,  Seventh,  Ninth  Cav- 
alry. 

South  Mountain,  Md.,  Sept.  14 — Simmonds’ 
Independent  Kentucky  Battery. 

Antietam  Mountain,  Md  , Sept.  17 — Simmonds’ 
Indepenilent  Kentucky  Battery. 

Perryville,  Ky.,  Octobers — Fifth,  Seventh,  Fif- 
teenth Infantry,  First.  Second,  Third,  Fourth, 
Fifth,  Ninth  Cavalry,  Battery  A. 


Dobbin’s  Ferry,  Tenn.,  Dec.  9— Eighth,  Twenty- 
first  Infantry. 

Chickasaw  Bluffs,  Dec.  29,  30 — Seventh,  Nine- 
teenth, Twenty-second  Infantry,  Patterson’s  En- 
gineers. 

1863. 

Stone  River,  Tenn.,  Dec.  31,  1862,  Jan.  3, 1863 — 
First,  Second,  Third,  Fifth,  Sixth,  Eighth,  Ninth, 
Eleventh,  Fifteenth,  Twenty-first,  Twenty-third 
Infantry,  Second,  Third  Cavalry,  Battery  A. 

Arkansas  Post,  Ark.,  Jan.  11 — Seventh,  Nine- 
teenth, Twenty-second  Infantry,  Patterson's  En- 
gineers. 

Thompson’s  Hill,  Miss.,  May  1 — Seventh,  Nine- 
teenth, Twenty-second  Infantry,  Patterson’s  En- 
gineers. 

Champion’s  Hill,  Miss.,  May  16— Seventh,  Nine- 
teenth, Twenty-second  Infantry,  Patterson’s  En- 
gineers. 

Big  Black  River  Bridge,  Miss.,  May  17 — Seventh, 
Nineteenth,  Twenty-second  Infantry,  Patterson’s 
Engineers. 

Horseshoe  Bend,  Cumberland  River,  May  9,  10 — 
Ninth,  Twelfth  Cavalry. 

Vicksburg,  Miss.,  May  19,  July  4 — Seventh, 
Nineteenth,  Twenty-second  Infantry,  Patterson’s 
Engineers. 

Jackson,  Miss.,  July  10, 16— Seventh,  Nineteenth, 
Twenty-second  Infantry,  Patterson’s  Engineers. 

Lebanon,  Ky.,  July  7 — Twentieth  Infantry. 

Tullahoma  Campaign,  June  24,  July  4 — First, 
Second,  ’Third,  Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth,  Eighth,  Ninth, 
Tenth,  Eighteenth,  Twenty-first,  Twenty-third 
Infantry,  Second,  Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth,  Seventh, 
Cavalry. 

Chickamauga  Campaign,  Ga.,  Sept.  19,  20— First, 
Second.  Third,  Fourth,  Fiftli,  Sixili,  Eighth,  Ninth, 
Tenth,  Fifteenth,  Seventeenth,  Eighteenth,  'Twenty- 
third  Infantry,  Second,  Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth,  Sev- 
enth Cavalry. 

Marrovv^lione  Ky.,  Sept.  22— Thirty-ninth  In- 
fantry. 

Philadelphia,  Tenn.,  Oct.  20 — Twenty-seventh 
Infantry,  First,  Eleventh,  Twelfth  Cavali-y. 

Brown’s  Ferry,  Tenn.,  Oct.  27 — Fifth,  Sixth, 
Twenty- third  Infantry. 

Campbell  Station,  Tenn.,  Nov.  16 — Thirteenth, 
Twenty-seventh  Infantry,  Fifth  Cavalry. 

Kingston,  Tenn.,  Nov.  24 — Sixteenth  Infantry. 

Siege  of  Knoxville,  Nov. — Eleventh,  Twelfth, 
Thirteenth,  Twenty-fourth,  Twenty-seventh  In- 
fantry, First,  Eleventh,  Twelfth  Cavalry. 

Lookout  Mountain,  Nov.  23 — Eighth  Infantry. 

Missionary  Ridge,  Nov.  23.  25 — Third.  Fourth, 
Fifth,  Sixth,  Eighth,  Ninth,  Tenth,  Seventeenth, 
Eighteenth,  Twenty-first,  Twenty-third  Infantry. 

Bean’s  Station,  'Tenn.,  Dec.  14— Eleventh,  Twen- 
ty-seventh Infantry,  First,  Twelfth  Cavalry. 

Mossy  Creek,  Tenn.,  Dec.  29 — Sixteenth  In- 
fantry, Seventh  Cavalry. 

1864. 

Dandridge,  Tenn.,  Jan.  20 — Seventh,  Twelfth 
Cavalry. 

Dalton,  Ga.,  Feb.  25 — Eighth  Infantry. 

Sabine  Cross  Roads,  La,,  April  8 — Nineteenth 
Infantry. 

Rockyface  Ridge,  May  9— First.  Second,  Third, 
Fifih,  Sixth,  Ninth,  Fifteenth,  Twenty-first,  Twen- 
ty-third, Twenty-fourth,  Twenty-eighth  Infantry. 

Resaca,  Ga.,  May  15 — First.  Second,  Thiixl,  Fifth, 
Sixth,  Tenth,  Eleventh,  Twelfth,  Thirieenth,  Fif- 
teenth, Sixteenth,  Eighteenili,  Twenty-first,  Twen- 
ty-third, Twenly-fourtli,  Twenty-eighth  Infantry. 

Dallas,  Ga.,  May  25.  .lunc! 2— Third.  Fifth,  Sixth, 
Ninth,  Eleventh,  Twelfth,  Thirteenth,  Fourteenth, 
Fifteenth,  Sixteenth,  Seventeenth,  Eighteenth, 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


731 


Twentieth,  Twenty-first,  Twenty-third,  Twenty- 
fourth,  Twenty-seventh,  Twenty-eighth  Infantry, 
First,  Second,  Third,  Fourth  Cavalry. 

Lost  Mountain,  Ga.,  June  10 — First,  Fourth, 
Sixth,  Seventh,  Twelfth  Cavalry. 

Mt.  Sterling,  Ky.,  June  9 — Thirty-seventh,  For- 
tieth, Forty-flftli  Infantry,  Seventeenth  Cavalry, 
Battery  C. 

Cjuithiana.  Ky.,  June  12 — Tliirtieth,  Thirty- 
ninth,  Fortieth,  Forty-fifth,  Forty-seventh  Infantry. 

Kenesaw  Mountain,  June  20,  27 — Third,  Fifth, 
Ninth,  Tenth,  Eleventh,  Twelfth,  Thirteenth,  Four- 
teenth, Sixteenth,  Seventeenth,  Eighteenth,  Twen- 
tieth, Twenty-first,  Twenty-third,  Twenty-fourth, 
Twenty-seventh,  Twenty-eighth  Infantry,  Second 
Cavalry. 

Lafayette,  Ga.,  June  24 — Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth, 
Seventh  Cavalry. 

Near  Marietta,  Ga.,  .July  4 — Fifth,  Sixth,  Ninth, 
Fifteenth,  Twentieth,  Twenty-first  Infantry. 

Adairsville,  Ga.,  July  7 — Third,  Fifth  Cavalry. 

Peach  Tree  Creek,  July  20 — Third,  Ninth,  Tenth, 
Thirteenth,  Fifteenth,  Twenty-first,  Twenty-eighth 
Infantry. 

Siege  of  Atlanta,  Ga.,  July  22,  Sept.  1 — Third, 
Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth,  ISlinth,  Tenth,  Eleventh, 
Twelfth,  Thirteenth,  Fourteenth,  Fifteenth.  Six- 
teenth, Seventeenth,  Eighteenth,  Twentieth,  Twen- 
ty-first, Twenty-fourth,  Twenty-seventh,  Twenty- 
eighth  Infantry,  First,  Second,  Third,  Fourth, 
Fifth,  Sixth,  Seventh,  Eleventh,  Twelfth  Cavalry. 

Newnan’s,  Ga.,  July  30 — Fourth  Infantry,  Sec- 
ond, Seventh  Cavalry. 

Hillsboro,  Ga.,  July  31 — First,  Eleventh,  Twelfth 
Cavalry. 

Lovejoy  Station.  Aug.  20 — Fourth,  Ninth, 
Twenty-eighth  Infantry,  Thir-d,  Fifth  Cavalry. 

Jonesboro,  Ga.,  Sept.  2 — Tenth,  Thirteenth, 
Twenty-first  Infantry. 

Saltville,  Va.,  Oct.  2 — Twenty-Sixth,  Thirtieth, 
Thirty-fifth,  Thirty-ninth,  Fortieth,  Forty-fifth  In- 
fantry. 

Sherman’s  March  to  the  Sea — Tenth,  Eighteenth 
Infantry,  Second,  Third,  Fifth  Cavalry. 

Columbia,  Tenn.,  Nov.  28 — Eleventh,  Twelfth, 
Sixteenth  Infantry. 

Franklin,  Tcnir.,  Nov.  30— Twelftli,  Sixteenth, 
Seventeenth,  Twenty-first,  Twenty-third,  Twenty- 
eighth  Infantry. 

Nashville,  Tenn. .Dec.  15, 16 — Twelfth, Sixteenth, 
Twenty-first,  Twenty-third,  Twenty-sixth,  Twenty- 
eighth  Infantry,  Fourth  Mounted  Infantry,  Bat- 
tery A. 

Marian,  Va.,  and  Stonernan’s  (Va.)  Raid,  Dec. 
16,  1864.  Jan.,  1865 — Thirtieth.  Fifty-third  Infantry, 
Eleventh,  Twelfth  Cavalry,  Battery  C. 

Hopkinsville,  Ky.,  Dec.  16 — Sixth,  Seventh  Cav 
airy. 

Savannah,  Ga.,  Dec.  21 — Eigliteenth  Infantry, 
Battery  C. 

Saltville,  Va.,  Dec.  20 — Thirtieth,  Forty-fifth, 
Fifty-third,  Fifty-fourth  Infantry. 

Wilson’s  Raid  in  Alabama,  Georgia,  Dec.  20, 
April  20,  1865 — Fourth,  Sixty-seventh  Cavalry, 
Fourth  Mounted  Infantry. 

1865. 

Town  Creek,  N.  C.,  Feb.  20 — Twelfth  Infantry. 

Tuscaloosa,  Ala.,  April  1 — Fourth  Infantry. 

Near  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  April  12 — Eighteenth  In- 
fantry. 

ROLL  OF  HONOR. 

A list  of  officers  of  Kentucky  regiments,  who 
were  killed  in  action  or  diedof  wounds  received  there 
during  their  service  in  the  United  States  Volunteer 
Army: 


Auxier,  Capt.  David  V.,  39th  Inf.;  died  Oct.  4, 
1864,  of  wounds  received  at  the  battle  of  Saltville, 
Va. 

Anthony,  Capt.  James  W.,  17th  Inf.;  died  Oct.  10, 
1863,  of  wounds  received  at  the  battle  of  Chick- 
amauga. 

Barton,  Lieut.  Wm.  S.,  9th  Inf.;  killed  in  action  at 
Missionary  Ridge,  Tenn.,  Nov.  25,  1863. 

Bacon,  Capt.  Albert  G.,  3d  Cav.;  killed  in  action  at 
Sacramento,  Ky.,  Dec.  28,  1861. 

Bayne,  Capt.  Aaron  S.,  15th  Inf. ; killed  in  action  at 
Stone  River,  Tenn.,  Dec.  3,  1862. 

Benton,  Capt.  John  B.,  8th  Inf.;  killed  in  action  at 
Stone  River,  Jan.  2, 1863. 

Bevill.  Capt.  Seth  P.,  10th  Inf.;  killed  in  action  at 
Cbickamauga,  Sept,  21,  1863. 

Bevill,  2d  Lieut.  Jolin  H.,  21st  Inf.;  killed  inaction 
at  Stone  River,  Tenn.,  Jan.  2,  1863. 

Butler,  Capt.  Champness  I).,  13th  Inf.;  killed  in 
action  at  Kennesaw Mountain,  Ga.,  Jan.  27,  1864. 

Burgess,  2d  Lieut.  Francis  M.,  14th  Inf.;  died  of 
. wounds,  Aug.  10,  1864,  received  in  action  on  At- 
lanta Campaign. 

Brown,  2d  Lieut.  Albert  E..  17th  Inf.;  died  May  18, 

1862,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Shiloli. 

Burgher,  Lieut.  Wm.  C.,  26th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 

near  Russellville,  Ky.,  July  29,  1862. 

Bradford, Lieut.  Jacob  D.,  13th  Inf. ; killed  in  action 
at  Resaca,  Ga.,  May  14,  1864. 

Bodine,  Capt.  James  M.,  2d  Inf. ; killed  in  action  at 
Chickamauga,  Sept.  21,  1863. 

Bryan,  Capt.  William  T.,  9th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Stone  River,  Jan.  2,  1863. 

Boyle,  Maj.  William  0.,  lltliCav.;  killed  in  action 
at  Marion,  Va.,  Dec.  18, 1864. 

Bradshaw,  Lieut.  Alban  D.,  3d  Inf.;  died  Oct.  8, 

1863,  of  wounds  received  at  Chickamauga. 

Bradney,  Lieut.  William,  2d  Cav. ; killed  in  action 

on  Atlanta  Campaign,  July  30,  1864. 

Carter,  Capt.  Jesse  M.,  1st  Kentucky  Cav. ; killedat 
Columbus,  Ky.,  Jul}^  3,  1863. 

Carpenter.  Lieut.  Frederick  F.,  9th  Inf.;  killed  at 
Stone  River,  Jan.  2,  1863. 

Cabell,  Lieut.  Samuel  J. , 13th  Inf. ; died  March  6, 

1864,  of  W'ounds  received  in  action  at  Huff's  Ferry, 
Tenn.,  March  6,  1864. 

Cartsinger,  Lieut.  James  L.,  30th  Inf.;  killed  in  ac- 
tion at  Saltville,  Va.,  Oct.  2,  1864. 

Campbell,  Maj.  Wm.  P..  15th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Perryville,  Oct.  8,  1864. 

Coughlin,  Lieut.  James.  24th  Inf. ; killed  in  action 
at  Franklin,  Tenn.,  Nov.  30,  1864. 

Coyle,  Capt.  Demetrius  B.,  9th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Stone  River,  Jan.  2,  1863. 

Cox,  Lieut.  Wade  B.,  8th  Inf.;  died  July  12,  1863, 
of  wounds  received  at  Stone  River. 

Cotton,  Lieut. -Col.  George  T.,  6th  Inf.;  killed  in 
action  at  Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1862. 

Coleman,  Lieut.  Richard  D.,  39th  Inf.;  killed  in  ac- 
tion, Jan.  9,  1864. 

Cullen,  Lieut.  IMathew,  3d  Inf.;  killed  in  action  at 
Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1862. 

Culbertson,  Capt.  W.  W.,  18th  Inf.;  died  Sept.  22, 
1862,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Richmond, 
Ky. 

Davidson,  Maj.  John  L.,  26th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Shiloh,  Apr.  7,  1862. 

Delfosse,  Maj.  J.  Napoleon,  12th  Cav.;  killed  in 
action  at  Philadelphia,  Tenn.,  Oct.  20,  1863. 

Dissell,  Lieut.  Frank.  5th  Inf.;  died  May  12,  1864, 
of  wounds  received  at  Stone  River. 

Dunlap,  Lieut.  James,  18th  Inf.;  kiiled  in  action  at 
Richmond,  Ky.,  Aug.  30,  1862. 

Eubanks,  Lieut.  'Thomas,  6th  Inf. : killed  at  Chick- 
amauga Sept.  19,  1863. 

Elam,  Lieut.  Richard  M.,  14th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Salyersville,  Ky.,  Nov.  30.  1863. 


732 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Eifort,  Maj.  William  H.,  2d  Cav.;  killed  in  action 
Atlanta  Campaign,  8ept.  3,  1864. 

Evans,  MaJ.  Morgan  V.,  lOtli  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
before  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  May  22,  1863. 

Ferguson,  Capt.  Alex  B.,  5th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1862. 

Forrester.  Capt.  John  W.,  5th  Cav.;  died  Nov.  29, 
1864,  of  wounds  received  on  Atlanta  campaign. 

Foy,  Lieut.-Col.  James  C.,  23d  Inf.;  died  July  24, 
1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  near  Mining’s 
Station,  Ga. 

Forman,  Col.  James  B.,  15th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1862. 

Fisher,  Capt.  John  R.,  27th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
near  Atlanta,  Ga.,  July  20,  1864. 

Purr,  2d  Lieut.  William  W.,  6th  Inf. ; killed  in  action 
near  Dallas,  Ga.,  May  27,  1864. 

Garrard,  Capt.  Daniel,  ,Jr.,  22d  Inf.;  killed  inaction 
at  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  Miss.,  Dec.  29,  1862, 

Gallup,  Capt.  Giles  A.,  13th  Inf.;  kiUed  in  action  at 
Jonesboro,  Ga. , Sept.  2,  1864. 

Goulding,  Capt.  Seneca P.,  7th  Cav. ; drowned  while 
in  action  at  Benton,  Ala.,  Apr.  10,  1865. 

GrifBn,  Lieut.  Jesse  W.,  25th  Inf.;  killed  inaction 
at  Fort  Donelson,  Tenn.,  Feb.  15,  1862. 

Griffin,  Lieut.  Amos  M.,  5th  Cav.;  killed  in  action 
March  — , 1865. 

Hampton,  Adjt.  Levi  J.,  39th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
Dec.  4,  186A 

Hund,  Lieut.  Anton,  6th  Inf.;  died  May  23,  1862,  of 
wounds  received  at  Shiloh,  Tenn. 

Hayes,  2d  Lieut.  James  M.,  4th  Inf. ; killed  in  action 
at.  Logan’s  Cross  Roads,  Jan.  19,  1862. 

Halisey,  Col.  Dennis  L,  6th  Cav.;  killed  in  action 
near  New  Market,  Ky.,  Dec.  31,  1862. 

Hestand,  Lieut.  Turner,  9th  Inf. ; killed  in  action  at 
Lovejoy’s  Station,  Ga.,  Sept.  2,  1864. 

Hegan,'  Capt.  Wm.  B.,  22d  Inf  ; killed  in  action  at 
Chickasaw  Bluffs,  Miss.,  Dec.  29,  1862. 

Hedger,  Lieut.  Hugh  A.,  21st  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  15,  1864. 

Higdon.  Lieut.  John  T.,  26th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Shiloh,  Apr.  7,  1862. 

Hill,  Capt.  John  W.,  12th  Cav.;  killed  in  action, 
Nov.  18,  1863. 

Hickman,  Capt.  Robert  B.,  8th  Inf. ; killed  in  action 
at  Stone  River,  Jan.  2,  1863. 

Hill,  Capt.  George  W.,  12th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
before  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Aug,  6,  1864. 

Hoffman,  Lieut.  Joseph  C.,  23d  Inf. ; killed  in  action 
at  Chickamauga,  Sept.  19,  1863. 

Hurley,  Capt.  John  P.,  5th  Inf.;  killed  in  action  at 
Missionary  Ridge,  Nov.  25,  1863. 

Humphrey.  Lieut.  James,  1st  Cav.;  died  Sept.  — , 
1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action. 

Huston,  Lieut.  John  W.,  5th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Chickamauga,  Sept.  20,  1863. 

Hunt,  Lieut.  GarvineD.,  3d  Inf.;  died  Nov.  30,  1863, 
of  wounds  received  at  Missionary  Ridge. 

Jenkins,  Lieut.  Wm.  G.,  2d  Cav.;  killed  in  action, 
June  29,  1863. 

Jenkins,  Capt.  Jarrett  W.,  1st  Cav.;  killed  in  action 
at  Perryville,  Ky.,  Oct.  8,  1862. 

Jones,  2d  Lieut.  Samuel  R.,  12th  Cav.;  killed  in 
action  near  Brandenburg,  Ky.,  July  12,  1864. 

Jouett,  Lieut.-Col.  George  P.,  15th  Inf.;  killed  in 
action  at  Chaplin  Hills,  Ky.,  Oct.  8,  1862. 

Korman,  2d  Lieut.  John  B.,  23d  Inf.;  died  July  26, 
1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  before  Chatta- 
nooga, Tenn. 

Laurie,  2d  Lieut.  James,  16th  Inf.;  died  May  14, 
1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Resaca,  Ga. 

Landrum,  Capt.  Wm.  J.,  17th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Cassville,  Ga.,  May  19,  1864. 

Lee.  Lieut.  Matthias  Z.  S.,  24th  Inf.;  died  Feb.  14, 
1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Knoxville, 
Tenn. 


Leggett,  Lieut.  Algernon  S.,  9th  Inf.;  killed  in 
action  at  Stone  River,  Jan.  2,  1863. 

Lewis,  Capt.  Orrin  M.,  18th  Inf.;  killed  inaction  at 
Richmond,  Ky.,  Aug.  30,  1862. 

Lochman,  2d  Lieut.  Frederick  V.,  6th  Inf.;  killed 
in  action  at  Chickamauga,  Sept.  19,  1863. 

Lowe,  2d  Lieut.  Thomas  A.,  13th  Inf.;  killed  in 
action  at  Shiloh,  April  7,  1862. 

Lee,  Lieut.  Wm.  L.,  13th  Inf.;  died  April  16,  1862, 
of  wounds  received  at  Shiloh. 

Mavity,  Capt.  Ephraim  P.,  23d  Inf. ; died  Sept.  17, 
1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Chatta- 
nooga, Tenn. 

Mai’ker,  Capt.  Peter,  6th  Inf.;  killed  in  action  at 
Chickamauga,  Sept.  19,  1863. 

Martin,  Capt.  Columbus  H.,  11th  Inf.;  died  Dec. 
18,  1863,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Phila- 
delphia, Tenn. 

McGraw,  Capt.  John,  6th  Inf.;  killed  in  action  at 
Chickamauga,  Sept.  20,  1863. 

McKee,  Col.  Samuel,  3d  Inf. ; killed  in  action  at 
Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1862. 

McDowell,  Capt.  E.  Irwine,  15th  Inf.;  killed  in 
action  at  Resaca,  Ga.,  May  14,  1864. 

McGrath,  Lieut.  James  A.  T.,  15th  Inf.;  killed  in 
action  at  Chaplin  Hills,  Ky.,  Oct.  8,  1862. 

McCulloch,  Capt.  Miller  R.,  2d  Cav.;  killed  in 
action  at  Stone  River,  Dec.  30,  1862. 

McClure,  Lieut.  Joseph  L.,  15th  Inf.;  died  Oct.  18, 

1862,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Perryville, 

Ky- 

Miller,  Lieut.  Jonathan  P.,  1st  Ky.  Cav.;  killed  in 
action  at  Mill  Springs,  Jan.  19,  1862. 

Minter,  Capt.  Landon  C.,  8th  Inf.;  died  Feb.  15, 

1863,  of  wounds  received  at  Stone  River,  Tenn. 

Miller.  2d  Lieut.  James  A.,  2d  Inf.;  killed  in  action 

at  Pittsburg  Landing,  April  7,  1862.  * 

Miller,  Capt.  Joseph  E.,  5th  Inf.;  killed  in  action  at 
Resaca,  Ga.,  May  16,  1864. 

Mitchell,  Lieut.  Wm.  D.,  5th  Cav.;  killed  in  action 
March  10,  1865. 

Millman,  Lieut.  John  D.,  17th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Chickamauga,  Sept.  19,  1863. 

.Morton,  Capt.  Preston,  17th  Inf. ; killed  in  action 
at  Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 

Murphy,  Lieut.  William,  6th  Cav. ; killed  in  action, 
July  4,  1863. 

Myers,  2d  Lieut.  John  H.  10th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Chickamauga,  Sept.  20.  1863. 

Nierhoff,  Capt.  Frederick,  6th  Inf. ; killed  in  action 
at  Kenesaw  Mt.,  Ga.,  June  23,  1864. 

Osborne,  Lieut.  Cliilson  A.,  14th Inf. ; died  Nov.  30, 

1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Charleston, 
S.C. 

Overburg,  Lieut.  Frederick,  3d  Cav.;  killed  in 
action  near  Marietta,  Ga.,  Oct.  3,  1864. 

Owens,  Capt.  Elisha,  8th  Cav.;  killed  at  Pilot 
Knob,  Ky.,  Feb.  28,  1863, 

Palmer,  Capt.  Henry  D.,  16th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Franklin.  Tenn.,  Nov.  30,  1864. 

Patrick,  Capt.  Wiley  C.,  14th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
near  Alatoona,  Ga.,  June  2,  1864. 

Pennington,  Capt.  Levi,  7th  Inf. ; killed  in  action 
at  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  Miss.,  December  28,  1862. 

Pope,  Col.  Curran,  15th  Inf. ; died  Nov.  5,  1862,  of 
wounds  received  in  action  at  Chaplin  Hills,  Ky. 

Robinson,  Lieut.  William  H.,  53d  Inf.;  killed  in 
action  at  Marion,  Va.,  Dec.  18,  1864. 

Rockingham,  Lieut.  Richard,  6th  Inf.;  killed  in 
action  at  Chickamauga,  Sept.  20,  1863. 

Ryan,  2d  Lieut.  John,  Bth  Inf.;  died  Sept.  25,  1863, 
of  wounds  received  at  Chickamauga. 

Royce,  2d  Lieut.  Samuel  H.,  7th  Cav.;  killed  in 
action  at  Big  Hill,  near  Richmond,  Ky.,  Aug.  23, 
1862. 

Scott,  Lieut.  Hugh  L.,  52d  Inf.;  died  Dec.  3,  1864, 
of  wounds  received  in  action. 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


733 


Sheets,  Lieut.  Frank  N.,  4th  Cav. ; killed  in  action- 
at  Chickamauga,  Sept.  20,  1863. 

Sketoe,  Capt.  Isaac  W.,  11th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Shiloh,  April  7,  1862. 

Smith,  Lieut.  Elza  C.,  13th  Cav.;  killed  in  hospital 
at  Saltville,  Va.,  Oct.  7,  1864. 

Sinkhorn,  Lieut.  Granville  J.,  28th  Inf.:  killed  in 
action  at  Franklin,  Tenn,,  Nov.  30,  1864. 
Spellmeyer,  Capt.  John  H.,  2d  Inf. ; killed  in  action 
at  Shiloh,  April  7,  1862. 

Stone,  Lieut.  Sebastian,  21st  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Stone  River,  Jan.  2,  1863. 

Sturgis,  Capt.  Robert  C.,  17th  Inf.;  died  Aug.  9, 
1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  before  Atlanta, 
Ga. 

Stewart,  Lieut.  Thomas,  14th  Inf. ; killed  in  action 
before  Atlanta,  Ga..  Aug.  4,  1864. 

Stearman,  2d  Lieut.  Wm.  H.,  13th  Inf.;  died  Nov. 
17,  1863,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Huff’s 
Ferry,  east  Tenn. 

Taylor,  Capt.  Henry  S.,  3d  Inf.;  killed  in  action  at 
Chickamauga,  Sept.  20,  1863. 

Thomasson,  Maj.  Charles  M.,  5th  Inf.;  killed  in 
action  at  Chickamauga,  Sept.  19,  1863. 

Truett,  2d  Lieut.  Jabez,  22d  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  Dec.  29,  1862. 

Tate,  Lieut.  Charles  R.,  9th  Inf.;  killed  in  action 
at  Shiloh,  Tenn.,  April  7,  1862. 

Thornburg,  2d  Lieut.  Walter,  39th  Inf.;  killed  in 
action  Sept.  22,  1863. 

Todd,  Capt.  Charles  S.,  6th  Inf.;  killed  in  action  at 
Stone  River  Dec.  31,  1862. 

Todd,  Lieut.  L.  Frank,  loth  Inf.;  died  Jan.  20, 

1863,  of  wounds  received  in  action. 

Vickary,  2d  Lieut.  Jenkins  J.,  30th  Inf.;  killed  in 
action  at  Saltville,  Va.,  Oct.  2,  1864. 

Victor,  Capt.  Wallace,  13th  Inf. ; died  July  13,  1864, 
of  wounds  received  at  Chickamauga. 

Washburn,  2d  Lieut.  John  W,,  18th  Inf.:  killed  in 
action  at  Richmond,  Ky.,  Aug.  30,  1863. 

White,  Capt.  Charles  L.,  3d  Cav.;  died  Dec.  7, 

1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action. 

Wileman,  Maj.  Abram  G.,  I8th  Inf.;  killed  in 
skirmish  in  Pendleton  County,  Ky.,  Oct.  5,  1863. 
Wilson,  Capt.  Thomas,  7th  Inf.;  killed  in  action  at 
Champion’s  Hill,  Miss.,  May  16,  1863. 

Wilson,  Capt.  Upton,  5th  Inf. ; killed  in  action  at 
Missionary  Ridge  Nov.  25,  1863. 

Wolford,  Capt.  Francis  M.,  1st  Cav.;  killed  in 
action  at  Hillsboro,  Ga.,  July  31,  1864. 

DEATHS  IN  KENTUCKY  UNION  TROOPS. 
1861-65. 

Killed  in  action,  95  officers,  1,390  enlisted  men; 
died  of  wounds,  39  officers,  954  enlisted  men;  died 
of  disease,  121  officers,  7,122  enlisted  men;  acciden- 
tally killed,  1 officer,  219  enlisted  men;  drowned,  6 
officers,  228  enlisted  men;  murdered,  14  enlisted 
men;  suicide,  1 officer,  7 enlisted  men;  executed 
(G.  C.  M.),  12  enlisted  men;  sunstroke,  2 enlisted 
men;  other  known  causes,  7 officers,  165  enlisted 
men;  causes  not  stated,  1 officer,  390  enlisted  men. 
Total  271  officers  and  10,503  enlisted  men,  of  which 
number  3 officers  and  1,017  enlisted  men  died  while 
prisoners  of  war. 

DEATH'S  IN  ARMIES  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES.* 

1861-65. 

Killed  in  action,  4.142  officers,  62,916  enlisted 
men;  died  of  wounds,  2,223  officers,  40,789  enlisted 
men;  died  of  disease,  2,795  officers,  221,791  enlisted 
men;  accidentally  killed,  142  officers,  3,972  enlisted 

■‘From  the  office  of  the  adjutant-general  of  the  United 
States,  and  never  before  published. 


men:  drowned.  106  officers,  4,838  enlisted  men; 
murdered,  37  offici  r,-:,  483  enlisted  men;  suicide,  26 
officers,  365  enlisted  men:  executed  (G.  C.  M.), 

267  enlisted  men;  sunstroke,  5 officers,  308  enlisted 
men;  other  known  cau-es,  80  officers,  2,122  enlisted 
men;  causes  not  stated,  28  officers,  12,093  enlisted 
men.  Total  9,584  officers  and  349,944  enlisted  men; 
of  which  number  219  officers  and  29,279  enlisted 
men  died  while  prisoners  of  war. 


CONFEDERATE  STATES  ARMY. 


GEItEKAL  OFFICERS  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY 
APPOINTED  FROM  KENTUCKY.  * 

Jno.  C.  Breckinridge,  brig.-gen.,  Nov.  2, 1861;  maj.- 
gen.  Apr.  11,  1862;  acting  secretary  of  war.  1865. 

Simon  B.  Buckner,  brig.-gen..  Sept.  14,  1861;  maj.- 
gen.,  Aug.  16,  1862;  lieut.-gen.  Sept.. 20,  1864. 

Abe  Buford,  brig.-gen..  Sept.  2,  1862. 

George  B.  Cosby,  brig.-gen.,  Jan.  20.  1863. 

George  B.  Crittenden,  brig.-gen.,  March  16,  1861; 
maj. -gen.,  Nov.  9,  1861;  resigned  Oct.  23,  1862. 

Basil  W.  Duke,  brig.-gen..  Sept.  15,  1864. 

Charles  W.  Field,  brig.-gen..  May,  9,  1862;  maj. -gen. 
Sept.  12,  1864. 

Roger  W.  Hanson,  brig.-gen.,  Dec.  13,  1862. 

J.  M.  Hawes,  brig.-gen.,  March  5,  1862. 

B.  H.  Helm,  brig.-gen.,  March  14,  1862. 

George  B.  Hodge,  brig.-gen.,  Aug.  2,  1864. 

Joseph  H.  Lewis,  brig  -gen.,  Sept.  30,  1863. 

H,  B.  Lyon,  brig.-gen.,  June  14,  1864. 

Humphrey  Marshall,  brig.-gen.,,  Oct.  30,  1861;  re- 
signed June  16,  1862;  reappointed  June  20,  1862; 
with  rank  from  Oct.  1,  1861. 

Jno.  H.  Morgan,  brig.-gen.,  Dec.  11,  1862. 

William  Preston,  brig.-gen.,  April  14,  1862;  maj.- 
gen.,  Jan.  1,  1865. 

Gustavus  W.  Smith,  maj. -gen..  Sept.  9,  1861;  re- 
signed Sept.  11,  1863. 

Lloyd  Tilghman,  brig.-gen.,  Oct.  18,  1861. 

Jno.  S.  Williams,  brig.-gen.,  April  16,  1862. 


LIST  OF  NAMES  OF  COMMANDING  OFFICERS  OF  THE 
FIRST  KENTUCKY  BRIGADE  IN  THE  ORDER 
OF  THEIR  DATES  OF  COMMAND 

Brig. -Gen.  Jno.  C.  Breckinridge. 

Brig. -Gen.  Roger  W.  Hanson. 

Col.  R.  P.  Trabue. 

Brig.-Gen.  Marcus  J.  Wright. 

Brig. -Gen.  B.  H.  Helm. 

Brig. -Gen.  Joseph  H.  Levpis. 


GENERAL  AND  STAFF  OFFICERS  APPOINTED  FROM 
KENTUCKY.! 

Oen.  John  G.  Breckinridge. — Staff:  Ament, 
B.  W.,  medical  director,  relieved  Aug.  29,  1862; 

Addison,  , volunteer  aid-de-camp,  Aug.,  1862; 

Benham,  Calhoun,  major,  acting  inspector-general, 
Oct.  28,  1862;  Breckinridge,  J.  Cabell,  lieutenant, 
aid-de-camp,  Nov.  17,  1861,  Sept.  30,  Oct.  28,  1862; 
Buckner,  .Ino.  A.,  captain,  assistant  adjutant-gen- 
eral, July  18,  1862,  lieutenant-colonel,  Oct.  28, 
1862;  Brown,  -- — , major,  chief  commissary  sub- 
sistence, Oct.  12,  1862;  Bradford,  J.  W.,  captain, 
assistant  quartermaster,  paymaster,  June,  4,  1863; 

Bird,  , captain,  volunteer  aid-de-camp,  Aug., 

1862;  Brewer,  , lieutenant-colonel,  volunteer 

aid-de-camp,  Aug.,  1862;  Bertus,  Wm.  E.,  lieu- 
tenant, Twelfth  Louisiana,  acting  inspector-general, 

* From  the  -war  office  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

fThis  list  is  from  the  war  office  at  Washington,  and  was  sent 
to  Col.  John  B.  Castleman,  adjutant-general  of  Kentucky,  wh< 
had  it  corrected  and  revised  for  this  work. 


734 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Sept.,  1863;  Cobb,  Robertson,  captain,  chief  of  artil- 
lerJ^ — -Division,  Nov.  1, 1863,  Nov.  6,1863,  assigned 

as  chief  of  artillery  of  corps;  Coleman, , captain, 

volunteer  aid-de-camp,  Jan.  1,  1863;  Daragh,  Thos. 
B.,  lieutenant,  volunteer  aid-de-camp,  Jan.  1,  1863; 
Ewing,  E.  II.,  captain,  assistant  quartermaster, 
June  27,  1868;  Ershine,  Jno.  II,,  surgeon,  medical 
directOi,  March  6,  1862;  Evans,  Alex.,  major  and 

chief  commissary,  7,  1863;  Foote,  Henry  S., 

aid-de-camp;  Cranes,  R.  E.,  major,  chief  of  artil- 
lery, Oct.  28,  1862;  Hawes,  Carey  N.,  announced  as 
chief  surgeon  of  division.  Sept.  6,  1862;  Hawkins, 
Thomas  T.,  first  lieutenant,  aid-de-camp,  Nov.  17, 

1861;  Capo, , aid-de-camp,  captain,  assistant 

adjutant-general,  Oct.,  1862,  (let.  28,  1862;  Helm, 
Geo.  j\L,  1st  lieutenant,  engineer  officer,  Aug.  18, 
1862;  Hamilton,  Wm.  B.,  volunteer  aid-de-camp, 

Aug.,  1862;  Huestis,  Dr.,  , medical  inspector, 

chief  surgeon,  Jan.,  Sept.,  1863;  Hope,  John,  captain, 
acting  inspector-general.  Sept.  30, 1862,  announced  as 
acting  inspector-general  of  reserve  corps,  April  25, 
1862  Johnson,  J.P.,  assistant  adjutant-general,  July, 

1863;  Kratz,  Dr.  , assistant  surgeon.  Sept.,  1863; 

Little,  George,  captain,  ordnance  officer,  May  2, 
1863;  Legare,  J.  C.,  surgeon,  jnedical  inspector, 
March  6,  1862;  Morgan,  R.  C.,  acting  assistant  adju- 
tant-general, Jan.  19,  1862;  Mastin,  Chas.  J.,  cap- 
tain, acting  inspector-general,  Feb.  26,  1863,  lieu- 
tenant-colonel, acting  inspector-general,  Se^Dt.,  1863; 
Noequet,  Jas.  W.,  captain,  chief  of  engineers.  Sept. 
30,  1862;  O'Hara,  Theodore,  colonel,  acting  assist- 
ant adjutant-general,  Dec.,  1862,  Jan.,  1863;  Pick- 
ett, Geo.  B.,  captain,  engineer  officer,  March  6, 1862; 
Pickett,  Jno.  T.,  colonel,  assistant  adjutant-general, 
, 1862;  Pinckney,  , lieutenant-colonel,  vol- 
unteer aid-de-camp,  Aug.,  1862;  Pendleton,  J.  E., 
Dr.,  medical  director.  Sept.  30,  1862,  Oct.  29,  1862; 
Pendleton,  John  E.,  volunteer  aid-de-camp,  Jan.  1, 
1863;  Robentson,  J.  S.,  captain,  assistant  adjutant- 
general,  Sept.  8,  1862;  Richards,  A.  Keene,  aid-de- 
camp,  June  23, 1862;  Sullins, ,major,  chief  quar- 

termaster, Oct.  12,  1862;  Schenck,  Isaac,  major,  act- 
ing commissary  subsistence,  Dec.  13,  1862;  Slocum, 

, captain,  chief  artillery,  Nov.  6,  1863;  Semple, 

Chas.  captain,  ordnance  officer,  Jan.  1,  1863,  acting 
inspector-general,  Jan.  24, 1864;  Von  Zinken,  Leon, 
colonel.  Twentieth  Louisiana  Regiment,  acting  as- 
sistant inspector-general.  Sept.,  1863;  Triplett, , 

major,  chief  quartermaster,  on  march  Oct.  12,  1862; 
Wilson,  J T.,  acting  inspector-general,  Oct.  28, 

1862,  Dec.  31,  1862;  Wilson,  James,  major,  assistant 
adjutant- general,  Dec.  11,  1862,  Sept.,  1863,  Nov.  11, 

1863,  acting  chief  of  artillery,  Sept.  30,  1862,  ord- 
nance officer  of  division,  April  21,  1862;  Weatherby, 
surgeon,  acting  medical  director.  Sept.  30,  1862; 
\Peeden,  acting  chief  surgeon,  Oct.  29,  1863;  Young, 
J.  F.,  surgeon,  medical  purveyor,  March  6,  1862. 

Oen.  S.B.  Buckner. — Staff:  Ament,  B.  W.,  sur- 

geon, Aug.,  1862;  Buckner,  D.  P.,  volunteer  aid-de- 
camp,  Sept.,  1861,  Feb.,  1862;  Casly,  Geo.  B.,  major, 
assistant  adjutant-general.  Sept.,  1861,  Feb.,  1862; 
Clay,  T.  J.,  acting  aid-de-camp,  Feb.,  1862;  Cassi- 
day , Alex. , captain, assistant  i nspector-general , Sept  , 
1861,  major,  assistant  inspector-general,  Feb.,  1862; 
Chambliss,  N.P.,  lieu  tenant,  ordnance  officer.  Sept.  18, 
1861;  Carrington,L.F.,aid-de-camp.Nov,26, 1861;  Da- 
vidson, — — , major,  chief  of  artillery,  Feb.,  1862; 
Gallagher,  J.  N.,  acting  aid-de-camp,  Feb.,  1862; 
Hays,  S.  K.,  major,  assistant  quartermaster,  Feb., 
1862;  Haines,  ,P  M.,  major,  assistant  inspector- 
general,  Sept.  18,  1861;  Johnston,  Chas.  F.,  lieuten- 
ant, aid-de-camp, Sept., 1861,  Feb. ,1862;  Moore, , 

engineer  officer,  Feb.,  1862;  Noequet,  J.,  captain,  en- 
gineer officer,  Sept.  18,  1861;  Sheliba,  Victor.major 
lieutenant-colonel,  chief  of  staff,  June,  1863;  Winter- 
smith,  Richard  C.,  major,  acting  commissary  of 
subsistence,  Feb.,  1862;  Watts,  G.  O.  lieutenant, 
acting  aid-de-camp.  Sept.  18,  1861. 


Brig.- Oen.  A.  Buford. — Staff:  Crowder,  Thos. 
M.,  cajjtain,  assistant  adjutant-general,  Oct.,  1862, 
May,  1863;  Nicholson,  Hunter,  major,  assistant  ad- 
jutant-general, Dec..  1862;  Given,  D.  A.,  1st  lieuten- 
ant, acting  aid-de-camp;  Myers,  D.  E.,  1st  lieuten- 
ant, aid-de-camp,  Aug.  1,  1863  (captain  Company 

E,  9th  Kentucky  Cavalry),  captain,  acting  inspect- 
or-general; Lea,  James  L.,  captain,  assistant  quar- 
termaster, 1862,  transferred  to  staff  of  Gen.  T.  H. 
Bell,  Feb.,  1865;  Finch,  J.  R., major,  acting  commis- 
sary of  subsistence;  Gardner,  Jno.  D.,  1st  lieuten- 
ant, ordnance  officer.  May  20,  1862, transferred  from 
7th  Kentucky  Regiment;  Clardy,Thos.  F.,  surgeon 
(7th  Kentucky);  Cargill,  W.  M.,  major,  quartermas- 
ter. 

Col.  Edward  Grassland,  Commanding  Brigade. 
— Staff':  Buford’s  Division,  Forrest’s  Cavalry,  May, 
1864;  Randle,  C.  S.,  captain,  acting  assistant  adju- 
tant-general (7th  Kentucky  Regiment);  Matthewson, 
J.  P.,lst  lieutenant,  acting  assistant  inspector-gen- 
eral; Lindsey,  Win.,  captain,  assistant  quartermas- 
ter (7th  Kentucky  Regiment),  July,  1862;  Smith,  J. 
R.,  major,  acting  commissary  of  subsistence,  July 
22,  1863;  Galbraith,  Robert  A.,  captain,  acting  aid- 
de-camp;  Terry,  F.  G.,  captain,  acting  ordnance  of- 
ficer, Sept.  22,  1862  (8th  Kentucky  Regiment). 

Maj.-Oen.  Oeo.  B.  Crittenden. — Staff:  Brewer, 
Jas.  B., volunteer  aid-de-camp,  Jan.,  1862,Feb.,  1862; 
Cunningham,  A.  S.,  major,  assistant  adjutant-gen- 
eral, Jan.,  1862,  Feb.,  1862,  Dec.  4,  1861;  Hillyer, 
Giles  M.,  major,  assistant  commissary  of  subsist- 
ence, Jan.,  1862,  Feb.,  1862;  Porter,  W.  W.,  lieuten- 
ant, aid-de-camp,  Jan.,  1862,  Feb.,  1862,  captain,  as- 
sistant adjutant-general,  April  6-7,  1862:  Ramsay, 

F.  A.,  surgeon,  medical  director,  Jan.,  1862,  Feb., 
1862;  Thornton, H.  I.  (J?),  aid-de-camp,  Dec.  7,1862, 
Jan.,  1862,  Feb.,  1862. 

Brig.- Oen.  Basil  W.  Duke. — Staff:  Cameron, 

, captain,  chaplain,  Sept.  15,  1864,  transferred 

to  special  service  in  Canada,  Nov. ,1864;  Davis,  Will- 
iam J.,  captain;  assistant  adjutant-general,  April, 

1863,  major,  aid-de-camp,  Dec.,  1864;  Elliott,  R.F.,  ma- 
jor, acting  commissary  of  subsistence.  Sept.  15, 1864, 
previously  commi.ssary  Morgan’s  staff;  Gassette,  C. 
W.,  major;  acting  quartermaster, Sept.  15, 1864,  pre- 
viously acting  quartermaster  on  Morgan’s  staff; 
Gwyn.Hugh  G., captain, assistant  inspector-general. 
Sept. 15, 18(54,  major,  assistant  inspector-general,  Dec. 
1,1864,  previously  adjutant  Keeble’s  Tennessee  regi- 
ment, infantry;  Morgan,  Calvin  C.,  1st  lieutenant, 
aid-de-camp.  Sept.  15,  1864,  captain,  aid-de-camp, 
Dec.  1,  1864;  Thorpe,  P.  H.,  adjutant  (?)  June,  1862; 
Williams,  Robert,  major,  brigade-surgeon.  Sept.  15, 

1864. 

Brig.- Oen.  Chas.  W.  Field.— Staff : Corbin, 
Richard,  volunteer  aid-de-camp  of  division,  April, 
1864;  Deshields,  H.  C.  captain  quartermaster,  April, 
1861  (from  40th  Virginia),  major  quartermaster  of 
division  subsequently;  Harrison,  George  F.,  captain 
adjutant-general,  April,  1861,  assistant  adjutant- 
general,  June,  July,  1862  (formerly  adjutant  9th 
Va.  Cav.,  resigned  Sept.,  1862;  Hudson,  medical  di- 
rector of  division,  January,  1864;  Mason,  Julien  J., 
major,  assistant  commissary  subsistance,  April, 1861, 
(assigned  from  9th  Va.  Cav.  private,  afterward  com- 
missary of  division);  Jones,  Willis  F.  major,  assist- 
ant adjutant-general,  January,  1864  (killed  in  battle 
August,  1864);  Mason,  W.  R.  lieutenant,  aid-de- 
camp,  June,  July,  1862,  assigned  to  conscript 
bureau  July,  1863;  Masters,  L.,  captain,  assistant  in- 
spector general,  April,  1861,  assigned  from  heavy 
artillery,  major,  assistant  adjutant-general,  Nov.  4, 
1864,  major,  inspector-general  of  division,  January, 
1864  (April,  1865,  killed  in  battle);  Pleasants,  James, 
captain,  orderly  officer  of  division;  Rabb,  R.  L., 
lieutenant,  aid-de-camp,first  lieutenant,  aid-de-camp, 
January,  1864  (resigned  August,  1864);  Spence,  sur- 
geon, medical  director,  April,  1861;  Stephenson, 


HISTOEY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


735 


John,  first  lieutenant  aid-de-camp  of  division,  Aug., 
1864. 

Brig.-Oen.  Roger  W.  Hanson. — Staff:  Hope, 
John  S.,  captain,  acting  assistant  adjutant  general, 
Dec.  4,  1862;  Chipley,  S.  F.,  acting  assistant  adju- 
tant-general, December  20,  1862;  Benedict,  Joseph, 
lieutenant  9th  Ky.,  ordered  to  act  as  aid-de-camp 
to  Col.  Hanson,  commanding  first  Kentucky  Brig- 
ade, Nov.  10,  1862. 

Brig.-Oen.  J.  M.  Hawes. — Staff:  Barbour,  E. 
P.,  aid-de-camp,  acting  assistant  adjutant-general, 
April  29,  1862;  Dyer,  H.  R.  major,  assistant  quar- 
termaster; Hawes,  S.  N.,  lieutenant,  aid-de-camp; 

Hove,  J.  A.  P.,  captain,  aid-de-camp;  Leman  , 

captain,  acting  commissary  subsistence ; McClarty, 
Clinton,  major,  assistant  adjutant-general;  Robert- 
son, James  M.,  captain,  assistant  inspector-general; 
Sanders  Reid,  major,  assistant  commissary  subsist- 
ence; Scott,  John  S.,  captain,  assistant  adjutant 
general;  Walker,  A.  J.,  captain,  ordnance  officer; 
Marshall,  Benjamin  T.,  chief  surgeon,  April  29, 
1862;  Lester,  H.  F.,  lieutenant  (2d  Kentucky)  ord- 
nance officer,  April  29,  1862;  Robertson,  J.  S.,  as- 
sistant adjutant-general,  14,  1862. 

Brig.-Oen.  Oeorge  B.  Hodge. — Staff:  Bullock, 
Wallie,  first  lieutenant,  aid-de-camp,  April,  1863; 
Davis,  Hugh  L.,  first  lieutenant,  aid-de-camp,  Aug., 
1864;  Mciffee,  John,  captain, assistant  adjutant-gen- 
eral (Ind.  Confederate  Battalion);  Miller,  W.,  major, 
quartermaster  (from  27th  Virginia  P.  Rangers),  April, 
1862;  Ogden,  John,  captain,  aid-de-camp;  West, 
Douglas,  major,  acting  ordnance  officer;  Hope,  John, 
captain,  as,cistant  inspector-general. 

Brig.-Orn.  Joseph  H.  Lewis. — Staff:  Hewitt, 
Fayette,  captain,  assistant  adjutant-general,  Dec, 
2,  1861-64;  McKay,  Henry  Clay,  lieutenant,  aid-de- 
camp,  October,  1863;  John  R.  major,  assistant 
quartermaster,  Dec.,  1863;  Phillips,  W.  S.,  captain, 
assistant  quartermaster,  1862,  major,  Dec.,  1863; 
Holmes,  Chas.  W.,  major,  assistant  commissary  sub- 
sistence, July  17, 1863;  Payne,  Lewis  E.,  lieutenant, 
ordnance  officer,  December,  1863;  Buchanan,  Samuel 
H.,  assistant  adjutant-general.  Sept.  15,  1864,  assist- 
ant inspector-general,  Dec.  20,  1863;  Helm,  Chas. 
W.,  captain  and  assistant  commissary  subsistence, 
June  16, 1864;  Vertrees,  J.  S.,  assistant  surgeon,  1863. 

Brig.-Oen.  Humphrey  Marshall. — Staff':  Fish- 
er Thos.  H.,  major,  chief  quartermaster.  May, 
1862;  Guerrant,  Edward  0.,  assistant  adjutant-gen- 
eral, Dec.  30, .1862;  Jenkins,  B.  W.,  captain,  Jan., 
1863;  Marshall,  Chas.  E.,  captain,  assistant  adjutant- 
general,  April,  1862;  resigned  Dec.,  1862. 

Col.  and  Brig.-Oen.  Jno.  H.  Morgan. — Staff: 
Alston,  R.  A.,  captain,  assistant  adjutant-gen- 
eral, .June,  1862;  Grenfell,  St.  Leger,  colonel, 
assistant  adjutant-general,  Aug.  22, 1862;  Llewellen, 
D.  H..  captain,  assistant  quartermaster,  Aug.  22, 
1862;major,  Dec.  9, 1862;  Morgan,  Charlton,  captain, 
aid-de-camp,  Dec.  9,  1862;  Roberts,  Green,  captain, 
assistant  aid-de-camp,  Oct.,  1862;  Tyler,  Robt., 
lieutenant,  assistant  aid-de-camp,  Dec.  9,  1862; 
Williams,  R.  H.,  acting  aid-de-camp,  Dec.  9,  1862. 

Col.  R.  T.  Trahue  Commanding  Hanson’s  Brig- 
ade Bee.  31,  1862,  and  Jan.  1,  1863. — Staff:  Bene- 
dict, Joseph,  Dec.  31,  1862,  and  Jan.  1.  1863;  Chip- 
ley,  S.  F.,  captain,  Dec.  31,  1862  and  Jan.  1,  1863; 
Semple,  Charles,  captain,  acting  ordnance  officer, 
Dec.  21,  1862,  and  Jan,  1,  1863;  Stake,  T.  E.,  lieuten- 
ant, assistant  inspector-general,  Dec.  31, 1862,  and 
Jan.  1,  1863;  Trabue,  Presley,  lieutenant,  acting  ord- 
nance officer,  Dec.  31,  1862,  and  Jan.  1,  1863_;  Will- 
iams, Robt.  H.,  adjutant  4th  Kentucky,  acting  as- 
sistant adjutant-general,  Dec.  31,  1862,  and  Jan.  1, 
1863;  Darrah,  Thomas  B.,  acting  assistant  adjutant- 
general,  Oct.  13,  1862;  Robertson,  J.  S.,  acting  as- 
sistant adjutant-general,  April  2(),  1862;  Hewitt,  J. 
W.,  acting  assistant  adjutant-general,  June  16, 1862; 


Shaw,  G.  T.,  captain,  acting  commissary  subsistence, 
June  16,  1862. 

Brig.-Oen.  Jno.  S.  Williams. — Staff:  Duke, 
Basil  C.,  surgeon,  Sept.,  1862;  Marye,  Lawrence, 
captain,  ordnance  officer.  Sept.  1862;  Morris,  John, 
colonel,  volunteer  aid-de-camp.  Sept.,  1862;  Pey- 
ton, Wm.  M.,  captain,  aid-de-camp.  Sept.,  1862; 
Poor,  R.  L.,  captain,  chief  engineer,  department 
West  Virginia,  Sept.  20,  1862;  temporarily  on  staff  of 
Gen.  Williams;  Stanton,  Richard,  captain,  assist- 
ant adjutant-general.  Sept.,  1862. 

NAMES  OP  FIELD  OFFICERS,  KENTUCKY  REGIMENTS.* 
First  Infantry. — Colonel,  Thos.  H.  Taylor; 
lieutenant-colonels,  Wm.  Preston  Johnston,  Ed. 
Crossland;  major,  Ed.  Crossland. 

Second  Infantry. — Colonels,  J.  M.  Hawes,  R.W. 
Hanson,  R.  A.  Johnson,  James  W.  Moss;  lieuten- 
ant-colonels, Robert  A.  Johnston,  James  W.  Hew- 
itt, Phil.  Lee;  majors,  James  W.  Hewitt,  James  W. 
Moss,  H.  McDowell;  adjutant,  T.  E.  Moss. 

Third  Infantry. — Colonels,  Lloyd  Tilghman, 

A.  P.  Thompson;  lieutenant-colonels,  Benj. "Ander- 
son, Alfred  M.  Johnston;  majors,  Alfred  M.  John- 
ston, J.  H.  Bowman. 

Fourth  Infantry. — Colonels,  Robert  P.  Trabue, 
Joseph  P.  Nuckols,  Jr.,  Thos.  W.  Thompson;  lieu- 
tenant-colonels, Andrew  R.  Hynes,  Jno.  A.  Adair, 
Jos.  P.  Nuckols,  Thos.W.  Thompson;  majors.Thos. 

B.  Munroe,  Jr.,  Thos.W,  Preston,  Thos.W.  Thomp- 
son, Jno.  Jj.  Rogers. 

Fifth  Infantry. — Colonels,  Jno.  S.  Williams, 
Andrew  J.  May,  H.  Hawkins,  lieutenant-colonels, 
Andrew  J.  May,  Hiram  Hawkins,  Jno.  W.  Cald- 
well; majors,  J.  C.  Wickliffe,  Jno.  W.  Caldwell, 
Geo.  W .Conner,  William  Moynhier. 

Sixth  Infantry. — Colonels,  Joseph  H.  Lewis, 
Martin  H.  Cofer;  lieutenant-colonel,  Martin  H.Cof- 
er;  majors,  Thos.  H.  Hayes,  W.  L .Clarke. 

Seventh  Infantry. — Colonels,  C.  Wickliffe,  Ed. 
Crossland,  W.  D.  Lannom;  lieutenant-colonels,  W. 
D.  Lannom,  H.  L.  Shorneill;  majors,  W.  J.  N.Wel- 
born,  H.  S.  Hale. 

Eighth  Infantry. — Colonel,  H.  B.  Lyon;  lieuten- 
ant-colonels, H.  B.  Lyon,  A.  R.  Shacklett;  ma- 
jor, R.  W.  Henry. 

Ninth  Infantry. — Colonels,  T.  H.  Hunt,  J.  W. 
Caldwell;  lieutenant-colonels,  J.W.  Caldwell,  J.  C. 
Wickliffe;  majors,  J.  C.  Wickliffe,  Benj.  Desha. 

Tenth  Infantry. — Colonels,  R.  W.  Martin,  A.  R. 
Johnston;  lieutenant-colonel,  R.  M.  Martin;  major, 
W.  G.  Owen. 

Eleventh  Infantry. — Colonel,  B.  E.  Candill;  ma- 
jor, J.  T.  Chenowith. 

First  Cavalry.  —Colonel,  J.  R.  Butler;  lieuten- 
ant-colonel, Thos.  W.  Woodward:  majors,  J.  W. 
Caldwell,  N.  R.  Chambliss,  I.  L.  Chenowith. 

Second  Cavalry. — Colonel,  T.  G.  Woodward; 
lieutenant-colonels,  Thos.  G.  Woodward,  Thos.  T. 
Johnson;  majors,  T.  R.  Webber,  T.  W.  Lewis. 

Third  Cavalry. — Colonel,  J.  R.  Butler. 

Fourth  Cavalry. — Colonel,  H.  L.  Giltner;  lieu- 
tenant-colonel, M.  P.  Pryor. 

Fifth  Cavalry. — Colonel,  D.  H.  Smith;  lieuten- 
ant-colonel, Preston  Thompson. 

Sixth  Cavalry. — Colonel,  J.  Warren  Grogsby 
lieutenant-colonel,  Thos.  W.  Napier. 

Seventh  Cavalry — Colonel,  Ed.  Crossland;  major, 
Thos.  Steele. 

Eighth  Cavalry. — Colonel,  R.  S.  Cluke. 

Ninth  Cavalry. — Colonels,  W.  C.  P.  Breckinridge, 
T.  H.  Hunt;  lieutenant-colonel,  R.  G.  Stoner;  major, 
J.  C.  Wickliffe. 

Tenth  Cavalry. — Colonels,  A.  R.  Johnson,  A.  J. 
May,  E.  Trimble. 


*From  the  war  office  at  Washington. 


736 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


Eleventh  Cavalry. — Colonel,  D.  W.  Chenault. 
Faulkner’ s Cavalry. — Major,  T.  S.  Tate. 

First  Battalion  Volunteers.— Ma,]or,  Thos.  H. 
Hays. 

First  Battalion  Mounted  Majors,  B.  F. 

Bradley,  O.  G.  Camron. 

Second  Battalion  Mounted  Major, 

Thomas  Johnson. 

Third  Battalion  Mounted  Major,  Jno. 

B.  Hal  lad  ay. 

Morgan’s  Cavalry. — Colonel,  Jno.  H.  Morgan; 
lieutenant-colonel,  J.  W.  Bowler;  majors,  G.  M. 
Morgan,  J.  T.  Cassell. 

The  following  roster  of  Confederate  troops  ex- 
hibits the  various  organizations  with  which  Ken- 
tucky troops  served  during  the  years  1863-64: 

Brig.-Gen.  John  S.  Williams’  Brigade,  1863: 
First  Kentucky  Mounted  Infantry,  Second  Ken- 
tucky MountecI  Infantry,  Ninth  Kentucky  Mounted 
Infantry,  Second  Kentucky  Battalion  Cavalry, 
Hamilton’s  Battalion  Cavalry,  Allison’s  Squadron 
Cavalry. 

Brig.-Gen.  Joseph  H.  Lewis’  Brigade:  Second 
Kentucky  Infantry,  Fourth  Kentucky  Infantry, 
Fifth  Kentucky  Infantry,  Sixth  Kentucky  Infantry, 
Ninth  Kentucky  Infantry. 

Brig.  Gen.  A.  Buford’s  Cavalry  Brigade,  Nov. 
20,  1863:  Eighth  Kentucky,  Col.  H.  B.  Lyon; 
Seventh  Kentucky,  Col.  Edward  Crossland;  Third 
Kentucky,  Col.  A.  P.  Thomp.5on. 

With  Wharton’s  Division,  August  15,  1863;  Sec- 
ond Brigade,  Col.  Thomas  Harrison;  First  Kentucky 
Cavalry,  Col.  J.  R.  Butler. 

Morgan’s  Division,  First  Brigade,  Cavalry,  Col. 

B.  W.  Duke:  Second  Kentucky,  Maj.  T.  B.  Webber; 
Fifth  Kentucky,  Col.  D.  II.  Smith;  Ninth  Ken- 
tucky, Col.  W.  C.  P.  Breckinridge;  Sixth  Kentucky, 
Col.  J.  Warren  Grogsby;  Ward’s  Kentucky  Regi- 
ment, Col.  Ward. 

Second  Brigade,  Cavalry,  Col.  R.  S.  Cluke: 
Eighth  Kentucky,  Col.  R.  S.  Cluke;  Eleventh  Ken- 
tucky, Col.  D.  \V.  Chenault;  Tenth  Kentucky,  Lt.- 
Col.  J.  M.  Huffman. 

Chickamauga,  Sept.  19-20,  1863;  Breckinridge’s 
Division,  Helrn’s  Brigade  Infantry:  Second  Ken- 
tucky, Col.  J.  W.  Hewitt  and  Lieut. -Col.  J.  W. 
Moss;  Fourth  Kentucky,  Col.  Jos.  P.  Nuckols,  Jr., 
and  Maj.  T.  W.  Thompson;  Sixth  Kentucky,  Col. 
J.  II.  Lewis  and  Lieut. -Col.  M.  H.  Cofer;  Ninth 
Kentucky,  Col.  J.  W.  Caldwell  and  Lieut. -Col.  J. 

C.  Wickliile;  Cobb’s  Battery,  Capl.  Robert  Cobb. 
Missionary  Ridge,  Nov.  25,  1863;  Breckinridge’s 

Division,  Lewis’  Brigade,  Infantry:  Second  Ken- 
tucky Regiment, Lieut. -Col.  James  W.Moss;  Fourth 
Kentucky  Regiment,  Maj.  T.  W.  Thompson;  Sixth 
Kentucky  Regiment,  Lieut. -Col. W.L. Clarke;  Ninth 
Kentucky  Regiment,  Lieut.-Col.  Jno.  C.  Wickliife; 
Fifth  Kentucky  Regiment,  Col.  H.  Hawkins. 

With  Wheeler’s  Cavalry  Corps,  Oct.  31,  1863; 
Fourth  Division,  Brig.-Gen.  Kelly;  1st  Kentucky 
Mounted  Infantry,  Col.  J.  R.  Butler;  Second 
Kentucky  Mounted  Infantry;  Ninth  Kentucky 
Mounted  Infantry. 

Second  Brigade  of  Brig.-Gen.  Kelly’s  Division. 
Wheeler’s  Cavalry  Corps,  Nov.  20,  1863,  Col.  J. 
Warren  Grogsby,  commanding;  First  Kentucky 
Mounted  Infantry  Regiment,  Col.  J.  R.  Butler; 
Second  Kentucky  Mounted  Infantry  Regiment, 
Col. Thos.  G.  Woodnard. ; Ninth  Kentucky  Mounted 
Infantry  Regiment;  Col.  W,  C.  P.  Breckinridge. 

Wheeler’s  Cavalry  Corps,  Nov.  23,  1863,  Kelly’s 
Division,  Second  Brigade:  First  (Third)  Kentucky 
Regiment,  Col.  J.  R.  Butler;  Second  Kentucky  Reg- 
iment, Col.  Thos.Woodward;  Ninth  Kentucky  Reg- 
iment, Col.  W.  P.  C.  Breckinridge. 

With  Bates’  Division,  June  30,  1864;  Lewis’  Brig- 
ade Inf.iutry:  Second  Kentucky  Regiment,  Col.  J. 
Moss;  Fourth  Kentucky  Regiment,  Lieut.-Col.  TW. 
Thompson;  Fifth  Kentucky  Regiment,  Lieut.  Col. 
H.  Hawkins;  Sixth  Kentucky  Regiment,  Col.  M.  H. 


Cofer;  Ninth  Kentucky  Regiment,  Col.  J.  W. 
Caldwell. 

Wheeler’s  Cavalry  Corps,  Army  of  the  Tennessee, 
June  30,  1864,  Brig.-Gen.  Jno.  S.  Williams’  Cavalry 
Brigade;  First  Kentucky  Regiment,  Lieut.-Col.  J. 
W.  Griffith;  Second  Kentucky  Regiment,  Maj.  T. 
W.  Lewis;  Ninth  Kentucky  Regiment,  Col.  W.  C. 
P.  Breckinridge;  Second  Kentucky  Battalion,  Capt. 
J.  B.  Douch;  Allison’s  Squadron,  Capt.  J.  S.  Reese; 
Detachment  Hamilton’s  Battery,  Maj.  James  Shaw. 

FORREST’S  CAVALRY  COMMAND,  AUGUST 
30,  1864. 

BUFORD’S  DIVISION. 

Lyon’s  Brigade. — Third  Kentucky  Infantry 
Regiment  (mounted)  Col.  G.  A.  C.  Holt;  Seventh 
Kentucky  Infantry  Regiment  (mounted)  Col.  Ed. 
Crossland;  Eighth  Kentucky  Infantry  Regiment, 
Lieut-Col.  A.  R.  Shacklett;  Twelfth  Kentucky  In- 
fantry Regiment;  Col.  W.  W.  Faulkner. 

FORREST’S  COMMAND,  MARCH  20,  1864. 

CHALMERS’  DIVISION. 

Third  Brigade. — Col.  A.  P.  Thompson;  Third 
Kentucky  Infantry,  Lieut.-Col.  G.  A.  C.  Holt; 
Seventh  Kentucky  Infantry,  Col.  Ed.  Crossland; 
Eighth  Kentucky  Infantry,  Lieut-Col.  A.  R.  Shack- 
lett; Twelfth  Kentucky  Cavalry,  Col.  W.  W. 
Faulkner. 

Byrnes’  Battery. — Edward  P.  Byrne,  captain, 
1861;  Elias  D.  Lawrence,  lieutenant;  Thos.  Hinds, 
1st  lieutenant,  Oct.  1861;  Jno.  Joyes,Jr.,  lieutenant, 
1861; Guignard  Scott,  2d  lieutenant;  Joseph  Bell, 
2d  lieutenant;  B.  P.  Shelly,  2d  lieutenant,  Aug., 
1861;  Prank  P.  Peak,  2d  lieutenant.  B.  T.  Shelly, 
2d  lieutenant,  1861. 

Cobb’s  Battery. — Robert  Cobb,  capt.  March,  1862; 
E.  P.  Gracey,  lieutenant  July,  1861;  R.  B.  Matthews, 
lieutenant  March,  1862;  B.  H.  Gtaines,  2d  lieuten- 
ant, July,  1861;  A.  B.  Danes,  2d  lieutenant,  Oct., 
1861. 

It  has  not  been  possible,  in  compiling  the  fore- 
going list,  to  obtain  all  the  names,  or  even  a satis- 
factory list  of  the  killed  and  wounded  in  the 
Confederate  army,  either  among  commissioned 
officers  or  privates,  from  1861-65.  Records  of  such 
statistics  are  not  easily,  if  at  all  attainable,  and  this 
interesting  feature,  so  far  as  regards  Confederate 
officers  and  soldiers,  has  been  reluctantly  omitted. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  PERRYYILLE. 

The  disposition  of  the  Union  forces  at  the 
period  of  the  Confederate  invasion  in  August,  1862, 
was  as  follows:  The  Seventh  Division  of  the  Army 
of  the  Ohio,  under  command  of  Maj.  Gen.  George 
W.  Morgan,  consisting  of  three  brigades  of  four 
regiments  each,  three  batteries  of  artillery  and  a 
squadron  of  cavalry,  numbering  in  all  about  7,000 
men,  was  stationed  at  Cumberland  Gap.  Maj.- 
Gen.  William  Nelson,  who  had  been  detached  from 
the  main  army  in  Tennessee  and  sent  to  Kentucky 
to  assume  command  of  all  the  Union  forces  in  the 
State,  had  at  his  disposal  a considerable  number  of 
regiments  of  the  new  levy  sent  him  by_  Gen. 
Wright,  in  command  at  Cincinnati.  Two  brigades 
of  these  troops  under  command  of  Brig. -Gens.  M. 

D.  Manson  and  Charles  Cruft  were  stationed  at 
Richmond,  Ky. ; one  brigade  under  Col.  C.  C.  Gil- 
bert at  Stanford,  and  probably  a few  more  within 
easj^  call,  which  it  was  his  intention  to  concentrate 
before  offering  battle  to  the  better  seasoned  troops 
of  Gen.  E.  Kirby  Smith,  when  an  unlooked-for 
battle  was  precipitated  by  Manson’s  advance  from 
Richmond  to  try  conclusions  with  the  invader.  In 
addition  to  this  force  in  central  Kentucky  was  that 
constantly  accumulating  in  the  vicinity  of  Louis- 
ville under  command  of  Gen.  Boyle.  All  of  these, 


HISTORY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


73t 


however,  were  raw  troops,  undisciplined,  undiilled 
and  totally  deficient  in  military  experience.  It  may 
be  imagined  with  what  anxiety  the  arrival  of  the 
Army  of  the  Ohio  was  awaited  by  the  Union  people 
of  Kentuck3^ 

ARMY  OF  THE  OHIO. 

MAJ.-GEN.  DON  CARLOS  BUEJ,L,  OCTOBER  8,  1862. 

Brig. -Gen.  Sill's  division,  fourteen  volunteer 
regiments  and  three  battalions  of  regular  infantry, 
one  battalion  of  cavalr3%  one  battalion  of  engineers 
and  three  batteries  of  artillery, 

Brig.-Gen,  Rousseau's  division,  fourteen  regi- 
ments of  infantiy,  four  batteries  of  artillery,  one 
squadron  of  cavalry  and  a battalion  of  engineers. 

Brig.-Gen.  Jackson’s  division,  eight  regiments 
of  infantr3q  Garrard's  detachment  of  the  Seventh 
Kentucky,  Thirty-second  Kentuck3'  and  Third  Ten- 
nessee infantry,  and  two  batteries  of  artillery.  The 
above  troops  composed  the  First  Army  Corps 
under  command  of  Maj.-Gen.  Alex  McD.  McCook. 
Gen.  Sill's  division  being  absent,  left  only  the  two 
divisions  of  Rousseau  and  Jackson  on  the  field  of 
Perryville.  The  latter  (with  the  exception  of  Gar- 
rard's), composed  exclusively  of  raw  recruits,  had 
the  misfortune  to  receive  the  attack  of  Cheatham’s 
veteran  troops.  The  death  of  their  brave  com- 
mander, Gen.  .Tames  S.  Jackson,  who  was  killed 
early  in  the  action,  followed  almost  immediately 

the  fall  of  both  brigade  commanders,  led  to  the 
rout  of  this  division.  Had  this  assault  fallen  upon 
an3'  other  division  present  on  the  field  a different 
result  would  doubtless  have  followed. 

Tlie  Second  Army  Corps,  Maj.-Gen.  Thomas 
L.  Crittenden,  consisted  of  three  divisions  of  fifteen 
regiments  of  infantry  each;  total,  fort3^-five,  ten 
batteries  of  artillery,  two  squadrons  of  cavalry  and 
one  battalion  of  engineers.  Thisfine  corps  of  troops 
occupied  the  extreme  right  of  the  line  of  Ijattle  as 
formed  about  noon,  but  was  not  ordered  into  action 
until  too  late  to  take  part  before  night  closed  the 
contest.  It  may  be  added  that  they  were,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  a few  regiments  on  their 
extreme  left,  in  utter  ignorance  that  a battle  was 
being  fought  by  their  comrades  on  the  left  not  more 
than  four  miles  awa3'. 

THIRD  ARMY  CORPS,  M.XJ.-GEN.  CHARLES  C.  GILBERT. 

The  First  Division,  Brig.-Gen.  Alvin  Schoepf. 
was  tlie  original  division  organized  the  previous 
year  by  IMaj.-Gen.  George  H.  Thomas,  who  was 
now  second  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio. 
It  consisted  of  three  brigades  commanded  ly  Col. 
Moses  B.  'W^alker,  Brig.-Gen.  Speed  S.  Fry  and 
Brig.-Gen.  .Tames  B.  Steedman.  Fifteen  regiments 
of  infantry  (among  which  were  the  Fourth.  Tenth 
and  Twelfth  Kentucky),  a squadron  of  cavalry  and 
three  batteries  of  artillery  constituted  the  organiza- 
tion. 

Brig.-Gen.  R.  B.  Mitchell’s  division  consisted  of 
three  brigades  of  four  regiments  each,  two  squad- 
rons of  cavalry  and  three  batteries  of  artillery. 

Brig.-Gen.  Philip  H.  Sheridan’s  division  com- 
prised the  same  number  of  infantiy  regiments,  with 
two  batteries  of  artillery.  The  two  last  mentioned 
divisions,  together  with  Rousseau’s  and  .lackson’s, 
fought  the  battle  of  Perryville.  The  Fifteenth 
Kentucky  infantry  was  in  Lytle’s  brigade  of  Rous- 
seau’s division,  and  Stone’s  Kentucky  Battery  was 
in  the  same  division. 

The  death  of  klaj.-Gen.  William  Nelson  at  the 
hands  of  ’Brig.-Gen.  Jeff.  C.  Davis  at  the  Gault 
House,  Louisville,  on  the  29lh  of  August,  deprived 
the  Union  nrm3^  of  one  of  its  most  valued' com- 
manders. Had  this  deplorable  event  not  occurred, 
the  central  corps  would,  on  the  day  of  Perryville, 
have  been  commanded  b3'  Nelson.  Those  who  wit- 
nessed the  magnificent  fighting  qualities  of  this 
superb  soldier  at  Shiloh  need  not  be  told  that  he 
would  not  have  awaited  a second  invitation  from 
hard-pressed  McCook  to  lead  his  three  divisions 


thundering  down  upon  Polk's  left  flank  in  ample 
time  to  close  his  avenue  of  escape  through  Perry- 
ville to  Harrodsburg. 

The  casualties  in  the  Army  of  the  Ohio  were  as 
follows: 

Rousseau’s  division. — Killed,  484;  wounded, 
1,520;  missing,  188;  total,  2,192.  Jackson’s  division 
— Killed,  188;  wounded,  682;  missing,  237;  total, 
1.107.  Schoepf’s  division — Killed,  4;  wounded,  14; 
missing,  8;  total,  26.  Mitchell’s  division — Killed, 
121;  wounded,  324;  missing,  64;  total,  509.  Sheri- 
dan’s division — Killed,  44;  wounded,  292;  missing, 
14;  total,  350.  Cavaliy'  division — Killed,  4;  wound- 
ed, 17;  missing,  4;  total,  25.  Aggregate,  4,209. 
The  loss  in  the  Fifteenth  Kentucky  was  greater 
than  in  any  other  regiment  on  the  field:  Killed,  06; 
wounded,  130;  total,  196.  Stone’s  Kentucky  I3at- 
teiy  lost  in  killed,  3;  wounded,  9;  missing,  1;  total, 
13.  Garrard’s  detachment — '\Vounded,  6;  missing, 
33;  total,  39.  The  Second  Kentucky  Cavalry  lost 
wounded,  4;  missing,  1;  total,  5.  Col.  Curran  Pope 
was  fatally  wounded  and  died  November  5,  1862; 
Lieut. -Col.  George  P.  Jouett,  Maj.  William  P. 
Campbell,  Lieut.  James  A.  T.  McGrath  and  Lieut. 
Joseph  L.  McClure  were  killed  in  action.  Capts. 
John  Spalding  and  Joshua  P.  Pralher  and  Lieut.  F. 
D.  Garrctty  were  among  the  wounded. 

ARMY"  OP  THE  MISSISSIPPI 

The  Army  of  the  Mississippi,  commanded  by 
Maj.-Gen.  Bragg,  consisted  of  four  divisions  of 
four  brigades  each.  The  divisions  commanded 
respectively',  by  Gens.  Cheatham  and  Withers  con- 
stituted the  right  wing,  under  command  of  Maj.- 
Gen.  Leonidas  Polk.  Maj.-Gen.  William  J.  Hardee 
commanded  the  left  wing,  which  embraced  the 
remaining  two  divisions  under  Maj. -Gens.  Simon  B. 
Buckner  and  J.  Patton  Anderson. 

Withers’  division  having  been  detached  in  com- 
pliance with  the  request  of  Gen.  Smith  to  report  to 
liim,  left  the  three  divisions  of  Cheatham,  Buckner 
and  Anderson  to  cope,  at  hazardous  odds  against 
them,  with  nearR'^  the  whole  of  Buell’s  arm3'. 
That  they  were  not  captured  is  onR^  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  surprising  luck  that  often  accompanies 
the  most  foolhardy  enterprises.  Had  Bragg  directed 
his  attack  against  the  right  instead  of  the  left  of 
the  Union  line  of  battle  he  would  have  met  the 
veteran  divisions  of  Wood,  Van  Clevc  and  Smith, 
the  two  latter  seasoned  in  battle  at  Shiloh,  where 
their  heroic  courage  had  won  the  twin  stars  of  a 
major-general's  commission  for  their  brave  com- 
manders, Crittenden  and  Nelson.  Here,  too.  was 
their  gallant  commander,  Thomas  L.  Crittenden, 
whose  cheerful  courage  found  its  readiest  manifes- 
tation on  the  battle-field,  while  at  his  side,  strong, 
wise  and  brave,  was  the  masterful  Thomas,  second 
in  command. 

Nothing  could  excel  the  fury  of  the  Confederate 
attack.  The  raw  recruits,  upon  whom  it  came, 
did  not  remain  long  to  witness  its  terribly  de- 
structive power,  but  fell  back  to  make  room  for  the 
veterans  under  Rousseau,  ^[itchcll  and  Sheri- 
dan, whose  eight  brigades  breasted  the  attack 
made  by  eleven  equally  well-educated  to  the  pro- 
fession, until  Schoepf’s  division,  tardiR^  sent  to 
take  a baud  in  the  fray,  made  its  appearance  upon 
the  field,  and  night  closed  the  contest.  Referring 
to  the  conduct  of  IMaj.-Gen.  Buckner  on  the  field, 
Gen.  Hardee  says;  “To  Maj.-Gen.  Buckner  I am 
indebted  for  the  skillful  mauagementof  his  troops, 
the  judicious  use  of  his  artillery,  and  for  the 
opportune  services  of  himself  and  the  veteran 
division  under  his  command.” 

The  casualties  in  the  Arra3"  of  the  Mississippi 
were  as  follows: 

Cheatham’s  division  — Killed,  268;  wounded, 
1,131;  missing,  67;  tot.al,  1,466. 

Hardee’s  Corps,  Buckner’s  .and  Anderson’s  di 
visions — Killed,  242;  wounded,  l,-504:  missing,  184 
total.  1.930.  Aggregate,  3,396 


■38 


lIISTOliY  OF  KENTUCKY. 


DEATHS  IN  KENTUCKY  UNION  TROOPS  DURING  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 


! 

ORGANIZATION. 

Killed  and  died 
of  wounds. 

Of  disease  and 
other  causes. 

Prisoners  of 
war  died. 

, Discharged 
for 

Disability. 

Aggregate 
! Deaths, 
OfiBcers  and 
Men. 

Total  No. 
Mustered. 

OlVic’rs. 

Enlisted 

Men. 

( Iflic’l'.s. 

Enlisted 

Men. 

OHic’rs 

Enlisted 

Men. 

First  Ciivnli'v 

nl 

1 

172 

119 

142 

348 

1413 

Sucond  ('jivalry 

.5 

47 

1 

113 

14 

289 

180 

997 

3 

50 

3 

161 

8 

104 

215 

1200 

Fourth  C;ivnlry 

1 

30 

1 

ioi 

55 

168 

188 

826 

Filth  Cavalry 

4 

31 

5 

154 

16 

117 

210 

879 

Sivllj  (^nvnlry 

2 

29 

4 

200 

58 

170 

293 

13.50 

Seventh  Ctivalry 

1 

21 

6 

115 

10 

153 

153 

1142 

Eighth  Chivalry 

1 

7 

4 

109 

i 63 

121 

1288 

Ninth  Cavalry 

5 

1 

103 

85 

109 

12.58 

Tenth  CJavalry 

11 

1 

61 

2 

1 30 

75 

1235 

Eleventh  Clavalry 

1 

1C 

1 

100 

1 

145 

152 

264 

1280 

Twelfth  Cavalry 

3 

18 

4 

146 

68 

252 

239 

1690 

Thirteenth  Cavalry  

9 

1 

86 

1 

8 

97 

1241 

Fourteenth  Cavalry 

13 

2 

69 

11 

84 

1296 

Fifteenth  Cavalry 

1 

1 

1 

62 

30 

65 

631 

Si.xteenth  Chivalry 

3 

1 

55 

3 

23 

62 

Seventeenth  Cavalry 

6 

2 

68 

47 

76 

1266 

Artiller}’ 

14 

1 

78 

175 

93 

1285 

First  Infantry 

01 

1 

52 

30 

182 

144 

1105 

Second  Infantry 

3 

76 

1 

82 

9 

216 

171 

1 1 58 

Third  Infantry 

6 

94 

186 

19 

214 

305 

1076 

Fourth  Infantry 

1 

114 

4 

244 

92 

320 

455 

1858 

Fifth  Infantry. . . ■ 

8 

143 

4 

125 

31 

190 

311 

10.50 

Sixth  Infantry 

10 

99 

5 

83 

17 

9,9,1 

214 

975 

Seventh  Infantry 

3 

38 

2 

287 

189 

330 

1169 

Eighth  Infantry 

4 

53 

1 

128 

21 

85 

207 

1033 

Ninth  Infantry 

7 

95 

3 

236 

14 

251 

355 

1 1135 

Tenth  Infantry 

2 

68 

5 

138 

10 

1 1.56 

223 

969 

Eleventh  Infantry 

2 

45 

2 

185 

1 

35 

186 

270 

979 

'hwelfth  Infantry 

1 

38 

5 

177 

20 

i 41 

241 

994 

Thirteenth  Infantry 

8 

47 

6 

164 

17 

185 

242 

982 

Fourteenth  Infantry 

5 

49 

5 

145 

6 

107 

210 

1325 

Fifteenth  Infantry 

0 

106 

1 

103 

10 

245 

249 

969 

Sixteetitli  Infantry 

2 

50 

5 

129 

3 

35 

189 

895 

Seventeenth  Infantry 

8 

100 

5 

141 

17 

316 

293 

1499 

Eighteeni  h Infantry 

r> 

83 

1 

136 

23 

45 

248 

!»29 

Nineteenth  Infatitr'y 

1 

40 

3 

154 

3 

187 

201 

962 

1' w<‘  n ti  e 1 1 1 Infantry 

38 

3 

193 

5 

193 

239 

991 

T\venty-li rst  In  fa  n t ry 

3 

58 

6 

151 

5 

2ti9 

223 

939 

d’wenty-seeond  Infatitry 

3 

.50 

3 

144 

7 

198 

207 

1013 

dhvenly- third  Inf.antry 

4 

81 

98 

9 

266 

192 

1018 

Tvventy-fotirth  Infantry 

2 

27 

3 

175 

6 

119 

213 

10()4 

'P wen  t y -si  X t h I n fan  try 

2 

35 

2 

143 

6 

1.56 

188 

1 160 

T\v  e n t y -se  ve  n t i 1 Infantry 

1 

35 

1 

163 

20 

135 

220 

826 

T w e lUy  - e i gh  t h I n f a n t ry 

1 

36 

1 

67 

9 

174 

111 

842 

'I'hirtieth  Infanti-y  

2 

23 

70 

3 

16 

98 

882 

'Phirty-seeond  Infantry 

1 

42 

5 

17 

48 

923 

'Phirty-third  Infantry 

22 

90, 

Thirty- fourth  Infantry 

O 

2 

62 

2 

145 

69 

894 

'Pliirty-lifth  Infantry 

8 

G1 

8 

59 

962 

'Piiirty  seventh  Infantry 

8 

103 

11 

lit 

870 

Thirty-ninth  Infantry.". 

3 

23 

3 

178 

23 

64 

230 

1358 

Fortieth  Infantry 

8 

o 

81 

13 

18 

104 

1036 

Fort,',’  fifth  Infatitry 

10 

1 

95 

15 

12 

121 

1000 

Forty -seven  t h I n fa  n try 

1 

4 

72 

1 

4 

78 

016 

Forty-eight h Infant.ry 

r- 

1 

103 

3 

11  1 

882 

Forty-ninth  Infantry 

1 

1 

78 

9 

80 

!M6 

Fifty  .seeond  Infantry 

11 

1 

50 

3 

5 

65 

889 

Fifty  tliird  Infantry 

1 

8 

39 

2 

62 

50 

10.58 

Fifty -fourth  Infantry 

1 

29 

58 

30 

854 

Fifty  fifth  Infantry 

7 

2 

29 

79 

38 

813 

h.iu^inc(‘rs 

8 

8 

43 

Unassigned  

19 

96 

8 

123 

407 

Totals 

134 

2291 

1.36 

7190 

3 

1017 

7358 

10771 

64190 

Veteran  Cayalry 

9^9. 

2655 

Vt'teran  Infantry 

1100 

.5430 

Total ctisnalties  eompiited  in  origi- 

nal  organizat inns 

72275 

II 


ographica: 


JOHN  L.  ADAMS,  M.  D.,  is  a native  of 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  was  born  May  8, 
ISGO.  His  parents  were  M.  AV.  and  Anna  A. 
(Lee)  Adams,  natives  of  New  York,  and  of 
English  and  Dutch  origin.  The  subject  was 
brought  up  in  New  Jersey,  and  received  a 
liberal  education.  After  going  through  the 
public  schools,  he  entered  Williams  College 
in  Massachusetts,  in  which  he  finished  his  edu- 
cation. He  commenced  the  study  of  medi- 
cine in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons 
Department  of  Columbia  College,  New  York 
City,  and  graduated  in  1885.  He  began 
practice  in  New  York,  and  later  graduated 
from  the  New  York  Hospital.  He  came  to 
Louisville  in  March,  1887,  and  is  at  present 
practicing  in  this  city. 

BENJAMIN  A.  ALLAN,  M.  D.,  was  born 
in  Fleming  County,  Ky.,  January  8,  1857, 
and  is  a son  of  Dr.  Henry  G.  and  Mary  E. 
(Botts)  Allan.  The  former,  after  practicing 
medicine  in  Fleming  County  for  twenty  years, 
came  to  Louisville,  where  he  is  still  in  active 
practice;  the  latter  is  a daughter  of  .John  H. 
Botts,  long  sheriff  of  Fleming  County,  and  at 
one  time  State  Senator  from  that  district. 
Subject’s  grandfather  was  Benjamin  Allan,  a 
prominent  clergyman  in  the  Christian  Church, 
and  a convert  of  Alexander  Campbell.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  received  a liberal  edu- 
cation, and  after  completing  it  read  medicine 
with  his  father.  Pie' graduated  from  Hospital 
Medical  College  in  1878,  and  then  began 
practicing  in  Fleming  County,  where  he  re- 
mained five  years,  and  then  came  to  Louisville, 
and  has  practiced  here  successfully  since.  Pie 
was  married  in  1871)  to  Miss  Rosa  Stine,  of 
Maysville,  Ky.,  a daughter  of  Louis  Stine, 


for  more  than  twenty  years  a merchant  tailor 
of  that  city.  Three  children  wei’e  born  to 
this  union,  viz:  Alary  Ellen,  Amy  Lee  and 
Roger.  Dr.  Allan  is  a prominent  Alason,  and 
a zealous  member  of  the  Christian  Church. 

CHARLES  D.  ASHBY  was  born  February 
11,  1848,  in  .Jefferson  County,  Ky.  His 
father,  Presley  Ashby,  was  a native  of  Old- 
ham County,  Ky.,  born  Alay  5,  1814,  and  w’as 
married  to  Miss  Allishia  AIcDaniel,  and  had 
born  to  him  six  children.  Charles  D.,  the 
eldest  born,  was  educated  in  the  country 
schools,  and  at  eighteen  years  of  age,  volun- 
teered in  the  Union  army,  enlisting  in  Com- 
pany H,  Thirty-fourth  Kentucky  A^olunteer 
Infantry,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the 
war,  when  he  returned  to  Kentucky,  located 
in  Bullitt  County,  and  engaged  in  farming. 
In  1870  he  was  married  to  Miss  Rolaner 
Froman,  daughter  of  .Jeremiah  and  Amanda 
Fro  man. 

BENJAAHN  FRANKLIN  AA^ERY,  the 
founder  in  Louisville  of  one  of  the  larorest 

O 

plow  factories  in  the  world,  was  born  in  Au- 
rora, New  York,  and  was  the  son  of  Daniel 
Avery,  -who  emigrated  to  that  place  from 
Groton,  Connecticut,  becoming  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  of  Cayuga  County.  He  was 
a large  farmer  and  land  owner,  and  represent- 
ed his  district  two  terms  in  Congress.  Ben- 
jamin F.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the 
sixth  in  a family  of  fifteen  children,  twelve  of 
whom  lived  to  middle  or  old  age.  All  re- 
ceived an  academic  education,  but  the  boys 
had  to  share  the  work  of  the  farm.  This  labor 
was  distasteful  to  Benjamin,  who  begged  per- 
mission to  go  to  eollege.  His  petition  was 
granted,  on  condition  that  his  expenses  should 


740 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


he  (le.'lucted  from  the  which  would  be 

Ins  portion  on  coming  of  age,  in  accordance 
with  liis  father’s  custom,  lie  accepted  the 
condition  and  entered  Hamilton  College,  but 
at  tlie  end  of  the  first  year  transferred  his 
coTinection  to  Union  College,  from  which  he 
gfraduated  in  1822.  At  his  father’s  solicita- 
tion,  he  studied  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
l)ar  in  New  York  City,  lie  developed  no 
taste,  however,  for  the  profession,  his  natural 
mechanical  inclinations  precluding  much  in- 
terest in  any  other  direction.  Ilis  earlier 
experience  on  the  farm  had  convinced  him 
that  there  was  room  for  improvement  in  foim 
and  general  construction  of  the  plows  then  in 
use.  Providing  himself  with  patterns,  a 
])Ocket  furnace  as  it  was  called,  and  other 
apparatus  for  a small  foundry,  he  started 
southward  on  a small  coasting  vessel ; with 
tliese  and  $4(H)  in  money  as  his  sole  earthly 
]>ossessions,  he  sailed  up  .Tames  river  to  Rich- 
mond, 4^a.,  desiring  to  make  liis  first  business 
venture  there,  but  finding  indifferent  encour- 
agement, he  went  on  to  Clarksville,  Mecklen- 
lenlmrg  County,  where  in  company  with 
another  young  man,  Caleb  H.  Richmond,  a 
practical  moulder,  he  opened  his  first  foundry 
in  a pine- log  building,  eighteen  by  twenty 
feet  S(]uarc,  covered  with  slal)s  split  from  pine 
logs,  d’hey  bought  a single  ton  of  metal  to 
start  with;  would  not  run  in  debt  by  borrow- 
ing money'  or  soliciting  credit;  attended 
indvistriously  and  energetically  to  business; 
lived  frugally,  and  in  a short  time  began  to 
reap  their  harvest  in  success.  After  a few 
years  tlie  owners  of  the  land  wdiich  they  occu- 
])ied,  determining  to  turn  this  success  to  their 
own  account,  refused  to  lonofer  lease  their 
property.  'I'his  obliged  the  young  men  to 
seek  a.  new  field,  which  they  found  in  IMilton, 
(faswell  County,  North  Carolina.  After  a few 
years,  the  same  thing  recurring,  they  weTit  to 
Meadville,  Halifax  County,  Va.,  bought  land 
and  settled  permanently.  During  all  the 
period  of  their  association  Mr.  Avery  was  the 
business  manager,  sharing  also  in  the  manual  ' 
work  of  the  foundry,  at  which  his  more  skill- 
ful experienceil  partner  assiduously  labored. 
j\t  Meadville  the  partnership  was  ended 
harmoniously,  Mr.  Avery  always  chei'ishing 


pleasant  memories  of  his  first  associate  in 
business.  On  the  death  of  his  father,  in  1842, 
IMr.  Avery  was  appointed  executor  of  the 
estate,  and  the  next  year  sold  his  Virginia 
property  and  business  to  a younger  brother, 
his  own  time  and  attention  being  required  at 
Aurora.  Here  was  residing  a nephew,  Dan- 
iel Humphrey  Avery,  energetic  and  desiring 
new  business  interests.  In  1840,  his  uncle 
Benjamin  fitted  him  out  with  plow  patterns 
and  a roving  commission  to  select  the  best 
place  in  the  south  or  soid Invest  for  a plow 
manufactory.  With  excellent  judgment  the 
young  man,  after  looking  widely  and  carefully, 
selected  Louisville  as  the  place,  and  the  next 
spring  began  work  in  .Tabez  Baldwin’s  foun- 
dry, on  Main  street,  now  the  plow  factory  of 
Brinley,  Miles  & Hardy.  In  a few  months, 
however,  he  began  to  feel  the  need  of  his 
uncle’s  experience,  and  urged  his  coming  for 
a short  time.  Mr.  Avery  reached  Louisville 
December  25,  1847,  intending  to  stay  a few 
weeks  only.  As  the  weeks  lengthened  into 
months,  he  became  so  much  interested  in  a 
business  which  he  had  once  relinquished,  that 
he  decided  to  spend  his  winters  here,  and 
finally  made  this  his  home.  The  beginnings 
of  the  industry  were  veiy  small.  He  was  sure 
that  he  could  make  a better  and  cheaper  plow 
than  those  in  geneial  use,  but  the  prejudice 
against  cast-iron  plows  was  so  general,  that 
the  sale  of  a single  plowy  for  many  months, 
was  an  event.  Much  of  Mr.  Avery’s  outside 
encouragement  in  those  days  was  similai'  to 
that  given  by  Mr.  .las.  Hewitt  of  “ Rock  Hill,” 
near  Loidsville,  who  owned  large  plantations 
in  the  south,  and  who  was  also  a native  of 
Cayuaga  County.  “My  friend,”  said  Mr. 
Hewitt,  “if  you  can  succeed  in  introducing 
your  plow,  you  will  liave  fortune  enough,  but 
I don’t  believe  you  can ! ” After  two  or  three- 
years,  the  nephew,  1 )aniel  Humphrey,  engaged 
in  a successful  lausiness  in  Tuscaloosa,  Ala., 
where  he  died  during  the  late  war.  l.ong 
before  the  war,  Mr.  Avery  had  built  a large 
factory  at  the  corner  of  Fifteenth  and  IMain 
streets,  the  laeuinnino'  of  the  immense  estab- 
lishment  which  tlie  finn  now'  occupies.  Ituring 
the  war,  his  business,  which  had  been  almost 
excbisively  with  the  south,  was  completely 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


741 


prostrated.  Through  all  those  dark  and 
troublous  days,  he  was  earnest  and  outspoken 
for  the  Union.  When  the  war  was  over  he 
recommenced  business,  and  soon  restored  it 
to  more  than  its  former  ])rosperity.  In  1863 
he  formed  a new  firm  with  his  son  and  son-in- 
law  (John  C.  Coonly),  as  joint  partners,  under 
the  style  of  B.  F.  Avery  & Sons.  The  busi- 
ness was  gradually  extended  until  it  has 
become  the  most  important  in  the  western 
country;  employing  a large  number  of  work- 
men and  making  many  different  kinds  of  cast- 
iron  and  steel  plows,  besides  publishing  an 
excellent  semi-monthly  paper,  called  “Home 
and  Farm,”  which  has  a very  large  circulation. 
iMr.  Avery  was  married  by  Rev.  Dr.  Xott, 
President  of  Union  College,  April  27,  1844, 
to  Miss  Susanna  H.  Look,  eldest  daughter  of 
Mr.  Samuel  Look,  a farmer  widely  known  in 
central  New  York.  The  result  of  this  union 
was  six  children,  viz;  Lydia  Arms,  wife  of  .John 
C.  Coonley,  of  Chicago;  Samuel  Look;  Ger- 
trude Arms,  wife  of  .lohn  G.  Shanklin,  of 
Evansville,  Indiana;  George  Cap  well;  Helen 
Blasdell,  wife  of  C.  B.  Robinson,  of  Louis- 
ville, and  William  Sidney.  The  sons  are  all 
in  the  firm  of  B.  F.  Avery  & Sons,  and  live  in 
Louisville.  Mr.  Avery  was  an  exemplary 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  died 
in  1885,  in  the  eighty-fourth  year  of  his  age. 
Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Avery,  his  eldest  son, 
Samuel  L.,  succeeded  him  as  president  of  the 
plow-works.  Samuel  Look  Avery  was  born 
December  6,  1846,  in  Louisville.  He  was 
educated  in  Louisville  and  the  East,  and  after 
leaving  school,  engaged  actively  in  business. 
He  was  vice-president  of  the  large  plow- 
works  some  ten  years  before  his  fathei’’s  death, 
when  he  succeeded  to  the  presidency;  George 
C.  is  now  the  vice-president.  He  wms  born 
March  1,  1852,  and  received  a liberal  educa- 
tion. The  Avery  Plow  Works  are  the  largest 
in  the  world, and  their  plows  are  sold  in  nearly 
every  State  in  the  Union. 

L.  A.  BACHUS  was  born  at  Frankfort, 
Ky.,  in  1837,  and  is  a son  of  Lucius  D.  and 
Elizabeth  P.  (AYalker)  Bachus,  who  were 
natives  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and  Kentucky  re- 
spectively. L.  A.  Bachus  was  the  only  child 
born  to  this  marriage.  His  early  life  was 


spent  in  Lexington,  where  he  learned  the 
trade  of  silversmith.  In  1861,  at  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  war,  ho  was  drill-master  of 
several  companies  of  state  militia  and  was 
soon  mustered  into  service  in  the  Union  army. 
He  was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant  of 
Company  C,  Twentieth  Kentucky  Volunteers, 
in  January,  1862.  August  31,  1863,  he  was 
promoted  to  first  lieutenant,  and  to  captain 
September  1,  1864,  and  served  in  this  capa- 
city until  he  was  mustered  out  at  Louisville,, 
.lanuary  17,  1865.  He  was  wounded  at  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  and  while  absent  on  account 
of  his  wounds,  served  on  court  martial  duty 
and  instructing  newly  appointed  officers.  At 
the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  Lexino-ton. 

O 

In  May,  1868,  he  located  at  Louisville,  where 
he  has  since  been  engaged  at  his  trade.  In  1872 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Julia  A.  Robinson, 
daughter  of  James  C.  Robinson,  of  Louisville, 
and  is  now  tlie  father  of  four  children: 
Lucius  .lames,  .lulia  H.,  Katie  E.  and  Clarence 
M.  He  is  a member  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
and  a prominent  member  of  the  G.  A.  R. 

GEIJRGE  B.  BAHR,  descendant  of  one  of 
the  substantial  German  citizens  who  add  so 
largely  to  the  wealth  and  prosperity  of  I.ouis- 
ville,  w’as  born  April  20,  1840,  and  is  a son  of 
John  W.  and  Mary  (Kraft)  Bahr,  natives  of 
Germany,  and  who  came  to  this  country  al:)Out 
the  year  1838.  He  was  born  and  reared  in 
this  city.  4Vhen  the  war  broke  out  he  went 
into  the  Confederate  army  as  captain  under 
Gen.  Hardy.  After  his  I’eturn  to  the  city  he 
engaged  in  the  hardware  business,  having 
commenced  to  learn  the  hardware  and  bell- 
hanging trade  when  but  fourteen  years  of  age. 
He  started  his  present  store  in  1864,  and 
carries  on  an  extensive  wholesale  and  retail 
business.  For  the  past  fifteen  years  he  has 
had  as  a partner,  Mr.  Adam  Zimmerman. 
They  have  about  twenty  men  on  the  road  and 
in  the  house.  He  was  married  in  1862  to 
Miss  Josephine  Frecking,  of  Louisville.  She 
died  in  1872,  and  he  married  Miss  Amelia 
Schlicker,  of  Louisville,  but  whose  parents 
came  from  France.  He  had  born  to  him  one 
child  by  his  first  marriage,  Lulu,  and  four  by 
his  second:  George  William,  Emile  Edward, 
Daisy  and  an  infant. 


743 


BIOGKAPIIICAL  SKETCHES. 


WILLI  A]M  I4A1LEY,  M.  ]).,  was  ))Orn  in 
Franklin  County,  Ky.,  November  4.  1838, 
and  is  a son  of  Shelab  and  Mary  (Church) 
Bailey,  natives  of  Virginia  and  Franklin 
County,  Ky.,  respectively.  He  was  brought  up 
in  Fraidvlin  County,  and  educated  principally 
in  the  Kentucky  Military  Institute,  where  he 
spent  six  years,  graduating  in  1853.  After 
ffraduatinsr  he  taunht  in  the  institute  as  assist- 
ant  in  mathematics  until  1856,  when  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  medicine.  He  attended 
the  first  course  of  lectures  in  the  Medical 
University  of  I^ouisville;  afterwards  graduated 
from  the  Kentucky  School  of  Medicine  in  1857, 
and  immediately  began  ])ractice  at  Shelby- 
ville,  Ky.  In  1862  he  was  appointed  surgeon 
of  the  Ninth  (E’ederal)  Kentucky  Cavalry, 
remaining  in  the  service  one  yea"r,  when  he 
w'as  mustered  out.  He  then  came  to  Louis- 
ville, and  in  1864  gradauted  from  the 
iNledical  University,  in  which  he  had  taken  his 
first  course  of  lectures.  He  was  a professor 
during  1866-’67  in  the  Kentucky  School  of 
Medicine,  where  he  engaged  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Hospital  College  of  Medicine, 
in  which  he  was  assigned  the  same  chair  he 
had  held  in  the  Kentucky  School;  was  also 
president  of  the  faculty  for  two  years,  when 
changed  to  the  Medical  University,  where  he 
has  been  made  professor  of  Materia  Medica, 
Therapeutics  and  Hygiene;  he  also  enjoys  a 
large  private  practice.  He  was  married  in 
1859  to  Miss  Sue  Owen,  of  Shelby  County, 
and  a member  of  an  old  and  prominent  Ken- 
tucky family.  They  have  four  children.  He 
is  a member  of  the  American  Medical  Society, 
and  also  of  State  and  local  medical  societies, 
as  well  as  of  the  American  Public  Health 
Association. 

FRANK  BiVKE,  of  German  descent,  was 
born  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  June  26,  1851;  he 
came  to  Louisville  in  1867,  and  for  two  and 
one-half  years  was  engaged  in  learning  the 
printer’s  trade,  but  in  1875  he  engaged  in  the 
liquor  business  for  himself;  he  was  married 
in  1873  to  Miss  Anna,  daughter  of  Herman 
Forsting,  of  this  city.  She  died  in  1882, 
leaving  three  children,  and  in  1885  Mr.  Bake 
married  Miss  Florence  Strieker,  >of  Indiana. 


PATRICK  BANNON  is  a native  of  Ire- 
land, and  was  born  in  the  town  of  Killough, 
County  Down,  July  12,  1824.  His  father  died 
when  he  was  young,  when  his  mother  married 
.James  Camj)bell,  and  they  came  to  Louisville 
in  1851.  The  subject  received  his  education 
in  Ireland,  and  learned  the  trade  of  a plas- 
terer, which  he  followed  here  until  1854, 
when  he  commenced  the  manufacture  of 
terra  cotta  work,  and  in  1870  added  to  his 
business  the  manufacture  of  sewer  pipe.  From 
a rather  small  beginning  his  establishment 
has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  largest  in  the 
country,  doing  from  -$75,000  to  $100,000  of 
business  annually,  and  selling  goods  in  every 
Southern  State.  His  son,  M.  J.  Bannon,  is 
superintendent  and  business  manager  of  the 
works.  IMr.  Bannon  has  been  a man  of  con- 
siderable local  prominence;  served  in  the 
city  council,  and  in  1868  was  its  jrresideiit; 
was  for  ten  years  president  of  the  Hibernian 
Loan  Association,  which  wound  up  success- 
fully. He  was  married  in  1860  to  Miss  Lou 
Smith,  a daughter  of  Early  Smith,  a promi- 
nent farmer  of  the  county.  She  died  in  1878, 
and  in  1880  he  married  Mrs.  Sue  Brack- 
heimer. 

HENRY  STITES  BARKER  was  born  near 
Flopkinsville,  Ky.,  July  23, 1850.  His  father, 
Richard  Henry  Barker,  was  a native  of  Todd 
County,  Ky.,  and  of  English  ancestry,  who 
settled  early  in  Virginia,  and  came  to  Ken- 
tucky many  years  ago.  He  was  a lawyer,  and 
practiced  in  Clarksville,  Term.  He  went  to 
New  Orleans  and  finally  died  there  with  that 
plague  of  the  Crescent  City,  yellow  fever. 
Subject’s  mother  was  Caroline  Sharp,  of  Hop- 
kinsville, member  of  a prominent  Kentucky 
family.  Henry  S.  (the  subject)  remained  on 
the  farm  until  twelve  years  old,  and  then  en- 
tered Kentucky  University — in  the  Agricul- 
tural and  Mechanical  department — where  he 
remained  three  years.  He  commenced  read- 
ing law  in  1873,  and  in  the  meantime  came  to 
Louisville,  and  completed  his  studies  with 
Judge  Stites.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
the  same  year,  and  at  once  entered  upon  an 
active  practice  of  his  profession.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1887,  he  was  elected  city  attorney  by  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


743 


council.  lie  was  maiTieil  in  May,  1883,  to 
Miss  Kate  Meriwether,  of  Montgomery 
County,  Teim.  • 

AV.  W.  BARNES  was  born  in  Wilson, 
North  Carolina,  January  22,  1852,  and  is  a 
son  of  Elias  and  Mahala  (Shai]))  Barnes,  both 
also  natives  of  North  Carolina.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  country  schools  of  his  native 
State;  studied  dentistry,  and  in  1873  went  to 
Philadelphia,  and  graduated  there  in  the 
Philadelphia  Dental  College  in  the  spring  of 
1875.  He  immediately  came  to  Louisville 
and  opened  an  office  for  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  Since  then  he  has  graduated  in 
medicine  from  the  Kentucky  School  of  Aledi- 
cine,  Imt  still  practices  dentistry  at  621  Fourth 
avenue.  Dr.  Barnes  is  accomplished  in  his 
profession,  and  stands  high  among  his  profes- 
sional brethren. 

HON.  JOHN  WATSON  BARR,  Judge 
of  the  United  States  District  Court  for  the 
district  of  Kentucky,  comes  of  an  old  Ken- 
tucky family — his  grandfather  Barr,  a native 
of  Maryland,  having  emigrated  to  Kentucky 
in  1787,  and  settled  in  Fayette  County.  The 
family  is  of  English  origin,  but  came  to  Amer- 
ica prior  to  the  Revolutionary  war.  John  W. 
was  born  in  Versailles,  Ky.,  December  17, 
1826,  and  is  a son  of  AVilliam  and  Ann  (AVat- 
son)  Barr,  the  former  a native  of  Fayette 
County  and  the  latter  of  AA^oodford  County. 
He  was  educated  at  schools  in  his  native 
county  and  at  Lexington.  Having  read  law, 
he  graduated  from  the  law  department  of 
Transylvania  University,  at  Lexington,  in 
1847,  and  commenced  practice  at  A^ersailles, 
where  he  remained  until  1854.  He  then  came 
to  Louisville,  and  soon  attained  to  a large 
business.  He  devoted  liimself  wholly  to  his 
profession,  eschewing  politics  in  toto,  until 
1880,  when  he  was  appointed  United  States 
District  .ludge,  a position  he  still  acceptably 
fills.  During  the  late  civil  war  he  was  an  un- 
conditional Union  man,  and  was  a member  of 
the  State  Central  Committee  of  the  Union 
party.  Since  the  war  he  has  been  identified 
with  the  Republican  party,  and  is  zealous  in 
that  faith.  He  was  married  in  November, 
1859,  to  Miss  Susan  Rogers,  daugditer  of 
Jason  Rogers,  lieutenant-colonel  of  the 


Louisville  Legion  in  the  Alexican  war,  and  a 
native  of  New  Vork. 

JOHN  Al.  BARRALL  was  born  in  Bullitt 
County,  October  4,  1829,  and  is  a son  of 
Christian  and  Elizabeth  (Harshiield)  Barrall, 
the  former  a native  of  Lancaster  County,  Pa. 
His  parents  immigrated  to  this  country  from 
France  in  an  early  day  and  settled  in  Penn- 
sylvania, where  Christian  grew  up  a useful 
citizen.  He  (Christian)  served  three  years  in 
the  army  (under  Gen.  St.  Clair)  and  partici- 
pated in  a number  of  skirmishes  with  the 
Indians.  After  leaving  the  army  he  came  to 
Kentucky  and  settled  in  Bullitt  County, 
where  he  died  in  1863,  aged  93  years.  His 
wife,  Elizabeth  Harshfield,  was  a daiurhter  of 
Alartin  and  Alary  Harshfield,  early  settlers  in 
I this  county.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
brought  up  on  the  farm,  and  educated  in  the 
common  schools.  He  married  Alildred  Ann 
Aliller  in  1856,  a daughter  of  Peter  and 
Alartha  Aliller.  They  have  had  three  children 
— two  dying  in  infancy  and  one  living:  Alar- 

tha Elizabeth,  born  Alay  3, 1866,  and  married, 
in  1882,  to  Henry  K.  Abel.  Air.  Barrall  is  a 
thrifty  and  enterprising  farmer,  and  a good 
citizen. 

JULIUS  AY.  BEILSTEIN,  a native  of 
Louisville,  was  born  February  22,  1861,  son 
of  Ernest  Beilstein,  native  of  Darmstadt, 
Germany,  and  born  September  20,  1832;  land- 
ed at  New  Orleans  in  1845,  and  came  to 
Louisville  in  1847.  He  married,  in  1859,  Aliss 
Julia  ( ).  Schnatterer,  a native  of  Louisville, 
and  daughter  of  Frederick  Schnatterer,  a na- 
tive of  Stuttgart,  Germany,  and  who  came  to 
Louisville  in  1834.  Julius  AA^.  Beilstein  was 
educated  at  the  public  schools  of  this  city, 
and  at  fifteen  (1876),  he  entered  the  insurance 
business.  He  accepted  an  offer  in  1881  which 
carried  him  to  Chicago,  as  special  agent  and 
adjuster  for  the  Springfield  Fire  and  Alarine 
Insurance  Company  of  Alassachusetts.  In 
1884  he  retuined  to  Louisville  to  accept  the 
secretaryship  of  the  Falls  City  Insurance 
Company.  He  was  married  .lanuary  26, 1886, 
to  Aliss  Effie  Lee  Duncan,  a native  of  Louis- 
ville, and  daughter  of  AA^illiam  .1.  Duncan, 
.lanuary  1,  1888,  he  resigned  his  position  with 
the  Falls  City  Insurance  Company  to  accept 


744 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


tlie  nianan'eiueiit  ol  the  Anirlo-Ncvada  As- 

o 

surance  Corporation  of  San  Francisco,  Cal., 
for  the  South. 

IK  )N.  LUKE  P.  BLACKJ3URN,  deceased, 
was  born  in  Woodford  County,  Ky.,  June  16, 
1816,  and  was  a son  of  Edward  JM.  Blackburn, 
a prominent  farmer  and  stock-raiser.  The 
sub  ject  of  this  sketch  was  well  educated,  and 
jO-raduated  in  medicine  from  Transylvania  Uni- 
versity, at  Eexino-ton,  where  he  located  and 
commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession.  In 
1885,  when  the  cholera  Ijroke  out  in  this 
country,  it  raided  at  Versailles,  carrying  death 
to  many  homes.  Dr.  Blackburn,  after  the 
death  of  some  of  the  physicians  of  the  place, 
and  the  llight  of  others,  went  there,  and  alone 
fought  the  disease  until  health  was  restored 
to  the  stricken  town.  This  dangerous  service 
was  rendered  without  pecuniary  reward.  Fie 
hnally  removed  to  Versailles,  where  he  estab- 
lished a large  and  lucrative  ]>ractice.  He  be- 
came considerably  involved  in  manufacturing 
enterprises  through  the  financial  depression  of 
1887-89,  and  in  1846  removed  to  Natchez, 
Miss.,  where  he  soon  built  up  an  extensive 
practice.  When  the  yellow  fever  made  its 
apjyearance  in  New  Orleans  in  1848,  the  city 
authorities  directed  him,  as  health  officer  of 
Natchez,  to  establish  ([uarantine,  which  he  did 
cfi'ectually.  lie  became  so  interested  in  the 
sufferings  of  the  marines,  for  whom  the  general 
goverrimeiit  did  not  ])rovide,  as  well  as  hun- 
dreds of  others,  that  he  built  a hospital,  at 
his  own  expense,  in  which  he  again  established 
a reputation  for  personal  professional  daring, 
skill,  and  genuine  philanthropy.  Mainly 
through  his  eiforts  and  influence,  a bill  was 
passed  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
providing  for  the  erection  of  the  Natchez  hos- 
pital, of  which,  when  completed,  Dr.  Black- 
burn was  appointed  surgeon,  holding  the 
position  for  many  years,  both  of  the  State  and 
Marine  Hospital.  He  early  advanced  the 
theory  of  exemption  from  Asiatic  cholera,  by 
the  use  of  pure  soft  water;  has  long  been  a 
believer  in  the  transmissibility  and  infection 
of  yellow  fever;  and  in  1864,  protected  Natchez 
from  that  disease,'^by  a rigid  quarantine,  when 
it  prevailed  in  the  surrounding  country.  The 
legislature  of  Mississippi  commissioned  him 


to  visit  the  legislature  of  Louisaua,  and  urg-e 
that  Ijody  to  establish  a quarantine  below  New 
Orleans.  This  he  did  so  intelligently  before 
both  branches  of  the  legislature  that  he  was 
authoiized  to  estaldish,  below  New  Orleans, 
the  present  (quarantine  system.  In  1857  he 
visited  the  liospitals  of  Enghmd,  Scotland, 
France  and  Germany,  and  returning  to  Amer- 
ica located  in  New  Orleans,  where  he  resumed 
the  practice  of  his  qn-ofession  with  his  usual 
success  and  popularity.  The  year  previous  to 
his  visit  to  Europe,  the  yellow  fever  broke 
out  from  an  infected  shiq>,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Fort  Washington  on  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  and 
Dr.  Blackburn,  being  in  New  York  City,  was 
invited  by  the  mayor  to  give  his  aid  to  the 
afflicted  district,  which  he  did,  refusing  the 
qirolfered  comq)ensation  for  his  services.  When 
the  civil  war  broke  out  in  1861,  he  was  an 
ardent  friend  and  symq)athizer  of  the  South; 
he  was  the  q)olitical  friend  and  pliysician  of 
Gen.  .John  A.  Quitman.  As  surgeon,  he  was 
attached  to  the  staff  of  Gen.  Sterling  Price, 
and  the  legislature  of  Mississiqjpi  put  150,- 
000  in  his  hands  to  be  aqiplied  to  the  benefit 
of  the  suffering  soldiers  of  that  State.  In 
1864,  by  the  request  of  the  Governor-Gen- 
eral of  Canada,  whither  his  duties  had  called 
him,  he  req)aired  to  the  Bermuda  Islands,  to 
look  after  the  suffering  citizens  and  soldiers. 
In  1867  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  and 
engaged  in  qjlanting  in  Arkansas,  where  his 
wife  owned  a plantation.  When  the  yellow 
fever  last  visited  Memphis,  true  to  the  benevo- 
lence of  his  disposition,  he  volunteered  his 
aid,  and  rendered  great  service  to  the  suffer- 
ing city.  It  was  one  of  the  great  qileasures 
of  his  life  to  aid  those  in  extreme  danger, 
and  he  never  refused  to  resqiond  to  the  call 
of  the  sick  and  distressed,  and  he  combated 
more  epidemics  of  cholera  and  yellow  fever 
than  almost  any  other  physician.  Dr.  Black- 
burn was  first  married  to  Ella  Guest  Boswell, 
a daughter  of  Dr.  Joseph  Boswell,  of  Lex- 
ington, Ky.  She  died  in  1855,  and  in  Novem- 
ber, 1857,  he  married  Julia  M.  Churchill,  of 
Kentucky,  who,  with  his  only  child.  Dr.  Cary 
B.  Blackburn,  survives  him.  Dr.  Blackburn 
was  elected  to  the  Kentucky  legislature  in 
1848,  and  in  1879  was  elected  governor  of 


BIOGIIAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


747 


the  Cuiiiiiioinvealth,  serving  four  years.  He 
died  September  14,  1887,  in  the  seveiity-hrst 
year  of  his  age. 

DR.  CARY  B.  BLACKBURN  was  born 
April  29,  1838,  in  Woodford  County^,  Ky.,  and 
is  a son  of  Dr.  Luke  P.,  and  Ella  (Boswell) 
Blackburn.  lie  received  his  early'  education 
in  Natchez,  Hiss.,  and  afterward  at  college 
at  Frankfort,  Ky'.,  where  he  graduated  in 
1858.  He  commenced  the  study  of  medicine 
at  once  with  Dr.  Gross,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
graduated  in  1861.  During  the  prevalence 
of  the  yellow  fever  in  Natchez,  in  1865,  he 
nobly  aided  his  father  in  administering  to 
those  afflicted.  He  participated  actively  in 
the  late  Civil  war,  first  as  a lieutenant  in  the 
Confederate  army,  then  as  lieutenant-colonel 
of  his  regiment,  and  for  awhile  as  surgeon. 
He  returned  to  Kentucky  in  1868,  and  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  medicine  at  Louisville, 
where  he  has  established  a lucrative  business, 
and  holds  an  active  and  honorable  position 
in  the  profession.  He  is  a memljer  of  the 
Kentucky'  State  Medical  Society,  and  is  a man 
of  unexceptional  personal  and  professional 
habits. 

THOMAS  W.  BLACKHART.— Although 
Thos.  W.  Blackhart  is  a son  of  Ohio,  yet  so 
intimately  has  he  identified  himself  with  the 
development  of  the  State,  that  Kentucky 
claims  him  by  right  of  adoption.  Youngest 
son  of  Barkley  and  Martha  (Walters)  Black- 
hart,  natives  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  he 
was  born  in  Ohio,  October  26th,  1859.  His 
father  was  a farmer,  and  Thomas  spent  his 
early  life  on  the  farm.  He  received  a good 
common-school  education,  finishing  his  course 
at  the  age  of  fifteen;  he  then  came  to  Louis- 
ville and  was  engaged  on  the  city  newspapers 
until  1876,  when  he  entered  the  service  of 
Price  & Lucas,  manufacturers  of  cider  and 
vinegar.  Here  he  soon  evinced  superior  busi- 
ness talents  and  judgment  and  soon  became 
the  head  of  their  office,  conducting  a large 
business  successfully  until  1887,  when  he  re- 
tired to  devote  all  his  time  to  his  j>rivate  in- 
terests. He  is  president  of  the  Daisy  Realty' 
Co.,  and  treasurer  of  the  Westview  Building- 
Co.,  and  the  largest  stockholder  in  both  com- 
panies; vice-president  of  the  West  Louis- 


ville Land  & Improvement  Co.,  president  of 
a coal  and  lumber  company;  a director  in  the 
Pine  Mountain  Iron  & Coal  Co.,  and  mayor 
at  the  town  of  Pai-kland,  where  he  resides, 
and  is  first  in  all  movements  for  advancement 
of  town  and  state.  He  has  great  force,  en- 
ergy  and  determination,  and  that  thorough- 
going disposition  which  takes  right  hold  of 
great  projects  with  both  hands  and  drives  into 
thick  and  thin  in  spite  of  all  obstacles  and 
opposition,  however  great,  and  thus  accom- 
plishes wonders.  He  has  a natural  love  for 
hard  work,  and  capacity  for  carry-ing  forward 
great  undertakings,  and  will  make  a decided 
mark  in  the  business  world,  or  in  whatever 
department  these  energies  may  be  exercised. 
Mr.  Blackhart  was  married,  in  1877,  to  Miss 
Anna  M.  Brown,  of  Elmira,  N.  Y.,  who  proved 
a devoted  and  loving  help meet  and  judicious 
adviser.  She  died  March  9,  1888. 

ISADORE  NATHAN  BLOOM,  A.  B.,  M. 
D.,  was  born  in  Louisville,  October  27,  1858, 
and  is  a son  of  Nathan  and  Rosina  Bloom. 
The  former  was  a member  of  the  great  dry 
goods  firm  of  Louisville — Bamberger,  Bloom 
& Co. — and  was  a native  of  Hesse  Darmstadt, 
Germany.  He  came  to  this  country  in  1849; 
was  married  in  1850,  and  died  in  Louisville, 
where  he  ranked  as  a most  estimable  citizen, 
in  1887,  at  the  age  of  sixty  years.  The  sulj- 
ject.  Dr.  Bloom,  received  his  early  education 
in  the  schools  of  Louisville,  and  in  1874,  en- 
tered Yale  College,  from  which  he  graduated 
four  years  later,  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  He 
then  went  to  Harvard,  where  he  took  a medi- 
cal course,  and  graduated  as  M.  1).  In  1881 
he  went  abroad,  and  served  on  Prof.  Kaposi’s 
staff  in  the  dermatological  department  of  the 
Vienna  General  Hospital.  He  returned  here 
in  1883,  and  practiced  medicine  for  one  yeai-, 


same  position  in  the  Vienna  Hospital  for  one 
year.  Again  returning  to  Louisville  he  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  medicine,  making  a 
specialty  of  diseases  of  the  skin,  in  the  treat- 


Bloom  married  iMiss  Fannie  Corinne  Peixotto, 
I daughter  of  the  former  United  States  minister 
to  Rouuiania,  who  served  eight  years  un- 
der President  Grant.  They  have  one  child 


748 


BIOGRA.PHICAL  SKETCHES. 


— a (laui^litcr.  He  is  the  d'  rmatok><>’ist  of  the 
l.oiiisvdle  City  Hospital,  secretary  of  tlic 
l.ouisville  Clinical  Society,  and  a member  of 
the  I^oiusville  Medical  Society,  of  the  Missis- 
sippi V^alley  Medical  Society,  and  the  Louis- 
ville Surgical  Society. 

.101  IN  BLIIM,  the  proprietor  of  a store  for 
grocery  su[>plies,  meats,  vegetalrles,  and  fam- 
ily provisions,  at  .1(524  West  Market  street, 
Louisville,  was  born  in  Auglaize  County,  (dhio, 

• Inly  Id,  1858.  He  came  to  this  city  in  Sep- 
tember, 1885,  and  opened  his  present  business 
May  If),  188().  His  parents  are  both  living 
and  residing  with  him.  He  was  educated  in 
the  schools  of  the  State  of  Ohio.  His  father 
is  a native  of  Bavaria;  his  mother  was  born  in 
( )hio.  He  has  one  luother  and  three  sisters, 
all  of  whom  are  living.  Since  opening  his 
store  in  this  city  he  has  enjoyed  a very  good 
trade. 

WAl/hEll  F.  BOGGFSS,  second  assistant 
to  Superintendent  Pusey,  of  the  Central  Asy- 
lum for  the  Insane,  was  born  January  BJ,  18(53, 
in  Jefferson  County,  Kentircky.  His  father, 
the  Lev.  th  Y.  Boggess,  is  a native  of  Muh- 
lenberg County,  Kentucky,  and  has  been  a 
minister  in  the  Methodist  Church  for  thirty- 
live  years.  His  mother’s  maiden  name  was 
Miss  Rose  Moorman,  daughter  of  Alanson 
Moorman.  She  was  a meml>er  of  an  old  family 
in  Meade  County,  Ky.  The  srdjject  of  this 
sketch  was  edircated  at  Vanderbilt  University, 
at  Na''hville,  Tenn.,  and  from  this  institution 
he  graduated  in  1882.  For  the  two  years  that 
followed  he  was  assistant  instructor  in  Greek. 
Then  he  came  to  Louisville  (in  1883),  and 
entered  the  Louisville  Medical  College, gradu- 
atinor  as  valedictorian,  in  1885,  beino-  second 
honor  man  in  the  class.  In  March,  188(5,  he 
accepted  his  present  position. 

J()HN  H.  BRAND  was  born  in  Woodford 
eVunty,  Ky.,  (Jetober  (5,  1841,  and  is  a son  of 
George  AY.  and  Nannie  (Griffith)  Brand,  the 
former  a native  of  Lexington,  and  the  latter 
of  Natchez,  Aliss.  He  was  reared  pritjcipally 
in  Woodford  (.Yunty,  and  after  the  advantages 
of  the  local  schools,  was  sent  to  St.  Timothy’s 
College,  near  Baltimore,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ated in  18(5U.  He  came  to  Louisville  in  1805, 
and  for  a time  was  engaged  with  A.  O.  Brannin 


& Co.  in  the  pork  packing  business.  Rediing 
from  the  firm,  he  next  engaged  in  the  fancy 
grocery  business,  and  with  a spice  mill.  In 
1881  he  began  to  deal  in  tobacco,  and  at 
])rts  nt,  under  the  firm  name  of  Brand  & 
Bethel,  does  a large  export  business  in  tobac- 
co. Air.  Brand  was  married  in  180(5,  to  Miss 
Lizzie  Brannin,  daughter  of  Mr.  A.  O.  Brannin. 
He  is  one  of  the  live,  go-ahead  business  men 
of  Louisville,  and  takes  an  active  interest  in 
its  prosperity  and  weTare.  He  is  an  active 
Mason  and  a member  of  Louisville  Command- 
ery  No.  1,  Knights  Templar. 

GEORGE  BRINKAYORTH,  proprietor  of 
the  Custom  House  Restaurant,  is  a native  of 
England,  and  was  l)orn  near  Sheffield,  April 
28,  1843.  His  parents,  William  and  Martha 
Brinkworth,  were  also  natives  of  England. 
William,  with  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  came 
to  this  country  in  1847,  and  located  at  Aladi- 
son,  Ind.,  where  George  Brinkworth  was 
reared  and  received  his  early  school  training. 
When  quite  a boy  he  engaged  to  work  on 
steamboats  that  plied  the  Ohio  River,  filling 
various  positions  till  the  commencement  of 
the  civil  war,  when,  in  I860,  he  joined  the 
Third  Indiana  Cavalry  as  a private,  was 
slightly  wounded  in  the  er>gagement  at  White 
Oak  Swamps,  Virginia,  and  was  in  active 
service  till  the  war  closed.  He  came  to 
Louisville  in  1880,  and  began  his  present, 
business.  Air.  Brinkworth  is  commander  of 
the  Walter  Whittaker  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  in  this 
city.  He  was  married  in  I860  to  Aliss  Alary 
A.  Pepp  r,  of  Aladison,  Ind , and  has  one 
child,  Libbie  E.  He  is  a member  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the  Elk  fraternity. 

JOHN  ALBERT  BROADUS,  D.  D., 
LL.  D.,  Professor  of  Flomiletics  and  Interpre- 
tation of  the  New  Testament  in  the  Southern 
Baptist  Ti  eological  Seminary,  was  born  in 
Culpeper  County,  Va.,  January  24,  1827. 
His  family  is  of  Welsh  extraction,  and  the 
name  was  formerly  spelled  Broadhurst.  His 
father  was  a prominent  member  of  the  Vir- 
ginia Legislature  a number  of  years  ago. 
Doctor  Broadus  was  educated  at  the  Univer-  ' 
sity  of  Virginia,  where  he  took  the  degree  of 
A.  AI.  in  1850.  In  1851  he  was  elected 
xAssistant  Professor  of  Latin  and  Greek  in 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


749 


that  institution  and  filled  the  jilace  twoyeais. 
Ill  1855  he  was  elected  chaplain  of  the  uni- 
versity and  served  two  years.  In  1803  he 
preached  as  Missionary  in  General  Lee’s 
army.  From  this  period  until  1805  he  was 
correspondinir  secretary  of  the  Sunday  School 
Board  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention. 
In  187U  he  published  a book  on  the  “ Prepa- 
ration and  Delivery  of  Sermons  ” which  was 
republished  and  enlarged,  and  has  been 
adopted  as  a text  book  in  various  theological 
seminaries  of  different  denominations  in  Eu- 
rope and  America.  In  1807-’09  he  published 
in  tiie  Religious  IForW,  Richmond,  Va.,  a 
series  of  papers  criticising  the  American 
Bible  Union’s  version  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  in  1872-73,  another  series  entitled 
“ Reflections  of  Travel,”  in  which  he  gave  an 
account  of  a tour  he  made  through  Europe 
and  Palestine  in  1870-71.  In  1876  he  pub- 
lished a series  of  lectures  on  the  history  of 
preaching.  Doctor  Broadus  ranks  with  the 
ablest  preachers  of  his  generation. 

FRANK  I.  BROCAR,  a prominent  painter 
of  Louisville,  is  a native  of  Floyd  Connty, 
Ind.,  was  born  in  1844,  came  to  this  city  when  a 
boy  and  learned  his  trade,  that  of  a car  painter. 
He  enlisted  Sept , 1862,  in  Company  C, Thirty- 
fourth  Kentucky  Volunteers,  and  served  till 
.Inly,  1865,  in  all  the  movements  of  his  regi- 
ment and  acted-  as  duty  sergeant  and  color 
bearer.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned 
to  Louisville,  engaged  at  his  trade,  and  is 
now  located  at  412  Seventh  street.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  and  in  Masonry  has 
reached  the  thiity-second  (Scottish  Rite) 
degree.  Mr.  Brocar  was  married  November 
18,  1866,  to  Miss  Mary  R.  McGuire,  of  Louis- 
ville, and  the  four  children  born  to  this  union 
are  living,  named  as  follows:  Clarence  I., 
Mary  G.,  Albert  C.  and  Elnor  G. 

HON.  ELI  H.  BROWN  was  born  in 
Brandenburg,  Ky.,  November  13,  1843,  and 
is  a son  of  .lohn  Me.  and  Minerva  J.  (Murray) 
Brown,  the  former  a native  of  Nelson  County 
and  the  latter  of  Washington  County.  His 
grandfather,  .Joseph  Brown,  came  from  Vir- 
ginia, and  settled  in  Nelson  County.  His 
maternal  grandfather.  Col.  John  Murray, 
served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  a native 


of  Maryland.  He  came  to  K<  ntucky  and 
settled  in  Washington  County  at  a very 
early  day.  The  father  of  the  subject  was  a 
merchant  most  of  his  life,  and  also  dealt 
largely'  in  tobacco.  He  was  one  of  a firm  who 
had  stores  in  Hardinsburg,  Brandenburg  and 
at  Stephensport,  Cloverport  and  Hawesville; 
he  died  in  1865.  He  was  County  .Judge  of 
Hancock  County  the  last  eight  years  of  his 
life.  Hon.  Eli  H.  Brown  was  reared  in  his 
native  towm  and  educated  principally  at 
Hawesville,  finishing  his  education  at  J.,ewis- 
port  College,  Kentucky.  He  read  law  with 
Hon.  George  W.  Williams,  now  of  Owens- 
boro, and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Hawes- 
ville in  1862.  In  1872  he  removed  to  Owens- 
boro, and  formed  a partnership  with  his  old 
preceptor.  Judge  Williams,  remaining  with 
him  until  1878,  when  he  came  to  Louisville, 
and  has  since  practiced  in  this  city'.  While 
still  a resident  of  Hancock,  he  was  appointed 
to  fill  a vacancy  as  Commonwealth’s  Attorney 
of  the  Fifth  .Judicial  District.  In  1872  he 
was  Democratic  elector  in  the  Second  Con- 
gressional District,  and  had  a joint  discussion 
with  Hon.  Samuel  E.  Smith,  who,  in  186)7, 
contested  wdth  Hon.  John  Young  Brown 
his  seat  in  Congress.  He  was  married  in 
February,  1870,  to  Miss  Nannie  W.  Dorsey, 
youngest  daughter  of  Dr.  AV.  D.  Dorsey,  of 
Iventuckv,an  eminent  physician,  wdio  removed 
to  Yazoo  City,  Afiss.,  and  became  very'  wealthy. 
Four  children  were  born  to  this  union: 
Horace  Stone,  Eli  Houston,  AVashington 
Dorsey  and  Sarah  Ellen.  His  first  wife  died 
in  Decendier,  1885.  In  Alarch,  1888,  Judge 
Brown  was  married  to  Aliss  Elizabeth  A. 
Keegan,  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  a highly  accom- 
plished lady — she  being  the  youngest  daugh- 
ter of  an  old  and  prominent  family'  of 
Louisville. 

JUDGE  HORATIO  W.  BRUCE  was  born 
in  Lewis  County,  Ky.,  February^  22,  1830, 
and  is  a son  of  xAlexander  and  Amanda 
(Bragg)  Bruce,  and  a grandson  of  John 
Bruce,  a Revolutionary'  soldier  and  a irative 
of  Virginia.  He  was  reared  in  Lewis  Coun- 
ty', and  educated  in  the  common-schools  of 
that  region,  and  in  1850,  began  reading  law 
in  Vauceburg.  After  thorough  preparation 


750 


BIOGKAPIIICAL  yKETCIIES. 


Ihj  was  a'lmit'eil  to  (he  l)ar  ami  commenced 
practice  in  hdemingsbiirg.  He  was  elected 
representative  iVom  Fleming  County  to  the 
House  ol'  Kepresentatives  of  1855-5(5,  and 
in  185(5  was  elected  Comnujn wealth  attorney, 
the  dutiesof  which  he  lilled  with  distinguished 
ability,  Imt  resigned  in  1S55J,  and  settled  it) 
Houisvilic,  where  he  soon  won  a large  prac- 
tice. At  theoutbi-eak  of  the  civil  war  he  cast 
his  foi'tunes  with  the  (Jonfederacy  and  went 
South.  He  was  elected  to  the  Confederate 
Co)igress  and  served  in  that  field  until  the 
war  was  over  and  the  cause  lost.  He  then 
returned  to  Louis\  ille  and  resumed  the  piac- 
tice  of  law.  In  18(58  he  was  elected  Circuit 
Judue  of  the  Ninth  Judicial  Distiict,  serving 
in  that  position  until  January,  1873,  when  he 
resigned  to  accept  the  chancellorship  of  the 
Louisville  Chancery  Court.  This  position  he 
held  until  March,  1880.  For  several  years 
prior  to  the  date  of  his  resignation  (1880),  he 
taught  the  history  and  science  of  law,  real 
property,  contracts,  and  commercial  law  in 
the  law  depai'tment  of  the  Univeisity  of  Louis- 
ville; for  a long  period, also,  he  was  President 
of  the  Hoard  of  Trustees  of  the  Louisville 
Medical  College.  Since  1880  he  has  been 
attorney  for  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Itail- 
load.  Judge  Bruce  ranks  among  the  able 
lawyers  of  the  Louisville  bar  and  is  a jurist 
of  distinguished  ability.  He  Avas  married  in 
June,  ]85t5;  to  Miss  Lizzie  13.  Helm,  daughter 
ot  Guv.  .fohn  L.  Helm.  They  have  live  chil- 
dicn  living. 

WILLIAM  CHRISTIAN  BULLITT  was 
was  born  on  his  father’s  farm — “ Ox  Moor,” 
as  it  was  called — February  14,  1793,  and  is  a 
son  of  Alexander  Scott  Bullitt,  the  first  lieu- 
tenant-governor of  Kentucky,  and  Priscilla 
(Christian)  Bullitt.  A.  S.  Bullitt  died  whet) 
Wiliiam  C.  was  sixteen  years  of  age  and  be- 
queathed to  the  latter  his  farm,  which  he 
owned  until  his  death,  and  upon  which  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  was  passed.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  Louisville  in  1815,  when 
under  twenty  years  of  age,  and  practiced  un- 
til 1817,  when  he  was  debarred  throuu’h  the 

O 

dueling  law  by  reason  of  a challenge  sent  to 
the  Hon.  Ben  Haidin.  The  legislature,  how- 
ever, by  a general  law  removed  the  disabili- 


ties of  all  who  ca)))e  undci-  that  penalty.  T()e 
law  proving  too  great  a strain  upon  a some- 
what delicate  constitution,  he  retired  from 
the  bar  in  1820,  aud  settled  on  the  farm  where 
his  family  were  all  brought  up.  His  educa- 
tion wnis  derived  almost  entirely  from  his 
father,  having  attended  school  but  a very  short 
tii))e  (luring  his  youth.  He  at  all  times  took 
a deep  interest  in  politics,  was  a constant 
student  and  well  vei-sed  in  history,  but  neve)' 
entered  upon  public  life,  the  only  public  po- 
sition he  ever  held  beino-  that  of  a member  of 

O 

the  convention  which  formed  the  present 
State  constitution.  In  youth  he  Avas  of  a gay 
and  joyous  dis])Osition,  but  of  quick  temper. 
In  later  years  he  became  reserved  and  so)))e- 
wd)at  stern.  Strong,  practical  sense,  and  un- 
yielding lir)))ncss  of  pur[)0sc,  perfect  candor 
in  his  dealings  with  )))en,  and  a strong  sense 
of  justice,  were  his  inarked  chaiacteristics. 
While  he  n)ingled  but  little  in  society,  his 
home  was  distinguished  for  that  rare  hospital- 
ity which  marked  the  early  days  of  Kentucky. 
During  the  late  war,  the  disturbed  condition 
of  society  in  the  country  induced  him  to  re- 
move to  the  city  to  Louisville,  and  he  never 
afterward  resided  on  bis  farm.  Mr.  Bullitt 
was  married  on  the  1st  of  Septer))ber,  1819, 
to  Mildi'ed  Ann  Fry,  a daughter  of  .Joshua 
Fry%  who  was  early  distinguished  as  a teacher 
in  Kentucky.  Ten  children  were  born  of  this 
i))ai'riage;  four  died  in  early  life  and  without 
issue.  Those  no  w surviving' are:  Hon.  Joshua 
F.  Bullitt,  of  l.ouisville;  .John  C.  Bullitt,  of 
Philadelphia;  Thou)as  W.  Bullitt,  of  Louis- 
ville— all  of  whom  are  lawyers;  and  Henry 
M.  Bullitt,  who  lives  on  a part  of  the  old 
farm.  The  daughters  are  Mrs.  Sue  B.  Dixon, 
widow  of  Hon.  Archibald  Dixon,  of  Hoider- 
son;  and  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Chenoweth,  wife  of 
Dr.  Henry  Chenoweth,  of  Jefferson  County. 
Mr.  Bullitt  died  August  28,  1877,  in  the 
eighty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  his  wife  died  July 
12,  1879,  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  her 
age. 

THOMAS  W.  BULLITT  was  born  in  Jef- 
ferson Coimty,  May  17,  1838,  and  is  a son  of 
William  C.  and  Mildred  Ann  (Fry)  Bullitt. 
Both  the  Bullitts  and  Frys  were  early  settlers 
in  Kentucky,  and  are  among  the  prominent 


//  / 1^. 


(.- .huU!7( 


/ / 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


753 


families  of  the  State.  Alexander  Scott  Bul- 
litt, the  grandfather  of  subject,  was  the  first 
lieutenant-governor  of  the  State,  and  was 
President  of  the  Second  Constitutional  Con- 
vention; he  died  about  1816.  Subject’s  father, 
\Vin.  C.  Bullitt,  began  life  as  a lawyer,  but 
on  account  of  bad  health  had  to  i-etire  from 
practice  and  take  up  farming.  He  was  a mem- 
ber of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1849 
-50.  The  subject  is  the  third  of  four  sons 
living:  Hon.  Joshua  F.  Bullitt  being  the 

eldest.  He  was  educated  in  Centre  College, 
at  Danville,  graduating  in  1858.  He  went 
to  Philadelphia  in  1859,  studied  law,  and 
graduated  in  1801  from  the  Philadelphia  law 
school;  remaining  there  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  in  1862  returned  to  Louisville. 
He  entered  the  Confederate  army  in  1862,  in 
Gen.  Duke’s  regiment  (the  Second  Kentucky), 
Gen.  Morgan’s  Cavalry,  and  served  until  the 
end  of  w'ar.  He  was  with  Moro-an  in  the  Ohio 
raid,  but  was  captured  in  Kentucky,  remain- 
ing  a prisoner  until  early  in  1865,  when  he 
was  sent  to  Richmond  for  exchange.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  he  began  practicing  law, 
and  is  entirely  devoted  to  his  profession.  He 
is  a director  in  the  Second  National  Bank,  in 
the  Fidelity  Trust  and  Safety  A^ault  Co., 
Louisville  Abstract  and  Loan  Association, 
Louisville  Southern  Railroad  Company,  Ken- 
tucky & Indiana  Bridge  Co.,  etc.,  etc.  Mr. 
Bullitt  was  married  February  21,  1871,  to 
Miss  Annie  P.  Logan,  a daughter  of  .Judge 
Caleb  I^ogan,  formerly  Chancellor  of  the 
IvOuisville  Chancery  Court. 

HON.  WILLIAM  FONTAINE  BUL- 
LOCK was  born  in  Fayette  County,  Ky., 
January  16,  1807,  and  is  descended  from  one 
of  the  prominent  families  of  Kentucky.  The 
following  was  written  by  himself,  of  his  par- 
ents, some  years  ago:  “ My  father,  Edmund 

Bullock,  the  oldest  son  of  Edward  and  Ao-nes 
Bullock,  was  a native  of  Hanover  County,  A^a., 
and  was  descended  from  a stock  distinguished 
for  integrity.  His  education  was  as  thorough 
and  accurate  as  the  limes  would  permit.  In 
early  life  he  emigrated  to  the  ‘District  of 
Kentucky,’  wdiere  he  soon  acquired  a high 
standing,  based  upon  his  exalted  merits  as  a 
man  and  as  a citizen.  In  all  his  dealings  he 


was  faithful  and  just,  and  in  his  intercourse 
with  his  fellow-men  he  was  polite,  noble  and 
generous.  He  was  soon  called  into  public 
life,  and  was,  for  many  years,  a leading  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky.  He  w'as 
speaker,  at  different  times,  of  both  branches 
of  that  body,  and  in  that  capacity  won  for 
himself  a high  reputation.  He  was  alike 
remarkable  for  his  dignity  and  urbanity  of 
manners  and  for  his  stern  and  unbending 
sense  of  justice.  Throughout  a long  life  he 
lived  above  reproach — a noble  specimen  of  an 
honest  man.  He  died  in  the  eighty-ninth 
year  of  his  age,  at  peace  with  God  through 
faith  in  Christ.  Aly  mother,  Elizabeth,  was 
the  second  daughter  of  Aaron  Fontaine,  who 
was  the  youngest  son  of  Rev.  Peter  Fontaine, 
and  was  born  in  A^irginia,  in  1754.  The  Rev. 
Puter  Fontaine  came  from  England  to  Amer- 
ica in  1715,  and  was  soon  thereafter  installed 
as  rector  of  one  of  the  oldest  parishes  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  State  of  A^irginia. 
He  was  the  son  of  Rev.  .lames  Fontaine,  who 
fled  from  France  to  England  upon  the  I'evo- 
cation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes  in  1685.  He 
was  a Huguenot  of  noble  birth  and  of  the 
most  indomitable  energy,  and  was  e.specially 
distinguished  for  his  heroic  devotion  to  his 
Protestant  faith.  My  grandfatheiMvas  a noble 
scion  of  such  a stock.  I never  saw  my  mother; 
she  died  at  my  birth.  Aly  knowledge  of  her 
is  derived  from  my  father,  who,  to  the  close  of 
a long  life,  never  ceased  to  cherish  her  mem- 
ory and  to  impress  upon  my  heart  the  highest 
appreciation  of  her  lovely  character.”  Such 
was  the  family  from  which  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  sprung.  .Judge  Bullock  has  long  been 
cons])icuous  in  a corps  of  celebrities,  second 
to  none  in  the  Union  in  the  point  of  al)ility 
and  fame.  The  Kentucky  bar  enjoys  a high 
reputation,  and  its  members  have  largely  in- 
fluenced the  character,  not  only  of  the  great 
AA'est,  but  of  the  entire  country.  The  mother 
of  most  of  the  AA^estern  States,  she  can  point 
to  her  deeds  in  National  Councils,  and  her 
sons’  glory  in  tke  fame  of  her  Breckinridge, 
Nicholas,  Daviess,  Clay,  RoAvan,  Crittenden, 
Barry,  Slurp,  B iyle,  Owsley,  Alills,  Trimble, 
Bibb,  Robertson,  and  a host  of  olhex's,  who 
contributed  to  the  imperishable  legal  renown 


754 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


of  the  State.  For  a long  period  of  time,  in 
the  early  history  of  Kentucky,  Lexington  en- 
joyed a large  portion  of  the  renown  of  the 
State.  The  first  newspaper  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghenies was  published  in  Lexington;  Tran- 
sylvania University,  for  a number  of  years 
the  most  renowned  institution  of  learning  in 
tlie  great  valley  of  the  Ohio,  was  located  there. 
From  that  venerable  hall  of  learning,  Ken- 
tucky scattered,  with  a profuse  hand,  her 
intellectual  treasures  over  the  West  and 
South.  While  Transylvania  University  was 
under  the  auspicious  administration  of  Presi- 
dent TIolley,  it  is  doulRful  whether  any  city 
in  the  United  States  possessed  a larger  share 
of  intellectual  activity  than  Lexington.  Edu- 
cation flourished  in  all  its  departments,  and  a 
love  of  literature  and  science  pervaded  all 
ranks.  The  general  pursuit  of  knowledge 
which  characterized  the  people  enabled  them 
to  support  for  many  years  the  finest  public 
library  in  the  West,  to  which  was  attached 
reading-rooms,  containing  all  the  best  peri- 
odicals in  the  English  language.  The  great 
genius  of  Matthew  .fouett,  one  of  the  noblest 
artists  on  canvas  that  his  country  has  produced, 
and  the  cultivated  taste,  public  spirit  and  en- 
terprise of  .lohu  1).  Clifford,  command  the 
prosperity  of  the  fine  arts.  Philosophy,  litera- 
ture, classical  learning,  science  and  art,  went 
hand  in  hand,  and  Lexington  was  the  glory, 
the  pride,  and  the  cynosure  of  the  West.  In 
addition  to  the  resources  of  intellectual 
growth  and  activity  already  mentioned,  Lex- 
ington maintained,  for  al)Out  fifteen  years,  the 
ablest,  most  prosperous  and  successful  medi- 
cal school  in  the  western  country.  Nor  were 
the  interests  of  a law-school  neglected  in  the 

O 

midst  of  these  intellectual  energies;  but  one 
was  established,  as  a department  of  the  ITni- 
versity,  wdiich  speedily  attained  a high  rank. 
'I’he  genius  and  abilities  of  the  bar  of  Lexing- 
ton were  illustrated  by  Henry  Clay,  William 
T.  Parry,  ^Villiam  Plair,  Jesse  Pledsoe,  .To- 
.seph  CLbell,  Breckinridge,  and  others,  who, 
with  less  extemled  fame,  enjoyed  a high 
rep  itatiou  at  home.  It  was  in  the  midst  of 
thes("  intellectual  energies,  that  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  first  saw  the  light.  At  an  early 
period  he  exhibited  a fondness  for  study,  and 


such  w’as  the  proficiency  attained  at  a country 
school,  that  he  entered  Transylvania  Univer- 
sity, and  graduated  in  1824,  when  he  was  but 
seventeen  years  of  age.  No  student  ever 
entered  those  classic  halls  with  a higher  repu- 
tation; and  his  devotion  to  study,  his  modesty 
and  good  habits,  enabled  him  to  add  largely 
to  his  youthful  fame.  At  the  time  of,  his 
graduation,  he  was  esteemed  as  second  to  none 
of  the  distinguished  eleves  of  Transylvania 
University,  then  in  the  zenith  of  her  renown. 
As  an  orator,  he  was  unrivalled  in  that  insti- 
tution; and  such  was  his  great  distinction,  that 
upon  the  return  of  Mr.  Clay  to  Kentucky, 
after  his  vote  for  Mr.  Adams,  when  his  con- 
gressional district  determined,  in  its  own 
language,  “ to  speak  its  instructions  to  Henry 
Clay,  in  a language  that  could  neither  be 
misunderstood  or  mistaken,”  the  youthful 
orator  of  Transylvania  was  selected  to  deliver 
the  speech,  welcoming  the  patriot  of  Ken- 
tucky to  the  hearts  of  those  who  had  long 
entrusted  their  political  interests  to  his  keep- 
ing. It  was  an  occasion  of  deep  interest;  it 
drew  people  from  various  paits  of  the  State, 
and  an  immense  assembly  of  Kentuckians,  and 
citizens  of  other  States  were  gathered  to  re- 
ceive the  illustrious  sage  of  Ashland.  For 
the  time  being,  the  eyes  of  the  nation  were 
upon  Ivexington.  The  traducers  of  the  fame 
of  her  most  illustrious  son  looked  on  the  scene 
with  fear  and  trembling,  while  the  friends  of 
the  adTuinistration  of  Mr.  Adams  looked  to  it 
as  a source  of  hopeful  energy  and  triumph. 
In  the  midst  of  all  these  great  interests,  in  the 
presence  of  that  great  assemblage,  indeed,  of 
the  American  people,  the  young  orator  of 
Transylvania  addressed  a speech  of  welcome 
to  Henry  Clay  that  was  worthy  of  the  occasion. 
1 1 was  an  effort  of  eloquence  of  which  any  son 
of  Kentucky  might  well  have  been  proud. 
Even  during  the  mighty  response  of  Henry 
Clay,  whether  its  eloquejit  tones  were  mov- 
ing the  best  .feelings  of  our  nature,  or  its 
withering  scorn  was  hurling  defiance  and  its 
anathemas  upon  the  heads  of  those  whose 
machinations  were  struggling  for  his  ruin,  the 
calm  and  elevated  eloquence  of  the  youthful 
orator  worked  its  way  into  the  memories  of 
the  people,  and  placed  him  conspicuous  among 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


755 


the  speakers  of  Kentucky.  In  1828  Mr. 
Bullock  moved  to  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law,  in  the  midst  of  as 
formidable  competition  as  could  be  found  in 
the  State.  But  the  same  habits  that  had 
given  him  such  enviable  distinction  in  tlie 
curriculum  of  Transylvania  University,  soon 
attracted  attention  to  him  in  his  new  sphere 
of  duty,  and  gave  him  high  rank  among  the 
able  men  who  adorned  the  Louisville  bar. 
He  was  elected  a member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  1838,  1840,  1841,  and  was 
the  author  of  some  of  the  noblest  monuments 
of  Kentucky  legislation.  To  his  well  directed 
efforts  Kentucky  is  indebted  for  her  common- 
school  system.  He  introduced  the  bill  into 
legislatu'e,  and  by  his  eloquence,  his  mastery 
of  the  whole  subject,  and  his  untiring  labors, 
both  as  the  eloquent  exponent  of  the  cause 
before  the  representatives  of  the  people  and 
the  profound  writer  for  the  press,  he  so  deeply 
engraved  the  merits  of  the  common  school 
system  upon  the  public  mind,  that  it  now  de- 
fies all  the  powers  of  its  enemies.  Various 
efforts  have  been  made  to  cripple  this  system, 
and  the  most  formidable  was  in  1843,  to  cancel 
the  bonds  of  the  State,  which  had  been  o'iven 
to  the  Board  of  Education,  on  account  of  a 
loan  of  the  money  that  had  been  appropriated 
to  the  common-school  system.  The  original 
appropriation  was  $850,000,  a portion  of  the 
dividend  paid  to  Kentucky  from  the  surplus 
revenue  of  the  general  government.  This 
sum  was  loaned  to  the  State  on  her  bonds.  In 
1843,  an  attempt  was  made  to  cancel  these 
bonds,  by  which  the  common-school  system 
would  have  been  utterly  destroyed.  51r. 
Bullock  was  not  at  that  time  a member  of  the 
legislature,  but  he  earnestly  appealed,  through 
the  press,  against  this  great  outrage.  "While 
the  danger  lasted  he  was  always  at  his  post, 
battling  for  the  cause  that  had  enlisted  his 
zeal  and  his  best  alailities.  A profound  debt 
of  grratitude  is  due  to  Judo-e  Bullock  for  his 
services  in  the  cause  of  education.  Nor  were 
the  philanthropic  exertions  of  Mr.  Bullock, 
while  he  was  in  the  legislature,  confined  to 
the  cause  of  popular  education.  When  ef- 
forts were  first  begun  in  Kentucky  for  an 
impros  ed  management  of  the  insane,  those 


efforts  found  in  him  a zealous  anl  intellicrent 
champion.  In  1842,  he  produced  a profound 
impression  upon  the  public  mind,  by  a report 
which  he  submitted  to  the  Kentucky  legisla- 
ture on  the  management  of  the  insane.  He 
accompanied  the  report  with  a speech  which 
commanded  the  attention  of  the  State,  and  to 
his  exertions  the  triumph  of  the  cause  is  due. 
Kentucky  has  been  exceedingly  liberal  since 
that  time  in  her  appropriations  to  the  insane; 
and  the  lunatic  asylums  now  compare  for  ex- 
cellence with  any  in  the  United  States. 
Another  crowning  glory  of  .fudge  Bullock’s 
legislative  career,  w^as  in  his  successful  exer- 
tions to  procure  an  endowment  from  the  State 
for  an  institution  for  the  education  of  the 
blind.  His  eloquent  advocacy  of  the  cause, 
his  zeal  and  energy,  were  crowned  with  suc- 
cess; and  in  1841  the  legislature  of  Kentucky 
appropriated  10,000  towards  establishing  a 
school  for  the  blind.  This  is  the  favorite 
eleemosynary  institution  in  Kentucky.  The 
legislature  has  been  liberal  in  its  endowments 
for  its  support,  and  the  institution  has  re- 
sources now'  to  place  it  upon  a sure  basis, 
.fudge  Bullock  was  one  of  the  original  trus- 
tees of  this  institution,  and  has  been  one  of 
the  most  active  and  useful  members  of  the 
Board  to  the  present  time.  He  has  been 
president  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  most  of 
the  time  from  its  first  organization  until  now. 
These  are  the  monuments  of  the  leo-islative 
career  of  .fudge  Bullock,  and  his  friends  point 
to  them  as  the  characteristics  of  the  man. 
After  the  close  of  his  legislative  career,  Mr. 
Bullock  again  resumed  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  In  1846,  he  w'as  appointed  to  the 
bench  as  judge  of  the  Fifth  .ludicial  district, 
an  appointment  that  gave  general  satisfaction. 
His  high  legal  reputation,  his  urbanity  of 
demeanor,  his  decision  and  firmness,  and  his 
universally  acknowledged  integrity  in  all 
things,  gave  an  earnest  of  a successful  career 
in  this  new  sphere  of  usefulness,  which  has  been 
fully  redeemed  by  his  judicial  course.  Pur- 
suing a strong  natural  bent,  .ludo-e  Bullock 
h is  played  a conspicuous  part  as  a popular 
oraAr.  A devoted  personal  friend  and  an 
ardent  political  admirer  of  Henry  C’lay,  he 
long  ranked  amoiio-  the  most  attractive  and 


75C 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


effective  Whig  leaders  in  a period  when  the 
liustings  offered  in  Kentucky  a high  arena  for 
intellectual  conflict,  and  an  exciting  theater  for 
brilliant  displays  of  eloquence.  In  view  of 
the  close  relationship  to  Mr.  Clay,  he  was 
befittingly  chosen  to  deliver  the  oration  that 
was  uttered  in  the  presence  of  a vast  assem- 
blage in  Louisville,  May  30,  1867,  on  the 
occasion  of  unveiling  the  life-size  statute  of 
the  great  statesman — the  handiwork  of  Joel 
T.  Hart — which  now  adorns  the  rotunda  of 
the  court-house.  But  it  is  chieffy  as  a lawyer 
and  jurist  that  .fudge  Bullock  has  evinced  his 
highest  powers.  During  the  last  forty  years 
he  lias  ranked  anion cr  the  foremost  members 

O 

of  the  Kentucky  bar.  The  records  of  the 
court  show  that  he  has  been  an  unusually 
successful  practitioner,  often  making  great 
and  triumphant  arguments  before  judges  and 
juries,  and  always  exhibiting  marked  ability 
in  the  mana<>-ement  of  his  cases.  He  has 
justly  been  styled  one  of  the  most  courteous 
and  yet  most  formidable  antagonists  in  the 
forum.  For  twelve  years,  dating  from  .184:9, 
he  was  a member  of  the  law  faculty  of  the 
University  of  Louisville,  in  which  capacity  he 
(lisj)layed  much  learning  and  skill  as  a teach- 
er, and  inspired  his  students  with  a love  of 
the  science  which  he  taught.  He  has  virtually 
retired  from  active  practice,  but  as  late  as 
1882,  he  apjieared  liefore  the  Courtof  Appeals, 
in  the  case  of  the  T^ouisville  Bridge  Company 
against  the  city  of  Louisville,  as  atto.iney  for 
the  former  corporation,  and  delivered  an  ar- 
gument for  his  client  seldom  equaled  in  the 
presence  of  that  tribunal. 

UICHARI)  T.  BURKE,  County  Assessor, 
was  l)orn  in  tliis  city  Novernlrer  28,  1852,  and 
is  a son  of  Patrick  and  Mary  (Gallagher) 
Burke,  iiatives  f)f  Ireland.  They  came  to 
Louisville  in  1851.  The  subject,  Richard  1’., 
was  Itrought  up  in  Louisville,  educated  in  the 
city  schools,  and  graduated  from  the  Male 
High  School  in  1868.  He  learned  the  trade  j 
of  a hartiess-maker  frotn  his  father,  who  w^as  j 
of  that  trade,  but  did  not  follow  the  business  I 
long;  h(>  was  elected  constable  in  1876,  ami  j 
served  until  1886.  In  1883  he  was  elected  a 
membei'  of  the  City  Council  from  the  Twelfth  | 
wanl,  and  in  1886)  he  w’as  elected  to  his  pres-  I 


ent  position — County  Assessor.  In  1882  he 
married  Miss  Isabella  Dunlap,  of  this  city. 
They  have  one  child. 

.lAMES  CABLE,  an  influential  farmer,  was 
born  in  .leff'erson  County,  Kentucky,  .lanuary 
5,  1839,  and  is  a son  of  Nelson  and  Sarah 
(Potts)  Cable,  also  members  of  the  county. 
Nelson  Cable  died  in  1858.  .James  Cable, 
the  sidjject  of  this  sketch,  was  reared  on  the 
farm  and  has  ever  since  followed  that  pursuit. 
He  served  as  a private  during  the  late  war  in 
the  Tenth  Kentucky  Ird’antry,  and  partici- 
pated in  the  battles  of  Shiloh,  Chickamauga, 
Missionary  Ridge  and  other  important  en- 
gagements. At  the  close  of  the  war  he  re- 
turned  to  the  farm,  and  was  married  to  Miss 
Lucinda  Kendall.  They  have  had  six  children, 
as  follows:  Job,  born  November  3, 1866;  Mary 
Alice,  December  30, 1868;  Azzie  Breen,  .Tune 
15,  1871;  Arthur,  born  November  18,  1873, 
(deceased);  R.  N.,  October  11,  1875;  Aiina, 
March  30,  1879. 

.JOHN  S.  CAIN,  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Co^irt 
of  .lefferson  County,  and  one  of  the  best 
known  and  most  popular  of  all  the  county 
oflicials,  was  born  near  Madison,  .lefferson 
County,  Ind.,  September  11,  1827,  and  is  a 
son  of  .Tohn  and  Catharine  (Frankham)  Cain, 
the  former  a native  of  Spottsylvania  County, 
Va.,  and  the  latter  of  Shenandoah  County, 
Va.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  early 
thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  but  with 
boundless  energy,  and  an  indomitable  will 
he  fought  his  way  step  by  step;  he  managed, 
by  strong  perseverance,  to  attain  a good,  prac- 
tical education.  He  came  to  Louisville  in 
1835,  and  the  first  business  he  engaged  in 
after  becoming  of  an  age  to  work,  was  as  an 
accmtntant,  and  by  practice  and  experience  he 
became  an  expert  book-keeper.  In  1842  he 
went  to  IMadison,  5Yis.,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  numerous  pursuits,  and  turned  his 
hand  to  anything  by  which  he  could  make  a 
living.  Among  other  things,  he  read  law  for 
a time.  He  returned  to  Louisville  in  1848, 
and  engaged  for  a short  period  in  keeping 
book®.  He  was  elected  city  auditor  in  1850, 
the  first  under  the  new  charter,  but  resigned 
in  about  a year,  when  he  was  elected  cashier 
of  the  Louisville  Gas  Company.  This  posi- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


'761 


tion  he  held  for  seventeen  years,  resi^niing  in 
1868,  to  make  the  race  for  circuit  clerk.  He 
was  elected  in  August  of  that  year,  entered 
upon  the  duties  in  September  following,  and 
he  is  there  yet.  He  was  re-elected  in  1874, 
aorain  in  1880  and  in  1886.  His  uniform 

O 

courtesy  and  accommodating  natnre  has  in- 
vested him  with  a popularity  which  renders 
him  invincible  in  a political  contest.  He  was 
married  in  1854  to  Miss  Amanda  Pepper,  of 
Henry  County,  Ky.  They  have  six  children. 
Mr.  Cain  is  a man  of  unblemished  integrity, 
and  a most  estimable  and  popular  citizen,  as 
well  as  model  official. 

DR.  .TAMES  FULTON  CANINE,  dentist, 
was  born  in  Shelby  County,  Ky.,  5Iay  5, 
1830,  and  is  a son  of  John  and  Jane  (Fulton) 
Canine,  natives  also  of  Shelby  County.  The 
Canines  came  originally  from  Holland,  and 
settled  in  Virginia,  in  an  early  day ; the  great- 
grandfather of  the  subject  was  a quarter- 
master in  the  Revolutionary  army.  The 


of  subject  being  a descendent  of  Robert 
Fulton,  the  inventor.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  educated 
at  Crawfordsville,  Ind.,  and  at  Ohio  College. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  began  studying 
dentistry,  and  finally  graduated  from  the 
School  of  Dentistry  at  Cincinnati,  O.  He 
first  began  practicing  this  profession  at  Craw- 
fordsville, Ind.,  and  inl864cameto  Louisville, 
and  is  to-day  one  of  the  most  successful  prac- 
titioners in  the  city.  He  was  marred  in  1851 
to  AIiss  Elizabeth  Hutchison, of  Crawfordsville. 
Three  children,  two  sons  and  one  daughter, 
were  born  of  this  marriage.  Both  of  the  sons 
are  dentists;  one,  Charles  E.,  practicing  in 
Colorado,  the  other,  Hal  B.,  with  his  father 
in  Louisville. 

JOHN  B.  CASTLEMAN,  one  of  the  hon- 
orable citizens  of  Louisville,  and  one  of  her 
prominent  business  men,  is  a native  of  Fay- 
ette County,  Ky.,  and  was  born  June  30, 
1842.  He  is  a son  of  David  and  Virginia 
(Harrison)  Castleman,  the  former  born  on  the 
old  Castleman  homestead  near  Versailles,  Ky., 
the  latter  a native  of  Fayette  County.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  in  Fayette 
County,  where  he  was  educated.  After  the 


advantages  of  the  lower  schools,  he  entered 
Transylvania  University,  but  at  the  breaking 
out  of  the  civil  war  in  1861,  quietly  left 
school,  and  volunteered  in  Morgan’s  cavalry 
as  a private.  He  afterward  organized  and 
commanded  Company  D,  of  5Iorgan’s  squad- 
ron, and  after  the  promotion  of  Morgan  to 
brigadier-general,  he  became  a major  in  his 
old  regiment,  then  commanded  by  Gen.  Basil 
Duke.  Major  Castleman  commanded  the 
regiment  in  several  important  engagements, 
in  which  he  displayed  soldiership  highly  sat- 
isfactory to  his  superior  officers  and  the  men 
he  led  to  battle.  He  was  detailed,  with  Chief 
Justice  Hines,  on  an  expedition  against  North- 
western Missouri,  to  release  the  Confederate 
prisoners  confined  there,  during  which  expe- 
dition he  was  captured.  He  remained  a pris- 
oner until  the  close  of  the  %var,  when  he  was 
released  and  ordered  to  leave  the  country. 
He  went  to  Europe,  where  he  remained  until 
President  .Johnson  revoked  the  order,  when  he 
returned  to  America,  and  in  1867  came  to 
Louisville.  He  graduated  from  the  law  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  Louisville,  in 
1868,  but  did  not  enter  into  practice.  He 
opened  an  insurance  business,  in  which  he  is 
still  engaged,  and  in  which  he  has  been  very 
successful,  winning  an  honorable  reputation 
among  the  business  men  of  the  city  by  his  un- 
impeachable integrity.  Upon  the  re-organi- 
zation of  the  Louisville  Legion,  First  Regi- 
ment, Kentucky  State  Guards,  in  1878,  he 
was  made  its  colonel — a position  he  still  holds, 
and  in  testimony  of  his  soldierly  qualities, 
and  his  ability  for  the  important  position,  it 
is  only  necessary  to  say  that  he  is  idolized  by 
his  soldiers.  5Vhen  Hon.  .1.  Proctor  Knott 
w'as  elected  governor,  he  appointed  Col.  Cas- 
tleman adjutant-general  of  the  State,  and,  as 
in  all  positions  held  by  him,  he  discharged 
his  duties  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  witli  whom 
he  came  in  contact  officially  or  otherwise. 
Upon  the  expiration  of  his  term  as  adjutant- 
general,  Gov.  Knott  publicly  presented  him 
a sword,  and  in  his  presentation  speech,  char- 
acterized Col.  Castleman  as  “ Trusted  adviser 
and  faithful  friend.”  The  Courier- Journal 
editorially  said:  “Gen.  John  B.  Castleman’s 

services  as  adjutant-general  are  no  more 


7(!2 


BIOGliA-PIIICAL  SKETCHES. 


lii^hly  appreciated  bj  Gov.  ivnott  than  l)y 
tlie  people  of  the  State  at  large.  He  has  in- 
fused a new  spirit  of  pride  into  the  State 
Guard,  and  he  has  at  the  same  time  sul)jected 
it  to  severe,  but  needed,  discipline.  The  ex- 
piration of  Gen.  C'astleinan’s  term  of  service 
restores  him  to  all  the  rights,  privileges  and 
duties  of  a citizen  of  liOuisville.  If  he  had 
refused  to  serve  our  people  as  mayor,  he 
would  have  been  just  in  the  position  to  be 
selected  as  Gov.  Buckner’s  successor.  In 
office  or  out,  Gen.  C’astlernan  is  a good  citizen, 
and  Ia)uisville  knows  that  he  is  always  in  her 
service.”  Gen.  Castleman  was  urged  to  be. 
come  candidate  for  mayor  of  Louisville  in 
1887,  but  declined  the  honor.  Under  the 
new  mayor,  Hon.  Charles  1).  .Jacob,  he  was 
offered  the  responsible  place — chief-of-police 
— l)ut  this  office  he  also  declined,  preferring 
the  position  of  a private  citizen  and  business 
man. 

^V.  CARKOT.L  CHAPMAN,  physician, 
was  born  in  Hartford,  Ky.,  .Tune  17,  1808, 
and  is  a son  of  W.  C.  and  Martha  Ann 
(Collins)  Chapman,  native  Kentuckians.  His 
grandfather,  1 )avid  Chapman,  was  the  first 
male  child  born  in  Kentucky,  south  of  the 
Gi’een  River,  and  was  born  near  the  present 
town  of  Bowling  Green.  The  house  in  which 
he  was  born,  was  of  the  pioneer  type,  and 
had  ])ort-holes  to  aid  the  inmates  in  defending 
themselves  against  the  Indians,  who  attacked 
the  house  several  times.  On  one  occasion  the 
Indians  kejit  the  cows  out  in  the  forest  until 
one  of  the  men,  ,Ieff  Chapman,  went  after 
them,  when  lie  was  fired  on,  the  bullet  strik- 
ing his  powder  horn,  thus  saving  his  life. 
David  Chapman  died  in  1884,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-five  years.  Tlie  Courier- Journal  pub- 
lished an  interesting  sketch  of  him,  headed 
“ ( )ne  of  Nature’s  Nobleman.”  The  subject 
of  this  sketcli  was  well  educated.  He  studied 
medicine  and  graduated  at  the  age  of  twenty 
years  from  the  College  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  was  appointed 
resident  physician  of  Maternity  Hospital,  in 
Baltimore,  for  a term  of  one  yeir.  He  then 
came  back  to  Kentucky  and  located  at  Cecilia, 
Hard  in  County,  where  he  remained  for  about 
a year  and  a half,  when  he  came  to  l..ouisville. 


and  opened  an  office  here,  and  has  been  in 
active  practice  ever  since.  Dr.  Chapman  is 
a zealous  member  of  the  Baptist  Church, 
and  has  been  for  twelve  years.  He  has  a 
brother,  Byron  Chapman,  a merchant  of  La 
Fayette,  Ind.,  and  a sister,  wife  of  Mr.  4Yood 
English,  of  Cecilia,  Ky. 

.TAjMES  B.  COCKE  was  b irn  in  1836,  and 
is  a son  of  W^illiam  A.  and  Matilda  (Bridge- 
ford)  Cocke,  the  former  of  T>ynchburg,  Va., 
and  the  latter  a dauo-hter  of  Thomas  Bridge- 
ford  of  Louisville.  William  A.  Cocke  was 
marshal  of  the  Chancery  Court  of  Louisville 
several  terms,  and  was  sheriff  under  the  old 
constitution  of  the  State,  when  the  oldest 
magistrate  became  sheriff  of  the  county  by 
virtue  of  his  office.  He  was  prominent  in  the 
city’s  early  history,  and  died  in  1844.  .lames 
A.  Cocke  was  brought  up  in  Louisville,  and 
was  educated  in  the  puldic  schools.  He  is 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Kentucky  and 
Louisville  Mutual  Insurance  Company,  a 
position  he  has  held  for  ten  years.  He  was 
married  in  November,  1861,  to  Miss  Julia 
Crutchfield,  a daughter  of  Maj.  Edward 
Crutchfield,  of  Louisville.  One  child,  James 
H.,  was  born  of  this  union.  In  February, 
1887,  his  w’ife  died.  He  entered  the  Confed- 
erate army  in  September,  1861,  in  the  Second 
Kentucky  Mounted  Rifles,  and  served  through 
the  entire  war.  Mr.  Cocke  is  an  excellent 
business  man,  an  enterj)rising  citizen  and  a 
courteous  gentleman. 


LIEUTENANT  HENRY  S.  COHN  has 
the  honor  of  havino-  been  the  first  drummer- 

o 

boy  that  went  to  the  front  in  April,  1861, 
from  the  State  of  Ohio,  being  then  a member 
of  Capt.  Peter  Diester’s  Company  B (Dayton 
Lafayette  Guard),  First  Ohio  Volunteer  In- 
faiitry.  Lieut.  Cohn  was  born  in  llamlmrg, 
Germany,  on  the  4th  of  May,  1844,  and  was 
therefore  not  seventeen  years  old  when  he 
followed  the  flag  of  the  Union.  He  emigrated 
to  America  in  the  spring  of  1859,  and  after 
having  tried  to  make  an  honest  living  by 
various  ways,  finally  became  a compositor  on 
the  ^Vaechterh  am  Ohio,  a German  weekly 
publislied  at  Portsmouth,  whence  he  went  to 
Dayton  a few  days  before  the  fall  of  Sumter. 

' During  the  first  teiin  of  enlistmetit  he  par- 


felOGJlAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


7G3 


ticipated  in  the  engagements  at  Vienna,  Va., 
Fairfax  Court-house  and  Bull  Run.  On  his 
return  to  Portsmouth  he  at  once  received  the 
appointment  of  drum-major  of  the  Fifth  Vir- 
ginia Infantrj,  United  States  Volunteer,  and 
served  vrith  this  reg-iinent  until  Augfust  22, 
1802,  participating  in  the  following  battles 
and  engagements  in  Virginia:  Moorefield, 

Bull  Pasture  Mountain,  Franklin,  Fisher’s 
Hill,  Mt.  Jacksohn,  Cross  Keys,  Port  Republic, 
Culpeper,  and  on  the  Rappahannock.  His 
next  enlistment  was  in  the  One  Hundred  and 
Sixth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  where  he 
entered  as  orderly  sergeant  and  was  as  such  | 
wounded  and  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of 
Hartsville,  Tenn.,  on  December  7,  1802,  while 
in  command  of  his  company.  Referring  to  his 
services,  the  Hon.  Pres.  W.  Taulbee,  M.  C.  (to 
whom  was  referred  a special  bill  in  Congress 
allowing  Lieut.  Cohn  his  pension  as  lieutenant), 
say^s:  “Henry  S.  Cohn  enlisted  as  a meml)er 

of  the  Ohio  Lafayette  Guards  in  1801,  he  at 
the  time  being  only  seventeen  years  of  age, 
and  continued  therein  for  about  four  months, 
participating  in  the  first  Bull  Run  fight,  when 
he  was  mustered  out  of  service  on  account  of 
expiration  of  term  of  service.  He  then  en- 
listed in  the  Fifth  Virginia  Regiment,  and 
was  appointed  drum-major.  Was  honorably 
discharged  therefrom  in  August,  1802,  and  at 
once  joined  the  One  Hundred  and  Sixth  Ohio 
Infantry,  and  at  the  organization  thereof  was 
appointed  first  sergeant  of  Company  G,  then 
at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  and  served  in 
that  capacity  until  December,  1802.  When 
at  the  battle  of  Hartsville,  Tenn.,  his  captain 
was  killed,  and  the  first  and  second  lieutenants 
both  mortally  wounded;  he  took  command  of 
his  company  during  the  battle,  and  although 
his  comrades  were  beino-  killed  at  a fearful 

o 

rate,  this  gallant  young  soldier  led  his  com- 
pany on  to  the  hottest  of  the  battle  until  a 
bullet  prostrated  him,  inflicting  a severe 
wound,  from  which  he  has  never  recovered 
and  for  which  he  is  now  drawing  a pension. 
During  this  battle  his  entire  brigade  was  cap- 
tured and  carried  away  as  prisoners,  leaving 
him  with  his  killed  and  wounded  comrades 
on  the  bloody  field,  when  the  surgeons  of  the 
Confederate  army  came  on  the  field  and  car- 


ried him  with  other  wounded  soldiers  to 
Church  Hospital,  where  he  lingered  for  many 
I months,  until  he  sufficiently  recovered  to  be 
I moved  to  Camp  Denison,  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
joined his  command,  and  although  his  wounds 
had  not  healed,  but  were  constantly  troubling 
him,  he  was  transferred  to  Company  C,  One 
Hundred  and  Sixth  Ohio  Regiment,  and  was 
liy  regimental  orders  appointed  lieutenant  of 
that  company,  and  served  in  that  capacity 
^rom  February^  until  22d  of  May,  1868,  when 
he  was  discharged  on  account  of  disability, 
resulting  from  his  wounds.  The  committee 
believe  that  with  such  a record  as  the  fore- 
going, Sergt.  Cohn  is  entitled  to  the  rank  of 
lieutenant,  and  to  be  so  rated  on  the  pension 
roll,  and  therefore  recommend  the  passage  of 
the  substitute.”  Having  been  used  to  military 
life  he  could  not  stay  at  home  as  long  as  the 
cannons  roared  in  front,  but  not  being  able  to 
stand  the  fatigues  and  hardships  as  before, 
being  disabled,  he  became  a clerk  in  the  in- 
spector general’s  department  of  the  Second 
Division,  Twentieth  Army  Corps,  and  served 
as  such  during  the  entire  campaign  of  Gen. 
Sherman,  starting  from  Bridgeport,  Ala.,  in 
May,  1864,  thence  to  Atlanta,  Savannah,  Col- 
umbia, Goldsborough,  Raleigh,  Richmond  and 
4Vashington;  thereby  actually  serving  dur- 
ing the  entire  war  from  beginning  to  end. 
After  the  w'ar  Lieut.  Cohn  removed  to  Louis- 
ville, where  he  was  first  employed  as  a com- 
positor on  the  An.zeigei%  the  leading  German 
daily  in  Kentucky.  He  was  afterward  pro- 
moted to  book-keeper  in  the  same  office,  and 
w'hen  the  business  became  a corporation,  he 
became  one  of  the  stock-holders  thereof,  and 
now  holds  and  has  held  for  many  years  the 
honorable  and  lucrative  position  of  Secretary 
of  the  Louisville  Anzeiger  Company.  He  is 
a member  of  Post  Thomas  G.  A.  R.,  K.  of  P., 
K.  of  H.,  and  a number  of  German  societies. 

.lOHN  COLGAN,  a leading  druggist  of 
Louisville,  -was  born  in  that  city  December  18, 
1840,  and  is  a son  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
(Christopher)  Colgan,  natives  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland  respectively.  John  Colgan’s  pa- 
ternal o-randfather  removed  from  Viro-inia  to 
Kentucky  about  1800,  and  settled  on  a farm 
I in  Shelby  County.  William  Colgan  came  to 


704 


BIOGKAPniCAL  SKETCHES. 


Louisville  i'roin  Shelby  Lounty  about  1823, 
and  here  followed  his  trade  of  house-lniilding 
and  general  business  of  a mechanic.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools,  and  upon  (putting,  engaged 
in  the  drug  business  in  1800.  1 luring  the  war 

he  was  a political  prisoner  for  four  months  in 
a JMemphis  prison,  but  through  the  influence - 
of  General  Forrest  was  leleased  through  ex- 
change.  Me  immediately  engaged  in  the  drug 
business  again,  and  in  1S79  originated  and  be- 
gan the  manufacture  of  “ Golgan’s  celebrated 
Tafl'a  Tulu  ” chewing  gum,  \vhich  has  large 
sales  all  over  the  United  States,  Canada  and 
Australia.  He  employs  on  an  average  fifty 
hands  in  the  factory,  and  the  annual  aggregate 
sales  of  his  tulu  amount  to  '1t75,OO0  lo 
§100,000.  Mr.  Colgan  was  married,  in  1866, 
to  Miss  Mattie  McCrory,  daughter  of  John 
McCrory,  of  Louisville,  and  has  living  five 
children  — Bettie,  William,  Henry,  Mabel  and 
Clifton.  In  January,  MS81,  Mr.  James  A. 
McAfee  became  his  partner,  and  ever  since 
the  firm  of  C'olgan  & McAfee  on  Tenth  and 
Walnut  streets  has  been  well  known  in  the 
city. 

M'lLIdAM  M.  COLLINS,  a.  native  of 
Ireland,  w'as  born  .July  10,  1845,  and  in  1840 
was  brought  to  America  by  his  parents,  who 
settled  in  Louisville.  He  was  educated  in  the 
common-schools  of  the  city  and  at  Bardstown, 
Ky.  His  fn-st  employment  was  as  messenger 
for  F.  Buster  two  years,  after  which  he  passed 
foul'  years  on  the  farm  with  his  father.  In 
1862  he  returned  to  Louisville,  and  in  .fune 
enlisted  in  Company  A,  Fifth  Infantry,  and 
served  until  after  the  battle  of  Chickarnauga, 
when  he  was  mustered  out  as  sergeant.  After 
the  close  of  the  civil  war  he  joined  .Tohn 
< I’NeiH’s  Fenian  expedition  to  Canada,  and 
took  part  in  the  fight  at  Bidgeway,  as  capt'iin 
of  a company  raised  in  Louisville.  .He  next 
went  to  Denver,  Colo.,  where  for  a year  he 
was  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  vinegar 
and  in  distilling  whisky.  On  his  return  to 
Louisville  he  served  as  clerk  in  the  postotfice, 
and  in  the  Internal  Revenue  service  until 
1875,  and  then  engaged  in  the  wholesale 
whisky  business  with  Alvin  Wood  & C-o.  un- 
til 1883,  when  he  entered  into  the  distilling 


business  on  his  own  account  at  104  and  106 
East  Main  street.  In  1872  he  married  Maggie 
H.  Enright,  who  has  borne  him  three  chil- 
dren— Florence  B.,  Kate  E.  and  Charles 
William.  Mr.  Collins  is  a member  of  the  G. 
A.  R. 

ARCHIBALD  B.  COOK,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  of 
this  city,  is  of  Irish  and  German  extraction, 
.lohn  Cook,  his  father,  who  was  born  in  County 
Derry,  Ireland,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  came  to 
America  and  located  in  Noblestown,  Alle- 
gheny County,  Pa.,  and  for  some  years  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  pursuits,  but  subsequently 
removed  to  the  farm.  He  married  Miss  Kelso,  a 
native  of  Allegheny  County,  Pa.  Dr.  A.  B.  Cook 
was  born  in  Noblestwon,  Pa.,  September  23, 
1828.  He  was  educated  at  .Jefferson  College, 
Cannonsburgh,  Pa.  He  had  previously,  how- 
ever, spent  some  time  at  an  academy  in  Wheel- 
ing, W^.  Ma.  While  in  college  he  was  a close 
and  hard-working  student.  He  became  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Franklin  Literary 
Society,  connected  with  Jefferson  College,  and 
while  in  his  sophomore  year  was  elected  a 
member  of  the . Lyceum  Society — an  honor 
rarely  conferred  on  a sophomore,  as  the  mem- 
bership of  that  society  was  limited,  and  as  it 
was  their  custom  only  to  admit  menrbers  of 
the  senior. and  junior  classes.  From  this  in- 
: stitution  he  received  the  degree  of  A.  B.  in 
18.48,  and  the  degree  of  A.  ]\I.  in  1851.  After 
.being  occupied  for  a short  time  in  teaching  in 
' .lefferson  County,  Ky.,  in  1840  he  Iregan  the 
study  of  medicine  under  Dr.  .1.  A.  Glenn,  of 
Sharpsburg,  Pa.  In  1851  he  attended  lec- 
tures at  the  College  of  Physiciarrs  and  Sur- 
geons, New  Yor'k,  and  subsequently  at  the 
Kentucky  School  of  Medicine,  Louisville, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1853. 
He  first  settled  in  New  Castle,  Henry  County, 
Ky.,  removing  to  Louisville  in  1854.  He  has 
successfully  performed  operations  for  ovario- 
tomy arrd  lithotomy;  also  has  reduced  disloca- 
tion of  the  hip  joint  by  manipulation  on  the 
(lortium  iUi.  He  became  a member  of  the 
American  Medical  Association  in  1855;  was  a 
member  of  the  Kentucky  State  Medical  So- 
ciety; of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons, of  which  he  was  vice-pi’esident;  and  of 
the  Medico-Chirugical  Society  of  Louisville. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


767 


The  following  are  some  of  his  contributions 
to  the  literature  of  his  profession:  “Chlo- 

roform— its  Obstetric  Use.” — (inaugural 
thesis)  Louisville  JSIedical  Gazette^  1858; 

“ Fixed  Apparatus  for  the  Immediate  Dress- 
ing of  Fractures  of  Femur;  Securing  Bone  j 
Union  in  the  Intra  Capsular  Fractures  of  Old 
Persons,”  etc. — Semi-JSIontJihj  Medical  Mews, 
1859;  “Joined  Twins,  with  Plates  (his  own 
wood- cuts).  Dislocation,”  etc. — Richmond  & 
Louisville  Medical  tTb?r/7tof,  1809;  “Opera- 
tion f.jr  Adhesion  of  Soft  Palate  and  Uvula 
to  the  Pusterior  Wall  of  the  Pharynx,  with 
Dressing  with  l^ead  Plates,”  etc  etc.;  and  on 
the  “^Alue  of  Cincho  Quinine  in  the  Treat- 
ment of  Intermittent  and  Remittent  Fever,” 
both  of  the  latter  published  in  the  Medical 
and  Surgical  Reporter;  “ Case  of  Gunshot 
wound;  Ball  Penetrating  the  Base  of  Left 
Lung,  Diaphragm,  Left  Kidney,  and  Lodging 
in  the  Erector  Spinal  Mirscles,”  etc. — Louis- 
ville Medical  Gazette,  1858;  “ Extraction  of 
Five  False  Teeth,  with  Plate  attached  from 
the  Cardiac  Orifice  of  the  ^Esophagus,  which 
had  been  swallowed  five  months  previous, 
causing  Stricture  of  the  ^Esophagus.” — 
American  Mediccd Bi-  ~\Veekl y,  October,  1877 ; 
“Complicated  Fracture.” — Same,  September, 
1878;  “How  to  Elevate  the  Standard  of 
Medical  Education  and  iledical  Teaching.” — 
Same,  April  26,  1879;  “ Dislocation  of  the 
Shoulder  Joint,  caused  by  Muscular  Spasm  of 
Six  ^Months’  Standing,  Successfully  Reduced.” 
— Richmond  & Ijouisville  Medical  Joiirned, 
May,  1875;  “Poisoning  by  Cannabis  Indica.” 
— The  American  Practitioner,  July,  1884; 

“ Ruptured  Urethra,”  February,  1885;  “ I>ac- 
erated  Perineum  of  Eight  Years’  Standing,” 
successful,  March,  1884;  “ Complete  Lacera- 
tion of  the  Perineum  and  Recto- Yaginal 
Septum,  Resulting  from  Forceps  Delivery, 
Primary  Operation,  complicated  with  Trau- 
matic Erysipelas,”  successful  result,  August, 
1885;  “Surgical  Diseases  resulting  from  In- 
frequent Causes,”  .lanuary,  1886,  all  published 
in  Guillard's  Medical  Journal;  “ Elixir 
Paraldehyde,  the  Coming  Remedy  as  a sub- 
stitute for  Opiates  and  Anodynes.” — 3Iedical 
Proyms,  January,  1888,  etc.  etc.  etc.  “ Elixir 
Paraldehyde  in  Puerperal  Eclampsia,  dead 


Foetus,  Seventh  Month  of  Pregnancy,  Albu- 
minous Urine,  Good  Recovery,”  Guillard'’s 
Mediccd  Journal,  1888,  etc.  etc.  etc.  In  1855 
Doctor  Cook  was  elected  professor  of  anato- 
my and  demonstrator  of  anatomy  in  the 
Kentucky  School  of  Medicine,  a position  he 
held  until  1856,  when  he  was  elected  to  the 
latter  position  in  the  medical  department  of 
the  LTniversity  of  Louisville.  This  he  also 
held  for  several  years,  the  wEile  also  teaching 
I private  classes  in  medical  branches  and  giving 
i special  lectures  in  surgery  and  surgical  anato- 
j my.  In  1863  he  was  elected  professor  of 
I surgery  in  the  Kentucky  School  of  Medicine; 
and  in  1866,  the  two  medical  faculties  uniting, 
he  took  the  chair  of  the  surgical  diseases  of 
the  genito-urinary  organs  and  rectum  in  the 
Univerity  of  Louisville.  In  1867,  he  was  again 
elected  to  the  chair  of  principles  and  practice 
of  surgery  in  the  Kentucky  School  of  Medi- 
cine, and  he  was  then  president  and  registrar 
of  the  faculty.  In  1875  he  was  elected  to 
the  same  chair  in  the  Louisville  Medical  Col- 
lege, filling  both  positions  until  1877,  when 
the  chair  of  the  Kentucky  School  of  iMedicine 
was  chano-ed  to  embrace  the  science  and  art 
of  surgery  and  clinical  surgery.  He  was  for 
ten  years  physician  to  the  Episcopal  Orphan 
Asylum;  for  several  years  connected  with  dis- 
pensaries for  the  benefit  of  the  poor,  and  for 
twenty  years,  one  of  the  surgeons  in  the 
Louisville  City  Marine  Hospital.  In  1860  he 
was  appointed  surgeon,  with  the  rank  of  ma- 
j jor,  on  General  Buckner’s  staff,  Kentucky 
State  Guards;  acted  as  surgeon  of  volunteers 
in  1863,  and  received  the  ^ appointment  to 
organize  the  invalid  corps.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Health  of  Louisville, 
was  a member  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners 
of  Public  Charities,  of  Imuisville,  during  1870, 
and  chairman  of  the  hospital  committee.  In 
February,  1872,  he  married  ilrs.  Fannie  iM. 
Roberts,  of  Louisville.  She  died  November 
29,  1886,  leaving  no  children. 

R.  B.  COTTER,  one  of  the  most  extensive 
manufacturers  and  wholesale  lumber  dealers  in. 
Louisville,  is  a native  of  this  State,  having 
been  born  in  Bardstown  in  the  year  1856. 
j Early  in  life  he  moved  to  this  city,  where  he 
• was  educated,  and  for  some  time  was  interested 


768 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


ill  the  iron  iiusiuess,  but  during  the  past  seven 
years  has  been  engaged  exclusively  in  the 
lumber  trade.  The  oihce  and  luinl:)er  yard 
of  Mr.  Cotter  are  located  on  the  corner  of 
Eighth  and  Zane  streets.  The  yard  covers  an 
area  of  al^out  three  and  one-quarter  acres, 
and,  Ijeino-  near  the  main  stem  of  the  Louis- 
ville  & Nasliville  Railroad,  has  side-tracks 
running’'into  it,  which  greatly  facilitate  the 
receiving  and  shipping  of  goods.  He  carries 
a very  large  stock  of  pine  and  hardwood 
lumber — mostly  hardwood — making  a special- 
ty of  ])oplar  or  whitewood,  selling  at  whole- 
sale only  and  in  carload  lots.  His  trade  here 
is  quiet  large  and  extends  east,  west,  north 
and  south — also  through  Canada  and  Europe. 
Last  year  the  sales  of  lumber  amounted  to 
18,0()0,()00  feet.  The  well  equipped  planing 
mill  in  the  yard  is  kept  constantly  running, 
dressing  and  working  lumber  for  various 
uses,  the  pay-roll  amounting  to  $1,000  per 
week.  This  is  the  kind  of  industry  that 
builds  up  a city  and  adds  to  its  wealth  and 
prosperity.  Mr.  Cotter  owns  several  thousand 
acres  of  the  timber  lands  m Kentucky,  Tenn- 
essee and  Indiana,  and  his  resources  for  pro- 
curing the  very  best  quality  of  hardwood 
lumber  to  meet  the  growing  demands  of  his 
trade  are  almost  inexhaustible.  He  owns  and 
operates  a saw-mill  in  eastern  Kentucky,  one 
in  Tennessee  and  another  in  Indiana,  besides 
a floating  mill,  “ Old  Hickory,”  operating  on 
the  Ohio  River  and  its  tril^utaries.  This 
floating  saw-mill  draws  less  than  two  feet  of 
water  and  can  navigrate  the  smallest  streams, 
where  a force  of  men  is  constantly  engaged 
sawing  timber  and  loading  it  on  Ijarges  for 
transportation  to  Louisville.  His  growing 
trade  rende_rs  it  necessary  for  him  to  buy  the 
cuts  of  several  other  mills.  The  secret  of  the 
successs  of  this  enterprising  young  merchant 
is  found  in  a thoroug-h  knowledge  of  the 
business  he  is  engaged  in  and  reliability  in 
filling  orders  according  to  contract.  Mr. 
Cotter  was  married  to  Miss  Anna  R.  Mosset, 
of  Newport,  Ky.,  in  1887.  She  is  a daughter 
of  Capt.  A.  J.  Mosset,  who  is  proprietor  of 
several  lines  of  steamboats. 

HON.  ATTILLA  COX,  Collector  of  In- 
ternal Revenue  at  Louisville,  was  born  in 


1 Carroll  County,  this  State,  August  16,  1843, 

! and  is  a son  of  .lames  P.  and  Felicia 
(Obouscier)  Cox.  The  former  was  a native  of 
Orange  County,  Va.,  came  to  Kentucky  and 
was  a prominent  business  man  in  Carroll 
County.  Mr.  Cox’s  maternal  grandfather, 
Luke  ( Ibouscier  was  a native  of  Lausane,  Swit- 
zerland. He  came  to  the  United  States  many 
years  ago,  and  to  Kentucky,  and  settled  in  the 
town  of  Ghent  in  Carroll  County.  Mr.  Cox, 
the  subject  of  this  sketcli,  was  brought  up 
and  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
county.  He  followed  merchandizing,  trading 
and  banking  successfully  at  Owenton,  and 
was  interested  in  many  other  enterprises  for 
the  improvement  and  development  of  his 
county.  He  was  twice  elected  to  the  State 
Senate,  and  in  1884  was  a delegate  to  the 
National  Democratic  Convention  at  Chicago, 
and  a member  of  the  committee  to  notify  Mr. 
Cleveland  of  his  nomination.  He  was  ap- 
pointed on  the  lOth  of  .June,  1885,  by  Presi- 
dent Cleveland,  Collecterof  Internal  Revenue 
of  this  district,  which  position  he  now  fills,  and 
the  duties  of  which  he  has  efficiently  dis- 
charged. Mr.  Cox  was  married  in  I860  to  Miss 
Kate  Martin,  a daughter  of  .Judge  .J.  B.  Martin, 
of  Owen  County.  He  is  a man  of  sterling  in- 
tegrity, of  fine  intelligence  and  business  ener- 
gy, and  large  personal  and  political  influence. 

GEORGE  M.  CRAWFORD  was  born  in 
Louisville,  February  It),  1850,  and  is  a son  of 
Robert  I.  and  Margaret  (Craig)  Crawford, 
natives  of  Virginia.  The  former  came  to 
Louisville  in  1845,  and  engaged  in  the  whole- 
sale dry  goods  business.  He  is  now  book- 
keeper and  cashier  of  Falls  City  Tobacco 
Warehouse,  J-^ouisville.  He  was  bom  October 
12,  1821,  and  has  four  sons  living,  viz:  Alex- 
ander W.,  Presbyterian  minister  and  pastor  of 
a church  at  Campbellsville,  Ivy.;  Newton  G., 
manager  of  the  Pheenix  Storage  Co.;  Brown 
C.,  book-keeper  at  Glover  & Durretl’s  tobac- 
co warehouse,  and  George  M.  George  M. 
Crawford  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  I..ouisville,  and  afterwards  entered  the 
hardware  store  of  Hart  & Co.,  as  book-keeper 
and  cashier,  where  he  remained  for  over  four 
years.  Then  for  five  years  he  was  with  the 
Kentucky  Flour  Company ; then  became  pres- 


W 


r 


V. 


« 


J.S.COO  M E5 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


769 


ident  of  the  Tobacco  Transfer  Co.,  which  he 
organized  in  1885,  and  is  still  operating’.  He 
has  been  a director  in  the  Westview  Buildinc 

O 

Company  for  three  years,  and  is  at  present  i 
secretary  and  treasurer,  and  general  manager 
of  the  same.  He  was  married  in  August,  1883, 
to  jMiss  Abbie  N.  Tate,  of  Lexington,  Mo. 
They  have  one  child — ^lagnus  Tate. 

RICHARD  CROUM,  Bullitt  County,  was 
born  in  Green  County  in  1820.  He  is  the 
fifth  of  ten  children  born  to  Henry  andXancy 
(Skaggs)  Croura,  the  former  a native  of  North 
Carolina,  the  latter  a daughter  of  Moses 
Skaggs,  of  Green  County.  Henry  C.  was  a 
gallant  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  bore 
an  honorable  part  in  the  memorable  battle  of 
New  Orleans.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
reared  in  Green  County,  and  received  but  a 
limited  education.  He  married  Miss  Frances 
Towns,  and  to  them  have  been  born  two  chil- 
dren, viz:  Elam,  born  March  10,  1860,  and 
Bert,  born  May  12,  1862.  When  the  civil 
war  broke  out  in  1861,  Mr.  Croum  enlisted  in 
the  Thirteenth  Kentucky  (Federal)  Infantry, 
and  served  to  the  close  of  the  war,  receiving 
an  honorable  discharge,  in  1865,  at  Chatta- 
nooga. 

GEORGE  L.  DANFORTH  was  born  .July 
24, 1854,  and  is  a son  of  the  late  Joseph  Lewds 
1 )anforth  of  this  city.  The  latter  was  a native 
of  Louisville,  and  was  born  January  21, 1821, 
and  died  October  29,  1887.  He  was  a son  of 
Joseph  and  Lucy  Shaw  (Lewis)  Danforth — 
the  latter  a lineal  descendant  of  Mary  Chilton, 
who  is  said  to  have  been  first  of  the  pilgrim 
band  to  set  foot  on  Plymouth  Rock.  Mr. 
Joseph  L.  Danforth  received  a liberal  educa- 
tion, graduating  with  honors  from  Harvard 
University.  His  tastes,  however,  tended 
toward  commercial  instead  of  literary  pur- 
suits, and  after  completing  his  education  he 
was  taken  into  the  wholesale  dry  goods  bouse 
of  his  father,  and  the  firm  became  J.  Danforth 
& Son,  long  well  known  and  prominent  in 
the  commercial  circles  of  the  city.  Mr.  Dan- 
forth subsequently  engaged  in  the  insurance 
business,  and  was  prominently  identified  with 
it  for  a period  of  thirty  years.  For  twenty- 
five  years  he  was  president  of  the  Board  of 
Underwriters,  which  body,  upon  his  decease, 


adopted  appropriate  memorial  services.  He 
served  several  terms  in  the  school  board,  and 
was  elected  its  president,  but  aside  from  this 
service,  he  never  sought  public  office.  Of  a 
modest,  unassuming  disposition,  he  also  pos- 
sessed a clear  understanding,  and  his  judg- 
ment had  o-reat  weicfht  ■uuth  those  with  whom 
he  was  associated  in  business  or  social  life. 
He  was  thoroughly  honorable,  and  no  man 
stood  higher  in  the  estimation  of  those  who 
knew  him.  His  wife  and  five  children  survive 
him.  The  latter  are:  Mrs.  Victor  H.  New- 
comb, of  New  York  City;  Mrs.  Smith,  the  wife 
of  Mr.  Newcomb’s  secretary;  Mrs.  Charles 
Johnson,  of  this  city;  an  unmarried  daughter, 
and  George  L.,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch. 
The  latter  gentleman  was  brought  up  in 
Louisville,  and  received  a liberal  education. 
He  was  taken  into  partnership  with  his  father 
in  the  insurance  business,  in  which  be  is  still 
engaged.  He  is  one  of  the  live  young  busi- 
ness men  of  the  city,  and  stands  high  among 
his  fellows.  He  is  president  of  the  Louisville 
Spoke  Company,  and  is  prominently  connected 
with  other  business  enterprises,  notably  of 
which  is  farminof  and  the  breeding-  of  fine 
horses,  a pursuit  more  or  less  interesting  to  all 
Kentuckians.  He  was  married  in  1877  to 
Miss  Florence  Standiford,  daughter  of  the  late 
Dr.  E.  D.  Standiford  of  this  city.  They  have 
five  children. 

GEORGE  jM.  DAVIE,  one  of  the  promi- 
nent lawyers  of  Louisville,  was  born  in 
Christian  County,  Ky.,  March  16,  1848,  and  is 
a son  of  Hon.  Winston  J.  and  Sarah  A. 
(Philips)  Davie.  His  ancestry  were  persons 
of  the  highest  social  position.  His  grand- 
parents -were  North  Carolinians;  his  mother 
was  an  accomplished  lady,  a native  of  Colum- 
bus, Ga.  His  father  was  a Kentuckian,  born 
also  in  Christian  County.  Mr.  I )avie’s  educa- 
tion was  thorough,  he  having  been  a student 
at  Centre  College,  Danville,  Ky.,  and  in  1865 
he  entered  Princeton  College,  New  Jersey, 
from  which  he  graduated  with  honor  in  1868. 
He  came  to  Louisville  the  followung  year,  and 
commenced  the  study  of  law  with  Col.  Robert 
Woolley,  a man  whose  brilliant  ability  was 
almost  unequaled  in  Kentucky.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1870,  and  commenced 


770 


BIOGllAPIIICAL  SKETCHES. 


practice  in  1871,  in  the  office  of  Muir  & Bijur; 
in  1874  he  was  admitted  a member  of  the  firm. 
In  1877  the  ilrm  became  Bijur  & Davie.  Upon 
tlie  death  of  Mr.  ifijur  in  1882,  Mr.  Davie 
formed  a copartnership  v/ith  Col.  John  Mason 
Brown,  his  l)rother-in-lavv,  and  in  1885  Judge 
Alex.  B.  Humphrey  was  admitted,  the  fiim 
now  i:)eing  Brown,  Humphrey  & Davie.  Mr. 
Davie  was  married  December  5,  1878,  to  Miss 
.Margaret  Howard  Preston,  a daughter  of  Gen. 
\\411  iam  Preston,  of  Lexington,  Ky.  One 
child  has  been  born  to  this  union.  Mr.  Davie 
is  devoted  to  his  profession,  and  has  given  Vjut 
little  time  to  politics.  He  has,  however,  been 
for  five  or  six  years,  chairman  of  the  Demo- 
cratic committee  of  his  district. 

WILLIAM  DAWSON,  a farmer  residing 
near  Pitt’s  Point,  Bullitt  County,  was  born 
February  18,  1818,  in  Nelson  County,  Ky. 
His  father,  George  W.  Dawson,  was  born  in 
Virginia  in  1752,  and  immigrated  to  Ken- 
tucky about  the  year  1771.  He  was  a 
revolutionary  soldier  ffom  Kentucky,  and 
subseipiently  volunteered  in  the  war  of  1812, 
serving  as  a private  at  the  battle  of  New  Or- 
leans, also  in  various  encragements  with  the 
Indians,  and  was  with  General  Harrison  at  the 
battle  of  Fort  Harrison,  near  Terre  Haute, 
Ind.  George  W.  lived  to  be  eightty-six 
years  of  age.  The  maiden  name  of  subject’s 
mother  was  Catherine  Ballard.  William 
Dawson,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  w'as  the 
seventh  child  l)orn  to  his  parents;  he  settled 
in  Bullitt  County  in  1884,  and  is  one  of  the 
substantial  farmers  of  that  county.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Margaret  Ann  Lee,  August 
16,  1838.  In  the  late  civil  war  he  enlisted  in 
August,  1861,  in  the  Sixth  Kentucky  Volun- 
teers, under  General  .John  C.  Breckinridge, 
and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh  and 
other  historic  engagements.  He  returned  to 
his  farm  of  1900  acres  in  1868. 

WILLIAM  B.  DOHERTY,  M.  D.,  is  a 
native  of  Ireland,  and  was  born  in  Donegal 
County,  January  24,  1847.  His  parents  died 
in  Ireland,  laut  he  was  liberally  educated. 
After  going  through  the  National  schools  and 
teaching  for  a time,  he  took  a classical  course. 
He  came  to  New  York  in  July,  1867,  and  for 
a time  taught  school.  In  the  meantime  he 


began  the  study  of  medicine.  He  came  to 
Kentucky  in  1869,  and  graduated  from  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of 
Louisville  in  1872,  and  1 as  practiced  ever 
since.  For  six  years  he  was  clinical  assistant 
to  Profs.  Parvin  and  Holland,  both  now  of 
Philadelphia.  He  served  for  two  yearson  the 
Louisville  Hospital  staff.  In  1886  he  visited 
Europe,  where  he  attended  the  hospitals  of 
Dublin,  London,  Berlin  and  Vienna.  He  was 
married  in  April,  1875,  to  Miss  Tillie  R.  Dep- 
pen,  a daughter  of  J.  L.  Deppen,  a well  known 
citizen  of  Louisville.  He  is  secretary  of  the 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  one  of  the 
oldest  medical  societies  in  the  United  States, 
having  been  established  in  1832,  and  charter- 
ed  by  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky  in  1838. 
Prof.  Gross  was  the  first  presi'Ient,  and  Austin 
Flint  and  Lewis  Rogers  among  the  incorpor- 
tors.  He  is  Medical  Examiner  for  the  Catho- 
lic Knights  of  America,  and  oth?r  insurance 
companies,  and  is  visiting  physician  to  Sts. 
Mary  and  Elizabeth  Hospitals. 

DRENNON  SULPHUR  SPRINGS,  situ- 
ated in  Henry  County,  on  the  Kentucky  River 
in  the  State  of  Kentucky,  at  one  time  a cele- 
brated watering  place,  was  once  owned  by 
Dr.  Robert  Hunter,  whose  father  was  captain 
and  surgeon  in  the  U.  S.  army.  He  was  a 
descendant  in  a direct  line  of  an  illustrious 
race  of  surgeons,  natives  of  Ireland.  Dr. 
Robert  Hunter,  while  owner  and  resident  of 
these  valuable  springs,  was  acknowledged  a 
courteous  and  hospitable  host;  generous  to 
all,  he  made  his  guests  forget  they  had  a home 
elsewhere  than  under  his  roof.  Dr.  Robert 
Hunter,  though  pre-eminently  endowed  by 
nature,  and  fitted  by  education,  to  hold  and 
follow  the  august  and  dignified  profession 
which  had  distinguished  his  ancestors,  relin- 
quished  amliition,  and  followed  the  dictates 
of  a refined  and  poetic  nature,  which  this  wild 
and  romantic  country  gratified.  These  springs 
were  afterward  bought  and  extensively  im- 
proved by  his  son-in-law,  Abram  Owen  Smith, 
son  of  Thos.  Smith,  president  of  the  first 
railroad  in  the  State  of  Kentucky.  Thos. 
Smith  died  of  cholera  in  New  Castle,  Henry 
County,  Ky.,  July  21,  1850.  His  wife 
was  Harriet  Owen,  daughter  of  Colonel 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


773 


xAbrain  Owen,  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Tip- 
pecanoe. She  was  a descendant  of  the  Dupey 
family,  of  France.  The  present  site  of  the 
Dreinion  Springs  presents  not  a vestige  of 
its  former  grandeur,  and  its  capacity  to  ac- 
commodate over  a thousand  people.  The 
entire  buildings,  with  all  their  military  parade 
grounds,  and  ample  construction  for  a military 
institution,  were  destroyed  by  fire  about  the 
year  1865.  To  day  the  wild  buffalo  might 
roam  unmolested  amonofthe  surroundingf  hills 
that  border  the  Kentucky  River.  Where  i 
music  and  gayety  resounded,  silence  reigns.  | 
The  murmuring  river  and  sighing  winds  sing 
unbroken  requiem  to  the  teeming  past.  But 
the  unceasing,  bubbling  water,  so  highly  es- 
teemed by  Dr.  Samuel  Gross,  of  Louisville, 
Ky.,  still  holds  medicinal  virtue,  still  give 
proof  of  their  hold  upon  the  gratitude  of  so 
many  who  found  relief  in  the  secluded  haunts 
of  that  romantic  region. 

WILLIAM  A.  DUCKWALL  was  born 
.lune  11,  1817,  in  Morgan  County,  Va.,  and 
is  a son  of  Isaac  and  Amelia  (Clover)  Duck- 
wall,  natives  of  Vircrinia.  He  came  to  Cler- 
mont  County,  Ohio,  in  1836,  and  there 
married  Sarah  Ann  Jenkins,  April  25,  1838; 
the  year  following  he  came  to  New  Albany, 
Ind.,  and  in  1840  to  Louisville,  where,  in 
connection  with  his  brother  David,  he  was  en- 
gaged in  running  hacks  and  omnibuses  from 
Portland  to  Louisville;  at  this  time  he  was 
also  engaged  in  the  produce  business.  The 
omnibus  line  was  continued  with  much  com- 
petition by  other  omnibus  lines  both  from 
Cincinnati  and  at  home,  but  by  his  strict  at- 
tention to  business,  caused  the  opposition 
lines  to  withdraw.  Mr.  Isiam  Henderson  and 
others  built  a street  railway  from  Twelfth 
street  to  Portland,  and  run  it  in  opposition  to 
the  omnibus  line;  after  a time  a compromise 
was  made  by  running  the  omnibuses  from 
Twelfth  street  to  other  parts  of  the  city,  the 
proceeds  of  the  receipts  of  which  being  equally 
divided,  but  after  a time  sold  out  to  them. 
The  produce  business  was  continued,  and  in 
1856,  taking  W.  H.Troxell  as  a partner,  con- 
solidated with  D.  Duckwall,  of  the  boat  store 
business,  thus  forming  the  firm  of  Duckw^all, 
Troxell  & Co.  Afterwards,  in  order  to  give 


an  increase  to  the  business,  the  firm  became 
interested  in  several  fine  steamboats.  In 
1858,  with  Alex.  Hunter,  bought  the  Connor 
interest  in  the  New'  Albany  and  Portland 
Ferries,  which  interest  he  still  holds.  In  1872, 
upon  the  dissolution  of  Duckwall,  Troxell  & 
Co.,  he  retired  from  active  business  and  moved 
to  the  country,  where  he  had  purchased  lands. 
On  the  12th  of  July,  1875,  IMrs.  Duckwall  died 
after  a brief  illness.  There  were  seven  chil- 
dren, three  having  died  when  quite  young. 
Mrs.  Amelia  Kate  Duckwall  Hunter,  the 
beautiful  and  accomplished  wife  of  Alex. 
Hunter,  died  May  20,  1870.  The  remaining 
children,  David  T.  Duckwall,  Mrs.  E.  Laura 
Fitch  and  AY.  A.  Duckwall,  .Ir.,  ate  now 

living. 

IrViN  DUGAN  was  born  June  29, 1846, 
in  Brown  County,  ( )hio,  and  is  a son  of  Robert 
C.  and  Elizabeth  Bryant  Dugan,  of  Scotch- 
Irish  and  ^Yelsh  extraction  respectively.  The 
j former  w'as  reared  a Quaker  in  Chester  County, 
Pa,  and  held  many  important  positions  of 
honor  and  trust  in  Brown  County,  Ohio, 
where  he  moved  in.  1817.,  When  the  sidrject 
w’as  five  years  old  his  parents  removed  to 
Covington,  Ky.,  and  in  the  schools  of  that 
city  he  was  principally  educated.  There  his 
honored  father  died  in  1876;  his  mother  is 
still  living  in  Louisville,  and  recently  cele- 
brated her  eighty- first  birthday.  He  attended 
Commercial  College  at  Cincinnati,  and  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  went  to  B ilivar,  Tenu.,  where 
he  learned  telegraphy,  remaining  there  until 
the  civil  war  broke  out.  He  then  returned 
to  Kentucky,  and  re-entered  the  school 
at  Covington.  In  1863  he  went  to  Crothers- 
! ville,  Ind.,  as  telegraph  operator  for  two 
years,  then  to  Seymour  as  telegraph  opera- 
tor and  ticket  agent  for  two  year.=,  then  to 
Holly  Springs,  Miss.,  and  thence  to  Memphis, 
Tenn.  In  1872  he  went  on  the  river,  as  clerk, 
and  soon  became  captain  of  the  steamer  T.  F. 
Eckert,  and  four  years  later  was  elected  pre- 
sident of  the  Dugan  Towing  Transportation 
and  Wrecking  Company  of  Louisville,  Ky., 
which  position  he  held  until  1885,  in  Septem- 
ber. He  came  to  Louisville  in  1876,  and  also 
engaged  in  the  .coal  business  as  junior  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Dugan  & Co.  He  was 


774 


BIOGKAPIIICAL  SKETCHES. 


married  in  1883  to  Miss  Mattie  G.  Dickson, 
daughter  of  Francis  W.  Jlickson,  a retired 
business  man  of  Louisville.  They  liave  two 
children:  Frank  Irwin  and  Marlin  Elizabeth. 
C’aptain  Dugan  was  appointed  Supervising 
Inspector  of  Steam  Vessels  of  the  Sixth  Dis- 
tiict,  by  President  Cleveland,  Sept.  14,  1885, 
which  district  embraces  the  Ohio  river  from 
Carrollton,  Ky.,  to  Cairo,  the  Mississippi 
river  from  Greenfield  Mo.,  to  Greenville, 
51iss.,  and  all  navijrable  waters  flowino-  in  be- 
tween  these  points,  including  the  Cumberland, 
Tennessee,  White  and  Wabash  in  Indiana, 
White  and  Arkansas  rivers  in  Arkansas,  and 
altogether  about  eight  thousand  miles  of 
navigable  water.  Captain  Dugan  has  made 
a very  ellicient  and  popular  inspector,  and 
enjoys  the  iiniversal  respect  of  his  subordi- 
nates as  well  as  the  men  whose  business  brings 
him  in  contact  with.  He  was  recommended 
to  the  President  for  appointment  to  the  po- 
sition he  now  holds,  by  nearly  all  the  owners 
and  managers  of  steam-veseels  (without  regard 
to  politics)  from  Pittsburgh  to  New  (Jrleans, 
and  by  the  underwriters  at  Pittsburg,  Cincin- 
nati, Louisville,  Evansville,  Ind.,  St.  Louis, 
Memphis,  A'icksburg  and  New  Orleans.  He 
has  eight  assistant  (or  local)  inspectors,  two 
stationed  at  each  of  the  following  cities: 
Louisville,  Ky.,  Evansville,  Ind.,  Memphis 
and  Nashville,  Tenn.,  all  of  whom  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  upon 
the  recommendation  of  Captain  Dugan,  who 
selected  them  for  their  knowledffe,  skill  and 
practical  experience  in  the  uses  of  steam  for 
navigation,  and  their  temperate  habits  and 
good  character.  He  is  very  tenacious  of  the 
rights  of  the  traveling  p)ublic,  and  his  subor- 
dinate ollicers  give  him  their  hearty  co-opera- 
tion. Unless  a person  be  of  temperate  habits 
and  qualified  by  experience  to  perform  the 
duties  of  an  officer  on  steam-vessels  he  is 
refused  a license.  That  Captain  Dugan  has 
made  no  mistake  in  the  selection  of  his  statf- 
officers  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  since  he  as- 
sumed the  duties  of  the  office  more  than  two 
and  one-half  millions  of  human  beino-s  have 

O 

been  carried  annually  on  steam-vessels  in  his 
district,  with  the  loss  of  but  one  passenger,  a 
record  he  may  well  be  proud  of. 


CHARLES  E.  DUNN,  one  of  the  exem- 
plary citizens  of  Imuisville,  is  a son  of  John  O. 
and  Augusta  (Stansbury)  Dunn,  the  former  a 
native  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  an>l  still  re- 
membered by  some  of  the  old  citizens  of 
Louisville  as  a steamboat-man,  the  latter  a 
native  of  New  York  City,  and  a daughter  of 
A.  J.  Stansbury,  a reporter  of  the  National 
Intelligencer  in  the  United  States  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives.  They  came  to 
Louisville  in  1832,  where  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born,  Auo-ust  30,  1840.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Louisville, 
and  mainly  through  his  own  exertions  ob- 
tained a good  practical  education,  and  in  the 
meantime  studied  dentistry.  In  the  winter  of 
1858-59  he  attended  the  Kentucky  School  of 
Medicine,  and  the  next  winter  graduated  from 
the  Baltimore  College  of  Dental  Surgery. 
He  then  returned  to  Louisville,  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  his  profession,  as 
assistant  of  Dr.  E.  W.  Mason,  with  whom  he 
remained  until  the  fall  of  1860,  when  he 
started  up  for  himself,  and  has  so  continued  to 
the  present  time,  having  his  office  upon  the 
same  square — on  Second  street,  between 
Green  and  Walnut.  He  was  married  in  No- 
vember, 1876  (the  ne.xt  day  after  Samuel  .1. 
Tilden  -was  elected  President  of  the  United 
States),  to  Miss  Susanna  Thorpe,  of  Mount 
Washington,  B.iltimore  Co.,  Jld.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Charles  J.  R.  Thorpe,  who  was 
assistant  postmaster  of  Baltimore  for  many 
years.  Four  children  have  been  born  to  this 
union,  three  of  whom  are  living,  viz:  Oswald 
T.,  Susanna  and  Augusta.  One,  Louis  Cum- 
mins, died  August  20,  1887.  Dr.  Dunn  is 
one  of  the  leading  Freemasons  of  Louisville, 
and  has  passed  through  all  the  different 
grades  of  the  order  from  the  blue  lodge  to 
the  commandery.  He  is  a Past  Master  of 
Abraham  Lodge,  No.  8;  Past  High  Priest  of 
Louisville  R.  A.  Chapter,  No.  5;  Past  Thrice 
Illustrious  of  Louisville  Council,  No.  4;  Past 
Commander  of  Louisville  Commandery,  No.  1; 
Past  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  Grand  R.  A. 
Chapter  of  Kentucky,  and  Past  Grand  Master 
of  the  Grand  Council  of  Kentucky,  and  at 
present  is  a member  of  the  Board  of  Directors 
of  the  Masonic  Widows’  and  Orphans’  Home  at 


R.  T.  DXJIMIETT 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


777 


Louisville.  He  was  elected  President  of  the 
“ Kentucky  State  Dental  Association,”  at  the 
annual  meeting  June  1,  1875,  and  served  the 
ensuing  year.  At  the  .June  meeting  1881,  he 
was  elected  secretary,  to  which  office  he  has 
been  re-elected,  and  served  in  ever  since. 

REUBEN  THOMAS  DURRETT,  a son 
of  William  and  Elizabeth  Rawlings  Darrett, 
was  born  in  Henry  County,  Kentucky,  .Janu- 
ary 22,  1824.  His  grandfather,  Francis 
Durrett,  after  going  through  the  Illinois  cam- 
paign of  1778-79,  under  Gen.  George  Rogers 
Clark,  returned  to  his  home  in  Virginia, 
whence  the  family  removed  to  Kentucky  and 
settled  on  land  selected  in  Henry  County, 
while  it  was  part  of  Virginia.  Here  his  father, 
after  early  shelter  in  the  conventional  log- 
house  of  the  times,  with  the  labor  of  his  ne- 
groes, molding  brick,  sawing  lumber,  riving 
shingles,  etc.,  built  the  first  brick  house  in 
Henry  County,  which  stands  to-day,  at  the 
old  homestead,  two  miles  north  of  New  Castle, 
as  solid  as  it  w'as  when  erected  nearly  a cen- 
tury ago.  The  Durretts  are  of  PTench  origin, 
the  name  having  been  originally  spelt  Duret. 
The  family  traditions  extend  back  to  Louis 
Duret,  an  eminent  physician  who  flourished  in 
France  duiing-  the  last  half  of  the  sixteenth 

O 

century.  Some  curious  old  books,  published 
by  him  and  his  descendants,  have  been  pre- 
served all  these  years  in  the  the  family,  and 
are  now  in  the  possession  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  Early  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, some  of  the  Durets  of  the  Protestant 
faith,  smarting  under  the  effects  of  the  massa- 
cre of  St.  Bartholomew,  crossed  the  channel 
and  established  themselves  in  Ennland.  In 

O 

1644  Christopher  Duret  was  prominently  con- 
nected with  the  Baptist  Church  in  London, 
and  his  name  appears  to  the  address  accom- 
j)anying  the  Confession  of  Faith  put  forth  that 
year.  In  England  the  French  sound  of  the 
letters  making  Duret  as  if  written  Duray^ 
was  lost,  and  the  name  pronounced  as  it  was 
spelled.  In  the  coui’se  of  time  this  pronun- 
ciation was  emphasized,  by  doubling  the  “ r ” 
and  the  “ t,”  thus  making  the  name  Durrett, 
as  we  have  it  now.  About  1730,  John  Dur 
rett  left  England,  and  making  his  way  across 
the  ocean  to  Virginia,  settled  upon  a Vact  of 


land  which  he  purchased  iir  Spottsylvania 
County.  A few  years  later  he  was  followed 
by  Bartholomew  Durrett  and  Richard  Durrett, 
both  of  them  likewise  purchasing  lands  and 
settling  in  Spottsylvania  County.  These  were 
the  ancestors  of  the  Durretts  in  America,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  claiming  descent  from 
his  great-grandfather  .John  Durrett.  i\Jr. 
Durrett,  after  deriving  such  advantages  as 
the  schools  of  his  native  county  afforded,  was 
in  Georgetown  CDllege,  Kentucky,  from  1844 
to  1840.  He  then  went  to  Brown  Uni  verbify, 
in  Pi’ovidence,  Rho  le  Island,  where  he  was 
graduate  1 with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  in  1849, 
followed  in  1853  by  the  degree  of  A.  M.,  for 
continued  progress  in  learning.  Immediately 
after  graduating,  he  began  the  study  of  law, 
and  applied  himself  with  such  diligence  dur- 
ing the  summer  and  fall  of  1849  that  he  was 
enabled  to  combine  the  two  years’  course  of 
the  Law  Department  of  the  University  of 
Louisville  in  one,  and  graduated  with  the  de- 
gree of  LL.  B , in  1850.  He  at  once  began 
practice  at  the  I.,ouisville  bar,  which  was  con- 
tinued until  1880,  when  he  felt  that  his  suc- 
cess had  yielded  him  a sufficient  competence 
on  which  to  retire.  During  Mr.  Durrett’s 
thirty  years  at  the  bar,  he  never  peimitted 
himself  to  be  drawn  aside  into  politics.  In 
1852  he  was  appointed  assistant  elector  on 
the  Scott  and  Graham  ticket,  and  in  this 
capacity  made  a number  of  speeches,  and  this 
was  the  nearest  he  ever  came  to  holding  a 
political  office.  He  was  ever  ready  to  help 
others  to  political  preferment,  but  wanted  no 
office  for  himself,  although  important  ones 
were  more  than  once  within  his  reach.  When 
Beriah  Mao-offin  made  the  race  for  Governor 

O 

of  Kentucky  in  1859,  Mr.  Durrett  took  an 
active  part  in  his  behalf.  After  his  election. 
Gov.  Magoffin  sent  for  him  and  asked  what  he 
could  do  for  h'm.  Mr.  Durrett  having  an- 
swered that  he  desired  no  office,  the  governor 
responded  that  he  would  make  him  one  of  his 
aids  anyhow,  and  after  his  inauguration  sent 
him  a commission  as  colonel.  In  this  way 
Mr.  Durrett  got  the  epithet  of  Colonel,  which 
has  stuck  to  him  ever  since.  Mr.  Dnrictt  de- 
serves noUce  as  an  orator,  a poet,  and  a writer. 
His  valedictory  address  when  he  graduated  at 


778 


BIOaKAtlllCAL  SKETCHES. 


tlie  law  school  in  1850,  his  Fourth  of  July 
oration  at  the  invitation  of  the  City  Council 
of  Louisville,  in  1852,  his  address  before  the 
Kentucky  Mechanics’  Institute  in  1856,  and 
his  Centennial  address  at  Louisville  in  1880, 
all  of  which  have  been  published,  have  been 
a Imired  for  their  learning  and  elo(pience. 
(,)nite  a nninber  of  his  speeches  in  the  Court 
1 b use  have  also  found  their  way  into  the 
newspapers  of  the  day  on  account  of  the  im- 
pression they  produced  when  delivered.  lie 
lias  not  of  late  indulged  in  poetry,  but  while 
he  was  younger  he  ipiite  often  wrote  verses, 
and  in  such  style  as  to  impart  much  jileasure 
to  others,  llis  “Niaht  Scene  at  Dreimon 

O 

Springs”  in  1850,  his  “Thoughts  over  the 
( irave  of  Rev.  Thomas  Smith,”  in  1852,  his 
“( )ld  Year  and  New  in  the  Coliseum  at  Rome  ” 
in  1858,  and  his  numerous  pieces  sometimes 
full  of  humor  published  in  the  newspapers 
from  1850  to  the  beginning  of  the  civil  war, 
entitle  him  to  hitrh  rank  amoncr  our  Western 
poets.  It  is  as  a prose  writer,  however,  that 
.Mr.  Durrett’s  fame  will  probably  be  most 
lasfiTig.  lie  began  writing  for  the  news- 
papers as  soon  as  he  left  college,  and  has 
kept  it  up  ever  since,  though  most  of  his 
writings  have  been  published  anonymously, 
or  as  editorials  for  which  he  received  no  cred- 
it. lie  was  from  1857  to  1859,  editor  of  the 
old  Louisville  Conn'et',  and  presented 
his  editorials  in  that  paper  with  such 
leanung,  ability,  and  fascination  of  style,  as 
to  secure  him  high  raidc  among  our  most  popu- 
lar and  effective  writers.  Of  late  years  his 
writings  have  been  principally  of  an  historic 
character,  particularly  distinguished  for  origi- 
nal research  and  mastery  of  the  sub  ject.  His 
articles  in  the  Southern  liioouac  for  March, 
April  and  May,  1886,  on  “The  Kentucky 
Resolutions  of  1798-99,”  may  be  taken  as 
specimens  of  the  character  of  his  historic 
writings.  In  these  articles  he  corrected  the 
errors  which  three-quarters  of  a century  had 
thrown  around  these  famous  resolutions,  and 
placed  them  in  a new  and  lasting  light  that 
was  just  to  the  great  men  concerned  in  their 
production,  and  responsible  for  their  conse- 
ipiences.  In  1884,  a nundDer  of  gentlemen 
of  Louisville,  who  took  an  interest  in  historic 


subjects,  joined  Mr.  Durrett  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  a club  for  the  purpose  of  collecting 
and  preserving  the  history  of  Kentucky.  This 
association  was  called  “The  Filson  Club,”  in 
honor  of  Jolni  Fdson,  the  first  historian  of 
Kentucky.  Mr.  Durrett  was  made  president 
of  the  c'ub,  and  reijuested  to  ^prepare  and 
read  at  its  next  meeting,  a sketch  of  John 
Filson.  This  he  did,  and  the  article  thus 
prepared  and  read,  afterwards  appeared  in 
print  as  “Filson  Club  Publications  No.  1.” 
This  is,  perhaps,  the  best  production  that  we 
have  yet  had  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Dun-ett, 
and  its  original  matter,  pleasing  style,  and 
attractive  appear.anoe  will  make  it  a 
valuable  and  permanent  contribution  to 
to  the  history  of  the  country.  In 
gratifying  his  literary  taste,  Mr.  Durrett 
has  collected  a large  and  valuable  library — 
the  largest  and  most  valuable  private  collect- 
ion perhaps  in  the  West.  His  collection  of 
Kentucky  books  h is  no  equal,  he  having 
made  it  a point  to  secure  every  printed 
work  or  manuscript  written  by  a Kentuckian, 
or  written  about  Kentucky  or  Kentuckians, 
or  containing  anything  about  Kentucky,  or 
that  was  printed  or  written  in  Kentucky. 
He  has  also  embraced  in  his  “Bibliotheca 
Kentuckiensis”  books  which  once  belonged  to 
eminent  Kentuckians,  especially  of  the  pio- 
neer period,  and  in  this  line  preserved  many 
quaint  volumes,  much  valued  by  persons  of 
antiquarian  taste.  AYhile  his  collection  is  not 
so  exhaustive  with  regard  to  any  other  State, 
he  has  most  of  the  histories  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  different  States  and  Terri- 
tories, and  nearly  all  of  the  important  works 
knowni  as  ikmericana.  He  has  also  the  best 
histories  and  standard  works  of  other  countries, 
so  that  within  his  own  library  walls  he  has  all 
the  scources  of  information  he  may  need  in 
the  investigation  of  any  subject  to  which  his 
attention  is  directed.  This  vast  collection, 
moreover,  is  not  selfishly  confined  to  the 
wants  of  its  owner  alone,  but  is  free  to  the  use 
of  every  one  in  search  of  knowledge.  Mr. 
Durrett  is  exceptionaly  conversant  with  the 
contents  of  his  books,  and  there  is  nothing  in 
which  he  takes  more  pleasure  than  in  making 
his  great  library  useful  to  others.  In  recog- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


779 


nitioii  of  his  learning  and  enterprise  in  behalf 
of  knowledge,  Mr.  Durrelt  has  been  made  a 
member  of  many  of  the  historic  associations 
and  learned  societies  of  this  country  and 
Europe.  He  has  ahvays  been  a liberal  con- 
tributor to  the  deservino' charities  of  his  time, 
and  did  more  than  any  one  else  towards 
securing  for  Louisville  the  only  free  library 
now  in  its  midst,  havino’  inauo-urated  the 
movement  for  establishing  the  Public  Library 
of  Kentucky,  now'  the  Polytechnic  Society, 
and  remained  at  the  head  of  the  enterprise 
until  the  valuable  property  now  occupied  on 
Fourth  street  was  purchased,  and  the  building 
thereon  filled  with  books  and  specimens  free 
to  the  use  of  every  cidzen.  Scarcely  less 
beneficial  to  the  public  was  the  establishment 
of  the  Louisville  Abstract  and  Loan  Associa- 
tion, now  the  “Kentucky  Title  Company,”  in 
which  he  took  a leading  part.  This  institu- 
tion now  enables  out  citizens  to  readily  ascer- 
tain whether  the  title  to  the  property  they 
buy  or  sell  is  good  or  bad,  and  to  cover  all 
doubt  by  insuring  their  real  estate  against 
loss  by  defects  of  title.  A plain,  quiet,  unpre- 
tending gentleman,  of  the  old  Virginia 
school,  not  often  conspicuously  connected 
with  enterprises  of  a ])ublic  character,  he  has 
yet,  in  his  own  unostentatious  way,  done  an 
enviable  part  both  as  a private  and  public 
citizen.  In  1852  IMr.  Dutrett  was  married  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Humphrey's  Pates,  only  daugh- 
ter of  Caleb  and  Elizabeth  Templeton  Pates, 
of  Cincinnati,  O.  From  this  union  came 
four  children,  only  one  of  whom.  Dr.  ’William 
Templeton  Durrett,  survives. 

HENRY  ARTHUR  DUVALL,  M.  D., 
was  born  in  Louisville,  August  18,  1847,  and 
is  a son  of  Claudius  and  Julia  (Mercer)  Du- 
vall. The  former  w'as  born  near  Annapoli-, 
Md.,  May  27,  1814,  and  came  to  Louisville 
in  1836.  For  years  he  was  a prominent  mer-  j 
chant  but  is  now  retired,  and  for  the  past 
twenty  y'ears  has  enjoyed  in  ease  the  fruits  of 
an  industrious  and  well  spent  life.  In  early 
life,  with  his  mother  and  brother,  when  visit- 
ing her  relatives  on  Kent  Island,  on  the  east- 
ern shore  of  Maryland,  he  w'as  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Pritish  when  their  fleet  came  up  the 
Chesajreake  Pay'  for  the  purpose  of  attacking 


North  Point,  near  Paltimore,  Md.,  where  oc- 
curred one  of  the  most  desperately  contested 
actions  of  the  war  of  1812.  After  comino- 

O 

to  Imuisville,  Claudius  Duvall,  who  had  a 
military  education,  was  commissioned  colonel 
of  the  militia  of  the  State  and  assisted  in 
organizing  the  old  Louisville  l.egion,  which 
went  to  the  front  during  the  war  with  Mexico, 
but  the  colonel  was  obliged,  by  reason  of  his 
large  and  increasing  business,  to  decline  going 
with  the  Leofion  to  eno-ao-e  in  that  war. 

[ IT*  O O 

1 Henry'  Duvall,  the  grandfather  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  ^laryland,  and  was  a captain 
while  his  brother  Lewis  Duvall  w'as  a colonel 
in  the  United  States  army.  Carver  Mercer, 
j maternal  grandfather  of  Dr.  II.  Arthur  Du- 
j vail,  was  a native  of  Virginia,  came  to  Louis- 
ville at  a very  early  day',  owned  300  acres  in 
the  w'estern  part  of  the  city,  and  also  built 
the  first  brick  house  in  its  limits.  He  was  a 
relative  of  Gen.  IMercer,  the  famous  Revolu- 
tionary hero.  Dr.  H.  Arthur  Duvall  received 
his  rudimentary  education  in  the  best  schools 
of  Louisville,  Ky.;  began  the  study  of  medi- 
cine in  1877,  under  Drs.  Foree  and  Polling, 
and  graduated  from  the  Hospital  Aledicil  Col- 
lege in  1880.  He  encraged  in  the  general 
practice  of  medicine  until  1885,  wlu  n he  made 
a specialty  c>f  nose,  chest  and  throat  disonlers, 
in  the  treatment  of  which  he  has  made  a great 
success.  He  was  ma'ried,  in  1875,  to  iliss 
Anna  P.  Crowfoot,  a dauo-hter  of  Frank  (A’osv- 
foot  of  Louisville,  and  to  this  marriage  has 
been  born  one  child,  4\'illiam  T.  Duvall,  who, 
by  the  death  of  his  mother  when  he  was  three 
months  old,  was  left  to  the  care  of  his 
grandmother  Duvall,  and  by'  her  was  reared, 
and  is  now  a promising  youth  of  more  than 
usual  intelligence  and  vigor  of  constitution. 
The  doctor  was  also  successful  in  the  intro- 
duction of  the  mechanical  massage  in  the 
city'  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  which  process  is  re- 
garded by'  some  of  the  most  eminent  medical 
men  of  the  day  as  a curative  agent  of  extra- 
ordinary pow'er,  and  a remarkable  improvement 
i on  manual  massage.  While  Dr. Duvall  does  not 
claim  to  be  the  pioneer  in  the  introduction  of 
massage  treatmentof  various  diseases,  he  does 
1 claim  to  have  brought  this  treatment  not  only 
j to  a high  degree  of  perfection  but  to  have  met 


780 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


■with  unusual  success  in  relieving  suffering 
humanity,  especially  all  those  cases  atnenable 
to  massage  treatment.  Many  chronic  as  well 
as  stubborn  cases  have  readily  yielded  to  mas- 
sage treatment  in  the  skillful  hands  of  Dr. 
n.  Arthur  Duvall,  and  it  is  destined  at  an 
early  day  to  become  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant factors  in  the  medical  ])rofessioii  for  the 
relief  of  diseases  to  which  man  is  subjected. 

GEO.  B.  KASTJN  comes  of  good  old  Vir- 
ginia stock,  who  came  early  to  Kentucky.  Ilis 
father,  Augustine  Eastin,  was  a soldier  of  the 
war -of  1812,  and  came  to  Kentucky  immedi- 
ately after  leaving  the  army;  his  mother  was 
Nancy  Bryan,  a daughter  of  William  Bryan 
(of  Bryan’s  Station),  a brother-in-law  to 
Daniel  Boone.  The  subject  was  horn  in  Fay- 
ette County,  August  19,  1842.  At  the  age 
of  thirteen  he  entered  Transylvania  Univers- 
ity, where  he  remained  three  years;  he  then 
spent  two  years  at  Georgetown,  and  gradu- 
ated from  Kenyon  College  in  1891.  In  the 
same  fall  he  entered  the  Confederate  army, 
in  Morgan’s  command,  and  served  with  him 
through  the  war.  He  went  in  as  a private, 
was  promoted  to  lieutenant,  in  which  capacity 
he  served  a year  and  a half,  and  was  then 
promoted  to  captain.  In  1806  lie  ' came  to 
Louisville,  and  the  next  year  graduated  from 
the  law  dejiartment  of  the  University  of 
Louisville,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  has 
practiced  alone  most  of  the  time,  but  in  ,Ian- 
uary,  1885,  he  became  a partner  of  .fudge 
Thomas  A.  Hargis;  he  is  also  attorney  for 
the  Kentucky  National  Bank.  Mr.  Eastin 
was  married,  in  1808,  to  Miss  Fanny  Castle- 
man,  a daughter  of  David  Castleman  of  Fay 
ette  County. 

LOUIS ' ECKSTENKEMPEll  (deceased), 
was  born  in  Steele,  Germany,  August  1,  1822. 
lie  came  to  America  in  about  1848,  and 
directly  to  this  city.  For  a few  years  after 
his  arrival  he  engaged  in  several  kinds  of 
business,  and  by  careful  management  was  able 
to  save  up  the  necessary  means  to  enable  him 
to  enter  the  lumber  trade,  which  he  did  in  | 
1800,  having  conducted  a grocery  business 
for  the  twelve  years  immediately  previous. 
He  married  Franziska  Pleiman  in  this  city, 
.lune  17,  1851.  They  have  six  children 


j living:  Louis,  ,Ir.,  Alatilda,  Amalie,  Alice, 
Edw'ard  and  George.  Matilda  married  Fred. 
Albright,  of  Shaw  & Albright,  shoe  manu- 
facturers and  dealers;  Amalie  married  William 
4Vinkler,  wholesale  grocer,  of  this  cityn  Mr. 
Eckstenkemper  died  of  typhoid  fever  May 
29,  1880,  highly  esteemed  by  all  his  fellow 
citizens,  his  loss  being  severly  felt  by  the 
people  of  Louisville,  where  for  eighteen 
years  he  had  served  as  director  in  the 
German  Insurance  Bank;  also  as  president  of 
the  Louisville  Wharehouse  Company.  He 
was  twice  elected  a member  of  the  city  School 
Board;  was  vice-president  of  the  Liederkranz 
society  for  fifteen  years,  and  a member  of  the 
same  society'  for  twenty-five  years.  He  was 
during  most  cf  his  life  in  this  city  a worthy 
member  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
and  for  many  years  a member  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  whose  mem- 
bers, by  his  death,  lost  a bright  link  in  the 
chain  that  binds  them  to  earth,  but  in  whose 
memory  his  many  virtues  will  ever  be  kept 
green. 

.lUDGE  ISAAC  W.  EDWARDS  was 
born  in  Barren  County,  Ky.,  September  19, 
1832,  and  is  a son  of  Isaac  N.  and  Ann  E. 
(Bohannon)  Edwards,  natives  respectively  of 
North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  the  former 
coming  to  Kentuck-yr  in  an  early  day.  He 
came  of  W’^elsh  stock,  and  was  an  active  citi- 
zen, and  died  in  1867.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born  on  a farm,  and  reared  in  the 
country  until  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age. 
He  received  such  education  as  the  common 
schools  of  that  time  afforded,  and  to  supple- 
I ment  this  lie  commenced  teaching  as  soon  as 
' he  felt  capable  of  taking  a country  school, 
j By  the  meager  salary  thus  obtained  he  was 
enabled  to  spend  a year  (session  of  1852-53) 

! at  Georgetown  College.  In  the  meantime 

; r>  O 

* he  read  law  as  he  could  find  time,  in  his 
leisure  hours,  until  the  summer  of  1855, 
when  he  went  into  the  law  office  of  his  uncle, 
.1.  S.  Bohannon,  at  Mumfordville,  Ky.  In 
the  spring  of  1850,  he  was  admitted  to  part- 
nership with  his  uncle,  which  w.xs  continued 
for  two  years,  and  then  dissolved  by  mutual 
consent.  Mr.  Edwards  continued  to  practice 
law  in  Mumfordville,  until  1803,  when  he 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


'S3 


formed  a j artnership  with  William  Sampson, 
at  Glasgow,  afterward  a Judge  of  the  Court 
of  Appeals.  About  the  close  of  1800,  he  came 
to  Louisville  and  formed  a partnership  avith 
Andy  Barrett,  which  lasted  for  seven  years.  In 
1880  he  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Louisville 
Chancery  Court;  was  re-elected  in  1880,  which 
position  he  now  holds.  When  the  Vice-chan- 
cellors Court  was  established,  now  the  Law  and 
Equity  Court,  he  was  tendered  the  judgeship 
of  it,  which  he  declined;  also,  when  Chancellor 
T.  B.  Cochrane  died,  he  declined  appointment 
to  the  position  thus  made  vacant,  preferring 
the  active  practice  of  his  profession.  From 
his  admission  to  the  liar  in  1850  up  to  the 
time  of  his  rroinaf  on  the  bench  in  1880,  he 
practiced  continuously,  except  during  Mayor 
Jacobs’  second  term,  when  he  was  induced  to 
accept  the  position  of  Chief  of  Police.  While 
still  living  in  Hart  County  he  was  appointed 
County  Attorney  and  County  Commissioner 
of  Schools  for  four  years.  Judge  Edwards  is 
essentially  a self-made  mair.  He  has  attained 
to  eminence  as  a lawyer  and  as  a judge  in  the 
Chancery  Court,  one  of  the  most  important 
courts  of  Louis\  ille,  he  has  won  a name  equal 
to  that  of  any  of  his  predecessors.  He  was 
married  in  1854  to  IMiss  Louisa  Wiltberger, 
of  Chicago,  who  died  the  year  following.  In 
1865,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Julia  Gilpin,  of 
Louisville.  Two  children  were  born  of  this 
marriage,  viz;  William  S.  and  Ora  Lee. 

CHARLES  G.  EDWARDS,  dentist  at  442 
West  Walnut  street,  is  a native  of  Green- 
ville, Ala.,  and  wms  born  in  the  year  1842. 
He  is  a son  of  Richard  H.  and  Ann  E. 
Edwards,  natives  of  Virginia.  The  former 
in  1837  went  to  Alabama  on  horseback,  then 
the  usual  mode  of  traveling,  parsing  through 
Kentucky.  Upon  his  arrival  in  Alabama  he 
commenced  practicing  medicin?,  which  pro- 
fession he  had  adopted.  Remaining  there 
three  years,  he  returned  to  Virginia,  and 
married  Miss  Ann  E.  Edwards,  a daughter  of 
Dr.  Charles  G.  Edwards,  a prominent  physician 
of  Loudoun  County,  Va.  He  then  went 
back  to  Alabama  and  resumed  the  practice  of 
medicine.  After  four  years,  he  returned  to 
Virginia,  w’here  he  now  practices  his  profes- 
sion. He  served  in  the  Confederate  army. 


throughout  the  war,  as  surgeoir  of  the  Eighth 
Virginia  Regiment.  He  was  a graduate  of 
Jefferson  Medical  College.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  received  a good  practical  education, 
studied  dentistry,  and  graduated  from  Balti- 
more College  of  Dental  Surgery.  He  com- 
menced practice  in  Leesburgh,  Va.,  where  he 
remained  until  1875.  He  then  came  to  liOuis- 
j ville,  and  has  practiced  here  ever  since,  and  is 
a professor  in  the  Louisville  College  of  Den- 
tistry, established  in  1887.  He  entered  the 
Confederate  army  in  1801,  then  but  nineteen 
years  of  age,  and  served  through  the  war. 
He  was  in  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Rull,  where 
he  was  dangerously  wounded.  After  his 
recovery  he  was  transferred  to  the  Eighth  Vir- 
ginia with  his  father,  remaining  in  that  regi- 
ment until  the  close  of  the  wmr.  Dr.  Edwards 
w'as  married  in  1872  to  Miss  Lida  A.  Perkins, 
daughter  of  Rev.  E.  T.  Perkins,  Rector  of 
St.  Paul’s  Church,  Louisville.  They  have 
! three  children  living,  viz:  Edmund  P.,  Ida  M. 

I and  Harry  G. 

j J.  L.  ESCHMANN  is  a native  of  Prussia, 
j and  was  born  July  22,  1830.  He  came  to  the 
! United  States  in  1840,  and  located  in  Cin- 
cinnati, O.  In  1850  he  came  to  Louisville, 

[ and  formed  a copartnership  for  the  manufact- 
I ure  of  furniture  with  Henry  Grevy  and  Will- 
r iam  Buhrlage,  under  the  firm  name  of  Grevy, 

' BuhrDge  & Co.;  in  1870  it  changed  to  Esch- 
j rnann,  Buhrlage  & Co.,  and  in  1 880  was  merged 
j into  a stock  company — the  Kentucky  Furni- 
I ture  Company — with  Mr.  Eschmann  as  presi- 
! dent.  He  was  married  in  Cincinnati,  in  1855, 
to  Miss  Louisa  Roader,  a native  of  Cincinnati. 

! They  have  four  living  children,  viz:  Henry  .1., 
.luliet  B.,  Mattie  B.  and  Emma  F.  jMr.  Esch- 
mann is  an  energetic  and  enterpiising  citizen, 
and  takes  an  active  interest  in  the  welfare 
i and  prosperity  of  his  adopted  city. 

THOMAS  B.  FAIRLEIGH  was  born  in 
I Meade  County,  Ky,,  January  27,  1837,  and  is  a 
son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Enlow)  Fair- 
! leigh,  early  settlers  of  Hardin  County,  and 
oiiginally  from  Maryland.  The  former,  Will- 
iam Fairleigh,  was  made  county  and  circuit 
I clerk  of  Meade  County,  upon  its  organization, 
j and  held  both  offices  for  thirty-five  years,  and 
! Circuit  Clerk  for  nine  years  more,  making  a 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


7 84 


total  of  forty-three  years  contirrous  service  in 
the  oflice.  He  was  born  in  1797,  and  died  in 
18B5.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared 
in  Meade  County,  and  was  educated  at  Eliza- 
beth Academy,  and  at  Brandon  College.  He 
studied  law  and  graduated  from  the  law 
department  of  the  University  of  Louisville, 
in  1858,  and  at  once  began  practice  at 
Brandenburg,  Ky.  In  ISOl,  when  the  war 
clouds  gather  ed  over  the  country,  he  recruited 
Company  G,  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Kentucky 
Infantry,  and  on  the  5th  of  IMay,  1862,  was 
promoted  to  major;  on  the  12th  of  June  fol- 
lowing, to  lieutenant- colonel  of  the  regiment, 
and  January  8,  1865,  was  promoted  to  colonel. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  he  came  to  Louisville, 
where  he  has  since  practiced  his  profession. 
He  was  married,  in  1869,  to  Miss  Alice 
Graham,  of  Meade  County.  They  have  one 
child,  Ellen  G. 

DAVID  \V.  FAIRLEIGH  wm  born  in 
Breckinridge  County,  November  28,  1858, 
and  is  a son  of  .James  I..<.  and  .Jane  (Murray) 
Fairleigh,  the  former  a native  of  Hardin 
County,  and  the  latterof  Breckinridge  County. 
His  great-grandfather,  Andrew  Jfairleigh,  was 
a native  of  Maryland,  of  English  descent;  his 
grandfather,  William  Fairleigh,  came  to  Iven- 
tucky  in  early  times,  settling  in  Hardin 
County,  ^^'hen  Meade  County  was  organized 
in  1823,  he  Irecame  county  and  circuit  clerk, 
which  positions  he  held  continuously  until  his 
death  in  1865.  Subject’s  paternal  grand- 
father, Col.  David  R.  Murray,  was  one  of  the 
most  prominent  citizens  of  Breckinridge  Coun- 
ty, and  one  of  its  early  settlers.  .James  Jj. 
Fairleigh  (father  of  our  subject)  succeeded 
his  father'  as  clerk  of  the  Meade  courts,  and 
is  now  cashier  of  the  Meade  County  Deposit 
Bank.  David  W.  Ir’aiilcigh,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  educated  at  Biairdenbirrg, 
atrd  at  Rockport  (Ind.)  Academy.  He  read 
law  -with  his  uncle.  Col.  Thonras  B.  P^airleio-h, 
of  JjOtrisville,  and  with  .James  W.  I^ewls,  Esq., 
of  Brarrdeirburg.  He  was  adnritted  to  the  bar 
iir  1874,  and  began  practice  in  J./Ouisville. 
The  rrext  year  he  located  at  Brandenlmrg, 
where  he  practiced  in  the  coirits  of  Meade  aird 
adjoining  counties  rrntil  1887,  when  he  re- 
turneil  to  J.ouisville,  aird  opened  a law  olhce. 


He  is  a young  marr  of  btilliarrce  arrd  promise, 
arrd  a lawyer  with  few  equals  of  his  own  age. 
He  was  married  irr  1878  to  Miss  Emma  Ditto, 
of  Meade  County.  They  have  four  children. 

.JUDGE  EMMET  FIELD  was  born  in  this 
city  October  28,  1841,  arrd  is  a son  of  Will- 
iam II.  and  Mary  (Young)  Field.  The  former 
was  bortr  in  Crrlpeper  Courrty,  Va.,  brrt  came 
to  Jventucky,  and  located  at  AVest  lYint.  He 
w’as  a lawyer  arrd  served  in  the  State  Senate 
under  the  old  corrstitirtion;  he  died  iir  1861, 
having  renroved  to  Missouri  some  ten  years 
before.  The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Jirdge 
Field,  was  edrrcated  in  Missorrri,  irr  West- 
minster College.  He  came  to  Louisville  irr 
1864,  and  the  rrext  year  graduated  from  the 
Ijouisville  ]>aw  School.  He  commerrced prac- 
tice at  Springfield,  Ky.,  where  he  remairred 
two  year's,  and  then  retirrrred  to  Jjorrisville, 
practicing  law  in  the  courts  here  rrrrtil  1886, 
when  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas.  In  1884  he  accepted  the 
chair  of  “ Pleadings”  arrd  “ J^aw  of  Coirtracts” 
irr  the  J^ouisville  T^^aw  School,  which  he  has 
since  held.  He  was  married,  irr  1869,  to  Miss 
Sue  McElroy,  of  Spiirrgfield,  Ivy. 

THEODORE  D.  FINCK,  M.  D.,  is  a son 
of  C.  Herrry  and  JJzzie  (.Jacob)  Firrck,  rratives 
of  Hanover,  Germany,  arrd  Ijouisville,  Ky. 
His  rrraternal  grandfather,  Darriel  Jacob,  carrre 
from  Baltimore  to  J^ouisville  in  1832,  arrd  Iris 
father  carrre  to  Louisville  irr  1845.  The  lat- 
ter engaged  in  the  wholesale  liquor  busirress, 
atrd  irr  his  day  was  one  of  the  most  prosperous 
atrd  prominerrt  Gertnatr  citizens  of  J.,ouisville. 
He  was  a most  zealous  and  active  Mason,  and 
subscribed  the  first  sutrr  (^51,000)  to  the  )>uild- 
itrg  of  the  Masonic  Widows’  atrd  Orphans’ 
Horrre,  the  rrrost  rrragnificent  charity  oir  the 
American  corrtirrerrt.  He  died  in  1879.  The 
srrbject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Lortisville, 
March  9,  1868,  arrd  was  brorrght  up  and  edu- 
cated in  this  city  irnder  a private  tutor.  Prof. 
Steffirr,  formerly  of  Annaopolis  College.  He 
comrrreirced  the  strrdy  of  trredicirre  urrder  Di'. 
Ochterlong,  when  but  sixteen  years  of  age, 
and  entered  the  Jventucky  School  of  Mediciire, 
from  which  he  gradrrated  irr  1882;  he  also  at- 
tended lectures  irr  the  medical  departmeirt  of 
the  Urrivcrsity  of  Jjcrtisville.  He  went  to 


V 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


787 


Europe  in  1883,  and  was  made  a member  of 
the  International  Congress  for  Kentucky. 
He  received  certificates  from  Vienna  Col- 
leges; took  a hospital  course  in  London; 
studied  at  Strasburg,  Heidelburg  and  Berlin. 
He  returned  to  America  in  the  latter  part  of 
1884,  and  has  practiced  since  in  Louisville. 
He  was  assistant  in  pathology  in  Hospital 
Medical  College — branch  of  Central  Univer- 
sity.  He  is  an  honorable  member  of  the  State 
Medical  Society,  of  the  Louisville  Medical 
Society,  and  also  of  the  ^Mississippi  Valley 
Medical  Association. 

CHARLES  C.  FISHER  was  born  in  the 
city  of  Louisville,  April  13,  1857.  His  father, 
Warford  Fisher,  was  a native  of  .Jefferson 
County,  Ky.,  and  married  Miss  Sarah  Abbott, 
March  9,  1854.  He  was  a member  of  the 
Independent  tLvalry  Company,  of  l^ouisville, 
and  was  killed  by  the  “ bushwhackers”  in 
Owen  County,  Ky.,  June  11,  1862.  Subject’s 
mother  died  December  4,  1874.  .lames  W. 
Fisher,  the  grandfather  of  Charles  C.,  was 
born  in  Shelby  County,  Ky,,  October  27, 
1812;  was  taken  to  Indiana  by  his  parents, 
when,  through  the  forests  of  that  State  roamed 
bear,  wolf  and  panther;  after  living  there 
thirteen  years  he  returned  to  Kentucky,  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Morgan,  then  a widow,  who 
was  born  in  1797,  and  died  July  19,  1887; 
he  survives  her,  but  the  world  is  total  dark- 
ness to  him. 

CART.  JOHN  L.  FOSTER,  a representa- 
tive citizen  of  Bullitt  County,  was  born  in 
Jefferson  County,  .January  13,  1837.  His 
father  was  James  Foster,  a native  of  Nelson 
County,  Ky.,  was  born  May  5,  1796,  and  was 
a member  of  one  of  the  early  and  prominent 
families  of  the  State.  His  wife,  mother  of 
this  sketch,  was  Nancy  Jones.  Her  parents 
were  from  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  early  in 
Kentucky.  Her  marriage  to  James  Foster 
occurred  October  26,  1822.  To  this  mar- 
riage w’ere  born  fifteen  children.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch,  John  J..,  was  the  eleventh  born, 
reared  to  manhood  on  the  farm,  and  received 
a liberal  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Bullitt  County.  The  civil  war  coming  on  he 
took  sides  with  the  Union,  and  in  1861  joined 
the  Fifteen  Kentucky  Infantry,  as  a private 


in  Company  D,  but  for  his  gallantry  and 
meritorious  conduct  as  a soldier,  he  was  soon 
promoted  to  the  captaincy  of  the  company. 
This  position  he  filled  with  honor  to  his 
country  and  himself  till  .January,  1865,  wdien 
he  was  mustered  out  by  expiration  of  contract. 
At  the  battle  of  Perryville  he  was  severely 
wounded,  being  shot  through  the  lungs,  and 
on  four  other  occasions  he  received  severe 
wounds  from  the  enemy’s  guns.  At  the  close 
of  the  war  he  returned  to  his  native  county, 
and  was  married  April  4,  1865,  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Russell,  of  Indiana.  He  w^as  soon 
after  appointed  to  an  important  position  in  the 
Internal  Revenue  Service,  which  he  held  for 
eleven  years,  being  forced  to  resign  through 
the  illness  of  his  family.  He  now  superin- 
tends his  farm,  owning  a large  tract  of  land 
in  Bullitt  County  and  another  valuable  farm 
in  .Jefferson  County  and  tracts  elsewhere.  He 
has  had  nine  children  in  his  family;  Barbara 
D.,  James  K.,  born  April  24,  1868,  died 
April  16,  1885;  Nancy  E.,  Bettie  E.  (de- 
ceased), Bessie  May,  Hattie  Belle,  Ruby 
Pearle,  Sarah  1^.  and  Anna  Victoria.  Captain 
Foster  resides  about  two  and  a half  miles 
southwest  of  Brook’s  Station,  and  is  an  exem- 
plary citizen  who  stands  high  among  his 
fellows. 

.JOHN  Ft  )5VLER  was  born  in  Louisville, 
October  9,  1842,  and  is  a son  of  Thomas 
and  Elizabeth  Fowler,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  England;  thev  emigrated  from 
that  country  directly  to  J^ouisville,  Ivv.,  and 
arrived  in  Iventucky  about  the  time  the  sub- 
ject was  born.  John  Fowler  was  brought  up 
and  educated  in  the  city  schools  of  the  city  of 
Louisville  and  has  lived  there  all  the  time, 
excepting  during  the  war,  when  he  was  in  the 
Federal  army,  a mend^er  of  Company  M,  Sixth 
Iventucky  Volunteer  Cavalry,  in  which  com- 
pany he  enlisted  as  a private  soldier;  he  was 
promoted  to  fourth  sergeant,  then  to  color- 
sergeant  then  to  first  sergeant  and  finally  to 
second  lieutenant;  he  also  veteranized  with 
his  company,  and  was  with  it  continuously 
during  its  service  until  about  two  months 
before  the  close  of  the  war,  he  being  absent 
in  the  hospital  at  that  time.  He  had  command 
of  his  company  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga, 


788  ' 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


mustered  thirtj-two  men  in  the  morning  of 
going  into  battle  and  at  night  had  only  four- 
teen to  answer  roll-eall. 

JOHN  G.  FH()MAN  was  born  in  Bullitt 
County,  Ky.,  May  14,  1842.  Ilis  father, 
.leremiali  FroniaTi,  was  also  born  in  Bullitt 
County,  Mai'cli  8,  1818,  the  Froman  family 
being  among  the  fii’st  who  settled  in  Kentucky. 
The  subject’s  motlier  was  Amantla  Graham, 
and  w'as  inariied  to  Jeremiah  Froman  in  1840, 
and  they  have  born  to  them  fourteen  children, 
.John  G.  being  the  second  born.  He  was 
reared  on  the  fai’in,  receix  ing  a common-school 
education.  His  father  beinof  both  a farmer 
and  blacksmith,  he  learned  the  tiadeof  black- 
smithing.  October  7,  1861,  he  volunteered 
in  Com]>any  B,  Thirty-fonrtli  Mounted  Ken- 
tucky Infantry  (C.  S.  A).  July  4,  1864, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Sai'ah  Snellen,  a 
daughter  of  Zachariah  and  Charlotte  Snellen. 

ALVERADO  E.  FUNK  was  born  in 
Bullitt  County,  .June  17,  1859,  and  is  a son 
of  AVilliam  R.  Funk,  a native  of  Nelson 
County,  Ky.,  who  was  Iroiii  .laniiary  18, 
1822,  and  who  married  Sarah  McDonald. 
Alverado  E.  Funk  w'as  married  to  Miss  Alice 
V.  Holsclaw,  February  22,  1883.  Mrs.  Funk 
died  May  5,  1885,  the  mother  of  two  chil- 
dren. Mr.  Funk  was  next  married  to  Miss 
Eugenia  Holsclaw,  in  1886.  Mr.  Funk  was 
educated  at  Bardstown  College,  and  gradu- 
ated from  that  institutirm.  After  leaving 
college  he  taught  for  awhile,  but  is  now  an 
extensive  fruit  gi-ower  of  Bullitt  County. 

HAMILTON  FIIRG ANSON  was  Irorn 
Auo-ust  7,  1829,  and  is  the  eicrhth  son  of 
Samuel  Fui-ganson,  who  w'as  born  in  North 
Carolina,  in  1794.  Hamilton  Furgansorr  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  Ann  Parker,  February  22, 
1854.  She  was  boiai  in  .Jefferson  County 
February  22,  1835,  and  is  the  third  child  of 
.John  and  Mary  Parker,  the  former'  of  whom 
is  still  living  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy- 
eight  years.  Hamilton  Furganson  is  a farmer, 
and  is  highly  respected  by  his  neighbors. 

SAAIUEI.  H.  GARVIN,  M.  D.,  was  born 
in  Louisville  July  23,  1839,  and  is  a son  of 
Joshua  and  Eliza  (Mitton)  Garvin,  natives  of 
County  Cavan,  Ireland,  who  came  to  J^ouis- 
ville  in  1832.  Mr.  Garvin  was  educated  in 


the  Episcopalian  belief,  while  his  wife  was 
brought  up  a Quaker.  Soon  after  arriving 
in  this  country  both  Mr.  Garvin  and  his  wife 
connected  themselves  with  the  Christian 
chur'ch,  and  continued  devout  members  of 
that  denomination  until,  their  death.  Mr. 
Garvin  wars  engaged  as  a dry  goods  mer- 
chant up  to  w’ithin  a few  years  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1877.  Dr.  Garvin,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the  yovrngest  of  tw'O 
sons,  the  only  living  children  of  this  family. 
He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Louisville. 
In  1859  he  began  the  study  of  medicine,  and 
in  1861  graduated  from  the  Kentucky  School 
of  Medicine,  and  in  1864  from  the  Bellevue 
Hospital  Medical  College  of  New  AMrk.  In 
1871  he  visited  Europe,  and  studied  his  pro- 
fession in  the  various  European  hospritals. 
He  has  been  actively  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  medicine  since  he  graduated.  In  1869  he 
married  Miss  Mary  E.  Kendrick,  a daughter 
of  the  late  AVilliam  Kendrick,  a prominent 
and  well  known  citizen  of  Louisville.  They 
have  three  children. 

HON.  JOHN  T.  GATHRIGHT,  surveyor 
of  customs  for  the  port  of  Louisville,  is  a 
native  of  Shelby  County,  Ky.,  and  was  born 
Auorust  11,  1841.  He  is  a son  of  Owen  and 
Eliza  A.  (Austin)  Gathright,  the  former  a 
native  of  Shelby  County,  and  the  latter  of 
Oldham  County,  and  both  descended  from 
prominent  families  of  Kentucky.  Subject’s 
paternal  grandfather  came  from  A^irginia,  and 
his  maternal  grandfather  from  Alaryland.  The 
latter  was  wdtb  Gen.  .lackson  at  New  Orleans, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight  years. 
The  Garthrights  are  of  Scotch- Irish  extrac- 
tion, and  the  family  pedigree  can  be  traced 
back  two  hundred  years  prior  to  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution.  Owen  Garthright  (subject’s 
father)  came  to  Louisville  in  1858,  and  for  a 
time  conducted  a hotel.  He  w^as  also  en- 
gaged in  the  stove  and  tinware  business, 
which  he  discontinued  at  the  cPse  of  the  war. 
He  has  been  married  for  fifty  years,  and  both 
he  and  his  wife  are  living.  .Jolin  T.  Gath- 
right,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the  second 
son  (his  brother,  James  R.,  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Alurphysboro,  in  the  C.  S.  A.  army). 
He  was  brought  up  on  the  farm  in  Shelby 


I 


’‘W. 

' .V. 

V 


'b' 


BIOGKAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


County  until  he  was  fifteen  years  old,  when  : 
he  came  to  Louisville  and  entered  school  in  j 
1856,  two  years  before  his  father  moved  to  ! 
the  city.  He  enlisted  in  Company  A,  Twen-  j 
ty-second  Kentucky  Infantry  (Federal),  and  | 
on  the  organization  the  regiment  was  made 

o 1 

quartermaster’s  sergeant,  but  soon  after  was  j 
promoted  to  first-lieutenant,  and  afterward  to  ; 
captain  of  Company  H.  He  resigned  in  1808  j 
and  came  home  and  was  appointed  colonel  of  , 
the  Sixty-fourth  Regiment  of  State  Guards, 
and  shortly  after  was  placed  in  command  of 
ten  refifiments  of  the  State  ililitia,  which  he 
held  until  the  close  of  the  war.  When  the  j 
war  closed  he  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits 
until  1879,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  State  I 
senate  for  four  years.  In  this  new  field  he 
became  one  of  the  most  energetically  work- 
ing members  of  the  body.  In  the  first  session 
he  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Internal 
Improvement,  and  in  the  second  session  chair- 
man of  the  Committee  on  Banks  and  Insur- 
ance. In  both  of  these  important  positions 
he  discharged  his  duties  with  credit  and 
general  satisfaction  to  all,  and  in  the  latter 
he  particularly  distinguished  himself  by  in- 
augurating various  needed  reforms  in  his 
district,  as  well  as  in  the  State  at  large.  He  ^ 
introduced  a bill,  and  succeeded  in  getting  it  j 
passed,  amending  the  general  statutes  of  the  j 
State  regulating  the  compensation  of  county 
officers,  and  a similar  measure  for  the  city  of  ) 
Lorrisville.  In  1885  he  was  appointed  by 
President  Cleveland  surveyor  of  customs  for 
the  port  of  Lorrisville.  For  this  appointment 
he  received  the  hearty  endorsement  of  the  | 
business  men  of  Lorrisville,  as  well  as  warm 
testimonials  from  all  parts  of  the  State,  such 
as  the  following  from  Hon.  I).  W^.  Lindsey, 
of  Frankfort:  “Since  the  war  Mr.  Gath- 

right  has  been  an  active  and  industrious 
business  man  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  has 
always  enjoyed,  as  he  was  entitled  to,  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  his  community,  and 
of  all  who  knew  him,  being  once  elected  to 
orrr  State  senate.  Mr.  Gathright  has  been,  | 
and  is,  in  polities,  a consistent  Democrat, 
while  the  writer  has  been  a Republican.”  ! 
Col.  Gathright  was  married  in  November,  i 
1864,  to  Miss  Sallie  Dunlap,  of  Shelby  Coun  ' 


7!)1 

ty.  He  is  a prominent  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  and  has  been  an  elder  for 
eighteen  years.  For  the  past  six  or  eight 
years  he  has  devoted  much  time  to  the  devel- 
opment of  the  resources  of  the  State ; was 
one  of  the  original  promoters  of  Louisville, 
St.  Louis  & Texas  RaiLvay,  now  about  com- 
pleted, and  through  his  efforts,  both  in  the 
State  senate  and  as  a citizen,  the  attention  of 
many  capitalists  has  been  drawn  to  the  rich 
mineral  and  timber  regions  of  the  State  which 
are  now  being  developed  sf>  rapidly,  and  was 
always  active  in  measures  looking  to  the 
advancement  of  the  business  and  manufactur- 
ing interest  of  the  city  of  Louisville  or  State 
of  Kentucky. 

JAMES  C.  GILBERT  was  born  at  Jack- 
son,  Mo.,  December  12,  1832,  but,  if  not  a 
Kentuckian  born,  is  descended  from  a good 
old  Kentucky  family,  his  maternal  grand- 
father, James  Duncan,  having  been  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Louisville.  His  father  died 
when  the  subject  was  still  quite  'young,  and 
his  mother  removed  to  Salem,  Ind.  Here 
James  grew  to  manhood,  received  a good 
p’^actical  education,  and  was  apprenticed  to 
the  printers’  trade,  and  learned  to  set  type 
under  the  watchful  eye  of  5Ir.  Oliver  Lucas. 
He  came  to  Louisville  about  1847.  He  is  the 
practical  head  of  one  of  the  largest  printing 
houses  in  Louisville,  or  the  South,  and  one  of 
the  sound  and  enterprising  business  men  of 
the  city.  For  a number  of  years  he  has  been 
an  important  factor  in  Louisville  politics.  He 
was  long  a member  of  the  school  board,  and 
for  nearly  two  decades  has  been  a member  of 
the  council;  under  Mayor  Baxter’s  adminis- 
tration he  was  for  two  years  president  of  the 
board  of  aldermen,  is  now  again  serving  in 
that  position,  and  succeeded  the  late  Hon. 
.lames  Trabue  as  president  of  the  Sinking 
Fund  commissioners.  He  married  Miss  Em- 
ma B.  Hoe,  of  Louisville. 

ADAM  GIVEN,  51.  D.,  was  born  in  Bath 
County,  5^a.,  October  15,  1829,  and  is  a son 
of  Henry  and  Nancy  (Mustoe)  Given,  natives 
of  Virginia,  and  the  former  a soldier  in  the 
war  of  1812.  The  Mustce  family  is  of  Eng- 
lish origin,  Anthony  Mustoe,  subject’s  grand- 
father, having  emigrated  from  England  to 


BIOGHAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


^'irginia  in  an  early  day.  Dorothea  Chamb- 
ers, wife  of  Anthony,  was  of  German  descent. 
The  Givens  are  Scotch-] risli.  The  grand- 
mother  (iMiss  Bratton)  was  Scotcli.  The 
sul)ject  was  reared  on  a farm,  and  educated 
at  Idttle  Levels  Academy  in  Virginia,  where 
lie  took  a regular  course.  He  read  medicine, 
and  cominor  West,  attended  his  first  course  of 
lectures  at  Rush  Medical  College,  Chicago, 
in  1858-59,  and  graduated  at  Chicago  Medi- 
cal College  in  1804.  He  located  at  Wood- 
stock,  Ills.,  in  1859,  and  practiced  there  until 
1895,  when  he  came  to  fvouisville.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  he  was  actinur  assistant  sur- 

O 

geon,  U.  S.  A.  Since  1879  he  has  taken  up 
the  practice  of  homceojiathy,  and  is  a member 
of  the  American  Institute  of  Honueopathy. 
He  was  married  .Inly  19,  1853,  to  IMiss  Caro- 
line Benson,  of  Highland  County,  Va.  They 
have  two  chihlren  — Mustoe  Bratton  and 
Elmer  Benson. 

W^ILLI  AM  E.  GLOVER.  A well  balanced 
and  well  stored  mind,  a life  full  of  useful 
purpose,  whatever  position  it  may  occupy,  is  of 
far  greater  importance  than  the  average  re- 
spectability of  the  world;  and  when  the  pos- 
sessor of  these  qualities  has  achieved  success 
in  the  business  world  by  means  of  them,  he 
is  doubly  worthy  of  our  appreciative  regard. 
These  remarks  fitly  apply  to  the  gentleman 
whose  name  heads  this  article.  For  more  than 
half  a century  he  was  identified  wi  h the 
progress  and  prosperity  of  this  city,  and  we 
are  largely  indebted  to  him  for  the  reputation 
we  still  enjoy  for  the  manufacture  of  superior 
boat  machinery.  These  considerations,  aside 
Irom  the  virtue  of  his  life,  his  intelligence, 
public  spirit,  and  pliilanthropy,  fully  entitle 
him  to  an  honorable  mention  in  the  industrial 
history  of  his  ado])ted  city.  W^illiam  E. 
Glover  was  born  in  Mason  County,  Ky.,  No- 
vember 28,  1801.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
came  to  Louisville,  a poor  lad  as  far  as  money 
or  education  was  concerned,  but  rich  in  re- 
spect to  health,  mental  vigor,  and  a determi- 
nation t(j  work  out  for  himself  a position  in 
life  that  would  command  respect.  He  ap- 
prenticed himself  to  learn  the  trade  of  a 
t)lacksmith,  and  served  until  he  obtained  his 
majority,  and  having  during  his  term  of  serv- 


ice devoted  his  spare  time  to  the  acquisition 
of  mechanical  and  scientific  knowledge,  he 
now  had  the  satisfaction  of  passing  muster  as 
a competent  engineer.  Having  obtained  a 
situation  on  one  of  the  boats  enoraged  in  the 
lower  river  trade,  he  followed  that  vocation 
for  several  years;  anti  as  may  be  expected 
from  the  studious  habits  that  characterized 
him  during  his  apprenticeship,  he  diligently 
applied  himself  to  his  calling  till  he  was 
thoroughly  acepiainted  with  combination  of 
excellencies  required  to  make  a perfect  ma- 
rine engine;  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  the 
practical  experience  thus  gained  made  him  a 
successful  competitor  with  the  best  engine- 
builders  of  Pittsburgh  and  Cincinnati.  About 
1833  or  1834,  Mr.  Glover  left  the  river  and 
engaged  in  blacksmithing  on  Market  street, 
and  soon  acquired  a reputation  for  those  dif- 
ficult pieces  of  forging,  etc.,  which  are  never 
offered  to  inferior  workmen;  and  having  suc- 
cessfully conducted  this  branch  till  1836  or 
thereabouts,  he  formed  a partnership  with 
Messrs.  Lachlan  McDougall  and  William 
Inman,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a foun- 
dry. Purchasing  the  foundry  premises  of 
Shreve  Brothers,  on  Main,  near  Ninth  street, 
they  commenced  on  a moderate  scale  and  in 
a general  way,  occasionally  building  an  engine. 
It  was  not  long,  however,  before  the  excel- 
lency of  their  work  brought  them  all  of  this 
class  of  business  they  coidd  attend  to.  In 
1838  they  built  the  engines  for  the  steamboats 
“Diana”  and  “Edward  Shippin,”  and  al- 
though done  at  a pecuniary  loss,  these  two 
contracts  established  the  fact  that  machinery 
for  steamboats  could  be  built  at  Louisville  as 
well  as  Cincinnati  and  Pittsbmgh.  This  may 
be  fairly  claimed  as  the  ince[)tion  of  what 
afterward  became  a large  branch  of  our  in- 
dustry— the  braiding  of  large  and  fast  steam- 
boats— and  was  the  means  of  attracting  much 
trade  to  the  city  that  hitherto  had  gone 
elsewhere.  During  his  conirection  with  the 
foundry  business,  which  extended  through  a 
period  of  thirty  years,  he  was  universally  suc- 
cessful, and  although  many  changes  took  place 
in  the  firm  he  continued  to  hold  Ids  interest 
till  its  dissolution.  Promiirent  among  those 
who  were  associated  with  him  during  this 


GLOVER. 


"S'- 


''  \ 

?«•-., .V-  ;•/ 


I 


% 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


795 


protracted  period  were  Messrs.  Gault,  Ainslie, 
and  Cochran.  Up  to  1861  he  remained  at 
his  old  stand  where  he  had  done  an  extensive 
and  lucrative  business  as  a manufacturer  in 
iron.  As  a historic  fact  we  may  mention  that 
the  first  gas-works  for  Louisville  were  built 
by  him,  in  1840.  At  tlie  time  referred  to, 
however,  he  saw  that  the  long  threatened 
storm  of  civil  war  had  at  last  burst  upon  us, 
and  concludinof  that  trade,  commerce  and 
manufacturing  would  be  fearfully  depressed 
before  the  close  of  the  conflict,  he  closed  up 
his  business  and  converted  his  work-shops 
into  a tobacco  warehouse,  known  then  as  the 

“ Boone  Warehouse,”  named  after  the  irreat 

p . 

Kentucky  pioneer  and  adventurer.  As  in  his 
previous  business,  he  was  successful  to  a de- 
gree little  anticipated;  and  although  all  his 
operations  were  on  commission,  their  extent 
was  such  that  it  brought  him  a handsome  in-  ! 
come,  and  had  he  not  previously  laid  the 
foundation  of  and  built  up  a fortune,  he  could 
certairdy  have  done  it  then.  Aside  from  the 
benefits  accruing  to  the  city  from  his  energy 
and  enterprise,  we  may  truthfully  say  that  he 
was  ever  ready  to  lend  his  aid  for  the  further- 
ance of  every  good  work.  The  soundness  of 
his  judgment,  the  excellency  of  his  manage- 
ment, and  the  integrity  of  his  conduct  pointed 
him  out  as  a suitable  person  to  be  in  the 
direction  of  almost  every  corporate  body  with 
which  he  was  ever  connected.  He  was  for 
many  years  a bank  director,  a member  of  the 
city  council,  a representative  in  the  State 
legislature,  a trustee  of  the  University  of 
Louisville,  besides  holding  other  offices  of  a 
similar  nature.  In  the  summer  of  1872  he 
was  attacked  with  that  intractable  form  of 
skin  disease  known  as  lichen  tropicus,  and  for 
more  than  a year  he  not  only  suffered  an 
indescribable  torture,  but  was  in  a great 
measure  deprived  of  appetite  and  sleep.  This  i 
was  sufficient  to  break  down  a young  and  : 
vigorous  person,  and  of  course  at  his  advanced 
age  it  told  with  rapid  and  fatal  effect.  He  j 
resorted  to  the  hot  springs  of  Arkansas  in  i 
search  of  relief,  but  although  the  skin  affec-  j 
tion  was  greatly  relieved,  he  had  a return  of 
the  asthma  in  consequence  of  it.  This  was 
precisely  what  he  had  predicted  several 


months  previously.  Rapid  inroads  were  now 
made  upon  his  otherwise  vigorous  constitu- 
I tion,  and  on  the  hrst  of  October,  1873,  he 
I died  at  the  residence  of  his  son-in-law,  John 
I L.  Hikes,  Esq.,  in  his  seventy-second  year. 

I He  was  twice  married,  and  left  five  sons  and 
! two  daughters  to  mourn  the  loss  of  a kind 
j and  indulgent  parent.  In  all  the  relations  of 
his  life  Mr.  Glover  conducted  himself  in  a 
manner  that  commanded  the  respect  of  his 
fellow-citizens,  and  it  gives  us  pleasure  to 
i record  his  name  amonfif  the  list  of  worthies 
! who  laid  the  foundation  of  our  prosperity  and 
now  sleep  with  their  fathers. 

ALBERT  G.  GLtJYER,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  is  a son  of  the  late  William  E. 
Glover,  who  was  a very  remarkable  man.  The 
elder  Glover  \vas  born  in  1801,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Limestone  river,  in  Kentucky.  He  is 
therefore  the  descendent  of  “ the  Maysville 
man,”  and  the  “ Maysville  man”  is  known  the 
world  over.  When  the  Prince  of  Wales  vis- 
ited New  York  he  was  very  naturally  well 
entertained,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  L'nited  States.  There  was  some 
excitement  on  the  occasion  about  a pop- 
ular Broadway  hotel  as  Col.  R.  C.  Winter- 
smith  and  Col.  John  Thompson  Gray  walked 
\q)  the  street  that  day.  Col.  Gray  said 
“What’s  going  on?”  Col.  Wintersmith  re- 
plied that  it  was  a demonstration  in  honor  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales.  Col.  Gray  said,  “AYell, 
there  will  be  a man  from  Maysville  conspicu- 
ous ill  the  demonstration,”  and  sure  enough, 
they  found,  when  they  reached  the  St.  Nicho- 
las Hotel,  that  Gen.  “Bull”  Nelson  was  in 
the  carriacfe  with  Albert  Edward,  the  Prince 
of  AYales.  Kentucky  is  the  birthplace  of 
many  great  and  good  men,  and  Maysville  can 
claim  her  share  of  the  best  of  them.  Albert 
G.  Glover  was  born  in  Louisville,  December 
14,  1847,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
private  schools  of  that  city.  His  first  venture 
was  with  his  father  in  the  tobacco  commission 
and  warehouse  business,  until  his  father  re- 
tired upon  a competency.  Albert  then  be- 
came associated  with  his  brothers  and  Dr.  D. 
P.  AYhite  in  the  same  business  in  which  he 
had  been  engaged  with  his  father,  and  they 
were  owners  of  the  Boone  Tobacco  Y"are- 


79(5 


BlOGRAPH-ICAL  SKETCHES. 


lioiise.  In  1S78  he  witluJrew  from  tliis  firm 
and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  chewing 
and  smoking  tohacco  upon  a large  scale.  In 
1877  he  abandoned  that  business  and  became 
a handler  and  transferrer  of  leaf  tobacco. 
Althoucrh  tliese  have  been  his  well  known  oc- 

r? 

cupations,  he  has  been  engaged  in  many  pub- 
lic entei-prises,  and  has  done  much  to  develop 
the  Inisiness  ])ros])erity  of  the  city.  While 
he  has  never  sought  any  prominence,  he  is  re- 
garded as  a man  of  the  hio-hest  and  strictest 
honor,  and,  in  tliat  respect,  is  a fair  representa- 
tive of  the  name  of  Glover,  which  is  the  syno- 
nym of  all  that  is  honorable  and  upright. 

C.  C.  GODSFIAW,  M.  1).,  is  of  French 
origin,  but  was  born  in  Louisville,  February  9^ 
1853.  He  is  a son  of  J\1  orris  and  Esther  God- 
shaw,  natives  of  Lorraine,  France,  and  who 
came  to  this  country  fifty  years  ago.  The 
elder  Godshaw  is  one  of  the  old  and  promi- 
nent merchants  of  Louisville,  and  was  in  the 
(pieensware  and  chinaware  business  for  forty 
years;  he  is  still  living  and  is  seventy-eight 
years  of  age.  The  svdrject,  Dr.  Godshaw,  was 
brought  up  and  educated  in  this  city,  gradu- 
ating from  the  Male  High  School  in  1871. 
He  read  medicine  under  the  supervision  of 
1 )rs.  Cowlino-  and  Cummins,  and  entered  the 
medical  department  of  Louisville  University, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1874.  As  a fur- 
ther qualification  for  the  profession  he  had 
chosen,  he  studied  in  the  hospitals  of  New 
York  for  a year,  and  in  1875  went  to  Europe, 
studying  in  the  hospitals  of  I./Ondon,  Paris^ 
Vienna  and  Berlin,  taking  a thorough  course 
in  medicine  and  surgery;  also  devoting  special 
attention  to  the  diseases  of  women  and  chil- 
dren. xAfter  al)out  three  years  spent  in  Europe, 
he  returned  to  Louisville.  He  is  a member 
of  the  hospital  medical  staff — and  obstetrician 
to  the  City  Hospital.  Dr.  Godshaw  was  mar- 
ried January  31,  1877,  to  Sidonia  Marcus,  of 
Louisville.  Three  children  is  the  result  of 
this  marriage. 

J(.)HN  GOODMxAN,  M.  1).,  was  born  in 
Frankfort  on  the  22d  of  July,  1837,  and  is  a 
son  of  John  and  .lane  (Winters)  Goodman,  the 
former  a native  of  Germany  and  the  latter  of 
Maryland.  His  father  came  to  Kentucky  in 


1801,  and  located  at  Lexington,  and  five  jears 
later  moved  to  Frankfurt.  He  was  a music 
teacher  by  profession,  and  died  in  1848  at  the 
age  of  seventy  years.  Subject  was  the  only 
son,  and  was  brought  up  in  Frankfort,  and  in 
Woodford  County.  He  entered  Georgetown 
College  in  1854,  and  graduated  in  the  junior- 
class  of  185(>.  He  came  to  Louisville  the  same 
year,  and  read  medicine  with  Dr.  Louis 
Rogers;  attended  two  courses  of  lectures  in 
the  University  of  Louisville;  in  1859  gradu- 
ated from  the  University  of  Louisiana  at  New 
Orleans,  and  has  since  pi-acticed  the  profes- 
sion in  Louisville.  He  was  for  eleven  years 
(up  to  five  years  ago)  professor  of  obstetrics 
in  Louisville  Medical  College,  and  for  four 
years  in  the  Kentucky  School  of  Medicine. 
He  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Board 
of  Health;  he  was  one  of  the  charity  com- 
missioners for  three  years,  and  twenty-one 
years  physiciarr  to  the  House  of  Refuge.  He 
was  married  in  1859  to  Miss  Carolirre,  daughter 
of  Dr.  Herrry  Miller.  She  died  in  1882,  and 
he  was  next  rnar-ried,  in  1884,  to  Mrs.  Reeseta' 
.lones  Kalfus,  daughter  of  R.  R.  .lories. 

E.  ALFRED  GRANT,  .1r.,  general  agent 
of  the  Imperial  Life  Insurance  Company  of 
Detroit,  Mich.,  w^as  born  June  24,  1860,  in 
Louisville,  Ky.  He  is  a son  of  Dr.  E.  A. 
Grant,  one  of  Kentucky’s  most  prominent 
surgeons,  who  ranks  high  among  the  learned 
men  of  the  country  ; was  one  of  the  founders 
and  now  the  secretary  of  the  Polytechnic 
Society  of  Kentucky.  E.  Alfi-ed  Grant,  Jr., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  reared  in 
Louisville,  and  educated  in  her  public  schools, 
finishino-  at  the  Male  High  School.  He  com- 
mencecl  his  commercial  life  as  office  boy  in 
the  plow  factory  of  Brinly,  Miles  & Hardy, 
and  in  less  than  a year  was  traveling  irr  their 
interest.  For  several  years  he  occupied  the 
same  position  with  the  well  known  house  of 
B.  F.  Avery  & Sons.  He  resigned  his  posi- 
tion with  them  and  took  the  local  agency  for 
an  insurance  company,  and  in  six  months  was 
offered  and  accepted  the  general  agency  of 
the  Imperial  Life  Insurance  Company,  with 
whom  he  has  since  been  connected.  Mr. 
Grant  was  married  in  October,  1883,  to  Miss 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


79t 


Eloise  Hiter,  of  Woodford  County,  daughter 
of  D.  P.  Hiter,  and  niece  of  Hon.  .John  M. 
Harlan  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court. 

JOHN  W.  GREEN  was  born  in  Hender- 
son County,  Ivy.,  October  18,  1841,  and  is  a 
son  of  Hector  and  Louisa  (Reiggles)  Green, 
natives  of  Fauquier  County,  Ya.,  and  Boston, 
jMass.  The  former  removed  to  Henderson 
County,  Ky.,  and  was  county  surveyor  for  a 
number  of  years,  afterwards  book-keeper  for 
George  Blanchard.  Later  he  removed  to 
Meade  County,  where  he  died.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  lived  with  his  father  until  he 
was  eleven  years  of  age.  He  was  educated 
in  the  high  schools,  and  upon  graduating  be- 
came a clerk  for  A.  D.  Hunt  & Co.,  bankers, 
remainino-  with  them  until  1861.  Early  in 

O 

that  year  he  went  to  Florence,  Ala.,  where  he 
remained  until  the  fall,  when  he  returned  to 
Kentucky,  and  at  Bowling  Green  joined  Col. 
Tom  Hunt’s  regiment.  After  the  close  of  the 
war  he  returned  to  Louisville,  and  was  en- 
o-ao’ed  ao'ain  in  Hunt’s  bankingf  house,  iir 
which  he  finally  became  a partner.  He  after- 
w’ard  became  a partner  with  Morton,  Galt  & 
Co.  AYhen  this  firm  discontinued  business, 
in  1879,  Mr.  Green  commenced  business  as  a 
stock  and  bond  broker,  with  his  brother,  David 
L.,  as  a p>artner.  He  was  married  in  1881  to 
Miss  Anna  Ames,  of  Louisville. 

JOHN  E.  GREEN,  president  of  the 
Second  National  Bairk  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  is 
widely  known  throughout  the  South  and 
^Yest  as  one  of  the  most  eminently  capable 
and  thorough  young  business  men  south  of 
the  Ohio  river.  He  is  the  son  of  Dr.  Norvin 
Green,  the  distinguished  president  of  the 
Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  and 
was  born  July'  8,  1849,  on  his  father’s  plan- 
tation in  Henry  County',  Ky.,  near  the  town 
of  Eminence.  He  came  to  Louisville  at  an 
early  age  to  attend  school ; was  a close 
student  and  advanced  rapidly,  although  he 
was  not  one  of  the  precocious  kind,  and  got 
at  the  subject  matter  of  his  lessons  only  by 
hard  thought  and  faithful  application.  His 
mind  was  all  the  time  turned  to  affairs  of 
commerce,  however,  and  it  is  possible  that 
he  gave  quite  as  much  attention  to  the  finan- 
cial departments  of  the  daily  papers  as  he 


did  to  his  algebra  and  Latin  grammar.  At 
all  events  he  had  not  been  in  the  high  school 
a great  while  before  it  occurred  to  him  that 
there  was  a place  in  the  busy'  world  of  com- 
merce for  at  least  one  more  pushing  y'oung 
man  and  indicated  as  much  to  his  father.  Dr. 
Green  expressed  no  desire  to  keep  the  youth 
at  his  books,  which  he  had  mastered  loner  ag-o, 
and  promised  to  make  a place  for  him.  Yery 
soon  after  this  a sy'ndicate  of  well  known 
business  men  incorporated  the  Louisville  Car 
^Yheel  Manufactory  and  .John  E.  Green  was 
elected  secretary.  It  is  a fact  worthy  of  ob- 
servation that  the  projectors  of  this  enter- 
prise have  all  become  men  of  eminent  dis- 
tinction. Among  them  were  Dr.  Norvin 
Green,  president  of  the  Western  Union,  Dr. 
E.  D.  Standiford,  formerly  president  of  the 
Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad  Company 
and  afteiuvards  a millionaire  (now  deceased); 
Albert  Fink,  the  trunk  line  pool  commis- 
sioner; R.  S.  Yeech  who  owns  the  famous 
Indian  Hill  stud  farm  near  Louisville  and 
who  made  a fortunate  tilt  in  Louisville,  New 
Albany  & Chicago  railroad  stock  several 
years  ago;  .1.  AY.  Henning,  one  of  the 
wealthiest  owners  of  real  estate  in  Louisville, 
and  last,  but  not  least,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  In  his  capacity  as  secretary  of  the 
concern,  young  Green  became  of  immense 
value  to  the  enterprise,  and  it  was  not  a great 
while  before  the  management  was  given  en- 
tirely into  his  hands.  He  had  grown  rapidly 
into  the  estimation  of  the  business  community 
all  this  time,  and  in  1881,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-two,  he  attained,  unsought  on  his  part, 
the  distinction  of  election  to  the  presidency 
of  the  Louisville  Board  of  Trade,  an  organ- 
ization which  was  then  in  its  infancy,  al- 
though supported  by  all  of  the  old  and 
reliable  business  men  of  Louisville.  The 
young  president  gave  hard  thought  and 
faithful  actioir  to  the  interests  of  the  institu- 
tion, and  soon  worked  a solid  systematic  and 
useful  organization  out  of  a willing  but 
chaotic  and  unorganized  mass  of  brains  and 
money.  As  a proof  of  the  high  esteem  in 
which  the  board  held  him  it  is  merely  neces- 
sary to  state  that  he  was  thrice  re-elected 
president  without  opposition,  and  was  warmly 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


7!)8 


urged  to  again  accept  tlie  honor,  hut  ileclined 
upon  the  well  founded  plea  that  private  en- 
terprises in  which  he  was  largely  interested 
claimed  so  much  of  his  time  and  attention 
that  he  could  no  longer  perform,  with  satis- 
faction to  himself,  the  functions  of  the  olKce. 
When  he  retired  from  the  presidency  the 
board  passed  Hattering  resolutions  of  regret, 
and  pronounced  in  mass  meeting  a high  and 
otlicial  eulogy  upon  his  prolonged  and  useful 
service  in  the  president’s  chair.  In  the 
meantime,  in  January,  18SL,  he  had  accepted 
a ])lace  in  the  directory  of  the  Second  Na- 
tional Bank,  and  was  promptly  elected  presi- 
dent of  that  institution,  which  has  since  so 
flourished  under  his  manao'ement  that  the 

O 

deposits  are  almost  twice  as  large  now  as 
they  were  three  years  ago,  and  the  bank, 
from  a comparatively  small  station,  has  grown 
until  it  now  rates  seventh,  out  of  twenty-one, 
in  the  clearing  house.  Some  of  the  best 
known  men  around  the  Falls  are  in  the 
directory  of  the  Second  National,  which 
makes  Mr.  Green’s  election  to  the  presidency 
a notable  compliment.  ^The  directory  is 
composed  of  AY.  C.  DePauw,  of  New  Albany, 
Ind.;  James  Bridgeford,  AA^.  R.  Belknap, 
George  H.  Hull,  K.  H.  Chase,  St.  John 
Boyle,  F.  D.  Carley,  and  Colonel  Thomas  AA^. 
Brdlitt,  of  Louisville.  George  S.  Allison  is 
the  cashier.  Mr.  Green  has  been  a director 
in  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad  Com- 
pany, as  well  as  in  the  Ijouisville,  Evansville 
& St.  Louis  Air  Line,  and  the  Pensacola  & 
Atlantic.  He  was  one  of  the  board  of  man- 
agers of  the  National  Exposition  of  Railway 
A])pliances,  which  was  held  at  Chicago  in 
1880,  and  was  counted  one  of  the  thinking 
men  of  that  famous  body.  It  is  not  generally 
known,  but  it  is  (pute  true,  nevertheless,  that 
Mr.  Green  had  more  to  do  with  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Southern  Exposition  Company 
of  Louisville  than  any  other  man.  He  called 
the  original  meeting  at  his  residence  in 
Louisville,  and  althouo-h  some  of  the  gentle- 
men  who  were  present  protested  that  the 
enterprise  was  not  ])ractioable.  Air.  Green 
urged  that  it  was,  and  finally  carried  his 
point.  The  Southern  Exposition  has  since 
accomplished  wonders  for  Louisville,  and  is 


now  just  turning  into  its  fourtli  year,  with  all 
Kentucky  interested  in  it.  Other  examples 
might  be  cited  of  the  good  and  useful  things 
Air.  Green  has  done  for  Louisville,  but 
enough  has  been  told.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
no  other  young  man  has  ever  stood  higher  in 
the  Falls  City  than  Air.  Green  stands  at  pres- 
ent. His  fine  qualities  of  heart  and  head 
have  made  him  a great  favorite  in  social 
circles,  and  his  beautiful  house  on  Fourth 
avenue  is  always  open  to  his  friends.  Air. 
Green  was  married  before  he  had  attained 
his  majority,  and  is  now  the  head  of  a charm- 
ing little  family,  his  wife  being  a lady  of 
unusual  personal  beauty  and  great  amiability. 
His  friends  are  anxious  to  have  him  stand  for 
the  office  of  mayor  of  the  city,  but  he  has 
heretofore  declined.  AVhen  it  comes  to  the 
silver  question,  he  is  a gold  man.  Aside 
from  his  duties  as  president  of  the  bank  Air. 
Green  is  compelled  to  give  a great  deal  of 
thought  to  several  manufacturing  companies 
in  which  he  is  largely  interested,  notably  the 
Car  AA^heel  AA^orks,  the  Louisville  Steam 
Forge  Alanufactory,  and  other  similar  con- 
cerns. He  is  a busy  man  throughout  the 
year. 

H.  J.  GREEN  WELL,  Jk.,  was  born  in 
Bullitt  County,  Ky.,  April  18,  1866,  and  is  a 
son  of  Robert  Greenwell,  who  was  born  in 
Nelson  County,  Ky.,  Alay  26,  1821,  and  was 
married  Alay  18,  1846,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  E. 
I^ee,  daug-hter  of  Robert  AI.  Lee,  who  was 
born  in  Nelson  County,  Ky.,  August  8,  1800. 
The  subject’s  grandfather,  Henry  I^ee,  was  of 
the  illustrious  Lee  family  of  A^irginia,  being  a 
descendent  of  Richard  Lee,  one  of  the  signers 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence;  he  immi- 
grated to  Kentucky  from  that  state  at  a very 
early  day. 

GILBERT  GRIFFIN,  a native  of  Spencer 
County,  Ky.,  was  born  November  15,  1833. 
His  father,  William  Gritlin,  was  also  born  in 
Spencer  County,  December  19,  1801,  and  was 
married  to  Aliss  Catherine  Ritchey,  April  7, 
1823,  and  had  born  to  them  six  children,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  being  the  hfth.  AA^ill- 
iam  Griffin  removed  to  Bullitt  County,  Ky., 
and  settled  on  a farm  in  1842.  Gilbert 
Griffin  was  married  to  Aliss  Corilla  Skinner, 


BiOGRAPHiCAL  SKETCHES. 


■99 


August  12,  1862,  and  had  born  to  him  thieo 
children.  His  wife  departed  this  iife,  July 
22,  1876,  and  Mr.  Griffin  -was  next  married 
November  11,  1880,  to  Mrs.  Ann  E.  Hall, 
widow  of  Dr.  D.  M.  Hall.  Mr.  Griffin’s 
children  are:  .Jasper,  born  January  11,  1864; 
William,  February  18,  1867;  Minnie,  Septem- 
ber 2,  1872.  His  farm  of  six  hundred  and 
forty  acres  is  one  of  the  finest  in  Bullitt 
County. 

PHILIP  HAGER  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Louisville  in  1843,  and  is  a son  of  Charles 
and  Barbara  Hacrer,  both  natives  of  Bavaria, 
Germany.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
reared  in  Louisville  and  began  life  for  him- 
self as  a clerk;  later  he  learned  the  trade  of 
a jeweler.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  Ptnited 
States  navy,  served  about  thirteen  months, 
and  was  after  engaged  on  the  gun-boat  C’on- 
nestoga  for  about  one  year  during  the  war;  on 
his  return  after  the  war,  he  engaged  in 
business.  In  1878  he  formed  a partnership 
with  .J.  R.  Hetch,  and  is  now  carrying  on  a 
P'ood  business  at  351  Fourth  avenue.  51r. 

O 

Hager  was  married,  in  1869,  to  IMiss  Bertha 
Schuckman,  and  is  now  the  father  of  three 
children:  Belle,  Addie  and  Amelia.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  and  adjutant  of  the 
George  H.  Thomas  Post. 

5VALTER  N.  PIAl. DEMAN,  president  of 
the  G our ier -Journal  Company,  was  born  in 
Maysville,  Ky.,  April  27,  1821,  and  was 
educated  at  Maysville  Acadamy  along  with 
LI.  S.  Grant,  ^Y.  H.  7Vad= worth,  T.  H.  Nel- 
son, R.  H.  Collins,  and  others  who  afterward 
attained  to  prominence.  He  removed  to  Louis- 
ville, vh  n but  sixteen  years  of  age,  and 
entered  upon  a career  remarkable  for  activity 
and  success.  In  December,  1843,  he  pur- 
chased from  an  association  of  printers  a news- 
paper called  the  Daily  Dime^  which  he  after- 
ward converted  into  the  Morning  Courier. 
The  establishment  of  this  paper  was  proble- 
matical. Louisville  had  been  the  graveyard 
of  newspapers — the  Journal.,  conducted  by 
the  brillant  Prentice,  only  surviving  the 
general  mortality.  At  that  day  politics  almost 
exclusively  engrossed  the  attention  of  the 
people  and  the  talent  of  the  press.  Mr. 
Haldeman  determined  to  strike  out  on  a new' 


line.  He  made  nev;s  the  chief  feature  of  his 
paper,  and  its  success  and  permanent  estab- 
lishment followed,  as  the  fruits  of  his  enter- 
prise and  sagacity.  The  Courier  thenceforth 
became  a power  in  the ' State.  Before  the 
civil  war  was  pi'ecipitated  upon  the  countrv', 
the  Courier  denounced  the  coercive  policy  of 
the  Federal  government,  and  as  a State’s 
rights  join  nal  espoused  the  cause  of  the  South. 
7Yhen  the  Federal  troops  entered  Louisville, 
in  September,  1861,  the  w'as  suppresed 

by  orders  from  \Yashington.  Mr.  Haldeman 
learned  of  his  intended  arrest  in  time  to 
flee  for  safety.  He  reached  Nashville,  and 
promptly  re-established  the  Courier.,  which 
was  ju’inted  until  that  city  was  captured  by 
Federals.  He  removed  with  the  army  and 
published  it  at  several  points,  or  “ published 
it  on  wheels,”  as  his  friends  were  wont  to  say. 
Mr.  Haldeman  remained  in  the  S mth  durino- 
the  war,  and  on  the  cessation  of  hostilities 
again  repaired  to  his  Louisville  home.  Al- 
though broken  in  fortune,  and  half  aw'ed  by 
the  enormous  advance  in  paper  and  printing 
material  growing  out  of  the  war  and  a depre- 
ciated currency,  he  could  not  resist  the  earnest 
popular  demand  for  the  re-es‘ablishment  of 
the  Courier.  The  day  it  re-appeared,  Decem- 
ber 5,  1865,  it  was  an  evident  success.  The 
prest'ge  of  the  old  Courier  w'as  in  its  favor, 
and  irresistible.  To''  make  assurance  double 
sure”  Mr.  Haldeman  determined  the  new  paper 
should  deserve  success.  Regardless  of  the 
outlay,  he  arranged  as  rapidly  as  possible  for 
special  telegraphic  and  other  co  respondence 
from  all  parts  of  the  country.  It  was  a new 
era  in  journalism  in  Louisville.  AYithin  six 
months,  the  lively  and  enterpri-ing  Courier 
so  far  outstripped  its  local  contemporaries, 
that  the  latter  in  spite  of  editorial  streno-th 
came  to  be  regarded  as  second  rate-journals. 
Th  ee  years  later  Mr.  Haldeman  conceived 
the  bold  project  of  consolidating  the  Journal 
and  Democrat^  the  only  other  dailies  in  Louis- 
ville, with  his  Courier.  His  purpose  was 
acc  mplished,  and  the  leading  political  and 
news  paper  of  the  AYest  and  South-west,  the 
Louisville  C our ier- Jour ned.,  of  which  he  is 
the  controlling  spirit,  is  the  offspring  of  that 
union.  Perserverance,  energy  and  enterprise 


800 


biographical  sketches. 


is  llie  secret  of  Mr.  Ilaldemdu's  sui,cess  in 
life.  Hut  besides  this,  his  whole  career  has 
been  marked  by  a strong  common  sense  and  a 
comprehensiveness  of  mind,  wliich  made  him 
I'ar-reacliing  and  far-seeing  in  his  aims. 
When  to  these  (jualities  are  added  his  genial 
manners.  Ids  diligence,  and  fidelity  to  laborious 
duty,  it  is  by  no  means  strange  that  he  has 
gathered  in  the  rich  fruits  of  success.  There 
is  scarcely  one  of  the  profession  in  the  country 
better  known  than  Mr.  Haldeman.  What 
Bennett  with  the  Herald.,  and  Greely  with  the 
Tribune.,  were  to  the  North  and  East,  Halde- 
man with  his  Courier- Journal.,  is  to  the  South 
and  South-west.  He  is  the  oldest  member  of 
the  daily  newspaper  press  in  Kentucky, 
and  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  country.  He  is 
an  able  financier,  and  as  much  to  this  as  to 
its  brillant  editorial  management  may  be 
attributed  the  phenomenal  success  of  the 
Courier- J ournal. 

ROBERT  HARDESTY  was  born  August 
29,  1824,  in  Breckinridge  County,  Kentucky,  | 
and  is  a son  of  Richard  and  Anna  B.  (Lyon)  [ 
Hardesty.  Richard  Hardesty  immigrated  to  [ 
Kentucky  in  about  1818,  and  died  in  Bullitt  | 
County  in  1854.  He  had  two  sons  who  served  [ 
in  the  Union  army:  Henry  as  a private  in  the  I 
Twenty-first  Kentucky  Volunteers,  and  ! 
Charles  as  a surgeon — both  dying  while  out.  j 
Henry  was  born  April  15,  1821,  enlisted  in 
18()4,  and  died  in  Nashville,  Tenn.,  in  1895. 
Charles  was  born  April  10,  1831.  He  entered 
the  army  in  1802,  and  died  in  the  Nashville 
hospital  in  duly,  1863.  Robert  Hardesty,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  married  to  Miss 
Isabella  Chambers,  February  2^  I860.  She 
came  with  her  family  from  Ireland  in  1855. 
They  have  four  children:  Hugh,  born  Novem- 
ber 27,  1860;  Robeit  C.,  born  May  8,  1864; 
Anna,  born  November  25,  1871;  I^etitia  P.,  j 
born  September  22,  1880.  Mr.  Hardesty  j 
holds  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace. 

SAMUEL  F.  HARLAN  was  born  in  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  February  16,  1847,  and  is  a son  of  j 
Eli  and  Nancy  (Casel)  Harlan,  the  former  a 
soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  Eli  was  born  in 
1793,  and  was  a son  of  .lames  Harlan,  a Rev-  j 
olutionary  soldier,  a native  of  the  eastern  j 
shore  of  Maryland,  and  came  early  to  Ken- 


1 tucky.  Nancy  Casel  (the  subject's  mother) 

I was  born  in  1797,  and  her  father,  James  Case!, 
was  a native  of  Virginia,  atrd  among  the  pio- 
j neers  of  Kentucky.  Samuel  F.  Harlan,  the 
j subject  of  this  sketch,  was  educated  in  the 
^ prdjlic  schools  of  Louisville,  and  for  several 
; years  after  graduating  was  principal  of  one 
of  the  ward  schools.  In  1881  he  quit  teach- 
ing and  commenced  the  manufacture  of  pumps 
and  tube  wells,  elevators,  etc.,  in  which  he 
has  Ijeen  (juite  successful.  He  was  mairied 
in  1884  to  Miss  Ruth  A.  Mills,  of  Louisville. 

WILLIAM  HUME  HARRIS,  the  subject 
of  tliis  sketch,  was  born  in  Franklirr  County, 
Tenn.,  October  28,  1840,  and  is  a son  of  .lohn 
and  Rosanna  (Hume)  Harris,  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia. His  father  was  born  in  Albermarle 
County,  graduated  in  the  classics  and  law  at 
j William  and  Mary  College,  of  Williamsburg, 
and  practiced  law  in  Richmond,  Va.,  moved 
to  Franklin  County,  Tenn.,  and  settled  on  a 
plantation.  He  continued  to  practice  his  pro- 
fession, rose  rapidly  to  j)rominence  and  I’epre- 
sented  his  district  five  terms  in  the  United 
States  Cony-ress;  at  the  end  of  which  he  de- 
dined  a renomination  and  retired  to  the  shades 
of  j)rivate  life,  honored  and  respected  by  all. 
He  raised  and  educated  a family  of  six  boys 
and  four  girls.  All  the  boys  enlisted  in  the 
Confederate  cause  in  the  war  between  the 
States.  Four  fell  in  battle  with  their  faces 
toward  the  enemy;  two  still  survive.  The 
subject’s  grandfather,  John  Harris,  was  born 
near  Richmond,  Va.,  graduated  in  the  classics 
from  William  and  Mary  College,  read  law  in 
his  father’s  office  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 
He  served  with  distinction  in  the  Revolution- 
ary war,  having  fought  at  Piinceton,  Trenton, 
Monmouth,  Brandywine  and  Germantown. 
After  the  war  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law 
in  xAlbermarle  County,  Va.,  was  a representa- 
tive in  the  House  of  Buryesses  and  raised  a 

O 

family  of  seven  boys  and  three  girls.  The 
subject’s  great-grandfather,  John  Harris,  was 
born  in  Swansea,  Wales,  and  was  a lawyer  by 
profession.  He  emigrated  with  his  brothers, 
Jacob,  Daniel  and  Eli,  to  America,  and  settled 
near  Richmond,  Va.  (from  this  branch  of  the 
Harris  family  sprang  all  by  that  name  now  in 
Virginia,  and  spreading  from  that  State  to 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


801 


every  State  and  territory  in  the  Union),  and 
continued  to  practice  his  profession.  Being 
a member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  a num- 
ber of  terms,  he  was  present  and  a member 
when  Patrick  Henry  made  that  memorable 
speech  which  immortalized  him  and  placed 
his  name  among  the  first  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen.  Mr.  Harris  served  with  distinc- 
tion in  the  Revolutionary  war.  After  the  war 
he  retired  to  private  life,  raised  a family  of 
eight  boys  and  two  girls,  and  then  patiently 
Avaited  for  old  Charon  and  his  canoe  to  ferry 
him  across  the  Styx.  Dr.  W.  H.  Harris  Avas 
bi-ought  up  on  a plantation,  graduated  in  the 
classics  from  Princeton  College,  studied  medi- 
cine uirder  Win.  K.  BoAvling,  of  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  thence  Avent  to  Paris,  France,  and  con- 
tinued his  studies  in  medicine  under  Pi’of. 
Trousseau.  He  is  a graduate  in  medicine  of 
Paris,  France,  of  the  Ecole  de  Medecin. 
After  graduating  he  returned  to  Tennessee 
and  entered  the  Confederate  army  as  asurgeoir. 
After  the  war  he  continued  the  practice  of 
medicine  and  met  with  great  success.  Three 
medical  schools,  standing  second  to  none, 
conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine,  and  his  Alma  Mater  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  He  now 

O 

has  the  honor  of  being  the  recipient  of  seven 
diplomas,  A’iz:  A.  B.,  A.  M.  four  ^1.  D.’s  and 
LL.  D.,  all  worthily  bestoAved.  He  was  also 
admitted  to  the  bar.  As  a regular  practi- 
tioner of  medicine  he  has  but  few  equals.  He 
is  a gentleman  of  tine  abilities,  rare  culture 
and  irreproachable  mora  l character,  is  a Knight 
Templar  and  a member  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  also  standing  among  the  advanced 
thinkers  in  medicine.  He  Avas  several  times 
offered  a professor’s  chair  in  medical  schools, 
but  declined,  thinking  the  best  field  for  him 
was  that  of  a general  practitioner,  Avliich  Avould 
the  better  enable  him  to  give. battle  to  disease 
in  every  form  whatsoever.  His  acquirements 
as  a physician,  and  especially  as  a neurologist^ 
are  such  as  to  place  him  among  the  first  of 
those  who  work  in  the  most  important  depart- 
ment of  medical  science.  We  hereby  append 
an  extract  written  by  the  late  W.  K.  Bowling, 
M.  D.,  LIj.  D.,  to  Dr.  Harris,  to  shoAv  the  in- 


timate and  friendly  relations  existing  between 
I these  two  eminent  physicians,  one  as  precep- 
I tor  the  other  as  pupil.  Dr.  Bowling  was  one 
^ of  the  best  and  most  distinguished  physicians 
in  America.  He  was  not  only  distinguished 
in  medicine,  but  in  literature,  like  Oliver 
Wendall  Holmes,  of  Massachusetts,  and  had 
been  fifty  years  known  as  professor  in  various 
medical  schools  and  as  editor  of  medical  jour- 
nals., He  had  also  been  president  of  the  Na- 
tional iMedical  Association,  and  president  of 
the  National  Association  of  IMedical  Ifditorg 
of  the  United  States; 

“Nasiia'ille,  Nov.  13,  1883. 

31  y Dear  Doctor  Harris: 

Dr. hamled  me  your  letter  of  the  27th 

of  September  last  to-day.  He  showed  me 
your  papers,  which  I like  exceedingU'.  He 
told  me  that  he  had  written  you  that  only  one 
honorary  degree  could  be  confeired  by  each 
college  a year,  under  the  laAv  of  colleges, 
and  all  that,  and  I said  that  it  Avas  only 
one  degree  you  wanted;  that  man  and  AA'ife 
Avere  one,  and  that  one  Avas  the  man,  and  you 
and  1 were  one  in  this  case,  and  that  you  were 
the  one.  For  really  I have  made  up  my  mind 
that  you  will  hereafter  appear  as  the  big  fish 
on  our  string  of  immortals.  * And 

noAv,  dear  Doctor,  fareAvell.  If  alive,  I Avill 
sign  my  name  to  your  diploma,  if  I baA'e  to 
have  my  arm  bandaged  to  enaLle  me  to  do  it. 
God  bless  you. 

In  the  bonds  of  the  brotherhood. 

Fraternally  and  cordially. 

Your  friend, 

AV.  K.  Boavling.” 

SAMUEL  T.  HARRISON,  farmer,  of  Jef- 
ferson County,  Ky.,  Avas  born  in  that  county, 
January  3,  1841.  His  parents  were  .lohn  and 
Mary  Ann  (Kindell)  Harrison.  John  Harri- 
son is  a native  of  Shelby  Countv'.  Samuel 
T.  Harrison,  the  subject  of  this  notice,  is  the 
sixth  born  of  thirteen  children.  He  Avas  mar- 
lied  t ) Miss  Margaret  Stinson,  December  0, 
186t3,  and  there  liaA  e been  born  to  him  eio-ht 
child  ten.  4^  illiam  IMiner,  born  January  0 
1808;  Mattie,  born  .lanuary  28,  1809,  and 
died  July  18,  1809;  Ella,  born  March  20, 
1871;  Mary  E.,  December  2,  1873;  Lillie  T., 


S02 


BIoguaphical  sketches. 


Ddcember  3,  1S7();  Fannie  J.,  June  22,  1880; 
Albert  T.,  September  22,  1888;  Edward, 
December  20,  1880. 

CHARLES  A.  HENDERSON  was  born  in 
in  Tuscarawas  County,  Ohio,  February  22d, 
1848,  and  was  the  seventh  son  of  James  and 
Sarah  iMcAfee  Henderson,  the  former  a native 
of  Westmoreland  County,  Penn.,  and  the 
latter  a daughter  of  Jas.  McAfee.  Charles 
A.  was  reared  on  a faini  and  received  such 
education  as  was  to  be  obtained  in  the  public 
schools.  In  June,  1801,  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany E,  Twenty-sixth  Ohio  Infantry,  altliough 
but  fourteen  years  old.  Owing  to  his  ex- 
treme youth,  the  colonel  of  the  regiment 
made  him  the  orderly,  and  afterward  he  was 
made  picket  messenger  for  Gen.  Wood,  who 
commanded  the  division  to  which  the  Twenty-  i 
sixth  was  attached.  He  was  sent  home  to  ( )hio 
as  a recruiting  officer,  and  for  two  months  per-  ; 
formed  that  duty  faitlifully;  during  the  draft, 
he  was  appointed  jiostmaster  of  Camp  Mor-  j 
ton,  Ind.,  a position  he  held  for  seven  months.  | 
After  serving  one  or  two  years, he  veteranized  ' 
and  continued  in  the  service  until  the  close  | 
of  the  war,  participating  in  a number  of  se-  j 
vere  battles,  among  which  were  Shiloh,  Stone 
River,  Chickamauga,  Mission  Ridge  and  the 
fighting  around  Atlanta.  After  the  close  of 
the  war  he  returned  home  and  resumed  the 
duties  of  life.  He  was  married  Julyj20,  1874, 
to  Miss  Rebecca  McCoy,  a daughter  af  .Jo- 
seph McCoy,  a native  of  Kentucky.  Two 
children  were  born  to  this  marriage,  viz; 
William  IL,  born  .Inly  4,  1875,  and  Harold  C., 
born  December  25,  1877.  Tliis  year  (1877), 
he  moved  to  Kentucky  and  settled  at  Bards- 
town  .Junction,  where  he  now  lives. 

ROBERT  C.  HEWETT,  M.  D.,  son  of  John 
i\[.  and  Sarah  (Carson)  Hewett,  was  born  in 
New  York  City,  October  9,  1812,  of  English 
parents.  Soon  after  his  birth  the  family  re- 
moved to  Kentucky,  and  settled  finally  in  j 
J.exington.  His  academic  education  was  pur- 
sued during  two  years  at  Miami  JIniversity, 
and  sid.)sequently  at  Transylvania  University,  j 
then  in  the  zenith  of  its  fame.  He  left  Tran- 
sylvania in  the  senior  year  of  his  college  I 
course  and  in  the  nineteenth  year  of  his  age,  ' 
to  join,  as  assistant,  T.  .1.  Matthews,  engineer- 


I in-chief  on  the  Lexington  & Frankfort  rail- 
^ road.  Mr.  Matthews,  after  a short  service, 
met  with  an  accident  which  disabled  him,  and 
prevented  him  from  conducting  the  surveys, 
j when  Mr.  Hewett  was  appointed  to  succeed 
him,  and  completed  the  surveys  to  Frankfort 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  railroad  officials. 
Soon  alter  this  he  joined  a party  of  engineers 
in  making  surveys  for  one  of  the  first  rail- 
roads projected  in  Indiana,  viz:  from  Law- 
renceburg  to  Indianapolis.  On  his  return  to 
I Kentucky  he  was  re-appointed  engineer  in 
, charge  of  the  Lexington  & Frankfort  railroad, 
and  it  was  through  the  influence  of  his  report 
and  recommendation  that  existing  contracts 
I for  constructing  tliis  road  with  continuous 
stone  sills  were  abandoned,  and  a wooden 
superstructure  adopted  in  lieu  thereof.  He 
also  aided  in  the  surveys  of  several  macadam- 
ized roads  leading'  into  Lexington,  and  located 
the  one  between  that  city  and  Georgetown. 
He  then  entered  the  service  of  the  State,  and 
assisted  in  the  surveys  for  slackwater  improve- 
ment of  the  Kentucky  River.  Afterwai’d  he 
was  sent  to  the  northeastern  portion  of  the 
State,  where  he  surveyed  and  located  the 
State  road  from  Owensville  to  the  mouth  of 
I the  Big  Sandy.  In  a similar  capacity  he  was 
t placed  in  charge  of  the  road  from  Elizabeth- 
town (through  Bowling  Green)  to  Eddyville. 
i While  thus  engaged  the  financial  crisis  of 
1887  occurred,  causing  the  abandonment  of 
I all  internal  improvement  enterprises,  as  well 
I as  general  prostration  in  private  business 
I affairs,  and  thus  the  demand  for  civil  engineers 
; was  for  the  time  at  an  end.  Mr.  Hewett  was 
now  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  as  there 
seemed  no  probability  of  his  services  being- 
required  as  engineer  again  soon,  he  determined 
to  study  medicine,  and  in  1888  became  a 
student  in  the  office  of  his  brother-in-law.  Dr. 
Theodore  S.  Bell,  of  J^ouisville,  one  of  the 
ablest  and  most  distingfuished  members  of 
the  medical  profession.  After  pursuing  his 
studies  for  a sufficient  time  lie  entered  the 
medical  department  of  Transylvania  Univers- 
ity, from  which  he  graduated  in  1844.  He 
then  permanently  located  in  Louisville,  and 
has  since  practiced  his  profession  in  this  city. 
His  practice  is  largely  of  a general  character. 


I 


BIOGKAPIIICAL  SKETCHES. 


but  of  late  years  he  has  to  some  extent  made 
a specialty  of  obstetrics.  Since  the  commence- 
ment of  his  professional  life  in  Louisville,  he 
has  repeatedly  been  offered  professorships  in 
the  different  medical  schools,  but  has  invari- 
ably declined  them,  prel'errin^  the  practical 
duties  of  the  profession  to  those  of  teaching. 
For  fourteen  years  he  served  as  a physician 
to  the  Kentucky  Institution  for  the  Blind, 
and  for  seven  years  he  gave  gratuitous  serv- 
ice  as  physician  to  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
( )rphan  Asylum.  In  1859-60  he  was  president 
of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of 
Louisville,  and  in  1807  was  pre;ident  of  the 
Louisville  B )ard  of  Health.  Endowed  by 
nature  with  a strong,  practical,  comprehensive 
mind,  and  a vigorous  constitution,  Dr.  Hewett 
has,  by  assiduous  study  cultivated  the  one, 
and  by  most  pirudent  and  abstemious  habits 
so  protected  the  other,  that  now  at  a ripe  old 
age  he  is  robust  and  vigorous  both  mentally 
and  physically.  Honest  by  nature,  and  de- 
cidedly positive  in  his  character,  he  can  deal 
with  no  proposition  e.xcept  with  the  utmost 
frankness  and  sincerity.  Fond  of  his  profes- 
sion, and  proud  of  it  as  a high  science,  he  is 
loyal  to  it  according  to  its  highest  standard, 
and  a strict  observer  of  its  etiquette.  Kecog- 
nized  by  the  profession  as  one  of  its  ablest 
exemplars,  trusted  for  his  calm  discriminating 
judgment  and  thorough  conscientiousness,  his 
counsel  if  often  sought  outside  the  large  circle 
of  his  immediate  adherents,  and  his  diao-noses 
and  suggestions  always  command  respect. 
During  the  late  civil  war  Dr.  Hewett  was  a 
consistent  suppoi’ter  of  the  LTnion  cause.  He 
was  appointed  by  the  government,  “ Acting 
assistant  surgeon  United  States  army  for 
giving  medical  attendance  to  officers  on  duty 
in  the  city  of  Louisville.”  In  addition  to 
these  duties  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  or- 
ganization of  several  of  the  government  hos- 
pitals established  in  the  city  dining  the 
war,  and  to  which  he  gave  his  professional 
services.  He  served  also  as  a member  of 
the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  and 
in  conjunction  with  the  late  Drs.  Lewis  Kog- 
ers  and  J.  B.  Flint,  acted  as  a member  of  the 
board  of  medical  examiners  for  examinintr 

O 

surgeons  and  assistant  surgeons  for  the  volun- 


HOo 

teer  army.  Dr.  Hewett’s  duties,  other  than 
those  of  a professional  nature,  were  that  of  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
University  of  Louisville,  and  for  nearly  twen- 
ty years  a director  in  the  Louisville  Gas  Com- 
pany. He  was  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
Louisville  & Lexington  railroad  during  the 
construction  of  the  Shortline  Irranch,  and  has 
long  been  a director  of  the  Louisville  Insur- 
ance Company,  aiil  in  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Louisville.  He  is  one  of  the  man- 
agers of  Cave  Hill  cemetery.  He  is  enter- 
prising and  public-spirited;  an  earnest,  in- 
telligent and  active  promoter  of  all  schemes 
which  look  to  the  well-being  and  true  progress 
of  the  coiumunitv  of  which  he  is  a prominent, 
iidluential  and  liighly  honored  member.  In 
1847  Dr.  Hewett  married  IMiss  J.  Sidney 
Anderson,  daughter  of  James  Anderson,  Sr. 
Three  children  were  the  result  of  this  mar- 
riage, tw'o  of  whom  are  still  living:  Mrs. 

Mary  S.  Beasley,  of  Baltimore,  and  Edward 
A.  Hewett,  cashier  of  the  Bank  of  I,ouis- 
ville. 

PHILIP  HINKLE,  a native  of  Louisville, 
was  born  in  1810.  His  parents,  Philip  and 
Mary  Hinkle,  were  both  born  in  Germanv- 
He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  this  city, 
and  duly  10,  1862,  when  about  sixteen  years 
of  age,  he  enlisted  in  Companv  G,  Twenty- 
eighth  Kentucky  United  States  Infantry,  and 
served  until  June,  1865,  when  he  was  honorablv 
discharged.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned 
home,  and  in  1879  was  elected  city  auditor;  was 
re-electe  I in  1881,andsubsequently  waselected 
to  the  city  council  from  the  eleventh  ivard.  Mr. 
Hinkle  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Zink,  of 
Louisville,  in  1868,  and  has  two  children — 
Nettie  and  Arthur.  He  is  a member  of  the 
Knights  of  Honor,  and  of  the  G.  A.  P. 

WILLIAM  AV.  HITE  was  born  in  Louis- 
ville, November  14,  1854,  and  is  a son  of 
William  C.  and  Marv  (Rose)  Hite,  the  former 
a native  of  Jefferson  Countv,  his  grandfather 
was  from  A'irginia,  and  among  the  earliest 
settlers  of  the  county.  W.  C.  Hite  (subject’s 
father)  was  born  in  1820,  and  in  early  life  was 
a steamboat  clerk  and  captain,  and  ivas,  all 
through  life,  a large  steamboat  owner.  He 
was  president  of  the  Louisville  and  Evansville 


80G 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


Mail  Ivine  Company;  of  the  Louisville  and 
JelTersonville  Ferry  Company;  vice-president 
of  tlie  Southern  Pullman  (Mr  (Jompany;  a^nd 
a director  in  the  Bank  of  Kentucky;  in  the  I 
r.ouisville  Gas  Company;  in  the  Union  Insur- 
ance (_’ompany;  in  the  Southern  Mutual  I/ife 
Insurance  Company,  and  was  a prominent  and 
successful  business  man;  he  died  in  1882. 
The  subject  avas  educated  in  Louisville.  He 
succeeded  his  father  in  the  Louisville  and 
Evansville  IMail  Line  Company,  and  in  other 
business  associations.  The  firm  of  W.  W. 
llite  & Co.  conducts  a steamboat  and  railroad 
supply  store,  and  has  a very  large  and  exten- 
sive business. 

HON.  WILLIAM  B.  HOKE,  judge  of 
the  Jefferson  County  Court,  Ky.,  is  a son  of 
Cornelius  and  Jane  (Dunbar)  Hoke,  and  was 
born  August  1,  1837.  His  father  was  of 
German  descent,  was  a farmer  )>y  cccupation, 
a progressive  man,  and  knew  ihe  value  of 
educating  his  children.  His  mother  w'as  a 
woman  of  fine  intellectual  endowments,  and 
of  Scotch-Irish  parentage;  both  of  his  parents 
were  natives  of  Kentucky.  Judne  Hoke 
spent  the  early  part  of  his  life  on  a farm  and 
in  the  schools  of  his  native  county  of  Jeffer- 
son. But,  displaying  a taste  for  literary  pur- 
suits, he  was  sent  to  college,  where  he  remained 
three  years.  Being  impatient  to  commence 
the  study  of  the  law,  his  chosen  pursuit,  he 
mitered  the  law  office  of  Hon.  James  Speed, 
attorney-general  under  President  Lincoln, 
and  after  sidficient  readinn-  attended  lectures 
in  the  law  department  of  the  University  of 
Imuisville,  graduating  as  valedictorian  of  his 
class.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  in  Louis- 
ville, before  reaching  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years.  He  commenced  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  the  office  of  Hon.  S.  S.  English, 
an  uncle  of  Hon.  William  H.  English,  of  In- 
diana, and  one  of  the  old  and  leading  mem- 
bers of  the  Louisvi  le  bar.  He  rose  rapidly 
to  public  favor,  and  in  August,  1806,  was 
elected  judge  of  the  Jefferson  County  Court, 
a position  he  has  filled  with  distinguished 
ability  ever  since — now  nearly  a rpiarter  of  a 
centuiy.  Judge  Hoke  is  a man  of  fine  judg- 
ment, of  great  strength  of  memoiy,  with  a 
superior  faculty  for  making  his  knowledge  I 


available  on  any  emergency,  and  is  justly 
regarded  not  only  one  of  the  first  lawyers,  but 
as  one  of  the  most  clear-headed,  upright  and 
able  judges  of  the  State.  A lecent  writer 
said  of  him;  “Full  of  the  milk  of  human 
kindness,  and  always  ready  to  yield  to  the 
dictates  of  humanity.  Judge  Hoke  is  firm  as  a 
rock  against  any  attempt  to  swerve  him  from 
the  path  of  right  and  duty.  To  the  appeals 
of  a friend  he  is  like  melting  wax  in  the  mold, 
and  his  heart  and  hands  are  ever  open  to  re- 
lieve the  distressed,  but  to  the  threats  of  any 
he  is  as  unyielding  and  intractable  as  the  for- 
tress of  Gibralter.”  Judne  Hoke  is  a writer 

O 

of  more  than  average  ability,  and  is  a clear  and 
forcible  speaker.  His  bench  decisions  are  rarely 
reversed,  and  he  gives  the  greatest  interest 
to  the  minutest  details  in  his  court;  he  is 
universally  admired  for  his  official  courtesy, 
dignity  and  conscientious  exactness.  He  was 
one  of  the  originatorsof  the  Knights  of  Honor, 
and  in  1878  was  elected  to  the  highest  office 
in  the  body,  that  of  supreme  dictator,  which 
he  filled  with  honor  and  credit;  when  he  re- 
tired from  the  important  and  exalted  station, 
it  was  the  largest  benevolent  institution  in 
the  world.  He  is  a pron)inent  Mason,  and  has 
filled  many  important  positions  in  the  order. 
He  is  an  active  Democrat,  and,  though  imt  a 
politician  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word,  takes 
a strong  interest  in  the  political  questions  of 
the  time.  In  1859  Judge  Hoke  was  married 
to  Miss  Whartie  English,  daughter  of  Hon. 
S.  S.  English,  a family  distinguished  in  the 
history,  of  the  country. 

PHILIP  H(JLLENBAOH  was  born  in 
Germany,  December  4,  1851,  and  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1869,  when  eighteen  years 
of  age.  He  located  in  New  York  City,  where 
he  found  employment  as  a clerk.  In  1870  he 
went  to  Alabama,  where  he  engaged  in  hor- 
ticulture, making  a specialty  of  grape  culture, 
in  which  he  was  successful,  and  the  follow- 
ing year  he  removed  to  Louisville.  In  De- 
cember, 1877,  he  commenced  the  wholesale 
wine  and  liquor  business,  handling  princi- 
pally native  and  imported  wines.  He  took 
charge  of  the  Glencoe  Distillery  in  1882, 
and  has  been  conducting  it  ever  since.  His 

I ^ 

I trade  is  large,  and  comprises  extensive  sales  in 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


809 


California,  Colorado,  ^Yisconsin,  Illinois,  In- 
diana, Texas,  etc.  He  was  married  in  187-t 
to  Miss  Carrie  Schaich,  of  Germany.  They 
have  three  children:  Carrie,  Louis  and  Philip. 

JOHN  CLARENCE  HOOD,  M.  D.,  is  a 
native  of  AYheelino-,  AA^.  A^a.,  where  he  was 
born  February  1,  1858,  and  is  a son  of  Samuel 
and  Elsie  Hood,  natives  of  AVest  AHrorinia. 
He  was  broug-ht  up>  in  AA'heeling  until  six- 
teen years  of  age,  when  he  entered  AA'estern 
Reserve  University,  of  Hudson,  graduating  in 
1879  with  the  deoree  of  B.  A.  The  next 
year  (1880)  he  entered  the  AA'estern  Reserve 
Aledical  College,  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1888.  Acting  upon 
the  advice  of  tlie  sagacious  editor  of  the  New 
York  Tribune  he  went  AA^est,  and  for  three 
years  practiced  medicine  at  Grand  Forks, 
Dakota  Territory.  In  1886  he  entered  the 
University  of  Louisville,  graduating  from  the 
Aledical  Department  in  1887,  and  has  prac- 
ticed here  since  Alarch  of  that  year.  The 
honorary  degree  of  A.  Al.  was  conferred  upon 
him  June  4,  1887. 

.lOSEPH  HOOPER  is  a native  of  Spencer 
County,  Ky.,  and  was  born  July  27,  1847. 
He  is  a son  of  Simeon  B.  and  Alary  (Fore- 
man) Hooper,  natives  of  A'irginia,  and  of 
Spencer  County,  Ky.  His  mother  was  a 
daughter  of  Joseph  Foreman,  and  a grand- 
daughter of  Gen.  Cox ; his  father  was  an 
artist,  and  a fine  workman.  Joseph  Hooper 
was  reared  in  Spencer  and  AAModford  Coun- 
ties, and  -worked  his  own  way  up.  He  came 
to  Louisville  in  1882,  having  previously 
learned  dentistry  under  Dr.  Buckner,  of 
Taylorsville.  He  was  examined  by  the  State 
Board  in  1875,  and  began  practice  at  Tay- 
lorsville. He  was  married  in  1879  to  Aliss 
Elizabeth  Bowen,  of  Alissouri.  He  is  an  en- 
terprising man,  and  owns  stock  in  several 
substantial  business  enterprises. 

AA  ILLIAAI  HOAA'LETT  is  a native  of 
Bullitt  County,  and  was  born  February  8, 
1839.  He  is  a son  of  Luke  and  Eliza  (Lee) 
Ilowlett  ; the  former  a native  also  of  Bullitt 
County,  born  in  1809,  and  the  latter  born 
September  29,  1811.  AAHlliam,  the  subject, 
is  the  second  son  in  a family  of  ten  children. 
He  was  brought  up  on  the  farm  and  educated 


in  the  common  schools,  finishing  up  in  the 
Bradenburg  High  School,  then  in  charge  of 
Prof.  D.  C.  Cully,  an  excellent  educator  of 
that  day.  He  married  Aliss  Elizabeth  Ellen 
Dawson,  November  1,  1867,  and  at  once 
moved  onto  his  own  farm.  They  have  had 
eight  children,  viz  : Alargaret  Ann,  John  L., 

Charles  AA"m.  Franklin,  [James  Lloyd  Stand- 
ford,  l)oy  died  without  being  named,  Law- 
rence CuHis,  Eliza  Elizabeth  and  Hallie 
Cathrian. 

EDAALARD  PORTER  HUAIPHREY,  I). 
1).,  I,.L.  1).,  was  the  eldest  son  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Heman  and  Sophia  Porter  Humphrey,  and 
was  born  in  Fairfield,  Conn.,  .lanuary  28, 
1809,  and  died  in  Louisville  December  9, 
1886.  He  was  from  one  of  the  oldest  Eng- 
lish-American  families.  The  first  of  his  an- 
cestors in  England  were  those  who  followed 
AA^illiam  the  Conqueror  from  Normandy  in 
1066.  Dr.  Heman  Humphrey,  the  father  of 
Dr.  E.  P.  Humphrey,  was  for  twenty-two 
years  president  of  Amherst  College.  One  can 
trace  in  his  character  and  in  his  career  marked 
similarity  to  the  character  and  career  of  his 
eldest  son.  Dr.  E.  P.  Humphrey.  Both  were 
eminently  successful  in  the  pulpit  and  in  their 
services  among  the  peop;>le.  Both  were  dis- 
tinguished teachers,  excelling  in  clearness  of 
mind  and  in  lucidity  of  statement.  Both 
were  wide  in  their  sympiathies,  counting 
nothing  beyond  them  when  their  fellow-men 
were  concerned.  Each  after  retiring  from 
active  service  lived  to  enjoy  the  honors  and 
esteem  of  those  whom  they  had  served  so 
faithfully,  and  yet  each  was,  to  the  quiet  close 
of  an  eventful  life,  untiring  in  all  the  labors 
of  which  his  constitution  was  capable.  One 
might  write  of  Dr.  E.  P.  Humpihrey  as  was 
written  of  his  father,  “As  the  years  went  on 
the  position  accorded  him  in  the  town  was 
phenomenal.  In  connection  with  very  many 
families  his  relationship  was  truly  patriarchal. 
Their  homes,  their  tables,  their  gardens  with 
all  they  contained  of  bounty  or  fruitage  were 
as  op>en  to  him  as  if  each  had  been  his  own. 
The  sick  and  the  dying  watched  eagerly  for 
his  coming,  and  for  the  comfort  of  his  minis- 
trations, and  when  some  heavy  sorrow  fell 
with  crushing  weight  upon  a household  the 


810 


BIOGKAPiriCAL  SKETCHES. 


most  natural  cry  seemed  to  be:  ‘Send  for 

Doctor  Ilnmplirey.’ ” Dr.  Pieman  Humph- 
rey died  in  1861,  in  his  eighty-third  year. 
Dr.  Edward  Porter  Humphrey’s  youth  was 
s[)ent  in  Connecticut.  He  was  prepar- 
ed for  college  at  the  academy  in  Amherat, 
iMass.,  and  in  1828  he  graduated  with  honor 
from  Amherst  College.  In  1881-82  he  was 
principal  of  the  academy  at  Plainfield,  Conn. 
) luring  this  time  he  pursued  his  theological 
studies,  and  in  1888  graduated  at  the  And- 
over d'heological  Seminary.  His  inclination 
led  him  to  begin  his  ministry  in  the  South- 
west, and  during  the  year  1884  he  labored  in 
connection  witli  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
.leil'ersonville,  Ind.  In  1885  he  became 
pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church  in 
this  city.  He  gave  himself  completely  up  to 
work  in  tlie  interest  of  his  church  for  eighteen 

O 

years,  and  his  influence  was  felt,  not  only  in 
its  rapid  and  permanent  growth,  but  also  in  a 
marked  degree  throughout  the  city,  and  in 
the  entire  denomination  to  which  he  be- 
longed. March  8,  1841,  he  was  married  to 
Caroline  Catherine,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Prather  of  this  city.  She  bore  him  one  son, 
Edw’ard  \Y.  C.  Humphrey,  and  one  daughter, 
w'ho  died  in  her  infancy.  Rev.  Dr.  Humph- 
rey’s first  wife  died  September  28,  1844.  He 
was  married  the  next  time,  April  8, 1847,  to 
Martha,  daughter  of  Alexander  Pope.  Judge 
A.  P.  Humphrey  is  the  son  of  his  second 
wife.  Dr.  Humphrey,  as  early  as  1852,  was 
elected  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  then  Old  School  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  his  sermon,  called  “ Our  Theology,” 
preached  at  Charleston,  S.  C.,  as  retiring 
Moderator,  is  still  circulated  by  the  Presby- 
terian Board  of  Publication.  Dr.  Humphrey 
preceded  Dr.  Stuart  Robinson  as  pastor  of 
the  old  Presbyterian  church  on  Third  street, 
between  Green  arid  Walnut,  which  was 
afterward  converted  into  a theater,  and  is 
now  known  as  the  Metropolitan  building. 
His  eloquence,  when  pastor  of  this  church 
from  1885  to  1853,  won  him  great  fame. 
His  discourse  at  the  dedication  of  the  Cave 
Hill  cemetery,  in  1848,  was  rich  in  elorjuence 
and  classical  Raming,  and  strong  in  that  faith 
in  immortality  which  he  taught  at  all  times. 


In  1852  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  from  Hanover  College,Indiana.  In 
1858  he  was  appointed  by  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  piofessor 
in  Princeton  Theological  Seminary.  This  he 
declined,  but  soon  after  he  accepted  the  pro- 
fessorship of  Church  History  in  the  Theolog- 
ical College  in  Danville,  Ky.  It  was  during 
the  latter  y'ears  of  his  residence  in  Danville, 
1861-66,  that  the  exigencies  occasioned  by 
the  bitter  and  disastrous  civil  strife  called 
into  prominence  many  of  his  distinguishing 
characteristics.  Among  these  were  his  un- 
wavering loyalty  to  the  National  Goverment, 
together  with  a magninindty  and  conciliation 
of  spirit  which  were  potent  influences  in 
hastening  the  return  of  concord  and  amity, 
both  in  society  and  in  the  church.  In  1866, 
in  respose  to  an  lU’gent  appeal,  he  returned  to 
Louisville  to  take  temporary  charge  of  a new 
church  made  up  of  many  members  of  the  old 
Second  Church,  of  which  he  had  been  pastor 
for  eighteen  years.  The  new  organization 
was  called  the  College  Street  church.  His 
health,  which  had  begun  to  fail,  rapidly  im- 
proved on  his  return  to  Louisville,  and  he 
became  permanent  pastor  of  the  new  church. 
Under  his  ministry  it  became  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  influential  congregations  in 
the  city.  In  1871  his  Alma  Mater,  Amherst 
College,  confei'red  the  degree  of  L.L.  D.  on 
him.  He  continued  his  labors  as  pastor  and 
preacher  until  1880,  when  he  retired  from 
the  active  duties  of  his  pulpit  and  was  suc- 
ceeded in  the  new  and  handsome  church, 
which  his  congregation  had  built,  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Christie.  After  bis  retirement  he  engaged 
in  literary  and  theological  work,  and  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  life  among  the  people  to 
whom  he  had  devoted  himself  in  his  early 
manhood.  The  positions  which  Dr.  Humph- 
rey occupied  demanded  rare  qualities  and 
gifts,  and  with  these  he  was  peculiarly  en- 
dowed. His  preaching,  so  distinctive  as  a 
simple  and  earnest  presentation  of  the  Gos- 
pel, enhanced  in  att'-activeness  by  convinc- 
ing argument  and  impassioned  eloquence, 
made  him  distinguished  as  an  ambasador  of 
Christ.  As  a theologieal  teicher  his  knowl- 
edge of  history,  sacred  and  profane,  and  his 


f 


B I OG  R A PH  I C A L S KETC 1 1 ES. 


813 


uni(jue  nietlrods  of  imparting  truth  not  only 
i-timulated  the  imagination  of  his  jmpils,  but 
gave  them  the  philosophy  of  the  subject  and 
stores  of  defini’e  information.  He  life  cover- 
ed a period  in  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
which  gi\  at  (piestions  of  policy  and  theology 
\vere  considered,  and  his  power  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  vital  subjects,  together  with  the 
clear  and  calm  judgment  he  brought  to  bear 
u])on  them,  impressed  itself  with  controlling 
influence  upon  the  great  assemblies  of  the 
church.  His  pow*  r was  always  the  greater 
because  of  his  kindly  nature.  In  advocating 
measures  which  seemed  to  him  of  great  im- 
portance one  felt  that  his  fervor  was  inspired 
by  the  strength  and  courage  of  his  convic- 
tions rather  than  by  any  personal  consider- 
ations. He  was  a man  greatly  beloved  by 
his  ministerial  brethren  and  all  who  knew 
him,  and  while  zealously  devoted  to  the  Pres- 
byterian organization  known  as  the  “Old 
School  ” so  long  as  it  remained  separate,  he 
was  no  less  earnest  in  his  work  for  the  unity 
of  the  Presbvterian  church  throughout  the 
land,  and  foremost  in  promoting  it  in  special 
crisis  in  later  life.  His  theology  was  always 
conservative  and  fully  deserved  the  eminence 
he  attained  by  a long  life  devoted  to  a cause 
he  loved.  Dr.  Humphrey  was  of  slender 
ficTure  and  of  about  medium  heiuht.  His  face 

O O 

w’as  expressive  of  high  intelligence.  His 
general  appearance,  in  spite  of  his  stature, 
was  striking.  His  voice,  until  recently,  was 
strong  and  ch  ar,  but  even  as  he  advanced  in 
years  he  still  retained  his  powers  as  an  orator. 
His  last  few  years  had  been  spent  with  the 
family  of  his  youngest  son,  but  he  was  ready 
on  all  occasions  to  assist  with  his  knowledge 
and  e.xperience  all  who  applied  to  him.  He 
took  the  liveliest  interest  in  the  College 
Street  Presbyterian  church,  of  which  he  had 
been  pastor,  and  the  members  of  that  congre- 
gation are  among  those  who  will  most  keenly 


at  the  funeral  of  the  late  James  F.  Huber, 
when  he  assisted  in  conductincr  the  service. 

O 

Dr.  Humphrey’s  two  sons  are  : Edward  W. 
C.  Humphrey,  an  able  lawyer,  and  Alex.  P. 
Humphrey,  of  the  flrtn  of  Brown,  Humphrey 
& Davie, 


JUDGE  ALEXANDER  POPE  HUM- 
PHREY, a son  of  Rev.  Edward  P.  Humphrey, 
was  born  in  Louisville,  January  2(),  1848.  He 
was  liberally  educated,  and  giaduated  from 
Centre  College,  Danville,  in  1866.  He  stud- 
ied law,  taking  his  course  in  the  University 
of  Virginia,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1868, 
and  commenced  practice!  the  next  year.  He 
was  for  a short  time  chancellor  of  the  Louis- 
ville Chancery  Court.  At  present  he  is  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Browm,  Humphrey  & 
Davie,  one  of  the  ablest  law  firms  of  the  city. 
He  was  married  in  1879  to  Miss  IMary  Aloss 
Churchill,  of  l.ouisville. 

JOSIAH  ALEXANDER  IRELAND,  Al. 
D.,  was  born  September  15,  1824,  in  .TelTer- 
son  County,  and  is  a son  of  William  and  Jane 
(Stone)  Ireland,  the  former  of  Scotch  and  the 
latter  of  English  ancestry.  He  is  the  eldest 
of  three  surviving  children,  and  received  a 
ffood  Engrlish  education,  with  a fair  knoudedo-e 
of  Latin  and  Greek.  At  the  age  of  seventeen 
he  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr. 
.lames  F.  Pendergrast,  of  Jefferson  County; 
but  subsequently  continued  his  studies  in 
Louisville  under  Drs.  Bullitt  and  Cummins. 
He  attended  his  first  course  of  lectures  in  the 
winter  of  1845,  in  the  medical  department  of 
the  University  of  Louisville;  in  1851  he 
graduated  from  the  Kentucky  School  of  Aledi- 
cine,  and  at  orce  commenced  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  Louisville.  He  was  elected, 
in  1864,  to  the  chair  of  obstetrics  and  dis- 
eases of  women  and  children  in  the  Kentucky 
School  of  Aledicine,  which  position  he  held 
until  the  school  was  merged  into  the  Lbiivers- 
ity  of  Louisville,  and  was  elected  at  that 
time  professor  of  clinical  medicine  in  the 
Lfniversity.  L^pon  the  re-establishment  of 
the  Kentucky  School  of  Aledicine,  he  was 
again  elected  professor  of  obstetrics  and  dis- 
eases of  women  and  children,  a position  he 
resigned  upon  being  elected  to  the  chair 
of  diseases  of  women  and  children  in  the 
Louisville  Aledical  College  in  1870;  in  1875 
he  was  elected  to  the  same  chair  in  the  Ken- 
tucky School  of  Aledicine.  In  1876  he  w^as 
a delegate  to  the  International  Aledical  Con- 
gress at  Philadelphia;  and  at  the  meeting 

following  of  the  Kentucky  State  Aledical 

49 


811 


mOGHAPIilCAL  SKETCHES. 


Society  he  was  appointed  a delegate  to  the 
American  Medical  Association.  He  is  a mem- 
ber of  the  Medico-Chirnrgical  Society,  and 
has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  local  and 
State  organizations  of  the  pi'ofession.  Hr. 
Ireland  was  licensed  to  preach  in  1848,  in  the 
Ha])tist  Church,  and  for  many  years  was 
pastor  of  several  churches,  in  addition  to 
attending  to  his  professional  duties.  He  is  a 
life  member  of  the  General  Association  of 
Kentucky  Baptists,  and  is  regarded  as  a sub- 
stantial, earnest  and  valuable  member  of  his 
church.  I luring  his  active  professional  labors, 
he  has  found  time  for  literary  pursuits,  and 
has  written  some  for  the  press,  both  religiously 
and  in  connection  with  his  profession.  He  is 
a man  of  r^uiet,  unassuming  habits,  and  void 
of  any  disposition  for  personal  display.  Few 
men  in  his  profession  have  done  more  hard 
and  successful  labor,  and  few  physicians  enjoy 
a more  wide-spread  reputation  in  his  section 
of  the  State,  and  especially  in  that  branch  of 
the  medical  profession  relating  to  the  diseases 
of  women  and  children;  and  in  the  church,  in 
which  he  has  been  an  active  meml^er  for  over 
forty  years,  he  has  been  a zealous  worker, 
and  a pillar  of  strength.  He  is  a man  of  fine 
personal  appearance,  above  six  feet  in  height, 
and  weighing  over  two  hundred  pounds.  He 
is  exceptional  in  all  his  professional,  social 
and  personal  habits;  agreeable  and  attractive 
in  manner;  broad  and  liberal  in  his  treatment 
of  men;  free  from  personal  and  selfish  enmi- 
ties; takes  an  active  interest,  not  only  in 
everything  relating  to  the  good  and  advance- 
ment of  his  profession  and  the  church,  but 
also  to  the  community  at  large.  He  was 
married  in  184t3  to  Miss  Sarah  E.  Cooper, 
daughter  of  Levin  Cooper,  Esq.,  of  .lelferson 
County.  By  this  marriage  he  had  one  son, 
Henry  Clay  Ireland,  a graduate  of  two  medi- 
cal colleges.  In  1859  he  was  married  to 
Susan  M.  Brown,  daughter  of  the  late  Furtney 
Brown,  of  Louisville.  By  this  marriage  he 
has  one  son,  AVilliam  F.  Ireland.  Hr.  Ireland 
holds  sacred  in  memory  the  names  of  his 
teachers  while  at  two  medical  (jolleges.  While 
at  the  LTniversity  of  Louisville,  he  was  taught 
by  such  men  as  Samuel  H.  Gross,  M.  H., 
Henry  Miller,  M.  H.,  Charles  Caldwell,  M.  H., 


Charles  W.  Short,  M.  H.,  Lansford  P.  Yan- 
j dell,  M.  ]).,  Daniel  Drake,  M.  H.,  .ledediah 
Cobb,  M.  H.  While  at  the  Kentucky  School 
I of  Medicine,  he  was  instructed  by  .loshua  B. 
Flint,  M.  H.,  .James  M.  Bush,  M.  I).,  Henry 
M.  Bullitt,  M.  H.,  Robert  Peter,  M.  D., 
Ethelbert  1^.  Dudley,  AI.  I).,  Samuel  Annan, 
AI.  D.,  Llewellyn  Powell,  M.  D.,  and  others, 
all  of  whom  at  that  time  enjoyed  a national 
reputation  as  great  teachers  of  the  different 
branches  of  medicine  and  surgery.  Dr.  Ire- 
land’s success  in  life  has  been  largely  due  to 
the  sound  and  thorough  teaching  he  received 
from  the  above  named  accomplished  gentle- 
men and  scholars. 

.lOIIN  I.  JACOB,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Baltimore,  Aid.,  in  1778,  and  died  in  Louis- 
ville in  1852.  He  came  to  this  city  about 
18t)7,  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business, 
formitig  a partnership  with  Thomas  Prather, 
one  of  the  most  prominent  of  Louisville’s 
early  business  men.  The  old  house  of  Prather 
& .Jacob  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  relia- 
ble business  houses  of  the  young  city,  and  was 
the  synonym  for  all  that  was  upright  and  hon- 
orable. After  the  dissolution  of  their  part- 
nership, Air.  Jacob  became  president  of  the 
Branch  Bank  of  the  United  States,  and  after 
it  was  closed  was  made  president  of  the  Bank 
of  Kentucky,  which  position  he  resigned  in 
1836.  He  was  for  a number  of  years  a mem- 
ber of  the  city  council,  and  iii  1848  he  became 
president  of  the  Louisville  & Frankfort  Rail- 
road, which  was  fully  completed  during  his 
administration ; but  the  infirmities  of  age  com- 
pelled  him  to  resign  the  position  and  retire 
from  active  business.  He  aided  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  asylum  for  the  blind,  and 
contrilmted  greatly,  in  various  ways,  not  only 
to  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  Louisville, 
but  also  to  the  amelioration  of  the  condition 
of  the  poor  and  needy,  displaying  a liberal 
hand  in  the  great  charities  of  the  city.  From 
time  to  time  he  had  purchased  property 
throughout  the  city,  wliich  rapidly  increased 
in  value,  and,  by  well  conducted,  legitimate 
business,  he  accumulated  a large  fortune.  Mr. 
.lacob  was  twice  married:  first  to  Miss  Ann 
( ).  Fontaine.  The  children  by  this  marriage 
were:  Airs.  Cunan  Pope,  Airs.  .lohn  W.  Tyler 


BIOGKArHK'AL  SKETCHES. 


815 


and  John  I.  Jacob,  Jr.  His  second  wife  was 
Lucy  Donald  Robertson.  They  had  eight 
children,  of  whom  there  are  now  living — Mi’S. 
James  B.  Clay,  of  Fayette  County;  Col. 
RFhard  T.  .Jacob,  ex-lieutenant  governor  of 
Kentucky;  Thomas  P.  Jacob,  president  of  the 
Kentucky  & I.ouisville  Mutual  Insurance 
Company,  and  Hon.  Charles  D.  .Jacob,  mayor 
of  T^ouisville.  Of  his  first  wife’s  children, 
only  ^Irs.  Tyler  is  now  living. 

HON.  CHARJ.es  D.  JACOB,  mayor  of 
the  city  of  Ijouisville,  was  born  .June  1,  1838, 
and  is  a son  of  .John  I.  and  Lucy  Donald 
(Robertson)  Jacob,  Iventuckians.  His  mother 
was  a daughter  of  Commodore  Richard  Tay- 
lor, one  of  the  naval  heroes  of  the  war  for 
Independence.  Mr.  .lacob’s  early  education 
was  obtained  under  the  most  favorable  con- 
ditions. After  a few  years  in  the  best  home 
schools,  he  went  to  Cambridge  to  prepare 
himself  for  Harvard.  Prof.  Reginald  H.  Chase 
of  that  institution  was  eno-ao-ed  as  his  tutor, 
and  duiiiig  the  year  1856-57  directed  his 
studies.  In  the  latter  year,  so  diligent  had 
been  the  work  of  both.  Prof.  Chase  gave  him 
a certificate  which  entitled  him  to  admission 
to  the  junior  class  at  Harvard,  an  institution 
whose  sttndard  of  scholarship  was  then  as  now 
of  the  highest  order.  But  here  at  the  very 
threshold  of  college  life  he  met  with  a severe 
disappointment.  An  attack  of  diphtheria  com- 
pelled his  return  to  Louisville.  It  was  hoped 
that  his  illness  meant  only  temporary  suspen- 
sion of  his  studies,  but  the  physical  prostration 
which  supervened  necessitated  long  rest  and 
change  of  air;  hence  during  the  years  1857 
and  1858  Mr.  Jacob  traveled  in  Europe,  re- 
turning in  September  of  the  latter  year  in 
renewed  health,  and  feeling  that  the  advan- 
tages of  foreign  travel  had  in  a great  degree 
compensated  him  for  the  interruption  to  his 
college  course.  A few  months  after  his  re- 
turn from  abi’(  ad,  and  on  the  12th  day  of 
.January,  1850,  Mr.  .Jacob  married  IMiss  Addie 
Martin,  of  Louisville.  In  I860,  and  for  eight 
years  thereafter,  his  health  was  not  good,  and 
he  was  precluded  from  taking  an  active  part 
in  the  affairs  of  the  city,  whose  welfare  he  has 
always  had  at  heart,  and  in  whose  history  he 
has  since  held  so  prominent  a place.  In  1870 


he  was  elected  to  the  city  council  from  the 
seventh  ward,  and  was  re-elected  without 
opposition.  He  became  a candidate  for  mayor 
in  1872  for  the  first  time,  was  elected  over 
several  contestants,  and  was  the  youngest  man 
who  had  ever  before  filled  the  high  and  im- 
portant office.  In  1875  a call  signed  by  more 
than  four  thousand  citizens  was  made  on  him 
to  offer  for  re-election.  Having  scruples 
against  succeeding  himself,  he  at  first  declined 
becoming  a candidate,  but  the  pressure  was 
so  gi’eat  he  was  finally  compelled  to  make  the 
canvass.  Mr.  .John  G.  Baxter,  a man  of 
prominence,  and  a politician  of  great  popu- 
larity, an  ex-mayor  of  the  city,  and  a most 
thorough  organizer,  was  his  opp)onent.  After 
a strono-  and  bitter  canvass,  iMr.  Jacob  was 
elected  by  nearly  a thousand  majority.  Both 
Mr.  .Jacob  and  Mr.  Baxter  were  Democrats,  and 
their  contest,  at  that  time,  has  since  been  often 
cited  as  the  most  remarkable  local  struggle 
ever  known  in  Louisville,  and  served  to  il- 
lustrate in  a striking  manner  the  influence  of 
the  two  contestants  over  their  respective  fac- 
tions. Entering  upon  the  duties  of  his  office 
for  a second  term,  Mr.  .Jacob  continued  mayor 
until  .January,  1879,  when  a change  in  the 
city’s  charter  rendered  him  ineligible  to  re- 
election.  In  September  of  the  succeeding 
year,  by  the  advice  of  his  physicians,  he  again 
went  to  Europe  to  recruit  his  health.  In  1871 
he  accepted  the  presidency  and  general  man- 
agement of  the  Central  Savings  Bank,  whose 
affairs  were  then  considerably  involved.  But 
when  he  resigned  the  position,  some  two  years 
later  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the 
bairk  restored  to  a sound  financial  basis.  In 
1881,  responding  to  numerous  citizens,  he 
again  became  a candidate  for  mayor  and  was 
elected  without  opposition.  Under  the  ad- 
ministration of  President  Cleveland  he  was 
appointed  Minister  Plenipotentary  and  Envoy 
Extraordinary  to  the  United  States  of  Colom- 
bia, but  after  holding  the  position  about  a 
year,  resigned  and  returned  home.  He  then 
accepted  the  presidency  of  the  Southern  Mu- 
tual Life  Insurance  Company,  of  Louisville. 
Tn  1887  he  was  again  elected  mayor  of  Louis- 
ville, after  a hot  and  spirited  contest,  over  two 
of  the  prominent  cit’;?ens  of  Louisville  — 


81(i  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


Judge  W.  B.  Iloke  and  Mr.  Samuel  1^.  Avery. 


The  best  comment  on  ]\Ir.  Jacob’s  j)ersonal 
character  may  be  found  in  the  manner  in 
which  he  lias  been  ti listed  by  his  fellow- 
i-'itizens.  The  tribute  which  the  people  of  his 
native  city  have  paid  to  his  intelligence  and  j 
honesty  by  electing  him  four  times  mayor, 
the  first  honor  in  their  gift,  needs  no  com- 
ment. 

EDWARD  W.  JAMES,  dealer  in  staple 
and  fancy  groceries,  and  family  stores,  at  the 
corner  of  Fourth  Avenue  and  Walnut  street, 
Louisville,  is  the  son  of  William  and  Kate 
James,  and  was  born  in  Louisville,  October  25, 
1803.  He  w'as  educated  in  the  schools  of 
Louisville,  and  at  the  acre  of  eiirhteen  com- 
menced  in  the  grocery  business  at  Buckner, 
Oldham  County,  Ky.,  where  he  continued 
until  1885,  at  which  time  he  returned  to  the 
city  of  his  birth  and  opened  his  present  store. 
Mr.  James  keeps  a full  stock  in  his  line,  and 
enjoys  a fine  trade.  He  married  Ann'e  .Tar- 
vis  May  20,  1880.  She  is  the  daughter  of 
\\"illiam  and  Olive  .Tarvis,  of  Louisville. 

THOMAS  LEWIS  JEFFERSON  was 
born  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  FebmarylS,  1820. 
He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Thomas  .Jefferson, 
and  came  of  good,  strong  stock.  His  father 
was  a blacksmi'h,  and  his  grandfather  was  a 
sailor.  His  mother  was  a woman  of  fine 
business  cpialities,  and  to  her,  quite  as  much 
as  to  his  father,  did  Mr.  .Jefferson  owm  his 
business  sagacity.  While  her  husband  was 
busy  in  the  shop  the  mother  started  a little 
grocery  store.  This  was  after  the  family 
came  to  Louisville,  in  1831.  The  little  store 
that  his  mother  started  prospered  wonder- 
fully. Soon  the  father  had  to  be  taken  from 
his  shop.  Then  Thomas,  a lad  of  sixteen, 
had  to  be  removed  fiom  school  to  lend  his 
help  to  attend  to  the  thriving  trade.  The 
boy  had  no  time  to  get  a fine  education  ; but 
what  he  missed  in  ’ologies  and  ’onomies  he 
gained  in  a ]>ractical  insight  into  business 
affairs.  The  schooling  that  he  did  get,  how- 
ever, was  thorough,  for  he  was  under  such 
teachers  as  Noble  Butler  and  John  H.  Har- 
ney. It  W'as  in  1842  that  he  began  his  long 
and  eventful  business  life  as  a clerk  in  his 
moti  er’s  store.  When  he  was  twenty-six 


I years  old  he  formed  a partnership  with  Mr. 

\ Charles  Gallagher  in  the  wholesale  grocery 
j business.  After  a few  months  the  firm  dis- 
solved by  mutual  consent,  and  IMr.  Jefferson 
branched  out  for  himself  on  Market  street, 
be'ow  First,  in  a wholesale  and  retail  grocery. 
He  was  successful  from  the  start,  and  soon 
built  himself  a fine  store  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  Market  and  First  streets,  where  he 
remained  twelve  years,  and  established  a fine 
trade.  He  was  the  sole  agent  for  the  Ivana- 
wha  salt  rnannfactories  during  this  period. 
By  this  time  the  wholesale  feature  of  the 
business  had  gi’own  so  enormously  that  he  was 
forced  to  open  a wholesale  house  on  Main 
street,  with  himself,  his  two  brothers,  and  A. 
N.  .Jennison,  under  the  firm  name  of  T.  Tj. 
Jefferson  & Bros.  He  went  along,  never 
dabbling  in  speculations,  never  mixing  his 
name  up  with  rings  or  cliques,  and  by 
shrewdness  and  ability  made  his  business  a 
great  success.  In  1875  he  was  appointed 
execut  r of  .John  Bull’s  estate.  The  interests 
of  this  estate  were  so  great  that  Mr.  .Jefferson 
had  to  devote  to  its  management  all  his  time 
and  energy.  He  thei-efore  resigned  from  his 
Main  street  house,  making  room  for  his  eldest 
son,  T.  Jj.  Jefferson,  .Jr.,  and  John  W.  Day, 
who  bad  been  for  years  a faithful  and  trusted 
clerk.  In  1879  he  resigned  his  position  as 
executor,  owing  to  the  litigation  that  grew 
out  of  Dr.  Bull’s  will,  after  which  he  devoted 
himself  to  managing  his  own  estate,  and 
was  not  afterward  actively  engaged  in  busi- 
ness. It  is  not  sh'ange  that  a man  of  Mr. 
Jefferson’s  active  mind  should  turn  to  poli- 
tics. He  was  not  in  any  sense  a politician, 
but  did  much  to  see  that  the  city  in  which  all 
his  interests  were  should  lie  well  governed. 
In  1851  he  was  elected  to  fill  a vacancy  in  the 
Board  of  Council.  He  was  re-elected  for 
three  consecutive  terms;  and  in  1800  he  was 
elected  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  In  1807 
he  was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the 
State  legislature,  and  was  re-elected  at  the 
expiration  of  his  term.  When  his  second 
term  was  over  he  was  elected  to  the  State 
senate  for  one  term.  He  refused  to  go  a 
second  time.  He  was  a member  of  the 
Democratic  City  Executive  Committee,  and 


V 


.•r. 

I 


V „• 

;■  ' 


i 


•/) 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SIvETOIIEy. 


8iy 


also  a member  of  the  State  Central  Commit- 
tee for  several  years.  He  was  a delegate  to 
the  Democratic  National  Convention  which 
met  in  New  York  in  1868.  ^Yhile  a member 
of  the  council  he  was  trustee  of  the  Louis- 
ville Marine  Hospital,  the  Alms  House,  the 
Work  House,  and  the  Pest  House.  He 
served  from  1870  till  his  death  on  the  direc- 
tory of  the  House  of  Refuge.  For  a number  of 
years  he  was  trustee  of  the  I.ouisville  Female 
Seminary.  In  1874  he  was  appointed  by 
Gov.  Leslie  a trustee  of  the  Kentucky  Insti- 
tute for  the  Blind.  He  was  re-appointed  by 
Govs.  McCreary  and  Blackburn.  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson was  also  a trustee  of  the  American 
Printing  House  for  the  Blind,  and  did  valu- 
able service  in  organizing  the  method  of 
keeping  the  accounts  at  this  institution.  Mr. 
.Teffei’son  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the 
Masonic  ^Yidows’  and  Orphans’  Home.  He 
was  elected  director  at  its  organization  in 
1867,  and  was  president  of  the  board  from 
1869  until  his  death.  In  1861  Mr.  .Jetferson 
took  all  the  degrees  of  Symbolic  Masonry, 
and  afterward  of  Capitular  and  Chivaltic. 
He  was  at  the  time  of  his  death  Past  Master, 
having  been  elected  Master  in  1882  of  Ex- 
celsior Lodge  No.  258,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons ; he  was  also  Master  of  King  Solo- 
mon Royal  Arch  Cha])ter  No.  18,  and  mem- 
ber of  DeMolay  Commandery,  No.  12, 
Knights  Templar,  of  which  he  w'as  also 
treasurer  from  1873  until  death.  He  was 
known  to  all  the  Masons  of  Kentucky  for  his 
untiring  and  unselfish  zeal  for  the  Home. 
The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Home  adopted 
the  following  resolutions  on  his  death:  “Re- 
solved, That  in  the  death  of  our  brother  the 
members  of  this  board  have  lost  an  active  co- 
laborer, ever  earnest,  sincere  and  candid,  a 
presiding  officer,  attentive,  courteous  and 
impartial  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  and 
the  Home  a wise,  thouohtful,  vig-ilant  and 
faithful  guardian  of  its  interest.  In  every- 
thing that  he  undertook  our  brother  was 
earnest  and  devoted,  and  if  there  was  any 
object  of  a public  nature  he  had  in  life  which 
was  nearer  and  dearer  to  his  heart  than  all 
else,  it  was  the  welfare  and  success  of  our 
Home.  At  all  times,  and  on  all  proper  oc- 


j casions  he  was  its  advocate,  cheerfully  giving 
time,  labor  and  means  to  advance  its  interest. 
We  feel  that  to  him  more  than  to  any  single 
individual  is  due  its  present  and  permanent 
! usefulness.  He  labored  for  and  watched 
: over  its  material  and  domestic  interests,  very 
often  to  the  exclusion  of  his  private  business 
j matters,  and  gave  to  it  such  exertions  and 
j patient,  thoughtful  care  as  only  could  have 
i been  given  by  one  who  loved  the  Home  with 
I his  whole  heart.  Resolved,  that  the  inmates 
! of  the  Home,  with  the  members  of  the  board, 
attend  the  funeral  of  our  bi-other  in  a body ; 

I that  these  resolutions  be  spread  upon  the 
minutes  and  published  in  the  daily  papers, 
and  an  engrossed  copy  be  sent  to  his  sorrow- 
ing family  with  the  heartfelt  and  sincere 
expression  of  our  symjrathy  in  their  great 
bereavement.”  He  was  also  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Sons  of  Temperance,’  and  was  for  a 
time  the  presiding  officer  of  his  division,  and 
D.  G.  W.  P.  of  the  district.  Mr.  .Jefferson 
joined  the  M.  E.  Church,  South,  in  1848. 

I He  was  a member  of  the  Board  of  iManao-ers 

I 

i of  that  body  in  1854,  and  remained  such  until 
I the  principal  offices  were  removed  to  Nash- 
ville. He  w’as  secretary  of  the  Louisville 
City  Missionary  Society  of  the  church  for 
years ; for  fifteen  years  he  was  superintend- 
ent of  the  Bethel  Sunday-school,  which  he 
organized,  and  he  also  assisted  in  organizing 
the  Senon  Chapel,  M.  E.  Church,  South.  He 
was  a member  of  its  official  board,  and  re- 
cording steward  and  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday-school  connected  with  it,  which  he 
also  organized.  Mr.  .Jefferson  was  one  of  the 
most  active  business  men  of  Louisville.  He 
had  been  a member,  director  and  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Trade.  He  had  served 
since  1859  as  a director  of  the  Bank  of  I^ouis- 
ville.  From  1872  to  1874  he  was  a director 
of  the  J^ouisville  & Frankfort  and  J^exingte.n 
& Frankfort  lailroad  companies.  In  1878  he 
was  elected  director  of  the  Kentucky  and 
J^ouisville  iMutual  Insurance  Company,  and 
in  July,  1880,  was  made  its  president,  and 
lield  that  position  until  his  death.  Besides 
! all  this,  he  was  ever  active  in  the  cause  of 
charity.  He  was  identified  with  the  South- 
’ western  Relief  Commission  of  1866,  which 


b20 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


lielped  the  Southern  destitute.  He  was 
chainnan  of  a coiimiittee  to  receive  and  dis- 
burse funds  raised  liy  the  Masons  of  Ken- 
tucky for  tlie  relief  of  the  Chicago  fire  suffer- 
ers in  1871.  Mr.  .Tetferson  was  married  to 
Elizabeth  Ann  Creagh,  May  28,  1848,  by, 
Uev.  .fames  Craik.  They  had  nine  children, 
four  daughters  and  five  sons,  three  of  whom 
are  dead.  Most  of  their  daughters  are  mar- 
ried to  prosperous  merchaiits,  and  have  fami- 
lies of  their  own  about  them.  This  is  an 
out-line  of  a long,  busy  and  active  life.  At 
his  desk  he  was  prompt,  careful,  honest.  At 
his  fireside  he  was  cheerful,  social,  hospitable. 
He  lived  to  see  a large  family  grow  up 
about  him,  all  of  whom  have  prospered.  He 
felt  the  full  force  of  the  consolation  which 
the  Good  Hook  speaks  of,  for  his  children 
“ rise  up  and  call  him  l)lessed.”  Mr.  .Teffer- 
son  died  March  28,  1884.  His  fatal  illness 
began  in  November  preceding,  and  at  that 
time  was  not  considered  serioxrs,  but  it  gradu- 
ally  grew  worse,  until  his  malady  was  pro- 
nounced cancer  of  the  stomach  ; nevertheless 
his  stomach  resisted  the  advances  of  the  dis- 
ease much  longer  than  , his  most  sanguine 
relatives  and  friends  expected.  Thomas 
Lewis  .lefferson  represented  a class  of  men, 
who  in  their  day  won  for  England  wealth  and 
respect — the  honest  and  industrious  mer- 
chants. He  was  not  a brilliant  man,  neither 
a poet  nor  an  orator,  but  a plain,  steady, 
common-sense  man,  who  took  a deep  interest 
in  his  adopted  city  and  all  that  affected  it, 
and  who  led  an  active  business  life.  The 
people  of  Louisville  were  so  long  accustomed 
to  hear  his  name  mentioned  first  in  every 
enter] >rise  that  would  benefit  the  city  that  his 
death  came  to  all  like  a personal  bereave- 
ment. A man  of  clear  head,  of  clean  morals, 
of  pure  habits  and  of  strong  friendships ; a 
man  of  solid  worth,  of  rare  business  sagacity, 
and  of  immense  energy  and  resource,  he  was 
as  much  a loss  to  the  city  as  he  was  to  his 
own  family.  He  left  a large  fortune,  and 
he  also  left,  what  is  infinitely  better,  a name 
that  has  never  been  dishonored  and  and  a 
memory  that  no  man  will  attack.  He  was  so 
well  known,  he  has  gone  in  and  out  among 
this  people  for  so  many  years,  that  it  looks 


almost  like  an  unnecessary  work  to  tell  how 
often  and  on  what  occasions  his  name  has 
figured  in  public  enter])rises.  He  was  a 
model  business  man,  honest,  reliable,  clear  of 
head  and  pure  of  heart ; of  a temperament  at 
.once  aggressive  and  conciliatory,  of  rare 
sagacity  and  wonderful  foresight,  and  above 
all  of  extraordinary  executive  aliility. 

THOMAS  LEWIS  .JEFFERSON  is  a sou 
of  Thomas  L.  Jefferson,  whose  sketch  is  given 
above,  and  is  a worthy  scion  of  a noble  stock, 
=a  fit  representative  of  a name  that  stands  un- 
tarnished. He  was  born  in  Louisville,  April 
10,  1854,  and  was  educated  in  the  admirable 
schools  of  that  city.  In  g-rowinor  to  man’s 

O O 

estate  he  developed  the  firmness  and  system- 
atic integrity  of  his  father,  and  the  kind,  good 
sense,  of  his  mother,  so  that  he  gained  and 
retained  the  confidence  and  affection  of  busi- 
ness men  and  those  with  whom  he  came  in 
contact.  His  father  instructed  him  in  the 
science  of  accounts  and  while  he  was  yet  a 
lad  entrusted  him  with  the  duty  of  looking 
after  the  interests  of  his  large  ])rop>erty.  His 
reports  of  this  business,  were  as  exact  and 
business-like  as  if  it  wei’e  done  by  the  em- 
ployed agent  of  a stranger.  Thus  did  he  be- 
come habituated  to  correct  business  methods, 
-l)uilding  a character  upon  the  broad  and  sure 
foundation  of  honesty,  sobriety,  ])romptness 
and  attention  to  details,  which  has  placed  him 
in  the  van  of  the  young  business  men  of  the 
city.  It  is  not,  then,  surprising  that  when 
scarcely  twenty-three  years  of  age  he  was 
admitted  to  partnership  in  the  firm  of 
.lefferson  & CM.,  successors  of  the  old  firm  of 
T.  Iv.  .Jefferson  & Bros.,  a large  flour  and  com- 
mission house  on  Main  and  First  streets,  with 
which  he  remained  until  April  188(1,  when 
he  became  the  senior  partner  of  the  firm  of 
Jefferson  & Wright,  one  of  the  largest  whole- 
sale  and  retail  grocery  houses  in  the  city, 
being  the  successor  of  the  old  firm  of  Hibbitt 
& Son.  On  the  death  of  his  father,  in  1884, 
he  became,  with  his  uncle,  executor  of 
the  paternal  estate,  amounting  to  near  lialf 
a million  dollars.  He  was  the  chosen  suc- 
cessor of  his  father  as  director  in  the  Masonic 
Widows  and  Orphans  Home,  and  treasurer 
of  I)e  Molay  Commandery  of  Knights  Tern- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


823 


plan.  This  commandery  is  the  “ Banner 
Cominandery  ” of  the  United  States,  having 
won  first  prize  in  the  national  prize  contest  in 
San  Francisco,  in  1883,  in  this  and  many  other 
drills  the  subject  of  this  sketch  participated. 
During  the  extended  tour  of  the  commandery 
across  the  continent,  he  was  the  unanimously 
elected  financial  officer,  and  his  report  was  a 
pattern  for  fiduciary  officers.  He  was  also 
elected  director  of  the  Bank  of  Loirisville  in 
1884,  and  cf  the  Masonic  Temple  Company 
in  1887,  and  steward  of  the  Broadway  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  1884 — to 
each  of  which  positions,  and  the  other  posi- 
tions above  mentioned,  he  has  been  re-elected 
at  each  successive  election,  and  now  occupies 
all  of  these  honorable  and  responsible  places 
as  well  as  that  of  director  and  vice-president 
of  the  Excelsior  Savings  Company.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1878,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Katie  CVelman,  eldest  daughter  of  Mr. 
Floyd  C.  4Yelman  (deceased).  The  fruit  of 
this  union  is  two  sons,  Floyd  M".  and  Thos. 
L.  M’hen  his  brothers,  Harry  T.  and  Clurles 
W.,  became  of  ao-e  Mr.  .lefferson  took  them 
into  partnership,  and  under  the  firm  name  of 
T.  L.  .Jefferson  & Bros,  established  two  branch 
stores  to  accommodate  his  rapidly  increasing 
business.  He  is  also  interested  in  building  up 
our  city,  and  in  connection  with  his  two  broth- 
ers has  recently  erected  a row  of  magnificent 
dwellings  on  Floyd  street,  occupying  half 
the  square  from  Gray  streH  to  Broadway; 
the  property  is  known  as  Jefferson  Terrace. 
He  also  (1885)  entered  in  to  another  exten- 
sive business,  that  of  pickle  manufacturing 
(employing  forty  hands),  under  the  style  of 
J.  M.  Clai'k  & Co.;  they  make  the  celebrated 
Hyman  Pickles.  To  all  of  these  interests  he 
gives  his  skillful  attention,  and  as  a necessary 
consequence  all  are  prosp)ering.  The  confid- 
ence of  the  business  and  religious  communi- 
ties  in  him  is  clearly  evinced  by  the  foregoing, 
but  that  confidence  is  also  shown  by  his  serv- 
ing as  Master  of  his  Masonic  Lodge  for  three 
consecutive  years,  being  first  elected  in  1878 
when  he  was  only  twenty-four  years  of  age. 
The  present  writer,  as  head  of  one  of  the 
great  demonstrations  tliat  has  distinguished 
Lo.iisville  during  the  current  decade,  had  oc- 


casion  to  require  the  services  and  co  operation 
of  a skillful,  honest  and  systematic  business 
man  to  handle  the  finance  which  amounted  to 
many  thousands  of  dollars.  In  seeking  for 
the  proper  one  to  fill  the  place  there  seemed 
to  be  no  one  in  the  entire  city  so  eminently 
fitted  for  it  as  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and 
his  selection  met  with  the  unanimous  and 
most  hearty  endorsement  of  the  managers- 
The  promptness  and  thoi’oughness  with  which 
the  financial  interests  were  managed  proved 
the  wisdom  of  the  choice  and  has  made  a 
demand  for  subsequent  like  service,  which  if 
accepted  would  absorb  Mr.  Jefferson’s  entire 
time.  As  a friend  Mr.  Jefferson  is  sincere 
and  faithful;  as  a companion  pleasant  and  ac- 
commodating; as  a business  man  his  ability, 
punctuality  and  rectitude  stand  unimpeached. 
As  a man  among  men  he  is  kind,  modest  and 
unassuming  to  a remarkable  degree.  He  has 
not  been  spoiled  by  his  success  or  inheritance 
and  is  agreeable  and  approachable  in  every 
position. 

THEODORE  S.  JENNINGS  was  born  in 
Greencastle,  Ind.,  .Tune  7,  1850,  and  is  a son 
of  Theodore  C.  Jennings,  a miller,  and  an 
early  settler  of  Indiana,  who  emigrated  from 
Kentucky.  His  mother  was  a daughter  of 
Joel  and  Mary  Yager,  natives  of  Jefferson 
County,  Ky.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
educated  principally  in  the  State  Lmiversity 
at  Bloomington,  Ind.  In  1872  he  eno-ao-ed 
in  a genera]  merchandise  business  at  LTica, 
Ind.,  and  in  1870  engaged  in  the  drug  busi- 
ness, which  he  followed  until  April,  1881, 
when  he  sold  out  and  remoyed  to  Jefferson- 
ville, and  took  charge  of  Lewman  & Bros.’ 
drug  business  until  1884,  when  he  came  to 
Louisville,  and  engacred  in  the  same  business 
with  F.  Bender,  on  Shelby  and  .Jefferson 
streets.  Having  read  medicine  fur  ten  vears, 
he  began  attendino-  a course  of  lectures  in 
1885,  at  the  I.ouisville  Medical  Collecre, 
graduating  in  1887,  and  at  once  commenced 
practicing.  His  office  is  at  OOi)  East  .lefferson 
street,  Louisville.  Dr.  Jennings  was  married, 
in  1872,  to  Miss  Maggie  Summers,  niece  of 
James  and  Margaret  Hobson,  of  LTica,  Ind., 
by  whom  he  has  three  children,  viz.;  Anna, 
.James  and  Maggie.  His  wife  died  May  25, 


lUOGKAPinCAL  SKETC'lIliS. 


m 

1880.  He  was  next  married,  October  11, 
1884,  to  Miss  JMand  Fogle,  a daughter  of 
Ebenezer  Fogle,  of  Marion  County.  By  this 
second  marriage  he  lias  one  daughter,  Nellie 
M.  .lennings. 

HON.  SILVESTER  JOHNSON  was  born 
October  15,  1813,  in  Nelson  County,  and  is 
one  of  nine  children,  viz.:  Charles,  Nancy, 
'William,  Thoma=,  John,  Elizabeth,  the  sub- 
ject, Ellen  and  Catherine,  born  to  John  and 
Dorothy  (Miles)  Johnson,  natives  of  St. 
Mary’s  County,  Md.  They  came  to  Nelson 
County  in  1798,  and  settled  near  where  New 
Hope  now'  stands.  He  married  for  his  second 
wife  Henrietta,  a ^daughter  of  John  B.  Hill, 
by  whom  he  had  four  children — Priscilla, 
Hillery,  IMary  and  Sally.  The  family  was  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  Mr.  .Tohnson  be- 
came a sulistantial  farmer  in  the  county,  and 
died  in  1833,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  years. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Silvester  Johnson, 
was  brought  up  on  a farm,  and  received  a good 
English  education,  finishing  off  with  two 
years  at  St.  Mary’s  College,  in  Marion  County. 
He  taught  school  during  the  summer  months 
and  flat-boated  durino-  the  winter,  a business 
that  had  been  begun  by  his  uncle.  Mr.  John- 
son w'as  but  eighteen  years  old  when  he  com- 
menced the  battle  of  life  on  his  own  account. 
He  llat-boated  and  merchandised  until  1843, 
when  he  retired  from  boatincr  and  acted  as 
deputy  sheriff  for  several  years,  but  continued 
the  mercantile  business,  and  in  1853  was 
elected  sheriff,  serving  one  term;  afterward 
acted  as  deputy  sheriff  up  to  1857.  In  1859 
he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature.  He  has 
since  been  solicited  several  times  to  offer  for 
the  same  oilice,  but  has  ahvays  declined.  He 
has  drifted  into  the  banking  business,  which 
he  has  successfully  carried  on  for  sixteen 
years.  He  owns  considerable  property  in  New 
Haven,  where  he  has  lived  for  the  last  fifty- 
one  years,  and  is  reported  to  be  worth  from 
$300,000  to  $400,000,  and  has  given  away  to 
charitable  purposes  $100,000.  He  still  con- 
tinues to  give  liberally;  for  several  years  he 
has  been  clothing  the  children  of  St.  Thomas’ 

( Irphan  Asylum.  In  1873  he  built  a parochial 
school-house  in  New  Haven,  at  a cost  of 
$r),0t'0,  and  d<  nated  it  to  the  Roman  Catholic  I 


Church.  He  established  two  free  Catholic 
schools  and  pays  out  of  his  own  funds  the 
teachers  for  both  white  and  colored  schools. 
He  gave  about  $20,000  to  a new  Roman 
Catholic  Church  erected  in  New  Haven  at  a 
total  cost  of  $30,000.  Mr.  .Johnson  was  mar- 
ried in  August,  1835,  to  Mildred,  a daughter 
of  Charles  and  Susan  (How'ard)  Boone,  who 
came  from  Maryland  in  1798,  and  settled  in 
Nelson  county.  Mrs.  .Johnson  was  born  in 
February,  1810,  and  died  .July  29,  1875.  She 
was  a most  excellent  lady,  noted  for  her 
charitable  qualities.  Mr.  .Johnson  was  origi- 
nally a Whig,  and  gave  his  first  vote  for  Henry 
Clay  for  President.  At  the  dissolution  of  the 
Whig  party  in  1855,  and  the  springing  up  of 
the  Ivnow-nothing  party,  he  joined  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  has  voted  with  it  ever  since 
without  ever  scratching  the  ticket.  He  has 
been  a memlrer  of  the  Democratic  committee 
for  Nelson  County  for  the  last  thirty  years. 

HENRY  JOHNSON  was  born  in  Scott 
County,  Ky.,  March  3,  1840.  He  is  a son  of 
Henry  .Johnson,  who  was  also  a native  of 
Scott  County.  Henry  .Johnson  removed  to 
Bullitt  County,  I4y.,  and  November  10, 
1876,  was  married  to  Miss  Fannie  Twyman. 
He  is  a farmer,  and  resides  near  Huber,  Bul- 
litt County. 

WILLIAM  PAYNE  JOHNSON  was  born 
near  Georgetown,  in  Scott  County,  August 
31,  1851,  and  is  a son  of  I..  Ij.  and  Irene 
(Elley)  .Johnson.  The  .Johnsons  are  a promi- 
nent family  in  Scott  County,  and  very  early 
settlers  there.  Our  subject  is  a grand-nephew 
of  Colonel  Richard  M.  .Johnson,  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  rrnder  Van  Buren. 
He  was  liberally  educated.  In  1867  he  en- 
tered Washington- Jjee  University,  J^exingtoti, 
Va.,  where  he  remained  two  years,  having 
spent  two  years  p)reviously  in  the  Kentucky 
Military  Institute.  In  1870  he  began  reading 
law  under  Madison  C.  Johnson,  at  J.exington, 
Ivy.  He  was  licensed  to  practice  by  the 
Court  of  Appeals  in  1872,  and  at  once  came 
to  Louisville,  where  he  practiced  until  1876, 
and  for  a p>art  of  the  time  was  a partner  of 
.Judge  A.  T.  Pope.  In  the  latter  year,  he, 
with  Ids  brother-in-law,  .Judge  S.  B.  Toney, 

1 took  charge  of  R.  Burge’s  estate,  which  they 


filOGilAPHtCAL  sketches. 


829 


■wound  up  satisfactorily.  The  subject  has 
been  for  some  time  in  the  tobacco  business 
with  Theodore  Schwartz,  Jr.,  his  partner. 
The  firm  at  present  is  William  P.  Johnson  & 
Co.,  and  they  are  the  proprietors  of  the  Enter- 
prise Tobacco  Warehouse.  Mr.  Johnson  was 
married  on  the  5th  of  April,  1876,  to  Emma 
Moore  Burge,  daughter  of  the  late  R.  Burge, 
Esq.,  long  a prominent  and  -well  known  citi- 
zen of  Louisville. 

HENRY  F.  KALFUS,  M.  D.,  was  born 
in  Shepheidsville,  Bullitt  County,  Ky.,  April 
14,  1832,  and  is  of  German  extraction.  His 
mother  was  a sister  of  the  distinguished  Burr 
Harrison,  of  Bardstown,  Ky.  He  received  a 
good  education,  which  he  completed  at  Han- 
over College,  Indiana,  in  1852.  He  studied 
medicine  in  his  native  town,  and  after  practic- 
ing five  years,  graduated  at  the  Kentucky 
School  of  Medicine,  Louisville,  in  1800;  he 
also  received  a diploma  from  the  medical  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  Louisville.  He 
was  a candidate  for  State  treasurer  in  1863, 
on  the  ticket  with  Hon.  Charles  A.  Wickliffe, 
but  was  defeated.  When  the  civil  war  broke 
out  he  raised  a company  for  the  Fifteenth 
Kentucky  Infantry  (Union)  commanded  by  Col. 
Curran  Pope,  of  Louisville.  He  was  promoted 
major  for  gallant  conduct  at  the  battle  of 
Perryville,  and  was  afterward  promoted  to 
lieutenant-colonel,  and  then  to  colonel.  After 
the  battle  of  Stone  River,  being-  dissatisfied 
with  the  conduct  of  the  war,  he  resicrned  his 
commission,  and  after  spending  some  time  in 
Canada,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  he  returned 
to  Louisville,  and  resumed  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  He  is  secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Regents  of  Kentucky  School  of  Medicine,  and 
has  held  the  position  for  several  years.  Dr. 
Kalfus  has  twm  children  living — .loseph  L , 
now  of  California,  and  Mrs.  xAnna  D.  Jarnette, 
of  Florida. 

GREEN  L.  KEY,  a pi’ominent  farmer  of 
Bullitt  County,  Kentucky,  was  born  in  that 
county  April  22,  1824,  and  is  a son  of  George 
L.  Key,  who  was  born  in  Jtfferson  County  in 
1797.  Thomas  Key,  the  grandfather  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  came  from  Yirginia, 
and  was  among  the  earliest  pioneers  who 
settled  in  the  State.  Green  L.  Key’s  mother 


was  Avarilla  (Alexander)  Key.  Green  L. 
Key  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  has  always 
been  engaged  in  that  pursuit,  and  is  now 
one  of  the  substantial  farmers  in  the  county. 
Of  late  years  he  has  been  devoting  his  time 
to  the  growing  of  line  fruit,  etc.;  and  he  has 
also  fine  deposits  of  granite  on  his  farm.  He 
was  married  March  17,  1844,  to  Miss  Minerva 
Chappell,  a most  estimable  and  Christian 
lady,  having  been  a life-long  member  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  as  has  also  Mr.  Key.  She 
died  in  1887.  5Ir.  Key,  with  the  exception 
of  a few  years’  residence  in  Louisville,  has 
always  lived  in  Bullitt  County  ; while  in  the 
city  he  was  extensiyely  engaged  as  a stock 
dealer.  Mr.  Key  has  had  born  in  his  family 
■ right  children:  Cordelia  Ann,Roxunna,  Sarah 
I M.,  Corban  M.,  Baxter,  Marcus  L.,  .John  T., 
j Clarence  E.,  George  W.  and  Hallie  H.,  de- 
i ceased.  Mr.  Key  owns  in  his  home  farm  300 
acres. 

JOHN  KIEFER  is  a natiye  of  Germany 
and  was  born  March  3,  1849.  He  came  to 
the  LTnited  States  in  1872,  and  located  in 
Louisville.  Before  he  left  the  “ fatherland  ” 
he  served  in  the  German  army  under  the 
Crown  Prince,  and  was  a corporal  when  dis- 
charged from  service.  5Yhen.  he  located  in 
Louisville  he  engaged  in  the  grocery  business, 
first  running  a delivery  -wagon.  He  filled 
different  positions  with  different  firms  until 
1875, hen  he  engaged  in  the  business  for  him- 
self, w'hich  he  still  carries  on,  and  in  which 
he  has  been  very  successful.  In  1881  he  was 
married  to  Miss  .Josephine  AYeiman,  of  New 
xVlbany,  Indiana.  They  hav’e  twm  children: 
JohiixA.  and  Herbert  G.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Keifer 
are  members  of  the  Prot  stant  Church. 

HENRY  AY.  KOHNHOR3T,  city  tax  re- 
ceiver, is  a native  of  the  German  Empire, 
and  was  born  in  Prussia,  July  21,  1844.  lie 
is  a son  of  Henry  H.  and  Christina  (Strak) 
Kohnhorst,  who  came  to  the  United  States, 
and  to  Louisville,  in  1846.  Henry  H.  was  a 
brick  mason,  and  for  twenty- five  years  carried 
on  the  business  here — the  latter  part  of  his 
life  very  extensively;  he  died  in  1870,  leav- 
ing a considerable  fortune.  The  subject  is 
the  eldest  of  six  living-  sons,  and  was  reared 
and  educated  in  Louisville.  He  was  deputy 


830 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


sheriff  about  seven  and  a half  years,  and  in 
1880  was  elected  to  his  present  position  as 
city  tax  receiver,  which  he  has  since  held, 
and  the  duties  of  which  he  has  faithfully  and 
satisfactorily  discharged.  He  was  married 
in  1808  to  Miss  Malinda  Kriel,  of  Louisville; 
five  children  have  resulted  from  this  marriage. 

JACOB  KRIEGEH,  Sr.,  is  a native  of 
Rhenish  Bavaria,  and  was  born  August  23, 
1820.  While  still  a mere  lad  he  became  im- 
bued with  the  revolutionary  ideas  then  agitat- 
ing (.Lrmany  and  France,  and  in  the  Revolu- 
tion of  1848-40,  to  jk  s jcli  a part  as  made  his 
further  residence  at  home  uncomfortable,  to 
say  the  least,  bi  ing  subjected  to  police  sur- 
veillance and  freejuent  annoying  ariests.  Con- 
sequently he  cane  to  America.  After  a few 
months  Sfjent  in  New  York,  he  went  to  Zanes- 
ville, O.,  where  he  got  employment  at 
80  a month.  He  was  there  but  a shoit 
time  when  he  came  to  Louisville,  where  he 
obtained  a place  at  80  a month;  then  went 
into  a dry  goods  store  at  815  a month,  which 
was  shortly  raised  to  825.  A man  who  offered 
to  put  up  tlie  money  induced  Mr.  Kiieger  to 
go  into  business  on  his  own  account.  This 
gentleman,  however,  did  not  put  up  the  capi- 
tal, and  the  firm  failed.  The  creditors  insisted 
on  Mr.  Krieger  taking  entire  charge  of  the 
business,  though  they  knew  he  had  no  money. 
He  compromised  with  his  creditors,  but  finally 
paid  -82  for  every  dollar  he  owed.  He  after- 
ward took  a clerkship  in  the  dry  goods  luiuse 
of  Anderson,  Mcl^ane  & Co.,  and  then  with 
Leight  & Barret,  which  place  he  left  to  keep 
books  three  years  for  Thomas  & Anderson. 
The  war  was  comingf  on  and  the  business  of 
this  house  began  to  go  ow  slack.  Mr.  Krieger 
foresaw  the  result  of  the  war,  and  resigned  a 
position  worth  81,H)0,  to  take  one  in  the  Mer- 
chants’  Bank  at  -825  a month.  He  remained 
here  foaar  years,  taiaking  his  way  rapidly.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  the  Western  Bank  was 
organized,  and  he  was  elected  its  first  cashier. 

1 1 was  then  called  the  Western  Insurance 
Conq>any.  In  1808  Mr.  Krieger  reorganized 
the  Ma=onic  Savings  Baiak,  of  which  he  was 
elected  president  in  1871.  He  was  mainly 
instrumental  in  effecting  a coup  which  was 
oue  of  the  most  successful  pieces  of  financier- 


ing ever  known  in  this  city.  The  Louisviile, 
Cincinnati  & Lexinfjton  Railroad — the  Cin- 

O 

cinnati  Shortline — failed  in  1874,  and  the 
holders  of  second  mortgage  bonds,  of  whom 
Krieger  was  one,  were  left  with  little  chance 
of  being  able  to  recover  their  money.  He 
and  others  formed  a pool  of  second  mortgage 
bond  holders,  and  on  October  1,  1877,  the 
managers  of  the  pool  bought  the  road,  taking 
stjck  in  payment  for  their  bonds,  and  issuing 
common  stock  for  all  debts  that  came  in.  The 
bond  holders  elected  directors  and  soon  made 
Mr.  Krieger  vice-president  of  the  new  com- 
pany; he  was  then  elected  president,  and  in 
less  than  a year  effected  a sale  of  the  road  to 
the  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad.  Thus 
aU  who  went  into  the  pool  got  8L22  6-lOths 
for  their  stock,  and  instead  of  losing  money 
made  some.  Mr.  Krieger  is  one  of  the  self- 
made  men  of  Louisville,  and  has  worked  up 
to  his  present  position  as  one  of  the  solid 
business  men,  from  the  bottom  of  the  ladder. 
He  is  always  ready  to  foster  any  business 
enterprise  that  adds  to  the  growth  and  pros- 
perity of  his  adopted  city.  He  is  the  largest 
stockholder  i?i  the  Masonic  Savings  Bank, 
owning  one- eighth  of  the  stock.  He  also 
owns  one-seventh  of  the  Galt  House  Company 
stock,  and  is  president  of  the  Shelby  Railroad, 
and  the  Maysville  Water  Company.  Mr. 
Krieger  was  manied,  in  1868,  to  Miss  Caro- 
line Egelhoff,  of  I.ouisville.  They  have  ten 
children.  He  is  a leading  Mason,  both  in 
York  and  Scottish  rites. 

GEORGE  LANG  is  a native  of  Germany, 
and  was  born  August  15,  1842,  in  Klingen, 
Bavaria.  In  1853  his  parents  emigrated  to 
United  States,  locating  in  Louisville,  where 
they  resided  until  their  death.  Our  subject 
was  reared  in  Louisville,  where  he  learned 
the  cooper’s  trade.  He  enlisted  in  May, 
1861,  in  Company  E,  Second  Kentucky 
Federals,  under  Col.  W.  E.  Woodruff,  and 
served  in  all  engagements  of  that  regiment, 
being  twice  wounded,  once  at  Stone  River 
and  again  at  Chickamauga,  where  he  was 
taken  prisoner  and  confined  in  a rebel  prison 
at  Danville  and  Libby  for  over  nine  months, 
when  he  was  fortunately  exchanged,  being 
barely  alive.  He  was  mustered  out  of  service 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


833 


in  18(U — expiration  of  service — the  regiment 
havino-  been  mustered  out  before  he  was  ex- 

O 

changed.  His  health  being  precarious,  he 
engaged  as  a clerk  in  a grocery  and  con- 
tinued until  1867,  when  he  embarked  in  the 
grocery  business  for  himself  and  has  con- 
tinued since,  his  ptesent  location  being  215 
First  street.  He  is  a member  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
He  w'as  married  in  1867  to  Anna  Glahn,  of 
Louisville,  but  a native  of  Germany. 

JOHN  ALBERT  LARRABEE,  M.  1)., 
came  of  an  old  French  family  which  traces  its 
advent  into  this  country  to  the  edict  of 
Nantes,  in  the  year  1685,  when  400,000  pro- 
testants  called  Huguenots  quitted  France 
and  found  homes  in  other  countries.  He  was 
born  at  Little  Falls,  Gorham,  Me.,  May  17, 
1840,  and  is  a son  of  John  R.  Larrabee,  who 
was  a prominent  manufacturer  of  cotton 
fabrics.  He  received  his  academic  education 
at  Gorham,  Bethel  Hill  and  Brunswick 
academies.  He  graduated  with  honor  at  the 
Maine  Medical  School  of  Bowdoin  College 
in  1864.  In  the  late  civil  war  he  served  first 
as  medical  cadet,  entering  the  United  States 
army  by  examination,  and  reported  for  duty 
under  orders  of  the  secretary  of  war  at  Louis- 
ville ; afterward  as  acting  assistant  surgeon, 
serving  on  land  and  sea  in  the  rleparment  of 
Virginia,  at  Fortress  Monroe  and  at  Louis- 
ville, Ky.  While  still  in  the  United  States 
service  he  was  married,  on  the  30th  of  March, 
1865,  to  Miss  Hattie  Bulkley,  a daughter  of 
William  H.  Bulkley,  of  l.,ouisville.  The 
Bulkley  family  traces  its  origin  back  to 
William  the  Conqueror,  1066.  The  Larra- 
bee and  Bulkley  arms  adorn  Dr.  Larrabee’s 
residence  in  the  Highlands.  On  retiring 
from  the  army  Dr.  Ijarrabee  located  in 
Imuisville,  and  soon  became  an  earnest 
worker  in  medical  societies.  He  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Medico-Chirurgical  So- 
ciety, of  w'hich  he  has  been  both  secretary 
and  president ; he  was  for  several  years  sec-  j 
retai'v  of  the  Kentucky  State  IMedical  Society;  j 
a meml)er  of  the  International  Congress  meet- 
ing at  Philadelphia  in  1876  ; also  a member 
of  the  Ninth  Congress  of  1887,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion. As  a medical  writer  he  has  contributed 


largely  to  the  medical  journals  of  the  day. 
Conspicuous  among  his  contributions  are: 
“Summer  Complaints  of  Children,”  “Epi- 
demic Cerebro-spinal  Meningitis,”  “Rickets,” 
“Scarlet  Fever,”  “Chorea  Rheumatism,” 
“Infantile  Therapeutics.”  His  specialty  is 
children’s  diseases.  He  was  elected  to  the 
chair  of  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics  and 
clinical  lecturer  on  diseases  of  chihlren  in 
the  Hospital  College  of  Medicine  in  1874, 
which  chair  he  still  holds. 

WILLIAM  TH05IAS  LEACHMAN,  M. 
D.,  is  a native  of  Boyle  County,  Ky.,  where 
he  w’as  born  May  15,  1834,  and  is  a son  of 
Hariison  and  Ellen  IMary  (Childs)  Leachman, 
the  former  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Virginia. 

' He  w'as  a man  of  considerable  local  prom- 
inence, and  came  to  Kentucky  in  an  early 
period  of  its  history,  locating  in  what  is  now' 
Boyle  County,  where  he  bcame  a prosperous 
farmer.  Dr.  Leachman,  the  subject  of  this 
I sketch,  was  liberally  educated,  receiving  the 
advantages  of  the  best  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, and  instruction  from  some  of  the  best 
I teachers  of  the  State.  He  chose  the  profession 
of  medicine  and  commenced  a course  of 
study,  and  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-one 
entered  the  medical  deparment  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Louisville,  in  which,  after  a thor- 
j ough  course  of  two  years,  he  received  the 
degree  of  M.  D.  in  1857.  After  graduating 
he  opened  an  office  in  Louisville,  and  fry 
devotion  to  his  profession  soon  won  a large 
practice.  He  made  a specialty  of  obstetrics  and 
became  widely  known  as  a successful  practi- 
tioner. In  1872  be  was  elected  a member  of 
the  school  board,  and  later  of  the  city  council, 
but  finding  that  it  interfered  with  his  profes- 
sional duties  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
council  and  turned  his  attention  exclusively 
to  his  practice.  He  was  married  November 
15,  1859,  to  Letitia,  a daughter  of  Silas  F. 
Field,  a prominent  merchant  of  this  city. 
They  have  eight  children,  viz  : Silas  F. 

William  1’.,  Bessie  B.,  Theodore  II.,  Harry 
i\[.,  Letitia  E.,  Roman  B , and  Georgia.  Dr. 
Leachman  is  still  in  the  prime  of  life  and  is 
a most  exemplary  citizen. 

W.  B.  LEATHERMAN,  dentist,  is  a 
native  of  .Tefferson  County,  and  w^as  born 


834 


MOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHiiS. 


October  7,  1852.  He  is  a son  of  Joseph  1^. 
and  Sarah  Jane  (Shadburn)  Jjeatlierman,  also 
natives  of  Jefferson  County.  His  grand- 
father  Leatherrnan  was  a native  of  Germany, 
and  came  to  \"irnbiia  when  quite  young,  but 
remained  there  only  a short  time,  when  he 
came  to  Kentucky,  at  a period  when  he  could 
have  bought  the  land  upon  which  Louisville 
stands  at  per  acre,  but  not  liking  the 
swampy  nature  of  it,  went  out  to  what  was 
called  the  Oak  Hills,  wdiere  he  paid  #10 
per  acre.  His  voyage  to  this  State  was  on  a 
raft  of  loffs,  down  tlie  Ohio  river.  The  sub- 
ject  of  this  sketch  commenced  practice  of 
dentistry  in  this  city  in  1870.  In  December, 
1887,  he  mariied  Miss  Ella  A.  Wolfe,  a 
daughter  of  Hon.  S.  K.  Wolfe,  a prominent 
lawyer  of  New  Albany,  Ind.,  and  at  one  time 
member  of  congress  from  the  New  Albany 
district.  Dr.  Leatherrnan  is  a zealous  mem 
her  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  his  father 
was  instrumental  in  firat  bringing  Rev.  Alex- 
ander Campl)cll  to  Jeffersontown.  Mr. 
Campbell  established  a church  there  then, 
which  still  exists. 

MILKS  T.  LEE  was  born  in  Bullitt  Coun- 
ty, Ky.,  May  28,  1833,  a son  of  James  Lee, 
who  was  a native  of  Nelson  County,  Ky.,  and 
was  born  July  14, 18U6;  the  subject’s  mother, 
Sarah  Lee,  was  born  in  Bullitt  County,  and 
to  her  were  born  three  children  : H.  C.,  John 
and  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Miles  T.  Lee 
was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Ann  Green- 
well,  Noveml>er  12,  1807,  a daughter  of 
Rol>ert  and  Elizabeth  Greenwell,  all  of  Bul- 
litt County.  To  this  union  were  born  two 
children:  Doss  G.,  boin  March  13,  1870,  and 
Robert,  born  November  2,  1808,  died  Febru- 
ary 23,  1800.  Mis.  Lee  died  September  0, 
1881. 

K.  LEGGETT,  M.  D.,  was  bom  in  Scot 
land  Neck,  N.  C.,  Se[>tember  0,  1852,  and  is 
a son  of  W.  R.  and  Lucinda  (Nelson)  Leggett, 
natives  of  Nordi  Carolina.  He  received  an 
academic  education,  and  began  to  read  medi- 
cine in  1882,  graduating  from  the  Kentucky 
School  of  Medicine  in  1883.  He  cominenced 
ptractice  in  North  Carolina,  but  in  1880  went 
to  Chicano,  and  in  1887  came  to  Louisville. 


He  married  Miss  Wright,  a daughter  of  Ed- 
ward Wright,  Pdsq.,  of  Louisville. 

HON.  JAMES  S.  LITHGOW,  ex-mayor 
of  Louisville,  and  for  many  yeais  one  of  the 
city’s  most  prominent  business  men,  was  born 
in  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  on  the  29th  of  November, 
1812,  and  is  a son  of  Walter  and  Frances 
(Stevenson)  Lithgow.  In  December,  1832, 
he  came  to  Louisville,  and  commenced  the 
battle  of  life  for  himself.  For  more  than  half 
a century  he  has  been  identified  with  the 
interests  of  his  adopted  city,  laboiing  earnest- 
ly and  energetically  for  its  welfare  and  pros- 
pei  ity.  He  formed  a partnership  under  the  firm 
name  of  Wallace  & Lithgow  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  stoves,  copper-,  tin  and  sheet-iron. 
Tiiis  partnership  continued  twenty-five  years, 
and  was  only  dissolved  by  the  death  of  Mr. 
Wallace,  in  1861.  Continuing  the  business 
alone  for  one  year,  Mr.  Lithgow  took  his  sons- 
in-law,  Messrs.  Clark  O.  Smith  and  Jacob  L. 
Smyser,  into  partnership.  But  it  is  super- 
fluous to  follow  the  house  of  J.  S.  Litho-ow  & 

o 

Co. — it  is  one  of  the  land  marks  of  Louisville, 
familiar  to  all  who  are  acquainted  with  the 
city.  The  factory  of  the  firm  is  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  AYest,  fronting  on  Main  street, 
and  extending  from  Hancock  to  Clay.  Air. 
Lithgow  has  held  many  high  and  important 
positions,  both  business  and  political,  viz.: 
mayor  of  the  city,  a member  of  the  Charter 
Convention,  a director  in  the  Louisville  & 
Frankfort,  and  in  the  Elizabethtown  & Padu- 
cah railroads,  presidentof  the  Norther iiBi’anch 
Bank  of  Kentucky,  etc.  etc.  He  is  an  exein- 
plar-y  Christian  man,  and  a zealous  member  of 
the  Alethodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  irr 
which  he  has  held  many  important  positions. 

CLINTON  AlcCLARTY,aprrorninent  busi- 
ness man  of  Louisville,  was  born  and  reared 
in  Br-eckinridge  County,  Ky.,  and  is  a son  of 
John  and  Jane  (Allen)  McClarty,  both 
meirrbets  of  leading  families  of  that  coun- 
ty. The  latter  was  a daughter  of  Jo  Al- 
len, Escp,  who  for  fifty-six  years  w-as  county 
and  circuit  clerk  of  Breckinridge  County, 
and  a niece  of  Colonel  John  Allen,  who  com- 
manded a regirnerrt  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
fell  in  the  disastrous  battle  of  River  Raisin. 


B 1 00 RAP II IC A L S K ETCHES. 


839 


John  McClartj  was  a merchant,  and  for  many 
years  a prominent  citizen  of  Hardinsburg,  the 
capital  of  Breckinbridge  County.  Clinton, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  July  14, 
1831,  and  was  educated  in  Breckinridge  and 
Hardin  counties;  at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  be- 
c ime  deputy  clerk  of  Hardin  County,  and 
afterward  of  Nelson  County.  In  1851  he 
settled  i 1 Owensboro,  and  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  law.  In  1857,  when  the  Demo- 
crats came  into  power,  he  was  elected  chief 
clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  serving 
until  1861.  When  the  civil  war  broke  out 
he  joined  the  Fourth  Kentucky  (Confederate) 
regimen'’,  an  1 was  afterward  assigned  to 
General  Breckinridge’s  staff.  He  was  after- 
ward transferred  to  the  Trans-Mississippi 
Department,  where  he  served  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  In  1866  he  came  to  Louisville 
and  engaged  in  the  banking  business,  as  tel- 
ler of  the  Western  Financial  Corporation, 
now  the  Bank  of  Commerce.  He  severed  his 
connection  with  it  on  being  elected  cashier 
of  the  Bank  of  America.  When  the  latter 
went  into  liquidation  he  was  elected  (in  1876) 
manager  of  the  Louisville  Clearing  House, 
which  position  he  now  holds.  Major  McCLrty 
is  a man  of  unblemished  integrity  and  fine 
business  energy;  he  is  courteous,  gentlemanly, 
polite  and  obliging  to  all  with  whom  he  comes 
in  contact.  Major  McClarty  was  elected  to 
the  lower  house  of  the  State  Leo-islature  for 
the  session  of  1879-80,  where  he  was  a work- 
ing member,  and  served  on  several  important 
committees.  He  was  married  in  1858  to  Miss 
Lucinda  B.  Elliott,  an  excellent  lady  of  Nel- 
s ill  County,  Ky.  They  have  three  children 

living — Clinton,  Jr.  and  Anna. 

DR.  HUGH  M.  .McCullough  was  bom 
in  Louisville,  July  17,  1858,  and  is  a son  of 
.lames  an  1 Rebecca  (Seay)  McCullough,  the 
former  of  Scotch  orio-in,  but  came  from  the 
north  of  Ireland  to  Louisville  in  1840.  He 
is  in  the  wholesale  and  retail  furniture  busi- 
ness on  Mitin  street,  and  is  one  of  the  oldest 
livino-  merchants  west  of  the  Alleofhenies. 
Mrs.  Rebecca  (Seay)  McCullough  was  born  in 
Lynchburg,  Va.,  and  came  to  Kentucky  with 
her  father’s  family  when  very  young.  Her 
father  opened  the  St.  Cloud  Hotel  in  Louis- 


ville. He  was  a colonel  in  the  war  of  1812, 
and  died  many  years  ago.  He  was  of  Eng- 
lish extraction.  The  subject  is  the  third  of 
four  son?,  and  was  educated  principally  in 
Edinbui'j-h  and  Dublin,  o-  aduatincr  in  medi- 
cine  in  the  latter  city,  having  studied  there 
for  three  years,  and  then  came  back  to  Louis- 
ville, an  1 gaduated  in  1878  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Louisville.  He  makes  surgery  a 
specialty,  and  has  a special  diploma  for  that 
branch  of  practice.  He  practiced  medicine 
in  Louisville  for  a year,  then  went  AFest;  re- 
turned two  years  later,  and  resumed  practice. 
He  was  married  in  1879  to  Miss  Alinnie  Smith. 
She  died  in  1881.  He  held  the  position  of 
county  physician  while  in  Kansas. 

WILLTAAl  PRESTON  McDOWELL  was 
born  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  Alay  28,  1838,  and  at 
the  beginning  of  the  late  Inter-State  war 
was  engaged  in  the  study  of  law  in  the  Com- 
missioner’s office,  of  the  Chancery  Court  of  his 
native  city.  Before  the  President  called  upon 
Kentucky  for  her  quot-i  of  t-oops,  he,  think- 
ing that  his  Srate,  would  not  furnish  any 
soldiers  for  the  Fed-^ral  army,  proceeded  to 
Washington  City  and  offered  his  services  to 
President  Lincoln.  AVhile  in  AA'ashington  he 
received  a telegram  from  Col.  Curran  Pope, 
stating  that  he  (Pope)  had  received  authority 
to  raise  a regiment  for  the  Union  army,  and 
that  he  desired  his  (AlcDowell’s)  assistance, 
and  tendering  a position  as  field  officer.  On 
the  advice  of  President  Lincoln  this  offer  was 
accepted,  and  he  returned  to  Louisville  and 
used  all  his  energy  in  filling  the  Fifteenth 
Regiment  Kentucky  Infantry  Volunteers,  to 
facilitate  which  he  resigned  all  pretension  to 
a field  office  and  accepted  the  position  of 
adjutant,  receiving  commission  as  such  Sep- 
tember 15,  1861.  He  served  with  the  regi- 
ment until  August  3,  1862,  when  he  was 
detailed  on  the  staff  of  Alajor  General  Lovell 
II.  Rousseau,  then  commanding  the  Third 
Division  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio.  At  the 
battle  of  Chaplin  Hills  (Perryville)  he  served 
as  aide-de-camp,  and  received  much  praise 
for  his  gallantry.  After  this  battle  he  was 
appointed  acting  assistant  adjutant  general 
of  the  division,  and  served  in  this  capacity 
until  the  battle  ot  Stone  River.  In  the  first 


8-10 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


day’s  engagement  he  was  wounded  severely 
in  the  left  arm;  but  although  the  wound  was 
painful,  he  refused  to  leave  the  field  until 
loss  of  blood  compelled  him  to  retire.  ( )n  the 
15th  of  IMarch,  18bd,  he  was  commissioned 
by  the  President,  assistant  ad  jutant  general, 
with  the  rank  of  m'ljor,  and  continued  in  the 
service  as  such  until  neir  the  close  of  the  war, 
when,  by  the  re-opening  of  his  wound,  he  was 
compelled  to  resign.  After  the  war  he  en- 
gaged in  business  in  Louisville  until  1871, 
and  then  accepted  the  position  of  treasurer 
of  the  Louisville  Water  C nnpany,  which  he 
lias  held  for  the  last  fifteen  years.  His  parents 
were  Dr.  AVilliam  Adair  and  Alaria  (Harvey) 
McDowell,  natives  of  Virginia.  His  father 
came  to  Louisville  in  1887,  and  practiced  till 
just  before  his  death  in  1854.  He  was  a 
regular  graduate  of  college;  read  medicine 
at  Danville,  an  1 was  some  years  professor  in 
the  LTniversity  of  Ivouisville.  Subject  was 
educated  in  the  city  schools  of  Louisville, 
and  was  deputy  commissioner  of  Louisville 
Chancery  Court  when  the  war  broke  out 
He  w'as  married  in  18(35  to  M'ss  Kate  G. 
Wrinht,  dauorhter  of  John  II.  AVriirht,  an  old 
merchant  of  this  city.  He  is  the  father  of  six 
childi’en  living. 

ENOCH  E.  AIcdvAY  was  born  April  7, 
1885,  at  Bloomfield,  Nelson  County,  Ky.,  and 
is  a son  of  Enoch  and  Amanda  McKay.  His 
early  education  was  ac(|uired  at  the  country 
schools,  and  in  1855  he  entered  Centre  Col- 
lege, at  Danville,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1857.  Selecting  the  legal  profession  he 
commenced  the  study  of  it  in  1850  with 
Chief-.Justice  Robertson,  at  Lexington,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  18()0,  and  commenced 
practice  at  Bardstown.  In  May,  1875,  he 
removed  to  Louisville,  which  afforded  a 
broader  fie'd  for  his  talents.  His  career  there 
has  been  successful  and  brilliant.  In  politics 
he  is  a Democrat,  firm  and  unyielding,  and  in 
his  owm  county  where  he  is  best  known  has 
always  been  a successful  candidate.  In  1874 
he  was  pitted  against  .1.  Proctor  Knott,  in  the 
Congressional  election,  but  was  defeat- 
ed by  a small  majority.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  October,  18()8,  to  Aliss  Ophelia 


Wilson,  of  Bardstown.  To  this  union  have 
been  born  four  children. 

JOHN  MacLeod,  chief-engineer  of  the 
I.ouisville  Southern  Railroad,  was  born  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  July  21,  1886,  son  of 
George  Alacljeod,  who  was  al  o a native  of 
the  District  of  Columbia,  and  was  one  of  the 
most  prominent  civil  engineers  of  his  day, 
and  was,  during  his  life-time,  for  a few  years 
receiver  for  the  Louisville  Short- line,  and  was 
chief  engineer  for  the  L.  & N.  R.  R.  and 
its  bratiches.  His  death  occurred  in  1877, 
having  Ireen  born  in  1818.  The  mother 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  Ame- 
lii  (Deakins)  Ma;Lecd,  a native  of  Mary- 
land. John  MacL'’o  1 entered  railway  service 
Octolrer  18,  1858,  anl  until  March,  1855,  was 
rodman  and  levelmin  in  the  engineer  corps 
of  the  Frederick ibu'-g  & Gordonsville  Rail- 
road. March,  1855,  to  October,  1805,  was  on 
the  location  and  construction  of  the  Louis- 
ville & Nashville  Road,  successively  leveler, 
surveyor,  resident  and  division  engineer;  Oc- 
tober, 1865,  to  April,  1869,  he  was  principal 
assistant  engineer  on  the  Louisville,  Cincin- 
nati & Lexington  Road;  April,  1869,  to  Jan- 
uary, 1872,  principal  assistant  engineer  on 
the  Elizabethtjwn  & Paducah  Road;  January, 
1872,  to  July ,1874,  chief-engineer  and  super- 
intendent of  maintenmee  of  way,  same  road; 
July,  1874,  to  August,  1876,  was  general 
super intendent  of  the  Louisville,  Cincinnati 
& Lexington  Road;  August  4,  1876,  to  July 
15,  1878,  receiver;  and  July  15,  1878,  to 
January,  1880,  general  superintendent  of  the 
same  road,.Ianua  y 1, 1880,  to  July,  1884,  gen- 
eral sper  iutendent  of  ihiLoxrisville,  New  Alba- 
ny & Chi(  ago  Railway ; in  1881,  chief-engineer 
of  the  Kentucky  & Indiana  Bridge  Company; 
Januarv,  1886,  chief-engineer  of  Loitisville 
Southern  Road,  and  since  October,  1886,  has 
been  president  of  the  New  Albany  & Eastern 
Railway  Company.  Mr.  MacLeod  was  married 
to  Miss  Mary  L.  Doone,  of  Nelson  County, 
Ky.,  ami  has  four  children. 

JOHN  T.  MACAULEY  was  born  in  New- 
port, Ky.,  on  the  4th  of  February,  1846,  arrd 
is  a son  of  .fohn  and  Bridget  (Smith)  Ma- 
cauley,  natives  of  Ireland;  the  former  came 


ff,- 


f 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


843 


to  the  United  States  about  the  year  1830, 
and  was  a carpenter  by  trade.  John  T.  was 
reared  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  was  attending 
the  hiah  school  at  the  beginnino-  of  the  war. 
In  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  Eleventh  Indiana 
Volunt;er  Infantry,  being  but  fifteen  years 
old  at  the  time.  He  was  made  adjutant  of 
the  regiment  in  1863,  and  captain  in  1864. 
He  served  all  through  the  war,  and  was 
wounded  at  th ) battle  of  Cedar  Creek.  At 
the  close  of  the  war  he  went  to  Indianapolis, 
and  was  in  business  there  until  the  panic  of 
1873,  but"  afterward  traveled  for  the  Indiana- 
polis In  1879  he  cameto  Louisville, 

and  acted  one  year  as  manager  of  the  theater, 
and  in  February,  1881,  he  became  the  proprie- 
tor of  it,  and  has  so  remained  to  the  present 
time.  He  was  married,  Xovember  18,  1868, 
to  Miss  Annie  A.  Kirlin,  of  Indianapolis. 

GEN.  HUMPHREY  MARSH  YLL,  second 
son  of  .lohn  J.  MarshaU  and  Anna  Reed  Mar- 
shall (nee  Birney)  was  born  at  Frankfort, 
Kentucky,  January  13,  1812,  anl  graduated 
at  West  Point  Military  Academy  in  .June, 
1832,  in  the  twenty  first  year  of  his  age.  His 
grea'i-grandfather  was  Col.  Thomas  Marshall, 
of  Virginia,  who  served  with  distinction  as 
an  officer  of  the  Virginia  Line  in  the  war  of 
Independence,  and  is  known  to  history  as  a 
friend  of  Gen.  AA^ashington,  as  appears  from 
Washington’s  letters.  This  was  the  father  of 
Cnief  Justice  John  Marshall,  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  Stales,  whose  sister. 
Alary,  was  the  grandmother  of  our  subject, 
and  who  was  celebrated  in  Kentucky'  as  a 
lady  of  st’-ong  intellect  and  fine  culture. 
Humphrey  Marshall,  the  historian  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  among  the  earliest  United  Scales 
senators  from  that  State,  the  person  who 
shot  Henry  Clay  in  a duel  fought  oppodte 
Louisville  in  1807  or  1808,  was  the  grand- 
father of  our  subject,  and  was  a Revolution- 
ary' officer  in  the  Virginia  Line.  He  had 
been  adjutant  of  Col.  Alarshall’s  regiment 
through  the  war ; rnarided  his  daughter  at  its 
close,  and  emigrated  to  the  district  of  Ken- 
tucky while  it  was  yet  part  of  A^irginia.  He 
was  a man  of  great  force  of  character,  power- 
ful intellect  and  much  learning.  He  was  an 

o 

accomplished  scholar,  and  a bold,  fearless 


writer.  Even  to  this  day  daws  pluck  at  his 
lines  in  the  vain  hope  that  they  may  be 
erased,  but,  like  the  damned  spot  in  Lady 
Macbeth’s  hand,  they  will  not  “ out  ” at  the 
bidding.  .John  .J.  Alarshall,  the  father  of 
our  subject,  was  born  in  Woodford  Coun- 
ty, Iventucky;  graduated  at  Princeton,  N.  J., 
with  the  first  honor:  was  distino-uished  as 
one  of  the  first  intellects  of  the  country,  and 
for  fifteen  years  before  his  death  (which  oc- 
curred in  .June,  1846,)  held  the  office  of  cir- 
cuit judge  at  Louisville,  Iventucky'.  The 
.Judge  is  yet  rememberel  as  a lawyer  of 
singular  learning,  and  a man  of  most  genial 
disposition.  The  maternal  grandfather  of  our 
subject  was  .James  Birney',  an  Irishman,  who 
emigrated  to  Kentucky'  before  it  was  sepa- 
rated from  Viroinia.  He  vvas  the  father  of 

O 

James  G.  Birney,  the  first  abolitionist  candidate 
for  the  presidency,  who  was  the  only  brother 
of  Airs.  Anna  Reed  Alarshall.  The  maternal 
grandmother  of  our  subject  was  Aliss  Alartha 
Reed,  who  died  early  after  her  marriage, 
leaving  only  two  children,  those  above  named. 
Airs.  Anna  R.  Alarshall  died  at  Louisville  in 
1859,  after  her  son  Humphrey  hid  acquired 
the  maximum  of  his  fame  in  congress.  Of 
the  boy'hood  of  Humphrey  Alarshall  we  have 
but  few  incidents  worthy  relating.  He  was 
self  reliant  and  firm  in  his  convictions  of 
right,  as  will  appear  from  the  fact  that  at 
seventeen  he  committed  a contempt  of  a 
court  martial  at  AAVst  Point,  before  which  be 
was  summoned  to  testify'  against  his  room- 
mates. Col.  Hitchcox  (afterwards  Alaj.  Gen. 
Hitchcox)  presided.  Young  Alarshall  said  he 
did  not  consided  that  he  could  disclose  the 
secrets  of  his  room  without  dishonor  to  him- 
self, and  therefore  he  would  not  give  the 
evidence  desired.  In  vain  the  court  essay  ed 
to  convince  him  of  the  error  of  sentiment. 
He  adhered  to  his  own  views  and  was  sen- 
tenced to  dismissal  from  the  academy'  ; his 
room-mates  were  acquitted  for  want  of  testi- 
mony. Gen.  .Jackson,  then  president,  rein- 
stat.d  Cadet  Alarshall  to  his  rank  and  place  at 
the  academy,  complimenting  his  fidelity  to 
his  own  sense  of  duty',  though  he  had  erred 
in  his  estimate  of  it.  After  graduating  at  the 
academy  Alarshall  served  as  a lieutenant  in 


844 


BIOGliAPlIlCAL  SKETCHES. 


the  army,  in  a campaign  ag'ainst  Black  Hawk 
ami  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  in  1882,  before 
he  visited  his  relations  in  Kentucky.  Gen. 
Winfield  Scott  persuaded  him  that  the  oc- 
casion presented  a chance  for  active  service 
and  (prick  prmmjtion.  The  Asiatic  cholera 
attacked  the  detachment  to  which  Lieut. 
Marshall  was  assioned  ; it  lost  very  heavily, 
and  was  halted  where  Chicairo  now  stands; 
and  afterwards  marched  across  the  couiitiy 
to  tire  Mississippi.  The  fortitude  and  err- 
durance  of  the  young  lieutenarrt  were  coit'^pic- 
rrotrs  atnoiro'  datrerers  sterner  thair  those  of  the 
battle  field,  atrd  Gerr.  Scott  iroticed  him  itr  his 
corresporrdence  with  the  war  department  itr 
rrrost  frvorable  tenns — the  old  chief  fre- 
(pierrtly,  in  after  life,  referred  to  the  bearing 
of  yottng  Marshall  throrrgh  those  tryirrg 
scenes  itr  teiarrs  c f hiuh  praise.  Mr.  Marshall 
married  in  .fanuarv,  1888,  when  he  was  but 
terr  days  past  twenty-one  years  of  age,  Miss 
FrarrcfS  E.  McAliste’’,  of  Frank'itr,  Tennes- 
see, atrd  in  IMay,  1888,  resigrted  his  commissiotr 
in  the  Lbrited  States  army,  without  visiting 
the  ])ost  or  rerriment  to  which  he  was  as- 
sigrred.  It  was  a period  of  profound  peace. 
Military  life  seemed  to  open  no  prosjrect  for 
errterprise  or  ambition,  still  Air.  IMarshall 
deettted  himself  to  be  under  obligations  to 
retrder  military  service,  should  the  country 
be  in  need  of  s il  liers.  He  was  licensed  to 
jiractice  law  in  the  spring  of  1888,  and  spent 
the  rest  of  that  year  irr  Tennessee,  but  settled 
in  Louisville,  to  pursue  Iris  profession,  irr 
November,  1884.  In  188G  he  was  elected  by 
the  people  of  the  Fifth  ward  of  the  city 
of  Loirisville  to  represent  thenr  in  the  city 
counjil,  but  resigned  this  place  to  accept 
a captaincy  of  a troop  of  volunteers,  raised 
under  Gen.  .lackson’s  call  to  march  to  the 
Sabine  frontin'  to  protect  the  border  of 
Louisiana  from  the  intrusion  of  the  Mexican 
army  then  over-running  Texas.  The  battle 
of  San  .lacinto  ren  lered  the  movement  of  the 
Kentucky  volunteers  unnecessary  ; they  were 
disbanded,  and  Capt.  ^Marshall  returned  to 
the  law.  In  1887  he  became  a candidate  for 
the  legislature,  but  was  defeated  and  then, 
for  the  first  tunc,  really  devoted  his  time  to 
his  profession.  He  rose  rapidly  at  the  bar, 


and  was  employed  in  cases  of  the  first-class, 
making  his  name  known  in  the  forum  in  cjm- 
petition  with  such  men  as  .lames  Guthrie, 
Garnett,  Duncan,  Pirtle,  Thruston,  Lough- 
borough, Nicholas  and  otheis.  This  close 
pursuit  of  his  profession  was  interrupted  in 
the  spring  of  184G  by  a call  fro  n tie  gov- 
ernor of  the  State  upon  Mr.  Marshall  to  take 
command  of  a Kentucky  regiment  of  volun- 
teer cavalry,  called  to  march  to  Mexico,  and 
to  serve  for  twelve  months  in  the  war  then 
existing  between  Me.xico  and  the  United 
States.  Alarshall  did  nut  hcs’tate  to  obey  the 
call ; but  at  once  closed  his  law  books  and 
assumed  command  of  his  r giment.  At  this 

O 

time  .Judge  .John  .J.  Alarsh'all  died,  and  Col. 
Marshall’s  wife  suffered  a stroke  of  nervous 
apoplexy.  Affairs  at  home  were  in  a terii- 
able  condition  when  the  r “giment  moved,  but 
Col.  Marshall  thought  tint  he  could  not  then 
resign  with  credit,  and  he  went  forward  to 
the  theater  of  war.  Debarking  opposite 
Memphis,  in  .June,  184G,  Marshall  marched 
his  regiment  through  Arkansas  and  Texas  to 
Camargo,  thence  to  Saltillo  in  Mexico.  Ac- 
tlve  service  indeed  he  performed  in  Mexico, 
for  he  passed  over  the  conntry^  from  Panas  to 
Victoria  in  discharo-e  of  the  duties  devolved 

O 

upon  him.  lie  participated  in  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista  as  the  ranking  colonel  of  cav- 
alry in  the  American  forces,  where  it  was 
said  of  him,  “ that  he  faced  danger,  trod  with 
undaunted  step  tlUe  field  of  death,  and  cov- 
eted the  place  of  desolation,”  referring  to  a 
brilliant  charge  made  by  him  at  the  head  of 
his  command.  His  gallantry  endeared  him  to 
his  soldiers.  His  conduct  was  warmly  com- 
mended by  his  supeiiors  in  command,  by 
all  of  whom  he  was  mentioned  in  their 
official  reports.  Ever  afterwards  Gen. 
Taylor,  Gen.  Wool  and  Gen.  Lane,  and 
indeed  the  field  officers  who  were  at  Buena 
Vista,  held  Col.  Marshall  in  warm  regard.  At 
the  end  of  the  twelve  months’  service  the  war 
had  shifted  to  the  gates  of  Mexico,  where 
Gen.  Scott,  with  the  regulars  and  volunteers, 
was  finishing  it,  and  Col.  Marshall,  with  the 
survivors  of  his  regiment,  returned  to  Ken- 
tucky, mustered  out  of  service,  and  with  noth- 
ing before  him  but  to  commence  again  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


845 


practice  of  law.  His  pay  had  not  supported 
him  by  some  §1,500,  and  he  had  lost  the  run 
of  his  practice.  The  people  proposed  a seat 
in  the  State  Senate,  but  this  he  promptly  de- 
clined. County  meetings  nominated  him  for 
the  office  of  g-overnor,  and  he  published  a 
card  at  once  declarino-  his  thanks,  but  defin- 
itely  declined  the  honor.  He  sought  retire- 
ment, and  applied  himself  to  the  opening  of  a 
farm  upon  a tract  of  laud  he  owned  in  Henry 
County;  but  the  people  did  not  let  him  in- 
dulge in  this  fancy  long.  In  1849  he  was 
nominated  for  congress  as  the  Whig  candi- 
date, in  the  Louisville  District,  and  was  elect- 
ed over  Dr.  Newton  Lane,  the  Democratic 
candidate,  after  a warm  and  spirited  contest. 
He  was  re-elected  in  1851,  over  Gov.  David 
Meriwether,  (who  was  afterwards  appointed 
to  succeed  Mr.  Clay,  in  the  U.  S.  Senate) 
and  took  an  active  part  in  the  great  “ Com- 
promise Measures,”  which  postponed  the  war 
for  a decade.  His  course  was  enthusiastically 
sustained  by  his  constituency.  In  1852  the 
President  nominated  Col.  Marshall  to  the  sen- 
ate as  Commissioner  to  China,  and  the  nomi- 
nation was  immediately  confirmed.  The 
Democrats  had  a majority  in  both  Houses  of 
Congress.  After  this  nomination  was  con- 
firmed Congress  raised  the  mission  to  the 

O 

first  class,  so  as  to  place  Col.  Marshall  on  the 
same  footing  as  to  pay  emoluments  and  au- 
thority with  the  Ministers  of  Great  Britain 
and  France;  a step  which  was  a graceful  com- 
pliment to  the  appointee,  from  political  op- 
ponents. Col.  Marshall  departed  from  New 
York  on  his  mission  in  October,  1852,  and 
having  fulfilled  it  with  great  honor  and  credit, 
both  to  himself  and  the  country,  returned  to 
the  United  States  in  1854.  In  a brief  bio- 
grapical  sketch  like  this  no  attempt  will  be 
made  to  review  the  manner  in  which  this  mis- 
sion was  filled.  Congress  published  Col. 
Marshall’s  despatches  and  it  has  been  years 
since  a single  copy  of  them  could  be  obtained 
out  of  the  Congressional  Library.  Col.  Mar- 
shall certainly  brought  to  the  public  a duty 
with  which  he  was  charged  a power  of  thought, 
which  has  made  his  name  remembered  in 
China  to  the  present  time.  Some  of  the 
yiews  he  then  urged  are  now  being  carried 


! 


1 


I 


out  by  this  country  as  useful  expediencies,  if 
not  novelties.  In  I85o  Col.  Marshall  was 
again  elected  to  Congress,  by  a very  large 
majority,  over  Col.  William  Preston,  who  had 
filled  the  seat  from  the  Louisville  district  dur- 
incr  his  absence  in  China.  Col.  Marshall  was 

O 

elected  by  the  “ Know-Nothings,”  as  the  par- 
ty was  then  called.  In  1857  Col.  5Iarshall 
was  elected  to  Congress  over  Hon.  Joe  Holt. 
In  1859  he  was  nominated  by  acclamation, 
but  he  firmly  declined  a re-election  because 
he  disliked  the  platform  upon  which  the  party 
convention  placed  him.  He  returned  to  the 
practice  of  law  to  repair  his  fortunes  which 
had  suffered  during  his  congressional  serv- 
ice. But  in  1860  he  was  again  called  into  poli- 
tics and  took  the  field  as  elector  for  Breckin- 
rido-e  and  Lane,  Presidential  candidates.  'When 
I.iincoln  was  inaugfurated  President,  Col.  Mar- 
shall  left  "Washington,  determined  to  do  all 
in  his  power  to  preserve  the  Union,  and  to 
this  end  he  commenced  anew  the  canvass  of 
the  State;  but  the  secession  of  the  border 
States  stopped  him  in  his  praiseworthy  efforts. 
He  retired  to  his  farm  in  Henry  County,  but 
the  turbulent  times  would  not  permit  him  to 
remain  in  peace;  and  being  threatened  with 
arrest,  though  he  had  commited  no  offense 
against  the  laws  of  his  country,  in  Septem- 
ber, 1861,  he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode 
to  Nashville,  Tenn.  He  was  invited  to  Rich- 
mond by  President  Davis,  and  was  tendered 
a commission  of  brigadier-general  with  the 
independent  command  of  a department,  which 
he  accepted.  His  services  in  the  field  is  a 
part  of  the  history  of  the  war.  He  retired 
from  the  Confederate  army  in  June,  1863,  but 
was  immediately  thereafter  elected  to  the 
Second  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States. 


He  was  re-elected,  and  was  a member  when 
the  armies  surrendered  the  country.  He 
practiced  law  in  New  Orleans  from  the  fall 
of  1865,  until  the  summer  of  1867,  with  good 
success;  while  there,  he  was  invited  by  Presi- 
dent .lohnson  to  Washington,  and  shoi’tly 
after  his  visit  to  Washington  (which  was  made 
in  December,  1865,)  he  was  pardoned  by  the 
President  and  relieved  of  all  disabilities  im- 
posed upon  him  by  the  laws  of  the  United 

States  by  reason  of  his  having  Ij.een  in  the 

'50 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


840 


Confederate  army.  In  1867  Gen.  Marshall 
returned  to  Kentucky  and  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  law  at  Louisville.  He  at  once  com- 
manded a large  and  lucrative  practice.  Gen. 
Marsliall  was  an  educated  soldier  of  large  ex- 
perience, and  great  ability;  he  was  a states- 
man of  broad  and  enlightened  views,  with 
the  power  to  grasp  and  master  any  subject; 
he  was  an  orator;  if  he  but  spoke,  no  matter 
whether  to  a crowd  in  the  street,  in  court,  to 
a popular  assembly  or  in  our  legislative  bodies, 
he  was  listened  to  with  attention.  lie  was  a 
subtle,  astute,  and  profound  lawyer,  an  able 
advocate — often  elocjuent — but  his  eloquence 
did  not  consist  of  conned  j>hrases — of  tropes 
and  fiofures,  but  of  thouo-ht.  He  could  en- 
force  his  ideas  equally  well  by  his  speech  or 
his  pen.  Decended  from  ancestors  of  great 
distinction  and  renown,  he  did  not  content 
himself  therewith,  but  labored  and  built  a 
monument  for  himself.  He  held  many  places 
of  distinction  and  co-oferred  honor  upon  them 
all.  He  had  few  peers,  and  no  superiors.  He 
was  of  the  most  amiable  disposition,  gentle, 
generous,  benevolent,  humane;  kind  to  all, 
and  particularly  to  the  young;  he  was  easy 
of  access  to  everybody,  but  no  one  could  be 
in  his  presence  without  feeling  that  he  was  in 
the  presence  of  a man;  even  a stranger  pass- 
ing by  him  could  but  feel  it;  all  the  children 
of  the  street  did  him  reverence.  In  private 
conversation  he  was  instructive  and  entertain- 
ing, and  there  was  a charm  about  him  that 
attracted  both  young  and  old.  Gen.  Marshall 
died  March  28th,  1872,  in  the  sixty-first 
year  of  his  age.  His  remains  are  buried  in 
the  cemetery  at  Frankfort,  Kentucky. 

DAVID  MARTIN  is  a native  of  Louisville 
and  was  born  .Line  I),  1849;  was  married  to 
Miss  Anna  Speck,  May  18,  1875,  and  the  has 
been  born  to  him  four  children,  all  of  whom 
died  in  infancy.  David  Martin  is  a son  of 
Matthias  Martin,  who  removed  from  Pennsyl- 
vania many  years  ago  to  Louisville,  and  died 
when  our  subject  was  an  infant.  Since  eight 
years  of  age  the  latter  has  made  his  own  way 
in  the  world.  His  wife  was  also  born  in 
Louisville,  and  is  a daughter  of  David  and 
Frances  Speck,  both  born  in  Germany.  Mr. 


Martin  is  a thrifty  farmer  and  a highly  re- 
spected citizen. 

THOMAS  A.  MASON  was  born  in  the  city 
j of  Newport,  Ky.,  September  16,  1845,  and  is 
j a son  of  .lohn  Mason,  who  was  born  in  Eng- 
! land  in  1812.  He  married  Mary  Williamson, 

' also  of  England,  and  came  to  the  United 
I States  in  1844,  settling  in  Newport,  and  died 
there  in  July,  1858;  his  wife  died  September 
j 16,  1868.  There  were  three  children  born  to 
j this  couple,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 

I Thomas  A.  Mason,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
is  one  of  the  leading  and  substantial  farmers 


Rebecca  .leans  February  17,  1864.  In  con- 
nection with  his  farming  interests  he  is  also 
engaged  in  the  saw-mill  business.  He  has 
had  ten  children,  of  whom  eight  are  living. 

MASON  MAURY  was  born  May  1,  1849, 
and  is  a native  of  Louisville.  He  is  a son  of 
Mathew  Henry  and  Sally  (Mason)  Maury;  the 
former  a native  of  Virginia,  was  a farmer, 
and  at  one  time  owner  of  the  well-known 
“ Pumpkins  Patch  ” harbor,  near  .Jefferson- 
ville, and  died  in  1886;  the  latter  is  a niece  of 
Lowell  Mason,  the  Boston  composer  and  pub- 
lisher, and  a daughter  of  Johnson  Mason, 
who  was  the  inventor  of  the  first  rope-making 
and  bagging  machine,  and  was  brought  out 
here  by  Henry  Clay.  He  established  a fac- 
tory at  Covington,  Ky.,  and  later  in  the  thir- 
ties came  to  Louisville  to  take  charge  of  the 
old  rope  and  bagging  factory  at  Twelfth  and 
Chestnuts  streets.  He  would  have  made  a 
great  fortune  out  of  his  invention  if  he  had 
patented  it.  The  subject’s  mother  has  been 
a teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Louisville 
since  1861,  and  is  a remarkably  intelligent 
lady.  Mason  Maury,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  graduated  in  the  IMale  High  School  of 
Louisville,  and  afterward  took  a course  in 
civil  engineering,  and  after  serving  in  that 
branch  two  years,  went  to  Boston  to  study 
architecture  with  a leading  firm  of  architects 


I ville,  when  he  introduced  some  new  features 
1 in  architecture.  Indeed,  in  the  dozen  years 
he  has  been  engaged  in  the  profession,  he  has 
j to  some  extent,  revolutionized  resident.il  archi- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


847 


lecture.  He  has  received  recognition  from 
the  highest  authorities  for  resident  and  office 
architecture — the  Kenyon  Building  being  a 
monument  to  his  perfection  of  taste  in  the 
latter  class.  He  was  married  in  November, 
1885,  to  Miss  Gertrude  Vaughan. 

WILLIAM  H.  MEFFERT,  Secretary  and 
Treasurer,  and  Business  Manager  of  Masonic 
Temple  Company,  was  born  in  Louisville, 
.June  1,  1840,  and  was  a son  of  William  and 
Elizabeth  (Sabel)  IMelfert.  The  former  was 
born  in  1807,  came  to  Louisville  in  1837,  and 
for  many  years  kept  a boot  and  shoe  store. 
Subject  was  educate!  in  Louisville,  and  for  a 
number  of  years,  like  his  father,  was  in  the 
boot  and  shoe  business.  He'  became  deputy 
sheriff  in  1873  and  continued  in  the  position 
until  in  1880,  when  he  was  offered  and  ac- 
cepted the  position  he  now  holds.  iMr.  iMeffert 
is  a prominent  Mason,  and  was  grand  master  | 
of  the  Order  for  Kentucky  in  1881-82.  He 
is  at  present  Grand  Captain  General  of  the 
Grand  Commandery  of  Knights  Templar  of 
the  State.  He  was  married,  in  I860,  to  Miss 
Emma  Troutman,  of  Louisville,  a daughter  of 
OVilliam  Troutman,  of  German  origin,  but 
who  came  here  a great  many  years  ago.  He 
was  a ship-builder,  and  a man  of  some  local 
prominence. 

WILLIAM  A.  MERnVETHER  is  a na- 
tive of  Jetferson  County,  Ky.,  and  was  born 
May  26,  1825.  He  is  a son  of  Hon.  David 
iMeriwether,  a native  ofVirginia,  who  came  to 
Kentucky  in  an  early  day  and  located  on  a 
farm  near  Louisville,  where  he  still  lives.  In 
1832  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature,  and 
re-elected  in  1835,-36,-37,-38,-39,-46,-59, 
-61,  and  the  last  term  was  speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  and  was  re-elected 
in  1879,  1881,  and  1883;  he  was  a member 
of  the  Constitutional  Convention  that  framed 
the  present  Constitution  of  the  State;  in  1852, 
was  appointed  to  the  United  States  Senate 
by  Governor  Powell,  to  fill  the  vacancy  oc- 
casioned by  the  death  of  Henry  Clay,  and  in 
1853,  was  appointed  by  President  Pierce 
Governor  of  New  Mexico.  After  his  last 
term  in  the  Legislature  (1883)  he  retired 
from  poliMcs  and  is  still  a well  preserved 
inan  of  his  age.  William  A.  Meriwether 


received  a good  practical  education  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  county,  and  in  1845  he 
commenced  farming  in  Floyd  County,  Ind., 
in  which  he  continued  until  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Mexican  war,  when  he  enlisted  in  the 
army  under  Gen.  William  O.  Butler.  At  the 
! close  of  the  war  he  resumed  farming,  and  in 
the  meantime  studied  law  and  medicine. 
From  1861  to  1864  he  was  Deputy  L'nited 
States  Marshal,  and  from  the  latter  date  until 
1869,  was  appointed  United  States  Marshal 
for  Kentucky  by  President  Lincoln.  From 
I 1870  to  1876  he  was  Clerk  of  the  LTiited 
States  Court  at  Louisville,  since  when  he  has 
been  actively  engaged  in  the  real  estate  busi- 
ness. Mr.  iMeriwether  was  married,  in  1856, 
to  Lillie  Morsell;  she  died  in  1860,  and  he 
married,  in  1864,  Julia  D.  Tryon.  One  child 
was  born  to  his  first  marriacre — H.  Travilla, 
and  three  by  his  last,  viz:  Frank  T.,  living 

in  Asheville;  N.  C.,  David  L.  in  Louisville, 
and  Julia. 

CHARLES  E.  MERIWETHER,  M.  D., 
is  descended  from  old  Virginia  families,  who 
came  to  Kentucky  many  years  ago.  He  was 
born  in  Christian  County,  Ky.,  May  27,  1857, 
and  is  a son  of  Charles  E.  and  Eliza  (Golden) 
Meriwether.  His  paternal  grandfather  came 
to  Kentucky  in  1801,  and  settled  in  what  is 
now  Christian  County.  The  father  of  our 
subject,  at  the  beginning  of  the  civil  war, 
raised  a company  of  cavalry,  joined  Forrest’s 
command,  and  was  killed  in  a skirmish  at 
Sacramento,  Ky.,  in  1861.  After  the  death 
of  his  father,  subject  went  to  live  with  his 
grandfather  in  Todd  County;  in  1875  he  en- 
tered Kentucky  L^niversity  at  Lexington. 
He  remained  there  until  the  fall  of  1876, 
when  he  went  into  the  tobacco  trade  at 
Clarksville,  Tenn.,  but  the  next  year  came  to 
Louisville,  and  took  charge  of  .Tames  Clark’s 
tobacco  business  for  one  year.  In  1879  he 
entered  the  medical  department  of  Univer- 
I sity  of  5"irginia,  graduating  in  the  spring  of 
1880.  The  following  fall  he  graduated  in  the 
; University  of  New  York.  He  remained  in 
! that  State  in  1881,  taking  a special  course  in 
I medicine,  and  returned  to  Louisville  one  of 
the  best  read  physicians  of  his  age  in  the  city. 
In  1884  he  located  at  Twelfth  and  Broadway, 


848 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


and  has  been  there  ever  since.  He  is  city 
physician  in  cliarge  of  pul)lic  dispensary  in 
Western  district.  He  is  a member  of  the 
Louisville  Medical  Society,  and  of  New  York 
State  Medical  Society. 

SAMUE14  M.  MH.LEH,  was  born  in  Nel- 
son County,  Ky.,  .lanuary  27,  1851),  and  is  a 
son  of  Irvin  Miller,  also  a native  of  Nelson 
County,  born  .January  18,  1884;  his  wife,  the 
mother  of  the  subject,  was  .Judith  W.  Ross. 
Samuel  M.,  the  subject,  was  educated  in  his 
native  county,  and  removed  to  Bullitt  County, 
where  he  was  married,  December  20,  1877,  to  | 
Miss  Cora  Bell  Green  well,  a daughter  of 
Robert  and  Elizabeth  E.  Greenwell.  They 
have  two  children,  viz.:  Harry  M.,  born  Sep-  \ 
tember  15,  1878,  and  Ollie  J^ee,  J)orn  .July  25,  | 
1882.  Mr.  Miller  is  one  of  the  young  and 
enterprising  farmers  of  Bullitt  County. 

SHACIvELFORD  MI  JM^ER  was  born  near 
Springfield,  Mo.,  February  29,  1850,  and  is  a 
son  of  .John  A.  and  Barbara  (Neville)  Miller, 
the  former  a native  of  .Jefferson  County,  Ivy. 
the  latter  of  Montgomery  CYunty,  Tenn.  Idis 
maternal  grandfather,  Solomon  C.  Neville, 
was  born  near  Chapel  Hill,  in  North  Carolina, 
but  came  early  to  Jventucky,  and  was  one  of  | 
the  first  tobacco  merchants  in  the  State;  he 
died  in  1882.  His  grandfather,  Robert  Mil- 
ler, came  from  King  and  Queen’s  County, 
Va.,  to  Kentucky,  in  1790.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  educated  in  the  schools  of 
Louisville,  and  graduated  from  the  Male  High 
School  in  1877.  He  studied  law  under  Hon. 
Isaac  Caldwell,  and  graduated  from  the  law 
department  of  the  University  of  Jjouisville  in 
1879.  He  was  assistant  presidential  elector 
in  1884,  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  is 
elector  for  the  same  district  in  1888.  4’or 
eight  years  he  was  associated  with  .Judge 


the  Filson  Club,  and  devotes  considerable  at- 
tention to  historical  research.  He  is  a good 

O 

writer,  a fine  speaker,  and  making  a good 
record  at  the  bar  as  a lawyer.  His  pa]>er  pre- 
pared for  the  Filson  Club  on  the  “ Jdfe  and 
Times  of  Governor  Garrard,”  received  the 
most  flattering  commendation  from  the  Club. 

.J.  SEJj.  MIJ.J.,ER  was  born  in  .Jefferson 
County,  and  is  a son  of  John  and  Mary  S. 


(Seaton)  Miller,  also  natives  of  Jefferson 
County.  His  grandfather  came  from  North 
Carolina  al)Out  1780,  and  settled  near  Jjouis- 
ville.  His  maternal  grandfather,  Seaton,  came 
from  Virginia  about  the  same  time.  When 
subject  was  four  years  old  his  father  moved 
into  the  city.  He  was  educated  in  the  city 
schools.  In  1864  he  enlisted  in  the  Fifth 
liOuisiana  Cavalry,  and  was  captured  at  Cuba, 
Ky.,  soon  after  his  eidistment.  In  1880  he 
was  appointed  Commissioner  of  J.,ouisville 
Chancery  and  l.aw  and  Equity  Courts.  He 
is  an  active  politician  of  the  Democratic 
school,  and  has  been  a delegate  to  all  impor- 
tant conventions  for  the  past  fifteen  years. 
He  was  married  in  1868  to  Miss  Mollie  T. 
Melone,  of  .Jefferson  County. 

.JOSEPH  A.  MIJ.J.ER,  M.  D.,  is  a native 
of  Nelson  County,  Jvy.,  and  was  born  March 
1 1,  1861.  He  is  a son  of  Irvin  Miller,  also  a 
native  of  Nelson  County.  His  great-grand- 
father, George  Miller,  came  from  Virginia, 
and  settled  in  that  county,  among  the  earliest 
settlers.  The  family  is  of  German  origin,  but 
came  to  America  Irefore  the  Revolutionary 
war.  The  suljject  was  reared  on  the  farm  and 
educated  at  Greenwell  College,  at  Bardstown. 
He  read  medicine  with  Dr.  F.  A.  Barnett,  and 
graduated  from  the  Kentucky  school  of  medi- 
cine in  1885.  He  also  took  an  unofficial 
course  at  the  Medical  University  of  I.ouisville. 
Jn  the  meantime  he  has  been  offered  an  as- 
sistant surgeon’s  position  in  the  Kentucky 
School  of  Medicine.  He  is  one  of  the  rising 
young  physicians  of  Louisville,  and  stands 
deservedly  high;  he  is  also  a deacon  in  the 
Twenty-second  and  Walnut  Street  Baptist 
Church. 

HENRY  C.  MILJ^ER,  M.  1).,  coroner  of 
.lefferson  County,  was  born  September  9, 
1842,  and  is  a son  of  .John  and  Mary  S.  (Seaton) 
Miller,  natives  of  .Jefferson  County.  He  was 
educated  in  Jjouisville,  and  after  completing 
his  studies  read  medicine  under  Dr.  John 
Hardin,  and  graduated  from  the  old  Iventucky 
School  of  Medicine  in  February,  1862;  was 
resident  graduate  one  year  of  the  City  Hos- 
pital. In  1764-65,  he  became  assistant  sur- 
' geon  in  the  Forty-ninth  Kentucky  Infantry, 

' remaining  iir  that  capacity  about  six  months. 


S'  ^ 


i.' 


F- 


I 


V 


biographical  sketches. 


8ol 


when  he  was  pioiiioted  to  surgeon.  When 
the  war  was  over  he  began  practice  in  Louis- 
ville. In  1878  he  was  elected  coroner  of 
I.,ouisville  and  .letlerson  County,  which  po- 
sition he  has  since  held  by  successive  elections. 
In  1877  he  was  married  to  Miss  Clara  Means, 
a daughter  of  Presley  Means,  an  old  and  well 
known  citizen  of  Louisville.  There  has  been 
born  to  him  one  child — Pearl  S. 

FRANCIS  M.  MILLER  was  born  in  Shel- 
by County,  Ky.,  February  19,  1834,  and  is  a 
son  of  Fleming  and  Susan  (Holloway)  Miller, 
natives  of  Virginia.  He  was  brought  up  on 
the  farm  and  received  such  an  education  as 
could  be  obtained  in  the  public  schools  of 
that  county.  Upon  attaining  his  majority  he 
came  to  Bullitt  County,  and  after  remaining 
here  a few  years  he  removed  to  Illinois  and 
settled  in  Christian  County,  Imt  a few  years 
later  he  returned  to  Kentucky,  and  located 
upon  the  same  farm  that  he  left  on  going  to 
Illinois,  convinced  him  that  Kentucky  is  the 
best  State  in  the  Union  after  all.  Mr.  Miller 
was  married  in  December,  1862,  to  Miss  Mary 
Jane  Miller,  born  December  10,  1843,  and  a 
daug-hter  of  James  H.  and  Louisa  Miller. 
They  have  one  child,  born  February  16,  1864. 

JAIMES  MILLER,  a prominent  farmer 
of  Bullitt  County,  Ky.,  is  a native  of  .letlerson 
County,  Ky.,  and  was  born  April  29,  1860, 
and  is  a son  of  Thomas  Miller,  who  was  also 
born  in  .lefferson  County,  November  29, 1831, 
and  married  Miss  Narcissus  .leans,  April  6, 
1856.  James  Miller,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  is  the  second  born  of  eleven  children. 
His  ancestors,  who  first  settled  in  Kentucky, 
were  from  North  Carolina.  He  was  liberally 
educated  in  the  country  school,  and  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Alice  Furganson,  daughter  of 
Hamilton  Furganson,  .luly  8,  1880,  and  has 
two  children  living — Mattie  Lee  and  Henry 
Thomas,  born  respectively  September  24, 
1883,  and  February  14,  1886. 

JOHN  MITCHELL  is  a native  of  Corn- 
wall, England,  and  was  born  November  8, 
1833.  He  is  a son  of  John  and  Mary  Ann 
Mitchell,  also  natives  of  England.  He  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native  country, 
and  commenced  learnino-  the  trade  of  boiler- 
maker  at  the  age  of  twelve.  He  is  the  eldest 

O 


of  six  children,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
' wlien  twenty  years  old,  and  located  in  Louis- 
, ville.  He  began  work  at  his  trade,  and  in 
I 1872  engaged  in  business  for  himself,  manu- 
I factoring  boilers,  tanks,  etc.,  and  does  the 
I most  extensive  business  in  that  line  of  any 
house  in  the  city.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Mitchell  (also  a native  of  Cornwall,  England,) 
in  May,  1864.  She  came  to  the  United  States 
two  years  before  her  marriage.  They  have 
seven  children,  viz.:  John  H.,  Joseph,  AVill- 
iam,  Cleorge,  Edgar,  iMattie  and  Mary,  .lohn 
Mitchell  is  one  of  the  solid  business  men  of 
the  city. 

WILLIAM  MIX  is  a native  of  .lefferson 
j County,  Ky.,  and  was  born  March  18,  1833. 
i He  is  a son  of  William  and  Catherine  (Snead) 
j Mix,  the  former  of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  and 
I the  latter  of  .lefferson  County.  The  maternal 
I grandfather,  .lames  Snead,  came  from  the 
j eastern  shore  of  Maryland  to  Kentucky, 
crossing  the  mountains  on  horseback  to  Pitts- 
burgh,  thence  down  the  Ohio  on  a flat-boat. 
His  wife  belonged  to  one  of  the  prominent 
families  of  IMaryland.  William  Mix,  the 
father  of  subject,  engaged  in  the  wholesale 
(pieensware  business  on  Main  street,  but  in 
1831  commenced  farming  in  Jefferson  Coun- 
ty, a pursuit  he  followed  until  his  death,  which 
. occui  rcd  March  9, 1859.  He  was  a prominent 
and  successful  farmer,  and  \vas  long  secretary 
of  the  County  Agricultural  Society,  to  which 
; he  contributed  largely.  AVilliarn  Mix,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  received  a liberal  edu- 
cation. After  the  benefit  of  the  common- 
' schools  he  entered  5V abash  College,  at 
: Crawfordsville,  Ind.,  from  which  he  graduated 
! in  1854.  He  read  law,  and  graduated  from 
; the  law  department  of  the  University  of 
Louisville  in  1855,  and  commenced  practice 
in  Louisville.  He  held  the  office  of  county 
attorney,  by  appointment,  in  1862-63,  during 
the  stormiest  period  of  the  civil  war,  the 
duties  of  which  he  discharged  satisfactorily. 
He  is  a director  in  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company  of  Kentucky,  of  which  Hon.  Charles 
D.  .lacob  is  president,  and  is  attorney  for  the 
company;  he  is  president  of  the  Oakland 
Plank  Road  Company;  was  elected  a director 
of  the  Kentucky  National  Bank  at  its  organi- 


852 


BIOGliAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


ziition,  when  Hon.  Bland  Ballard  was  elected 
its  first  president,  and  remained  in  the  board 
of  directors  for  ten  years  thereafter,  and  has 
always  been  an  active  business  man.  Mr.  Mix 
was  married  in  18b(>  to  Alice  A.,  a daughter 
of  1).  H.  Davies,  Esq.,  a prominent  merchant 
of  Louisville  before  the  war.  They  have  four 
children — Elizabeth,  Davies,  William  and 
Loraine. 

AARON  MOORE  is  a native  of  Pendle- 
ton County,  Ky.,  and  was  liorn  September 
17, 1842.  He  is  the  son  of  .John  F.  and  Nancy 
(Smith)  Moore,  the  former  a jironiinent  minis- 
ter of  the  Methodist  Church  for  many  years; 
the  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Amos  Smith 
before  maniag'e.  .John  F.  Moore  was  the 

O 

father  of  sixteen  children.  iVaron  Moore,  the 
second  child  of  .John  F.  iMoore,  was  brought 
up  in  a country  home.  When  the  war  broke 
out  in  18bl  he  chose  the  Union  side  of  the 
matter,  and  enlisted  in  Company  B,  Fifty- 
ninth  Ohio  Infantry,  and  participated  in  many 
of  the  hard-fought  battles  of  the  war,  among 
them  Shiloh,  Stone  River,  Chickamauga, 
Rocky  Face  Ridge,  Perryville,  etc.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Annie  Hockersmith,  a daugh- 
ter of  .ludiah  Hockersmith.  Aaron  Moore 
removed  to  and  is  now  living  in  Bullitt 
County,  Ky.  He  is  also  a minister  of  the 
Methodist  Church. 

•JOHN  T.  MOORE,  banker,  is  a native  of 
.Tefferson  County,  and  was  born  March  7, 
1827.  His  parents,  Thomas  1).  and  Margaret 
(Frederick)  Moore,  Avere  nati^'es  of  Delaware, 
and  came  early  to  Kentucky.  The  former 
was  a prominent  merchant  of  .Telfersontown, 
Ky.,  and  died  in  1881,  when  subject  was 
but  four  years  old.  Margaret  (Frederick) 
Moore  was  a daucfther  of  August  Frederick, 
and  an  early  resident  of  .Jefferson  County. 
Upon  the  death  of  his  father  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  taken  and  educated  by  Gov. 
Willard,  of  Indiana.  After  completing  his 
education  he  became  a clerk  in  a clothing 
store  for  one  year,  and  afterward  in  a fancy 
dry  goods  store  of  .1.  Raphael,  where  he  re- 
mained for  four  years.  In  1849,  when  the 
gold  fever  broke  out  in  California,  he  crossed 
the  plains  to  the  gold  regions,  where  he.  was 
suceessful  in  accumulatino'  wealth,  but  later 


he  lost  heavily  by  a fire  that  to^jk  place  in 
Sacramento.  He  returned  to  Louisville  in 
1855,  and  engaged  in  the  wholesale  grocery 
business,  and  is  of  the  firm  of  Moore,  Brem- 
aker  & Co.,  having  remained  without  the 
change  of  a member  of  the  firiu  or  location 
of  the  house  of  twenty-six  years.  In  1882 
he  was  elected  president  of  the  Falls  City 
Bank,  of  which  he  had  been  for  several  years 
a director  and  vice-president.  The  bank  is 
one  of  the  substantial  institutions  of  the  city, 
and  was  organized  in  1805,  with  L.  L.  War- 
ren, as  president.  5Ir.  Moore  has  been  presi- 
dent of  the  Falls  City  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany since  1884,  the  year  it  was  organized; 
he  is  a stockholder  in  the  Bremaker,  Moore 
Paper  Company,  is  a director  in  the  Louisville 
Safety  Vault  Co.,  a director  in  the  Union 
Warehouse  Co.,  and  is  prominently  connected 
with  other  business  enterprises  of  the  city. 
He  was  married  in  June,  1856,  to  Miss  Emma 
Applegate,  a daughter  of  Elisha  Applegate, 
one  of  the  first  tobacco  inspectors  of  Louis- 
ville, who  was  born  in  Fort  Nelson,  and  lived 
to  be  ninety-two  years  old.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Moore  have  five  children,  viz:  Robert  B., 

Patti  51.,  Emma  Belle,  .John  T.,  Jr.,  and 
Margaret. 

WILLIAM  E.  5IONTZ,  marshal  of  the 
Chancery  Court  of  Louisville,  was  born  in 
.Jefferson  County,  Ind.,  February  1,  1842,  and 
is  a son  of  .Jeremiah  and  Ellen  (Cain)  Montz, 
the  former  a native  of  Pennsylvania  and  the 
latter  of  Virginia.  They  came  to  Louisville 
about  1845,  and  he  is  now  a government  store- 
keeper. The  subject  was  brought  up  in 
Louisville  and  received  a common  school 
education.  When  still  a mere  boy  he  be- 
came a deputy  clerk  in  the  chancery  court 
clerk’s  office,  under  Harry  Stuckey,  remaining 
one  or  two  years.  He  afterward  obtained  the 
post  of  shipping  clerk  for  G.  Spratt  & Co. s’ 
tobacco  warehouse,  where  he  remained  for 
five  years.  He  was  made  deputy  marshal  of 
the  chancery  court,  which  position  he  held  for 
eleven  years,  when  he  was  elected  to  the 
office  of  marshal,  which  office  he  now  holds. 
He  is  a fine  business  man,  a popular  and  ac- 
commodating officiat,  and  stanch  Democrat. 

.JOHN  S.  MORGAN,  a highly  respected 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


85: 


farmer  of  Jefferson  County,  is  a native  of 
the  county,  was  born  May  22,  1857,  and  is  a 
son  of  Elias  G.  Morgan  who  born  in  the  same 
county,  and  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Ann 
Kendall  in  September,  1834.  He  held  sev- 
eral positions  of  trust,  was  elected  to  the 
office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  for  twenty 
years  was  county  assessor.  He  died  Septem- 
ber 5,  1887.  John  S.  Morgan  resides  near 
Deposit.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Har- 
rison, a daughter  of  John  Harrison,  who  was 
born  August  4,  1809,  in  Shelby  County,  Ky. 
To  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Morgan  have  been  born  four 
children:  Albert,  born  September  17,  1879; 

Bessie  B.,  born  July  29,  1881,  and  died  No- 
vember 10,  1881;  Lola  Adala,  born  Seember 
17,  1883,  and  Myrtle,  born  May  25,  1886. 

GEORGE  W.  MORRIS,  son  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  Morris,  was  born  in  Gloucester, 
England,  .January  27,  1823.  The  family 
came  to  the  United  Stat3sin  1831,  and  settled 
in  New  York  State,  where  the  mother  died 
in  Troy,  in  1861.  His  father,  who  had  been 
a ruling  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  for 
fifty  years,  died  in  the  same  city,  in  1881,  at 
the  age  of  eighty- seven.  The  subject  of 

this  sketch  had  very  limited  advantages  of 
education  in  school.  At  the  age  of  hfteen 
years  he  commenced  mercantile  life  in  a coun- 
try store  near  Troy,  N.  Y.,  but  was  subse- 
quently thrown  out  of  employment,  and  in 
1846  left  his  home  for  the  West,  stopping  at 
Buffalo,  Cleveland,  Pittsburgh  and  Cincinnati, 
in  the  hope  of  finding  a situation,  but  failing, 
he  arrived  in  Louisville  in  .June,  1846,  where 
he  found  it  as  difficult  to  find  work  as  where 
he  had  come  from;  but,  after  spending  six 
weeks,  going  daily  from  store  to  store  in 
every  business  street  in  Louisville,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  a clerkship  at  a salary  of 
$200  per  annum.  From  that  day  to  this  he 
has  never  been  idle.  In  October,  same  year, 
he  received  the  position  of  book  keeper  in  the 
wholesale  dry-goods  house  of  Emery,  Low  & 
Co.,  remaining  two  years,  then  resigned  to  en- 
gage in  the  wholesale  grocery  business  as  a 
junior  member  of  Fonda,  Moore  & Co.  In 
•July,  1848,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Caroline 
A.  Wallace,  of  Western  New  York.  The 
firm  of  Fonda,  Moore  & Co.  was  organized  in 


September,  1848,  and  in  July,  1851,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  the  firm  of  Fonda  & Morris, 
which  continued  until  1858,  when  it  was  dis- 
solved J)y  the  senior  member  retiring  from 
business.  Mr.  Morris  prosecuted  the  business 
on  his  own  account  till  1867,  when  he  engaged 
with  George  S.  Moore  in  the  iron  lousiness, 
and  in  1885  Mr.  Morris  withdrew  from  this 
partnership  in  order  to  give  his  entire  atten- 
tion to  the  presidency  of  the  Louisville  Gas 
Company,  a position  to  which  he  had  just 
been  elected,  and  is  at  present  acting  in  that 
capacity.  In  1851  51r.  iMorris  advocated,  be- 
fore the  people  and  through  the  press,  the 
necessity  of  a new  charter  for  the  city,  the 
adoption  of  which  contributed  so  largely  to 
the  prosperity  of  Louisville.  He  was  elected 
a member  of  the  first  “Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  University  and  public  schools  of  the  city 
of  Louisville,”  under  the  charter  of  1851. 
He  was  connected  with  this  board  for  about 
twelve  years,  and  for  five  consecutive  years 
was  elected  its  president  without  opposition. 
In  1865,  by  the  recommendation  of  the 
alumni  of  the  university  of  the  public  schools 
the  degree  of  A.  M.  was  conferred  upon  him. 
For  several  years  he  was  one  of  the  directors 
of  the  Kentucky  Mechanics  Institute,  and 
delivered  the  fifth  annual  address  before  that 
association  in  1857.  In  1860,  as  a repre- 
sentative of  the  commercial  interests  of  the 
city,  he  was  elected  from  its  members  presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  served  two 
years.  In  1864  he  was  a member  of  the 
common  council ; in  1866  was  the  democratic 
candidate  for  mayor.  In  1870  he  was  unani- 
mously chosen  by  the  people  of  his  ward  a 
member  of  the  convention  to  form  the  pres- 
ent city  charter,  and  by  the  convention  was 
elected  president.  In  1873  he  was  elected  to 
the  lower  house  of  the  legislature.  Soon 

O 

after  the  election  the  panic  of  1873  came,  and 
his  business  affairs  forced  him  to  resig-n  this 
trust.  For  twenty-five  years  he  has  been  one 
of  the  directors  of  the  Franklin  Fire  Insur- 
ance Company  (the  olde.st  fire  insurance  com- 
pany in  the  State);  for  several  years  its  vice- 
president,  and  in  1886,  on  the  death  of  its 
president,  Mr.  .lames  Trabue,  was  unani- 
mously elected  its  president,  which  office  he 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHED. 


851 


now  holds.  He  is  also  ])tesident  of  the 
Indiana  Cotton  Mills  at  Cannelton,  Ind.  He 
was  one  of  the  org-aiiizers  of  the  Southern 

o 

Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  of  Ken- 
tucky ; for  ten  years  a member  of  the  board 
of  ilirectors  of  the  Bank  of  Louisville,  and 
for  the  past  fifteen  years  a director  of  the 
Bank  of  Kentucky.  In  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  or- 
ganization he  has  held  the  exalted  position  of 
Grand  Master  of  Kentucky,  and  has  been 
unanimously  elected  Grand  Treasurer  of  the 
.Turisdiction  of  Kentucky,  and  has  held  this 
position  for  twenty-five  years.  Mr.  Morris  is 
a prominent  member  of  the  Second  and  Broad- 
way Presbyterian  Church. 

GEORGE  C.  NORTON,  merchant,  was 
born  in  Lawrenceville,  Ga.,  September  15, 
1836,  and  is  a son  of  Reuben  and  Ruth  M. 
(Smith)  Norton,  of  English  extraction,  and 
natives  of  Vermont  and  Massachusetts.  The 
former  immigrated  to  Georgia  aborrt  the  year  ! 
1825,  and  located  in  J^awrenceville,  where  he 
followed  Merchandizing,  removing  to  Rome, 
Ga.,  in  1847,  where  he  still  lives.  The  sub- 
ject received  an  academic  education  at  Rome, 
Ga.,  an  after  leaving  school  entered  his 
father’s  store.  When  the  civil  war  broke  out 
iir  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  Eighth  Georgia 
Infantry,  commanded  by  Col.  Francis  S.  Bar- 
tow, who  was  killed  at  Bull  Run.  He  served 
on  the  staff  (with  rank  of  captain)  of  Generals 
Anderson,  Hood  and  Longstreet,  and  was  in 
the  field  until  the  closing  scene  at  Appomat- 
tox. He  came  to  Louisville  in  September, 
1865,  and  as  a salesman  entered  the  dry 
goods  house  of  J.  M.  Robinson  & Co.,  now 
one  of  the  largest  in  the  South.  In  1870  he 
became  a partner  in  the  house,  which  does 
business  annually  amounting  to  two  million 
dollars,  all  through  the  South.  Mr.  Norton 
is  a director  in  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  a 
trustee  of  Bellewood  Female  Seminary  at 
Anchorage.  He  was  married  in  1863  to  Miss 
Mary  a Billups,  of  Rome,  Ga.  They  had  one 
child,  Charles  B.,  wdio  died  in  1873.  In  1879 
Mr.  Norton  was  married  to  Miss  .lessie 
Swope,  a daughter  of  B.  L.  Swope,  of  l.ouis- 
ville.  They  have  five  children. 

CHARLES  BOOd’H  PARSONS.  In  the 
space  allowed  by  the  plan  of  this  work  it  is 


impossible  to  do  justice  to  the  memoiy  of  this 
remarkable  man.  Yet  we  have  deemed  it 
appropriate  that  a record  of  the  salient  points 
of  his  life  should  be  made  in  the  biographical 
portion  of  this  volume.  Charles  Booth  Par- 
sons was  born  in  Enfield,  Conn.,  .luly  23, 
1805,  of  humble,  but  respectable  parentage. 
He  was  the  eldest  of  four  children,  and  hav- 
ing the  misfortune  to  lose  his  father  when 
fifteen  years  of  age  it  became  necessary  for 
him  to  leave  home  in  search  of  some  means 
by  which  he  could  maintain  himself.  He  w^ent 
to  New  York,  where,  being  of  an  active  tem- 
perament, he  soon  found  a situation  as  store 
boy  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  whereby  he 
obtained  his  board  and  occasionally  a trifle 
besides.  He  learned  that  his  companions  in 
the  store  were  members  of  an  amateur  dra- 
matic society,  and  was  early  induced  to  enroll 
himself  as  a desciple  of  tlie  Muses.  In  the 
hall,  where  the  juveniles  performed,  regular 
actors  were  often  present  to  witness  their 
efforts.  On  one  occasion,  when  young  Par- 
sons had  been  “cast”  to  appear  as  Sir 
Edward  Mortimer,  in  the  play  of  the  “Iron 
Chest,”  some  one  in  the  city  papers  compared 
the  acting  of  the  chief  character  to  the  elder 
Kean,  who  was  then  esteemed  great  in  the 
part.  This  fired  the  ambition  of  our  subject 
to  become  an  actor.  Acce])ting  a position  in 
a company  being  formed  for  a Southern 
theater,  he  embarked  on  a little  coasting 
schooner  that  had  been  engaged  to  take  them 
to  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  After  a peril- 
ous voyage  he  made  a successful  debut,  and 
by  dint  of  hard  study,  and  the  unceasing 
cultivation  of  the  talents  with  which  nature 
had  favored  him,  he  continued  on  a course 
of  almost  unparalleled  success  for  about 
fifteen  years.  At  the  time  when  his  fame  in 
tlie  world  of  histrionism  w'as  at  its  height  a 
change  took  place  which  revolutionized  the 
whole  course  of  his  life  and  turned  his  emi- 
nent talents  to  account  in  another  field  of 
labor.  We  quote  an  account  of  these  events 
from  that  gentleman  himself  in  “Pulpit  and 
Stao-e  ” : “ There  was  to  be  a communion  in 

a Presbyterian  church  where  I had  been 
attending  meeting  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
Sabbath,  to  which  the  preacher  invited  all  to 


iBlOGftAPHlCAL  SKETCflfiS. 


sst 


attend  who  felt  interested  in  that  ordinance, 
whether  they  were  professors  or  not.  They 
might  show  by  their  presence  that  they  de- 
sired to  honor  the  feast,  though  they  might 
not  be  entitled  to  participate  in  it  at  the 
present  time.  It  was  a stormy  afternoon,  but 
I determined  to  attend.  When  I arrived  at 
the  church  I took  a seat  back  and  by  accid-  nt 
on  the  left  hand.  It  might  have  been  provi- 
dential. It  so  happened  too  that  I was  the 
only  person  present  who  -was  not  entitled  to 
partake  of  the  sacred  elements.  The  preach- 
er very  touchingly  alluded  to  the  circum- 
stance in  his  prayer,  the  full  force  of  which 
fell  upon  my  heart — the  isolated  stranger 
who  was  on  the  left  of  the  fold,  w’ho  had 
come  through  the  storm  to  be  a spectator  to 
the  feast.  He  prayed  that  the  stranger 
mio-ht  be  converted  and  be  admitted  to  the 
fellowship  of  the  righteous  through  the  spirit 
of  God.  My  heart  said  ‘amen’  while  a flood 
of  tears  I could  not  restrain  attested  to  myself 
at  least  the  sincerity  of  my  feelings.  1 re- 
tired to  the  hotel  after  service,  and,  locking 
myself  in  my  room,  knelt  down  by  my  bed- 
side overwhelmed  with  agony  of  mind  and 
almost  the  victim  of  despair.  The  prayer  of 
the  poor  publican  was  uppermost  in  my  mind, 
and  I e.xclaimed  aloud:  ‘I^ord  be  merciful.’ 

What  was  that?  Did  some  one  speak?  A 
voice  close  to  me  seemed  to  say  : ‘ Believe 

on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  hast  eter- 
nal life.’  I raised  my  head  and  gazed  around 
the  room,  but  saw  no  one.  I then  looked 
under  the  bed,  thinking  some  one  of  my 
friends  peihaps  in  order  to  play  me  a trick 
had  concealed  himself  there.  But  all  was 
vacant  and  silent.  Again  I addressed  myself 
to  my  pi’ayer,  and  again  seemingly  the  same 
response  was  made.  ‘Surely,’  thought  I,  ‘this 
is  the  Lord  and  so  I will  receive  it.’  My 
heart  beat  heavily  and  seemed  to  labor  within 
me  as  if  difficult  to  keep  life  within  me.  My 
tongue  faltered,  but  faith  helped  me  to 
ejaculate:  ‘Lord,  I do  believe;  help  thou 

my  unbelief.’  A flood  of  light  flashed 
through  the  room  ; I sank  down  in  rajiture 
upon  the  floor,  my  head  grew  joyous,  and  I 
was  a converted  man.”  Having  traced  this 
great  and  good  man  to  the  point  of  conver- 


sion we  may  remark  that  he  had  previously 
perfected  professional  engagements  for  nearly 
a year  ahead,  which,  after  much  anxious 
thought  and  earnest  prayer,  he  concluded  it 
was  his  duty  to  fulfill,  although  he  knew  it 
would  subject  him  to  the  uncharitable  criti- 
cisms of  many  in  the  religious  world.  At 
length  he  bade  farewell  to  the  stage  forever, 
and  as  he  was  possessed  of  new  objects  and 
aims,  he  devolved  himself  to  the  study  of 
the  scriptures  with  an  earnestness  that  be- 
spoke his  gratitude.  He  soon  became  a local 
preacher  in  a Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  after  a probation  of  one  year,  dating  from 
June  I,  1889,  the  probation  was  renewed, 
and  on  the  15th  of  September,  1841,  he  was 
admittted  on  trial  to  the  traveling  connection. 
In  this  position  he  remained  two  years, 
preaching  with  happy  effect  in  the  Jefferson 
Circuit.  In  1848  he  was  admitted  into  full 
connection,  and  during  the  conference  was 
ordained  a deacon,  in  accordance  with  the 
rules  and  usages,  by  Bishop  5Iorris.  He  was 
then  sent  to  labor  in  Frankfort,  Kentucky, 
where  he  remained  two  years  with  much  ac- 
ceptance. At  the  conference  of  1845,  on  the 
14th  of  September,  he  was  ordained  elder  by 
Bishop  J.  Soule,  at  Frankfort.  He  was 
clothed  with  the  full  j)ower  of  a minister  and 
sent  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  to  become  the 
pastor  of  the  Fourth  Street  Church.  This 
was  October,  184(5.  Here  he  was  unusually 
successful  and  gathered  numbers  into  the 
fold.  During  his  term  of  two  years  at  this 
station  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was 
conferred  upon  him  by  this  board  of  curators 
of  St.  Charles  College,  Missouri.  In  1854, 
after  his  return  to  Kentucky,  he  was  re- 
quested to  return  to  St.  Louis  to  preach  the 
dedication  sermon  of  a large  and  mao-nificent 
church,  and  in  1855  he  was  pressingly  called 
to  become  the  pastor  of  the  same.  Here, 
having  at  first  but  few  members,  he  labored 
with  such  effect  that  at  the  close  of  his  ad- 
ministration they  numbered  over  five  hundred 
souls.  His  name  was  again  registered  upon 
the  roll  of  the  Louisville  conference  in  1857 
or  1858,  and  he  was  made  i)residinor  elder  of 

J-  O 

East  Louisville  District,  comprising  several 
churches  and  circuits.  Subsequently  to  this 


858 


biographical  sketches. 


lie  was  a|)j)ointel  l>y  the  conference  regu- 
lar pastor  of  the  Walnut  Street  Church.  It 
may  be  observed  that  this  church  was  erected 
under  the  administration  of  Dr.  Parsons,  and 
that  he  was  at  different  times  its  pastor, 
greatly  beloved  by  the  people.  We  believe 
he  was  ao-ain  called  to  St.  Louis  and  served 
the  third  term  in  that  city,  but  at  precisely 
what  date  we  have  been  unable  to  ascertain. 
In  the  celebrated  church  difficulty  among 
Methodist  brethren  Dr.  Parsons  was  a|>- 
pointed  one  of  the  peace  commissioners  for 
the  settlement  of  the  same,  and  after  adjust- 
ment of  the  matter  by  a division  between  the 
North  and  South  he  cast  his  lot  with  the 
latter  branch,  where  he  remained  till  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war;  but  always  true  to 
his  manhood  when  affairs  assumed  such 
shapes  as  produce  unpleasant  feelings  with 
his  brethren,  lie  severed  his  connection  there- 
with and  returned  to  the  mother  church, 
where  his  views  were  in  harmony  with  those 
with  whom  he  was  associated.  The  latter 
portion  of  his  life  was  therefore  spent  in  the 
ministry  of  the  original  Methodist  Church. 
Aliout  the  middle  of  the  year  18b8,  while 
suffering  from  disease  of  the  heart,  he  went 
to  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  to  dedicate  a 
church.  This  was  more  than  his  system 
could  endure,  although  he  completed  the  ob- 
ject of  his  visit  and  took  passage  for  home 
without  any  perceptible  injury.  But  on 
reaching  the  Louisville  wharf  early  in  the 
morning  he  found  he  had  became  paralyzed 
in  his  lower  limbs.  During  his  protracted 
affliction  every  available  means  was  resoited 
to  and  frequently  encouragement  was  given 
to  himself  and  friends,  at  least  to  hope  for  a 
partial  restoration  of  health.  But  all  was  in 
vain;  the  disease  progressed  until  it  became 
too  evident  that  it  would  soon  terminate  in 
death.  He  died  December  8,  1871,  his  last 
hours  being  marked  by  a confidence  in  Jesus 
Christ  as  his  all  in  all.  Dr.  Parsons  was  ! 
married  to  Miss  Emily  C.  Oldham.  Mrs. 
Emily  C.  Parsons  is  still  living.  She  was 
born  in  1813,  and  has  five  children  living. 
She  is  a daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
(Field)  Oldham,  both  born  in  Jefferson  Conn-  j 
ty,  Ky.  Her  maternal  grandfather,  Captain  ' 


Reuben  Field,  a native  of  Culpeper  County, 
I A'"a.,  immigrated  to  Kentucky  before  the  close 
of  the  last  century;  was  a prominent  pioneer 
and  served  as  captain  in  the  war  for  American 
; Independence.  Hon.  Edward  Y.  Parsons, 
' who  w'as  elected  to  congress  in  1875,  and 
died  the  following  yea*-,  was  a son  of  this 
eminent  divine,  the  subject  of  this  skelch, 
I as  is  also  Mr.  Frank  Parsons,  a brilliant  young 
J lawyer  at  the  Louisville  bar.  All  through 
life  Doctor  Parsons  maintained  a most  honor- 
able character.  Even  when  eng-acred  as  an 
actor  it  was  impossible  to  know  him  without 
being  struck  with  the  marked  propriety  and 
dignity  of  his  conduct.  As  a minister  he  was 
one  of  the  most  able  and  eloquent  in  the 
pulpit.  Possessing  in  an  eminent  degree  all 
the  requisites  of  a true  orator  in  happiest 
combination,  great  emotion  and  passion,  with 
correct  judgment  of  human  nature,  genius, 
fancy  and  imagination,  gesture  and  attitude, 
intonation  and  countenance,  his  whole  nature 
blended  to  accomplish  the  mighty  purposes 
of  his  heart.  He  was  a good  citizen  as  well 
as  a successful  minister.  He  was  a devoted 
husband  and  an  affectionate  father,  and  in 
fact  faithfully  discharged  all  the  duties  of  the 
various  stations  in  life  which  he  was  called  to 
fill,  llequiescat  in  pace. 

FRANK  PARSONS,  lawyer,  was  born  in 
this  city  January  2,  1850,  and  is  a son  of 
Charles  Booth  and  Emily  (Oldham)  Parsons, 
natives  of  Enfield,  Conn.,  and  of  Jefferson 
County,  Kentucky.  The  subject  received  a 
j liberal  education  in  the  high  schools  of  this 
' city,  and  at  the  State  University  at  Bloom- 
ington, Indiana.  He  read  law  with  Jackson 
& Parsons  and  was  admitted  to  practice  at 
the  Louisville  bar  in  March,  1874,  and  did  a 
general  law  business  up  to  August,  1887, 
when  he  was  elected  commonwealth’s  attor- 
ney by  7,000  majority  over  General  Alpheus 
Baker,  which  was  the  first  office  ever  solicited 
by  Mr.  Parsons.  As  a lawyer  at  the  bar  Mr. 
Parsons  is  quiet,  and  even  in  his  temperment, 
courteous  and  polite  to  his  witness;  has  a 
penetrating  manner,  and  is  making  a remark- 
able record.  Added  to  this  he  has  a pol- 
ished address,  and  is  one  of  the  most  finished 
speakers  at  the  bar.  He  was  married  in  1873 


ly.'/. 


r-- 


r . 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


861 


to  Miss  Minnie  Dent,  a daughter  of  Col.  | 
Henry  Dent,  of  Louisville.  1 

r.AWRENCE  S.  PARSONS  is  a native  of  | 
Massachusetts,  and  was  born  August  3,  1854,  j 
at  Belchertown.  He  is  a son  of  T.  .1.  S.  and 
^largaret  (Weston)  Parsons,  also  natives  of 
Massachusetts,  and  purely  English  stock.  He 
received  a liberal  education,  graduating  from 
the  High  School  at  Belchertown  in  1872. 
He  came  to  Louisville  in  October,  1872,  and 
received  employment  with  the  .Jeffersonville, 
Madison  & Indianapolis  Railroad,  as  a common 
laborer  at  the  freight  depot,  but  was  shortly 
promoted  to  a clerkship  in  the  auditor’s  de- 
partment. He  arose  by  regular  gradation 
througfh  his  own  merits  to  chief  clerk  in  the 
general  freight  department.  In  1883  he  ac- 
cepted the  position  of  general  agent  for  the 
I.ouisville,  New  Albany  & Chicago  Road  at 
Louisville.  He  remained  in  this  position  for 
two  years,  then  resigned  it  for  that  of  general 
freight  agent  for  the  “Air-line”  road — the 
Louisville,  Evansville  & St.  Louis.  In  addi- 
tion to  his  railroad  duties  he  is  a director  in 
the  Louisville  Transfer  Co.,  the  Louisville 
Bagging  Manufacturing  Co.,  and  secretary  of 
the  Louisville  Magnetic  Water  Co.  He  was 
married,  in  1877,  to  Miss  Ida  Grainger,  a 
daughter  of  Colonel  W.  H.  Grainger,  of 
Louisville.  She  died  in  1878,  and  he  next 
married,  in  1880,  Miss  Mary  F. Tapp,  adaugh-  | 
ter  of  William  J.  Tapp,  Esq.,  formerly  of 
Alabama,  now  of  Louisville,  and  president  of 
the  Louisville  Bagging  Manufacturing  Co. 
Mr.  Parsons  is  one  of  the  progressive  young 
business  men  of  Louisville,  popular,  clever 
and  accommodating,  and  a tine  railroad  man. 

ROBERT  N.  PFEIFFER,  M.  D.,  was  born 
in  this  city  .Tune  25,  1859,  and  is  a son  of 
Peter  Pfeiffer,  a native  of  Germany,  who  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States  in  1840.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  Louisville.  He  read  medicine  with 
Dr.  .John  T.  Williams,  demonstrator  of  anato- 
my in  the  College  of  Medicine,  and  graduated 
in  Hospital  Medical  College  in  the  class  of 
1883,  and  has  been  engaged  inactive  j)ractice 
ever  since.  Soon  after  graduating  he  prac- 
ticed for  a time  in  Bartholomew  County,  Ind., 


but  came  to  Louisville,  and  established  him- 
self at  931  East  ilain  street. 

CHARLES  PFEIFFER  is  a native  of  this 
city,  and  was  born  November  20,  1837.  He 
is  a son  of  Henry  and  Magdalene  Pfeiffer, 
natives  of  Germany,  who  came  to  the  LTnited 
States  in  1828,  locatincr  in  New  York  State, 
and  after  remaining  there  for  several  years 
came  to  Louisville.  He  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools,  and  then  learned 
the  trade  of  stove  molding  in  the  factory  of 
Wallace,  Lithgow  & Co.  In  April,  1806,  he 
formed  a copartnership  with  some  of  his  fel- 
low workmen  under  the  name  of  Hare,  Leaf 
& Co.,  which  continued  until  1870,  when  the 
firm  w'as  changed  to  Fisher,  Leaf  & Co.,  which 
name  it  still  bears.  They  are  manufacturers 
of  stoves,  mantels,  grates,  etc.,  and  have  a 
laro-e  establishment  on  Hiorh  street  and  Port- 
land  avenue,  employing  about  100  people. 
The  factory  has  never  stood  still  ten  days  at  a 
time  since  first  started,  and  the  firm  ship  their 
goods  all  over  the  United  States,  and  occa- 
sionally to  Germany.  Mr.  Pfeiffer  was  mar- 
ried in  1801  to  Miss  .Julia  Gould,  of  this  city, 
daughter  of  .Jacob  Gould,  a native  of  Boston, 
Mass.  They  have  four  children  living,  viz.: 
Robert,  Mary  V.,  Katie  Belle  and  Norbet  Lee. 
Mrs.  Pfeiffer  died  in  1870. 

.JAMES  SHIPP  PHELPS,  long  one  of  the 
prominent  tobacco  warehousemen  in  Louisville 
and  president  of  the  .J.  S.  Phelps  House,  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Main  and  Eleventh  streets, 
is  a native  Kentuckian,  born  at  Hopkinsville, 
March  8,  1828,  and  was  the  third  child  and 
third  son  of  .John  H.  and  Caroline  (Shipp) 
Phelps.  His  father  was  born  in  July,  1790, 
and  came  from  Virginia  with  his  bi’other  when 
a young  man.  Some  years  before  he  had 
taken  his  wife  from  the  well-known  Shipp 
family  near  Hopkinsville.  The  Phelps  stock 
is  probably  English,  though  it  is  not  known 
when  it  made  its  advent  into  this  country, 
j James,  the  subject,  lost  his  mother  while  less 
j than  two  years  old,  and  his  father  married 
again  in  October,  1830,  this  time  taking  to 
1 wife  a sister  of  Gov.  .James  T.  Morehead.  She 
proved  an  excellent  mother  to  the  little  fami- 
ly and  brought  them  up  carefully.  .James 


i^iOGRAi^riiCAL  sketched. 


8Ci 


liad  two  elder  Ijrothers,  Hiram  Abiff,  an  at- 
torney at  llupkinsville,  and  Laban  Shipp, 
deceased  at  twenty-six  years  of  age.  The 
elder  Phelps  died  in  1842.  His  widow  mar- 
ried Augustine  Wel)ber,  of  riopkinsville,  in 
Kebruarv,  184(),  and  survu'ved  him  about 
eighteen  months,  dying  in  1875  at  the  resi- 
dence of  her  stepson  in  this  city.  Young 
Phel])S  was  educated  mainly  by  Mr.  .James  H. 
Rumsey,  of  Hopkinsville,  and  in  a school  of  a 
venerable  Baptist  minister  near  that  place. 
He  was  in  this  school  from  the  ao-e  of  four- 
teen  until  he  was  ready  to  etiter  into  active 
life.  At  the  request  of  his  father,  who  had  in 
his  lifetime  been  circuit  court  clerk  of  Chris-  ' 
tian  County  under  the  old  system  of  appoint- 
ment for  a long  series  of  years  and  died  at  his  | 
post,  .James  entered  the  office  of  his  succes- 
sor while  a very  young  man,  as  a writer  and 
manao-er  of  the  office,  in  tlie  absence  of  his 
superior,  who  was  in  failing  health.  This  was 
an  important  position  for  a youth,  and  ful- 
filled his  father’s  expectation  of  the  place  as  a 
capital  means  of  education  for  him.  So  well 
did  he  improve  his  opportunitiesof  legal  study 
in  the  office  that  within  a year  after  leaving 
it  he  was  enabled  to  receive  from  the  Circuit 
.ludge  a license  to  practice  law.  He  opened 
an  ollice  wdth  his  brother  (though  not  as  a 
partner)  in  Hopkinsville;  but  at  the  end  of 
another  year  he  wearied  at  the  slow  and 
drudging  character  of  the  profession,  and  de- 
termined to  embark  in  the  mercantile  Inisi- 
ness.  He  entei’ed  into  partnership  with  Mr. 
.Joseph  K.  Grant,  of  the  same  place.  It  was 
in  1858  when  the  two  young  men  started  in 
the  dry  goods  business.  The  times  were 
prosperous,  and  Christian  was  then  the  richest 
county  in  the  State  outside  of  .Jefferson  and  j 
P'ayette.  A great  many  slaves  were  held  in 
the  county,  and  the  negro  trade  was  especial- 
ly lucrative.  The  partners  made  money 
every  year,  selling  to  the  amount  of  1ill5,0()0  [ 
the  last  year  they  were  together.  In  185t),  j 
however,  Mr.  Phelps  retired,  selling  his  in- 
terest to  Mr.  Grant.  In  the  summer  of  1802 
he  came  to  I^ouisville,  and  built  the  well- 
known  Imuisville  warehouse  the  same  season,  j 
at  the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Tenth 
streets.  Mr.  Phelps  embarked  in  the  tobacco 


business  as  a warehouseman,  and  as  the  head 
of  Phelps,  Caldwell  & Co.  This  warehouse 
* was  sold  about  1807  to  Ray  & Co.,  and  the 
! superb  building  now  occupied  by  Messrs. 
Phelps  & Co.,  and  known  as  the  Planters  To- 
bacco Warehouse,  at  the  corner  of  Main  and 
Eleventh  streets,  was  erected  fry  Mr.  Phelps 
in  1875.  The  firm  of  IHielps,  Caldwell  & Co. 
j was  dissolved  at  the  time  of  the  sale  and  re- 
moved, and  that  of  .J.  S.  Phelps  & Co.  was 
formed,  composed  of  J.  S.  Phelps  and  .John 
C.  Durrett.  The  jrresent  stock  company, 
bearing  the  same  name,  was  formed  in  1881, 
and  embraces  Mr.  Phelps  and  his  fuur  suns, 
•JoJin  II.,  .James  S.,  .Jr.,  Laban  and  Hiram  O., 
and  capital  stock  -tl50,00().  Zach  Phelps, 
another  son  of  Mr.  Phelps,  is  a lawyer,  and  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  O’Neal,  .Jackson  & 
Phelps.  Mr.  Phelps  was  an  old  line  Whig 
before  the  war,  and  a sympathizer  with  the 
Union  cause  when  the  great  struggle  came, 
and  during  its  continuance.  Many  years  he 
was  much  attached  to  Odd  Fellowship,  and 
served  for  several  years  as  deputy  grand  mas- 
ter of  the  State.  He  is  a member  of  the  First 
j Baptist  Church  of  l.ouisville,  in  the  faith  of 
j his  parents  and  of  a j>ast  generation.  He  was 
! married  in  Hopkinsville,  July  25,  1849,  to 
Miss  Maiy  .Jane,  second  daughter  of  Zachariah 
and  Mary  .Jane  Glass. 

i .JOHN  R.  PIRTLE,  M.  D.,  belongs  to  one 
j of  the  prominent  families  of  Louisville,  a 
I family  that  has  produced  some  very  eminent 
I men.  He  was  t)orn  May  20,  1830,  and  is  a 
son  of  Henry  and  .Jane  (Rogers)  Pirtle,  na- 
tives of  Washington  and  Boyle  Counties. 
The  former  was  born  in  1798,  and  died  in 
1880.  Ho  was  circuit  judge  when  but  twenty- 
six  years  of  age  of  the  Louisville  district,  and 
when  the  judiciary  was  appointied.  He 
served  for  years,  and  afterward  was  .Judge  of 
the  chancei’y  court,  serving  in  that  capacity 
for  two  terms.  He  served  in  the  State  Senate  ’ 
from  1840  to  1848.  He  continued  his  law 
practice  until  within  a few  years  of  his  death. 
He  was  a zealous  Union  man  during  the  late 
war,  and  was  one  of  the  commissioners  sent  to 
the  Border  State  Convention  in  1861.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  eldest  of  three 
sons,  all  of  whom  are  living  in  Jmuis^  ille. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


863 


After  receivinsf  his  education  he  began  read- 
in^-  medicine  with  his  maternal  grandfather, 
Dr.  Coleman  Rogers,  one  of  the  eminent  sur- 
geons and  physicians  of  this  city,  and  of  a 
v’ery  large  and  distinguished  family.  Dr. 
Pirtle,  the  sid)ject,  graduated  from  tlie  medi- 
cal departmentof  the  University  of  Louisville 
in  1852,  and  commenced  practice  with  his 
uncle,  Dr.  Lewis  Rogers,  which  he  continued 
until  1861,  when  the  storm  of  war  called  him 
to  the  defense  of  his  country.  He  enlisted 
under  General  Rousseau  (Federal),  and  was 
mustered  into  the  service  as  major.  He 
served  as  colonel  in  rank;  afterward  resigned 
and  accepted  the  post  of  surgeon.  He  re- 
siorned  in  December,  1862,  on  account  of  ill 
health,  but  acted  as  assistant  surgeon  through- 
out the  war.  He  served  as  head  of  a dispen- 
sary in  1857,  when  it  was  first  established. 
In  1865  he  adopted  the  medical  view  of 
homceopathy. 

.JUDGE  HENRY  PIRTLE,  one  of  the 
ablest  lawyers  and  jurists  that  ever  practiced 
at  the  Louisville  bar,  located  in  that  city  in 
1826,  from  Hartford,  Ohio  County,  Ky.,  where 
he  had  been  admitted  to  the  bar  some  five 
years  before.  He  was  born  in  1799,  and  was 
not  yet  thirty  years  old  when  he  came  to 
Louisville,  yet  so  quickly  did  his  professional 
brethren  recognize  his  great  abilities  that 
within  a few  months  he  was  unanimously 
recommended  to  the  Governor  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  Circuit  .Judge.  He  was  accord- 
ingly appointed,  and  again  in  1846.  In  1850 
he  was  appointed  chancellor  of  the  I.ouisville 
Chancery  Court,  and  appointed  again  in  1862. 
He  was  for  twenty-seven  years  professor  of 
constitutional  law,  equity  and  commercial 
law,  in  the  law  department  of  the  University 
of  Louisville.  He  compiled  a Digest  of  the 
Decisions  of  the  Kentucky  Court  of  Appeals, 
and  was  the  author  of  a valuable  historical 
introduction  to  the  journal  of  Gen.  George 
Rogers  Clark,  published  in  Cincinnati  some 
years  ago,  as  a number  of  the  Ohio  Valley 
Historical  series.  He  took  no  active  part  in 
politics;  his  only  office  outside  the  judicial 
service  was  that  of  State  Senator,  being  elect- 
ed in  1840,  and  serving  one  term.  His  in 
fluence,  however’,  upon  politics  and  legislation 


was  great.  To  a letter  of  his,  addressed  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  United  States  Treasury, 
about  1850,  is  attributed  the  building  of  the 
Marine  hospitals  at  Louisville  and  elsewhere 
on  the  Western  waters.  He  was  an  active 
promoter  of  historical,  literary  and  scientific 
societies,  and  ■w  as  reo-arded  as  a walking  en- 
cyclopedia.  He  died  March  28,  1880,  aged 
eighty  years. 

.JOHN  B.  PIRTLE  was  born  in  Jjouisville, 
May  17,  1842,  and  is  a son  of  the  late  Dr. 
Claiborne  and  Eliza  .1.  (Barbee)  Pirtle.  Dr. 
Pirtle  was  a man  of  high  standing  in  this  city 
and  was  a brother  of  the  late  .Judge  Henry 
Piitle,  and  his  wife,  the  mother  of  .John  B. 
Pirtle,  is  a sister  of  the  Hon.  .John  Barbee, 
and  is  a most  estimable  lady.  .John  B.  Piitle 
is  the  only  surviving  child  of  his  parents  and 
was  educated  in  this  city  at  the  Male  High 
School.  He  volunteered  as  a private  in  the 
I Confederate  States  army  in  September,  1861, 
and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war  in  1865, 
participating  in  almost  every  battle  of  the 
army  of  Tennessee.  Soon  after  the  battle 
of  Shiloh  he  became  attached  to  the  staff  of 
i Brigadier  General  Hawes,  but  in  a short  time 
was  ordered  to  duty  as  the  acting  adjutant  of 
the  Thirty-first  Mississippi  Regiment,  com- 
m.anded  by  Colonel  Orr,  and  at  the  battle  of 
Baton  Rouge,  August  5,  1862,  he  commanded 
the  right  wing  of  that  regiment.  When 
Bragg  was  in  Kentucky,  in  the  fall  of  that 
: vear,  he  obtained  authority  from  the  Secretary 
; of  War  to  raise  a regiment  in  Iventucky,  and 
i started  to  that  State,  but  on  reaching  Bar- 
boursville,  Ky.,  he  met  Bragg’s  army,  leaving 
i the  State  after  the  battle  of  Perryville.  L n- 
der  the  act  of  Congress,  authorizing  the  Presi- 
dent  to  make  appointments  for  “ valor  and 
skill,”  he  was  commissioned  a lieutenant  in 
Company  D,  Fourth  Kentucky  Regiment, and 
immediately  thereafter  appointed  aid-de- 
camp  and  provost  marshal  on  the  staff  of 
Brigadier  General  Ben  Hardin  Helm,  and 
served  with  that  general  until  he  was  killed 
at  Chickamauga.  General  Helm  was  giving 
an  order  to  J.ieutenant  Pirtle  at  the  time  that 
he  was  shot.  While  the  army  was  at  Mis- 
sionary Ridge,  Lieut.  Pirtle  was  adjutint  of 
the  post  at  Chickamauga  Station,  and  when 


8C4 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


the  army  fell  back  to  Dalton  and  went  into 
winter  quarters,  there  he  became  adjutant  of 
the  post  at  Dalton.  On  the  openinjr  of  the 
Dalton  and  Atlanta  campaign  he  was  ordered 
to  duty  on  the  staff  of  Major  General  Bate, 
and  served  with  that  general  as  assistant 
adjutant  general  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  surrendered  at  High  Point,  N.  C.,  May  3, 
18(35,  and  returning  to  Louisville  in  186(3, 
was  made  the  general  agent  of  the  Travelers 
Insurance  Company,  of  Harlford,  Conn.  The 
territory  now  controlled  by  him  for  that  com- 
pany embraces  the  whole  South,  east  of  the 
^Mississippi  River.  He  was  married  in  1874 
to  Miss  Mary  Belle  Thomas,  the  second 
daughter  of  John  H.  Thomas,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing merchants  of  Louisville,  who  died  in  1877, 
and  has  two  livino-  children. 

WGRDEN  POPE.  Pope’s  Creek  is  situ- 
ated in  Westmoreland  County,  Virginia. 
Here,  in  the  year  1772,  Worden  Pope,  who 
was  the  son  of  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Pope,  was 
born.  It  was  here  also  that  Gen.  Washino-ton 
was  born.  Irving,  in  his-  life  of  that  great 
man,  states  that  he  was  born  at  Bridge  Creek. 
In  this,  it  is  submitted  with  great  reverence, 
he  was  betrayed  into  error.  It  seems  clear 
from  Hower’s  History  of  Virginia,  that  Wash- 
ington was  born  on  Pope’s  Creek,  where  G. 
W.  Custis  has  placed  a stone,  with  a simple 
inscription,  to  commemorate  this  interesting 
event.  The  spot  is  one  of  great  natural 
beauty,  commanding  a charming  view  of  the 
shore  of  Maryland,  and  of  the  Potomac  River 
for  many  miles  in  its  majestic  course  towards 
the  Chesapeake  Bay.  There  are  many  other 
associations  connected  with  Pope’s  Creek 
which  would  be  of  interest,  but  they  are  not 
within  the  scope  of  this  little  sketch.  John 
Washington  and  his  bi’other  Andrew  arrived 
in  Virginia  in  1657,  and  settled  in  Westmore- 
land County.  .lohn  married  Miss  Anne  Pope, 
who  was  the  near  kinswoman  — probably  the 
daughter  of  Nathaniel  Pope,  and  by  this  mar- 
riage she  became  the  great-grandmother  of 
Gen.  Washington.  One  of  the  many  evidences 
of  the  friendship  and  intimacy  which  arose 
from  the  kinship  between  the  Washington  and 
Pope  families  is  found  in  the  will  of  Thomas 


Pope,  executed  in  1684,  and  now  on  record 
in  Virginia. 

The  Popes  of  North  Alabama  also  emi- 
grated from  Pope’s  Creek.  They  first 
went  to  Petersburg,  and  from  there  Le- 
Roy  Pope  emigrated  to  Louisiana,  where 
he  established  the  first  bank  oro-anized  in 
that  State.  Subsequently  he  was  in  North 
Alabama,  where,  being  impressed  with  the 
beauty  of  the  country,  he  acquired  a large 
tract  of  land,  upon  which  he  laid  out  a 
town,  naming  it  Twickenham,  after  the  villa 
of  the  poet  Pope  on  the  Thames.  After- 
wards, by  a vote  of  the  people,  the  name 
was  changed  to  that  of  Huntsville,  and  so 
remains  to  this  day.  LeRoy  Pope  was  the 
grandfather  of  LeRoy  Pope  Walker,  (an  emi- 
nent lawyer  and  the  first  Soc-etary  of  War 
in  the  cabinet  of  .lefferson  Davis,)  and  of 
Richard  W.  Walker,  a Senator  from  Alabama 
in  the  Congress  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

It  appears  from  Dr.  Brock’s  Extract  from 
the  Land  Office  of  Virginia  that  Nathaniel 
Pope,  in  the  year  1651,  three  years  before 
the  arrival  of  the  Waffiingtons  in  the  colony, 
settled  upon  the  banks  of  the  creek  which 
has  just  been  mentioned,  and  to  which  he 
gave  his  name.  He  seems  to  have  been  a 
man  of  great  vigar  of  character  and  strength 
of  mind. 

It  is  needless  to  trace  from  father  to  son 
the  descent  of  Worden  Pope,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  from  Nathaniel  Pope.  It  would 
be  tedious  anl  uninteresting  to  do  so.  In 
1779  three  brothers,  Benjamin  Pope,  Will- 
iam Pope  and  Alexander  Pope,  having 
disposed  of  their  estates  in  Westmoreland 
Countv,  emigrated  fro.m  Pope’s  Creek  to 
Kentucky  County,  then  a County  of  Virginia. 
In  1780  Kentucky  County  was  divided  into 
Jefferson,  Fayette  and  Lincoln  Counties. 
The  brothers  crossed  the  mountains  of  Vir- 
ginia, reached  the  Ohio  Rivmr  and  came  down 
with  the  current  of  that  beautiful  stream  to 
the  Falls,  where  the  city  of  Louisville  now 
stands.  It  was  then  a most  dismal  spot,  full 
of  swamps  and  ponds,  and  quite  unhealthy. 
Not  a house  was  to  be  seen.  Nothing  was 
visible  but  a fort,  which  was  built  in  tht? 


I- 

'I 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


867 


early  sprincr  oE  1779,  and  known  as  Patton’s 
Fort,  situated  at  what  is  now  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Seventh  streets,  and  in  immediate 
proximity  to  the  Union  Depot  of  the  Chesa- 
peake & Ohio  and  other  railroads. 

The  Popes  were  camped  outside  the  fort 
and  narrowly  escaped  massacre  (by  taking 
refuge  in  the  fort)  from  the  Indians,  who 
crossed  from  the  Indiana  side  and  made  a 
determined  attack  upon  the  little  garrison. 
At  this  time  AVorden  was  in  his  eighth  year, 
and  witnessed  the  onslaug-ht  of  the  savacres. 
His  elder  brother,  Nathaniel,  for  a time  was 
missinor,  and  it  was  feared  that  he  had  fallen 
a victim  to  the  tomahawk,  but  happily  no  such 
fate  had  overtaken  him.  The  depreciated 
value  of  Continental  currency  at  this  period 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  Popes  paid  §150 
for  a bushel  of  corn.  About  this  time  Gen- 
eral Clarke  took  the  British  Forts  of  Kaskas- 
kia,  Cahokia  and  AGncennes,  which  checked 
the  incursions  of  the  Indians  an  1 afforded  to 
the  country  about  the  Falls  comparative  se- 
curity. In  1779,  or  eaily  in  1780,  Benjamin 
Pope  removed  with  his  family  to  a fort  which 
stood  on  the  noith  bank  of  Salt  River,  now  a 
part  of  Bullitt  County.  It  was  here  and  on 
the  path  leading  to  the  ferry,  about  to  be 
mentioned,  that  George  Alay,  a surveyor  of 
Jefferson  County,  and  a party  of  followers, 
excepting  one,  were  waylaid  and  murdered  by 
the  Indians.  The  escape  of  the  one  man, 
w’hose  name  was  Hardin,  would  furnish  a 
thrilling  episode,  but  it  would  perhaps  be  a 
digression  to  insert  its  details  in  this  narra- 
tive. It  was  in  the  midst  of  such  stirring 
scenes  that  AA^orden  Pope  passed  his  boyhood 
and  early  manhood.  Benjamin  Pope  resided 
here  with  his  family  for  several  years,  and  in 
1787  bought  a tract  of  land  on  Salt  River, 
opposite  the  Fort,  which  is  now  owned  and 
cultivated  by  James  Y.  Pope,  one  of  the  first 
citizens  of  Bullitt  County,  and  a cousin  of 
AA’’orden  Pope.  Benjamin  Pope  established 
a ferry  at  his  house,  which  carried  passengers 
across  Salt  River,  and  was  much  traveled  by 
persons  going  to  Bardstorvn  and  other  points. 
AVorden  Pope  was  put  in  charge  of  the  ferry. 

In  those  days  lawyers  of  reputation,  living 
at  Louisville,  found  lucrative  employment  gt 


Bardstown  and  similar  places.  Among  these 
was  Stephen  Ormsby,  then  clerk  of  the  Jef- 
ferson Courts,  a lawyer  of  distinction,  and 
who  later  on  in  life  adorned  both  the  bench 
and  a seat  in  the  Federal  Congress  at  AA^ash- 
ington.  At  this  period,  in  the  history  of  the 
State,  the  clerks  of  the  important  courts, 
generally  spe  iking,  were  fine  lawyers ; and 
although  not  permitted  to  practice  in  the 
courts  of  which  they  were  clerks  they  could 
practice  in  all  other  courts  in  the  Common- 
wealth. Now  a clerk  of  the  court  is  rarely 
or  never  a lawyer.  Among  those  who  regu- 
larly attended  and  practiced  in  the  courts  at 
Bardstown  was  Stephen  Ormsby,  and  in 
going  and  returning  between  that  place 
and  Louisville,  he  was  ferried  across  Salt 
river  by  AA’^orden  Pope.  In  this  way  he  be- 
came acquainted  with  the  young  helmsman. 
Judge  Ormsby  was  endowed  with  a profound 
insight  into  character,  and  he  soon  discovered 
that  AA’^orden  was  no  ordinary  youth,  clad,  as 
he  was,  after  the  manner  of  the  pioneers,  in 
his  leather  breeches  and  coon-skin  cap.  He 
saw  that  there  was  a career  before  him  for 
future  usefulness  and  eminence,  and  con- 
ceiving for  him  an  affection  and  friendship, 
he  induced  AA'orden  to  come  with  him  to 
Louisville,  where  he  at  once  installed  him  as 
deputy  in  his  office. 

AA’’orden  soon  acquired  a knowledge  of  its 
duties ; and  on  the  resignation  of  Ormsby,  he 
was  appointed  clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court,  also 
of  the  County  Court.  The  former  he  held 
until  1834,  when  he  resigned,  and  his  third 
son,  Edmund  Pendleton,  was  appointed  ; but 
the  county  clerkship  he  held  until  1838, 
when  he  died,  and  his  fourth  son,  Curran 
Pope,  succeeded  him.  In  the  commencement 
of  his  career  as  clerk,  AA^orden  Pope  studied 
law,  and  to  the  day  of  his  death  was  always 
an  ardent  and  methodical  student  of  juris- 
prudence. Being  forbidden  to  practice  in 
•lefft  rson  County,  the  county  of  his  office,  he 
practic  'd  in  Oldham,  Nelson,  Hardin,  Bullitt 
and  Aleade,  but,  as  he  grew  older,  he  confined 
his  practice  to  Oldham  and  Bullitt. 

The  Hon.  J.  R.  Browne,  of  AVashingfton 
County,  says  when  Ben  Hardin  was  a candi- 
date for  congress,  he  was  rebuked  by  his, 


868 


BIOGRAPPIICAL  SKETCHES- 


clients  for  his  consequent  inability  to  defend 
lai’ge  ejectment  cases  brought  for  their  lands 
in  Washington  County ; he  replied  : “ I have 
asked  my  friend  ^\^orden  Po]>e,  who  is  the 
greatest  land  lawyer  in  Kentucky,  to  repre- 
sent me.”  Mr.  Poj>e  justified  the  high  esti- 
mate of  his  distinguished  friend  by  success- 
fully defending  all  of  the  actions.  Ilis 
practice  in  the  federal  courts  was  large  and 
lucrative,  and  after  his  resignation  of  one  of 
the  clerkships  was  also  large  and  lucrative  in 
the  Chancery  Court  at  I^ouisville.  iMr.  Pope’s 
contemporaries  at  the  bar  often  spoke  in 
terms  of  the  warmest  praise  of  the  masterly 
ability  and  the  profound  learning  he  dis- 
played for  the  defense  in  the  well  known  case 
of  Beard  vs.  The  City  of  I.ouisville,  and 
others,  in  which  was  an  array  of  counsel  rare- 
ly exceeded  at  any  time  or  in  any  place. 

It  was  Mr.  Pope,  Wm.  Pope  and  Alex- 
ander Pope  that  brought  out  Gen.  Jackson 
for  the  presidency.  The  meeling  at  which 
Jackson’s  candidacy  was  initiated  by  the 
Popes  was  held  at  the  house  of  Alexander 
Pope  on  the  south  side  of  .Jefferson,  between 
Sixth  and  Seventh  streets,  in  I.ouisville,  Ky.; 
where,  also,  for  many  years  Edmund  Pendle- 
ton Pope  resided,  and  where  his  second  son, 
.fudge  Alfred  Thruston  Pope,  was  born. 

Governor  John  Pope,  a man  commanding 
talents,  who  liad  served  with  distinguished 
ability  a number  of  terms  in  the  lower  house 
of  congress  from  I8B7  to  184.3,  and  in  the 
senate  of  the  United  States  from  1807  to 
1813,  was  a close  kinsman  of  Mr.  Pope.  He 
had  made  the  race  for  congress  in  the  Ash- 
land district  against  Henry  Clay.  It  was  a 
tilt  of  giants.  Governor  Pope,  being  a man 
of  stubborn  convictions,  refused  in  that  can- 
vass to  bend  to  the  popular  will.  He  was 
defeated  and  burnt  in  effigy  at  Lexington. 
Worden  Pope,  whether  he  was  right  or  not, 
believed  the  great  Clay  could  have  prevented 
this  outburst  of  popular  feeling.  And  it  was 
the  indignation  which  Worden  Pope  and  his 
family  felt  at  this  insult  to  their  kinsman,  as 
well  as  the  warm  and  devoted  attachment 
which  Mr.  Pope  cherished  for  Gen.  .fackson, 
that  led  him  to  urge  upon  the  country  the 
name  of  the  latter  for  the  office  of  chief  exe- 


cutive. In  the  canvass  which  followed  Mr. 
Pope  gave  Jackson  a most  lojal  and  de- 
voted support.  The  Advertiser,  then  the 
I oldest  and  most  influential  newspaper  in  the 
j West,  was  edited  by  Shadrach  Penn.  In  the 
; columns  of  this  journal  Mr.  Pope  furnished  a 
series  of  articles,  over  the  nom  de  plume  of 
“ Publicola,”  advocatiiio-  the  claim  of  Gen. 
.lackson,  which  created  something  of  a stir 
and  sensation,  and  excited  widespread  com- 
1 ment  and  discussion.  Judge  Little,  in  his 
life  of  Ben  Hardin,  states:  “To  the  Pope 

j family,  in  Kentucky,  Gen.  .lackson  owed  his 
majority  in  that  State  in  1828.  When  Gen. 
.lackson  became  President,  he  tendered  any 
office  within  his  gift  to  Worden  Pope,  but 
Mr.  Po]>e,  whilst  appreciating  the  action  of 
his  friend,  declined  to  accept  any  appoint- 
ment, for  the  reason  that  he  was  quite  near- 
siu-hted  and  not  able  to  see  at  nioht.  Gen. 
.Jackson,  however,  appointed  .John  Pope  gov- 
ernor of  Arkansas  ; and  Curran  Pope,  who 
afterwards  with  heroic  valor  fell  at  the  head 
j of  his  I'egiment  at  Perryville,  as  a cadet  to 
i West  IMint.” 

' The  contest  which  took  place  between  the 
j old  and  new  court  parties  was  one  of  the  most 
able,  bitter  and  determined  controversies 
I which  has  ever  occurred  in  this  country. 

With  his  characteristic  frankness  and  bold- 
' ness  Mr.  Pope  without  hesitation  threw  the 
: whole  weight  of  his  ability  and  personal  influ- 
; ence  on  the  side  of  the  old  court  party.  Again 
the  productions  of  his  pen  were  a feature  in 
the  canvass.  He  was  in  the  very  front  of  the 
fight  and  helped  lead  the  forces  with  con- 
; summate  ability. 

j In  a historical  sketcli  of  the  “ Po|)e  Fam- 
ily,” by  the  Hon.  Wm.  R.  Thompson,  that 
j admirable  and  forcible  writer  says : “Wor- 

den Pope  was  an  eminent  lawyer — but  few 
j his  etjual  in  Kentucky — a great  politician, 
and  the  life-long  and  unswerving  friend  of 
Gen.  Jackson,  and  though  he  acquired  an  im- 
mense property,  he  died  by  no  means  owning 
I a fortune,  His  munificent  liberality  and 
generosity,  which  is  a trajt  of  many  of  the 
j Pope  family,  caused  him  fo  give  away  in  his 
lifetime  several  forMnes.  The  Pope  family, 
i taken  all  in  all,  is  one  of  the  most  distin- 


BIOGKAPIIIC'AL  SKETCHES. 


869 


guished  families  in  the  history  of  Kentucky  | 
fiom  the  day  Boone  passed  the  Allegheny^ 
gap  to  the  present  time.” 

Mr.  Pope’s  death  came  unexpectedly  to  his 
friends.  He  was  making  an  argument  in  an 
important  land  suit  in  the  court  house  at 
Louisville  when  he  was  seized  with  a sudden 
illness.  Judge  J.  J.  Marshall  immediately 
adjourned  court.  Mr.  Pope,  however,  rallied 
and  went  to  his  home,  which  then  embraced 
what  is  now  between  Fifth  and  Tenth  and 
Walnut  and  Broadway  streets,  in  Louisville, 
Ky.  He  never  recovered,  and  after  a brief 
illness  he  passed  peacefully  away. 

Dr.  Nat.  Field,  of  Indiana,  in  his  interest- 
ing little  volume  on  “The  Pope  Family,” 
states  that  “The  name  of  Worden  Pope 
Avas  a household  word  in  Jefferson  and  ad- 
joining counties.  His  name  was  a synonym 
of  honesty  and  benevolence.  He  died  in  a 
good  old  age,  laden  with  the  honor  and 
esteem  of  all  who  knew  him.  His  funeral 
was  the  largest  e\mr  seen  in  Imuisville.  It 
was  an  outpouring  of  all  classes  of  people  to 
do  honor  to  a great  and  good  man.”  The 
late  Coleman  Daniel,  a stanch  Methodist, 
one  of  the  purest  citizens  of  Louisville,  used 
to  say  that  when  he  would  hand  the  box 
around  in  his  church  for  charitable  purposes, 
Worden  Pope  would  empty  his  purse,  not 
knowing  what  he  gave,  and  that  for  the  sake 
of  curiosity  Daniel  would  count  it,  and  the 
contribution  “would  amount  to  hundreds  of 
dollars.”  A writer  of  a recent  sketch  of 
Worden  Hope,  who  knew  him  well,  does  not 
employ  the  language  of  exaggeration  when  he 
states:  “ His  home  Avas  always  open  to  the 

poar  and  needy  and  his  ear  to  the  cry  of  dis- 
tress. He  was,  it  may  be  said,  the  adviser  of 
his  count7,  and  in  the  adAUce  he  gave  the 
utmost  confidence  Avas  placed.  He  never 
charged  a AvidoAv,  orphan  or  minister  of  the 
gospel  or  a young  laAvyer.  He  adjusted 
difficulties  amongst  his  friends  and  prevented 
litigation  by  his  counsel.  In  his  practice  he 
aided  young  laAvyers,  devoting  his  abilities  to 
them,  rejoicing  in  their  success,  but  refusing 
fees  they  insisted  on  sharing  Avith  him.” 

The  Hon.  .lobn  Rowan,  a Kentuckian  whose 
biography  should  be  written,  eloquently  said 


I of  Worden  Pope  that  “ he  was  the  oldest 
member  of  the  bar.  . . EndoAved  by  nature 
with  a good  constitution  and  a Augorous  mind, 
he  improved  the  former  by  manly  exercise 
and  enriched  the  latter  by  zealous  and  unre- 
mitting devotion  to  the  attainment  of  solid 
and  useful  information.  AVithout  the  aid  of 
classical  learning  he  acquired  a very  thorough 
and  accurate  knowledge  of  English  literature. 
He  was  temperate  in  all  his  enjoyments,  pa- 
tient of  labor  and  research  in  whatever  he 
was  engaged;  benevolent  and  charitable  in  a 
high  degree,  of  high  moral  firmness,  of  sin- 
cerity in  his  friendships,  his  enmities  AA-ere 
slow  in  forming  and  swift  in  fading.  His 
moral  habits  Avere  exemplary;  his  manners 
Avere  neither  gracious  nor  repulsive.  He  had 
an  habitual  aversion  to  artificial  or  fictitious 
mannerism.  His  manners  and  morals  Avere 
founded  in  the  old  school,  AAffiere  the  solid 
Avas  preferred  to  the  showy,  and  where  simu- 
lated courtesies  Avere  rebuked  by  honesty  and 
sincerity  of  sentiment.  Influenced  through 
life  by  sentiments  of  that  school  and  the  in- 
herent benevolence  of  his  own  heart  and 
feelings,  his  poAvers  and  attachments  were 
devoted  more  to  the  benefit  of  society  than  of 
himself.  As  clerk  of  the  courts  of  Jefferson 
County  he  was  in  a position  to  be  consulted 
by  the  widows,  the  orphans,  and  the  indigent; 
and  his  knoAvledgeof  law  enabled  him  to  obey 
the  kind  impulses  of  his  nature  most  bene- 
ficially to  the  applicants.  The  young  men 
who  officiated  as  deputies  under  the  influence 
of  his  example  and  benign  instructions  went 
hence  into  society  with  good  habits  and  quali- 
fied for  usefulness  . . but  the  deceased  Avas  as 
remarkable  for  his  exemption  from  sordid  and 
selfish  influences  as  any  man  of  the  age  in 
Avhich  he  lived.  As  a clerk  of  the  County 
Court  he  had  the  custody  of  the  books,  papers, 
and  records  of  the  trustees  of  Louisville  from 
its  origin,  which  afforded  him  an  opportunity 
of  becoming  blamelessly  rich.  He  resided 
in  the  town  from  its  first  establishment,  with 
but  little  exception,  until  his  death,  without 
speculating  in  town  property,  while  other 
men  by  such  means  under  his  eye  were  ac- 
quiring great  wealth.  Although  he  possessed 
the  facilities  for  such  speculations  beyond 


870 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


anybody  else,  be  never  touched  them ; so  ! 
that  it  might  be  said  of  him  emphatically  that  i 
he  lived  for  others,  not  for  himself.  The 
facts  of  his  life  constitute  his  best  eulogy, 
and  the  more  they  shall  be  known  the  more 
his  loss  will  be  deplored  and  his  memory 
revered.  A pocket  edition  of  the  Bible  was 
his  constant  companion.  Ills  daily  life  was 
controlled  by  its  precepts,  and  he  tried  to  live 
and  be  governed  by  its  beneficent  teachings. 
It  was  his  daily  habit  to  turn  to  its  pages 
and  he  seemed  to  be  supported  and  sus- 
tained by  its  comforting  words. 

In  1804  Worden  Pope  married  Elizabeth 
Thruston,  a lineal  descendant  of  the  Thruston 
of  the  revolution,  an  eloquent  divine  who 
left  his  pulpit  and  fought  gallantly  in  the 
Colonial  ranks  against  Great  Britian  and  who 
in  consequence  of  his  courageous  service  has 
ever  since  been  knovvn  by  the  sobriquet  of 
“ The  Warrior  Parson.”  She  was  a daughter 

O 

of  John  Thruston,  who  represented  Kentucky 
in  the  Virginia  Legislature  before  the  former 
became  a State,  and  also  the  niece  of  .Judge 
Buckner  Thruston,  who  was  one  of  the  first 
two  United  States  Senators  from  Kentucky. 
She  was  also  the  sister  of  Charles  M.  Thrus- 
ton, of  Louisville,  a great  lawyer  and  a 
speaker,  who,  when  in  the  mood  or  aroused, 
was  the  equal  of  any  one. 

The  fruit  of  the  marriage  of  Worden  Pope 
with  Elizabeth  Thruston  was  a large  family. 
Of  all  the  children,  thirteen  in  number,  Ham- 
ilton Pope  alone  has  reached  an  old  age.  He 
has  enjoyed  a long,  successful  and  most  hon- 
orable career  at  the  Louisville  Bar,  and  is  a 
man  of  decided  ability  and  marked  character- 
istics. Averse  to  public  life,  he  has  never 
sought  office;  indeed,  he  has  declined  several 
times  the  nomination  for  C'ongress  tendered 
him  by  the  Whig  party,  although  in  early 
life  he  was  induced  to  serve  the  jieople  of 
Louisville  in  the  Legislature  and  in  the  Sen- 
ate  at  Frankfort.  Had  he  chosen  to  follow 
the  paths  which  lead  to  public  honor,  he  would 
have  achieved  a national  fame  and  been  emi- 
nent in  the  councils  of  the  Nation.  Standing 
six  feet  and  four  inches  high,  he  is  a man  of  | 
commanding  presence,  of  the  veiy  purest  ' 
private  and  professional  character,  of  an  in- 


tegrity  that  has  never  been  sullied,  and  is 
possessed  of  a magnetism  which  has  made  his 
personality  potent  in  its  influence  with  all 
those  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact.  In 
the  fall  of  1855  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Prather, 
of  Washington  County,  Kentucky,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Mr.  Samuel  Booker,  and  a woman 
of  many  personal  attractions,  of  brilliant  at- 
tainments and  gifted  with  rare  conversation  il 
powers. 

Patrick  Pore,  the  eldest  son  of  Worden 
Pope,  died  in  his  thirty-fourth  year.  Gradu- 
ating as  valedictorian  from  St.  Joseph’s  Col- 
lege, Bardstown,  Kentucky,  he  began  the 
practice  of  law  in  the  city  of  his  birth,  in  1827. 

I He  speedily  rose  to  distinction  in  his  profes- 
sion. By  his  ability  and  eloquence  he  over- 
came a Whig  majority  of  one  thousand,  being 
elected  to  the  IjCgislature  over  the  beloved 

O 

and  talented  Henry  Crittenden.  When  he 
made  this  brilliant  canvass  he  was  not  yet 
twenty- five  years  of  age.  He  ably  co-operate  1 
with  his  father  and  the  other  members  of  his 
family  in  bringing  out  General  .Jackson  for 
the  presidency.  Declining  the  place  of  Sec- 
retary of  State,  tendered  him  by  Governor 

' Breathitt,  he  was  elected  in  his  twenty-eighth 
year  to  Congi-ess,  which  position  he  filled  with 
credit  and  reputation  to  himself  and  with  ac- 
ceptance to  his  electors.  He  died  May  4, 

! 1840.  Notwithstanding  his  premature  death 
Mr.  Pope  had  attained  an  enviable  public 
rank.  His  conversational  powers,  integrity  of 
character  and  eloquence,  made  him  one  of  the 

; first  lawyers  of  his  time. 

! Edmund  Pendleton  Pore,  who  was  gener- 
ally known  as  Pendleton  Pope,  was  the  third 
son.  He  was  tall  and  slender,  with  a strong 
and  most  pleasing  face,  and  graceful  person; 
graduated  with  honor  in  the  regular  course  at 
Transylvania  University;  was,  like  his  brother 
Patrick,  gifted  with  rare  conversational  pow- 
er, and  inherited  the  constitutional  intrepidity 
of  his  father.  He  was  for  fifteen  years  clerk 
of  the  Circuit  Court,  and  afterwards  practiced 
law  with  great  success  to  the  day  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  his  forty-seventh  year. 
More  than  thirty  years  ago  the  writer  heard 
his  argument  in  defense  of  Johnson,  who  killed 
Lawrence;  and  so  great  was  the  impression 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


873 


thea  made,  that  the  more  eloquent  parts  of 
his  speech  remain  in  the  memory  of  the  writer 
to  this  day.  He  married  Nancy,  the  daughter 
of  Colonel  James  Johnson,  of  Scott  County, 
Ky.,  and  has  three  sons — .Judge  Alfred  Thrus- 
ton  Pope,  Captain  .Tames  Worden  Pope  and 
Hamilton  Pope,  Jr.,  who  survive  him. 

CURRAN  POPE,  the  fourth  son,  gradu- 
ated at  West  Point  in  1886,  and  after  a short 
service  in  the  army  he  resigned  to  take  one  of 
the  clerkships  made  vacant  by  the  resignation 
of  his  father.  He  held  the  office  for  seventeen 
yeai’s,  the  last  four  of  which  were  by  election 
by  the  people.  He  was  a citizen  of  much  pub- 
lic spirit;  one  of  the  original  projectors  and  di- 
rectors of  the  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad; 
one  of  the  main  promoters  of  the  Jjouisville 
Water  Works;  devoted  much  of  his  time  as 
trustee  of  Danville  College,  and  as  trustee  of 
various  educational  institutions  of  Louisville, 
especially  to  a seminary  organized  and  estab- 
lished by  himself  and  others  in  the  old  home- 
stead of  his  father;  served  for  eleven  years  in 
the  General  Council  of  Louisville;  and  on  the 
breaking  out  of  the  late  war  he  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  Union.  He  raised  the  Fifteenth 
Kentucky  Regiment,  which,  after  a varied 
service,  was  decimated  in  the  battle  of  Perry- 
ville,  which,  for  the  number  and  length  of 
time  engaged,  is  said  to  have  been  the  blood- 
iest battle  of  the  war.  Early  in  the  action 
Colonel  Pope’s  horse  was  killed  under  him, 
and  towards  the  close  of  the  engagement  he 
was  shot  throuofh  the  shoulder.  E.  P.  Hum- 
phrey,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  the  scholarly  author  of 
“ Sacred  History  from  the  Creation  to  the 
Giving  of  the  Law,”  who  was  the  co-laborer 
in  many  fields  of  usefulness  with  Colonel 
Pope,  and  who  was  his  life-long  friend,  thus 
writes  of  him  a short  time  after  Colonel  Pope’s 
death:  . . . . “ through  his  father,  the  late 
Worden  Pope,  Esq., — in  his  day  one  of  the 
foremost  citizens  of  the  commonwealth — and 
through  his  excellent  mother  and  amiable 
wife  as  well,  he  was  allied  to  some  of  the  most 
influential  families  in  the  country.  . . . His 
ample  private  fortune  released  him,  in  a large 
measure,  from  professional  labor;  so  that  he 
was  able  to  devote  the  last  twelve  years  of 
his  life  to  the  general  interests  of  society. 


As  an  office-bearer  in  one  of  our  largest  city 
churches,  and  in  many  other  positions,  he 
rendered  the  most  important  services.  He 
brought  to  all  his  trusts  a fine  capacity  for 
business,  public  spirit,  unwearied  diligence, 
habits  of  system,  order,  and  punctuality,  and 
a nice  sense  of  duty.  Few  men  of  his  gener- 
ation here  have  performed  as  much  gratuitous 
and  arduous  labor  for  the  common  good.  It 
happened  to  him  to  be  of  the  number  of  those 
in  whom  all  the  great  issues  of  life  flo\v  to- 
gether in  a single  hour  of  supreme  necessity 
and  peril;  when  the  high  qualities,  which  have 
been  for  nearly  fifty  years  slowly  maturing 
within  them,  are  brought  to  a final  and  fiery 
test,  and  suddenly  emerge  all  aglow  with 
consummate  splendor.  Colonel  Pope  met 
that  hour  on  the  bloody  slopes  of  Perryville, 
and  took  the  crown.  The  writer  of  these  lines 
was  during  the  whole  day  within  hearing  dis- 
tance of  the  artillery  and  musketry;  was  at 
one  time  on  the  outskirts  of  the  held,  and  be- 
fore the  dead  were  all  bui'ied  he  carefully 
surveyed  the  ground  on  which  the  battle  was 
fought.  The  carnage  over,  the  whole  held 
was  frightful,  and  Colonel  Pope  stood  in  one 
of  its  hottest  positions.  His  regiment  was 
posted  upon  the  brow  of  the  hill;  the  enemy 
was  arrayed  in  two  lines  on  the  slope  below 
him,  one  of  these  lines  being  partially  con- 
cealed in  a held  of  standing  corn,  the  other 
protected  by  a substantial  stone-wall.  The 
positions  of  the  rebels  being  down  the  hill 
gave  them  this  important  advantage.  They 
would  not  be  likely  to  hre  too  high,  while 
Pope’s  troops,  being  so  much  above  them, 
could  hardly  avoid  that  mistake.  Besides, 
the  foremost  rebel  line  had  the  stone-wall  in 
their  rear,  to  the  cover  of  which  they  could  at 
any  time  retreat,  and  to  which,  in  point  of 
fact,  they  did  retreat  under  the  fire  of  our 
gallant  Fifteenth.  Furthermore,  the  right  of 
the  regiment  rested  on  a barn,  which,  early 
in  the  action,  was  set  on  fire  by  a shell  from 
the  enemy,  so  that  our  troops  on  that  wing 
were  nearly  roasted  by  the  flames.  And, 
more  than  all,  the  brave  Jouett  and  Campbell 
were  shot  down  in  the  very  beginning;  the 
noble  McGrath,  who  went  to  .Touett’s  assist- 
ance, was  instantly  killed.  Pope’s  horse  was 


874 


BIOGKAPIIICAL  SKETCHES. 


shot  under  him;  he  himself  was  wounded,  and 
his  men  were  fallino-  in  heaps  around  him. 
Colonel  Pope  stood  near  the  center  of  the 
column,  about  four  feet  from  the  line  of  bat- 
tle, o’iving  direction  to  every  movement.  Just 
in  front  of  the  position  was  a low  rail  fence; 
further  down  the  hill  are  two  trees,  the  trunks 
of  which  are  about  the  size  of  a man’s  l>ody. 
The  Imllet  marks  in  the  trees  and  in  the  rails 
leave  us  in  wonder  how  any  human  being 
standing  in  that  line  of  battle  could  have  es- 
caped death.  Yet  such  was  the  intrepidity  of 
the  regiment  and  of  its  commander  that  they 
held  their  ground,  until  ordered  to  another 
position,  when  they  tiled  out  into  the  road  and 
marched  off  in  perfect  order.  Colonel  Pope, 
on  reaching  his  new  position,  ordered  his  men 
to  lie  down  under  the  brow  of  the  hill  as  a | 
protection  from  the  enemy’s  shells.  General 
Rousseau,  observing  some  change  in  the  field, 
rode  up  and  suggested  to  Colonel  Pope  the 
propriety  of  showing  his  forces  to  the  enemy. 
Colonel  Pope  instantly  gave  the  order;  the 
men  sprang  to  their  feet  and  marched  in  line 
to  the  battle,  to  the  top  of  the  hill.  The 
General  was  so  much  struck  with  their  ])r6nipt- 
ness  and  discipline,  that  he  put  his  cap  on  his 
sword  and  waved  it  with  the  cry,  ‘Hurra  for 
Kentucky!’  Night  soon  set  in;  and,  of  the 
Fifteenth,  seventy-two  slept  in  death,  about  a 
hundred  and  seventy  staunched,  as  best  they 
could,  their  bleedino-  wounds,  and  the  others 
rested  on  their  arms.  Colonel  Pope  remained 
with  the  army  a few  days  and  joined  in  the 
pursuit  of  Bragg,  who  fled  to  the  mountains; 
but,  finding  himself  utterly  exhausted,  he  re- 
turned to  Danville,  where  he  lingered  three 
weeks  and  died.  He  looked  forward  to  the 
eternal  world  with  pious  composure,  and 
expressed  his  unwavering  confidence  in  the 
Saviour.  But  for  this  0])portunity  on  the  field 
of  battle,  none,  not  his  most  intimate  friends 
even,  would  have  known  the  mati.  In  him 
we  have  an  instance  pointino-  out  the  finedis- 
tinction  between  a certain  brutal  ferocity, 
which  sometimes  passes  by  the  name  of  cour- 
age, and  that  more  humane  and  exalted  sen- 


honor,  the  love  of  country  and  the  fear  of  God. 
Such  was  Colonel  Pope’s  (juiet,  and  amiable. 


and  even  diffident  manner  in  society,  that  no 
man,  not  even  he  himself,  knew  what  a brave 
and  gallant  heart  was  hidden  in  his  bosom, 
patimitly  waiting  the  hour  of  his  grand  mani- 
festation. The  hour  came;  the  man  was  fully 
revealed  to  the  homage  of  his  countrymen, 
and  his  life  was  finished,  wearing  “ the  beauty 
of  a thing  completed,”  a good  work  well  done. 
His  name  is  enrolled  with  the  dead  heroes  of 
the  Commonwealth.  She  will  never  suffer 
his  memory  to  perish.” 

Wm.  R.  Thompson,  in  his  “Historical 
Sketch  of  the  Pope  Family,”  thus  speaks  of 
(Jolonel  Pope:  he  “was  the  idol  of  the  men 
he  commanded.  Though  of  a very  gentle 
and  inoffensive  disposition,  he  was  one  of  the 
bravest,  most  resolute  men  in  the  Union  army, 
equally  ready  to  oppose  and  smite  a giant,  or 
to  sootlie  and  protect  a child,  and  many  a tear 
was  shed  by  his  brave  and  scar-cove-red  sol- 
diers when  he  had  to  leave  them.  The  writer 
of  this,  who  saw  Colonel  Pope  Monday  after 
the  battle  of  Perryville,  has  heard  many  of  his 
soldiers  say  that  after  a long  and  tiresome 
march,  when  night  came  and  they  went  iiito 
camp,  other  officers  sought  a house  to  sleep 
in,  but  Colonel  Pope  laid  down  upon  tlie 
ground  with  his  men,  and  took  their  fare.  He 
looked  upon  them  as  a father  looks  upon  his 
children,  and  he  said  it  was  his  duty  to  be  with 
them  and  take  care  of  them.  He  never  souglit 
or  claimed  any  better  fare  than  his  soldiers 
got;  hence  his  immense  popularity  with  his 
men,  who  revere  his  memory  to  this  day  with 
the  affection  of  a child  for  its  father.  When 
you  meet  one  of  the  Fifteenth  Kentucky  who 
fought  at  Perryville,  ask  him  what  he  thiides 
of  Colonel  Curran  Pope,  and  he  will  give  you 
a better  eulogy  than  I can  write,  more  graphic 
and  to  the  j)oint;  he  can  tell  facts  I know  not 
in  his  undying  praise,  and  he  will  love  to  talk 
to  you  about  him.  The  writer  of  this  article 
was  well  acijuainted  with  Colonel  Curran 
j Pope  before  the  war,  and  saw  him  several 
times  in  his  camp  after  he  entered  the  army, 
and  he  can  bear  witness  to  his  great  worth  as 
a man,  citizen  and  soldier.  The  slaughter  of 
Pope’s  regimeiit  at  Perryville  was  so  great, 
that  afterwards  it  was  given  the  sobriquet  of 
the  ‘ Bloody  Regiment,’  ” 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


General  Sherman  succeeded  General  An- 
derson to  the  command  in  Kentucky  in  the 
earliest  stao-e  of  the  war.  His  headquarters 
were  at  Louisville,  and  there  he  often 
met  Colonel  Pope,  who  had  already  deter- 
mined to  enter  the  army  of  the  Union.  Gen- 
eral Sherman  had  abundant  opportunity  to 
form  a correct  estimate  of  Colonel  Pope’s 
character,  both  as  a soldier  and  as  a gentle- 
man. A few  days  after  he  learned  through 
the  public  prints  of  the  death  of  Colonel  Pope, 
although  he  was  burdened  with  the  absorbing 
responsibilities  of  a great  military  command, 
he  wrote  Colonel  Pope’s  widow  the  followdng 
letter: 

“ Hkadqtjarters,  Memphis,  Texx., 
Noyember  10,  1802. 

Dear  Madam: — 

....  I know  you  will  pardon  me,  afar  off, 
if,  at  this  your  dread  hour,  I come  to  bear  my 
feeble  show  of  honor  to  him  whose  name  you 
bear  and  whose  child  will  in  after  years  look 
back  upon  as  one  of  those  heroes  who  la- 
bored and  gaye  his  life  to  his  country.  CTell 
do  I recall  the  soft  and  gentle  yoice  of  Curran 
Pope,  the  peculiar  delicacy  of  his  approach, 
the  almost  unequal  courtesy  of  his  manner 
and  the  first  faint  doubt  that  one  so  gentle,  so 
mild,  so  beautiful  in  character,  should  be  a 
warrior;  but  another  look,  and  his  eye,  the 
plain  direct  assertion  of  a high  and  holy  pur- 
pose, with  the  pressure  of  his  lips,  told  that 
he  was  a man;  one  to  lead;  one  to  go  where 
duty  called  him  though  the  path  led  through 
the  hail  storm  of  battle.  Among  all  the  men 
I have  ever  met  in  the  progress  of  this  un- 
natural war,  I cannot  recall  one'  in  whose 
every  act  and  expression  was  so  manifest  the 
good  and  true  man;  one  who  so  well  filled 
the  type  of  the  Kentucky  gentleman. 

He  died  not  upon  the  battle-field  but  of 
wounds  inflicted  by  parricidal  hands  on  Ken- 
tucky’s soil  and  his  blood  is  the  cement  that 
will  ever  more  bind  together  the  disjointed 
parts  of  a mighty  nation.  Though  for  a time 
smitten  down  by  the  terrible  calamity,  may 
you  and  your  child  soon  learn  to  look  upon 
his  name  and  fame  as  encircled  by  a halo  of 
glory  more  beautiful  than  ever  decked  the 
victor’s  brow.  Curran  Pope  is  dead,  but 


millions  will  battle  on,  till  from  his  heaven- 
home  he  will  see  his  own  beloved  Kentucky 
the  center  of  his  great  country,  regenerated 
and  disenthralled  from  the  toils  of  wicked 
men. 

I fear  that  in  trying-  to  carry  comfort  to  an 
afflicted  heart,  I do  it  rudely,  but  I know  you 
will  permit  me  in  my  blunt  way  to  bear  my 
feeble  testimony  to  the  goodness,  braveness, 
and  gallantry  of  the  man  who  more  nearly 
filled  the  picture  of  the  preux  chevalier  of 
this  age,  than  any  man  1 have  yet  met.  I 
know  you  are  in  the  midst  of  a host  of  friends, 
but  should  in  the  progress  of  years  any 
opportunity  come  by  which  I can  be  of  serv- 
ice to  any  of  the  family  of  Curran  Pope, 
command  me. 

M'ith  great  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

W.  T.  Shermax'. 

Maj.  Gen.  Yols.” 

Curran  Pope  was  married  to  ^latilda 
Prather,  a daughter  of  .John  I.  .Jacob,  by 
whom  he  was  blessed  with  one  daughter, 
^lary  Tyler  Pope,  who  is  possessed  of  many 
accomplishments,  great  force  of  character  and 
intellect,  and  of  much  beauty,  and  who  still 
lives  in  the  home  of  her  heroic  father,  the 
happy  wife  of  Judge  Alfred  Thruston  Pope, 
and  the  devoted  mother  of  an  interesting 
family. 

JUDGE  AI.FRED  THRL'STOX  POPE 
was  born  July,  22  1842,  on  .lefferson  street, 
between  Sixth  and  Seventh  streets,  Imuis- 
ville,  Ixy.,  in  the  house  where  his  grand- 
father and  other  members  of  the  family  first 
suggested  Gen.  Jackson  for  the  Presidency. 
He  was  reared  at  his  father’s  country  place, 
which  commands  a beautiful  view  of  the  Ohio 
River  and  is  situated  three  miles  west  of 
Louisville. 

He  was  educated  at  Bethany  College  and  In- 
diana  University ; graduated  at  the  Louisville 
I.,aw  School  under  Chanc  ellors  I>ogan  and  Pirtle 
and  Judge  Bullock;  w-as  admitted  to  the  bar 
before  attaining  his  majority,  speedily  ac- 
quired a lucrative  practice  and  took  high  rank 
in  his  profession.  In  1867,  three  years  after 
graduation,  he  was  unanimously  chosen  as 
the  orator  and  delivered  the  Alumni  address 


878 


BIOGRAflllCAL  SKETCHES. 


of  the  ]^aw  School.  ITe  was  elected  without 
opposition  a member  of  the  General  Council 
of  Louisville,  and,  declining  a re-election, 
was  nominated  in  18()9  by  the  Democrats 
for  the  Legislature,  to  which,  after  an  ex- 
citing and  interesting  canvass,  he  was  elected 
over  the  Hon.  T^ewis  M.  Dembitz.  The  fol- 
lowing year  he  was  elected  without  a dis- 
senting voice  by  the  delegates  to  the  State 
convention  as  elector  for  the  Congressional 
District,  which  embraced  the  City  of  Louis- 
ville and  the  counties  of  Jeffei’son,  Henry, 
Oldham  and  Owen,  and  his  speeches  in  that 
canvass  enhanced  his  reputation.  In  1871 
he  was  unanimoirsly  elected  to  a seat  in  the 
Kentucky  Senate.  After  two  years’  service 
in  the  Senate,  which  merited  and  received 
the  approval  of  his  constituents,  and  where, 
although  the  youngest  member  of  that  body, 
being  barely  eligible  when  elected,  he  served 
upon  the  most  important  committees,  and 
took  position  with  the  oldest  and  most  influ- 
ential members.  His  repugnance,  however, 
for  politics  and  political  methods  and  his 
aversion  to  public  office  was  so  inteirse  that 
he  resigned  an  unexpired  term  of  two  years 
in  the  Senate  and  returned  at  once  to  the 
practice  of  the  law. 

.fudge  Pope  has  always  taken  a warm  inter- 
est in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  educational 
interests  of  the  city,  serving  as  a trustee  of 
the  Louisville  Public  Schools,  of  the  Ken- 
tucky School  for  the  Blind,  and  in  other  like 
capacities. 

In  1878,  at  the  age  of  thirty-six,  his  friends 
announced  him  as  a candidate  for  the  I.ouis- 
ville  Law  and  Equity  Court,  and  although 
his  opponent  was  a most  worthy  and  popular 
gentleman  of  mature  years,  then  holding  an 
office  of  the  greatest  political  power  and  pa- 
tronage under  the  City  government  and  who 
is  now  serving  a second  term  as  Chancellor 
of  the  Louisville  Chancery  Court,  .fudge 
Pope  was  elected.  At  the  time  of  his  election 
he  was  the  youngest  Chancellor  who  ever  sat 
upon  the  bench  in  Kentucky.  He  discharged 
each  and  every  duty  of  the  high  position 
with  unquestioned  probity,  courage  and  abil- 
ity for  a period  of  four  years,  when,  being 
upon  a prolonged  tour  on  the  Continent  with 


his  family,  he  resigned  the  unexpired  term 
of  two  years,  and  also  retired  from  the  prac- 
tice of  law. 

.Judge  Pope  being  no  longer  in  public  life, 
is  quietly  en  joying  that  domesticity  congenial 
to  his  tastes,  surrounded  by  the  refinements 
which  travel  and  affluence  command  and  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  the  community  in 
which  he  was  born  and  in  which  he  has  passed 
his  life. 

On  the  26th  of  September,  1865,  he  was 
married  to  IMary  Tyler  Pope,  the  daughter  of 
Col.  Curran  Pope,  by  whom  he  has  three 
sons,  Curran  Pope,  Pendleton  Pope  and  Al- 
fred Thruston  Pope,  .Ir. 

VERNON  D.  PRICE  was  born  in  Cincin- 
nati, June  9,  1848,  and  is  a son  of  .lames  P. 
and  Frances  (Dana)  Price,  of  Richmond,  Va., 
and  Ohio.  His  father  moved  from  Virginia 
to  Cincinnati,  where  he  was  for  a time  a hard- 
ware merchant.  In  1846  he  raised  a company 
in  Kentucky  for  the  Mexican  war,  and  was 
major  of  the  regiment  at  the  close  of  hostili- 
ties. He  died  in  1884,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
one  years.  Sub  ject  is  the  only  son,  and  rvas 
brought  up  in  Washington  County,  Ohio, 
where  his  parents  removed  when  he  was  a boy. 
He  was  liberally  educated,  and  graduated  at 
Bowdoin  College,  at  Brunswick,  Me.  After 
leaving  college  he  went  to  Europe,  and  upon 
his  return,  he,  in  1871,  started  in  his  present 
business,  the  manufacture  of  cider  and  vine- 
gar, in  which  he  has  been  very  successful, 
having  at  the  present  time  fifteen  men  on  the 
road.  Mr.  .John  W.  Lucas  was  associated 
with  him  a few  years  after  he  began  the  busi- 
ness— the  firm  being  being  Price  & Lucas. 
In  August,  1877,  Mr.  Price  was  married  to 
Miss  Mary  Cramblitt,  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 
They  have  had  four  children,  three  of  whom 
are  living,  viz.:  Vernon  D.,  Florence  and 
Helen.  Mr.  Price  is  one  of  the  young  and 
energetic  business  men  of  Louisville.  He  is 
a stockholder  and  director  in  the  Louisville 
Southern  Railroad;  is  a director  in  the  Imuis- 
ville  Banking  Company;  a director  in  the 
Commercial  Club;  director  in  the  Polytechnic 
Society  of  Kentucky,  and  in  the  Kentucky 
and  Indiana  Stock  Yards,  and  director  in  the 
Louisville  & Madison  Woolen  Mills. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


881 


HENRY  K.  PUSEY,  M.  D.,  Superinten- 
dent of  the  Achorage  Insane  Asylum,  was 
born  in  Meade  County,  Ky.,  January  2,  1827, 
and  is  a son  of  Joel  and  Ann  (Roope)  Pusey, 
natives  of  Maryland.  He  was  reared  on  a 
farm  and  educated  in  the  schools  of  Meade 
County.  He  read  medicine,  and  graduated 
from  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Louisville  in  1849.  He  commenced 
the  practice  of  medicine  at  Garrettsville, 
Meade  County,  and  successfully  practiced 
there  until  1882,  when  he  went  to  Louisville, 
remaining  until  1844,  when  he  was  appointed 
by  Gov.  Knott  superintendent  of  the  Insane 
Asylum  at  Anchorage,  which  position  he  still 
holds.  He  was  married  in  1851,  to  Miss  Sarah 
McCarty,  of  Marion  County.  The  Pusey 
family  is  of  English  origin,  and  can  be  traced 
back  eight  and  a half  centures  in  Berkshire, 
England.  Running  through  all  these  years, 
the  name  has  undergone  many  changes  of 
orthography,  having  been  spelled  Pesey, 
Pesie,  Pesye,  Pose,  Pusye,  Pyssey,  Pusey, 
Pewte,  Pewsey  and  Pecote.  In  the  celebra- 
ted Doomesday  Book,  completed  in  1080,  and 
embodying  the  results  of  tlie  survey  ordered 
by  William  the  Conqueror,  the  name  is  reg- 
istered “ Pesie”  or  “ Pesei.”  Here  the  family 
have  resided  from  the  time  of  the  Danish  King 
Canute,  fifty  years  before  the  Norman  Con- 
quest. From  this  family.  Dr.  Pusey,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  traces  directly  his 
lineage. 

W.  T.  PYNE,  one  of  the  prominent  and 
successful  business  men  of  Louisville,  was 
born  in  1838,  in  Mount  Yernon,  Ind.,  and  is 
a son  of  4Y.  B.  and  Eliza  (Thomas)  Pyne, 
the  former  a native  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and 
the  latter  of  Virginia.  The  father  was  of 
English  and  Scotch  ancestry.  He  was  a mill- 
wright, an  expert  mechanic,  and  brought  up 
his  son  to  the  same  business.  He  removed 
West  in  1829,  and  built  the  first  mill  put  up 
in  St.  Imuis,  Mo.,  for  a man  named  Chou- 
teau. He  also  built  the  first  fiour-mill  in 
the  territory,  now  the  State  of  Illinois. 
He  finally  located  in  Mount  Vernon,  Ind. 
W.  T.  Pyne,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  a 
natural  mechanic.  At  the  acre  of  thirteen 
years  he  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  a mill- 


wright under  his  father’s  instruction,  and 
continued  with  him  until  he  was  nineteen 
years  old.  Duiing  his  apprenticeship  he  at- 
tended school  about  three  months  each  winter, 
and  by  careful  reading  obtained  a good  prac- 
tical education.  Upon  leaving  his  father  he 
served  one  season  at  Shoals,  Ind.,  with  John 
Sloan,  a millwright  from  this  city,  and  the 
following  year,  1859,  he  apprenticed  himself 
to  .1.  T.  Wilder,  at  Lawrenceburg,  Ind.,  for 
two  years.  He  operated  as  foreman  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  civil  war,  when  his  ap- 
prenticeship terminated,  and  he  began  busi- 
ness for  himself.  Since  having  mastered  his 
trade,  and  launched  out  for  himself,  Mr.  Pyne 
has  never  worked  a day  as  journeyman  for 
any  one.  His  personal  success  from  the  first 
has  been  marked.  Going  at  once  to  Indian- 
apolis, he  began  his  rnillwrighting  business, 
and  carried  it  on  until  1864,  when  he  ac- 
cepted a situation  as  superintendent  of  the 
flouring-mill  of  T.  & J.  W.  Gaff,  at  Colum- 
bus, Ind.,  retaining  that  position  for  about 
two  years,  when  ill-health  compelled  him  to 
resign.  Mr.  Pyne’s  next  business  enterprise 
was  the  establishment  of  a foundry  and  ma- 
chine shop,  which  was  carried  on  under  the 
firm  name  of  Kerr,  Pyne  A Co.,  changing  to 
Pyne,  Bush  A Co.,  and  later  to  Columbus 
Machine  and  Millwright  Co.  He  left  the 
business,  and  in  1871  established  himself  in 
Louisville,  Ky.,  w'here  he  still  carries  on  an 
extensive  and  constantly  growing  mill  furn- 
ishing business.  The  continual  development 
of  the  “ New  South  ” owes  much  to  such  men 
as  IMr.  Pyne,  who  with  a firm  belief  in  the 
great  future  of  the  country  South  of  the  old 
“ Mason’s  and  Dixon’s  line,”  have  settled 
there  and  bent  their  energies  toward  hasten- 
ing its  advancement.  Already  they  begin  to 
see  the  fruits  of  their  labors.  Mr.  Pyne  is  in 
the  full  vigor  of  life,  with  a fair  prospect  be- 
fore him  of  living  many  years  to  enjoy  the 
returns  to  which  his  energy  and  integrity 
entitle  him.  He  was  married  in  1862  to  Miss 
l^aura  L.  Brown,  of  Jeffersonville,  Ind.  She 
died  in  1886.  Mr.  Pyne  has  two  children 
living  : Harry  B.  and  Ella  M. 

E.  G.  QUICK  was  born  in  Bullitt  County, 
Ky.,  December  11,  1860;  his  father  was  Wm. 


883 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


Quick,  who  was  born  in  ]3ullitt  County  also, 
September  15,  1815,  and  married  Elizabeth 
Baxter,  Januarj  2,  1845.  ^Ym.  Cjuick  was  a 
farmer  all  his  life,  and  died  in  Bullitt  County 
August  9,  1885.  To  William  and  Elizabeth 
Quick  were  born  nine  children,  viz ; Remina 
A.,  born  December  19,  1838;  Richard  E., 
born  August  6,  1840,  died  May  21,  1879  ; 
Preston  H.,  born  August  12,  1840  ; ^V.  T., 
born  August  20,  1849 ; Mary  A.,  born  No- 
vember 29,  1851,  died  August  10,  1871  ; 
Sarah,  liorn  March  24,  1854 ; Elizabeth  C., 
born  August  28,  1855  ; Johnathan,  born  .Tune 
30,  1858  ; Ephraim  G.,  born  December  11, 
1860  ; Emily  A.,  born  November  9,  1860  ; 
Elizabeth  C.,  born  November  9,  1866,  died 
•Inly  29,  1867.  AVm.  Quick  was  first  married 
to  Mary  Ann  Farguson,  February  25,  1838. 
Remina  A.  and  Richard  E.  were  children  of 
this  marriage.  IMrs.  Mary  Ann  (Juick  died 
in  April,  1841. 

JAMES  S.  RAGSDALE  was  born  IMay 
23,  1845,  and  is  a son  William  J.  and  Emma 
(Tilleson)  Ragsdale,  natives  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  Virginia.  He  has  been  in  the 
tobacco  business  since  he  was  fourteen  years 
old.  He  came  to  Hopkinsville  in  1885  and 
engfaffed  in  tobacco  as  a broker.  He  was 
without  experience  in  that  line  of  the  trade, 
but  had  extraordinary  good  luck  last  year. 
He  boucfht  more  tobacco  durinop  1887  than 
any  one  buyer  in  Hopkinsville  market,  hand- 
linp-  over  4,000  hoo-sheads.  He  came  to 
Louisville  the  26th  of  December’,  1887,  and 
engaged  in  the  bi’oker’s  business  here,  start- 
ing with  flattering  prospects.  He  went  into 
the  late  war  in  Woodward’s  Independent 
Cavalry,  but  being  only  flfteeir  years  old  did 
not  remain  long  iir  the  army.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1865  to  Frances  M.  Hester,  of  Chris- 
tian County.  They  have  five  children,  viz  : 
Frank,  Lottie,  Allen,  Louise  and  Nellie. 

WILLIAM  R.  RAY,  one  of  the  enterpris- 
ing and  substantial  business  men  of  Louis- 
ville, was  born  in  Decatur  County,  Ind., 
August  15,  1828,  and  is  a son  of  Sigismond 
and  Charlotte  (Roe)  Ray,  natives  of  Estill 
County,  Ky.,  and  Ohio.  The  Ray  family  is 
originally  from  A^irginia;  the  grandfather  of 
subject  settling  near  Lexington,  where  he 


I took  up  a large  tract  of  land  in  an  early  day, 

: but  being  fond  of  hunting,  when  game  be- 
came scarce  returned  to  Estill  County.  The 
subject  was  reared  mostly  in  Indiana.  He  is 
wholly  a self-made  man — never  went  to 
school  a day  in  his  life,  but  through  his  own 
energy  and  perseverance  managed  to  pick  up 
a good  practical,  business  education.  He 
commenced  work  for  himself,  cuttinor  cord- 
wood  for  a pork  house,  peddled  ice,  and  did 
I anything  else  he  could,  or  that  came  in  his 
way.  He  was  placed  on  the  police  force  in 
1854,  and  became  chief  in  1858,  serving  as 
chief  under  mayors  Pilcher  and  Barbee,  and 
for  a time  under  mayor  Thomas  H.  Crawford. 
He  bouorht  an  interest  in  a small  saw-mill  in 
1859,  and  some  years  later  bought  a larger 
one,  which  he  operated  for  seventeen  years. 
He  has  held  many  prominent  and  important 
positions  in  business  circles,  and  for  eighteen 
years  has  been  a member  of  the  Board  of 
Sinking  Fund  Commissioners.  Upon  the 
death  of  president  .lohn  B.  Smith,  he  became 
president  of  the  board;  he  is  vice-president  of 
the  Citizen’s  National  Bank,  and  has  been  a 
director  in  it  almost  since  its  organization. 
He  is  a thorou'cyh  business  man,  and  in  all  his 
work  and  public  positions  has  labored  zealous- 
ly for  the  city’s  welfare  and  prosperity.  Mr. 
Ray  was  married.  May  14,  1848,  to  Miss 
Mary  A.  Neal,  of  Indiana.  They  have  three 
children  living. 

WILLIAM  REINECKE  is  a native  of 
Hanover,  Germany,  and  was  born  January  23, 
1842.  He  is  a son  of  Adolph  and  Wilhelmina 
(Wagner)  Reinecke — the  former  a Lutheran 
clergyman,  and  a writer  of  great  prominence. 
The  subject  was  reared  and  educated  in  Ger- 
many, and  graduated  at  the  age  of  eighteen. 
He  then  spent  one  year  in  a university,  study- 
ing theology.  At  the  commencement  of  the 
civil  war  he  came  to  America,  and  engaged 
as  a reporter  on  a Baltimore  German  paper; 
then  went  to  Chicaofo,  and  became  editor  on 
the  staff  of  the  Staats  Zeitung,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1864,  when  he  was  prevailed  on 
to  come  to  Louisville,  and  take  charge  of  the 
Union  Press ^ a Republican  newspaper  — two 
daily  editions,  one  in  English  and  one  in 
German.  After  the  death  of  President  Lin- 


/ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


885 


coin  he  returned  to  Chicago,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1868,  when  he  came  to  Louisvdlle, 
and  became  cashier  of  the  ^Vestern  Bank, 
which  position  he  held  until  1870,  when  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  has  since  prac- 
ticed his  profession.  His  specialty  is  corpor- 
ation and  insurance  law,  and  he  is  attorney 
for  some  of  the  largest  corporations  of  the  city 
and  State.  He  has  attained  distinction  in 
legal  circles  beyond  Kentucky  by  his  able 
advocacy  of  a general  codlScation  of  all  the 
laws.  Since  1886  he  has  been  manager  of 

O 

the  Kentucky  State  agency  of  the  Germania 
Life  Insurance  Company  of  New  York.  To- 
gether with  Bishop  Dudley,  he  elits  The 
Church  Chronicle^  the  organ  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  in  Kentucky.  He  was  married  in 
1881  to  Miss  Alvina  Marckworth,  of  Cincin- 
nati. He  is  a prominent  IMason,  being  the 
Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Consistory  of  Ken- 
tucky, of  Scottish  Rite  IMasons,  and  having 
attained  the  thirty-third  degree.  He  was  also 
Grand  IMaster  of  the  Grand  Imdcre  of  Odd 
Fellows,  Grand  Patriarch  of  the  Grand  En- 
campment of  Odd  Fellows,  and  served  a num- 
ber of  years  as  Grand  Representative  of  both 
grand  bodies  in  the  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge 
of  that  Order. 

DUDLEY  SHARPE  REYNOLDS,  A.  M., 
iM.  D.,  Fellow  of  the  Medical  Chirurgical 
College,  Philadelphia,  was  born  near  Bowling 
Green,  Ky.,  August  31, 1812.  He  is  the  only 
son  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Reynolds,  whose 
father.  Dr.  Admiral  Reynolds,  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Warren  County,  Ky.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  received  a liberal 
education  in  the  common-schools,  at  the  Trim- 
ble High  School,  the  private  institution  of 
Professor  Allman,  and  at  Irving  College. 
He  studied  medicine  in  the  office  of  the  late  ' 
Professor  Paul  F.  Eve,  of  Nashville,  and 
graduated  at  the  University  of  Louisville. 
He  was  actively  engaged  as  a general  prac- 
titioner of  medicine  and  surgery  until  the  first 
of  January,  1872,  when  he  abandoned  the 
general  practice,  and  has  ever  since  devoted 
himself  to  the  practice  of  ophthalmology  and 
otology.  He  attended  courses  of  instruction 
at  the  Wills  Ophthalmic  Hospital  at  Philadel- 
phia, the  New  York  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary, 


and  the  clinics  at  the  Royal  London  Ophthal- 
mic Hospital,  and  Guy’s  Hospital  in  London; 
at  the  Sorbonne,  and  the  private  clinics  of  De 
Wecker,  Sichel,  Ed  Meyer,  Fornier,  Fremy, 
Charcot,  and  Galezowski  at  Paris.  Deeply 
impressed  with  the  labors  of  Professors  Don- 
ders  and  Snellen  at  Utrecht,  Dr.  Reynolds 
has  twice  visited  LTrecht.  He  was  chief 
surgeon  to  the  Western  Dispensary,  where  he 
had  a large  clinic,  and  gave  private  instruc- 
tion in  surgery  and  ophthalmology  in  1869, 
1870  and  1871.  In  1874,  when  the  curators 
of  Central  University  of  Kentucky  undertook 
the  establishment  of  the  medical  department 
of  that  institution  at  I.ouisville,  Dr.  Reynolds 
was  appointed  to  the  chair  of  ophthalmology 
and  otology.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the 
establi-hment  of  the  Hospital  College  of  ^ledi- 
cine;  and  in  1882  the  title  of  his  chair  was 
changed  to  that  of  general  pathology , puh- 

lic  hygiene^  and  diseases  of  the  eye  and  ear." 
Dr.  Reynolds  is  fond  of  sanitary  science,  and 
has  devoted  considerable  time  to  its  experi- 
mental study.  He  does  a great  deal  of 
laboratory  work,  and  has  devoted  consklerable 
attention  to  microscopical  research.  In  1879 
he  established  the  Medical  Herald.,  a month- 
ly macrazine,  which  soon  attained  a vvidi  cir- 
culation,  and  proved  a profitable  venture. 
Being  dissatisfied  with  the  business  manage- 
ment, he  sold  his  interest  in  the  Herald. 
Soon  afterward  he  re-entered  the  field  of 
journalism  as  editor-in-chief  of  a medical 
magazine  called  Progress.,  which  was  estab- 
i lished  by  Mr.  I).  Raymond.  It  is  pub- 
i lished  by  Rogers  & Tuly,  and  circulates  in 
every  civilized  country.  Dr.  Reynolds  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Polytechnic  Society 
of  Kentucky,  which  was  organized  under  a 
special  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky, 
by  the  terms  of  which  it  assumed  contr-ol  of 
the  Public  Library  property.  Dr.  Reyirolds 
has  been  a member  of  the  directory  continu- 
ously since  1879,  and  has  had  much  to  do  with 
the  management  of  the  Public  Library,  being 
chairrrran  of  the  special  comrrr’ttee  of  direc- 
tors, appointed  to  prepare  rules  and  overlook 
the  general  management  of  the  library,  which 
now  numbers  about  forty-five  thousand  vol- 
umes. He  is  a menrber  of  the  Louisville 


88C 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


Medical  Society,  the  Kentucky  State  Medical 
Society,  the  IMississippi  Valley  Medical  Asso- 
ciation (of  which  he  is  president,  1888),  the 
American  Medical  Association,  the  British 
Medical  Association,  and  of  the  Fourth,  Sixth, 
Seventh  and  Ninth  International  Medical 
Congresses.  lie  served  for  a number  of  years 
as  Ophthalmic  Surgeon  to  the  Imuisville  City 
Hospital,  and  lus  represented  the  State  Medi- 
cal Society  of  Kentucky  at  the  annual  meet- 
inors  of  the  American  Medical  Association 
continuously  from  1872  to  the  present  time. 
From  1871  to  1 888,  inclusive.  Dr.  Reynolds 
missed  but  one  meeting  of  the  State  Medical 
Association,  and  has  contributed  to  the  pub- 
lished transactions  every  year.  His  clinical 
lectures  on  the  eye  and  ear  have  been  pub- 
lished by  the  Philadelphia  Medical  Times, 
the  Philadel^diia  Medical  a, ml  Surgical  Ite- 
j>orfer,  Mew  York  Medical  Record,  Virginia 
Medical  Monthly,  Gail  lard's  Medical  Jour- 
nal, the  Jjonismlle  Medical  Herald,  St.  Louis 
Weekly  Reviexo,  Journal  of  the  American 
JSledical  Association,  and  in  his  own  journal. 
Progress.  At  the  Ninth  International  Medi- 
cal Congressat  Washington,  D.  C.,  September, 
1887,  he  proposed  to  change  the  plan  of 
grading  lenses,  and  to  designate  them  by  the 
anorle  of  refraction,  instead  of  the  anule  of  the 
radius,  or  by  focal  lengths,  as  is  commonly 
done.  He  was  invited  to  Philadeljihia  to 
deliver  the  annual  address  to  the  Alumni 
Association  of  the  Medico-Chirurgical  College 
on  the  occasion  of  his  receiving  the  degree  of 
Fellowship  in  the  college,  in  April,  1887. 
He  received  the  degree  of  A-  M.  at  Ogden 
College,  Bowling  Green,  Ky.  He  has  been 
twice  married,  and  has  four  children  living. 
His  first  wife  was  Mary  F.  Keagan,  to  whom 
he  was  married  May  7,  1865.  Their  eldest 
child,  a daughter,  is  now  the  wife  of  Dr.  P. 
R.  Taylor,  of  Decatur,  Abi.  Another,  a son, 
Dudley  S.,  Jr.,  is  preparing  for  the  study  of 
medicine.  Dr.  Reynold’s  second  marriage 
was  celebrated  at  Covington,  Ky.,  July  18,  | 
1881,  to  Matilda  V.  Bruce,  only  daughter  of  j 
the  late  Hon.  E.  AT.  Bruce.  The  issues 
of  this  marriage  are  a son  and  daughter,  E. 
M.  Bruce,  and  Sarah  Elizabeth.  Dr.  Reynolds 


is  a man  of  great  energy,  a robust  form,  and 
fine  constitution. 

BENJAMIN  H.  RIDGELY  is  a native  of 
Baltimore,  Aid.;  was  born  July  13,  1859,  and 
is  a son  of  Frederick  AV.  and  Harriet  (Isett) 
Ridgely.  The  Ridgely  family  was  a very  old 
one  in  Alaryland,  and  came  over  with  Lord 
Baltimore.  Frederick  R.  Ridgely,  great- 
grandfather of  Benjamin  H.,  was  a surgeon  in 
the  Continental  army  during  the  Revolution- 
ary war.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to 
Louisville  in  1879,  but  had  lived  in  AA^ood- 
ford  County  for  some  years  before  coming  to 
this  city.  He  was  a reporter  on  the  Courier- 
Journal  for  four  years,  and  won  an  excellent 
reputation  as  a newspaper  writer.  He  is  a 
young  man  with  a fine  vein  of  humor  and 
almost  exhaustless  wit,  which  gives  to  his 
articles  a characteristic  flavor.  After  leaving 
the  Courier- Journal  he  was  for  a time  con- 
nected with  the  Argus,  a ]>aper  recently  de- 
ceased ; afterward  he  was  city  editor  of  the 
Commercial,  which  position  he  resigned  to 
take  editorial  charo-e  of  Truth.  He  was  mar- 

O 

ried,  in  November,  1885,  to  Aliss  Sophronia 
Braunin. 

REAL  STUART  ROBINSON,  D.  D.,  was 
a native  of  the  North  of  Ireland,  and  was 
born  at  Strauane,  County  Tyrone,  about 
1812.  His  parents,  .Tames  and  Alartha  (Por- 
ter) Robinson,  were  poor.  They  emigrated 
! to  America  while  their  son  was  yet  small,  and 
j located  at  Alartinsburg,  A^irginia.  Here  the 
strong  will,  cpiick  wit,  and  rugged  clear 
headedness  of  the  boy  attracted  the  attention 
of  Rev.  James  M.  Brown,  a Presbyterian 
clergyman,  who  gave  him  a good  private 
school  education,  and  started  him  to  teaching 
at  one  of  the  neighboring  salt  works.  His 
education  was  completed  at  Amherst,  Alass., 
where  he  graduated  in  1834.  Among  his 
collesre  mates  were  several  who  afterward 

O 

achieved  distinction,  and  who  like  him  have 
passed  to  their  reward  in  the  hereafter  ; no- 
table of  these  were  Rev.  Benjamin  AL  Pal- 
mer, D.  1).,  of  New  Orleans;  Rev.  Henry  P. 
Humphrey,  I).  D.,  of  Louisville,  and  Rev. 
Henry  AA'^ard  Beecher.  Having  studied  for 
the  Presbyterian  ministry  (Old  School)  he 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


887 


preached  for  some  years  at  Malden,  near 
Charleston.  In  1846,  when  his  old  college 
mate.  Dr.  Humphrey,  was  compelled  by  ill 
health  to  relimpiish  his  pulpit,  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Louisville,  it  was 
filled  by  Mr.  Robinson,  and  so  acceptably 
that  the  same  congregation,  years  after,  when 
there  was  a vacancy,  unanimously  chose  him 
as  their  pastor.  J’rom  1846  to  1854  he  was 
pastor  at  Frankfort,  Ky.,  and  during  that 
period  found  time  to  act]  as  president  of  a 
female  seminary,  president  of  a cotton 


jiany,  and  director  of  the  Farmer’s  Bank  of 
Kentucky,  with  its  seven  branches  and 
§2,200,000  capital.  In  1854  he  was  called 
to  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Central  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Baltimore,  Md.  With  a 
large  and  growing  congregation  he  yet  found 
time  to  originate  and  edit,  for  two  years, 
1855-56,  the  Presbyterian  Critic^  a very  able 
monthly,  strongly  controversial  in  character. 
In  May,  1856,  the  Presbyterian  General  As- 
sembly elected  him  professor  of  church  gov- 
ernment and  pastoral  theology  in  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  at  Danville,  Ky.,  which  he 
filled  for  two  years  with  distinguished  ability. 
His  next  call  was  to  the  pulpit  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Louisville,  which  he 
held  to  the  time  of  his  death,  October  5,  1881. 
In  1858  he  wrote  “The  Churcli  of  God  as  an 
Essential  Element  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  Idea, 
Structure  and  Function  thereof,”  a 12-mo. 
volume  of  great  power  and  labor,  which  in  a 
few  months  called  for  a second  edition,  much 
enlarged.  He  afterwards  wrote  several  other 
smaller  works,  but  his  last  and  greatest  work 
was  “ Discourses  of  Redemption.”  In  1861 
he  began,  at  Louisville,  the  publication  of  a 
weekU'  newspaper,  The  True  Presbyterian^ 
which  was  twice  suppressed  by  the  military 
in  July,  1862,  and  in  November,  1864,  not 
becairse  of  any  political  utterances,  but  be- 
cause of  its  pronounced  opinions  on  religious 
and  church  topics  which  were  distasteful  to 
some  who  sank  their  view's  of  independent 
church  government  and  personal  action  in  the 
maelstrom  of  subserviency  to  the  military 
spirit  of  the  hour.  In  1863  he  w'ent  to  To-  j 
I’onto,  Canada,  where  he  remained  until  1866. 


The  publication  of  his  newspaper  was  re- 
sumed in  1865,  by  his  co-editor,  as  the  Free 
Christians  Commonwealth w'hich  he  aided 
in  editing  from  a “far  country.”  In  May, 
1869,  at  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  (South),  at  ^Mobile, 
Ala.,  he  w'as  elected  moderator,  unanimously, 
a compliment  as  distinguished  as  it  is  rare. 
In  1873,  in  a series  of  lectures  to  his  congre- 
gation, he  delivered  a commentary  on  the 
book  of  Genesis,  both  striking  and  exhaustive. 
They  were  published  weekly  in  the  Courier- 
Journal.  In  the  summer  of  1873  Doctor 
Robinson  visited  Europe,  Egypt  and  Pales- 
tine ; and  in  the  winter  following  lectured 
upon  his  travels  to  crow'ded  houses,  always 
for  the  benefit  of  some  worthy  object — never 
for  private  rew'ard.  In  1877  he  attended  the 
Pau-Presbyterian  Convention,  in  Edinburgh, 
Scotland,  and  was  one  of  the  most  observed 
of  that  assembly  of  great  and  Christian  minds, 
and  one  of  the  strono-est  of  the  American 

O 

representatives  to  that  body.  The  secret  of 
Dr.  Robinson’s  power  was  his  directness,  sim- 
plicity, scripturalness  and  intense  conviction 
of  truth.  Of  course  these  traits  were  united 
with  genius,  learning  and  great  industry'. 
He  married,  in  September,  1841,  Miss  Mary 
E.  Brigfham,  a daughter  of  Col.  4Vm.  Brio-- 
ham,  a native  of  Massachusetts,  who  survived 
him.  Eight  children  were  born  of  this  mar- 
riage,  only  two  of  whom,  daughters,  are  liv- 
ing. 

RICHARD  ALEXANDER  ROBINSON, 
eldest  son  of  Lyles  Robert  and  Catherine 
(^Vorthington)  Robinson,  was  born  on  his 
father’s  farm,  called  “Spring  Hill,”  near 
Winchester,  Frederick  County',  Va.,  October 
23,  1817.  His  father  was  a native  of  the 
same  county,  and  was  born  in  1790,  and  was 
the  eldest  child  of  Alexander  and  Priscilla 
Robinson,  of  Baltimore,  Md.  Alexander 
Robinson  was  a successful  merchant  of  Balti- 
more, and  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety-five  years.  His  wife  died  soon  after 
the  birth  of  her  son  Lyles,  leaving  him  to  the 
care  of  her  mother’s  sister,  Mrs.  Archibald 
Magill,  of  Winchester,  where  he  remained 
during  his  boyhood,  and  then  resided  in  Bal- 
timore with  his  father,  where  he  acquired  a 


888 


BIOGKAPIIICAL  SKETCHES. 


mercantile  education.  In  November,  1813, 
lie  married  Catherine  W.,  tiie  dauo-hter  of  Dr. 
Kichard  and  Aehsah  W.  Goldsboronofh,  of 
Cambridge,  Md.,and  soon  after  settled  on  his 
farmer  an  AVinchester,  where  he  continued  to 
reside  until  his  death,  September  21,  1831. 
His  wife  died  December  10,  1828.  She  was 
a devoted  Christian,  an  active  member  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  and  exeited  a marked  in- 
tluence  on  her  family  and  friends.  Her 
children,  who  were  old  enough,  were  early 
impressed  with  the  importance  of  their  relig- 
ious duties,  and  were  regular  attendants  of 
the  Sunday-school  anl  the  church.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  received  the  advantage  of 
an  English  education,  mainly  at  the  AVinches- 
ter  Academy,  a school  of  some  note  in  that 
region.  But  having  expressed  a desire  to 
become  a merchant  at  the  early  age  of  four- 
teen (in  March,  1832,)  his  father  obtained  for 
him  a situation  with  Baker  'Tapscott,  a lead- 
ing merchant  of  Shepherdstown,  A^a.,  in  an 
adjoining  county.  In  this  establishment  he 
formed  the  basis  of  a business  education 
which  proved  of  great  value  to  him  in  his 
subsequent  career.  The  death  of  his  father 
(in  1831)  had  caused  the  dispersion  of  his 
brothers  and  sisters  amono-  their  relations  in 

O 

Maryland  and  A^irginia.  The  eldest  brother 
especially  felt  the  responsibility  of  his  posi- 
tion, which  resulted  in  the  determination  to 
seek  some  favorable  point  in  the  AVest  as  a j 
rallying  point  for  the  family,  in  the  hope  that 
they  all  might  again  be  reunited.  AVith  this 
object  in  view  he  began,  soon  after  his 
father’s  death,  by  more  diligent  application 
to  business,  to  prepare  himself  for  a larger 
field  of  labor.  After  careful  observation  he 
selected  Louisville  as  the  most  eligible  point. 
He  had  several  friends  in  Louisville,  from 
A^iro-inia.  Amono-  them  was  Mr.  Arthur  I.ee, 
with  whom  he  had  been  on  intimate  terms  of 
friendship  in  A^irginia.  In  Afarch,  1837,  he 
arrived  in  Louisville,  and  succeeded  throua-h 
the  aid  of  Mr.  Lee  in  securing  a position  as 
bookkeeper  in  a wholesale  grocery  house, 
which  he  retained  for  about  twelve  months, 
the  house  in  which  he  was  employed  being 
forced  into  liquidation  by  the  severe  panic 
of  1837.  He  then  obtained  a position  as 


bookkeeper  with  Casseday  & Ranney,  which 
he  retained  for  a period  of  three  years,  until 
January,  18-11,  then  resigned  to  embark  in 
Inisiness  on  his  own  account.  In  the  mean- 
time he  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  situations 
for  his  brothers,  Goldsborough  and  Archibald 
Magill,  and  formed  a partnership  with  them 
and  his  friend  Arthur  Lee  under  the  firm 
name  of  Robinson,  Lee  & Co.,  and  engaged 
in  a small  retail  dry  goods  business  on  Market 
street.  In  August,  1811,  Air.  Lee  died,  which 
was  felt  to  be  as  great  an  affliction  as  the  loss 
of  a brother.  He  left  a bright  example  of  Chris- 
tian character,  and  had  endeared  himself  to  a 
large  circle  of  friends.  He  was  the  grandson 
of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  and  a grand-nephew 
of  Francis  Lightfoot  and  Arthur  Lee  of  Rev- 
olutionary fame.  After  the  death  of  Air.  I^ee 
the  firm  was  Robinson  & Brothers.  Of  the 
five  brothers  who  moved  to  this  city,  Golds- 
borough died  in  August,  1844,  from  the 
effects  of  a railroad  accident  near  Balti- 
more, Md.,  and  AA^illiam  Aleade  died  in 
November,  1858.  Archibald  M.  is  now  at 
the  head  of  a large  cotton  and  flour-mill 
at  Grahamton,  Ky.,  and  John  AI.  at  the 
head  of  the  large  dry  goods  house  of  J. 
AI.  Robinson  & Co.  In  June,  1842,  Mr. 
Robinson  married  Aliss  Eliza  D.,  daughter  of 
AA^illiam  F.  and  Alary  S.  Pettet,  of  this  city. 
Air.  Pettet  was  a prominent  citizen  and  suc- 
cessbd  merchant.  Soon  after  his  marriage 
Air.  Robinson  had  the  satisfaction  to  see  all 
the  living  members  of  the  family  reunited  in 
the  same  city,  with  the  single  exception  of  his 
eldest  sister,  who  had  married  and  settled  in 
Alaryland.  The  hopes  of  his  youth  and  the 
eff’oiti  of  his  early  manhood  were  thus  happily 
realized.  In  1842  he  retired  from  the  dry 
goods  firm,  transferring  his  interests  to  his 
brothers,  and  eng-aned  in  the  retail  drug  busi- 
ness  on  Alarket  street  with  .Tames,  George  and 
Arthur  Peter.  In.  1846  he  removed  to  Alain 
street  and  engaged  in  the  wholesale  drug 
business  which  was  successful,  and  resulted  in 
the  establishment,  in  1855,  of  the  present 
house  of  R.  A.  Robinson  & Co.,  one  of  the 
largest  in  that  branch  of  business  in  the 
Southwest.  AVith  the  view  of  giving  his  sons 
ample  scope  for  their  talents  and  enei-gies. 


i 


r 


'I 


i- 


' '■ - 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


891 


in  1878,  he  established  the  wholesale  hard- 
ware house  of  Robinson  Brothers  & Co., 
which  has  been  remarkably  successful.  More 
recently  he  established  a joint  stock  company, 
capital  8200,000,  for  the  manufacture  of 
woolen  goods,  styled  the  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky AVoolen  Alills.  • AYith  characteristic 
prudence  Air.  Robinson  has  thus  provided  for 
his  sons,  all  of  whom  have  won  the  entire 
cjnfidence  of  the  comraunitv',  and  are  tread- 
ing closely  in  the  footsteps  of  their  honored 
father.  By  precept  and  example  he  has  made 
them  what  they  are.  During  the  various 
monetary  panics  which  have  occurred  within 
the  last  fifty  years  he  has  never  failed  to  meet 
every  obligation  promptly,  and  during  the 
disasters  of  the  late  civil  war,  when  his  losses 
in  the  South  were  very  heavy,  every  obli- 
gation was  paid  in  full.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  Mr.  Robinson’s  success  has  been  the 
result  of  his  indefatigable  industry,  prudent 
economy,  sound  judgment  and  strict  busi- 
ness principles.  He  has  always  declined 
political  office,  as  being  incompatible  with  his 
other  duties.  He  has,  howev'er,  held  various 
public  trusts,’the  duties  of  which  have  always 
been  faithfully  discharged.  He  was  one  of 
the  direccors  of  the  Louisville  & Nashville 
Railroad  Company  for  six  years;  of  the 
Elizabethtown  & Paducah  Railroad  for  five 
years,  and  of  the  Louisville  Bridge  Company 
from  its  incipiency  until  its  completion.  He 
was  for  some  years  a director  and  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Falls  City  Bank,  but  was  com- 
pelled to  retire  from  these  trusts  by  the 
pressure  of  his  other  darties.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  St.  Paul’s  Episcopal  Church  since 
its  establishment  in  1889,  filling  the  various 
positions  of  Sunday-school  teacher,  vestry 
man,  and  warden  the  greater  part  of  the  time. 
He  has  frequently  represented  that  parish  in 
the  diocesan  councils,  and  for  three  sessions 
represented  in  pait  the  diocese  of  Kentucky 
in  the  general  conventions  of  the  church. 
It  is  strictly  true  to  say  of  him  that  no  man 
has  been  more  liberal  in  tha  support  of  the 
church  and  all  its  charities,  or  has  responded 


him  for  the  promotion  of  the  general  interests 
of  the  community.  He  is  modest  and  una.ssum- 


ing  in  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow-men, 
charitable  in  his  judgment  of  others,  and 
true  to  his  own  convictions  of  right  and  duty. 
In  his  life  and  conduct  he  exemplifies  the 
highest  type  of  the  Christian  gentleman.  It 
is  not  strange  that  his  character  should  have 
been  fully  appreciated  by  an  intelligent  com- 
munity. That  character  was  fully  understood 
bv  the  representative  business  men  of  Louis- 
ville. The  Board  of  Trade,  in  wdiich  every 
business  is  represented  and  the  high  qualities 
of  the  merchant  are  understood  and  recog- 
nized, by  a unanimous  vote,  bestowed  upon 
him  the  high  distinction  of  honorary  life 
member  of  that  o.'’ganization.  This  was  the 
first  time  that  this  honor  was  conferred  on 
any  citizen  of  Louisville.  It  was  unsoughp 
and  was  voluntarily  bestowed  bv  those  who 
knew  how  to  appreciate  his  exalted  worth. 

.JOHN  AAA  ROBINSON.  The  Robinson 
family  are  of  pure  Scotch  origin.  Richard 
J.  Robinson,  the  father  of  the  gentleman 
whose  rrarne  heads  this  sketch,  was  born  in 
Anrginia,  in  1812,  where  he  grew  to  manhood 
and  mai’ried  Aliss  Nancy  Hook,  born  also  in 
AOrginia,  and  of  [English  extraction.  He 
learned  the  trade  of  millwright,  and  was  also 
skilled  in  wagon-making.  In  1854  he  re- 
moved to  Noble  County,  Ohio,  settling  in 
Sarahsville,  where  he  died  in  1886,  aged  sev- 
enty-three years.  .John  AA^.  Robinson  was 
born  near  AA’inchester,  A^irginia,  January  28, 
1843.  Early  in  life  he  evidenced  a decided 
aptitude  for  mechanics  and  when  but  a child 
was  able,  with  the  few  rude  tools  at  his  com- 
mand, to  construct  almost  anything  from  a 
toy  wacron  to  a miniature  steam  engine.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  his  mind  was  directed 
toward  educational  matters.  His  facilities 
were  of  course  quite  limited,  but  by  the  aid 
of  private  tutors  he  studied  history  and  the 
classics.  He  entered  Marietta  College  at  the 
age  of  eighteen,  but  ill  health  prevented  him 
from  pursuing  a collegiate  course.  In  1862 
he  began  life  as  a teacher  at  East  Union, 
Noble  Countv,  Ohio,  where  he  taught  one 
term.  The  war  was  in  progress,  and  he  was 
so  thoroughly  impressed  with  his  dutv  to  his 
country,  that,  after  teaching  a smond  term  at 
his  home  in  Sarahsville,  he  joined  Company 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES- 


8'J2 


E,  Eighty-eighth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  as 
a private  soldier.  At  the  expiration  of  one 
year’s  service  he  was  detailed  as  clerlj  in  the 
Commissary  Departmeut,  where  he  remained 
until  honorably  discharged  by  special  order 
of  (Jen.  Hooker,  when  he  returned  to  his  home 
and  resumed  his  former  vocation.  His  profes- 
sion, however,  then  as  now  was  poorly  remun- 
erated and  not  wholly  congenial,  and  he  next 
tinned  his  attention  to  the  introduction  of 
improved  text  books  for  schools,  and  for  four 
years  he  traveled  the  State  of  Ohio  as  a repre- 
sentative of  Injrham  & Braofir  Cleveland,  ( ). 
At  the  end  of  this  time  traveling  agfents  in 
this  capacity  were  discontinued  by  the  pub- 
lishers’ compact.  He  next  engaged  in  the 
drug  and  book  business  at  Sarahsville,  but 
the  business  was  too  slow  for  one  so  energetic, 
and  he  removed  to  Indianapolis,  where  in  1872 
he  became  associated  with  Messrs.  Martin  & 
Hopkins,  State  Agents  for  the  North  Western 
Mutual  life  Insurance  Company  of  Milwau- 
kee, as  a solicitor;  this  was  in  1872.  In  this 
as  in  other  enterprises  he  was  successful,  and 
in  two  years  was  occupying  the  responsible 
position  of  special  agent  for  the  same  com- 
pany, operating  in  Indiana,  Kentucky  and 
Michigan.  In  this  department  he  soon 
evinced  his  marked  ability  as  an  insurance 
man,  and  as  an  evidence  of  their  appreciation 
of  his  services  the  company  offered  him  the 
State  of  Kentucky,  which  he  accepted.  For 
one  year  he  took  the  sole  charge  of  the  busi- 
ness. Being  ambitious  to  control  the  largest 
agency  the  company  had,  he  associated  him- 
self with  Gen.  B.  Id.  Cowen  (Assistant  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior  durinof  Grant’s  admin- 
istration)  taking,  under  the  firm  name  of  j 
Cowen  & Robinson,  the  States  of  < )hio  and 
Kentucky.  This  connection  was  highly  suc- 
cessful and  continued  for  nearly  four  years, 
Gen.  Cowen  retiriimin  1882,  and  leavingf  the 
whole  State  of  Kentucky  to  Mr.  Robinson,  j 
Under  the  able  management  of  IMr.  Robinson  i 
the  company’s  business  has  not  only  been  j 
built  up  from  11,500,000  to  ■11'5,000,000,  but 
has  commanded  the  confidence  and  patronage  j 
of  the  best  men  in  the  State;  and  it  can  truly  j 
be  said  that  no  agency  is  in  a more  healthy 
condition  than  this.  The  career  of  Mr.  Rob-  > 


inson  is  one  worthy  of  emulation.  Starting 
in  life  with  only  his  natural  resources,  he  has 
fought  his  way  to  the  front  and  stands  to-day 
as  one  of  the  leading  and  substantial  men  of 
Louisville.  December  24,  1867,  Mi’.  Robin- 
son was  mari'ied  to  Miss  Olive  B.  Dilley,  of 
Sarahsville,  O.,  and  came  to  Louisville  in 
1878.  To  this  union  have  been  born  four 
children;  t!harles  1^.,  .fohn  Dilley,  Mabel 
and  Madge. 

WILIAAM  L.  RODMAN,  M.  1).,  was  born 
in  Frankfort,  Ky.,  September  7,  1858,  and  is 
a son  of  Gen.  .John  and  Harriet  Virginia 
(Russell)  Rodman,  the  former  a native  of 
Henry  County,  and  the  latter  of  Franklin 
County.  Gen.  Redman  was  born  August  6, 
1820.  He  was  attorney-general  of  the  State 
from  1867  to  1875,  under  Governors  .loliii 
W.  Stevenson  and  Preston  H.  Leslie.  Pre- 
vious to  this  he  had  served  two  terms  in  the 
State  Legislature.  From  1875  to  his  death  he 
was  official  reporter  of  the  Court  of  Appeals. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated  at 
the  Kentucky  IMilitary  Institute,  near  Frank- 
fort, and  graduated  with  the  degree  of  A.  M. 
in  1874.  He  read  medicine  with  Dr.  W.  B. 
Rodman,  of  Frankfort,  and  graduated  from 
Jefferson  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia  in 
March,  1879.  After  leaving  Philadelphia  he 
served  two  years  as  surgeon  in  the  United 
States  army.  In  1885  he  came  to  Louisville, 

1 and  has  since  Ireen  connected  with  the  Medical 
University.  He  was  married  in  1882  to  Miss 
Belle  Stewart,  a daughter  of  Dr.  Stewart, 
superintemlent  of  the  Feeble  Minded  Institute. 
Dr.  Rodman  is  a zealous  member  of  the 
State  Medical  Association. 

.lOHN  E.  ROGERS  is  a native  of  Tennes- 
see, and  was  born  September  2,  1841 ; he 
settled  in  Bullitt  County,  Ky.,  in  1864.  His 
first  wife  was  Sarah  A.  .Johnson,  a native  of 
Bullitt  County.  She  died  in  1871.  His 
second  wife  was  Mrs.  Caroline  Shank  — she 
having  two  children  by  her  first  husband  : 
Clandian,  born  September  23,  1866,  and  Am- 
brose, born  December  4,  1868.  By  his  pres- 
ent wife  he  has  two  children  ; Edwin  L., 
born  May  29,  1876,  and  Charles  Emmet,  born 
May  29,  1878.  .lohn  E.  Rogers  served  all 
throucrh  the  war  as  a Confederate  soldier 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


893 


having  enlisted  in  Company  D,  Fifth  Tennes- 
see Volunteers,  and  participated  in  the  battles 
of  Stone  River,  Lookout  Mountain,  Murj)hys- 
borough  and  other  important  engagenienls. 

A.  B.  RUE,  formerly  a photographic  artist 
of  high  re])ute  in  Louisville,  is  a native  of 
iMercer  County,  Ky.;  was  born  in  1842,  and 
is  a son  of  Nelson  and  Margaret  (Adams) 
Rue,  both  natives  of  Kentucky,  liut  whose 
parents  came  from  New  Jersey  at  an  early 
day  and  passed  their  lives  in  this  State  on  a 
farm.  A.  B.  Rue  is  the  fourth  in  a family  of 
nine  children  born  to  his  parents.  He  re- 
mained on  the  home  farm  until  1801,  when 
he  enlisted  in  Company  F,  Nineteenth  Ken- 
tucky Volunteers,  and  was  in  active  service 
the  three  years  following,  being  promoted  to 
second-lieutenant  in  the  meanwhile,  and 
mustered  out  as  first-lieutenant  at  Louisville 
in  1865.  He  took  part  in  the  following  en- 
gagements; Mill  Springs,  Cumberland  Gap 
(and  the  campaign  from  the  latter  to  the 
Ohio  River),  Arkansas  Post,  and  in  all  the 
engagements  by  Grant  in  the  siege  of  Vicks- 
burg. At  the  latter  place  he  was  taken  ill 
and  was  unfit  for  duty  about  four  months, 
after  which  he  returned  to  his  regiment  in 
New  Orleans  and  remained  with  it  until 
mustered  out  as  stated  above,  when  he  en- 
tered college  at  Cincinnati.  In  1866  he 
learned  photography  at  Harrodsburg,  Ky., 
and  for  seven  years  followed  his  vocation  in 
various  towns  through  the  State.  In  1881 
he  located  in  Louisville  at  No.  841  Fourth 
avenue,  where  his  merits  as  an  artist  were 
soon  recognized  and  where  he  was  actively 
employed  until  1888,  when  he  moved  to  Har- 
rodsburg, Ky.  He  was  married,  September 
5,  1865,  to  Jessie  Anderson,  a daughter  of 
Henry  T.  Anderson,  so  well  known  as  a Re- 
formed minister.  Mrs.  Rue  is  celebrated  as 
a portrait  painter,  and  has  studied  under  the 
best  masters  in  America.  She  has  followed 
the  art  for  many  years,  and  is  an  artist  of 
superior  talents.  JMr.  and  Mrs.  Rue  are  the 
parents  of  six  children:  Lelia,  Insco,  Zoe, 

Letcher,  Margie,  and  one  dead.  Mrs.  Rue  is 
now  a member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
while  Mr.  Rue  is  a member  of  the  Warren 
Memorial  Presbyterian  Church  ; he  is  a mem- 


ber of  the  G.  A.  R.,  I.  O.  ().  F.,  K.  of  P., 
and  K.  of  H. 

HON.  SAMUEL  RUSSEl.L,  banker,  law- 
yer, etc.,  is  a native  of  Spencer  County,  Ky.; 
was  born  November  12,  1888,  and  is  a son  of 
Nathaniel  and  Margaret  (Cain)  Russell,  na- 
tives of  Nelson  County.  His  grandfather, 
Samuel  Russell,  and  his  maternal  grandfather’, 
Mathew  Cain,  were  of  Irish  origin,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  many  years  ago.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  on  a farm 
and  educated  itr  Shelby  County,  under  Pro- 
fessor M.  Neal,  an  accomplished  teacher  and 
educator.  Pie  canre  to  Louisville  in  1859  and 
commenced  the  study  of  law;  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  I860,  and  practiced  continuouslv 
until  1884,  wdieri  he  abandoned  the  law  arrd 
devoted  his  attention  to  other  pursuits,  lir 
1884  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Bank  of 
Imuisville,  one  of  the  oldest  banking  institu- 
tions of  the  city.  It  was  or’ganized  in  1888, 
and  the  first  president  was  Mr.  Snead.  Mr. 
.1.  B.  Bowles  succeeded  him  and  was  presiderrt 
for  forty  years.  Mr.  Russell  succeeded  Charles 
Tilden,  who  died  in  1884,  as  president,  and 
still  holds  the  position.  The  bank  is  one  of 
the  w'ealthy  corporations  of  the  city,  having 
a capital  of  !&65t),0UO,  and  its  quaint  old 
banking  house  is  one  of  the  landmarks  on 
Main  street.  Mr.  E.  A.  Hewett  is  the  pres- 
ent cashier.  Mr.  Russell  was  married  in  1866 
to  Miss  Hattie  Shouse,  of  Shelby  County. 
He  was  elected  in  1875  to  the  legislature, 
but  since  then  has  taken  no  active  part  in 
politics. 

JOSEPH  .1.  SCHLOSSER,  a native  of 
Germany,  was  born  .lune  10,  1849,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  in  December,  1867, 
locating  in  New  Albany,  Ind.  Remainitig 
there  about  three  years  he  then  came  to 
Louisville,  and  after  clerkinor  for  Wm.  G. 
Schmidt  he,  in  1874,  opened  a drug  store  on 
the  corner  of  Fulton  and  Adams  streets, 
which  he  conrlucted  very  successfully  until 
the  overflow  of  1888,  when  he  bought  his 
present  location.  Second  and  Chestnut  streets, 
and,  after  the  subsidence  of  the  water,  oper- 
ated both  stores  until  the  summer  of  1886, 
when  he  sold  the  place  at  Fulton  and  Adams 
streets  to  his  brother,  P.  Schlosser.  He  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


8'JI 

married  in  1874  to  iMiss  Emma  C.  Gehlbach, 
of  New  Albany,  Ind. 

OTTO  SC'IINEIDER,  grocer,  is  a native 
of  Bavaria,  Germany,  was  l)orn  in  1840,  and 
was  brought  to  America  in  1843  l)j  his  par- 
ents, who  settled  in  Louisville.  'I’liere  Otto 
was  educated,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
began  to  learn  the  painter’s  trade.  In  1861 
lie  enlisted  in  Company  G,  Fourth  Kentucky 
Cavalry  ; served  three  years  and  four  months, 
when  he  was  transferred  to  the  Fourteenth 
United  States  Infantry,  and  was  connected 
with  the  army  of  the  Cumberland  until  the 
fall  of  Atlanta,  and  was  then  with  Sherman 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  wounded 
in  the  leg  at  Missionary  Ridge,  and  in  the 
side  at  the  taking  of  Fort  McAllister.  He 
was  with  the  Fourteenth  until  the  close  of 
the  war  as  second-lieutenant,  and  afterward 
joined  the  V.  R.  corps  as  first-lieutenant  and 
served  until  March,  1866,  when  he  was  mus- 
tered out  at  Annapolis.  Upon  the  return  of 
.Mr.  Schneider  to  his  home  he  worked  at  his 
trade,  then  went  West,  where  he  followed 
the  same  four  years,  and  then  returned  to 
Louisville,  where  he  has  been  eno-acred  in  his 
]>resent  business  for  fifteen  years.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  G.  A.  R. 

FRANK  M.  SCRIMSHER  was  born  in 
( )ldham  County,  Ky.,  and  is  a son  of  Thomas 
J.  and  Cassandra  (Booker)  Scrimsher,  and  a 
grandson  of  .John  Scrimsher,  who  emigrated 
from  Wales  when  but  twelve  years  of  age 
and  came  to  Virginia.  About  1797  he  set- 
tled in  Owen  County,  Ky.  Thomas  J.  is  a 
millwright  and  is  still  living  in  Oldham 
County.  He  worked  at  his  trade  in  Louis- 
ville as  early  as  1821,  and  helped  to  build 
the  first  saw-mill  in  the  city.  He  also  fol- 
lowed flat-boating  and  keel -boating  a good 
deal  on  the  (Jhio  and  Mississippi  rivers.  He 
has  two  sons  and  one  daughter  living  : .Jas- 

per W.,  of  Indianapolis;  Frank  iM.  and  IMrs. 
.lulia  Doane  in  Iowa.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  brought  up  in  the  country  and  re- 
ceived but  a common  school  education.  In 
1861  he  entered  the  First  Kentucky  (Con- 
federate) Cavalry,  commanded  by  Col.  Ben 
Hardin  Helm,  In  which  he  served  two  and  a 
half  yeais.  In  1865  he  married  Miss  Julia 


Eddins,  of  Oldham  County.  After  the  close 
of  the  war  he  followed  railroading  on  the  L. 
F.  and  I^.  railroad,  when  he  accepted  the 
position  he  how  holds,  that  of  “superintend- 
ent of  pipe  laying,”  for  the  Louisville  Water 
Company,  which  position  he  has  held  since 
1868. 

PAUL  F.  SEM(_)NIN,  a nalive  of  “Sunny 
France,”  was  born  September  17,  1829,  and 
is  a son  of  .John  and  .Jane  (Bourey)  Senionin, 
of  Arcy,  France,  who  came  to  America  in 
1834,  and  from  New  York  to  New  Albany, 
Ind.,  in  1836.  The  elder  Semonin  served 
eight  yea»-s  under  the  first  Napoleon  in  his 
numerous  wars,  mostly  in  Spain  ; he  died  in 
Henderson,  Ky.,  in  1856;  his  widow  is  now 
ninety  years  old.  Paul  17,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  but  five  years  old  when  the 
family  immigrated  to  the  United  States.  He 
received  a common  school  education,  and  at 
the  age  of  thirteen  commenced  clerking  in 
New  Albany,  Ind.  In  1845  he  went  to  Hen- 
derson, Ky.,  and  was  for  eight  years  con- 
nected with  the  mercantile  business  in  that 
city.  He  then  sold  out  and  engaged  in 
steamboating,  and  built  the  “ Gov.  Powell  ” 
in  1856,  which  ran  in  the  trade  from  New 
Orleans  to  St.  Alartinsville,  La.  He  finally, 
aborrt  1861,  engaged  in  the  exporting  of 
tobacco  at  Uniontown,  remaining  there  and 
at  Henderson  until  1867,  when  he  came  to 
I.iOuisville,  Ky.  He  was  then  employed  as 
a buyer  for  a number  of  years,  and  then 
formed  a partnership  in  the  tobacco  drayage 
business  with  R.  E.  Gilbert,  his  brother-in- 
law,  and  in  which  they  are  engaged  under 
the  firm  name  of  Semonin  & Gilbert,  with  a 
bright  prospect  for  a young  firm.  In  1883 
he  became  business  manager  of  the  Todd 
Tobacco  Warehouse  Company,  which  makes 
a specialty  of  the  sale  of  leaf  tobacco,  and  is 
one  of  the  largest  houses  of  the  kind  in  the 
city.  Mr.  Semonin  was  married  in  1854  to 
Miss  Sarah  G.  Rouse,  daughter  of  James 
Rouse,  of  Henderson,  Ky.  They  have  six 
children,  viz;  William  J.,  manager  of  the 
Kentucky  Teaming  Company  for  the  last 
nine  years  until  three  months  ago,  when  he 
resigned ; Mattie,  wife  of  R.  Pi.  Gilber,  of 
Louisville;  Celeste,  Mary  J.  and  Jean, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


895 


teachers,  and  Ray,  the  baby.  Mr.  Semonin 

is  also  a stockholder  and  manao-er  of  the  Old 

° I 

Deposit  Natural  Gas  and  Mininu  Company,  j 
and  has  a considerable  interest  in  some  of  the 
territory  in  the  gas-bearing  districts  of  Meade 
County,  near  Pilchers  Landing,  twenty-four 
miles  from  Louisville;  as  also  near  Mul- 
draugh,  Ky.,  where  there  are  some  of  the 
largest  wells  in  the  State,  some  comparing  j 
favorably  with  some  of  the  best  wells  in  | 
Pennsylvania,  near  Pittsburgh. 

WILLIAM  H.  SHEPHERD  was  born  in 
Bullitt  County,  Ky.,  January  5,  1841,  and  his 
father,  James  Shepherd,  also  a native  of  Bul- 
litt County,  was  born  July  10,  1817,  and 
married  Miss  Malinda  "Welch,  whose  parents 
came  from  Virginia.  William  H.  Shepherd 
enlisted  at  Louisville,  September  22,  1861,  in 
the  Fifteenth  Kentucky  Volunteers,  I’ederal 
service,  and  served  three  years  and  si.x  months. 
He  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Chicka- 
manga,  was  taken  prisoner  and  sent  to  An- 
dersonville,  later  to  Charleston,  S.  C.,  and 
still  later  to  Savannah,  Ga.,  where  he  was 
paroled  and  sent  to  Annapolis,  Md.,  thence  to 
Louisville,  where  he  w^as  discharged,  having 
been  held  as  a prisoner  of  war  fourteen  j 
months.  He  was  married  to  Miss  ^lelissa 
Croan,  who  bore  him  three  children — Daisy  , 
D.,  born  January  24,  1867;  W^illiam,  August  | 
5,  1870;  and  iMusette,  June  15,  1873.  Mrs. 
Shepherd  departed  this  life  December  18, 
1873,  and  in  1875  Mr.  Shepherd  was  united 
in  marriacre  with  Miss  Elizabeth  V.  Smith, 
who  has  borne  him  seven  children — -Nannie, 
Clara,  Julia,  Isaac,  Charles,  Owen  and  Lydia. 
Mr.  Shepherd  owns,  cultivates  and  resides 
upon  a fine  farm  near  Shepherdsville  P.  O , I 
Bullitt  County. 

GEORGE  F.  SIMPSON,  M.  1).,  was  born 
in  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  October  11,  1859, 
and  is  a son  of  Wm.  Chesterfield  and  Bettie 
(Scruggs)  Simpson,  both  natives  of  Warren 
County.  George  F.  received  a liberal  educa- 
tion, read  medicine  and  graduated  from  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Louis- 
ville, and  began  practice  in  1879,  the  same 
year  that  he  graduated.  He  at  present  holds 
the  position  of  health  officer  of  the  Local 
Board  of  Health  of  .lefferson  Co^inty.  He 


w’as  married  in  1885,  to  Miss  Amanda  S.  Park, 
of  Elizabethtown,  Ky. 

THE  SIMRALL  FAMILY,  in  Louisville, 
Ky.  In  the  early  historv  of  this  State, 
.lames  Simrall  came  from  Virginia  to  Ken- 
tucky, and  settled  in  Shelby  County.  He  was 
then  a young  man — of  Scotch-Irish  descent — 
full  of  determination  and  energv.  Soon 
afterwards  the  war  of  1812  broke  out.  He 
cast  in  his  lot  with  the  Kentucky  soldiers, 
and  served  throughout  the  war  with  distinc- 
tion, attaining  the  rank  of  Colonel,  when  he 
returned  to  his  home;  his  health  had  been 
impaired  by  hard  service  and  exposure;  and 
his  estate  was  much  w’asted  by  inattention. 
In  a few  years  he  died,  leaving  a widow  and 
six  small  children.  His  wife  was  Rebecca 
Graham,  of  the  same  blood  with  the  celebrated 
John  Graham  of  Scotland.  Her  chief  charac- 
I teristics  were  brains,  resolution  and  integrity, 
together  with  an  undying  love  for  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  She  betook  herself  to  the 
! difficult  task  of  properly  rearing  these  six 
children,  with  her  limited  means.  Her  chief 
aim  was  to  give  them  a thorough  education, 
and  instill  into  them  sound  principles,  which 
would  serve  as  a lasting  foundation  upon 
which  they  could  successfully  build  in  after 
life.  How  nobly  she  performed  this  work  is 
attested  by  the  fact  that  her  eldest  son,  .lohn 
Graham  Simrall,  became  one  of  the  most 
prominent  ministers  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Central  Kentucky;  and  her  young- 
est son,  Horatio  F.  Simrall,  became  Chief 
.lustice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Mississippi. 
Her  sons,  James  and  William,  successfully 
followed  agricultural  pursuits,  one  in  Ken- 
tucky and  the  other  in  Mississippi.  The  only 
other  son,  .loseph,  died  before  reaching  man- 
hood. Her  onlv  daughter,  Cornelia,  was  a 
very  remarkable  woman.  She  had  all  the 
mental,  moral  and  physical  traits  which  so 
distinguished  her  mother,  together  wfith  rare 
\ accomplishments,  which  made  her  the  center 
of  attraction  in  every  circle  in  which  she 
moved.  She  married  Thomas  P.  Smith,  who 
for  more  than  thirty  years  has  performed  the 
arduous  duties  of  ^Master  in  Chancery  of  the 
Louisville  Chancery  Court;  and  by  common 

consent  he  is  admitted  to  be  the  ablest  com- 

52 


89G 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


inissioner  the  State  of  Kentucky  ever  had. 
To  them  were  born  six  children,  five  of  whom 
are  now  living  in  Louisville.  Sarah,  the 
youngest  daughter  of  Rev.  John  G.  Simrall, 
is  also  living  in  Louisville.  She  married  Dr. 
Turner  Anderson,  who  has  rapidly  gone  to 
the  front  in  his  profession,  having  a large 


Medical  Department  of  the  University  of 
I.ouisville.  There  is  another  branch  of  the 
Simrall  family  living  in  Covington,  Ky., 
represented  by  Charles  Simrall,  a prominent  I 
lawyer,  now  the  attorney  for  Kentucky  of  the 
Cincinnati  Southern  Railroad/  The  descend- 
ants of  .James  and  Rebecca  G;raham  Simrall 
are  now  scattered  through  five:  States,  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi;-  and 
amongst  them,  lawyers,  doctoiA,  merchants  i 
and  farmers.  Wherever  you  find  them,  they 
are,  for  the  most  part,  robust,  strong-minded, 
self-willed  and  honest  people.  The  following 
sketch  of  .Judge  John  Graham  Simrall,  one 
of  the  younger  generation— who  is  taken  as  a 
representative  of  the  fatnily— was  prepared 
by  a distinguished  member  of  the  Louisville 
J>ar,  just  after  iJudge  Simrall  had  been  elected 
.Judge  of  the  Louisville  J^aw  and  Equity 
Court: 

“Hon.  John  G.  Simrall,  Judge  of  . the , 
T.,ouisville  I..aw  and  Equity  Court,  who,  after 
less  than  three  years’  service  on  the  bench, 
occupies  a distinguished  position  among  the 
judges  of  the  State,  standing  in  the  front  rank 
of  the  judiciary  of  the  courts  of  original  juris- 
diction, was  born  in  h''ayette  County,  I'i^y., 
March  18,  1840.  His  father  was  Rev.  .John 
G.  Simrall,  a Presbyterian  minister,  greatly 
venerated  for  his  purity  of  character,  gentle 
disposition  and  earnest  zeal  for  the  church. 
He  was  noted  for  good  judgment  and  great 
common  sense,  and  was  a useful,  successful  [ 
leader  of  religion.  His  mother  is  a daughter  j 
of  Waller  Bullock,  who  was  an  influentidl 
citizen  and  prosperous  farmer  of  Fayette 
County.  Past  seventy  years  of  age,  she  is 
full  of  vigor  of  mind  and  body,  and  admired 
and  res]>ected  for  a rare  combination  of  gen- 
tleness with  force  and  strenorth  of  character. 

O 

After  receiving  the  preparation  afforded  by  a 
country  school,  John  G.  Simrall  entered  Cen- 


tre Colleg-e  at  the  awe  of  fourteen,  and  at 
seventeen  graduated  with  the  second  honor 
in  a class  of  forty-seven.  This  class  contained 
a numl)er  of  men  who  have  become  famous, 
and  was  perhaps  as  marked  for  talent  as  any 
that  has  been  sent  out  from  the  old  college. 
Senator  Blackburn,  Governor  McCreary, 
.Judge  Delaney,  Judge  .Joseph  Hunt  and 
Enoch  E.  Mclvay  were  all  members  of  it. 
The  president  of  Centre  College  at  that  time 
was  Rev.  .John  C.  Young,  whose  energy, 
splendid  scholarship,  eloquence  and  noble 
character  gave  it  life  and  fame.  The  influ- 
ence of  this  great  and  good  man  over  the 
minds  and  characters  of  the  young  men  was 
strong  and  lasting.  He  gave  them  a love  of 
learning,  an  admiration  of  the  sublime  and 
beautiful,  a devotion  of  duty  and  truth,  com- 
bined with  a reverence  for  thino-s  sacred, 
which  remained  with  them  always. 

“After  leaving  Centre  College  Mr.  Simrall 
for  a year  or  more  taught  school  in  the  family 
of  .Junius  Ward,  in  Washington  County, 
Miss.,  and  soon  after  commenced  the  study 
of' law  at,  Lexinofton  under  the  direction  of 
Judge  Robertsori.  In  1859  and  1860  he  at- 
tended the  law  lectures  of  Judge  George 
Robertson,  and  in  1860-61  was  in  the  senior 
class  of  the  Louisville  Law  School,  graduat- 
ing in  March,  1861.  The  professors  in  the 
Louisville  Law  School  at  that  time  were 
.Judge  Henry  Pirtle,  .Judge  W.  F.  Bullock 
and  Judge  Horatio  F.  Simrall.  Judge  Sim- 
rall has  always  esteemed  himself  peculiarly 
fortunate  in  having  been  a student  under  the 
eminent  lawyers  named.  The  foundation  of 
the  knowledcre  of  law  that  he  laid  under  their 
guidance,  and  the  example  which  their 
careers  and  symmetrical  characters  afforded 
him,  he  has  always  regarded  as  most  beneficial 
to  him  throughout  his  professional  life.  A 
short  time  after  receiving  his  diploma  the 
young  lawyer  formed  a partnership  with 
Judge  William  S.  Bodley,  and  commenced 
practice  at  the  J^ouisville  bar.  This  business 
connection  continued  until  the  death  of 
.Judge  Bodley,  in  1878.  Mr.  Temj)le  Bodley 
and  Judge  Simrall  then  formed  a partnership, 
and  the  firm  of  Simrall  & Bodley  continued 
until  the  fall  of  1882,  when  Gov.  Blackburn 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


899 


appointed  John  G.  Simrall  Vice-Chancellor 
to  fill  out  the  term  of  Hon.  Alfred  T.  Pope, 
who  had  resigned.  In  Auofust,  1884,  Judg-e 
Simrall  was  elected,  for  a term  of  six  years, 
Judge  of  the  Louisville  Law  and  Equity 
Conrt,  a court  which  was  estiblished  by  the 
legislature  in  March,  1884,  to  take  the  place  of 
the  Vice-Chancellor’s  Court.  He  was  elected 
without  opposition,  so  universal  was  the  wish 
of  the  bar  and  the  people  that  he  should  re- 
main on  the  bench. 

“During  his  twenty  years  at  the  bar  Judge 
Simrall  was  successful  in  building  up  a large 
and  valuable  practice,  and  had  many  of  the 
best  business  houses  of  the  city  for  his  clients. 
His  firm  had  been  concerned  in  very  large 
suits,  and  had  the  reputation  of  being  among 
the  best  business  lawyers  of  the  bar,  as  well 
as  able  and  learned  in  the  common  law  and  in 
equity.  Much  of  the  laborious  office  work 
and  the  equity  practice  of  the  business  was 
done  by  Judge  Simrall,  and  the  skillful  and 
accurate  manner  in  which  he  dispatched  busi- 
ness won  for  him  the  confidence  of  his  clients 
and  the  respect  and  admiration  of  his  brethren  j 
of  the  bar.  His  reputation  as  a lawyer  of 
talent  and  learning  was  thus  well  established, 
but  he  had  been  little  before  the  public,  and 
was  not  widely  known  to  the  people  at  the 
time  he  became  Vice-Chancellor.  When  he 
was  spoken  of  as  a probable  successor  of 
.fudge  Pope,  a member  of  the  bar  was  asked 
by  a leading  merchant  what  he  thought  of 
Mr.  Simrall  for  the  position,  and  was  an- 
swered that  it  was  not  often  that  such  men  as 
Simrall  could  be  induced  to  go  upon  the 
bench,  and  the  State  would  be  fortunate  if  he 
were  appointed  and  would  accept.  This 
estimate  of  his  capacity  and  fitness  has  been 
proven  a just  one  by  the  practical  test  of  a 
three  years’  trial  of  his  qualities  as  judge. 
To  say  that  he  commands  the  unqualified 
confidence  of  the  people  and  the  lawyers 
would  not  be  more  than  just;  and  this  con- 
fidence extends  as  much  to  his  character  as  a 
man  as  to  his  learning,  ability  and  discrimina- 
tion as  a judge.  In  his  brief  service  on  the 
bench  he  has  shown  much  knowledge  of  the 
law  and  capacity  for  work,  such  industry, 
jratjence  and  urbanity  as  to  make  him  deserv- 


edly popular.  But  the  qualities  which  have 
made  his  reputation  and  given  him  a strong 
hold  upon  the  people  are  his  independence 
and  integrity.  There  is  a universal  belief 
that  this  judge  sits  as  the  representative  of 
justice,  indeed,  knowing  only  the  law  and 
right,  with  courage  to  order  and  adjudge  that 
which  the  law  and  the  facts  demand.  Justice 
is  rendered  in  the  manner  of  the  pure  days  of 
the  State,  without  fear  and  without  favor. 
Having  the  greatest  amount  of  firmness,  he 
has  that  honesty  of  mind  which  can  see  its 
own  errors,  and  that  sense  of  duty  wffiich 
compells  him  to  repair  the  error.  Xo  man 
i more  readily  recedes  from  a misdirection 
given  a jury  in  the  hurried  presure  of  a trial, 

; or  is  more  amenable  to  argument.  Having 
I formed  his  opinion  after  full  deliberation  he 
is  steadfast,  unwavering.  The  amount  of 
labor  which  Judge  Simrall  does  in  ten  months 
of  each  year  is  something  wonderful.  The 
combination  in  his  Court  of  Common  I.aw 
and  Equity  jurisdiction,  not  existing  in  either 
the  Common  Pleas  or  Chancery  Court,  ren- 
ders his  office  the  more  difficult  to  fill.  He 
has  little  leisure  except  in  vacation,  for  he 
I goes  from  a jury  trial  to  an  equity  case,  and 
I from  the  latter  to  the  former.  Certainly  it 
: has  been  the  foitune  of  the  Law  and  Equity 
' Court  to  get,  in  the  distribution  of  cases  under 
] the  law,  more  than  a full  share  of  difficult  and 
heavy  cases.  The  judge  has  kept  up  his 
work  and  borne  himself  nobly  under  the 
pressure,  and  well  earned  a summer’s  rest, 
j Judge  Simrall  was  married  in  1863  to  ^liss 
Cornelia,  daughter  of  Thomas  P.  Smith  of 
this  city,  and  has  one  child,  a daughter,  now 
approaching  young  ladyhood.  Judge  Simrall, 
in  piivate  life,  is  one  of  the  most  agreeable  of 
men.  Always  dignified,  he  is  easy  in  man- 
ners, very  fond  of  conversation,  in  which  he 
bears  a full  share,  and  as  natural  in  his  enjoy- 
ment of  wit  and  humor  as  a boy.  His  read- 
ing and  culture  are  broad,  and  his  scholarship 
and  attainments  show  the  continued  applica- 
tion of  his  mind  to  those  studies  for  which  his 
taste  was  formed  in  youth.  He  is  a member 
of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  and  one 
of  the  great  admirers  of  the  late  Dr.  Stuart 
Robinson,  In  a very  eloquent  speech  which 


‘JUO 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


.ludi^e  Simrall  delivered  before  the  Centre 

O 

College  alumni  a year  ago,  he  said  that  he 
was  conscious  that  his  mind  had  been  devel- 
oped and  his  character  formed  by  the  fortunate 
facts  that  he  had  gone  to  college  to  Dr.  Young, 
studied  law  under  Judge  Rol)ertson,  and  for 
twenty  year-s  listened  to  the  preaching  of 
Stuart  Rol:>inson  — all  good  intluences  to 
bring  o\it  the  good  which  nature  had  planted 
in  the  boy  and  man,  born  of  such  a father  and 
mother  and  tenderly  guided  and  instructed 
through  the  years  of  childhood.”  On  the  1st 
of  January,  1880,  Judge  Simrall  resigned  his 
position  and  resumed  the  practice  of  law.  At 
a large  meeting  presided  over  by  General 
James  Speed  the  bar  adopted  the  following 
resolutions:  “ Upon  the  retirement  of  Hon. 

John  G.  Simrall  from  the  bench,  his  l^rethren 
of  the  bar  desire  to  express  their  appreciation 
of  the  judicial  fairness,  integrity,  industry, 
firmness,  and  ability,  that  he  has  shown,  and 
of  the  patient  courtesy  he  has  extended  dur- 
ing the  exercise  of  the  important  and  difficult 
duties  of  his  official  life;  and  the  chairman 
is  instructed  to  transmit  a copy  of  this  trib- 
ute to  Judge  Simrall  and  to  request  of  the 
Louisville  Law  and  Equity  Court  that  it  may 
be  entered  upon  its  records.”  [.January  4, 
1886.]  The  universal  regret  caused  by  his 
resignation  was  thus  expressed  by  a leading 
contemporary:  “Judge  Simrall’s  resigna- 

tion.— The  city  and  State  have  lost  a most 
valuable  servant  by  the  resignation  of  .Judge 
Simrall  as  Judge  of  the  Imuisville  I^aw  and 
Equity  Court.  In  the  four  years  of  his  serv- 
ice he  has,  by  his  marked  ability,  his  cease- 
less energy,  his  courage,  urbanity  and 
scrupulous  fairness,  commended  himself  to 
the  people  of  Louisville  and  Kentucky  as  few 
men  have  ever  done.  His  resignation  is  a 
loss  which  all  will  feel,  and  the  reported  cause 
for  it — the  disproportion  of  his  salary  as  a 
judge  to  his  income  as  a lawyer — may  well 
give  cause  for  thought  to  those  who  have  oc 
casion  to  consider  public  economy  in  judicial 
salaries.  .Judu-e  Simrall  has  fast  been  makinor 

O 

a wide  reputation  as  a jurist,  both  in  and  out 
of  this  State.  His  decisions  have  Jjeen  so 
well  considered  and  fair,  and  his  opinions 
have  been  stated  with  such  clearness,  learn- 


j ing  and  force,  as  to  attract  the  attention  and 
! commendation  of  the  highest  courts  throuo-h- 

I - O O 

1 out  the  country.” 

j KILBOURN  W.  SMITH,  one  of  the  pro- 
I gressive  young  business  men  of  Imuisville, 
j Ky.,  was  born  in  Cincinnati,  O.,  April  28, 
j 1841,  and  is  a son  of  C.  J.  W.  and  Elizabeth 
(Jj’horton)  Smith,  natives  of  Pennsylvania  and 
[ of  English  and  French  extraction.  His  grand- 
j father,  on  his  mother’s  side,  was  born  in 
j Nantes,  France,  and  was  an  officer  in  the 
j P^rench  army  under  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  Mr. 
j Smith’s  father  settled  in  Cincinnati,  O.,  in 
1830;  soon  after  removed  to  J^ouisville,  Ivy., 
and  eng-agfed  in  business  with  R.  & J.  Atkin- 
son,  until  1834,  when  he  removed  to  Cincin- 
nati and  engaged  on  his  own  account  in  the 
mercantile  business.  In  1850  he  was  elected 
by  the  Democrats  Sheriff  of  Hamilton  County, 
Ohio,  and  about  this  period  occurred  one  of 
the  most  characteristic  incidents  of  his  career, 
for  although  not  legally  responsible  to  the 
creditors  with  whom  he  had  settled  by  passing 
through  bankruptcy  in  the  panic  of  1849  that 
swept  through  the  country,  he,  with  that  deli- 
cate sense  of  honor  so  rarely  found,  took  upon 
himself  the  payment  of  dollar  for  dollar  of 
all  the  deficiencies,  and  that  from  the  earn- 
ings of  years  of  frugality  and  unremitting 
labor.  He  was  a promineirt  Odd  Fellow  and 
Mason  from  1835,  being  the  Grand  Secretary 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  in  1838, 
aird  made  out  the  Seventh  Charter  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Ohio.  In  1874  he  was  elected 
President  of  the  Farmers  and  Mechanics  Fire 
Insurance  Company,  also  appointed  P’ire 
Commissioner-.  He  died  iir  May,  1883,  leav- 
ing a comfortable  estate  and  honorable  record 
to  his  family.  His  son,  K.  W.  Smith,  was 
edmated  in  the  public  schools  of  Cincinnati, 
O.,  and  graduated  with  high  honors  at  the 
Hughes  High  School,  .June  24,  1859,  after 
I which  he  engaged  as  clerk  with  the  commis- 
i sion  house  of  Perin,  Gould  & Co.,  with  whom 
I he  remained  two  years,  leaving  them  to  enter 
the  wholesale  grocery  Imsiness  with  Robert 
j Hosea  & Co.  and  Charles  L.  Moore  & Co.,  as 
I salesman  and  manager.  After  a successful 
' career  with  them,  he  was  induced,  in  tlie  win- 
ter  of  1866,  to  take  the  State  agency  for  Ken- 


•s®rA 


L 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


903 


tncky  of  the  Mutual  Benefit  ffife  Insurance 
Company,  of  Newark,  then  as  now,  one  of 
the  oldest  and  best  manag-ed  Life  Insurance 
Companies  in  the  United  States.  February, 
1867,  he  removed  to  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  as- 
sumed the  State  Agency,  and  by  his  industry 
has  built  up  the  largest  and  most  lucrative 
life  insurance  business  in  the  State.  He  has 
always  taken  an  active  and  personal  interest 
in  the  prosperity  and  advancement  of  Louis- 
ville, having  responded  liberally  with  his 
means  to  all  public  enterprises  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  city’s  interest.  He  has 
been  a member' of  the  Board  of  Trade  since 
its  organization;  a director  in  the  Third  Na- 
tional Bank  of  I.,ouisville,  Ky.,  for  many 
years.  He  is  also  a prominent  Odd  Fellow 
and  Mason,  having  attained  to  the  thirty-third 
degree  in  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish 
Rite  of  the  Southern  Jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States,  a degree  which  is  conferred 
upon  very  few,  and  then  for  meritorious  serv- 
ice only;  has  twice  been  elected  Master  of 
the  Louisville  Lodge,  No.  400,  F.  & A.  M. 
Pie  has  been  twice  married,  first  to  Miss  Delia 
AVakefield,  of  Hamilton  County,  O.,  in  1861. 
Her  death  occurred  in  1862,  and  he  was  next 
married  to  Mrs.  Heasley  Maxon,  in  Febru- 
ary, 1873.  He  has  shown  his  continued  in- 
terest in  the  prosperity  of  Louisville,  the  city 
of  his  adoption,  by  erecting  one  of  the  most 
elegant  houses  on  Third  avenue,  which  is 
greatly  admired  not  only  for  its  exterior  at- 
tractions, but  its  interior  costly  decoration 
and  arrangement. 

CHARLES  R.  SAIITH  was  born  in  Bullitt 
County,  March  16,  1855,  and  is  a son  of  John 
and  Cynthia  (Shopton)  Smith,  the  former  born 
in  Hardin  County,  the  latter  a daughter  of 
Rosen  Shoptavv,  of  Bullitt  County.  Charles 
R.  was  the  fourth  in  a family  of  seven  child- 
dren.  He  was  brought  up  on  the  farm  and 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  county. 
In  1878  he  married  Miss  Sallie  Quick, 
daughter  of  AATlliam  Quick,  of  Bullitt  Coun- 
ty. They  have  four  children,  viz:  Charles 

AV.,  born  December  18, 1879;  Lillie  M.,  born 
March  24,  1881;  Sarah  L.,  born  November 
14,  1883,  and  Alaud,  born  Alarch  29,  1887. 
Mr.  Smith  farmed  for  a while,  and  then  com-  ' 


menced  traveling  for  a New  Albany,  Ind., 
firm,  but  soon  tirino-  of  this  kind  of  business 
returned  to  farming,  which  he  continued  to 
follow. 

EDAA^ARD  R.  SPURRIER  is  a native  of 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  was  born  July  28,  1832. 
He  is  a son  of  Edward  Spurrier,  a native  of 
Maryland,  who  emigrated  to  Tennessee  at  an 
early  day.  Subject  received  a common  school 
education  in  the  schools  of  Nashville,  and  in 
1861  joined  the  First  Regiment  of  Ten- 
nessee A^olunteers,  as  a private;  was  pro- 
moted to  a lieutenancy  in  1863,  and  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  In  1865  he  came 
to  Louisville,  and  encfaged  in  hotel  business 
on  Sixth  street,  between  Main  and  Alarket, 
for  about  five  years.  He  then  formed  a part- 
nership with  J.  Sues,  for  the  manufacture  of 
baby  carriages,  which  continued  from  1871 
until  1882,  when  he  went  into  the  real  estate 
business,  which  he  still  follows.  In  1867  he 
was  married  to  Aliss  Eliza  J.  AIcCauley,  of 
Clarksville,  Tenn.  They  have  one  child — 
George. 

JOHN  L.  STAIB  was  born  in  Louisville 
July  10,  1845,  and  is  a son  of  John  L.  and 
Christine  Staib,  natives  of  Germany,  who 
came  to  America,  and  to  Louisville  about 
fifty  years  ago.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  the  elder  of  twm  sons,  and  was  educated 
in  the  schools  of  Louisville.  He  was  en- 
gaged on  the  river,  first  as  receiving  and 
delivery  clerk,  and  finally  worked  his  way  up 
to  superintendent  and  manager  of  the  Louis- 
ville and  Evansville  packets,  a position  he 
held  many  years.  He  resigned  the  place, 
and  in  1886,  engaged  in  the  wholesale  pro- 
duce and  feed  and  grain  commission  business. 
He  was  married  in  April,  1885,  to  Aliss  Nettie 
N.  Ainslie,  a daughter  of  George  Ainslie,  Esq., 
of  Louisville. 

HON.  H.  J.  STITES,  son  of  Abram  and 
Ann  Stites,  was  born  in  Georgetown,  Scott 
County,  Ky.,  in  1816.  In  infancy  his  parents 
removed  to  Hopkinsville,  Christian  County, 
where  he  grew  up  to  manhood  and  continued 
to  make  his  home  until  1862.  At  an  early 
age  he  was  sent  to  school  to  Dr.  James  Bu- 
chanan, an  excellent  teacher,  the  father  of 
Dr.  .Toseph  R.  Buchanan,  afterward  distin- 


004 


BIOGKAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


guished  as  a philosopher  and  essayist.  His 
next  and  only  teacher  was  .laines  1).  Rumsey, 
who  was  noted  as  an  instructor  throurrhout  the 
Green  River  country.  At  the  age  of  four- 
teen young  Stites  besought  his  fatlier  to  per- 
mit him  to  learn  some  calling  wheieby  he 
could  support  himself  and  j-elieve  his  father, 
who  was  encumbered  with  a large  family.  In 
compliance  with  his  request  his  father  bound 
him  to  service  for  a period  of  four  years  for 
his  victuals  and  clothes  as  a merchant’s  clerk 
to  George  Ward,  Esq.,  then  doing  a large 
Inisiness  in  Hopkinsville.  During  this  serv- 
ice, which  was  most  faithfully  performed,  he 
gave  every  moment  that  he  could  properly 
spare  from  his  duty  as  clerk  to  reading  and 
the  culture  of  his  mind.  At  the  end  of  his 
term  he  was  offered  a partnership  by  his 
master,  but  preferred  to  enter  partnership 
with  a fellow-clerk,  Leander  D.  Holman,  who 
had  a small  capital  and  for  whom  he  enter- 
tained a stronof  attachment  that  continued 
until  Holman’s  death,  which  occurred  in 

1840.  For  over  four  years  he  with  Holman 
pursued  successfully  the  mercantile  business, 
until  the  great  financial  crash  of  1887.  This 
firm  of  young  men,  having  but  limited  capi- 
tal, was  necessarily  compelled  to  rely  upon 
their  credit,  and  was  always  largely  indebted 
to  eastern  merchants.  They,  however,  main- 
tained their  credit  and  were  never  sued.  But 
young  Stites,  always  averse  to  debt,  then  re- 
solved to  adopt  another  calling  which  would 
enable  him  to  live  without  debt.  He  selected 
the  law  and  began  at  once  to  study  Black- 
stone,  Kent  and  other  elementary  writers, 
giving  all  his  time  he  could  spare  from  his 
business  to  his  law  books.  In  1839  he  formed 
a partnership  as  merchant  with  one  of  the 
best  men  that  ever  lived,  John  Bryan,  of 
Hopkinsville,  and  continued  successfuly  with 
him  until  1841 — all  the  time,  however,  pur- 
suingf  his  studies  when  his  business  would 

O 

allow.  In  1840,  and  while  a merchant,  he 
obtained  license  as  a lawyer  from  .fudge 
.lohn  Marshall,  of  Louisville,  and  Judge  Ben- 
jamin Shackelford,  of  Christian  County.  In 

1841,  after  winding  up  his  mercantile  busi- 
ness, he  began  as  a lawyer  with  Hiram  A. 
Phelps,  then  also  a young  practitioner,  but. 


since,  a lawyer  of  fine  repute  and  high  stand- 
ing. They  soon  had  a fine  practice,  and  de- 
rived great  benefit,  in  a business  way,  from 
the  favorable  acquaintance  which  young 
Stites  liad  with  the  eastern  merchants  with 
whom  he  had  formerly  had  dealings. 

After  his  dissolution  with  Mr.  Phelps^ 
Stites  continued  to  pursue  his  profession  un- 
til 1851.  He  was  induced  then  to  become  a 
candidate  for  the  office  of  Commonwealth’s 
Attorney,  but  before  the  election  was  com- 
pelled by  the  overwhelming  voice  of  his 
friends  to  run  for  the  office  of  Circuit  .Judcre. 
He  was  elected  and  before  the  expiration  of 
his  term  of  office  was  reluctantly  induced  to 
become  a candidate  for  the  office  of  Appellate 
.fudge  as  successor  of  .Judge  Elijah  Hise,  who 
had  declined  a re-election.  In  August,  1854, 
he  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Ap- 
peals by  a majority  of  nearly  6,000  votes  in  a 
district  which  then  had  a majority  of  more 
than  5,000  politically  opposed  to  him,  and 
having  as  an  opponent  a distinguished  law- 
yer and  politician,  once  a member  of  con- 
gress, anil  also  of  the  convention  which 
formed  the  present  constitution.  He  contin- 
ued on  the  Appellate  bench  until  he  became 
Chief  Justice  of  the  State,  and  until  the  sum- 
mer of  1862,  when,  because  of  his  sentiments 
as  a State’s  Right  Democrat,  and  his  opposi- 
tion to  the  war,  he  was  compelled  to  leave  his 
home  to  avoid  the  oppression  of  the  military 
on  either  side,  which  were  then  at  one  time 
or  another  alternately  in  control  of  southern 
Kentucky.  Arrest  and  imprisonment,  or  an 
unconstitutional  oath,  or  a departure  from  his 
section  of  the  State  were  the  alternatives  pre- 
sented, and  he  chose  the  latter  and  went  to 
Canada.  There  he  remained  over  three  years. 
After  the  termination  of  the  war  he  returned 
to  Kentucky.  In  1867  he  was  appointed 
.Judge  of  the  .Jefferson  Court  of  Common 
Fleas,  an  important  civil  tribunal  in  the  city 
of  Louisville.  To  this  office  he  has  been 
three  times  elected  without  opposition,  mak- 
ing, when  his  present  term  expires,  over 
thirty  years  of  judicial  service  among  those 
who  have  knowm  him  durinof  Jus  life,  his  fel- 
low-citizens  of  Kentucky.  From  1868  to 
1873  he  held  the  position  of  professor  of  law 


■S-A  ^ 


-n- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


901 


in  the  University  of  Louisville  as  an  associate 
of  Judge  Pirtle  and  Bullock,  but  was  com- 
pelled to  resign  this  place  because  of  his 
judicial  labors. 

In  1841,  soon  after  Judge  Stites  began  the 
practice  of  law,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Jane 
Sharp,  a daughter  of  Dr.  Maxwell  Sharp,  of 
Christian  County,  with  whom  he  lived  most 
happily  until  her  death  in  1875.  Afterward 
he  married  Mrs.  Caroline  M.  Barker,  a sister 
of  his  first  wife  and  the  widow  of  Richard  H. 
Barker,  a lawyer  of  New  Orleans,  with  whom 
he  is  now  living  at  his  home  near  Ijonisville. 
No  better  testimonial  to  Judge  Stites’  worth 
could  be  given  than  the  following  editorial 
from  the  Cotirier- Journal  of  August  1,  1880. 
Speaking  of  Judge  Stites’  judicial  service,  it 
says  : “The  admirers  of  this  eminent  judicial 
officer  rejoice  that  he  enters  upon  the  race 
for  the  Judgeship  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  without  a competitor.  It  would  have  | 
been  a very  foolish  thing  for  any  one  to  at-  : 
tempt  opposition  to  him.  He  is  so  perfectly  | 
endeared  to  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  peo-  j 
pie  ; he  is  so  devoted  to  the  resposible  duties 
confided  to  his  care ; he  is  so  thoroughly 
equipped  in  all  the  matters  that  pertain  to  his 
high  office  ; he  is  so  upright  in  every  princi- 
ple of  action,  courteous  and  urbane  to  all 
with  whom  he  comes  in  contact,  without 
respect  to  party  or  condition,  that  rnnning 
ao-ainst  him  would  be  about  as  bootless  a 
thing  as  one  could  have  undertaken.  We  are 
gratified  in  knowing  that  for  the  high  posi- 
tion of  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 
Louisville  is  able  to  command  the  services  of 
this  eminent  jurist.  We  have  often  thought, 
when  watching  the  exercises  of  his  high  voca- 
tion, the  quick,  sudden,  clear  rules  by  which 
he  governs  cases  before  him,  of  T.  Arnold’s 
appropriate  limning  of  the  high  attributes  be- 
longing to  such  a position  as  that  filled  by  J udge 
Stites.  Arnold  says;  ‘To  accustom  a num- 
ber of  persons  to  the  intelligent  exercise  of 
attending  to  and  comparing  and  weighing  evi- 
dence, and  to  the  moral  exercise  of  beino- 
placed  in  a high  and  responsible  situation 
invested  with  one  of  God’s  own  attributes, 
that  of  judgment,  and  having  to  determine, 
with  authority,  between  truth  and  falsehood, 


right  and  wrong,  is  to  furnish  them  with  very 
high  means  of  moral  and  intellectual  culture; 
in  other  words  it  is  providing  them  with  the 
highest  kind  of  education.’  The  people  of 
Louisville  are  very  familiar  with  the  perfect 
exhibition,  on  the  part  of  Judge  Stites,  of 
those  high  and  ennobling  qualities.  They 
rejoice  to  know  that  in  him  they  have  an  up- 
right, learned  and  incorruptible  judicial 
officer,  in  whose  hands  all  the  interests  com- 
mitted to  him  are  secure  and  sound  and 
honest  legal  action.  The  all,  one  and  all, 
join  in  saying  to  him : ‘ Well  done,  good 

and  faithful  servant  ’ of  the  people.  The 
ermine  could  not  more  appropriately  fit  the 
person  of  any  one.” 

When  Judge  Stites  served  out  the  judicial 
term,  alluded  to  in  the  above  extract,  he  re- 
tired from  judicial  labor.  Upon  retirement 
the  bar  held  a meeting,  .June  19,  1886,  of 
which  Hon.  Hamilton  Pope  was  president, 
and  Hon.  A.  G.  Caruth  was  secretary,  and 
presented  Judge  Stites  an  address  showing 
the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  amono- 
them.  The  following  is  the  address  as  pub- 
lished in  the  Courier -Journal  at  the  time ; 
“The  committee  appointed  by  the  bar  recom- 
mended the  adoption  of  the  following  ad- 
dress which  shall  be  signed  by  the  officers  of 
the  meeting  after  being  engrossed,  and  pre- 
! sen  ted  to  his  Honor,  Henry  J.  Stites,  and  a 
! copy  spread  upon  the  record  of  the  .Jefferson 
Court  of  Common  Pleas:  ‘Hon.  Henry  J. 

Stites:  Your  brethren  of  the  bar  of  Louis- 

! ville  cannot  let  the  occasion  of  your  last 
regular  sitting  as  Judge  of  the  Court  of 
I Common  Pleas  pass  without  taking  notice  of 
j the  interesting  event.  Your  relations  with  us 
have  been  of  such  intimate,  almost  affection- 
ate, nature  that  we  cannot  contemplate  the 
fact  that  you  will,  after  to-day,  cease  to  pre- 
side over  this  court  without  feeling  a pang  of 
parting.  You  have  become  in  our  minds  so 
associated  with  this  court,  and  your  benevo- 
lent and  venerable  presence  will  be  so  missed, 

I that  with  your  retirement  we  shall  almost  feel 
as  though  the  court  itself  had  gone  with  you. 
You  will  not  deem  us  indelicate  if  we  state 
in  this  public  place  our  regard  for  your  per- 
sonally and  our  opinion  of  the  manner  in 


!)08 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


whicli  you  have  discharged  your  duties  as 
.ludge.  d’he  (jualities  wliich  have  most 
endeared  you  to  us  and  to  the  peojile  of 
Jefferson  County  are  those  which  most  l.>e- 
come  a Judge,  your  impartiality  and  love  of 
justice.  While  we  have  admired  your  large 
attainments  in  jurisprudence  and  your  ac- 
curacy and  complete  knowledge  of  our  civil 
code  and  statute  law,  we  have  practiced  be- 
fore you  with  the  conlidence  that  the  scales 
have  been  held  firmly  and  steadily,  and  the 
rich  and  the  poor,  the  strong  and  the  weak, 
have  received  equal  justice  at  your  hands. 
The  indomnitable  industry  ■*  with  which  you 
have  in  summer’s  heat  and  winter’s  cold, 
sometimes  when  your  health  required  you  to 
desist,  come  to  your  place  on  that  bench  and 
borne  the  fatigue  of  tedious ' trials  with 
patience,  have  excited  our  admiratitm  and 
commanded  our  profound  respect.  In  your 
retirement  you  will  carry  with  you  the  ap- 
proval of  your  fellow* citizens  and  the  verdict 
that  for  thirty-  four  years,  first  as  Circuit 
Judge,  then  as  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Ap-- 
peals  and  Chief  Justice,  and  lastly  as  Judge 
of  this  court,  you  have,  in  a manner  that  re- 
flects honor  upon  yourself  and  u])on  the 
judiciary  of  Kentucky,  discharged  all  your 
duties  and  are  now  entitled  to  a peaceful  life, 
free  from  public  care,  attended  by  the  respect 
and  affection  of  your  fellow-men.’  ” Since 
Judgfe  Stites  laid  aside  the  ermine  he  has 
been  passing  his  time  in  his  pleasant  home, 
with  his  family,  just  outside  of  the  limits  of 
the  city,  enjoying  the  rest  he  has  won  by  a 
long  life  of  faithful  public  service. 

HON.  ALBEHT  A.  STOLL,  a member  of 
the  Louisvile  bar,  was  born  in  this  city,  Au- 
gust 29,  1851,  and  is  a son  of  I.ouis  Ernst 
and  Elizabeth  (Baab)  Stoll,  the  former  a na- 
tive of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  latter  of  Bava- 
ria. His  father  started  life  as  a newsboy,  j 
and  educated  himself.  He,came  to  Louisville 
from  Pittsburgh,  on  a keel-boat,  in  1880,  and  j 
remained  a citizen  of  this  city  until  his  death, 
.Inly  5,  1879,  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine  years. 
He  was  of  a retiring  disposition,  and  never 
sought  official  position.  He  was  elected  to 
the  Senate  of  Kentucky  about  1847-48,  but 
with  a modesty,  now  rarely  met  with,  declined 


the  honor  on  the  ground  that  others  were 
better  qualified  for  the  place  than  himself. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Louis  E.  Stoll  also  established 
the  German  Protestant  Orphan  Asylum  about 
1850,  which  is  still  standing  on  Jefferson 
street,  below  Twentieth.  Albert  A.,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  is  the  youngest  of  three 
children  that  grew  to  manhood.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Louisville, 
studied  law  under  Hon.  Isaac  Caldwell,  took 
a course  in  the  Louisville  Law  School,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  commenced  practice 
in  the  courts  of  Louisville  in  1872.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Legislature  in  1870,  and  was 
the  youngest  member  of  either  house;  was 
member  of  a committee  that  revised  the  pres- 
ent Codes  of  Practice  of  Kentucky.  He  was 
again  elected  in  1881,  and  was  made  Chair- 
man of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  the 
important  duties  of  which  he  discharged  with 
honor  and  credit.  In  1885  he  was  elected  to 
the  Board  of  Alderman,  and  re-elected  in 
1887,  which  position  he  now  holds.  When  a 
boy  at  school  he  Was  appointed  to  the  United 
'States  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis,  Md., 
but  declined,  preferring  the  profession  of  the 
law.  Mr.  Stoll  was  married,  in  1876,  to  Miss 
Lucy  Ji  Garrard,  a great-grandaughter  of 
Governor  Garrard.  They  have  four  children: 
Letitia  PL,  Louis  A.,  Ruth  and  Albert  A.,  Jr. 

JOHN  A.  STRATTON,  one  of  the  sub- 
stantial and  enterprising  young  business  men 
of  Louisville,  and  whose  portrait  appears  in 
this  volume,  is  a Kentuckian,  and  was  born  in 
Plenry  County,  February  24,  1854.  He  is  a 
son  of  Pllisha  B.  and  Mary  (Antle)  Stratton, 
also  natives  of  this  State,  and  who  removed 
to  Ijouisville  in  1868,  the  former  as  a specu- 
lator. He  afterward  ensfao’ed  in  the  broker- 
acre  business,  and  later  as  a trunk  manufac- 
turer.  The  family  were  originally  from  the 
province  of  Stratton,  England,  and  immi- 
grated to  Virginia  prior  to  the  Revolutionary 
war.  The  elder  Stratton  died  in  1878.  John 
A.,  the  sul)ject,  was  educated  in  the  I>ouis- 
ville  city  schools.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
commenced  traveling  for  Smith  & Rammers, 
manufacturers  of  hemp  brushes,  and  con- 
tinued it  for  two  years,  when  he  bought  the 
business,  carried  it  on  for  one  year,  then  sold 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


913 


out  and  returned  to  school,  and  graduated 
from  the  junior  class.  He  was  then  com- 
pelled to  (|uit  school  on  account  of  ill  health. 
He  engaged  in  the  trunk  manufacturing  busi- 
ness with  R.  V.  Snodgrass,  but  shortly  after 
sold  out  to  Chilton,  Guthrie  & Co.,  who  are 
now  among  the  largest  trunk  manufacturers 
in  the  city.  Ill  health,  as  it  had  done  at 
school,  compelled  him  to  relinquish  business 
and  to  recuperate  his  energies.  He  made  a 
trip  to  the  far  West,  where  he  spent  a year, 
and  then  returned  to  Imuisville.  He  now 
opened  a collecting  agency,  making  the  col- 
lection of  rents  a specialty.  This  latter 
branch  so  increased  that,  in  1879,  he  de- 
termined to  devote  his  entire  attention  to  real 
estate.  Since  that  time  he  has  made  land 
values  a special  study,  and  is  known  as  an  ex- 
pert in  this  delicate  but  important  business. 
He  has  been  employed  to  divide  some  of  the 
largest  estates  in  Louisville,  and  in  almost 
every  important  suit  at  law,  involving  the 
value  of  realty,  he  is  called  as  an  expert,  and 
eminently  fair  witness.  No  man  scented 
Louisville’s  real  estate  boom  as  far  off  as  did 
Mr.  Stratton,  and  the  success  of  his  clients 
was  remarkable.  He  is  also  something  of  a 
real  estate  lawyer,  and  generally  looks  up  the 
law'  in  his  own  cases,  Mr.  Stratton  estimates 
tliat  from  1881  to  1883,  his  business  increased 
GOO  per  cent,  and  that  it  has  increased  100 
per  cent,  every  year  since,  up  to  .January, 
1887.  For  the  first  seven  months  of  1887 
his  sales  were  between  1000,000  and  1700,- 
000;  300  per  cent,  more  than  for  the  total  of 
1880.  He  takes  an  active  interest  in  all  en- 
terprises that  tend  to  advance  the  growth  and 
prosperity  of  Louisville,  and  he  exerts  all  his 
energies  to  that  end.  He  is  a stockholder  in 
several  banks,  among  which  are  the  Bank  of 
Louisville,  Louisville  Banking  Company, 
German  Bank,  etc.  He  is  Secretary  of  the 
Ijouisville  Realty  Association,  and  Vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Daisy  Realty  Company.  He  is 
one  of  the  five  constituting  the  executive 
committee  of  the  Commercial  and  Industrial 
Committee  looking  towards  the  improvement 
of  Louisville  and  State,  presenting  her  ad- 
vantages and  resources.  Mr.  Stratton  was 
married,  in  1874,  to  Miss  iVIamie  Varble,  a 


daughter  of  Capt.  Pink  Varble,  one  of  the 
oldest  steamboat  men  living  in  Louisville. 

ALBERT  STRUBY,  druggist,  was  born  in 
Louisville,  Ky.,  .Line  10,  1802.  His  parents, 
Henry  and  Barbara  Struby,  emigrated  from 
Switzerland  in  1843,  locating  in  Louisville. 
Albert  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
that  city,  and  after  leaving  school  entered  a 
grocery,  remaining  there  but  a short  time. 
He  next  entered  the  druu  store  of  II.  A. 

o 

Pfingst,  where  he  remained  until  1880.  In 
1881  he  graduated  from  the  Louisville  Col- 
lege of  Pharmacy.  In  1880  he  embarked  in 
business  for  himself  in  Portland  (now  a part 
of  I^ouisville).  Here  he  met  with  reverses; 
just  six  months  after  opening,  he  was  taken 
down  with  typhoid  fever,  and  remained  ill  for 
about  two  months;  this  almost  destroyed  the 
newly  started  business;  with  close  attention 
and  good  management,  he  finally  succeeded 
in  establishing  one  of  the  best  and  most  lucra- 
tive drug  store  businesses  in  Portland.  In 
1887  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lulie,  daughter 
of  Frederick  Forcht,  of  this  city. 

HARRY  STUCKV  was  born  in  Jefferson 
County,  Kentucky,  September  19,  1827,  and 
is  a son  of  Frederick  and  Imtiisa  (Myers) 
Stucky;  the  former  was  also  born  in  .Jeffer- 
son County  (in  1801)  and  is  still  living.  The 
subject  was  brought  up  on  the  farm  near  .Jef- 
fersontown,  and  educated  in  the  common 
schools.  He  came  to  Imuisville  in  1847,  and 
became  deputy  county  clerk,  serving  for  eight 
years.  In  April,  1801,  he  was  elected  Auditor 
of  the  city  of  Louisville,  served  sixteen 
months,  when  he  resigned.  In  1802  he  was 
elected  clerk  of  the  Louisville  Chancery 
Court,  and  served  until  1808,  when  he  organ- 
ized the  Louisville  Sinking  Fund,  and  became 
secretary  and  treasurer,  which  position  he  held 
for  eight  years,  when  he  was  elected  alder- 
man from  the  Sixth  Ward,  and  has  held  the 
place  ever  since.  He  was  married  in  Decem- 
ber, 1850,  to  Miss  Sallie  Kemp  Sweeney,  of 
Jefferson  County,  and  daughter  of  Rev.  .Jos. 
A.  Sweeney,  of  Virginia. 

DR.  THOMAS  HUNT  STUCKY  was  born 
in  Louisville,  Ky.,  March  21,  1800;  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  that  city,  completed 
the  course  at  Bethany  College, West  Virginia; 


‘114 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


entered  the  University  of  Medicine  and  grad- 
uated at  IIos[)ital  College  with  one  of  the 
class  honors;  received  the  appointment  of 
1 louse  Surgeon  at  Bellevue  Hospital,  New 
\'ork,  remaining,  however,  only  six  months, 
and  resigning  on  account  of  ill  health,  caused 
by  too  close  application  to  study.  He  then 
went  to  Europe  end  entered  Strasburg  Uni- 
versity, remaining  one  term,  a second  and 
third  at  Leipsic  and  Vienna,  and  completing 
his  course  and  receiving  his  decree  at  Stras- 
burg.  Heturning  to  Louisville,  he  was  elected 
A'isiting  Surgeon  to  the  Louisville  Hospital, 
and  the  following  year  to  the  chair  of  Materia 
Medica  in  the  Louisville  School  of  Pharmacy 
for  AVomen,  and  in  1 884,  the  chair  of  Surgi- 
cal Pathology  and  Operative  Surgery  in  the 
Hospital  Medical  College;  also  Physician  for 
the  City  Board  of  Charity  and  Correctioir. 
Dr.  Stucky  is  regarded  as  the  most  expert 
Microscopist  in  Louisville,  having  a rare  tact 
for  catching  minute  differences  and  great  me- 
chanical skill  in  preparing  specimens.  As  a 
lecturer  he  is  clear,  distinct  and  terse,  wasting 
little  time  on  oratorical  flourishes,  l>ut  going 
at  once  to  the  gist  of  the  matter  and  giving 
the  student  a distinct  and  clear  idea  of  the 
subject  without  unnecessary  verbiage.  As  a 
physician  he  enjoys  a large  and  lucrative 
practice,  which  he  justly  deserves  by  his 
faithfulness  to  the  I)est  interests  of  his  pa- 
tients, being  especially  skilled  in  general 
surgrery  and  diseases  of  the  throat.  Dr.  Stuc- 
ky is  thoroughly  devoted  to  the  cause  of 
professional  education  of  women,  and  has  re- 
peatedly declined  positions  in  other  institu- 
tions which  would  have  paid  him  handsomely 
in  a pecuniary  way,  in  order  to  give  his  time 
and  efforts  to  this  movement.  Dr.  T.  H. 
Stucky  was  married,  in  1884,  to  Miss  Lanin 
Prewitt,  of  Clark  County,  Ky. 

SOLOMON  SLiAIMERS  (deceased)  was 
born  in  Jefferson  County,  Ky.,  in  1814,  and 
was  a son  of  AA’^illamena  Summers,  a native 
of  Holland.  September  15,  1828,  Mr.  Sum- 
mers married  Miss  Ellen  Whitaker,  who  was 
born  July  7,  1812,  and  is  a daughter  of 
Abraham  and  Nancy  (Whitaker),  natives  of 
Kentucky.  Mr.  Summers  died  in  1852,  leav- 
ing eight  children  to  be  cared  for  by  Mrs. 


Summers.  Of  these  children,  four  of  the 
boys,  William,  Simpson,  Harrison  and  Robeit, 
were  volunteers  in  the  Union  army.  The 
first  three  were  members  of  the  Louisville 
Legion,  and  the  last  named  enlisted  at  I^ouisi- 
ana,  Mo.  AA^illiam  and  Simpson  were  killed 
at  the  battle  of  Stone  River  and  Robert  was 
killed  near  Sti  Louis.  AA'illiam  (on  account 
of  whose  death  Mrs.  Summers  draws  a pen- 
sion) was  born  in  Jefferson  County,  Ky., 
Febiuai'y  12,  1844.  Harrison  is  also  dead. 
Two  of  the  dauorhters  born  to  Airs.  Sum- 

O 

mers  died  of  cholera  many  years  ago,  and 
the  third,  Martha  A.  Summers,  born  .lanuary 
17,  1840  or  ’47,  died  in  1854.  In  her  old  age 
all  of  her  children  are  dead.  She  has,  how- 
ever, five  grand-children,  four  in  Missouri  and 
one  in  Kentucky. 

WILLIAAI  H.  TERRELL,  M.  D.,  was 
born  in  Woodford  County,  this  State,  Sep- 
tember 11,  1840,  and  is  a son  of  AA^illiam  H. 
and  I>ucinda  (Wilcox)  Terrell,  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia. The  former  was  a p)hysician,  and 
graduated  from  Ohio  Medic  il  College  in 
1821.  He  served  in  the  Black  Hawk  war, 
and  was  chief  Surgeon  of  an  Illinois  brigade. 
After  the  war  he  returned  to  Versailles, 
AA^oodford  County,  Ky.,  where  he  had  located 
in  1815,  and  where  he  practiced  medicine 
until  his  death  in  1804.  His  wife  died  in 
1851.  Four  children  survive  their  parents, 
two  sons  and  two  daughters.  The  sons  are 
Lidce  AV^.  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The 
latter  was  reared  in  AVoodford  County,  and 
educated  in  the  private  schools  of  the  county. 
He  volunteered,  in  1802,  in  the  Fifth  Ken- 
tucky Cavalry,  Col.  D.  Howard  Smith,  C.  S. 
A.,  Morgan’s  command,  and  served  three 
years.  In  1800  he  came  to  Louisville,  and 
read  medicine  under  the  guidance  of  Dr. 
Adam  Given.  He  graduated  from  the  medi- 
cal department  of  the  University  of  Louis- 
ville in  March,  1875,  and  at  once  entered 
upon  practice.  He  was  married  in  1807  to 
Mrs.  Virginia  Bonney  Cotton,  a native  of 
Yazoo  Countv,  Miss.  They  have  no  children. 

GRIFFIN  P.  THEOBALD  was  born  in 
Owentown,  Owen  County,  Ky.,  December  0, 
1840,  and  is  a son  of  Henry  B.  and  Lucy 
(Bacon)  Theobald,  native  Kentuckians.  His 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


915 


mother  was  a daughter  of  John  Christian 
Bacon,  first  clerk  of  Owen  County.  His 
paternal  grandfather  was  of  English  origin, 
and  came  from  Maryland  to  Kentucky  before 
the  latter  was  formed  into  a State,  settling 
near  where  Georgetown  now  stands.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  brought  up  in 
Owentown,  and  received  a common-school 
education.  In  1846,  when  but  sixteen  years 
old,  he  volunteered  in  an  independent  com- 
pany for  the  Mexican  war  and  remained  out 
one  year.  He  returned  home  and  enlisted 
in  the  Third  Regiment  Kentucky  Infantry, 
of  w'hich  Manlius  Y.  Thomson  was  colonel; 
Thomas  L.  Crittenden,  lieutenant- colonel; 
.lohn  C.  Breckinridge,  major,  and  Ben.  F. 
Bradley,  adjutant.  He  remained  ^yith  this 
reo-iment  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  then 

O 

went  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  resided  until  the 
lireaking  out  of  the  civil  war,  when  he  enlisted 
as  a private  in  the  Third  Kentucky  (Confed- 
erate) Infantry.  He  was  soon  commissioned 
first  lieutenant  of  Company  D,  then  was 
adjutant  for  a short  time,  then  quartermas- 
ter, then  captain,  and  when  he  retired  from 
the  service  at  the  close  of  the  'war  was  major, 
having  worked  up  to  that  position  by  regular 
gradation.  In  1868  he  w'ent  to  Vicksburg, 
Miss.,  as  agrent  of  insurance.  In  1872  he  re- 
turned,  and  has  been  engaaed  in  a general 
insurance  business  ever  since.  He  at  present 
is  a member  of  the  city  council.  He  was 
married,  July  17,  1854,  to  Miss  Harriet  L. 
Love,  of  Columbus,  ^liss. 

4VARREN  LA  RUE  THOMAS  was  born 
in  Hardin  County,  Ky.,  .fanuary  25,  1845,  and 
is  a son  of  .Joseph  II.  and  Amanda  (La  Rue) 
Thomas.  His  father  removed  to  Danville 
when  our  subject  was  but  fifteen  years  old, 
was  a mail  contractor  for  forty  years,  and  is 
still  living.  4Y.  La  Rue  Thomas  received  a 

o 

liberal  education,  entering  Centre  College  at 
Danville  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1865.  He  engaged  for  a few 
years  in  merchandisino-  but  in  1873  went 
into  the  life  insurance  business.  In  1886 
he  came  to  Louisville,  and  is  now  connected 
with  the  Northwestern  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company,  of  Milwaukee,  5Vis.,  and  works  ex- 
clusively in  Kentucky.  Mr.  Thomas  is  a 


prominent  Jlason,  and  has  been  Grand  Mas- 
ter of  the  order  for  Kentucky,  and  also 
Grand  Commandpr  of  Knights  Templar  for 
Kentucky.  He  was  married  in  1866  to  Miss 
Mary  Wardroper,  of  \Yoodford  County. 

JUDGE  R.  H.  THOMPSON,  of  the  city 
court  of  Louisville,  was  born  in  Kanawha 
('ounty,  W.  Va.,  October  31,  1836,  and  is  a 
son  of  R.  A.  and  Mary  (Slaughter)  Thompson, 
natives  of  Culpeper  County,  Ya.  His  mater- 
nal grandfather,  Philip  Slaughter,  commanded 
a company  of  minute  men  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary war;  his  father,  R.  A.  Thompson, 
was  a prominent  lawyer  and  jurist;  he  was 
LJnited  States  Land  Commissioner  in  Cali- 
fornia under  President  Pierce,  and  enorao-ed 
in  the  settlement  of  Mexican  land  grants. 
He  died  in  1876.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  reared  in  4'irginia  and  received  a liberal 
education.  4Yhen  the  civil  war  opened,  in 
1861,  he  joined  the  Thirteenth  Arkansas  Regi- 
ment; he  afterward,  as  lieutenant-colonel, 
commanded  Carlton’s  Arkansas  Cavalry — 
served  all  through  the  war  and  saw  much 
hard  service.  He  had  studied  law,  been  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  and  commenced  practice  at 
Santa  Rosa,  Cal.,  when  the  war  commenced, 
and  when  the  war  closed  he  went  to  Napo- 
leon, Ark.,  where  he  remained  a year;  for 
another  year — 1866-67,  he  was  on  the  edi- 
torial staff  of  the  Detroit  J^/'ee  Press.  In 
1868  he  came  to  Louisville,  and  commenced 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  was  ap- 
poin'ed  by  Governor  Blackburn,  on  the  24th 
of  December,  1882,  judge  of  the  Louisville 
City  Court,  and  in  the  following  August  was 
elected  to  the  position;  was  re-elected  again 
in  1886,  and  is  the  present  incumbent.  He 
was  married  in  1867  to  Miss  Lilly  Thompson, 
a daughter  of  7Yilliam  L.  Thompson,  of  Jeff- 
erson County. 

EDWARD  T.  TIERNEY,  city  auditor, 
was  born  November  16,  1857,  in  Louisville, 
and  is  a son  of  .James  and  Mary  (Tracy)  Tier- 
ney, natives  of  Ireland.  He  was  brought  up 
in  this  city  and  educated  in  the  public  schools; 
he  learned  the  harness  maker’s  trade,  which 
he  followed  for  some  time.  In  1883  he  w’as 
elected  city  auditor  over  several  competitors. 
He  has  also  served  three  years  as  deputy  in 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


filO 


the  tax  receiver’s  otiice.  He  was  married 
ill  18S4,  to  Miss  Anna  M.  Kirwan,  of  Louis- 
ville. They  have  two  children:  Mary  and 

William. 

.lUDGE  STERLING  B.  TONEY  was 
born  in  Russell  County,  Ala.,  May  24,  1849, 
and  is  the  son  of  Washington  and  Sarah 
(Bass)  Toney,  the  former  a finished  gentle- 
man of  the  old  school,  a man  of  education 
and  refinement,  and  a native  of  Edgefield, 
S.  C.,  and  the  latter  a native  of  Columbus, 
Ga.  The  Toneys  overe  a prominent  family 
in  the  South,  and  in  the  late  civil  war 
staked  their  all  for  the  Confederacy;  life, 
fortune,  time,  personal  service,  self-sacrifice, 
all  were  devoted  to  the  cause  they  so  truly 
loved.  Judge  Toney,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  educated  in  his  earlier  studies  at 
the  University  of  Alabama,  but  later  entered 
the  University  of  Virginia,  from  which  insti- 
tution he  graduated  in  1872.  He  studied  law 
at  Eufaula,  Ala.,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  that  town,  but  shortly  after  removed 
to  New  York  city.  In  187(5  he  located  in 
Louisville,  and  at  once  entered  . upon  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  On  motion  of  Hon. 
Samuel  F.  Philips,  solicitor  general,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  S ates,  in  March,  1886.  He  has  been 
engaged  in  many  important  la  wsuits  in  and  out 
of  the  State,  always  ac(;[uitting  himself  with 
honor  and  credit.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
the  Greeley,  Tilden  and  Hancock  campaigns. 
In  the  campaign  of  1884  he  made  fifteen 
speeches  in  Indiana  at  the  earnest  solicitation 
of  the  Democratic  Committee  of  that  State,  j 
In  1887  he  was  elected  j"dge  of  the  Law 
and  Equity  Court,  over  Ju  Ige  Harris,  the 
incumbent,  and  at  present  occupies  that  im- 
portant position.  In  1876  Judge  Toney  was 
married  to  Miss  Mattie  Burge,  a daughter  of 
R.  Burge,  Esq.,  of  Louisville.  They  have  two 
children,  viz:  R.  Burge  and  Em  na  Louise. 

JOHN  L.  TREANOR  was  born  in  the 
County  Tyrone,  Ireland,  on  December  11, 
1826,  and  is  a son  of  James  D.  and  Catherine  j 
(Slevin)  Treanor,  natives  of  the  above  men-  j 
tioned  county;  they  immigi'ated  to  Phila-  | 
delphia,  Penn.,  when  the  subject  of  this  j 
sketch  was  three  months  old.  His  father  was 


an  officer  in  the  Hibernia  Greens,  a company 
attached  to  the  militia  of  the  State;  the  militia 
was  called  upon  to  suppress  an  insurrection 
at  the  capital  of  ,the  State — Harrisburg — by 
Governor  Porter,  sometime  in  the  -30’s;  the 
Hibernia  Greens,  with  other  companies  from 
Philadelphia,  responded  to  the  call,  two  boys 
went  with  the  company  dressed  in  full  uni- 
form as  color  guides;  our  subject  was  one 
of  these  boys;  there  was  no  blcod  shed,  but 
he  commenced  his  military  training  quite 
young,  and  in  after  years  in  two  wars,  the 
war  with  Mexico  and  the  rebellion  of  1861, 
he  made  his  mark  as  a brave  soldier  in  action 
and  generous  to  a fallen  foeman.  His  father 
came  to  Louisville,  Ky.,  in  the  fall  of  1840, 
remained  there  a short  time,  and  moved  to 
Washington,  Daviess  County,  Ind.,  purchased 
a farm,  and  went  into  the  general  store  busi- 
ness. The  subject  of  this  sketch  worked  on 
the  farm  until  the  winter  of  1845-6,  when  he 
left  home  and  went  back  to  Philadelphia, 
working  his  way  on  steamboats  from  Evans- 
ville, Ind.,  to  Pittsburgh,  Penn.,  from  thence 
to  IJttle  York,  Penn.;  assisted  in  driving 
sheep  and  hogs,  at  12^  cents  per  diem  and 
board;  he  managed  to  make  the  trip  to  Phila- 
delphia in  one  month;  he  procured  a position 
in  the  queensware  house  of  Peter  Wright  & 
Sons,  remained  there  until  December,  1846; 
went  to  New  York  City  on  a visit  to  some 
relatives,  joined  the  First  Regiment  of  New 
York  Volunteers,  commanded  by  Col.  Ward 
B.  Burnett,  as  a private,  was  with  his  regi- 
ment at  the  siege  of  Vera  Cruz.  Gen.  Shields, 
the  commander  of  the  brigade— consisting  of 
the  New  York  Volunteers  and  the  South 
Carolina  Volunteers — found  him  useful  as  a 
scout,  and  he  and  a young  man  named 
Barnes,  the  son  of  an  eminent  divine,  in 
Philadelphia,  had  several  hair  breadth  es- 
capes together.  Barnes  was  killed  by  the 
Mexicans  in  one  of  their  scouting  trips,  about 
six  miles  from  Vera  Cruz — our  subject  man- 
aged to  escape  by  hiding  in  a prickly  pear 
thicket  until  night,  and  made  his  escape 
through  the  chaparral,  and  got  back  safely  to 
his  regiment.  He  was  in  the  battles  of  Cerro 
Gordo,  Contreras,  Churubusco,  the  storming 
of  the  Castle  of  Chapultepec,  and  the  fight 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


917 


at  the  Garita  de  Belen;  was  promoted  color 
sergeant  of  the  regiment  after  the  battle  of 
Cerro  Gordo  for  meritorious  conduct.  He 
was  one  of  the  ninety  soldiers  who  fol- 
lowed up  the  Mexican  army  under  command  of 
Gen.  D.  Twiggs,  after  Gen.  Shields  was  shot 
down  at  Cerro  Gordo;  this  small  band  of  sol- 
diers were  at  least  two  miles  in  the  adv^ance 
of  the  U.  S.  army,  and  the  road  was  strewm 
for  that  distance  wdtli  wounded  and  dead 
horses  and  their  Mexican  riders;  they  w^ere 
called  to  a halt,  when  a couple  of  companies 
of  U.  S.  dragoons  took  up  the  chase.  After 
the  Mexican  war,  in  1848  he  returned  to 
Louisville,  Ky.,  engaged  in  business  with  Col.  j 
Joseph  Metcalfe,  the  brewer.  Married  Miss 
Delia  Morgan,  October  2,  1849.  They  have  j 
four  children — James  L.,  Katie,  ^lary  Agnes, 
and  Julia.  He  belonged  to  the  old  volunteer  j 
fire  department,  being  a member  of  the  Re-  ! 
lief.  No.  3;  \vas  made  captain  of  the  No.  3 | 
steam  fire  engine  in  1859;  appointed  day  I 
policeman  in  1860.  He  was  firm  in  his  duty  ■ 


Sumter  was  fired  upon,  he  and  six  other 
stanch  Unionists  organized  the  Union  clubs 
in  Louisville;  from  this  small  beginning  they 
soon  numbered  in  the  thousands.  After  they 
knew  their  strength  they  procured  arras  and 
organized  home  guard  companies.  Our  sub- 
ject was  elected  captain  of  the  First  Ward 
Home  Guard,  numbering-  160  members.  He 
resigned  his  position  in  the  home  guards  and 
raised  a company  for  the  war  for  Gen.  Lov- 
ell H.  Rousseau’s  regiment,  the  Ijouisville 
Legion.  They  went  into  camp  at  Camp  Joe 
Holt,  Indiana,  on  the  1st  day  of  July,  1861. 
The  regiment  was  mustered  into  service  1050 
strong,  September  9,  1861;  mustered  out  of 
the  service  September  14,  1864,  with  297 
men.  His  regiment  participated  in  all  of  the 
following  battles:  Shiloh,  Murfreesboro,  Lib- 

erty Gap,  Chickamauga,  Brown’s  Ferry,  Or- 
chard Knob,  Missionary  Ridge,  at  w'hich  place 
they  claim  their  colors  were  first  on  the  ridge 
near  Gen.  Bragg’s  headquarters.  They  also 
participated  at  the  battles  of  Dallas,  Ga., 
Kenesaw  Mountain,  Peach  Tree  Creek  and 
the  siege  of  Atlanta.  After  the  war  he  was 
appointed  to  a position  in  the  Internal  Rev- 


enue service  as  Assisstant  Assessor  and  U.  S. 
Gauger.  He  was  dismissed  the  service  May 
15,  1886,  for  being  an  offensive  partisan.  He 
is  a stanch  Republican.  He  was  mustered 
out  as  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Louisville 
Legion.  His  superior  officers  speak  of  him  as 
a brave  and  valuable  officer  during  the  w^ar. 
Below  find  a few  extracts  from  testimonials 
in  his  possession,  which  we  were  permitted  to 
use  in  this  sketch. 

Extract  from  Gen.  Lovell  H.  Rousseau: 
“Col.  Treanor  joined  my  command  in  1861, 
and  served  with  me  durino-  the  war.  No 
braver,  truer,  or  more  honest  man  lives. 

“ Lovell  H.  Rousseau, 

“ -Maj-Gen.  U.  S.  A.” 
Extract  from  Gen.  R.  4V.  Johnson: 

“ For  a Iona- time  Col.  Treanor  was  under 

O 

my  command,  and  I found  him  a brave  and 
gallant  soldier,  a man  of  excellent  habits,  in- 
telligent in  the  exercise  of  his  duties,  care- 
ful in  his  attention  to  his  men  and  their  wants, 
and  in  fact  a thorough  soldier  without  a fault. 
The  loyal  people  of  Kentucky  owe  him  a 
debt  of  gratitude  which  it  will  be  difficult  for 
them  to  repay.  R.  4V.  Johxsox, 

“Bvt.  Maj.-Gen.  U.  S.  A.” 
Extract  from  Maj.-Gen.  .John  A.  McCler- 
nand: 

“Sprixgpield,  111.,  June  17, 1868. 

“ To  xohom  it  may  concern: 

“ Learning  that  an  official  position  in  the 
' revenue  service  would  be  agreeable  to  John 
L.  Treanor,  Esq.,  late  Lieut.- Col.  of  the  5th 
Kentucky  Vol.  Inft.,  1 eagerly  embrace  the 
opportunity  to  bear  my  testimony  to  his  high 
merit  as  a gentleman  and  a soldier.  His  con- 
duct on  the  great  day  at  Shiloh  marked  him 
not  only  a brave  and  faithful  officer  but  a hero 
in  the  loftiest  sense  of  the  term.  There  is 
nothing  within  my  power  I -vvould  not  do  for 
him.  A kindness  rendered  to  him  would  be 
viewed  by  me  as  something  more  than  a favor 
extended  to  myself;  it  is  such  men  who  de- 
serve to  be  honored  and  encourag-ed  for  the 
good  of  their  example.  He  is  one  of  the 
men  upon  whom  I would  have  no  fear  to 
stake  my  life  and  my  honor.  T tnist  the  ulti- 
mate recipient  of  this  letter,  whomsoever  he 
may  be,  wdll  respond  in  the  same  spirit  in- 


t»18 


BIOGKAPinCAL  SKETCHES, 


spiring-  it.  Bj  so  doing  he  will  lastingly 
oblige  its  author.  .IohnA.  McClehnand.” 
Extract  from  Maj.-Gen.  A.  Me.  I).  McCook: 
“ I )ecember  28,  ’80. 

“ I am  always  glad  to  hear  from  any  of  the 
old  Second  Division  of  the  army  of  the  Ohio 
and  Cumberland,  and  especially  from  one  of 
the  Louisville  Leofion,  for  a more  n-allant  set 
of  officers  and  men  were  never  mustered  into 
any  service,  ft  is  still  the  more  gratifying 
to  hear  from  one  of  those  officers  who  has 
such  a gallant  record  as  that  possessed  by  you, 
and  gained  too  upon  many  of  the  bloodiest 
l)a‘tles  foug-ht  durino- the  rebellion.  * 

May  God  bless  you  in  your  old  age,  your  chil- 
dren and  children’s  children.  No  better  her- 
itage could  be  left  them  than  your  glorious 
record  of  the  war. 

“ Si  ncerely  your  old  comrade  and  commander, 
“ A.  Me  D.  McCook. 

“ Bvt.  Ma,j.-Gen’l  U.  S.  Army.” 
HARKY  C.  TRUMAN,  cashier  of  the  Ken- 
tucky National  Bank,  was  born  in  this  city, 
August  4,  1850,  and  is  a son  of  Orville  and 
Esther  (Marriner)  Truman,  the  former  for  many 
years  a leading  wholesale  merchant,  and  the 
latter  a daughter  of  R.  W.  Marriner,  who 
was  one  of  the  leading  hardware  merchants 

O 

of  Ivouisville.  The  subject  of  the  sketch  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Louisville, 
and  fora  term  was  a student  in  Murray  Hill 
Institute,  New  York  city,  and  completed  his 
educational  studies  in  a private  class  of  Prof. 
B.  B.  Huntoon  of  this  city.  He  engaged  in 
the  banking  business  in  1868,  first  taking  a 
position  in  the  Bank  of  America  of  this  city, 
which  in  a few  years  went  into  voluntary 
litpudation.  He  was  then  offered  a position 
in  the  Kentucky  National  Bank,  and  has  been 
with  that  bank  ever  since,  holding  different 
positions,  and  by  strict  business  integrity  has 
arisen  to  the  important  one  of  cashier.  He 
was  married  in  September,  1881,  to  Miss  Hat- 
tie Semple,  a daugther  of  A.  C.  Semple,  of 
Lovusville,  a prominent  citizen  and  business 
man.  Mr.  Truman  lives  at  Pewee  Valley, 
sixteen  miles  from  f^ouisville,  on  the  Short- 
line Railroad,  one  of  the  most  delightful 
suburban  retreats  ad  jacent  to  Ivouisville. 


.JOSEPH  L.  TROUTMAN,  a native  of 
Bullitt  County,  Ky.,  was  born  .July  1,  1848, 
and  is  the  fourth  son  born  to  Levi  .J.  and 
Mary  Ann  Troutman,  also  natives  of  JJullitt 
County.  .Jacob  Troutman,  grandfather  of 
Joseph  L.,  was  a native  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  prominent  among  the  first  pioneers  of 
Bullitt  County.  .Joseph  !>.  Troutman  was 
reared  on  the  farm,  but  learned  the  trade  of 
blacksmithing,  through  which,  in  connection 
with  his  farming  interests,  he  has  accumulated 
considerable  property.  He  married  Miss  Ann 
A1  sop.  His  farm  is  near  Shepherdsville,  Bul- 
litt County,  Ivy. 

ENOS  S.  TULEY,  assistant  postmaster  of 
Jmuisville,  is  a native  of  Indiana,  born  in 
New  Albany,  March  21,  1836.  He  is  a son 
of  John  W.  and  Phebe  H.  (Woodruff)  Tuley, 
the  former  born  in  .Jefferson  County,  Ivy., 
and  the  latter  a native  of  Newark,  New  .Jer- 
sey. The  Tuleys  were  Huguenots,  and  came 
to  this  country  from  Scotland  with  that  exiled 
sect,  first  settling  in  South  Carolina.  They 
subsequently  moved  to  Virginia,  where  the 
great  grandparents  of  the  suJjject  of  this 
sketch  originated.  This  branch  of  the  Tuley 
family  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  I-Cen- 
tucky,  locating  in  .Jefferson  County  when  the 
country  was  in  reality  the  “dark  and  bloody 
ground.”  The  subject’s  great-grandmother 
was  Elizabeth  Floyd  Tuley,  the  sister  of  Col. 
.John  Floyd,  the  pioneer  friend  and  com- 
panion of  Daniel  Boone.  Floyd  was  cele- 
brated as  an  Indian  fighter,  having  met  his 
death  in  a battle  with  the  redskins  while  de- 
fending a fort  in  Jefferson  County.  It  will 
be  seen  from  above  that  Mr.  Tuley  has  some 
of  Iventucky’s  best  pioneer  blood  in  his 
veins.  The  subject’s  father  settled  in  New 
Albany,  Indiana,  and  carried  on  the  business 
of  merchandising  in  grain  and  pjrodnce  be- 
tween J.,ouisville  and  New  Orleans  in  the 
days  when  river  freights  were  mostly  trans- 
ported in  flat-boats.  He  died  in  California 
in  1851.  The  subject’s  mother  was  a daugh- 
ter of  Judge  Seth  Woodruff,  a native  of 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  an  early  settler  in 
New  Albany,  Indiana,  where  he  lived  and 
died  an  honored  and  res])6cted  citizen.  Enos 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


919 


S.  Taley  was  born  and  reared  in  New  Albany, 
where  he  resided  until  he  was  seventeen, 
when,  in  the  year  1854,  he  was  appointed  to 
a clerkship  in  the  Louisville  postoffice,  and 
came  to  this  city  to  reside.  No  other  evi- 
dence of  iMr.  Tuley’s  high  business  integrity 
and  unimpeachable  honor  is  needed  than  the 
fact  that  he  has  been  in  the  postoffice  ever 
since,  with  the  exception  of  a few  months 
during  the  late  war  of  the  Rebellion,  when  he 
served  as  Paymaster’s  clerk,  a position  he  re- 
signed in  May,  1864,  to  return  to  the  post- 
office.  By  his  strict  honor  and  integrity  and 
close  application  to  business  he  has  risen  from 
an  insigniticant  clerkship  to  assistant  post- 
master, which  latter  position  he  has  held  con- 
tinuously since  1864,  a period  of  twenty- four 
years.  He  is  president  of  the  Rogers  & Tuley 
Publishing  House.  In  September,  1864,  Mr. 
Tuley  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Speed, 
daughter  of  Major  Philip  and  Emma  (Keats) 
Speed,  of  Louisville.  Major  Speed  was  a 
highly  respected  citizen  of  Louisville,  and 
Avas  a member  of  the  well  known  Speed  fam- 
ily of  Jefferson  County,  Ky.  Hon.  James 
Speed,  Attorney-General  in  President  Lin- 
coln’s cabinet,  was  a brother  of  Major  Philip 
Speed.  Mrs.  Speed,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Tu- 
ley, was  the  daughter  of  Mr.  George  Keats,  a 
much  respected  citizen  of  I^ouisville,  and 
brother  of  John  Keats,  the  young  English 
poet.  Mr.  Tuley  is  the  father  of  four  chil- 
dren living — three  boys,  Philip  S.,  Henry  E. 
and  Thomas  S.,  and  one  girl,  Emma  Keats. 
He  is  a member  of  St.  Andrew’s  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  and  a vestryman  in  said 
church. 

GEORGE  W.  TURNBOW  was  born  in 
Missouri,  March  10,  1845,  and  is  a son  of 
Alexander  and  Margaret  (Kelley)  Turnbow, 
also  of  Missouri.  He  is  the  ninth  in  a family 
of  ten  children,  and  his  father  dying  while 
the  subject  was  still  very  young,  his  mother 
removed  to  Louisville,  where  George  "SV.  was 
brought  up  and  educated.  In  1861,  when 
the  civil  war  broke  out,  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany D,  Fifteenth  Kentucky  (Federal)  In- 
fantry, and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  participated  in  the  battles  of  Stone  River, 
Chickamauga,  Mission  Ridge,  and  in  the 


fighting  around  Atlanta.  After  the  war  was 
over  he  returned  to  I.,ouisville,  and  afterward 
located  in  Bullitt  County,  where  he  still  re- 
sides, engaged  in  farming. 

S.  M.  HOOPER  TYLER,  M.  D.,  was 
born  in  Jeffersontown,  Ky.,  April  10,  1856, 
and  is  a son  of  William  D.  and  Laura  D. 
(Hooper)  Tyler,  natives  of  Kentucky  and 
Virginia.  His  grandfather  Tyler  emigrated 
from  Virginia,  and  was  a relative  of  Presi- 
dent .lohn  Tyler.  The  doctor  was  reared  in 
the  city,  and  was  educated  in  the  city  schools. 
He  read  medicine  with  Drs.  Corrigan  and 
Kelly,  and  graduated  from  the  Louisville 
Medical  College  in  1880,  having  taken  one 
course,  and  subsequently  from  the  Kentucky 
School  of  Medicine.  He  was  married,  in  No- 
vember, 1879,  to  Miss  Sarah  A.  Wilson,  of 
Louisville. 

CAPTAIN  PINK  VARBLE  is  one  of  the 
best  known  river  men  in  Louisville,  and  one 
of  the  safest  and  best  Falls  pilot  ever  on  the 
Falls,  having  piloted  more  boats  over  the  Falls 
than  any  one  man  in  the  business.  He  was 
born  near  Salisbury,  North  Carolina,  Septem- 
ber 5,  1828.  He  is  the  son  of  Henry  and  Alia 
(Catha)  Varble,  both  of  North  Carolina.  His 
parents  moved  to  Kentuckv  in  1831  in  Avag- 
ons,  and  located  in  Oldham  County,  near 
Westport,  Ky.  Subject  remained  on  the 
farm  until  1842,  then  moved  to  LouisAulle 
and  engaged  in  diiving  a wood  wagon  for 
J.  M.  Collins;  remained  Avith  him  for  three 
months,  after  Avhich  he  engfag-ed  himself  to 
the  old  Falls  pilot,  Eli  Vansickle,  which  was 
the  foundation  of  his  present  occupation.  He 
Avorked  for  Mr.  Vansickle  for  six  months, 
then  made  a contract  with  him  to  Avork  four 
years  for  his  board,  clothing  and  three  months’ 
schooling  each  AAunter  and  the  learning  of  the 
Falls.  The  second  year  he  was  with  him  he 
took  charge  of  the  business,  Avhich  Avas  buy- 
ing and  selling  flat-boats  and  lumber.  Be- 
fore his  time  was  out  Captain  Vansickle  es- 
tablished a ferry  line  between  Portland,  Ky., 
and  New  Albany,  Ind.,  young  Varble  taking 
charge  and  running  the  boats  for  two  years, 
then  selling  out  and  retaining  one  boat.  His 
time  being  out  Avith  Mr.  Vansickle  he  was  re- 
engaged,  at  $400  per  year,  to  run  his  boat  up 


920 


BIOGKAFHICAL  SKETCHES- 


Salt  Ivivor  to  bring  out  pig  iron.  Having 
I'ound  a purchaser  for  the  boat  he  sold  out 
and  went  to  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  in  the  fall  of 
1851,  and  opened  a coal  yard  for  .1.  II.  Mul- 
foid,  of  New  Orleans,  La.,  and  stayed  there 
until  April,  1852,  but  came  back  to  Kentucky. 
On  April  28,  of  same  year,  he  was  married  to 
Frances  Littrell,  of  Ghent,  Ky.;  eight  chil- 
dren were  the  result,  four  of  whom  are  now 
living:  the  eldest,  Mary,  the  wife  of  .John 
A.  Stratton;  second.  Nelson  L.  Varble,  the 
junior  member  of  real  estate  firm  of  .John  A. 
Stratton  & Co.;  third.  Pink  Varble,  .Ir.,  the 
junior  member  of  reil  estate  firm  of  S.  .1. 
Hobbs  & Co.;  the  youngest,  Melvin  Varble, 
is  engagrd  with  a collecting  agency.  Captain 
Varble  was  elected  by  the  city  council  of 
Louisville  to  the  office  of  Falls  pilot  in  Sep- 
tember, 1853,  and  has  held  that  office  ever 
since.  In  1851)  he  built  the  tow-boat  Pink 
Varble,  and  in  18b0  bougflit  the  tow-boat 
Chas.  Miller;  since  that  time  he  has  built 
and  owned  fifty-seven  steamboats.  In  18()1 
he  transported  lifty  street  cars  to  New  Orleans 
(first  used  in  that  city)  on  barges,  having  to 
get  permit  from  the  Secretary  of  War  to  go 
through  the  lines,  also  to  get  proper  papers  to 
come  back  from  the  Confederate  authority. 
The  papers  read  in  this  way:  “By  authority  of 
President  of  Confederate  States  of  America, 
the  steamer  Chas.  Miller  is  permitted  to 
pass  into  United  States  without  molestation. 
[Signed]  Governor  Moore,  State  of  Louisi- 
ana.” 

On  his  return  from  this  trip  he  began  to  buy 
and  build  the  number  of  steamboats  as  men 
tinned  before,  a ofreat  numV)8r  of  which  were 
sold  to  the  government.  He  also  built  the 
pontoon  bridge  across  the  river  at  Paducah, 
Ky.,  also  one  across  the  Ohio,  at  Louisville, 
at  which  tinie  Bragg  was  threatening  to  burn 
the  city.  He  was  appointed  captain  of  flag 
ship  “Diana,”  which  moved  Nelson’s  division 
of  army  from  Louisville  to  Nashville,  Tenn. 
After  the  fall  of  Fort  Donelson  he  was  ap- 
pointed in  command  of  the  .Jacob  Strader,  the 
largest  boat  on  the  river,  to  go  to  Vicksburg 
to  bring  back  the  sick  and  wounded  s jldiers. 
Capt.  Varble  owned  one  eighth  interest  in 
Jjouisville  and  .Jeffersonville  Ferry  Company, 


and  had  also  $90,000  interest  in  the  Champion 
Saw  iVIill  in  Louisville.  He  has  had  command 
and  piloted  all  sizes  of  boats,  from  the  small- 
est to  the  largest,  constructed  barges  for  the 
government  service  during  the  war,  and  is  at 
this  time  Falls  pilot  at  I.ouisville.  He  is 
fifty-nine  years  old,  and  ([uite  active  yet. 

ROBERT  VAUGHAN  was  born  near 
Frankfort,  Ky.,  April  6,  1828,  and  is  a son 
of  Walker  and  Fannie.  (Blackwell)  Vaughan, 
natives  of  Franklin  and  Anderson  Counties; 
their  ancestors  were  from  Virginia,  and  of 
English  origin.  Robert  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  Franklin  County,  and  in  1847  went 
to  Cincinnati  and  studied  medicine,  graduat- 
ing from  the  Eclectic  College  in  1849.  He 
commenced  practice  in  New  Castle,  Ky.,  re- 
mainincr  there  a short  time,  and  in  1851  came 
to  Louisville,  and  engaged  in  the  drug  busi- 
ness, which  he  continued  three  or  four  years. 
He  entered  the  army,  in  1892,  as  captain  of 
Company  1,  Seventeenth  Kentucky  (Federal) 
Infantry,  and  in  .Tanuary,  1863,  was  promoted 
to  lieutenant-colonel.  Among  the  battles  in 
which  he  took  part  were  Fort  Donelson, 
Shiloh,  Siege  of  Corinth,  Chickamauga,  and 
many  minor  engagements.  At  Shiloh  he  was 
severely  wounded  in  the  head,  and  at  Chicka- 
mauga was  wounded  in  the  leg,  leaving  him 
a cripple  for  life,  and  the  effects  of  which 
finallv  forced  him  to  resign.  After  the  close 
of  the  war  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine at  Vei'sailles,  Ky.,  for  fifteen  years,  and 
since  1883  has  been  in  the  general  fire  in- 
surance business  in  Louisville.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1853  to  Miss  Pauline  Culver,  a 
daughter  of  W.  E.  Culver,  of  Imuisville. 

P.  VIGLINI,  President  of  the  German 
Bank,  is  a native  of  Richmond,  Va.,  and  was 
born  November  26,  1841.  He  is  a son  of  J. 
B.  and  Catherine  (Park)  Viglini,  natives  of 
Virginia  and  Ireland.  His  grandfather  Vig- 
lini was  born  in  Italy.  Subject’s  father  came 
to  Louisville  about  1855,  and  was  a hatter  by 
trade.  The  suJ)ject  was  reared  in  Richmond, 
Va.,  and  at  the  acre  of  seventeen  went  in  the 
office  of  A.  Bland,  a J)roker,  as  clerk;  then 
with  the  l.ouisville  Banking  Company,  as 
teller.  In  1869  he  was  principal  originator 
I of  the  German  Bank,  and  was  its  cashier; 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


921 


Henry  Deppen,  president.  Mr.  Deppen  died  i 
in  1879,  when  he  succeeded  him  as  president. 
The  bank  is  the  largest  deposit  banking  in- 
stitution in  the  city,  compared  with  the 
amount  of  its  capital  ($200,000),  and  has  a 
surplus  of  862,000.  Its  deposits  average  over 
11,500,000  per  annum.  He  was  mai’ried,  in 
1868,  to  Miss  Lillie  T.  Deppen,  daughter  of 
Mr.  Henry  Deppen.  ' 

JACOB  C.  H.  VOELCKER  was  born  in 
Louisville,  February  13,  1868,  and  is  the  son 
of  .Jacob  and  Louisa  (Baab)  Voelcker,  natives 
of  Germany.  The  former  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1853,  and  to  Louisville,  where  he 
became  an  industrious  and  energetic  citizen. 
The  subject  received  a good  practical  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  of  Louisville.  After 
graduating  he  studied  pharmacy;  clerked  for 
various  druggists  until  the  fall  of  1887,  when 
he  and  L.  F.  Klooz  went  into  the  drucr  busi- 

CJ 

ness  for  themselves.  Under  the  firm  name  of 
Voelcker  & Co.,  they  still  carry  on  the  busi- 
ness at  No.  800,  East  Broadway.  j 

LAWRENCE  B.  WATERS,  county  treas-  j 
urer  and  back  tax  collector,  is  a native  of  | 
Jefferson  County,  Ky.,  and  was  born  in  ]\lid-  | 
dletown  on  the  11th  day  of  April,  1851.  He 
is  a son  of  Minor  and  Margaret  (Daniels) 
AVaters,  both  natives  of  Jefferson  Countv, 
Ky.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Maj.  AA^aters, 
came  from  Maryland  and  settled  in  Jefferson 
County  in  a very  early  day.  His  wife,  Rachel 
(Sullivan)  Waters,  is  still  living,  and  is  ninety-  i 
four  years  of  age.  The  subject  was  elected 
constable  in  1875;  after  serving  four  years  ' 
was  appointed  deputy  sheriff  in  1879,  under  | 
S.  S.  Hamilton,  and  served  four  years.  He  j 
was  appointed  county  back  tax  collector  in  j 
1883,  by  Hon.  W.  B.  Hoke,  county  judge  of 
Jefferson  County.  He  was  elected  county  j 
treasurer  in  March,  1886,  for  a term  of  four 
years.  He  was  married  in  Aliddletown,  ,Tef-  j 
ferson  County,  Ky.,  on  the  3d  day  of  Alay,  ^ 
1875,  to  Miss  Ella  AAhnn,  of  Aliddletown,  i 
Jefferson  County.  They  have  one  child  living,  | 
a son,  Lawrence  AA’infield  AA'aters,  who  was  ^ 
born  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  on  the  18th  day  of  ' 
September,  1887.  I 

HON.  HENRV  AAWTTERSON,  the  bril-  | 
liant  editor  of  the  Courier-Jo'nrnal^  was  born  < 


February  16,  1840,  in  AA^ashington,  D.  C., 
and  is  a son  of  Hon.  Harvey  AA'atterson,  then 
a member  of  Congress  from  Tennessee,  and 
who  distinguished  himself  in  Congress,  in 
the  diplomatic  service,  and  in  journalism, 
being  a Democratic  writer  of  considerable 
force,  and  for  a time  editor  of  the  Washing- 
ton Union  in  its  palmiest  days.  He  is  still 
living,  and  spends  his  time  in  AA'ashington 
and  in  Louisville,  frequently  regaling  the 
readers  of  the  Courier -Journal^  under  the 
nom  deplume  of  “Old  Fogy,”  with  reminis- 
cences of  early  days  and  scenes  in  AA^ashing- 
ton,  and  of  the  great  men  “who  there  fre- 
quented” many  years  ago.  Henry  AA’^atterson, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  received  a good 
education,  mainly  under  private  tutors,  and 
was  well  trained  in  the  polite  accomplish- 
ments. Much  of  his  early  political  culture 
was  received  under  the  direction  of  his  father, 
and,  being  reared  for  the  most  part  in  AA'^ash- 
ington  City,  derived  great  advantages  from 
public  men  and  public  affairs  during  the  ten 
years  preceding  the  civil  war,  and  developing 
a talent  for  literary  work,  began  his  career  in 
New  York  as  a writer  of  drama,  criticisms, 
stories,  verse  and  essays  for  periodicals.  In 
1859  he  was  engaged  as  a wniter  on  the  States, 
an  organ  of  the  A^oung  Democracy  at  AA'ash- 
ington.  In  the  following  year  he  became 
editor  of  the  Democratic  Devieio.  The  war 
coming  on,  the  States  was  suppressed,  and 
after  returning  to  Tennessee,  he  soon  became 
leading  editor  of  the  Nashville  Republican 
Danner,  the  oldest  and  most  inffuential  paper 
in  that  part  of  the  countrv.  When  the  Gov- 
ernment took  possession  of  Nashville,  he  be- 
came editor  of  the  Chattanooga  Rebel,  which 
under  his  management  became  the  most  pop- 
ular and  widely  circulated  paper  in  the  South. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  he  again  resumed  edi- 
torial charg-e  of  the  Danner.  In  1866  he 

o 

visited  Europe,  and  returning  home  the  next 
year,  he  was  offered,  in  1868,  the  editorship 
of  the  Louisville  Journal,  a position  he  ac- 
cepted, becoming  part  owner.  A few  months 
later,  in  connection  with  Mr.  AA”.  N.  Halde- 
man,  of  the  Louisville  Courier,  he  effected  a 
union  of  the  two  papers,  and  on  the  18th  of 
November,  1868,  the  community  was  startled 

53 


923 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


by  the  appearance  of  the  hrst  number  of  the 
Courier -Journal.,  of  which  he  became  edi- 
torial inanacrer,  and  Mr.  Haldeman  the  busi- 
ness  manager.  The  Courier -Journal  was  a 
success  from  the  first  issue,  and  to-day  is  one 
of  the  most  influential  newspapers  on  the 
American  continent.  Mr.  Watterson  is  a 
writer  of  great  versatility  and  force,  grasping 
every  subject  that  agitates  the  public,  and 
allowing  little  to  escape  that  would  give  him 
advantage  as  an  editor,  or  be  of  value  to  the 
people;  indeed,  as  an  editorial  manager  he  is 
perhaps  without  an  equal.  He  is  a man  of 
nervous,  active  nature,  genial  disposition,  as 
brilliant  a conversationalist  as  an  editor.  Al- 
ways a Democrat  in  politics,  he  has  become 
one  of  the  most  powerful  leaders  of  his  party 
in  the  United  States.  He  was  mainly  instru- 
mental in  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Tilden  at  St. 
I.,ouis  in  1876,  and  was  that  year  elected  to 
Congress  from  the  Louisville  district,  to  fill 
the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Hon.  E. 
Z.  Parsons,  and  made  a national  reputation 
in  that  body  during  the  great  contest  result- 
ing from  the  close  Presidential  election.  Since 
then  he  has  steadily  declined  election  to  office, 
preferring  the  more  congenial  occupation  of 
editor.  He  is  one  of  the  great  tarifi’  reform 
leaders,  and  through  his  paper  has  fought  for 
the  reduction  of  war  taxes  until  victory  is 
just  ready  to  crown  his  efforts. 

GEORGE  H.  WEBB,  clerk  of  the  County 
Court  of  .Teft'erson  County,  is  one  of  the  wide- 
awake young  business  men  of  Loiiisville,  self- 
made,  thorough-going,  and  of  such  men  as 
make  a solid  community.  He  was  born  .Inly 
16,  1853,  and  has  just  reached  the  average  of 
human  life.  He  is  a son  of  Simeon  B.  and 
Millie  Ann  (Harper)  Webb,  the  former  a na- 
tive of  Shelby  County,  and  the  latter  of  Wash- 
ington County,  this  State.  The  father  came 
to  Louisville  when  but  a boy,  and  although 
he  filled  his  place  in  the  world  as  a brick- 
mason,  he  was  pronounced  by  his  fnends 
that  noblest  work — an  honest  man.  .John 
Harper  (subject’s  maternal  grandfather)  came 
to  Imuisville  in  an  early  day.  George  H. 
Webb,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
and  reared  in  Louisville,  and  received  such 
education  as  time  and  circumstances  per-  I 


mitted  him  in  the  city  schools.  He  began  life 
as  a newsboy,  selling  newspapers  on  the 
streets  of  Louisville.  Before  reachinof  the 

O 

years  of  maturity,  he  spent  four  or  five  years 
as  a telegraph  messenger,  and  in  1870  be- 
came a deputy  in  the  county  clerk’s  office 
under  Charles  M.  Thruston,  the  clerk.  By 
close  application  to  business  and  a uniform 
courtesy  to  those  with  whom  he  has  had  busi- 
ness intercourse,  he  now  occupies  the  position 
of  his  former  chief,  after  serving  a deputyship  of 
eleven  years — eight  under  Mr.  Thruston,  and 
three  years  under  William  E.  Loran.  The 
latter  died  one  year  before  his  terra  expired, 
when  Mr.  Webb  was  elected  to  fill  out  the 
unexpired  term.  In  1882  he  was  elected  to 
a full  term,  and  re-elected  in  1886.  Mr. 
Webl  is  a prominent  32d  degree  Mason,  and 
is  a member  of  all  the  different  grades  of 
the  order.  He  was  married  in  1883  to  Miss 
Bella  W.  Ramsay,  a daughter  of  Alexander 
Ramsay,  a well  known  citizen  of  Louisville. 

ALBERT  WELKER,  a farmer  of  Bullitt 
County,  Ky.,  is  a son  of  Charles  Welker,  who 
was  a native  of  Loudoun  County,  Va.,  was 
born  in  1802,  and  in  1828  married  Miss  Eliza 
.Jane  Bragdon,  by  which  marriage  eight  chil- 
dren were  born.  Albert  Welker,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  the  fifth  child,  and  was 
born  April  29,  1854,  in  Bullitt  County,  and 
was  married  to  Miss  Rebecca  .1.,  daughter  of 
David  and  Nancy  Brown,  natives  of  Hardin 
and  Bullitt  Counties,  respectively.  To  this 
marriage  have  been  born  six  children — Omer, 
born  August  25,  1874;  Harry,  September 
18,  1876;  Thomas,  May  26,  1878:  Lillian, 
November  27,  1881;  Theodore  (deceased), 
September  13,  1883,  and  Mason,  November 
2,  1887.  Mr.  Welker’s  farm  is  located  near 
Belmont  in  Bullitt  County. 

GEORGE  M.  WEYLER  was  born  in 
Louisville,  March  24,  1848,  and  is  a son  of 
George  Weyler,  who  was  a native  of  Ger- 
many, immigrated  to  America  in  1830,  came 
to  Louisville  from  New  Orleans  in  1832,  and 
in  the  following  year  was  married  to  Miss 
Catherine  Kritzer,  and  for  many  years  there- 
after resided  in  Louisville.  Our  subject,  at 
the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war,  being  yet 
a mere  boy,  joined  the  LTnion  army;  he  en- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


928 


listed  in  March,  1863,  in  the  Twenty-second 
Indiana  Battery,  Light  Artillery,  and  served 
bravely  till  the  close  of  the  struggle,  when 
he  returned  to  Louisville  and  was  married  to 
Miss  Eliza  Phelps,  February  26,  1874,  a 
(laughter  of  AVilliam  and  Susan  Phelps.  They 
have  five  children — Katherine,  born  April  27, 
1875;  AVm.  Henry,  December  2,  1876;  Su- 
san Belle,  October  30,  1880;  John  Robert, 
May  17,  1885,  and  Joseph  Frederick,  January 
4,  1888.  Mr.  lYeyler  afterward  removed  to 
a farm  in  Bullitt  County,  where  he  at  present 
resides. 

WILLIAM  P.  M’HITE,  M.  D.,  was  born 
in  Greensburg,  Ky.,  April  21,  1844,  and  is  a 
son  of  Dr.  Daniel  P.  and  Nancy  F.  (Clark) 
AVhite.  Dr.  Daniel  P.  White  was  born  in 
Greensburg,  Green  County,  Ky.,  in  1813,  and 
was  a graduate  from  the  medical  department 
of  Transylv^ania  University.  In  1857  he  was 
speaker  in  the  lower  house  of  the  State  Legis- 
lature, and  in  1860  was  a Douo-las  elector. 
Subsequently  he  was  elected  to  represent  his 
district  in  the  Confederate  Congress.  At 
present  he  is  proprietor  of  the  Green  River 
Tobacco  Warehouse.  M'illiam  P.  M^hite  en- 
tered Georgetown  College  in  1859,  where  he 
remained  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  late 
civil  war.  He  then  went  to  Arkansas  and 
enlisted  in  the  Second  Arkansas  Confederate 
Cavalry,  under  General  Sterling  Price,  and 
served  during  the  war,  participating  in  the 
battles  of  Cain  Hill,  Prairie  Grove,  two  en- 
gagements at  Fayetteville,  Prairie  De  Ann, 
Poison  Springs,  Marks  Mill,  Jenkins  Ferry, 
Pine  Bluff,  Arkansas  Lake  Village,  Louisi- 
ana, Pilot  Knob,  Franklin,  Booneyille,  Lex- 
ington, Independence,  Big  Blue  and  Little 
Blue,  Mo.  Near  Fort  Scott,  Kansas,  Gen. 
Price  lost  all  his  artillery  and  wagons,  and  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  wounded  and  cap- 
tured, but,  making  his  escape,  was  in  the  bat- 
tle of  Newtonia,  AIo.,  a few  days  afterward. 
Besides  these  he  took  part  in  various  other  en- 
gagements in  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Indian 
Territory,  Missouri  and  Kansas.  After  the 
war  closed,  he  completed  his  literary  educa- 
tion at  Georgetown  College;  studied  medi- 
cine in  the  office  of  Dr.  David  W.  Yaudell, 
and  graduated  from  the  medical  department 


of  the  University  of  Louisville  in  1869,  and 
at  once  commenced  practice  in  Louisville. 
He  was  for  several  years  a member  of  the 
Board  of  Health  of  the  city,  and  was  ap- 
pointed surgeon-general  of  the  State  by 
Gov.  P.  H.  Leslie.  He  is  a member  of  the 
Louisville  Academy  of  Aledicine;  of  the  Col- 
lege of  Phvsicians  and  Surgeons  of  Louisville, 
and  of  the  State  Medical  Society,  and  takes 
an  active  interest  in  these  organizations. 

AYILLIAM  AYHITE,  grand  secretary  of 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  is  a native  of  Frederick,  A’^a.,  and 
was  born  July  5,  1816.  He  is  a son  of  Daniel 
B.  and  Elizabeth  (Foster)  AA^hite,  natives  of 
A'irginia,  and  of  Scotch  and  Irish  ancestry. 
His  father  came  to  Louisville  about  1829,  and 
was  a carpenter  by  trade.  The  subject,  AATII- 
iam  AA’hite,  was  brought  up  and  educated 
principally  in  Louisville.  His  education  was 
liberal  and  obtained  through  his  own  exertions. 
AA^hen  the  war  broke  out  between  the  United 
States  and  Alexico,  he  joined  the  Louisville 
Legion  (First  Kentucky  Regiment),  Col.  Ste- 
phen Ormsby.  He  was  made  second  lieu- 
tenant, and  promoted  to  first  lieutenant  before 
his  term  expired.  After  his  return  to  Louis- 
ville, he  engao-ed  in  mercantile  business  for  a 
short  time.  He  was  elected  grand  secretary 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  I.  O.  O.  F.  in  1853, 
and  has  held  the  position  ever  since.  He  also 
holds  several  other  important  positions  in  the 
Odd  Fellows’  fraternity.  He  was  married  in 
1841  to  Aliss  Phcebe  Downing.  She  died  in 
1852,  and  he  afterward  married  Aliss  Sarah 
E.  Robinson,  a native  of  Nicholasville,  Ky., 
February,  1855;  she  died  in  February,  1882. 

HON.  JOHN  CREPPS  AAHCKLIFFE, 
United  States  attorney  for  the  District  of 
Kentucky,  was  born  in  Nelson  County,  Ky., 
about  one  mile  from  Bardstown,  July  11, 
1830,  and  is  a son  of  Charles  A.  and  Alar- 
garet  (Crepps)  AATckliffe.  The  latter  was  the 
only  daughter  of  Christian  Crepps,  who  was 
killed  in  the  terrible  boat  fight  with  the 
Indians,  on  Salt  Riyer,  in  1788.  Of  the 
AATckliffe  family  it  is  unnecessary  to  spteak 
here,  as  they  are  so  frequently  mentioned  in 
the  body  of  this  work.  .ludge  AYickliffe, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  educated  in 
the  schools  of  Bardstown,  and  at  Centre 


1)24 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


College.  After  completing  his  education  he 
studied  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1853, 
and  has  held  many  important  public  positions. 
In  1857  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature, 
and  in  1859  was  secretary  of  the  Senate. 
He  left  Bardstown  in  1801  with  a company 
of  the  State  Guard,  and  linally  joined  the 
Ninth  Kentucky  (Confederate)  Infantry,  as 
captain  of  Company  B.  He  was  promoted 
to  major,  and  afterward  to  lieutenant-colonel 
of  the  regiment,  and  was  in  the  campaigns 
through  Mississippi,  Tennessee,  Georgia,  and 
South  Carolina,  laying  down  his  sword  in  the 
final  surrender.  He  fought  gallantly  at  Vicks- 
burg, Baton  Rouge,  Chickamauga,  Mission 
Ridge,  and  at  other  places,  frequently  in  full 
command  of  the  regiment.  Twice  elected, 
he  served  as  judge  of  the  Bardstown  Circuit 
from  1871  to  1880.  In  1885  he  was  appoint- 
ed United  States  District  Attorney  for  Ken- 
tucky by  President  Cleveland,  which  position 
he  now  fills.  .Indue  Wickliffe  inherits  the 

O 

talents  and  force  of  character  of  one  of  the 
most  noted  and  intellectual  families  of  Ken- 
tucky. He  was  married,  in  1853,  to  Miss 
Eleanor  Curd,  of  Lexington,  Ky. 

.JOHN  B.  WILLIAMSON,  city  court  clerk, 
is  a native  of  Louisville,  and  was  born  on  the 
7th  of  August,  1840.  He  is  a son  of  H.  and 
Susan  (Prescott)  Williamson,  natives  of 
Franklin  County,  N.  Y.  The  former  was 
amonor  the  old  citizens  of  Louisville,  havinu 
come  hither  in  1835,  when  the  city  was  a 
rather  small  place  as  compared  to  its  present 
dimensions.  He  was  connected  with  the 
quartermaster’s  depot  at  Nashville,  Tenn., 
during  the  late  war,  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1863.  The  subject  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  Louisville,  and  in 
1856-57,  issued  the  second  city  directory. 
He  served  in  the  quartermaster’s  depot  all 
throuuh  the  war.  In  1876  lie  was  elected 

o 

clerk  of  the  city  court,  and  has  been  re- 
elected to  the  position  ever  since.  He  was 
married  in  February,  1861,  to  IMiss  Caroline 
McCorkhill,  of  Louisville.  They  have  had 
two  children,  both  of  whom  are  dead.  Mr. 
Williamson  is  a popular  citizen,  a most  ac- 
commodating official  and  an  honorable  gen- 
tleman. 


CHARLES  YANCEY  WILSON  was  born 
in  Barren  County,  Ky.,  November  24,  1833, 
and  is  a son  of  and  Mary  (Yancey)  Wil- 

son, the  latter  a daughter  of  Joel  Yancey,  who 
represented  the  third  district  in  Congress  for 
twelve  years,  and  died  about  1837.  Subject 
was  brought  up  on  the  farm,  until  he  was  six- 
teen years  of  age,  and  educated  in  the  coun- 
try schools.  He  then  became  a clerk  in  a 
store,  and  from  1856  was  engaged  in  business 
for  himself  until  1862,  when  he  entered  the 
army,  joining  Company  C,  Second  Kentucky 
Cavalry,  Morgan’s  command.  He  was  pa- 
roled at  Columbus,  Miss.,  in  1865,  and  re- 
turned home.  In  1869  he  went  to  New 
Orleans,  and  after  other  moves  came  to 
Louisville  in  1878,  took  a partnership  in  the 
Boone  Tobacco  Warehouse,  and  was  subse- 
quently elected  tobacco  inspector  for  six  years. 
He  quit  the  tobacco  business  in  1887,  and  en- 
gaged in  insurance.  He  was  married,  in  1866, 
to  Miss  Lizzie  Burch. 

BENNETT  H.  YOUNG,  one  of  the  enter- 
prising young  business  men  of  Louisville,  is 
a native  Kentuckian,  and  was  born  May  25, 
1843,  in  Jessamine  County.  He  is  a son  of 
Robert  and  Josephine  (Henderson)  Young, 
also  Kentuckians,  and  devout  Presbyterians. 
His  early  education  was  obtained  in  Bethel 
Academy,  in  his  native  county,  but  in  1861 
he  entered  Centre  College  at  Danville.  His 
college  life,  however,  was  interrupted  by  the 
civil  war,  and  affected  by  the  spirit  of  the 
times  and  the  ardor  of  youth,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  B,  Capt.  William  Lewis  (of  Fayette 
County),  Eighth  Regiment,  Col.  Leroy  S. 
Clark,  Morgan’s  famous  cavalry.  He  served 
with  Gen.  Morgan,  and  was  captured  with 
him  at  Buffington  Island,  Ohio,  and  imprisoned 
at  Columbus.  Afterward  he  was  transferred 
to  Camp  Douglas,  Chicago,  from  which  he 
escaped  in  January,  1864,  and  finally  made 
his  way  into  Canada.  It  was  too  late  in  the 
season  to  pass  down  the  St.  Lawrence  River, 
navigation  having  closed,  and  so  the  young 
soldier  matriculated  in  the  University  of  To- 
ronto, where  he  remained  until  April,  passing 
a highly  creditable  examination.  He  was 
placed  in  command  of  a number  of  escaped 
Confederate  prisoners,  and  took  passage  on 


0 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


929 


the  first  boat  g-oincr  down  the  St.  Lawrence 
after  resumption  of  navigation,  and  sailed  for 
the  West  Indies,  where  they  caught  a block- 
ade runner  for  the  Confederacy.  This  was  a 
hazardous  undertaking,  as  the  blockader  went 
in  under  fire,  and  several  of  the  crew  were 
killed,  while  the  remainder,  panic-stricken, 
became  so  demoralized  that  they  no  longer 
obeyed  orders.  In  this  trying  ordeal  the 
young  Confederate  soldier,  with  reckless  ex- 
posure, gave  his  assistance  to  the  officers  of 
the  vessel,  and  taking  the  post  of  a seaman 
who  had  been  killed,  he  bore  a very  promi- 
nent part  in  saving  it  from  capture  or  destruc- 
tion. He  was  appointed  first  lieutenant  in 
the  Confederate  service  and  sent  to  Canada, 
where  he  subsequently  engaged  in  many 
daring  and  hazardous  enterprises,  the  last  of 
which  was  the  St.  Albans  raid.  AVhen  the 
Confederacy  went  down  at  Appomattox, 
Lieut.  Young  went  to  Europe,  where  he  re- 
mained until  his  political  disabilities  were  re- 
moved under  the  general  amnesty  proclama- 
tion of  President  .lohnson  in  1868.  While  in 
Europe  he  studied  several  years  at  the  Irish 
and  Scotch  universities,  taking  the  first  honor 
in  the  law  course,  and  third  distinction  in  the 
literary  department  of  Queen’s  University. 
He  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  in 
1868  commenced  practicing  law  in  Louis- 
ville, where  he  soon  won  a large  and  lucrative 
practice.  He  became  interested  in  railways, 
and  in  connection  with  St.  John  Boyle  con- 
structed the  Louisville  & St.  Louis  Air-Line 
road.  This  was  followed  by  the  more  diffi- 
cult but  important  w’ork  of  reconstructing  an 
almost  dead  line.  In  connection  with  R.  S. 
Veech  and  others  he  secured  control  of  the 
Louisville,  New  Albany  & Chicago  Railroad, 
rebuilt  it,  and  made  it  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able lines  centering  in  Louisville.  In  1855 
he  undertook  the  construction  of  the  rnagrnifi- 
cent  cantalever  bridge  across  the  Ohio  be- 
tween Louisville  and  New  Albany,  followed 
by  the  Daisy  Belt  Railroad,  connecting  Louis- 
ville and  New  Albany  over  this  bridge,  and 
also  extending  to  the  beautiful  suburb  of 
Parkland.  Since  the  completion  of  these 
enterprises  he  has  constructed  (having  re- 
pently  completed  it)  the  Louisvdlle  Southern 


Railroad,  destined  to  be  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant roads  from  Louisville  to  the  South. 
It  involves  the  development  of  Eastern  Ken- 
tucky, a region  as  rich  in  mineral  resources 
as  Pennsydvania,  and  hitherto  not  penetrated 
by  railroads.  No  public  enterprise  fails  to 
receive  his  hearty  support.  He  is  president 
of  Bellewood  Seminary  at  Anchorage,  Ky., 
which  stands  as  a monument  of  his  liberality 
toward  education.  He  is  president  and  has 
always  been  the  moving  spirit  of  the  Poly- 
technic Society.  To  him  and  his  indomitable 
enterprise,  more  than  to  any  other  man,  it 
owes  its  present  prosperous  and  dignified 
position.  Mr.  Young  is  unselfish,  charitable, 
modest,  quick  to  think  and  act,  full  of  resource 
and  tact,  with  a bull-dog  courage  that  knows 
no  defeat.  He  has  never  sought  political 
preferment,  but  could  have  almost  any  public 
office  he  would  ask  for.  He  has  been  promi- 
nently mentioned  as  a candidate  for  Governor, 
but  has  always  declined  to  allow  his  name  to 
go  before  a convention.  He  was  married  in 
1866  to  Miss  Mattie  R.,  eldest  daughter  of  the 
late  Rev.  Stuart  Robinson,  D.  D.,  the  dis- 
tinguished Presbyterian  divine.  They  have 
quite  a family  of  children,  and  their  home  is 
noted  for  its  culture,  refinement  and  hospi- 
tality. 

PHILIPP  ZIEGLER  is  one  of  the  self- 
made  German  citizens  of  Louisville.  He 
came  here  a poor  boy,  and  by  dint  of  his  own 
energy,  honesty  and  industry  has  secured  an 
independent  fortune.  He  was  born  in  the 
province  of  Baden,  in  1854,  and  at  the  age 
of  eighteen  years  came  to  the  United  States, 
and  to  Louisville.  He  soon  obtained  a po- 
sition as  clerk,  first  for  John  Hehl,  contractor 
and  builder,  and  afterward  with  H.  Weden- 
kind  & Co.,  wholesale  grocers.  In  the  fall  of 
1878  he  went  into  the  grocery  business  for 
himself,  at  his  present  stand,  corner  of  First 
and  Gray  Streets — at  first  with  Charles  Klein 
as  partner;  but  he  soon  after  bought  him  out, 
and  has  since  carried  on  the  business  alone. 
In  1881  he  was  married  to  IMiss  Sarah  IMeho- 
hoff,  a daughter  of  Henry  C.  and  Mary  Me- 
hohoff,  of  Louisville.  Henry  Mehohoff  is 
the  largest  dairyman  in  the  State,  keeping 
alwavs  on  hand  from  250  to  300  cows.  His 


930 


BIOGliAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


dairy  is  located  on  tlie  Preston  Street  road, 
and  comprises  178  acres  of  choice  land  just 
back  of  the  House  of  Refn^re.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ziegler  have  Init  one  child — a girl,  three  years 
of  age — named  Alice.  Mr.  Ziegler  visited 
the  “ Faderland  ” last  summer  with  his  family, 
and  spent  several  months  traveling  over  the 
southern  and  northern  parts  of  Europe. 

I 'Die  following  sketch  of  Mr,  .Jolm  W. 
Green  was  received  at  the  office  of  the  Pub- 
lishers too  late  for  insertion  in  its  proper 
place.] 

,1()HN  W.  GREEN,  son  of  Hector  Green 
and  Louisa  (Ruggles)  Green,  was  born  Oc- 
tober 8,  1841,  in  Henderson  County,  Ky. 
He  came  to  Louisville  with  his  parents  in 
1852,  and  here  he  was  educated,  chiefly  in 
the  city  schools.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
reluctantly  gave  up  his  studies  at  the  High 
School  to  accept  a situation  with  the  banking 
house  of  A.  D.  Hunt  & Co.,  in  order  that  he 
might  aid  his  parents  in  the  suj)port  of  the 
family.  In  1858  his  beloved  mother  died 
and  his  father  and  brothers  left  Louisville. 
He,  however,  continued  at  his  desk  in  the 


banking  house  and  took  upon  himself  the 
support  of  an  invalid  uncle.  After  a few 
years  this  uncle  went  to  live  with  Mr.  Peter 
Green,  who  was  his  brother,  and  A.  D.  Hunt 
& Co.  having  closed  their  business  because 
of  the  approach  of  the  war,  .John  Green  went 
to  Florence,  Ala.,  where  he  clerked  for  Mc- 
Alester,  Simpson  & Co.,  until  Aliraham  Lin- 
coln’s coercion  proclamation,  when  he  was^ 
quick  to  respond  to  what  he  considered  the 
call  of  duty,  and  in  September,  1861,  he  en- 
listed under  Col.  Thomas  H.  Hunt,  in  Gen. 
.John  C.  Breckinridge’s  command,  in  what 
was  afterwards  the  Ninth  Kentucky  Infantry, 
Confederate  States  Volunteers.  Here  he 
served  through  the  war  with  cheerfulness 
and  devotion,  endearing  both  officers  and  men 
to  himself.  The  war  being  over,  he  returned 
penniless  to  Louisville,  obtained  a situation 
in  a banking  house  in  which  Mr.  A.  D.  Hunt 
was  senior  partner,  and  subsequently  suc- 
ceeded to  the  business  of  Hunt,  Morton  & 
Quigley.  He  then  continued  the  business 
with  his  brother  David  S.  Green,  under  the 
firm  name  of  .John  W.  & D.  S.  Green,  at 
Louisville,  Ky. 


INDEX. 


V 


BIOGEAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


PAGE. 


Adams,  John  L 7.39 

Allan,  Benjamin  A 739 

Ashby,  Ch.arles  D 7.39 

Avery,  Benjamin  F 7.39 

Bachus,  L.  A 741 

Bahr,  George  B 741 

Bailey,  William 742 

Bake,  Frank 742 

Bannon,  Patrick 742 

Barker,  Henry  S 742 

Barnes.  W.  W 743 

Barr,  John  W .' 743 

Barrall,  John  M 743 

Beilstien,  Julius  W 743 

Blackburn,  Luke  P 744 

Blackburn,  Cary  B 747 

Blackhart,  Thomas  W 747 

Bloom,  Isadore  N 747 

Blum,  John 748 

Boggess,  Walter  F 748 

Brand,  John  H 748 

Brink  worth,  George 748 

Broadus,  John  A 748 

Brocar,  Frank  1 749 

Brown,  Eli  H 749 

Bruce,  Horatio  W 749 

Bullitt,  William  C 750 

Bullitt,  Thomas  W 750 

Bullock,  William  F 753 

Burke,  Richard  T 756 

Cable,  James 756 

Cain,  John  S 756 

Canine,  James  F 761 

Castleman,  John  B 761 

Chapman,  W.  Carroll 762 

Cocke,  James  B 762 

Cohn,  Henry  S 762 

Colgan,  John 763 

Collins,  William  M 764 

Cook,  Archibald  B 764 

Cotter,  E.  B 767 

Cox,  Attilla 768 

Crawford,  George  M 768 

Croum,  Richard 769 

Danforth,  George  L 769 

Davie,  George  M 769 

Dawson,  William 770 

Doherty,  William  B 770 

Drennon  Sulphur  Springs 770 

Duckwall,William  A 773 

Dugan,  Irwin 773 

Dunn,  Charles  E 774 

Durrett,  Reuben  T 777 

Duvall,  Henry  A 779 

Eastin,  Geo.  B 780 

Eckstenkemper,  L 780 

Edwards,  Isaac  W 780 

Edwards,  Charles  G 783 

Eschmann,  J.  L 783 

Fairleigh,  Thomas  B 783 

Fairleigh,  David  W 784 

Field,  Emmet 784 

Finck,  Theodore  D 784 

Fisher,  Charles  C 787 

Foster,  John  L 787 

Fowler,  John 787 

Froman,  .lohn  G 788 

Funk,  Alverado  E 788 

Furganson,  Hamilton 788 

Garvin,  Samuel  H 788 

Gathright,  John  T 788 

Gilbert,  James  C 791 

Given,  Adam 791 

Glover,  William  E 792 

Glover,,  Albert  G 795 


PAGE. 


Godshaw,  C.  C 796 

Goodman,  John 796 

Grant,  E.  Alfred 796 

Green,  .lohn  E 797 

Green,  John  W 930 

Green  well,  H.  J.,  Jr 798 

Griffin,  Gilbert 798 

Hager,  Phillip 799 

Haldeman,  Walter  N 799 

Hardesty,  Robert 800 

Harlan,  Samuel  F 800 

Harris,  William  H 800 

Harrison,  Samuel  T 801 

Henderson,  Charles  A 802 

Hewett,  Robert  C 8o2 

Hinkle,  Philip 805 

Hite,  William  W 805 

Hoke,  William  B 806 

Hollenbach,  Philip 806 

Hood,  John  C 809 

Hooper,  Joseph 809 

Hewlett,  William 809 

Humphrey,  Edward  P 809 

Humphrey,  Alex.  P 813 

Ireland,  Josiah  A 813 

Jacob,  John  1 814 

Jacob,  Charles  D 815 

James,  Edward  W 816 

Jefferson,  T.  L 816 

Jefferson,  Thomas  L.  Jr 820 

Jennings,  Theodore  S 823 

Johnson,  Silvester 824 

Johnson,  Henry 824 

.Johnson,  William  P 824 

Kalfus,  Henry  F 829 

Key.  Green  L 829 

Kiefer,  John 829 

Kohnhorst,  Henry  W 829 

Krieger,  Jacob 830 

Lang,  George 830 

Larrabee,  John  A 833 

Leachman,  William  T 833 

Leatherman,  W.  B 8.33 

Lee,  Miles  T 8-34 

Leggett,  K 8.34 

Lithgow,  James  S 834 

McClarty,  CUuton  834 

McCullough,  Hugh  M 8.39 

McDowell,  William  P 839 

McKay,  Enoch  E 840 

MacLeod,  John 840 

Macauley,  John  T 840 

Marshall,  Humphrey 843 

Martin,  David 846 

Mason,  Thomas  A 840 

Maury,  Mason 846 

Meffert,  William  H 847 

Meriwether,  William  A 847 

Meriwether,  Charles  E 847 

Miller,  Samuel  M 848 

Miller,  Shackelford 848 

Miner,  J.  Sel 848 

Miller,  Joseph  A 848 

Miller,  Henry  C 848 

Miller,  Francis  M 851 

Miller,  James 851 

Mitchell,  John 851 

Mix,  William 851 

Moore,  Aaron 852 

Moore,  John  T 852 

Montz,  William  E 8.52 

Morgan,  John  S 852 

Jtorris  George  W 853 

Horton,  George  C 854 

Parsons,  Charles  B 854 


PAGE. 

Parsons,  Frank 858 

Parsons,  Lawrence  S 861 

Pfeiffer,  Robert  N 861 

Pfeiffer,  Charles 861 

Phelps,  James  S 861 

Pirtle,  John  R 862 

Plrtle,  Henry 863 

Pirtle,  John  B 863 

Pope,  Worden 864 

Pope,  Patrick 870 

Pope,  Edmund  P 870 

Pope,  Curran 873 

Pope,  Alfred  T 877 

Price,  Vernon  D 878 

Pusey,  Henry  K 881 

Pyne,  W.  T....'. 881 

Quick,  E,  G 881 

Ragsdale,  James  S 882 

Ray,  William  R 882 

Eeinecke,  William 882 

Reynolds,  Dudley  S 885 

Ridgely,' Benjamin  H 886 

Robinson,  Stuart 886 

Robinson,  Richard  A 887 

Robinson,  John  W 891 

Rodman,  William  L 892 

Rogers,  John  E 892 

Rue,  A.  B 893 

Russell,  Samuel 893 

Schlosser,  Joseph  J 893 

Schneider,  Otto 894 

Scrimsher,  Frank  M 894 

Semonin,  Paul  F 894 

Shepherd,  William  H 895 

Simpson,  George  F 895 

Simrall  Family 895 

Smith,  Kilbourn  W 900 

Smith,  Charles  R 903 

Spurrier,  Edward  R 903 

Staib,  John  L 903 

Stites,  H,  J 903 

Stoll,  Albert  A 908 

Stratton,  John  A 908 

Struby,  Albert 913 

Stucky,  Harry 913 

Stucky,  Thonias  H 913 

Summers,  Solomon 914 

Terrell,  William  H 914 

Theobald,  Griffin  P 914 

Thomas,  Warren  L 915 

Thompson,  R.  H 915 

Tierney,  Ed.  T 915 

Toney,  Sterling  B 916 

Treanor,  .John  L 916 

Truman,  Harry  C 918 

Troutman,  Joseph  L 918 

Tuley,  Enos  S 918 

Turu'bow,  George  W 919 

Tyler,  S.  M.  Hooper 919 

Varble.Pink 919 

Vaughan,  Robert 920 

Viglini,  P 920 

Voelcker,  J.  C.  H 921 

Waters,  Lawrence  B 921 

Watterson,.  Henry 921 

Webb,  George  H 922 

Welker,  Albert 922 

Weyler,  George  M 922 

White,  William  P 923 

White.  William 923 

WickUffe,  John  C 923 

Williamson,  John  B 924 

Young,  Bennett  H 924 

Ziegler,  Philipp 929 


VI 


INDEX. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PORTRAITS. 

PAGE. 


Blackhart,  Thomas  W 747 

Boone,  Daniel Ill 

Breckinridge,  John  C 330 

Bullilt,  W.  C 750 

Canine,  J.  Fulton 756 

Gastleman,  John  B 761 

Clay,  Henry .318 

Cook,  Archibald  B 764 

Coomes,  I.  S 769 

Crittenden,  John  J 352 

Dugan,  Irwin 773 

Durrett,  R.  T 777 

Edwards,  Isaac  ^Y 780 

Field,  Emmett 73i 

Gathright,  John  T 788 

Glover,  William  E 793 

Guthrie,  James 629 

Helm,  Ben  Hardin 467 

Hewett,  Robert  C 8U2 

Hoke,  William  B 806 

Ireland,  J.  Alexander 81.3 

Jackson,  James  S 409 

Jefferson,  T.  L.  (Sr.) 816 

Jefferson,  T.  L.  (Jr.) 820 

Johnson,  Silvester 834 

Key,  Green  L 839 

Larrebee,  J.  A 833 

Lucas,  Oliver 830 

McClarty,  Clinton 834 


PAGE. 

McDowell,  W.  Preston 839 

McKay,  E.  E 840 

Marshall,  Humphrey 340 

Mis,  William 851 

Parsons,  Charles  Booth 854 

Parsons,  L.  S 861 

Pope,  Alfred  T 864 

Pope,  Curran 873 

Prentice,  George  D 496 

Price,  Vernon  D 878 

Reynolds,  Dudley  L 885 

Robinson,  J.  W 891 

Shelby,  Isaac 398 

Simrall,  John  G 897 

Smith,  K.  W 900 

Stites,  Henry  J 904 

Stoll,  Albert  A 908 

Stratton,  John  A 913 

Williamson,  J.  B 934 

Young,  Bennet  H 929 

VIEWS. 

Ashland,  the  Home  of  Henry  Clay 333 

Asylum,  Blind 537 

Asylum,  Deaf  and  Dumb 48 

Asylum,  Deaf  and  Dumb,  Colored  De- 
partment  430 

Asylum,  Western  Lunatic 80 

Berea  College,  Ladies’  Hall 483 


PAGE. 


Chimney  Rock 132 

College,  Centre 316 

College,  State  Agricultural  and  Me- 
chanical   508 

Columbus  and  the  Mississippi  River...  449 

Courier  Journal  Building 490 

Custom  House,  Covington 471 

Custom  House,  Louisville i 195 

Fair  Grounds,  Fayette  County 580 

Fort,  Boonesboro 667 

Frankfort,  Views  in 290 

Home,  Masonic  Widows  and  Orphans.  262 

Institute,  Feeble  Minded 544 

Institute,  Military 400 

Mammoth  Cave,  Entrance  to 543 

Mammoth  Cave,  Plan  of 689 

Map  of  Kentucky,Filson’s 264 

Monument,  Soldiers’ 348 

Monument  to  Daniel  Boone 300 

Postoffice,  Louisville 195 

Printing  House  for  the  Blind,Ameri- 

can 539 

Schoolhouse,  Pioneer 320 

Schoolhouse,  Modern  Country 481 

State  House,  Kentucky Frontispiece 

Swiss  Colony,  Laurel  County,  View  in  485 

Tennessee  River,  Views  on  the 295 

University,  Central 232 

Wagon  or  “ Wain,”  Old  Time 230 


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PAGE. 

Adair  County..... 547 

Adair,  John 258 

Elected  Governor 312 

Adams,  John 301 

Adams,  John  Quincy 318 

Adverliser,  The 493 

Alamo,  Battle  of  the 332 

Allatoona,  Battle  of 443 

Allan,  Chilton 313 

Alleghanles,  Beyond  the 68 

Allen,  Alfred 329 

Allen  County 548 

Allen,  Gen 310 

Allen,  Jo 326 

America,  Attempts  to  Colonize 19 

French  Power  in 69 

American  Revolution,  The 58 

American  Printing  House,  The 538 

Anchorage  Asylum,  The 535 

Anderson  County 649 

Anderson,  Gen.  Robt 368,  354 

Andy  Johnson,  Camp 362 

Anti-Relief  Party 312 

Antonio  de  Bexar,  Battle  of 332 

Anzeiger,  The 499 

Arkansas  Post,  Capture  of. 415 

Arlington,  Lord 45 

Army  of  the  Cumberland,  The 427 

Charge  of  the 431 

Ashley,  Benj 125 

Atlanta  Campaign,  the 435 

Atlanta,  Fall  of 442 

Augusta,  Capture  of 453 

Augusta  College 6U6 

Augusta  County,  Formation  of 263 

Austin,  Stephen  F 332 

Bacon  College 507 

Bacon,  Death  of 48 

Bacon’s  Rebellion 45 

Ballard  County 550 

Baltimore,  Lord 39 

Barnes,  Col.  S.  M 373 

Barren  County 551 

Barry,  Wm.  T 319,  316,  313 

Bath  County 553 

Baton  Rouge,  Expedition  Against 464 

T3  ^ n M rv  .-1  W ^ 4 n 4 V,  ^ 1 ^ fl? 


Bedinger,  Maj.  Geo.  M 167 

Bell  County 554 

Bell,  John 330 

Bell,  Joshua  F 329 

Benham,  Capt.  Robt 165 

Bennett,  Gov.  Richard 43 

Berea  College 483 

Berkeley,  Sir  William 41 

Recalled 48 

Bibb,  Geo.  M 324,  315,  313 

Big  Bone  Lick 655 

Bill  of  Rights 61 

Blackburn,  Luke  P 479 

Blackfish,  Death  of. 169 

Blair,  Francis  P 316 

Blair,  Judge 313 

Blakey,  Geo.  D 327 

Blennerhassett’s  Island 304 

Blennerhassett,  Sketch  of 304 

Blind  Asylum,  The 536 

Blue  Lick,  Battle  of 660, 188,  185 

Blue  Ridge,  The 58 

Boone  County 555 

Boone,  Daniel 664,173,  111 

Capture  of 155,  111 

Letter  of 660 

Monument  to 200 

Settlement  of 113 

Boone  Family,  Genealogy  of  the 653 

Boone,  Jemima,  Capture  of. 144 

Boone,  Squire,  Arrival  of. 112 

Boone’s  Party,  Arrival  of. 113 

Fort 657, 142,  127 

Trace 126 

Boonesborough,  Attack  on 158,  148 


PAGE. 

Boonesborough,  Accessions  to 152 

Border  State  Convention,  The 351 

Botetourt  County,  Formation  of 263 

Bourbon  County 556 

Bowie,  Col 332 

Bowling  Green,  Occupation  of 365 

Bowman,  Co! 264,  1.52 

Expedition  of 167,  152 

Bowman’s  Station 164 

Boyd  County 558 

Boyd,  Linn 329 

Boyle  County 559 

Boyle,  Gen 406 

Boyle,  John 314 

Boys  Captured 206 

Bracken  County 560 

Braddock,  Gen 50 

Defeat  of 77 

Bradford,  John 491 

Bragg,  Gen 409 

Bramlette,  Thomas  E 373 

Brant,  Joseph 81 

Brashear,  Marshall 170 

Breathitt  County 561 

Breathitt,  John 320 

Breckinridge  County 561 

Breckinridge,  John  C 

462,  454,  385,  350,  340,  330,  329 

Report  of  Gen 467 

Robert 277 

Col.  W.  C.  P 455 

Brown,  James 118 

John 274 

Bruce,  Report  of  Col 404 

Bryans,  The 163 

Bryan’s  Station,  Attack  on 650,  182 

Buckner,  Judge 320 

Gen.  S.  B 462,  431,  366,  365,  356,  351 

“ Capture  of 402 

Buchanan,  James 329 

Buell,  Gen.  D.  C 385 

Buena  Vista,  Battle  of 341 

Forces  Engaged  at 346 

Buffalo  Hunting 196 

Buford,  Gen.  Abe 453 

Building  Stone 544 

Bullitt  County 565 

Bullitt,  Thomas 114 

Alex.  S 303,  285 

Bullock,  Leonard  H 126 

Rice 277 

Burbridge,  Col.  S.  G 367 

Incident  of. 416 

Burgher,  John 163 

Burnside,  Gen 431 

Burr,  Aaron 303 

Conspiracy  of 304 

Trial  of 305 

Bustamente,  Gen 333 

Butler  County 566 

Butler,  Simon  (Kenton) 116 

Gen.  William  0 325,  322 

“ Sketch  of 339 

Byrd,  Invasion  of. 171 

Cabot,  John 17 

Caldwell  County 666 

Caldwell,  Gen 310. 

Callaway  Girls,  Capture  of  the 144 

Flanders 144 

Call  for  Troops,  First 350 

Calloway  County 567 

Calloway,  Richard 264,  135,  126 

Calvert,  Sir  George 39 

Colony  Founded  by 40 

Cameron,  Secretary 383 

Campaign  of  1860,  The 330 

1867,  The 478 

1876,  The 479 

Campbell,  Col.  John 283 

Campbell  County 568 

Camp  Boone 462 

Canals,  Building  of. 516 


PAGE. 


Carlisle  County 569 

Carroll  County 670 

Carter  County 571 

Carter,  Lieut.  Sam’l  P 360 

Casey  County 571 

Cassville,  Skirmish  at 438 

Cavalier  Immigration 55 

Centre  College 504 

Charitable  Institutions 534 

Charles  I,  Execution  of 42 

II,  Restoration  of 44 

Charleston  & Cincinnati  R.  R 527 

Chattanooga,  Capture  of 421 

Chesapeake  & Ohio  R.  R 531 

Chicheley,  Sir  Henry 48 

Chickamauga,  Battle  of. 421 

Children,  Bounties  on 70 

Chiles,  Gen 310 

(!lhristian,  Col.  Wm 113 

Christian  County 572 

Church  of  England,  The 32 

Churches,  Organization  of 61 

Cincinnati  Bridge,  The 534 

Clark  County 673 

Clark,  George  Rogers 83 

Arrival  of. 132 

Diary  of 147 

Demand  for  Powder  by 83 

Letter  of 84 

The  Retiracy  of. 191 

Judge  James 313 

“ Sketch  of 320 

Clarke,  Beverly  L 329 

Clay,  Cassius  M 500,  327 

Clay  County 574 

Clay,  Henry 336,  318,  306 

Death  of 324 

Sketch  of. 318 

Clay,  Jr.,  Col.  Henry 340 

Death  of 346 

Clayborne,  William 40 

Cleveland,  Election  of  Grover 480 

Clinton  County 575 

Clinton,  De  Witt 310 

Coin,  Small 228 

Colonial  Gov’t,  Complications  in  the..  46 

Colonies,  Political  Struggles  in  the 50 

Colony,  Population  of  the 36 

Colored  Schools,  The 482 

Columbus,  Discoveries  of. 17 

Occupation  of 364 

Commercial,  The 499 

Commonwealth,  The 494 

Confederacy,  Recruits  for  the 351 

Confederate  Soldiers,  Medals  to 468 

Restored  to  Citizenship 478 


Continental  Congress,  Memorial  to  the  135 

Constitution,  The  First 296 

The  Second 301 

The  Third 678,  325 

“ “ First  Election  Under....  327 

Coomes,Wm 218,  147 

Corn , Cultivation  of 36 

Cornstalk,  Chief 104 

Murder  of 155 

Correspondence,  Military 375 

Correspondent,  The 493 

Cos,  Gen 332 

Council,  The  Local 21 

Counties,  Formation  of. 670 

Country  Party,  The 280 

Courier,  The 496 

Suppression  of 497 

Courier-Journal,  The 498,  496,  489 

Court  Party,  The 280 

Craig,  Rev.  Lewis 217 

Crawford,  Wm.  H 318 

Cresap,  Capt 121 

Crittenden  County 575 

Crittenden,  Geo.  B 390 

Force  of.., 390 


INDEX. 


ii 


PAGE. 

Crittenden,  Geo.  B.,  Report  of 3t)2 

JoLin  J 352,  340,  324 

Thos.  L 337,  340 

Cromwell,  Death  of  Oliver 43 

Cromwell,  Skirmibh  at 367 

Croxtou,  Gen.  .lohn  T 444 

Crutt,  Iteimrt  of  Gen 408 

C'ulijep|ier,  Lord 48,  45 

Cumberland  County 676 

Cumberland,  iteparlmeul  of  the 410 

Cumberland  Gap 372 

Evacuation  ot 408 

Occupation  of 434 

Cynthiana,  Llaitle  of 432 

Dale,  Sir  Thos 27 

Dare,  Virginia 20 

Dark  and  Bloody  Ground,  The 01 

Danville  Conventions,  The. ...284,  217,  266 

Davidge,  Keziu 316,  313 

Daviess  County 577 

Daviess,  Col.  .Joseph  H 305 

Daviess,  Samuel 164 

Incident  of ■.  2o5 

Davis,  Garrett 475,  368,  352 

Letter  of  Jell'. 360 

Dayton,  \Vm.  L 329 

Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum 535 

Deane,  Sila.s 135 

Deeker’s  Settlement 6.55 

Delaware,  Lord 24 

Demucrat,  The 497,  496 

Democratic  Kepuhllcans,  The 319 

I'arty,  Organization  of. 320 

Dentons,  The 131 

Desha,  Gen.  .Joseph 315,  310 

Elected  Governor 317 

Dick.Capt 113 

Dick  Robinson,  Camp 368,  3.54 

Arm.s  for 368 

Dinwiddle,  Gov 60 

Dixon,  Archibald 350,  327 

Douelsou,  A.J 329 

Donelson,  Fall  of  Fort 402 

Douglas,  S.  A 330 

Douglass,  .Tames 117 

Duke,  Basil  W 453 

Dunmore,  Lord 283,  80 

Dunmore’s  War 80 

Du  Ouesue,  Fall  of  Fort 78 

Durrett,  R.  T 497 

Dustin,  Death  of. 4i4 

Easton,  The  Treaty  of 78 

Edmonson  County 578 

Edwards,  Col.  John 281 

Election  of  186.5,  The 473 

Electoral  Commission,  The 479 

Elizabeth,  Queen 18 

Elliott  County 578 

Ellis,  Wm 164 

England,  Adventurers  From 18 

Slave  Trade  of. 65 

English  Merchants,  Greed  of. 63 

English  Traders 74 

Estiil  County 579 

Estill’s  Station 180 

Estiil,  Death  of  Capt 659,  181 

Estill’s  Defeat r 659,  181 

Everett,  Edward 330 

Falls  of  Ohio,  Importance  of  the 1.37 

Settlement  at 163 

Fannin,  Col 332 

Farmer’s  Library,  The 492,  293 

Fauipder,  Gov 62 

Fayette  County 680 

Feileralista,  The 301 

Feeble-Minded  Institute,  The 636 

Female  Academy,  The  First 606 

Female  Heroism,  Act  of. 183 

Fillmore,  Millard 329 

Fiuancial  Distress 312 

Fincastle  County 83 

Formation  of. 263 

Fink,  Mike 234 

Finley,  John 109 

First  C.tvalry,  The 338 

Fisheries  of  the  New  World,  The 18 

Fleming  County 682 

Flournoy,  Matthew 321 

Floyd,  Col 264,  164,  137 

Letter  of. 82 

Death  of. 190 

Floyd  County 583 

Floyd’s  Station 164 

Focus,  The 493 

Forman,  Death  of  Col 413 

Forests,  The 544 

Forrest,  Col 388 

Fourth  Infantry,  The 339 

France,  Colonial  Policy  of. 71 


PAGE. 

Frankfort.  The  Town  of. 290 

Franklin,  Governor 110 

Franklin  County 583 

Franklin,  The  Battle  of 446 

Freedman’s  Bureau.  The..  475 

French,  Claims  of  the , 68 

French,  J udge  Richar  i 321 

French  Revoluliou,  The 298 

War,  The  Old 78 

Frontier  Cabin,  Defense  of  a 256 

Frontier  Trading 74 

Fulton  County 586 

Gage,  Gen 79 

Gallagher,  Wm.  D 497 

Gallatin  County 587 

Gama,  Vasco  de 17 

Garfield,  Jas.  A 396 

Elected  President 480 

Garrard  County 587 

Garrard,  Gov 303 

Col.  T.  T 434,  417,  373 

Gates,  Sir  Thomas 24 

Gauntlet,  Running  the 203 

Gazelle,  The 293 

George  I,  Accession  of. 38 

George  III,  Accession  of 51 

German  Flats.  Council  at 79 

German  Immigration 67 

Ghent,  Treaty  at 310 

Gilbert,  Sir  Humphrey 18 

Gill,  Col.  Sam 368 

Ginseng 669,  228 

Girty,  Simon 657,  259,  155,  116 

Gist,  Adventures  of. 75 

Graham,  William  A 327 

Grant,  Col.  John 164 

Grant  County 588 

Grant,  Gen.  U.  S 474,  430,  387 

Elected  President 479 

Promotion  of 435 

Grape  Culture 663,  195 

Graves  County 589 

Grayson  County 6.89 

Grayson  Pond,  The 292 

Great  Meadows,  Battle  of. 77 

Green  brier  Company,  The 74 

Green  County 590 

-Green  River,  Skirmish  at 367 

Green  P^iver  Bridge,  Skirmish  at 456 

Improvement  of 615 

Greenup,  Christopher 303 

Greenup  County 691 

Grenville,  Sir  Richard .' 19 

Guerrillas,  Depredations  of 473 

Guthrie,  .Tames 497 

Sketch  of 529 

Haggin,  John 167,  143 

Judge 316 

Sketch  of 313 

Haldeman,  W.  N 498,  496 

Hamlin,  II .330 

Hancock  County 592 

Hand,  Gen 84 

Hanover,  The  House  of 49 

Hard  Cider  Campaign,  The 321 

Hard  Winter,  The 169 

Hardin,  Col 249 

Death  of 346 

Hardin  County 692 

Barker,  Death  of  Gen 439 

Harlan  County 694 

Harlan,  Death  of  Maj 188 

Harlan,  John  M 479,  368 

Harmar,  Campaign  of  Gen 248 

Defeat  of  Gen 250 

Harney,  John  II 498 

Harrison  County 595 

Harrison,  Gen.  AV.-  H 321,  309 

Richard 137 

Harrod,  James 666,  201,138, 118,  109 

William 167 

Harrodsburg,  the  Seat  of  Justice 142 

Attack  on 159 

Hart  County 596 

Hart,  Dr 218 

Harts,  The 126 

Hartsvllle,  Capture  of 454 

Harvey,  Sir  .John 38 

Unpopularity  of. 39 

Haw,  Rev.  James 218 

Haywood,  Judge 108 

Ilazen,  Gen 435 

Heath,  Sir  Robert 39 

Hedges,  Capt.  John 116 

Helm,  Capt 88 

JohnL 478 

Death  of 479 

Sketch  ot 530 

Helm,  Gen.  Ben.  H 467 


PAOE. 

Hemp 646 

Henderson  County 697 

Henderson,  Isham 495 

Henderson’s  Journal 127 

Henderson,  Nathaniel 137 

Henderson  Purchase,  The 83 

Henderson,  Richard 126 

Letter  of 130 

Samuel 144 

Henderson  & Co 139 

Henry  County 599 

Henry  Patrick 61 

Henry,  Capture  of  Fort 400 

Henry,  Gen 310 

Herald,  The 492 

Hickman  County 599 

Hickman,  Occupation  of 364 

Hickman,  Rev.  Wm 217 

Richard 310 

Hines,  Andrew 170 

Hinkston,  Cajjture  of  John 172 

Hiukston  Settlement,  The 129 

Hobson,  Col.  W.  E 439,  433 

Report  of 406 

Hodges,  Albert  G 493 

Hogg,  James 135,  126 

Mission  of 139 

Holden,  Joseph lU 

Holder,  John 167,  144 

Hollanders,  The 39 

Home  Guard,  The 357 

Hood,  Gen 435 

Hopkins  County 600 

Hopkinsville  Insane  Asylum,  The 635 

Horseshoe,  Knights  of  the  Golden 08 

Houston,  Gen 333 

Howard,  Lord 48 

Huguenot  Settlemems 67 

Hull’s  Surrender 309 

Hunt,  Robert 61,  20 

Hunter,  AVilliam 492 

Huston,  Rev.  L.  D 474 

Illinois  Country,  The 60 

Expedition  to 157 

Posts,  Establishing 86 

Imlay,  Description  of  Country  by 193 

Immigration  of  1780 ‘207 

Incident 145 

Independents  Banished,  The 61 

Indian  Atrocities 189 

Country,  Expedition  to 157 

Hostilities,  Renewal  of. 45 

Towns,  Destruction  of. 251 

University,  The 30 

Indians,  Expedition  Against  the. ..189,  166 

Treaty  with  the 240 

Innes,  Judge 306,  .300,  274,  247 

Infantry  Service,  Officers  of  the 694 

Invincible  Armada,  The 20 

Iroquois,  Exterminating  War  of  the...  72 

Ivy  Mountain,  Engagement  at 381 

Jackson  County 601 

Jackson,  Gen.  Andrew 318 

James  S 388 

James  II,  Accession  of. 48 

James  River,  The 21 

Jamestown,  Settlement  of. 21 

Jefferson,  Attack  on  F’ort 178 

Jeflersou  County 601 

Jefferson,  Thomas 303,  170 

Jeffries,  Sir  Herbert 48 

Jerks,  'The 219 

Jessamine  County 602 

.Jesuits,  The  order  of. 71 

Joe  Holt,  Camp 363 

Johnson  County 603 

Johnson,  Andrew 375,  360 

Col.  Guy 81 

Herschel  V 330 

Richard  M 321,  320 

Sir  William HO,  108,  107,  81 

Johnston,  Albert  Sidney..497,  403,  385,  378 

Joe  E 462,  435 

William 126 

Jones,  Gabriel  John 83 

Gen.  AV.  E 434 

Jonesboro,  Battle  of. 442 

Jordans,  The 129 

Journal,  The 494 

Julian,  George  W 327 

Kaskaskia,  Capture  of. 87 

Expedition  against 86 

Kelly,  Col.  R.  M 441 

Kenesaw  Mountain,  Battle  of. 439 

Kent,  Phineas  M 497 

Kenton  County 604 

Kenton,  Simon 664,  257,  198,  116 

Capture  of. 161 

Escape  of. 162 


INDEX. 


iii 


PAGE. 

Kenton,  Simon,  Horse  Stealing  of 160 


Incident  of 149 

Kentuckian,  The 493 

Kentucky,  Arrival  of  Settlers  in 143 

Academy,  The .‘'04 

Brigade,  The 462 

Boats 666,  208 

Central  R.  B 532 

Climate  of. 641 

Coal 644 

County,  Formation  of. 141,  84 

Divided  into  Three  Counties..264,  174 

District  of 334 

Education  in 480 

First  Court  in 264 

First  Governor  of. 285 

First  Legislature  in 134 

First  Marriage  in 145 

First  Paper  ill 490 

First  Railroad  in 624 

, First  Surveyors  in 114 

First  Village  in 656,  118 

First  White  Women  in 132 

Formed  into  a State 674,  285 

Foreign  Immigration  to 485 

Gazette,  The 492,  489 

Killed  and  Wounded 422 

Material  Resources  of. 540 

Mounds  in 93 

Military  Institute  of 507 

National  Troops  Enter 365 

Neutrality 352 

Officers  Commissioned 3.55 

Population  of 667,  286,  225 

Recruiting  in 362 

Resolutions,  The 676,  302 

Return  of  Clark  to 177 

River  Co.  The 514 

Savage  Incursions  into 245 

Union  R.  R 633 

University,  The 507 

Kentucky  Dead  Brought  Home 347 

Kentucky  Whig,  The 494 

Kickapoo  Towns,  Exp’n  Against  the...  309 

Kincheloe  Station,  Destruction  of 189 

King,  Gen 310 

Wm.  R 327 

Kirkland,  Rev.  Samuel 81 

Knott  County 671,  605 

Know-nothing  Party,  The 327 

Knox,  Col.  James 113 

Knox  County 606 

Knoxville,  Advance  on 431 

Ku-Klux,  The 476 

Lafayette,  Skirmish  at 440 

Land  Laws,  The 222 

Office,  The 223, 170,  136 

Surveys 118,  117 

Troubles 668 

Landrum,  Col.  W.  J 417,  374 

Landrum’s  Brigade,  Charge  of. 419 

Lane,  Joseph 330 

Lapsley  TO.  Brashear 314 

La  Rue  County 606 

Laughery,  Col.  Archibald 177 

Laurel  County 607 

Lawrence  County 607 

Lebanon,  Skirmish  at 457 

Lee  County 608 

Legislative  Body,  The  First 33 

Lenni-Lenape,  The 103 

Leslie  County 608 

Leslie,  P.  H 479 

Letcher  County 608 

Letcher,  Robt.  P 321 

Lewis  County 609 

Lewis,  Gen 123 

Lexington,  Capture  of. 453 

Insane  Asylum 534 

Naming  of. 130 

Rifles,  The 450 

The  Town  of. 288 

Licking  River,  The  Improvement  of...  61 6 

Lincoln,  Abraham 473,  366,  330 

Incident  of. 382 

Letters  of  President 359 

Lincoln  County 609 

Lincoln,  The  Earl  of. 24 

Lindsey,  Isaac 109 

Lindseys,  The 1 29 

Literary  Celebrities 500 

lAierarij  News-Letter,  The 499,  IrO 

Little  Fort 127 

Livingston  County 611 

Local  Government 37 

Lock,  Joseph 117 

Logan,  Col.  Benj 264,  167,  129 

Logan  County 611 

Logan’s  Fort,  Attack  on 149 


PAGE. 


Logan's  Station,  Accessions  to 153 

Logston,  Joe 198 

London  Company,  The 21 

Long  Hunters,  The 164,  114 

Long  Knife  Squaw,  The 2u5 

Long  Pond,  The 292 

Longstreet,  Retreat  of 434 

Lookout  Mountain,  Battle  of. 429 

Lovejoy  Station,  .'skirmish  at 442 

Louisville,  Bridge  at  533 

First  Court  House  in 294 

First  Platof. 656,  115 

First  Settlers  of. 656 

Laying  Out 170 

Legion,  The 337 

Riot  in 329 

The  Town  of. 292 

& Nashville  R.  R.,  The 528 

& Portland  Canal,  The 518 

Louis  XIV 70 

Louisiana,  Purchase  of. 303 

Loyal  Company,  The 74 

Luttrell,  John 126 

Lyell,  Sir  Charles 95 

Lyon  County 612 

Macadamized  Roads 511 

Madison  County 613 

Madison,  James 308 

George 311 

Magoffin  County 615 

Magoffin,  Gov 358,  351,  329 

Maids,  Importation  of 29 

Mammoth  Cave,  The 689,  542 

Marion  County 616 

Marshal,  The  High 27 

Marshall  County 617 

Marshall  Humphrey 395,  340  277 

Col.  Thomas 279 

Martin  County 6:7 

Martin’s  Station,  Capture  of. 171 

Maryland  Colony,  The 39 

Mason  County 613 

Massacre  of  Colonists 31 

Matrimony,  Bounty  for 70 

Matthews,  Col.  Samuel 43 

Maysville  & Lexington  Turnpike 511 

McAfee,  Lieut.-Gov 316 

McAfee  Station 176 

McAfees,  The 114 

McClellan,  Correspondence  of  Gen 358 

John 129 

McClellan’s  Fort 144 

Attack  on 146 

McClernand,  Gen 400 

Report  of. .' 417 

Retreat  of. 401 

McConnell,  William 129 

Alex 204 

McCook,  Gen.  A.  McD 441,  439,  367 

IdcCracken  County 620 

McCreery,  James  B 479 

McDo'.veil,  Jaives 117 

Samuel 266,  264 

McGary,  Hugh 147,  131 

McHenry,  Col 401,  367 

McKee,  Col 104 

■ Death  of 346 

McLean  County 621 

McPherson,  Death  of  Gen 441 

Meade  County 622 

Menifee  County 623 

Mercer  County 623 

Messenger,  The 492 

Metcalfe  County 625 

Metcalfe,  Gov 319 

Meigs,  Defense  of  Fort 309 

Mexico,  War  Against 336 

Jlichaux,  Dr 662 

Mill  Springs,  Battle  of. 388 

Miller  Company,  The 129 

Mills,  Judge  Benjamin 314 

Sketch  of 315 

Minister,  The  First 61 

Mirror,  The 492 

Missionary  Ridge,  Battle  of 4.30 

Mississippi  Company,  The 80 

Mississippi,  Department  of  the 435 

Mississippi  River  Navig'n  of  the...303,  299 

Mitchell,  Gen.  0.  M 375,  373 

Moccasin  Point,  Capture  of. 428 

Mohawk  Valley,  The 81 

Monroe  County 626 

Monterey,  Siege  of 340 

Montgomery  County 627 

Montgomery,  William 175 

Moore,  Col.  James 104 

Morehead,  Charles  S 329 

Morgan  County 628 

Morgan,  Gen.  John  H 450 


PAGE. 

Morgan,  Gen.  John  H.,  Capture  of 46(i 


Death  of. 462 

Gen.  Geo.W 407 

Morgantown,  Skirmish  at 367 

Mound-Builders,  The 96 

Mount  Sterling,  Skirmish  at 461 

Muhlenburg  County 628 

Murray,  Col.  Eli  H.' 437,  388 

Wm 299 

Muter ,7George 274,  264 

Muldrow’s  Hill  Occupied  by  Troops....  366 

Nashville,  Battle  of 448 

National  Republicans,  The 319 

Navigation,  Improvement  of. 513 

Necessity,  Capitulation  of  Fort 77 

Negro  Problem,  Ihe 476 

Soldiers 474 

Testimony  in  Courts 475 

Nelson  County 6'29 

Nelson,  Francis 23 

Nelson,  Fort  (Louisville) 179 

Lieut.  William... .408,  396,  369,308,  354 

Netherlaud,  Heroism  of 186 

Nevin,Camp 367 

Newcomb,  H.  D 529 

New  Court  Party,  The 313 

Newfoundland 20,  18 

New  France 69 

New  Hope  Church,  Battle  at 438 

New  Orleans,  Battle  of 31o 

Deposit  at 303 

New  Orleans  Market,  The 276 

Newport,  Christopher 21 

New  River  Country,  The 67 

Niagara  Treaty,  The 79 

Nicholas  County 631 

Nicholas,  George ‘296,  285 

North  America,  Discovery  of 17 

Northwest,  The  Gardens  of  the 99 

Observer  and  Reporter,  The 492 

Ogden,  Rev.  Benj 218 

Ohio  Canal  Co 517 

Ohio  Company,  The 244,  79,  74 

Ohio  and  Cumberland,  Dep’t  of  the....  386 

Ohio  County 632 

Ohio,  Department  of  the 410 

Ohio  River,  The 518 

R.  R.,  The 532 

Ohio  Valley,  The 50 

English  Claim  to 75 

Old  Court  Party,  The 313 

Oldham  County 633 

Oldham,  Maj 244 

Opposing  Armies,  The 343 

Orange  County,  Formation  of 263 

Orchard  Knob,  Capture  of. 428 

Ormsby,  Col 340,  337 

Osborne.  Jno.  D 495 

Osterhaus,  Report  of  Gen 419 

Overton,  '\V.  G 497 

Owen  County 633 

Owsley  County 634 

Owsley,  Judge  Wm 322,  315,  314 

Palladium,  The 492 

Palmer,  Gen.  J.  M 454,  412 

Paris,  The  Town  of 287 

Parties,  Organization  of 477,  311 

Patterson,  Rob’t 145 

Paul,  Maj 249 

Peach  Tree  Creek,  Battle  of. 440 

Pemberton.  Gen 414 

Pendleton  County 634 

Penitentiary, The 290 

Penn,  Shadrach 494,493,  491 

Pennebaker,  Col.  C.  D 432 

Percy,  George 25 

Perry  County 635 

Perry  ville.  Battle  of 409 

Petroleum 544 

Pickett,  Dr 101 

Pierce,  Gen.  Franklin 327 

Pike  County 636 

Pioneer,  The 192 

Pioneers,  Amusements  of  the 214,  213 

Pirates,  River 233 

Plug,  Col 233 

Pi'cahontas,  Marriage  of. 30 

Point  Comfort 21 

Polk,  Death  of  Gen 439 

Polk,  James  K 335,  322 

Pontiac,  Conspiracy  of 107,  79 

Pope,  William 170 

Portland  Canal,  The 518 

I Post,  The 499 

i Potts,  Dr 38 

Pottery  Clay 544 

Pound  Gap 399,  372 

Powder,  Importation  of. 146 

Powell  County 636 


IV 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Powell,  Lazarus  W 327,  324 

powhatau 30 

Preacher,  The  First 217 

Prentice,  Geo.  D 495,  494,  492 

Presbytery,  Tlie  First 217 

Presidential  Election  of  1888,  The 479 

Press,  The 487 

Preston,  Col.  \Vm 117,  82 

Gen 340 

Proctor,  Col.  Thos 261 

Proctor,  .Tohn  R 540 

Public  Pnnishiueiits 32 

Schools,  The 481 

Pulaski  County 636 

Putnam,  F.  W lOU 

Katiuesque,  Prof. 92 

Railroads 522 

Raisin,  Hattie  of 309 

Raleigh,  .Sir  Walter 18 

Ratclill'e,  .Tohn 21 

Ray,  .lames 206,  147,  131 

Rebellion,  War  of  the 349 

Red  Hawk,  Murder  of 155 

Redstone  Creek 107 

Relief  Parly,  The 312 

Religious  Persecution 63 

Republican  Auxiliary^  The 492 

Republican  Party,  The 330 

Eesaca,  Battle  of. 437 

Resolutions  of  1798,  The 302,  297 

Authorship  of  the 303 

Restoration,  Elfects  of  the 44 

Revolution  of  1683,  The 63 

Revolutionary  War,  The 154 

Reynolds,  Heroic  Act  of 187 

Richmond,  Battle  of. 408 

Rice,  Rev.  David 217 

Rifle,  Hs©  of  the 667 

Roads 510 

Roanoke  Island 23,  20 

Robertson  County... 637 

Robertson,  George 317,  316 

Rockcastle  County 637 

Rogers,  Col.  David 165 

Rosecraus.  Gen 431,  423,  410 

Round  Hill.  Skirmish  at 377 

Rousseau,  Gen 409,  405,  367,  .357 

Rowan  County 638 

Rowan,  .John 313 

Royal  African  Company,  The 65 

Royal  Spring,  The 129 

Ruddle,  Isaac 163 

Ruddle’s  Station 163 

Capture  of. 171 

Russell  County 638 

Russell  Family,  Capture  of  the 175 

Sacramento,  Skirmish  at 388 

Saint  Clair,  Arthur 119 

Expedition  of 253 

Defeat  of 2.54 

St.  Joseph’s  College 606 

Salisbury,  Earl  of 24 

Sailing,  .Tohn.. K'7 

Salt  Brine 544 

Salt  Milkers,  Capture  of  155 

Salt  River,  Improvements  of 515 

Sanders,  Death  of  Gen 4.33 

Sandy  Rivers,  Improvement  of  the 515 

Sandys,  Sir  Edwin 28 

San  Jacinto,  Battle  of 332 

Santa  Anna,  Capture  of 333 

Schoepf,  Gen 377 

Schofield.  Gen 444 

Schools,  The  Colored 482 

Schoolhouse,  The  Pioneer 220 

Schoolmaster,  The  First 220 

Scott  County 639 

Scott,  Expedition  of  Gen 260,  251 

Elected  Governor 308 

Gen.  Winfield 327 

Sea  Venture,  The 24 

Sebastian,  Benj 3ii0,  209,  274 

Second  Infantry,  The 338 

Settlements,  Increase  of 76 

Shackelford,  Judge  Benj 326 

Sharp,  Solomon  P 313 

Shelby  County  640 

Shelby.  Isaiic 285 

Sketch  of 298 

Second  Term  of 310 


PAGE. 

Shell  heaps 9.’’..  653 

Sherman,  Gen 435,  430,  414,  383,  378,  366 

Insanity  of 384 

Report  of 405 

Superseded 386 

Sherman’s  Demand  for  Men 384 

March  to  the  Sea 443 

.Shiloh,  Battle  of. 402 

Shipbuilding ‘236 

Shipman,  Paul  K 495 

Shippingport,  The  Town  of 291 

Shreve,  Capt.  Henry  M 521 

■Simpson  County 642 

Six  Nations,  The 73 

slaughter,  Gabriel 311 

Slavery,  Growth  of 65 

Smith,  Capt.  John 30,26,  24,  20 

Col.  W.  S 407 

Gen.  A.  J 444 

Gen.  C.  F 402,  400,  380 

Gen.  Kirby 444 

Gen.  M.  L 414 

Smythe,  Sir  Thomas 20 

Sneed,  Achilles 316 

Southampton,  Earl  of 24 

Spanish  Question,  The.... 299,  282,  273 

Speed,  Joshua  F" 382 

Spencer  County 643 

Spotswood’s  Administration 49 

Spring  Hill,  Battle  of 445 

Stamp  Act,  The 54 

Stanwix,  Council  at  Fort 79 

State,  Formation  of  the 285 

College,  The 608 

Guard,  The 3.56 

Houses 290 

Steamboat,  The  First 519 

Stephenson,  Defense  of  Fort 309 

Stevenson,  John  W 479,  478 

Stewart,  John 112,  111 

Stone  River,  Battle  of 410 

Killed  and  Wounded  at 413 

Stoner,  Michael 109 

Stout,  Col.  A.  M 423  , 404 

Strode’s  Station 164 

Attack  on 180 

Surveyors,  Early 654,  114 

.Surveying  Parties 116 

Table  Mountain 96 

Taylor  County 643 

Taylor,  Hancock 114 

Taylor,  Gen.  Z 336,  323 

Elected  President 325 

Sketch  of 339 

Tazewell,  Skirmish  at 434 

Tecumseh 310 

Tennessee,  Army  of  the 435,  4o3 

Campaign,  The  East 4oO 

Terry,  Death  of  Col 387 

Texan  Revolution,  The 332 

Texas,  Annexation  of 335 

Early  History  of 331 

Thames,  Battle  of  the 310 

Third  Infantry,  The 338 

Thomas,  Adjutant-General 383 

Gen.  G.  H 447,  444,430,388,  369 

Report  of 191 

Thompson,  John  B 3‘27 

Gen.  Wm 116 

Times,  The 499 

Tippecanoe,  Battle  of 308 

Tobacco  as  a Circulating  Medium 62 

Tobacco,  Cultivation  of 36 

The  Indian  Chief lo4 

Tobacco  Produced,  Amount  of 546 

Todd  County 644 

Todd,  Col.  John 264, 164,  146,  90 

Death  of 188 

Levi 164 

Robert 244 

Thomas 266 

Toll  Gate,  The 511 

Toltecs,  The 103 

Transylvania  Colony 142, 13.5,  133 

Company,  The 140 

Presbytery,  The 217 

University,  The 601,  600 

Trails,  The  Early 227 

Transportation,  Modes  of 230 

Trenches,  Battle  of  the 400 


PAQB. 


Trigg,  Col.  Stephen 188,  107 

Trigg  County 644 

'I  rimble  County 645 

Trimble,  John 316,  313 

Trotter,  Gen 310 

True  American,  The 500 

Turnpikes 511 

Twetty,  Capt 126 

Tyler,  John 334,  321 

Union  County 645 

Van  Buren,  Martin 321 

Vance,  John 129 

Vaughn,  Death  of  Adjutant 345 

Vicksburg,  Before 414 

Fall  of 419 

Vincennes,  Capture  of 88 

Virginia,  Affairs  in 48 

Bond  Labor  in 63 

Boundaries  of 67 

Colony,  Extent  of  the 39' 

Condition  of 29 

Courts  of 34 

First  Convention  of 33 

First  Negroes  in 63 

Indian  Power  Broken  in 68 

Legislature,  Independence  of. .49,  38 

Population  of 49 

Prosperity  of 55 

Religious  Sects  in 58 

Republic  of 34 

The  King  of 21 

Virginia’s  Loyalty  to  the  King 42 

Walker,  Dr.  Thos 108 

Walpole  Company,  The 80 

War  of  1812,  The 308 

Ward,  Edward ll8 

Gen.  Wm.  T 363 

Warren  County 646 

Washington  County 647 

Washington,  Mission  of  George...’ 76 

Watson,  John 166 

Watterson,  Henry 495 

Wayne  County 649 

Wayne,  Gen.  Anthony 259 

Victory  of 261 

Webster  County 649 

Webster,  Daniel 336 

Weissinger,  Geo.  W 495 

Wells,  Capt.  .Sam’l 176 

West,  Francis 28 

Capt.  John ,39 

Western  Citizen,  The 492 

Courier,  The 492 

Westerner,  a Representative 200 

Whigs  and  Tories 60 

Whig  Party,  Organization  of  the 320 

Whig,  The  Knoxville 372 

Whitaker,  Gen 406 

IVhite,  John 19 

Whitley  County 650 

Whitley,  Wm 164 

Whitney,  Prof - 96 

Wickliffe,  Robert 317,  316,  313 

Robert  N 327 

Wild  Cat,  Battle  at 377 

Wilkinson,  Gen 673,  299,  275,  255 

William  and  Mary,  Acces.sion  of 49 

College  of 69 

Williams,  Col.  Jno,  S 395,  340 

Wingfield,  Edward 21 

Wolfe  County 6.50 

Wolford,  Col 434,  432 

Wood  Choppers,  Attack  on 148 

Wood,  Gen.  Thos.  T 383 

Woodford  County 650 

Woodruff,  Wm.  E 340 

AVoodsonville,  Skirmish  at 387 

AVooI,  Gen 342 

Worthington,  Wm 164 

Wyat,  Sir  Francis 35 

Wyllys.Maj 250 

AVyman,  Sir  Ferdinando 26 

Prof  Jeffries 96 

Yeager,  George 116 

Yeardly,  George 28 

Yell,  Death  of  Col 346 

Young,  Capt.  Thos 116 

Zollicoffer,  Gen 372 

Death  of 392 

Movements  against 374 


0.U 


I 


I 


